Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1891-11-18

ing time and all the rAptures OF = CON-
ing eternity. Is IL not remarkable thaA
nearly all the great revolutions of mu-
sic. and poetry, and religion have been
made TO men In banishment-Ifomer and
Milton banished into blindness; Bee
thoven banished into deafness: Dante
writing his DivinA Commeuia during
the nineteen years of Punishment from
his native land; Victor Hugo writing
his Les Miserables exiled from home
and country on the island of Guernsey.
and the brightest visions OF the future
have been given to those VINO by sick
ness or sorrow were exilcd from tho
outer world into rooms of suffering.
Only those who have been imprisoned
by very hard surroundings have had
great revelations made to- them. So
Patmos. wild, chill and bleak and ter
rible. was the best island in all tho
archipelago. the best place in all tho
earth fer divine revelations. Before
panorama can be successfully seen
the room in which you sit must be
darlSencd; and in the presence of John
was to pass such n panorama rs no man
ever saw before or will ever see in this
world. and hence the gloom of his sur.
roundings was a help rather than IA him
dcrance.
All the surroundings of the place af-
fected St Johns imagery when he
speaks of Heaven. St John. hungry
from enforced abstinence. or having no
food except that at which his appetite
revolted. think of Heaven; and. us tho
famished man is apt to dream of boun-
tiful tables, covered with Inquiries. so
ST. John says of the inhabitants of
Heaven, "rhey shall hunger no more"
Scarcity of fresh water on Patmos and
the hot tongue of st Johns thirst leads
him to admire Heaven rs he says,
They shall thirst no more"
st. John hears tho waves of the sea
wildly dashing against the rock and
each wave has voice. aud all the
waves together mako chorus. and
they remind him of the multitudinous
anthems of Heaven and he says: They
are like the voice of many waters"
One day rs he looked Off upon the sea,
the waters were very smooth, rs il is
to-day while we sail them in the Miner
VA, and they were like glass and the
sunlight seemed to set them on fire.
and there was mingling of white
light and intense flame, and as St
John looked out from his cavern home
upon that brilliant sea, he thought of
the splendors of Heaven and described
them las n sea of glass mingled with
fire." Yes, seated in the dark cavern
of Patmos, though homesiclx and hum
cry and loaded with Domitian's anathe-
mas, st. John was the most fortunate
man on earth because of the panorama
that passed before the mouth of the
| cavern.
Turn down all the lights that we
may better see it The panorama
passes, and 10! the conquering Christ,
| robed. girdled, armed, the fash of gol-
den candlesticSs and seven stars in His
right hand. candlesticks and stars
meaning light held up. and light scat
tered. And there passes throne and
Christ on 1t, and the seals broken, and
the woes sounded, and n dragon slain,
and seven last plaques swoon and
seven last are poured out, and
the vision vanishes. And we halt
a moment to rest from the exciting
spectacle. Again the panorama moves
on before the cavern of Patmos, and
John the exile sees "a great city repre-
senting all denominations Babylon
lowered, palaced, tempted, fountained,
foliaged, sculptured, gardens,
suddenly going crash! crashi and the
pipers cease to pipe, and the trumpets
cease to trumpet, and the dust and the
smoke and the horror fill the canvas.
while from above and beneath are
voices announcing Babylon is fallen.
is fallenW And we halt again to rest
from the spectacle.
Again the panorama passes before
the cavern of Patmos, and John the ex-
lie sees mounted Christ on n snow
white charger leading forth cav
airy of heaven, the long line of white
chargers galloping through the scene
the Gathering of hoofs, the clink-
ing OF bridle-bits, and the flash of
spears, all the earth conquered and
nll heaven in doxology And we halt
| again to rest from the spectacle. Again
the panorama passes before the cav
ern of Patmos. and John the exile sees
great thrones lifted, thrones of mar.
| tyrs, thrones of apostles, thrones of
prophets, and throne higher than all
on which Jesus sits, and ponderous
books are opened, their leaves turned
over, revealing the names of all that
nave ever lived, the good and the bad.
the renowned and the humble, the
| mighty and the weak, and at the turn
of every leaf the universe is in rapture
or fright, and the sea empties its sarco.
phagus of all the dead of the sunken
shipping, and the earth gives way and
the heavens vanish. Again we rest a
moment from the spectacle. The piano.
rama moves on before the cavern OF
Patmos, and John the exile beholds a
city of gold. and river more beautiful
than the Rhine and the Hudson rolls
through IL. and fruit trees bend their
burdens on either bank, and all is
surrounded by walls in which the up-
holstery OF autumnal forests, and the
sunrises and sunsets of all the
ages, and the glory OF burning worlds
seem TO be commingled. And
the inhabitants never breathe a sigh.
or utter groan. or discuss n differ
ence, or frown dislike, or weep n tear
The fashion they wear is pure white.
and their foreheads are encircled bv
garlands, and they who were sick ara
well and they who were old are young
and they who were bcreft are reunited.
And as the last forure Of that ,,.,,,,-.. -.