The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-01-01

by the help or Sfod, get the human
race up to the perfect nerve and per-
feet muscle and perfect brain and
perfect form of that perfect child
before whom, nigh twenty hundred
years ago the wise men bent their
tired knees in worship
GOD HoNoRED THE FIELDS.
Behold also in that first Christmas
night that God honored the fields.
CoIfe in shepherd boys, to Bethle-
hem and see the child NO" they
say, I'VE are not dressed good enough
to come in" eyes, you aro; come
in" Sure enough, the storms and
the night dew and the brambles have
ma !e rough work with their apparel,
but none have a better right to come
In They were the first to hear, the
music of that Christmas night The
first announcement of Saviours
birth was made to those men in the
fields.
There were wiseacres that night in
Bethlehem and Jerusalem snoring in
deep sleep, and there were salaried
officers of government, who, hearing
Of 1t afterward may have thought
That they ought to have had the first
news of such great event; some one
dismounting from swift camel at
their door and knocking till, at some
sentinel's question, "Who comes
there2" the great ones of the palace
might have been told of the celestial
arrival. No; the shepherds heard
the first two bars of the music, the
first in the major key and the last in
the subdued minor, GLORY to God in
the highest, and on earth peace, good
will to men," All, yes; the fields
We're honored.
The old shepherds with plaid and
crook have for the most part van
ished, but we have grazing-ouI
United States pasture fields and
prairie about fol'ty-fve million sheep
and all their keepers ought to fol
low the shepherds of my text, and all
those who toll in fields, all vine dress
ers, all orchardists, all husbandmen,
Not only that Christmas night, but
all up and down the worlds history
God had been honoring the fields.
Nearly all the messiahs of reform
and literature and eloquence and law
and benevolence have come from the
fields Washington from the fields.
Jefferson from the fields. The presi-
Dental. martyrs, Garfield and Lin
coin, from the fields. Henry Clay
from the fields. Daniel Webster from
the fields Martin Luther from the
fields Before this world is right the
overfowing populations of our crowd
ed cities will have to take to the
fields Instead of ten merchants in
rivalry as to who shall sell that one
apple, we want at least eight of them
to go out and raise apples. Instead
of ten merchants desiring to sell that
one Bushel of wheat, we want at least
eight of them to go out and raise
wheat.
The world wants now more hard
hands, more bronzed cheeks, more
muscular arms. To the fields! God
honored them when he woke up the
shepherds by the midnight anthem;
and he will, while the world lasts,
continue to honor the fields. When
the shepherds crook was that famous
night stood against the wall of the
Bethlehem khan it was a prophecy
of the time when thrasher's fail and
farmers pillow and woodlands ak and
ox's yoke and sheafbinder's rake
shall surrender to the God who made
the country. as man made the town.
GOD HoNoRED MOTHERHOOD.
Behold also that on that Christmas
night God honored motherhood. Two
angels on their wings might have
brought an infant Saviour to Bethle-
hem without Mal.y's being there at
all. When the villagers on the morn
ing of December 26 awoke, by divine
arrangement and in some unex
planned way the child Jesus might
have been found in some comfortable
cradle of the village. But no, no
Motherhood for all time was to be
consecrated, and one of the te:2derest
relations was to be the maternal re
lation, and one of the sweetest words
mother.
In all ages God has honored gooG
motherhood. John Wesley had 6
good mother; St. Bernard had good
mother; Samuel Budget a good mo
Their; Doddridge a good mother
Walter Scott good mother Benja
min Westa good mother. In grea,
audience, most of whom were Chris
tians, asked that all those who ha(
been blessed of Christian mother
arise, and almost the entire assembly
stood up. Don't you see how impor
tant it is that all motherhood be con
secrated?
Why did Titan, the Italian artist
when he sketched the Madonna, mak'
it an Italian face2 Why did Rubens
the German artist, in his Madonna
make it a German face? Why dit
Joshua Reynolds, the English artist
il his Madonna, make it an Englisl
face9 Why did AIurillo, the Spanish
artist, in his Madonna, make it
Spanish face? | never heard, but
think they took their own mothers a
the type of Mary, the mother o
Christ. When you hear some one, il
sermon or Grafton speak in the ab
stract of a good, faithful, homes
mother, your eyes fill up with tears
while you say to yourself. that wa
my mother"
The first word a child utters is ap
to be Mother" and the old man il
his dying dream calls Mother
mother" 1t matters not whethe
she was brought up in the surround
ings of city and in afluent home
and was dressed appropriately witt
reference to the demands of moderl
life, or whether she wore the oil
time cap and great round spectacles
and apron of her own make. and kni