The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-02-05


and agate Music mingling the thrum
OF harps, and the clash of cymbals, and
the blast of trumpets in one wave of
transport that went ripping along the
wall, and breathing among the gar,
lands, and pouring down the corridors,
and thrilling the souls of a thousand
banqueters, The signal is given, and
he lords and ladies, the mighty men
and women of the land, come around
the table. Pour out the winel Let
foam and bubble kiss the riml Hoist
every one his cup and drink to the
sentiment "Oh, King Belshazzar, live
forever"
Bestarred headband and carcanet
of royal beauty CLEAN to the uplifted
Ihalices as again and again and again
they are emptied, Away with care
from the palace Tear royal dignity
to tatters! Pour out more wine Give
us more light, wilder music, sweeter
perfuinel Lord shouts to lord, captain
ogles to captain. Goblets clash, de-
canters rattle. There come in the vile
song, and the drunken hiccough, and
the slavering lip, and the outlaw of
idiotic laughter bursting from the lips
of princes, flushed, reeling, bloodshot;
while mingling with it all | hear,
"Huzzal huzza for the great Belshaz-
zarr'
Look LOOK! Look
What is that on the plastering of the
WALTZ Is it spirit2 Is it q phantom2
Is it God2 Out of the black sleeve OF
the darkness finger of fiery terror
trembles through the air and comes to
the wall, circling about as though it
would write, and then, with sharp tip
of flame, engraves on the plaStering the
doom of the king. The music stops.
Goblet falls from the nerveless grasp
There is a thrill. There is a start.
There is thousand voiced shrek of
horror. Let Daniel be brought in to
read that writing. He comes in. He
reads it, Weighed in the balance and
found wanting"
Meanwhile the Assyrians, who for
two years had been laying siege to that
city, took advantage of that carousal
and came in. | hear the feet of the
conquerors on the palace stairs Massa-
ere rushes in with thousand cleaning
knives. Death bursts upon the scene,
and | shut the door of that banqueting
hall, for do not want to look There
is nothing there but torn banners and
broken wreaths, and the slush of upset
tankards, and the blood of murdered
women, and the kicked and tumbled
carcass of dead king. For ''in that
night was Belshazzar, the king of the
Chaldeans, slain
go on to learn that when God writes
anything on the wall, Il man had better
read it as it is. Daniel did not misin
terpret or modify the handwriting on
the wall. 1t is all foolishness to expect
a minister of the Gospel to preach al
ways things that the people like or the
people choose, Young men, what shall
| preach to you tonight Shall tell
you of the dignity of human nature?
Shall tell you of the wonders that our
race has accomplished? "Oh! no"
you say; tell Inc the message that
came from God" | will If there is
any handwriting on the wall it is this
lesson, Accept of Christ and be
saved" might talk of a great many
other things, but that is the message,
and so | declare it.
Jesus never fiattered those to whom
he preached He said to those who
did wrong, and who were offensive in
his sight, "Ye generation of vipersl ye
whited sepulchers! how can We escape
the damnation of hellw Paul the
apostle preached before man who
was not ready to hear him preach.
What subject did he take? Did he say,
ooh, you are good man, a very fine
man, very noble mani? No; he
preached of righteousness to a man
who was unrighteous; of temperance
to a man who was the victim of bad
appetites; of the judgment to come to
man who was unfit for it. So we
must always declare the message that
happens to come to us. Daniel must
read it as it is
A minister preached before James
of England, who was james VI
of Scotland What subject did he
take? The king was noted all over
the world for being unsettled and wa
vering in his ideas. What did the min
lister preach about to this man who
was James of England and James vi
of Scotland? He took for his text
James i, 6: He that wavereth is
like wave of the sea, driven with the
wind and tossed" Hugh Latimer of
Tended the king by sermon he
preached, and the king said Hugh
Latimer, come and apologize. =" Il
will, said Hugh Latimer. SO the day
was appointed, and the kings chapel
was full of lords and dukes, and the
mighty men and women of the coun-
try, for Hugh Latimer was to apollo
gize. He began his sermon by saying:
Hugh Latimer, bethir,k theel Thou
art in the presence Of thine earthly
king, who can destroy thy body. But
bethink thee, Hugh Latimer, that thou
art in the presence of the King of heav-
en- and earth, who can destroy both
body and soul in hell fire." Then he
preached with appalling directness at
the kings crimes.
THE HORROR OF THE ENDING.
Another lesson that comes to us.
There is great difference between the
opening of the banquet of sin and its
close Young man, if you had looked
in upon the banquet in the first few
hours you would have wished you had
been invited there, and could sit at the
feast "Oh the grandeur of Belshaz-
Ears FEAST" you would have said, but
you look in at the close of the banquet,
and your blood curdles with horror.
The king of terrors has there a ghast-
lier banquet, human blood is the wine
and dying groans are the music.
Sin has made itself a king in the