The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-05-04

God, who gfveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ There is a
widows heart that first was desolated
by bereavement and since by the anx-
ieties and trials that came in the support
of family.
1t is a sad thing to see a man contend
ing for livelihood under disadvantages,
but to see delicate woman, with help
less little ones at her back, fighting the
giants of poverty and sorrow, is most
affecting. 1t was a humble home, and
passersby knew not that within those
four walls were displays Of courage
more admirable that that of Hannibal
crossing the Alps, or the pass of Their
mopyle or Balaklava, where ''into the
jaws of death rode the six hundred :"
These heroes had the whole world to
cheer them on, but there were none to
applaud the struggle in the humble
home, She fought for bread, for cloth
ing, for fire, for shelter, with aching
head, and veak side, and exhausted
strength, through the long night by the
brook Jabbok Could it be that none
would give her help? Had God forgot
ten to be gracious? No, contending soul
The midnight air is full of wings com
ing to the rescue. She hears it now in
the sough of the night wind, in the rip
pie of the brook Jabbok-the promise
made so long ago ringing down the sky,
'Thy fatherless children, Twill preserve
them alive, and let thy widows trust in
mep'
Some one said to a very poor woman,
"How is it that in such distress you
keep cheerful" She said: 81 do it by
what l call cross prayers. When ! had
my rent to pay and nothing to pay it
with, and bread to buy and nothing tc
buy it with, l used to sit down and cry.
But now do not get discouraged. If
go along the street, when come to a
corner Of the street I say, The Lord
help me-. l then go on until come to
another crossing Of the street, and again
say, The Lord help mel And SO
utter a prayer at every crossing, and
since have got into the habit of say.
ing these cross prayers have been
able to keep up my courage. +"
Purified by Fire.
Learn again from this subject that
people sometimes are surprised to find
out that what they have been strug-
Cling with in the darkness is really an
"angel of blessing" Jacob found in the
morning that this strange parsonage was
not an enemy, but God dispatched
messenger to promise prosperity for him
and for his children. And SO many a
man, at the close of his trial, has found
out that he has been trying to throw
down his own blessing. If you are a
Christian man, I will go back in your
history and find that the grandest things
that have ever happened to you have
been your trials. Nothing short of
scourging, imprisonment and ship
wreck could have made Paul what he
was.
When David was fleeing through the
wilderness pursued by his own son, he
was being prepared to become the sweet
singer of Israel. The pit and the dun
geon were the best schools at which
Joseph eyer graduated. The hurricane
that upset the tent and killed Jobs chill
dren prepared the man of w to write
the magnificent poem that has astound-
ed the ages. There is no way to get the
wheat out of the straw but to thrash it.
There is no way to purify the gold but
to burn it. Look at the people who have
always had it their own way. They are
Il nd
py. If you want to find cheerful folks, &c
among those who have been purified by
the fire After Rossini had rendered
"William Tell" the five hundredth time
company of musicians came under his
window in Paris and serenaded him.
They put upon his brow golden crown
of laurel leaves. But amid all the APP
plause and enthusiasm Rossini turned tc
a friend and said, IT would give all this
brilliant scene for few days of youth
and love. Contrast the melancholy feel.
ing of Rossini, who had everything this
world could give him, to the joyful ex-
pericnce of Isaac Watts, whose misfor.
tunes were innumerable, when he says
The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
Then let our songs abound
And every tear be dry
We are marching through Emmanuel:
ground
To fairer worlds on high.
Marks of the Combat.
It is prosperity that kills and trouble
that saves, While the Israelites were
on the march, amid great privations
and hardships, they behaved we'll After
awhile they prayed for meat, and the
sky darkened with a great flock Of
quails, and these quails fell in large
multitudes all about them, and the Is
raelites ate and ate and stuffed them
selves until they died. Oh, my friends
it is not hardship or trial or starvation
that injuries the soul, but abundant sup
ply. 1t is not the vulture of trouble
that eats up the Christians life; it i.
the quails, it is the quailsl You viii
yet find out that your midnight wrestlt
by the brook Jabbok is with an anse
of God, come down to bless and save
Learn again that while our wrestling
with trouble may be triumphant W,
must expect that it will leave its 1na,l
upon us. Jacob prevailed, but the angc
touched hii',, and his thigh bone sprans
from its socket, and the good man wen
limping OH his way. We must carry
through this world the mark of tht
combat What plowed those prematur,
wrinkles in your face? What whitenet
your hair before it was time for frost
What silepced forever so much of til,
hilarity Of your household? All, it is be
cause the angel of trouble hath touched
you that you go limping on your way
You need not be surprised that thos,
who have passed through the fire IL
not feel as gay as once they did.
Do not he ont of patience with t'loet
who come not out of their desponde1cy.
They may triumph over their loss. ans
yet their gait shall tell you that the,
have been trouble touched Arc We
stoics that we can, unnoved, see oul
cradle rifled Of the bright eyes ana tht
sweet lips? Can we stand unmoved ant