The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-01-21
THE EAR AND THE HUSK.
Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage Finds a
New Parallel
Tho Body and Soul Of Man Typihed by
tho Ear Of Corn In the Husk-
Il the Ear Ripe for the
Maater?

oy hev. i. Dewitt Talmage In the
Brooklyn tabernacle from the text:
As shock Of corn cometh in in his season
Job ". Is
This is the time of the year for husl-
ing corn. II you have recently been in
the fields of Pennsylvania, or New Jer-
sey, or New York, or New England, or
In any of the country districts, you
know that the corn is all cut The
sharp knife stuck through the stalks
and left them all along the fields until
q man came with a bundle of straw and
twisted few of these wisps of straw
into band. and then, gathering up as
much of the corn as he could compass
with his arms, he bound It with this
wisp of straw, and then stood it 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 huskcd. The farm
ers gather, one day on one farm, and
they put on their rough husking apron,
and they take the husking peg, which
is piece of iron with leathern loop
fastened to the hand, and with 1t un-
sheath the corn from the husk and toss
it into golden heap. Then the wagons
come along and take it to the corn
crib.
About corn as an important cereal or
corn as a metaphor the Bible is con-
stantly speaking. You know about the
people 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
Pharaoh's dream devoured the seven
good ears, and the "parched corn"
handed to beautiful Ruth by the har-
vcsters of Bethlehem. and Abigai's
five measures of '.parched corn" with
which she hoped to appease the enc
mics Of her drunken husband, and Da-
vid's description of the valleys .'cov-
nred over with corn,' and "the hand
full of corn in the earth" and ''the full
corn in the ear" and Christ's Sabbath
morning walk through corn fields, and
the disciples ''plucking ears of corn"
md SO am not surprised to find corn
husking time referred to in my text:
AS a shock OF corn comcth in in his
season.
How wildly to all those of ms who
were born h the country comes the re-
membrancc of husking time. We
waited for it as for gala day Of the
year. It was called frolic. The
trees for the most part having 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-shoclxs While the farmers were
waiting for others, they stood blowing
their breath through their fingers, or
thrasing their arms around their body
to keep mp warmth of circulation.
Roaring mirth greeted the late farmer
as he crawled over the fence. Joke
and repartee and rustic salutation
nbounded. 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 to 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 huslxer
sits down. The huslxing-peg is thrust
In until it strikes the corn, and then
the fingers rip off the sheathing of the
ear, and there is crack as the root Of
the corn is snapped off from the husk,
and the grain disimprisoned h hurled
ND into the sunlight. The air is SO
tonic, the work is so very exhilarating,
the company is so blithc, that some
laugh, and some shout, and some sing,
and some banter, and some tease q
neighbor for a romantic ride along the
edge of the woods in an cventide. in a
carriage that holds but two, and some
prophesy as to the number of bushels
to the field, and others go into competi-
ton as to which shall rifle the most
corn-shocks before shutdown. After a
while the dinner-horn sounds from the
farmhouse, and the table is surrounded
by group of jolly and hungry men.
From all the pantries and cellars and
the perches of fowl on the place the
richest dainties come, and there is
carnival and neighborhood reunion.
and scene which fills our memory,
part with smiles, but more with tears
ms we remember that the farm belongs
now to other owners, and other hands
gather in the fields, and many OF those
who mingled in that merry huskine
scene have themselves been reaped
..like as shock of corn cometh in in
his season.
There is difference Of opinion rs x
whether the Orientals knew anything
about the corn as it now stands in Out
fields; but recent discoveries have
found out that the Hebrews knew al
about Indian maize, for there have
been grains Of corn picked up out o.
ancient crypts and exhumed from hid
ing places where they were put dowr
many centuries ago, and they have beez
planted in our time and have come NJ
lust such Indian maize as we raise II
New York and Ohio; 20 ! am righ'
when say that my text may refer TO
shock Of corn just as you and bound
it. lust as you and threw 1t, just q
You and huslxed it. There may come
some practical and useful and comfort
ing lessons to all Of our souls while w
think Of coming in ct last like
shock Of corn coming in in his season.
II is high time that the king OF ter
rors were thrown ont OF the Christian
vocabulary. A vast multitude OF people
talk of death as though It were the dis