The Red Cloud chief., 1892-07-01

tyrdom. IL does not take any strength
to tie him fast. He makes no resist
ancc. o Paul! why not strike for your
life? You have a great many friends
here. With that withered hand just
launch the t~hunderbolt of the people
upon those infamous soldiers. MOI
Paul was not going to interfere with
his WI coronation. He was too glad
to GO. I see him looking up in the face
of his executioncr, and, rs the grim Of
fetal draws the sword, Paul calmly
says: 81 am now ready to be offered,
and the time of my departure is at
hand" But I put my hand over my
eyes. want not To see that last strug-
gle. One sharp, keen stroke, and Paul
does go TO the banquet, and Paul does
dine with the King.
What a transition IL: was! From the
malaria of Rome to the finest climate In
all the universc-thc zone of eternal
beauty and health. His ashes were put
in the catacombs Of Rome. but in one
moment the air of heaven bathed from
his soul the last ache. From ship
wreck, from dungeon, from the biting
Piih vi tllJ lIuWOOu TOuS, lTOLh tuC
sharp sword of the headsman, he goes
into the most brilliant assemblage of
Heaven, n king among kings. multi
tudes of the sainthood rushing out and
stretching forth hands Of welcome; for
l do really think that as on the
right hand Of God Is Christ, SO on the
right of Christ Is Paul, the second great
In Heaven.
Now, why cannot all the old people
have the same holy glee as that aged
man had? Charles /, when he was
combing his head, found n gray hair,
and he sent it to the queen rs a great
joke; but old age is really no joke at all.
For the last forty years you have been
dreading that which ought to have been
an exhilaration. You say you most fear
the struggle ut the moment the soul
and body part. But millions have en-
dured that moment, and may not we rs
we'll? They got through with 1t and so
can we. Besides this all medical men
agree in saying that there is probably
no struggle Mt the last-not SO much
pain as the prick of a pin, the seeming
signs Of distress being altogether invol-
untary. But you say: at Is the uncer-
tainty Of the future" Now, child of God,
do not play the In fidel. After God has
fillod the Bible till it can hold no more
with stories of the good things ahead,
better not talk Of uncertainties. But
you say: 81 cannot bear to think Of
parting from friends here" II you are
old, you have more friends in heaven
than harn yret ta1xa xhA ,a,,ea, Tai.
som large sheet of paper and begin to
record the names of those who have
cmigrated TO the other shore; the COM
panions Of your school days, your early
business associates, the friends OF mid
life, and those who more recently went
away. Can 1t be that they have gone
so long you do not caro- any more about
them. and you do not want their socie-
ty? Oh no. There have been days
when you have felt that you could not
endure another moment away from
their blessed companionship. They
have gone. You say you would not
like to bring them back to this world
Of trouble, even II you had the power.
1t would not do to trust you. God would
not give you resurrection power. Be-
fore tomorrow morning you would
be rafting at the gates Of the ceme-
terry crying to the departed: Come
back to the cradle where you slept!
Come back to the hall where you used
to play! Come back to the table where
you used to sit!" And there would be O
great burglary In Heaven. No, no.
God will not trust you with resurrec-
ton power; but He compromises the
matter and says: "You cannot bring
them where you are, but you can go
where they are" They are more lovely
now than yer. We're they beautiful
here they are more beautiful there.
Besides that, it is more healthy there
for you than here, aged man; better
climate there than these hot
and cold winters and late springs;
better hearing; better eyesight; mbre
tonic in the air; more perfume in the
bloom; more sweetness in the song.
Do you not feel, aged man, sometimes
as though you would like to got your
arm and foot free? Do You not feel as
though you would like to throw away
spectacles and canes and crutches?
Would you not like to feel the spring
and elasticity and mirth Of an eternal
boyhood? When the point at which
you start from this world is old age,
and the point to which you go is eternal
juvenescence, aged man, clap your
hands at the anticipation, and say, in
perfect rapture of soul: 'The tire of
my departure is ut hand"
l remark, again, all these ought to
feel this joy Of the text who have a
holy curiosity to know what is beyond
this earthly terminus. And who has
not any curiosity about It? Paul, I
suppose, had the most satisfactory view
of Heaven and he says: 1T does not ap-
pear what we shall be-" 1t is like look
ing through n broken telescope. Now
we see through u glass darkly." Can
you tell me anything about that heay.
emily place? You ask me n thousand
questions about it that l can not an
swer. ask you a thousand questions
about 1t that you can not answer. And
do You wonder that Paul was SO glad
when martyrdom gave him "a chance to
M nwa,. mud rnalya I;a... =.