The Globe-republican., 1892-12-16

The tezt selected was Job Y. 20, '.As .
shock Of corn cometh In in his season"
This is the time Of the year Tor husk-
ing corn. If you have recently been in
the fields of PENNSYLVANIA, or New Jer-
sev, or New York. or New England. or
in any of the country districts, you know
| that the corn is all cut The sharp
knife struck through the stalks and left
them all along the fields until . man
came with a bundle OF straw and twisted
| few Of these wisps Of straw into band,
and then, gathering up as much OF tue
corn as he could compass with his arms.
he bound it with this wisp of straw, and
then stood 1t in the field in what is called
a shock. There are now at least two
billion bushels of corn either standing in
the shock or having been already
husked. The farmers gather one day on
one farm, and then another day on an
other farm, and they put on their rough
husking apron. and they take the husk-
ing-peg, which is peace of iron with q
leathern loop fastened to the hand, and
with it unsheath the corn from the husk
and toss it into the golden heap. Then
the wagons come along and take 1t to
the corncrib.
About corn as an important cereal or
corn as a metaphor the Bible is constant
ly speaking. You know abort the peo-
pie in famine coming to buy corn Of
Joseph, and the foxes on fire running
into the standing corn" and about the
oxen treading out the corn, and about
the seven thin ears of corn that in Pha-
roah's dream devoured the seven good
ears, and the ''parched corn" handed to
beautiful Ruth by the harvesters Of
Bethlehem, and Abigairs five measures
of "parched corn" with which she
hoped to appease the enemies of her
drunken husband, and David's descrip-
ton of the valleys covered over with
corn" and the handful of corn in the
the ear" and Christ's Sabbath morning
walk through corn fields, and the disci-
Piles "plucking ears of corn" and so I
time referred to in my text, "As shock
of corn cometh in in his season."
How wildly to all those of US who
were born in the country comes the re.
membrance of husking time. We waited
for it as for gala dav of the year. 1t
was called frolic. The trees having for
the most part shed their foliage, the
farmers waded through the fallen leaves
and came through the keen morning air
to the gleeful company. The frosts,
which had silvered everything during
the night, began to melt off the top Of
the corn shocks While the farmers we're
waiting for others they stood blowing
their breath through their fingers or
thrashing their arms around their body
to keep up warmth of circulation. Roar
ing mirth greeted the late farmer as he
crawled over the fence. Joke and repair
tee and rustic salutation abounded. All
ready now!
The men take hold of the shock of corn
and hurl it PROSTATE, while the moles and
mice which have secreted themselves
there for warmth attempt escape. The
withe of straw is unwound from the corn
shock. and the stalks heavy with the
wealth of grain are rolled into two
bundles, between which the huskers sits
down. The husking peg is thrust in un-
til it strikes the corn, and then the fingers
rip off the sheathing of the ear, and there
is a crack as the root of the corn is snap
ped off from the husk, and the grain dis
imprisoned is hurled up into the sunlight.
The air is so tonic, the work is so very
exhilarating, the company is so blithe
that some laugh. and some shout, and
some sing, and some banter, and some
tease a neighbor for romantic ride
along the edge Of the woods in an even
tide in carriage that holds but two, and
some prophesy as to the number of BUSH
els to the field. and others go into COM
petition as to which shall rifle the most
corn shocks before shutdown.
After awhile the dinner horn sounds
from the farmhouse, and the table is sur
rounded by group Of jolly and hungry
men. From all the pantries and the Gel
lars and the perches of fowl on the place
the richest dainties come, and there is
carnival and neighborhood reunion, and
q scene which fills our memory. part
with smiles. but more with tears, as we
remember that the farm belongs now to
other owners, and other hands gather in
the field, and many of those who mingled
in that merry busking scene have them
selves been reaped ''like as shock of
corn cometh in in his season.
There is a difference Of opinion as to
whether the orientals knew anything
about the corn as it stands in our fields,
but recent discoveries have found out
that the Hebrew knew all about Indian
maize, for there have been grains of
corn picked up out of ancient crypts and
exhumed from hiding places where they
were put down many centuries ago, and
they have been planted in our time and
have come up just Indian maize as we
raise in New York and Ohio: so l am
right when / say that my text may refer
to shock Of corn just as you and l
bound it; just as you and threw it; just
as you and l husked it. There may
come some practical and useful and COM
forting lessons to all our souls while we
think Of coming In ct last .'like q shock
( corn cometh in In his season"
tits high time that the King Of Terrors
wefe thrown out of the Christian vocab-
ulary. A vast multitude OF people talk
Of death ss though It were the disaster
Of disasters, instead Of being 70 good
man tae blessing Of blessings It's NOV
ing out of cold vestibule into . warm
temple. 1t IS migrating into groves of
redolence and perpetual fruitaRe. It is
. change from bleak March 20 roseate
June 1t is . change of mauacles for
garlards. 1t is the transmuting Of the
iron handouts Of earthly Incarceration
into tho diamonded wrIstlets Of bridal
party, or, to use the suggestion of my
text it is only huskine time. It Is the