Democratic messenger., 1892-12-31


are better kept, and drunkenness turns
to soorleiy, and bribery, fraud and dis
sipation quit the lan,. Stop, . clock
Ill tie tower Of tAe great United States
Capitol No, no says the clock. Il
have been going on 50 long cannot al
ford 10 top. sounded the birthday Of
American Independence. rang ont the
return Of peace IN 1860. have seen
many Presidents inIugurated | struck
The -af Lincolus assassination. /
have beat time for emancipation rroc-
lanation, aui Chicago ire, and Charles.
ton earthquake. ami cpidemics Of fever
and cholera. Nations never stop. They
march on toward salvation or demoli-
tion. And why should stop: | chime
for the national holidays. toll for the
mighty dead. must 20 on. must 20
on. Tick, toc.S. Tick. tockr There NAV
be a difference of few seconds or a few
minutes III the timepleces. but il Will be
a serious occasion when next Saturday
night about the same hour the family
clocks, and the city clocks. and the ma
tional clocks strike one. two! three,
four. five. six. seven! eight. nine, ten /.
eleven. twelve,
THE DEAD YEAR AND ITS DEAD.
Sorry am to have 1899 depart this
life. 1t has been "a good year. What
bright days, What starry nights, What
harvests. What religious conversations,
What triumphs Of art and science and
invention and enterprise and religion !.
But, alas. how sacred ii has been with
sorrows! What pillows hot with fever
that could not be cooled. What graves
opening wide enough to take down
beauty and strength and usefulues i,
What octosenarians putting down the
staff of earthly pilgrimage aud taking the
crown of heavenly reward. What chill
dren, rs in Bible time. CRYING: NV head
my head. And they carried him to his
mother. and he sat on her knees until
noon and then died" This year went
the chief poet Of England and the chief
poet of America. Our john G.. Whittier
great in literature and simple rs a
child-for did not spend an afternoon
with him in Il barn in the Adirondacks.
and in the evening we played blind
mans buff, he tying over my ewes the
handkerchief while the hotel parlors
rang with the nerrymaking: And Ten
nyson, this year gone-he who for this
particular season of the year wrote:
Ring out. Wild bells, to the wild sky.
The Il! ing cloud. the frosty light
The year j. dying in the night
I,ing out. " lid bells. and I,.t him iii.
What mingling of emotions in this clos
ing year. What orange blossoms for the
marriage altar, and what myrtle for the
tombS of the dead. Hosamnas and lam
entatious in collision. Anthem and
dead march mounting from the same
ivory keys Before this year quite leaves
the earth let il hear our repentance for
opportunities that can never return.
Kind words spoken too late or not spoken
at all. Means of getting good or doing
good 50 completely gone by that the
archangel's voice could not recall them.
Can il be that this year Is closing and
our sins are unfOrgiven, and we have no
certainty that when our last Dec. 81 has
sped away we shall enter Il bliSsful eter-
nifty: The most overwhelmingly solemn
week of all the year is the last week Of
December.
But on opening this subject. "In re-
spect of a holy day rs my text puts it.
or a holiday, a. we moderns write and
pronounce il, | advised that you divide
this season into three chapters-the first
a chapter Of illusirious birthday, the sec
ond chapter Of annual decadence and
the third Il chapter of chronological in
PRODUCTION and this last chapter we have
reached. In olden times there was
style Of closing an old year and opening
n new one that was very suggestive
The family would sit up until twelve
o'clock AT night. and when the clock
struck twelve the family would ali 20
10 the front door of the house, take
down the bar and turn back the lock
and swing the door wide open to let the
old year ont and the new year in. And
that is what we are going 10 do. With
the same measured step that time has
kept since il started it will come to our
door in the closing night of this week.
With what spirit shall we let the new
year iii: have already indicated that
it is to be one Of the greatest years of all
Why" you ask. Have
you any forebodings or premonitions:'
No. Are you expecting the millen-
mum TINS We No. Why, then, say
this about the coming year?' For the
simple reason that find as the years 70
by they become more and more event
full. Compare the Nineteenth century
with the Eighteenth century.
EACH YEAR MORE EvENTFUI.
Compare the first half of this century
with the last half. The surges of this
ocean of time are rolling higher and
higher The forces of right and wrong
are rapidly multiplying, and their strug
giles must be intensified. 1t is a chrono-
logical fact that we are all the time com
ing nearer To the worlds edenization
first and then To its incineration, 10 il.
redemption and lis demolition. And 50
expect that 1898 will he greater wear
than ls92 lis wedding bells viii be
Is obsequies will he sadder
Its scientific discoveries more brilliant.
Its prosperities more significant. IT.
opening more grand. Its termination
more stupendous Look ont for 1893!
Let printers have in their cases of type
plenty of exclamation points To set up n
sudden paragraph. Let the ecunservatories
have profusion Of flowers that can be
twisted into .arlands Let churches have
plenty of room for increased assemblages.
Let men and women have more religion
10 meet the vacillationS aud the exigen-
cies, and the demands. and the raptures.
and the woes of this coming 1899. In
what mood shall we open the door Of the
new year: With faith. strong faith.
buoyant faith. triumphant faith. God
will see you through. His grace will be
sufficient if You trust him. You can 90
TO him at any time and find sympathy.
My little child got hurt one morning
during her mothers absence. We looked
after the case as well as we could. To-
ward night her mother returned, and
for the first time the child cried ami
criad yorif.rnuSlV Solne one said Ia