The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-01-05


ing him 30 years through pictures of
words. The little child that died last
night today knows more Of God than all
Andover, and all Princeton, and all New
Brunswick, and all Edinburgh, and all
the theological institutions in Christen.
dom. Is it not better to go up to the
very headquarters of knowledge
Does not our common sense teach us
that it is better to be at the center than
to be clear out ON the rim Of the wheel,
holding nervously fast to the tire lest we
be suddenly hurled into light and eter-
nal felicity? Through all kinds of optic
al instruments trying to peer in through
the cracks and the keyholes of heaven
afraid that both doors of the celestial
mansion will be swung wide open before
our entranced vision--rushing about
among the apothecary shops Of this
world, wondering if this is good for rheu-
matism, and that is good for neuralgia
and something else is good for bad
cough, lest we be suddenly ushered into
a land of everlasting health, where the
inhabitant never says, 81 am sick"
What fools we all are to prefer the cir
conference to the centeri What dread
full thing it would be If we should be
suddenly ushered from this wintry world
into the Maytime orchards of heaven,
and if our pauperism of sin and sorrow
should be suddenly broken up by pres
entation of an emperor's castle, sur
rounded by parks with springing foun-
tains and paths up and down which an
gels of God walk two and two!
We stick to the world as though we
preferred cold drizzle to warm habita.
ton, discord to cantata, sackcloth to
royal purple-as though we preferred a
piano with four or five keys out of tune
to an instrument fully attuned = as
though earth and heaven had exchanged
apparel and earth had taken on bridal
array and heaven had gone into deep
mourning, all its waters stagnant, all its
harps broken, all chalices cracked at the
dry wells, all the lawns sloping to the
river plowed with graves, with dead
angels under the furrow. Oh, want to
break up my own infatuation, and l
want to break up your infatuation for
this world. tell you if we are ready,
and if our work is done, the sooner we
go the better, and if there are blessings
in longevity, want you to know right
well there are also blessings in an abbre-
waited earthly existence.
A FORTUNATE ESCAPE.
If the spirit of this sermon is true, how
consoled you ought to feel about mem
bers of your families that went early.
"Taken from the evil to come" this book
says. What fortunate escape they had!
How glad we ought to feel that they will
never have to go through the struggles
which we have had to go through They
had just time enough to get out of the
cradle and run up the springtime hills of
this world and see how it looked, and
then they started for better stopping
place. They were like ships that put in
at st. Helena, staying there long enough
to let passengers go up and see the bar
racks of Napoleon's captivity and then
hoist sail for the port of their own native
land. They only took this world 'in
transitu." It is hard for us, but it is
blessed for them.
And if the spirit of this sermon is true,
then we ought not to 60 around signing
and grooming because another year has
gone. But we ought to go down on one
knee by the milestone and see She letters
and thank God that we are 365 miles
nearer home. We Fought not to go around
with morbid feelings about our health
or about anticipated demise. We ought
to be living, not according to that old
maxim which used to hear in my boy
hood, that you must live as though every
day were the last; you must live as
though you were to live forever, for you
will. Do not be nervous lest you have
to move out Of a shanty into an Alham-
bra.
one Christmas morning one or my
neighbors, an old sea captain, died. Aft
er life had departed, his face was illu-
minated as though he were just going in
to harbor. The fact was, he had already
got through the "Narrows." In the ad-
joining room were the Christmas pres
ents waiting for his distribution. Long
ago, one night, when he had narrowly
escaped with his ship from being run
down by great ocean steamer, he had
made his peace with God, and a Kinder
neighbor or a better man you would not
find this side of heaven. Without mo-
inent's warning the pilot ef the heavenly
harbor had met him just off thelightship.
,+ai, to1 10 80
goodness of God, and especially of a
time when he was about to go in New
York harbor with his ship from Liver
pool, and he was suddenly impressed
that he ought to put back osea. Under
the protest of the crew and under Their
very threat, he put back to sea, fearing
at the same time he was losing his mind,
for it did seem SO unreasonable that
when they could get into harbor that
night they should put back to sea. But
they put back to sea, and the captain
said to his mate, you will call me at
10 o'clock at night"
At 12 o'clock at night the captain was
aroused and said: "What does this mean?
/ thought 1 told you to call me at 10
o'clock, and here it is 49," why" said
the mate, 81 did call you at 10 o'clock,
and you got up, looked around and told
me to keep Fight on this same course for
two hours, and then to call you at 10
o'clock" Said the captain: SIS it pos
sible? have no remembrance of that"
AT 10 o'clock the captain went on deck,
and through the rift of the cloud the
moonlight fell upon the sea and showed
him shipwreck with 100 struggling
passengers. He helped them off. Had
he been any earlier or any later at that
point of the sea he would have been of no
service to those drowning people. On
board the captains vessel they began to
band together as to w 1t they should pay
for the rescue and what they should pay
for the provisions. "Ah, says the captain,
tmy lads, you can't pay me anything.
All l have on board is yours. l feel too
greatly honored of God in having saved
yorf to take any pay" Just like him.
He never got any pay except that of his
own applauding conscience.
Oh, that the old sea captains God
might be my God and yours. Amid the
stormy seas of this life may we have al