The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-02-17

burns on. Paul kept his eye on that
morning star. until he could say: Il
am now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand. have
fought the good fight. l have finished
my course / have kept the faith
Edward Payson kept his eye on that
star until he could say, THE breezes Of
Heaven fan me-" DIR. Goodwin kept
his eye on that evangelistic star until
he could say, II am swallowed up in
God" John Tenant kept his eye on
that cvangelistic 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 it,
silvered anchor into the waters No
other star ever pierced such accumu.
lated cloud, or beckoned with such .
holy luster.
With lanterns and torches and .
guide, we went down in the Mann
moth cave of Kentucky You may
walk fourteen miles and see no sun
light. 1t is stupendous place. Some
places the roof of the cave hundred
feet high The grottoes filed with
wierd echoes, cascades falling from in
visible height to invisible depth. Stall
agmites rising up from the floor of the
cave-stalactites descending from the
roof of the cave, joining each other,
and making pillars of the Almighty's
sculpturinp. 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 dementcd. and
for years sat in their insanity. You
feel IKE holding your breath as You
walk across the bridges that seem to
span the bottomless abyss The guide
throws his calcium light down into the
caverns, and the light rolls and losses
from rock to rock and from depth to
depth. making at every plunge new
revelation of the awful power that
could have made such a place as that.
A sense of suffocation comes upon
you as you think that you are two hum
dred and fifty feet in straight line
from the sunlit surface of the earth.
The guide after awhile takes You into
what is called the Star Chamber, and
then he says to you, 'Sit here;' and
then he takes the lantern and goes
down under the rocks, and it gets
darker and darker. until the night is sc
thick that the hand an inch from the
eve is undesirable. And then, b.
kindling one of the lanterns and
placing it in a cleft of the rock
there is a reflection cast on thu
dome of the cave, and there are stars
coming out in constellations-a bril-
liant night heavens--and you involun
| tarily exclaim: beautiful! beautiful!
Then he takes the lantern down in
other depths of the cavern, and wan
ders on, and wanders off, unit
he comes up from behind tht
rocks gradually. and it seems
like the dawn of the morning, and |
gets brighter and brighter. The guide
is a skilled ventriloquist and he imi
tates the voices of the morning, and
soon the gloom is all gone, and yos
stand ccngratulating yourself over thu
wonderful spectacle. Well, there are
great many people who look down init
the grave as a great cavern They
think it is thousand miles subterranc
GUS, and all the echoes seem to be thu
voices of despair, and the cascades
seem to be the falling tears that always
fall, and the gloom of earth seems com
ing up in stalagmite, and the gloom o
the eternal world seems descending II
stalactite, making pillars of indescrib
able horror. The grave is no sucl
place as that to me, thank God.
Our divine Guide takes us down int
the great caverns, and we have tn
lamp to our feet and the light to on
path. and all the echoes in the riffs o
the rock are anthems. and all the fall
ing waters are fountains of salvation
and after awhile we look up and, be
hold! the cavern of the tomb has be
come q kings star chamber. And Will
we are looking at the pomp of it al
everlasting morning begins to rise
tand all the tears of earth crystal
lie into stalagmite, rising up u
a pillar on the one side, and al
the glories of Heaven seem to be de
scending in stalactite, making pil
lar on the other side, and you pusl
against the gate that swings between
the two pillars, and as the gate fashe
| open you find it is one OF the l: gate
which are II pearls Blessed be Go
that through this gospel the mammoth
cave of the sepulchcr has become tn
lillumined Star Chamber of the King.
/ would God that if my sermon to-da
does not lead you to Christ, that befor
morning, looking out of the window
the astronomy of the night heaven
might lead you to the feet OF Jesus.
Hark, Hark To God the chorus breaks
From every host, from every gem;
But one alone, the Saviour speaks
Is the Star of Bethlehem.
DO Birds KISS?
! Two Royal academicians and tw
authorities on ornithology have had