Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-01-06


lty and humanity. Invisible deity, muscle 4
and nerved and ieshed In masculine phys
! ique. A child and yet God
Why, IL the meteor had not pointed down
that night, some angel would have rushed
down and pointed with his glittering scepter.
Isaiah and David and Ezekiel, who foretold
the coming, would have descended from
their thrones and stood on the roof OF the
+ barn or in some way designated the honored
/ locality As the finger of light that Deem
Der % pointed to the straw cradle, now all
/ the fingers Of Christendom this moment
fingers OF childhood and old age, fingers Of
sermon and song and decoration and fes-
tivity, point to the straw cradle. Am | not
right in saying that the first OF the three
chapters of the holidays should be devoted
| to the illustrious birthtaYi BY song and
! prayer and solemn reflection and charities
! today, aud by gifts and trees that bear fruit
In an hour after they are planted, and family
/ gathering and hilarities sounding from cellar
TO garret tomorrow, keep Christmas.
AS far as possible gather the children and
the grandchildren, but put no estoppel on
! racket whether OF laughter or swift feet or
| toys In shape Of rail trains or trumpets or
infant efilgy. Let the old folks for one day
( at least say nothing about rheumatism, or
prospect OF early demise, or the degen oracy
, OF modern times. or the poison in confec-
} II 1Ou sltu biic iOASt, 10
/ tire from it for q little while into some other
room and stop your ears. Christmas for
, children without plenty OF noise is no Christ
mas at all. IL children and grandchildren
cannot have full swing during the holidays
when will they have it? They will be
! still soon enough, and their feet will
slacken their pace, and 1.-THE turdens Of life
will bear them down. Houses get awfniy
still when the children are gone.
/ l.tt tkn IL
such resounding mirth that you can hear
the echoes twenty yesrs after they are dead.
By religious celebration to-day and by do
mestic celebration tomorrow keep Christ
mas As for our beloved church, we to-
morrow night mean to set the children OF
our Sabbath-school wild with delight, and
| in The Christian Herald, with which | am
connected, we are celebrating the holidays
by sending out from two to four thousand
Bibles day, and they will continue to go
out by express by messengers and by mails
until we have distributed at least one hun
drei thousand copies Of the good old Book
on which Christmas is bPilt, and which gives
the ouly healthful Interpretation OF these
swift flying years
The second chapter OF the holidays must
speak of annual decidence. This is the last
Sabbath OF the year. The steps Of the last
year are getting short, for it Is old now.
! When IL waved the sprin. time blossoms the
year was young, and when 1t swung the
scythe and cradle through the summer hsr
vest fields tae year was strong but it is get
ting out of breath now, and after six more
throbs OF the pulse will be dead. We cannot
stop this annual deci1encs. Set all the
clocks back set all the watches back, set all
the chronometers back, but you cannot
set time bIck. For the oil family
clock you might suppose that time would
have especial respect, AMI that II
YOU took hold of those old hands on the facs
OF that centenarian OF a tiulepiecs and
pushed them back you might expect that
time would stop or retreat for at least few
minutes. mo, no" says the old family
clock. II must 60 or. | saw your father
and mother on their wedding day. struck
the hour OF your nativity. counted the
testal hours of the day in which you brought
home bride sounded the knsll at your
fathers death. | toilet at your mothers
departure. Yea, | must sound your own
going out of life ! must go on. 1 mus. 60
on. Tick, tockI Tick, tock!'
But there is q great city clock high uo in
the tower. There are so many wrongs In
all our cities to be rightsd, SO many evils tc
be extirpatel. so many prisons to b
sauitaried-stop the city CLOCK until all thes
things are done. Let common council anc
the people Of the great town decree that th'
city hall clock shall stop. We do not wan
the sins of 1892 to bs handel over TO 1898
We do no: want the young year TO inherit
the misfortunes OF the old year. BY ladder
lifteI to the tower AMI by strong hand
take hold and halt the city clock. mo! no |!
SAYS the city clock. al cannot wait unit
YOU correct all evils or soJthe all sorrow o
drive out all sin. havs been counting tn,
steps of your progress asa city. hay
seen your opportunities. | have deploreC
you neglectS, but time wasted Is wasteC
forever. | must go on. l must go on
Ticx, tockl TIcx, tockr' But In the towel
OF the capitols at Washington aud LondoI
and Berlin AMI Vienna and all the grea
national capitals there are CLOCKS
Suppose that by presidential proclams
ton and resolution of the senate ami hous
of representatives our national clock in tn
CAPITOL turret bs ordered to stop. "Stop
o clock, until sectional animosities ar
cooled of, until our Sabbaths ara bette
kept, AMI drunkenness turns to sobriety
and bribery, fraud aud dissipation quit th
landl Stop, o cloc; in the tower OF tn
United States Capitolm "No, nor says tn
clock. II have been going on so long l car
not afford to stop. I sounded the birthda
of American Independence. | rang out tn
return of peace in 1875. | have seen man
presidents inluSu-ate1. l struck tn
hour OF Lincoin's assassination. l hav
beat time for emancipation pro'
lamation, and Chicago fire, and Charlesto
earthquake, aud epidemics Of fever an
cholera. Nations never stop. They marc
on toward salvation or demolition. An
why should stop; | chime for the natiol
al holidays. I toll for the mighty dead.
must go onl | must go on Tick, tocl
. Tick, tocki' There may be difference OF
few seconds or a few minutes In the tim
pieces, but 1t will be serious occasion whe
Z next Saturday night about ths same ho'
/ the family clocks, aud the city clocks, on
Q the national clocks strike onel twol tnre
, fourl fivel ski sevenl eightl ninel to-
0 eleveni twelvel
o Sorry ana to have 1892 depart this III
= 1t has been good year. What bright day
4 What starry nights! What harvestsl VIII
o religious conversational What triumphs
1 art aud science and Invention and enterpri
Y and religion But, al4s, how sicre1 1t b
r been with sorrowsi What pillows hot wi
n fever that could not bs cooledl What grav
o opening wide enough to take down beau
i and strength and ussfulneSsl What oci
It genarians putting down the staff OF earth
a pilgrimage and taking the crown OF heaven
l. rewardl What children, as Ia Bible tin
CRYING: "My head, my head And they CARR
Il him to his mothei, and he sat on her kne
Il until noon an then died" This year we
q tn9 CleL pO6b VI Ahsihuu ohu oto 80
4 uoet of America. Our John @. Whittier
Il great In literature and simple rs child
O. For did not spend an afternoon with him
.. a barn in tho Adirondacks, and In the ev;
10 ing We played blindmau's buff, he tyt
N over my eyes the handkerchief while
rs hotel parlors rang with the merry mak''
10 And Tennyson, this year gone-lo VINO
re this particular season Of the year wrote:
~ Ring out, wild bells, to the wild skh
as TIE flying cloud, the frosty light
er The year Is dying In the night.
or Ring out. wild bells. tnd lot him die.
ke What mingling of emotions in this clos
ke yearl What orange blossoms for the m
m riage altar, and wnat myrtle for the ton
et of the dead! Hosannas aud lamsnta tions
ss- collision. Anthem and dead march mou
ar ing from the same ivory keys. Before
en year quite leaves the earth et ~ near our ns
ot rrat,,rn Kipd words sDoken too late or