Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1892-01-11

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don't pity you bit You feel as
ii you could boss the world. But fo1
those In just opposite circumstances
my text comes in with an omnipo-
tence Of meaning. The shadow! Oh,
the shadow! Shadow of bereave-
ment Shadow of sickness. Shadow
of bankruptcy Shadow of mental
depression! Shadow of persecution
Shadow of death! Speak out, O sun
dial of Ahaz, and tell all the people
that God manages the shadow!
AS Hezekiah sat in his palace WIN
dow, wrapped in invalidism and sur
founded by anodynes and cata-
plasms, and looked out upon the
black hand of the only clock known
at that time and saw it move back
ten degrees, he learned a lesson that
majority Of the human race need
this hour to learn-that the best
friend a man ever had controls the
shadow. The setbacks are some
times the best things that can hap
pen.
The great German author Schiller
could not work unless he had in his
room the scent of rotten apples, and
the decay of the fruits of earthly
prosperity may become an inspira-
ton instead of depression Robert
Chambers lame feet shut him up
from other work, and he became the
world renowned publisher and helped
fashion the best literature of the
ages. The painful disorder like that
of Hezekiah called a carbuncle, is
spelled exactly the same as the pre-
cious stone called the carbuncle, and
the pang of suffering may become
the jewel Of immortal value Your
setback, like that of Ahaz's sundial,
may be recovery and triumph
I never had a setback but it turned
out to be a set forward. You never
would have become a Christian if
you had not had setback The
highest thrones in heaven are for the
setbacks. In 1861 the shadow Of the
sundial of this nation was set back
and all things seemed going to ruin,
and it was set back farther in 1862,
and farther in 1868, and still further
in 1865, but there is not an intelligent
and well balanced man, north or
south, east or west, but feels it was
set back toward the sunrise.
TURN THE SHADOWS BACK.
But promised to show you how
the shadows might be turned back.
First, by going much among the
young people. In most family circles
there are grandchildren. By this di-
vine arrangement most of the people
who have passed the meridian of life
can compass themselves by juvenil
ity. It is bad thing for an old man
or old woman to sit looking at the
of their grandchildren shout
ing, Stop that racket" Better join
in the fun Let the eighty -year-old
join the eight-year-
young grandson or granddaughter
Ny father and mother lived to see
over eighty children and grandchil-
dren and great-grandchildren, and
more boisterous crew were never
turned out on this sublunary sphere,
and they all seemed to cry to the old
folks keep young and they did
keep young.
Don't walk with a cane unless you
have to, or only as defense in city
Don't wear glasses stronger than
necessary, putting on number tens
when eighteens will do as well. Don't
go into the company of those who
are always talking about rheuma-
tism and lumbago and shortness of
breath and the brevity Of human life
1t is too much for my gravity to hear
an octogenarian talking about the
shortness of human life From all |
can find out he has always been here,
and from present prospects he is al
ways going to stay. Remain young.
Hang up your stockings in Christmas
time. Help the boys fly the kite.
Teach the girls how to dress their
dolls. Better than arnica for your stiff
joints and catnip tea for your sleep
less nights will be a large dose of
youthful companionship.
THE WORLD Is GROWING BETTER.
Set back the clock of human life.
Make the shadow of the sundial of
Ahaz retreat ten degrees. People
make themselves old by always talk
ing about being old and wishing for
the good old days which were never
as good as these days. From all I
can hear the grandchildren are not
half as bad as the grandparents were.
Matters have been hushed up. But
f you have ever been in a room adj
Joining a room where some very old
people little deaf were talking over
Did times you will find that this age
Ices not monopolize all the young
It may now be hard to get
uo1lno ne0nla 11n early enough in the