Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-12-26

tlents sleeve, and you put your finger
on the pulse, and it is getting weaker
and weaker, and the pulse stops. and
you hardly know whether the life has
gone or not. Indeed, you cannot tell
when she goes away, she goes away so
calmly. Perhaps it is 4 o'clock in the
morning, and you have the bed wheel.
ed around to the window, and the dy-
ing one looks out into the night sky,
and shesees something that attracts her
attention, and you wonder what it is.
Why, it is star. 1t is a star that
out of its silver rim is pouring super
natural light into that dying expert
ence. And you say, What is it that
you are looking at2" She says, 1T is
a STAR" You say, what star is it that
seems so we'll to please you?" "Oh,"
she says, that is the morning star
Jesus" would like to have my death
bed under that evangelistic star-l
would like to have my eye on that star,
so could be assured of the morning.
Then the dash of the surf of the sea OF
death would only be the billowing up
of the promise, when thou passest
through the waters, / will be with thee.
and the rivers. they shall not overflow
thee" All other lights will fail-th'
light that falls from the scroll of fame
the light that flashes from the gem
the beautiful apparel, the light tina
flames from the burning lamps of
banquet-but this light buns on an,
burns on. Paul kept his eye on that
morning star, until he could say:"
am now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand. / hav'
fought the good fight. have fnishe'
my course. | have kept the faith.
Edward Payson kept his eye on tina
star until he could say, THE breezes @
heaven fan me-" DR.. Goodwin KEEP,
his eye on that evangelistic star until
he could say, II am swallowed up in
Cod" John Tenant kept his eye on
that evangelistic star until he could
say, Welcome, sweet Lord Jesus
welcome, eternity" No other star ever
pointed a mariner into SO safe harbor.
| No other star ever sunk its silvered an
chor into the waters. No other star
ever pierced such accumulated cloud,
or beckoned with such holy luster.
With lanterns and torches and a
guide, we went down in the Mammoth
cave of Kentucky. You may walk IA
miles and see no sunlight. 1t is stu
pendous place. Some places the roof OF
the cave a hundred feet high. The grot-
toes filled with weird echoes, cascades
falling from invisible height to invisible
depth. Stalagmites rising up from the
floor of the cave-stalactites descending
from the roof of the cave, joining each
other, and making pillars of the AL
mighty s sculpturing. There are rosettes
of amethyst in halls of gypsum. As
the guide carries his lantern ahead OF
you, the shadows have an appearance
supernatural and spectral. The dark
ness is fearful. Two people, getting
lost from their guide only for few
hours, years ago, were demented, ano
for years sat in their insanity. You
feel like holding your breath as yoV
walk across the bridges that seem Z
span the bottomless abyss. The guid'
throws his calcium light down into th'
caverns. and the light rolls and tosse
from rock to rock and from depth U
depth, making at every plunge new
revelation of the awful power that coui'
have made such place as that.
A sense of sutfocation comes upoi
YOU as you think that you are 200 Zee
in a straight line from the sunlit sur
face of the earth. The guide afte
awhile takes you into what is caiie'
the Star Chamber, +" and then he say
TO YOU. sit here," and then he take
the lantern and goes down under IN
r.. ks, and it gets darker and darker
+ until the night is 80 thick that the nan
, an inch from the eye is unooserVaDie
And then, by kindling one OF the Ian
terms and placing it in a cieft OF IN
rock. there is a reflection cast on tn
dome of the cave, and there are stai
coming out in constellations--a oril
, liant night heayens--and you lnvoiul
| tarily exclaim; Beautiful beantifulI
, Then he takes the lantern down IN oInt
, dentbs of the cavern, and wanders Oh
, and wanders off, until he comes U
. from behind the rocks gradually ana
seems like the dawn of the morning, ail
II oets brighter and brighter. The gnie
. ia a skilled ventriloquist, and ne ip
: totes the voices of the morning, al
soon the gloom is all gone. ana yS q
: stand congratulating yourself over - -
: wonderful spectacle. Well. tnere aio ,
great many people who look down ~, IN
. tbe grave as great cavern Ah'
= thirt II is a thousand miles subierraI
: cons and all the echoes seem 70 DO u
= voices of despair, and the cascades sec
= = 20 be the falling tears that always la
- aDd the gloom of earth seems comm
;, an a. IN stalagmite, and the gloom OF !,
= : aternal world seems descending IN =
T stalacite, IN king pillars OF indescrio . =
. HE horror. The grave is no Sncn pa
"a = at that to me, thank God. 4,
% ? Orr divine Guide takes us down ~
the great caverns, and we nave ,,a sns .nat r~t
= Z 70 70 o1r feet and the light to our !, lat !,
N ~ and T all the echoes in the riitS ,O,,', Q,
AZ a anoi, are anthems, and all the ram
- 1t 'ete-s are fountains Of salvation; q,
" Dster swhile we look up and, penoi
- 10 the cavern of the tomb has ,1e psCOa' '',a
So So lin ling star chamber. And while eve We
ne iooIina hs at the powp of It an sVe,is ,, |.
a, iUg iU morning begins to rise, ana .a,' AZ