Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-12-16
ISLAND POND. VERMONT DECEMBER l6. 1892

sinner whom you taught to pray, and tn
outcast whom YOU pointed TO God for shel
ter. will say: "You did it 70 theml Yol
did II TO MeF'
Again the scene OF the text imoresses up
on US the strength OF maternal attachment
Not many men would have had courage oil
| endurance for the awful mission of Rzoah
To dare the rage of wild beasts, and sit from
May TO October unsseltere], aud to watch
the corpses of unsheltered children, was {
work that nothing but the maternal heart
could have ACCOMPLISHED. lt needed mor'
strength than TO stand before opened batter
les or to walk in calmness the deck of
founderiny steamer.
There is no emotion so completely unset
| fish as maternal affection. Conjugal lovc
expects thu return OF many kindnesses ant
| attentions. Filial love expects paternal care
| or is heipet by the memory of past watch
| fulness. But the strength OF a mothers love
| Is entirely independent of the past aud the
future, and is, OF all emotions the purest
The child has done nothing in the past tc
earn kindness, ani In the future it may
grow uD to maltreat its parent but still
from the mothers heart there goes forth
inconsumable affection.
Abuse cannot offend it; neglect cannot
chill 1t; time cannot efface IL; death cannot
destroy il. For harsh words il has gentle
chiding; for the blow it has benefcent min
istry; for neglect it has increasing watch
fulness. II weeps at the prison door over the
incarcerated proiigai, aud pleads tor par ion
at the governors feet aud is forced away
by compassionate friends from witnessing
the struggles of the gallows Other lights
60 out, but this burns on without extingulsh-
ment as i'll n Gloom-:trucx night you may
see single star, one Of Coils p.ckets with
cleaning bayonet of light guarding the out.
posts OF heaven.
The MarcaioneSs OF Spaiara, when the
earthquake at Messina occurred, was car
rie1 out insensible from the falling houses.
o. coming TO her senses she fouad that her
infant had not been rescued. She went
back and psrshe1 in the ruins. Illustration
OF ten thousand mothers who in as many
different WAYS have sacrificed themselves
for their children.
On, ueSpise not mothers lovel IL here
totore you have bsel negligent of such q
one and you have still opportunity for
reparation, make haste. IL you could only
Just look i'll for an hours visit to her, you
would rouse up in tho aged one q whole
world OF blissful memories. What If she
does sit without talking much, She
watched you for many months when you
knew not how to talk at all. What il she
has many ailments 70 tell aboutI During
fifteen years you ran to her with every lit
tie scratch and bruise, and she doctored
your little finger as carefully as a surgeon
would bind ths worst fracture.
You say she is childish now; | wonder IL
she ever saw you when you were childish.
You have no patience t. wait with her on
the street she moves so slowly: | wonder il
she remem oerS the time when you were glad
enough to g slowly. You complain at the
axnaDca ~ nroytiinu fnr her now. I wnn 1ar
what your financial income was from one
year to ten years of age. Do not begrudge
what you do for the old folks. | care not
how much you did for th-m they have done
more for YOU.
But from the weird text OF the morning
comes the rushing in upon my soul thought
that overpowers me. This watching by
Rlzpah was an after death watching.
wonder IL now there is an after death watch
ing. | think there is. There are RiZoahs
WHO have passe1 death and are still watch
ing. They look down from their supernal
AMI glorltied state upon us, AMI Is not that
an after death watclinSI cannot believe
that those VINO before tueir death were in
terested in US have slnco their death become
Indifferent as to what happens TO us,
Not one hour OF the SIX months during
which X zpah watched, seatei upon the
rucSs, was sue more alert or dilgent or
armed Tor US lnlu our UlOLHcI, IL Blpi lLcJ,
is alert and dingsnt AMI armed for us. 1t
is not now RlzDah on a rock, but RlZpah on
a throne. How long has your mother been
deaii Do you thinI she mas been dead long
enough TO forget your Ny mother has been
dead twenty-nne years. l bellevs she
knows more ABOUT me now than sue did
wneu stood in her presence, AMI am no
opiritu.list either. Tne Bibls slys, Are
they not all mInisterin5 spirits sent forth to
minister to them that shall be heirs OF sal
vstton."
Young man, better look out what you do
an where you 20, Tor your glortiel mother
is looking at YOU You sometimes say TO
yourself What would mother say IL she
knew thsy' She does know. You might
cneat her once, but you cannot cheat her
now. Does it embarrass us to think she
knows all about US uowy IL she had to put
up with 50 much when she was here, surely
she will not be the less patient or excusaiory
now.
Ol, this trem su ious thought OF my tsxt
this after death watching! what an up
lifting consideration, anl what comfort
ing thought! Young mother, you who
have Just lost your babe, AMI who feel that
neei OF nearer solacs than that which
comes from ordinary sympathy, your
mother knows al about 1t. You cannot run
in ami talk it all over with her as on would
II sac were still a terrestrial resident but It
will comfort you some, | thinS-yea, it will
comfort you gool deal-to know that she
un lerstands it all. You SEQ that the
yelocties of the heavenly conditions ara SO
great that it would not take her half
sec md TO come to your bereft heard
Oh, these mothers in heaveul They can
do more for us now than before they went
away. The bridge between this world and
the next is not broken down. Thev approach
thu bridge from both ways departing spir'
its and coming spirits disimprisonei spirits
AMI sympathizng spirits. And so let us
walk as to be worthy Of the supernal cham
pionships, and il to any OF us life on earth is
a hard grind, let us understand that II we
watch faithfully anl trust fully our Blessed
Lord there Will be correspon ling reward
in the LAM OF psac,, ani that Rzpah, who
once wept on a rock, now reigus on
fhrnnp