Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-04-24
that is told.u Psalms 900

U0dU Is UOlU, ." PSALMS SU:J
This Psalm was probably written by
Moses during the wanderings of the
children of Israel through the will
derness. Like sailors on the sea, these
the relation of stories around the
glowing watch fires. And from this
scene their leader drew this picture of
life. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. The memories of the
past have been surging through my
soul during the last few days, and [
see a beauty in this figure of speech
which I never saw before. The lives
of men tell different tales, some are
struggling and toiling after wealth,
and it takes them long time to learn
the truth that we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain that
we can carry nothing out. Life with
others is a squandering of fortune and
a realizing of the truth that the way
of transgressors is hard. Why is the
10Th Chap. of Luke so fascinating? Be-
cause when Christ told it, he told the
history of thousands. Another is the
history of goodness, philanthropy,
etc. How valuable is such a life.
When one like Howard leaves his
home, travels far, suffers much, as
sociates with prisoners and disease,
finds out by experience the privations,
cruelties and injustices which are
practiced on prisoners, and then
writes and pleads until human sym
pathy is stirred, governments are
awakened, and the crushed and help
less are relieved. "We spend our
years as tale that is told" and yet
one life may touch and mould and
brighten thousands. Charles Dickens
saw the cruelty to which children
were often subjected in the private
boarding schools of my native land;
he saw the expressions and privations
of the poor, the injustice and procras-
tinations of the courts, he seized his
pen and stood forth in their defence;
his stories had point; he pepned his
burning thoughts and sent forth his
cutting sarcasms until all England
was moved, and these evils almost
wiped away. Thousand to day should
lay their garlands with gratitude on
his grave.
The years of our lives are like chap
tiers of book. The story is worked
out through them. You all know in
reading a story that some chapters
are of greater interest than others.
Some seem dry and almost unneces-
sary, while others bring things to a
focus. A turning point is reached,
and the blood tingles through the
veins; the excitement is intense. So
it is with our years. Some seem of
greater Importance than others. In
every life there is some critical pc
turn. But though some chapters or
years of our lives may seem less in--
teresting and important than the oths,
ers, yet they must not be sighted or
despised, for in almost every case they
play an important part in those which
are to follow. The world talks nof
lucky strokes of fortune, of hitting
the mark by arrows shot at venture.
Few and doubtful are those cases.
Most of the startling triumphs of to-
day are the result of long years of
labor and thought. Another thought
in connection with this figure of
speech is that each day, like sentenc-
es of a chapter, contributes to the
whole. We sometimes talk of lost
days and hours, but there are no such
things. We meet our lives again, and
lost opportunities will find us at last.
Again a great many tales are written
which are never published; a great
many which are published soon pass
away, because they are purposeless.
So it is with many lives. If you would
have yours remembered, live for
something. Do not merely exist.
Live! Live for Godl Live for men!
Live to lift up and make the world
better!
--wrsacs <use ozrz----