The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1890-11-20

but they fail 10 give the WannesSs the
earnestness, the supernatural courage,
the Infinite self-sacrifice OF Rizpah, the
mother. A mother in the quiet home
watching by the casket OF dead child
for one night exerts the artist to his
utmost but who Is sufficient to put upon
canvas a mother for six months of mid
nights guarding her whole family, dead
and gibbeted upon the mountains? Go
home, Rizpah You must be awfully
tired. You are sacrificing your reason
and your life for those whom you can
never bring back again TO your bosom
AS say that, from the darkest midnight
OF the century, Rizpah turns upon mo
and CRIES How dare you to tell me to
90 homer ] am mother. ] am not
tired. You might as well expect God
to get tired as for mother to get tired.
cared for those boys when they lay
upon my breast in infancy, and / will
not forsake them now that they are
dead. Interrupt me not There stoops
an eagle that / must drive back with
my agonized cry. There is panther !
must beat back with my club"
Do you know what that scene by our
roadside in Palestine makes me think
of? 1t is no unusual scene. Right here
in these three cities by the American
sea coast there are thousand cases at
this moment worse than that Mothers
watching boys that the rum saloons,
that annex Of hell, has gibbeted in
living death Boys hung fin. chains Of
evil habit they can not break. The
father may go to sleep after waiting
until II O'Clock at night for the ruined
boy to come home, and giving 1t up he
may say: Mother, como TO bed; there's
no use setting UP any longer. But
mother will not go to bed. 1t is
O'clock in the morning. 1t Is $780, 1t
Is 2 O'Clock 1t is $50 when he comes
staggering through the hall. Do you say
that young man is yet alive? No; he is
dead Dead 10 his fathers entreaties.
Dead to his mothers prayers. Dead to
the family altar where no was reared.
Dead to tho noble ambitions that once
inspired him.. Twice dead. Only a
corpse of what he once was Gibbeted
before God and man and angels and
devils. Chained in q death that will
not loosen its cold grasp. His father is
asleep, his brothers are asleep, his
sisters are asleep, but his mother is
watching him, watching him in the
night After he has gone to bed and
fallen into drunken sleep, his mother
willgo up to his room and see that no.
is properly covered, and before she
turns out the light will put kiss upon
his bloated lips Mother, why don't
you go to. bed9" s-'.Ahia she says, 81
can not 70 to bed. am Rizpah watch
ing the slain!'
But must spur on our Arab stood,
and here we come'ing sight Of Beeroth,
said to be the place where Joseph and
Mary missed the boy Jesus on the way
from Jerusalem to Nazareth, going
homo now from great national fes-
tival "Whore is my child Jesus9' says
Mary. Where is my child Jesus?n says
Joseph. Among the thousands that are
returning from Jerusalem they thought
that certainly He was walking on in the
crowd. They described Him, saying:
sHe is twelve years old, and of light
complexion and blue eyes. A lost
childr Great excitement in all the
crowd. Nothing so stirs folks as the
news that child is lost. / shall not
forget the sceIe when in a great out
door meet ting was preaching and some
onestepped on the platform and said
that child was lost. Wewent on with
the religious service, bat all our minds
were on the lost child. After awhile a
man brought on the platform beauti-
full little tot that looked like piece
OF Heaven dropped down, and said:
''Here is that child" And / forgot
ali that / was preaching about,
and lifted the child TO my shoulder
and said; Here is tho lost child, and
the mother viii come and get her right
away, or i win take her home and add
her TO my own broodr' And some cried
and some shouted, and amid all
that crowd / instantly detected the
mother. Every body had to get out
of her way or be walked over. Hats
were nothing, and shoulders were moth
ing, and heads were nothing in her
pathway, and | realized something OF
what must have been Mary's anxiety
whom she lost Jesus, and what her glad
ness whom she found her boy in tho
Temple OF Jerusalem, talking with those
old ministers of religion Shammai, Hill
lei and Betirah.
l bear down on you to-day with
mighty comfort Mary and Joseph
said: Where is our Jesus?" and you
say: where is John2 or where is
Henry? or where is George?" Well,
should not wonder if you found him
after awhile Where? In tho same
place whore Joseph and Mary found
their boy-in the temple. What do
mean by that? | moan, you do your
duty toward God and toward your child,
and you will find him after awhile in
the kingdom of Christ WIN you say
~ do not have any way of influencing
my child | answer you have the
most tremendous limo Of influence open
right before you. AS you write a let
ter, and there are two or three
routes by which it may go, but you
want it 10 go the quickest route,
and you put on it via Southampton,
OF "via San Francisco, or "yia Mar
settles" put on your wishes about your
child, via the throne OF God" How
long will such a good wish take TO get
the millionth part OF a second / will
prove it, The promise is: Before they
call ] win answer" That means at
your first motion toward such prayerful
exercise the blessing viii come. and If
the prayer be made at ten o'clock at
night it will be answered five minute N
before ten. Before they call / wills
answer"
Well, you say, / am clear discouraged
about my son, and l am getting on in
years, and fear / win not live TO see
him converted Perhaps not, neverthe-
less think you will find him in the
temple, the heavenly temple. There
has not been an hour in Heaven the
last one hundred year when parents In
glory had not had announced 10 them
the salvation Of children whom they
left in this world proiiigate. We often
have to say; II forgot" but God
has mover yet once said ~ forgot
In euav no oftnr "a ~