Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1892-12-01
HUSKING THE CORN.
TALMAGE TELLS OF THE GATH
ERING OF SHOCKS
a Sermon from Job-"As ShocK OF
Corn Comcth In In His Season, 5;e0
A Vivid Picture of the Day of Final
Judgment,

J
A Vivid Picture of the Day of Final
Judgment,
BROOKLYN, n Y, Nov. 27.--The
Rev. DR.. Talmage to-day chose f. I his
subject of discourse one eminently
suited to the time following the in
! gathering of the harvests, and to the
Thanksgiving season. The decorations
/ of the Thanksgiving day still remained
on the platform and the galleries, and
| long rows of yellow and white corn on
| the front and back of the platform
were in accord with the sermon. The
! text selected was LAS Shock of Corn
Cemeth in in His Season." dob ;: 3d.
This is the time of the year for husl1-
ing corn. If you have recently been in
the fields of Pennsylvania, or New
Jersey, or New York, or New England,
or in any of the country districts, you
know that the corn is all cut. The
sharp knife struck through the stalks
and left them all along the fields until
man came with bundle of straw
and twisted few of these wiSpS of
straw into Il band, and then gathering
up as much of the corn as he could
compass with his arms, he bound
it with tins wisp of straw, and then
stood it in the field in what is called
shock. There are now at least two
I billion bushels of corn either standing
in the shock, or having been already
huskcd. The farmers gather, one day
on one farm, and then another day on
another farm, and they put on their
rough huslling apron, and they take
the husking peg, which is a piece of
| iron with leathern loop fastened to
| the hand, and with it unSheath the
corn from the husk and toss it into the
golden heap. Then the wagons come
! along and take it to the corn crib.
About corn as an important cereal
or corn as metaphor the Bible is
constantly speaking. You know about
the people in famine coming to buy
corn of Joseph, and the foxes on fire
running into the standing corn" and
about the oxen trcading out the corn,
and about the seven thin cars of corn
that in Pharaoh's dream devoured the
seven good ears, and the "parchcd
corn handed to beautiful Buth by the
harvestcrs Of Bethlehem, and Abigairs
five measures OF ''parched corn with
which She hoped to appease the encm-
les of her drunken husband, aud
David's description of the valleys
covered over with corn" and "the
/ handful Of corn in the earth, and
1.-THE full corn in the ear" and Christ's
Sabbath morning walk through corn
fields, and the disciples ''pluclling ears
of corn, and SO am not surprised to
find corn-husking time referred TO in
my text: AS a shock of corn cometh
in in his season
How wildly to all those of us who
were born in the country comes the
remembrance of huslling time. We
waited for it as for gala day of the
year twas called frolic. The trees
having for the most part shed their
foliage, the farmers waded through
the fallen leaves and came through
the keen morning air to the gleeful
company The frostS which had sill
vered everything during the night be
gan to melt off the top of the corn
shocks. While the farmers were
waiting for others they stood blowing
their breath through their fingers, or
thraShing their arms around their
body to keep up warmth of circulation.
Roaring mirth greeted the late farmer
as he crawled over the fence. Joke
and repartec and rustic salutation
abounded. All ready, now! The men
take hold of the shock of corn and hur
it PROSTATE, while the molcs and mice
which have secreted themselves there
for warmth, attempt escape. The
withe of straw is unwound from the
corn shock and the stalks heavy with
the wealth of grain are rolled
into two bundles between which
the husller sits down. The husking
peg is thrust in until it strikes the
. corn, and then the fingers rip off the
sheathing of the ear, and there is
crack as the root of the corn is snapped
off from the husll, and the grain dis
imprisoned is hurled up into the sun
light. The air is so tonic, the work is
so very eNhilarating, the company is
so blithc, that some laugh, and some
sing, and some banter, and some tease
a neigh Dor for a romantic ride along
the edge of the woods in an eventide,
in Il carriage that holds but two
and some propheSy as to the num-
Der of bushels to the field, and
others 90 into competition as to which
shall rifle the most corn-shocks before
rundown. After while the dinner
horn sounds from the farmhouse, and
tha table is surrounded by a group of
jolly and hungry men. From all the
lyIntres and the cellars and the
perches of fowl on the place the rich
est dGinties come, and there is carnival
and ueighborhood union, and a scene
which fills our memory, part with
smiles but more with tears, as we
remember that the farm belongs
now to other owners, and other
hands gather in the field, and many of
-, hot IA l.
ing scenes have themselves been
reaped. like as a shock of corn cometh
in in his season"
There is a difference of opinion as to
| whether the Orienta knew anything
about the corn as it stands in our fields;
| Eut recent discoveries have found out
that the Hebrew knew all about Indian
maize, for there have been grains of
cryps and exhumed from hiding
places where they were put
! down many centuries ago, and
they have been planted in our time
and have come up just such Indian
maize as we raise in New York and
I Ohio; so am right when | say that
my text may refer TO shock of corn
just as you and | bound it, just as you
and | threw it, just as you and !
husked it, There may come some
practical and useful and comforting
I lessons to all our souls, while we think
| of coming in at last like shock of
corn coming in in his season."
1t is high time that the King of Ter
rors were thrown out of the Christian
vocabulary. A vast multitude of peo-
pie talk of death as though it were the
disaster of disasters instead of being
to good man the blessing of bless
ings. 1t is moving out of cold vesti-
bule into a warm temple. 1t is mi
grating into groves of redolence and
perpetual fruitage. Is is II change
from bleak March TO roseate
June 1t is a change of miracles for
garlands. 1t is the transmitting of the
iron handouts of earthly incarceration
into the diamonded wristlets of a
bridal party; or to use the suggestion
of my text, it is only husking time II
is the tearing off of the rough sheath
of the body that the bright and the