Democratic messenger., 1892-10-29

& can understand what that has to do
with his reading John Ruskin's Seven
Lamps of Architecture" or Dante's "Di-
vina COmmedia." The satisfactions and
joys we have as yet had are like the
music boy makes with his first lesson
on the violin compared with what was
evoked from his great orchestra by my
dear and illustrious and transcendent
but now departed friend, Patrick Gil
more. when he lifted his baton and all
the strings vibrated, and all the trum-
pets pealed forth. and all the flutes car
oled, and all the drums rolled, and all
the hoofs of the cavalry charge which
he initiated Were in full beat. Look
ahead! The finger of God points for
ward.
''Oh. but, says some one, IL am get
ting old. aud have touch of rheuma-
tism in that foot, and believe something
is the matter with my heart, and ca. =
not stand Us much as | used to-" Well,
congratulate You. for that shows you
are getting nearer To the 6ne when yo:,
are going to enter immortal youth and
be strong enough TO hurl off the battl,
mcnts of heaven any bandit who by NJ.
heard If burglary might break into the
Golden City. But" says some one. Il
feel so lonely The most of my friends
are gone. and the bereavements of life
have multiplied until this world that
was cnce so bright To me has lost lis
charm" congratulate you, for when
yOu 20 there will be fewer here to hold
you back and more there to pull you in.
Look ahead. The finger of God is point
ing forward. We sit here in church.
and by hymn and prayer and sermon
and Christian association we try to get
into a frame of mind that will be accept
able to God and pleasant TO ourselves.
But what II stupid thing it all is COM
pared with what it will be when we have
gone beyond psalmboOk and sermon and
Bible, and we stand, our last imperfec-
ton gone. in the presence of that charm
of tine uniyerse-the blessed Christ-and
have him look in our face and say: Il
have been watching you and sympathiz-
ing with yon and helping you all these
years, and now You are here. Go where
you please and never know "A sorrow and
never shed a tear. There is your mother
now-she is coming to greet you-and
there is your father, and there are your
children. Sit down under this tree of
life, and on the banks of this river tall
it all over" | tell you there will be
more JOY i'll one minute of that than in
fifty years Of earthly exultation. Look
ahead. Look Mt the finest house on earth
and know that you will have finer one
in heaven. Look up the healthiest pei
son you can find and know you will yet
be healthier. Look up the one who has
the best eyesight-of any one you have ever
heard of. and know You will have better
vision. Listen to the sweetest prima
donna that ever trod the platform, and
know that i'll heaven You will lift a more
enrapturins song than ever enchanted
earthly auditorium.
\ VISION OF sPIENDoR.
My friends. | do not know how we are
going To stand it-Imean the full thrush
Of that splendor Last summer | saw
Moscow. iii some respects the most
splendid city under tine sun. The en-
peror afterwarl asked me if had seen
it, for Moscow is the pride of Russia.
told him yes. and that had seen Mos
COW burn. will tell you what meant.
After examining nine hundred brass
cannons which were picked ont of the
snow after Napoleon retreated from
Moscow. each cannon deep cut with the
letter N" assembled the tower of some
two hundred and fifty feet, Just before
sunset. and on each platform there were
bells. large and small. and climbed up
among the bells. and then as | reached
the top all the bells underneath me
began To ring. and they were joined by
the bells of fourteen hundred towers
and domes and turrets. Some of the
bells sent ont Il faint tinkle of sound, a
sweet naturalization that seemed to
bubble in the air. and others thundered
forth boom after boom. boom after
boom. until il seemed to shake the earth
and fill tho heavens-sounds so weird,
SO sweet, Sc awful. so grand, SO charm
ing, so tremendous, SO soft, so rippling,
SO reverbe;ating-and they seemed to
wreathe and whirl and rise and sink and
burst and roll aud mount and die.
When Napoleon saw Moscow burn it
could not have been more brilliant than
when | saw Ill the fourteen hundred
turrets afiame with the sunset, roofs of
gold and walls of malachite, and archi-
lecture of all colors mingling the brown
of autumnal forests and the blue of
summer heavens. and the confiagration
of morning skies, and the green of rich
meadows. and the foam of tossing seas.
The mingling of so many colors with so
many sounds was an enhancement
almost too much for human nerves or
human eyes or human ears. expect TO
see nothing to equal it until You and
see heaven. But that will surpass it and
make the memory of what / saw that
July evening in Moscow almost tame
and insipid. All heaven aglow and all
heaven a-ring-not in the sunset, but in
the sunrise. Voices of our own kindred
mingling with the doxologics of empires.
Organs of eternal worship responding tn
the trumpeis that have wakened the
dead. Nations in white. Centuries in
coronation. Anthems like the voice of
many waters. Circle of martyrs. Circle
of apostles. Circle of prophets. Thrones
OF cneruDln. 1nroleS OF SeraIpliin.
Throne of archangel. Throne of Christ.
Throne of God. Thrones! Thrones.
Thrones. The finger of God points that
way. Stop not until you reach that
place. Through the atoning Christ all
speak of and more may be yours and
mine. Do you not now hear the chime
of the bells of that metropolis of the uni
rS.2 Nm vO,1 tof Sc,a the Shim,neriu.,
of the towers: Good morning.
innaDiicd Itirh I-Iaccs.
The highest lace III the world regu-
larly inhabited is i'll Thibet. 10000 feet
above sea level. The highest inhabited
place in the Americas is at Galera. Perm.
15.G35 feet above sea lcvel.-St. Louis
Republic.