The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1894-01-12

while standing on the Atlantic beach.
/ The way to study the Continent is to
cross it. or go to the heart of it. Our
standpoint in this world is defective.
/ We are at the wrong end of the tel
escope- The best way to study piece
of machinery is not to stand on the
doorstep and try to lock in, but To GO
in with the engineer and take our
place right amid the saws and the CYL
inders We wear our eyes out and our
brain out from the fact that we ara
studying under such great disadvan-
tages.
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 tbs
wheel, holding nervously fast to the
tire lest we be suddenly hurled into
light and internal felicity? Through
all kinds of optical 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 enhancing
vision-rushing about the apothecary
shops of this world, wondering if this
is good for rheumatism, and that is
good for neuralgia, and something elsa
is good for a bad cough, lest we be sud-
denly ushered intoa lane of everlasting
health, where the inhabitants never
say: 81 am sick"
We stick to the world as though we
preferred cold drizzle to warm habita-
ton, discord to cantata, sackcloth 10 /
royal purple-as though we preferred
piano with four or five keys out of tune
to an instrument fully attuned-as
| though earth and Heaven had ex-
changed apparel and earth had taken
on bridal array and Heaven had gone
into deep mourning, all its waters stag
nant 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 fur
row. Oh, want to break up my OWL
| infatuation, and want to break up
/ your infatuation for this world. l 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, I
want you to know right well there are
also blessings in an abbreviated earthly
existence.
! If the spirit of this sermon is true,
how consoled you ought to feel about
members of your families that went
| this book says What a fortunate es-
cape 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 a better stopping
| ,D1A ~
in at St Helena, staying there long
enough to let passengers go up and see
| the barracks of Napoleon's captivity
and then hoist sail for the port of their
own native land They only took this
world lin transitu." 1t is hard for US,
but it is blessed for them.
And if the spirit of this sermon is
true, then we ought not to go around
signing and grooming because another
| year has gone. But we ought to go
down on one knee by the milestone
and see the letters and thank God that
we are three hundred and sixty-ive
miles nearer home. We ought not to
go around with morbid feelings about
our health or about anticipated de-
mise. We ought to be living, not ac-
cording to that old maxim which I
used to hear in my boyhood, 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 Alhambra.
One Christmas morning one of my
neighbors, and old sea captain, died.
After life had departed, his face was
illuminated rs though he were just go
ing into harbor. The fact was, he had
| already got through the 'Narrows."
In the adjoining room were the Christ
mas presents waiting for his distribu-
ton Long ago, one night, when he
had narrowly escaped with his ship
from being run down by a great ocean
steamer, he had made his peace with |
God, and kinder neighbor OF a better
man you would not find this side OF |
Heaven. Without moments warning
the pilot of the heavenly harbor had |
met him just off the lightship.
The captain often talked to me of the |
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 to sea.
Under the protest of the crew and un-
der their very threat he put back to |
sea, fearing at the same time he was
losing his mind, for it did seem so I'M
reasonable 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 IL o'clock at night the captain was |
aroused and said: What does this |
mean? l thought told you to call me
at 10 o'clock, and here it is ~ why" |
said the mate, Il did call you at 10 |
o'clock, and you got up, looked around |
and told me to keep right on this Same
course for two hours, and then to |
call you at II o'clock Said the cap |
tain: is it possible? l have no re- |
membrance of that"
At twelve o'clock the captain went |
on deck, and through the rift of the |
cloud the moonlight fell upon the sea
and showed him a shipwreck with one
hundred 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 to-
gether as to what they should pay for
the r,eepl1a and vvhat thew ShOuld nav