Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-06-27


All fresh from the hearts deepest fountains
Her song seemed to come to my ear,
And as sweet as bell in the mountains,
And left off my thinking to hear.
The singer was hel with Snowman,
A person of doubtful repute,
But o. twas the soul of the woman,
That brought oat the soul Of the lutte.
The music suggested a bower,
And a fair senorita within,
At the time of the rose-scented hour
When the vespers would softly begin.
Yes, thought of gay Troubadour maidens
And their heart-meltlng, passionate airs,
Whose dreams of lovers and Adens,
And whose world was a freedom from cares
Longview, Texas. r. NJ. FUTILE
When We Come and When We TO.
For we brought nothing into this world, and
it is certain we can carry nothing QUIT
Timothy, vi, T.
If this statement concerning the two
tsnothings," one at the cradle and the
other at the grave, were isolated from
the context we should boldly assert that
st. Paul was mistaken. 1t is entirely
clear that we bring a great deal into
this world and that we carry great
deal out of it. Unless we bring some
thing we have no tools with which to
accomplish the task that the Almighty
has set us: unless we take something
with us it would be manifestly unfair
either to reward or condemn, for the
condemnation and the reward must de
;pend on whatwe have in our possession
when we stand at the bar of Judgment.
st. Paul, however, explains himself
when he refers with great severity OF
rhetoric to a class of people who ar.
under the delusion that gain is godli
ness" and his injunction, from such
Withdraw myself" is a warning not to
spend too much time in gathering what
you must leave behind and too little in
acquiring what you may take with you
when you depart.
In other words, the object of reyela
,.tion is to teach man the difference
between the riches which he must leave
to his heirs and assigns and the wealth
of character which is his inalienable
possession, an integral part of himself
both here and hereafter.
Death makes every man financially
bankrupt. The moment he dies he be
comes poor. There is nothing in the
Beyond which he can purchase with
cash. No shroud therefore, has peck
ct, The gold from no mine. the money
The angels carry no purses, and the
Jingle of coin is never heard. You will
not get what you want by paying for
it. neither will you lack what you need
because you have no money. What
you have and what you lack will de
pend wholly on your deserving.
1t is very interesting, then. to discuss
the two questions. What did we bring
into this world and What can we car
ry out of it for the answer enables us
to formulate that policy of action
which will produce the best results.
The wise man will spend his greatest
efforts in acquiring what he can keep,
and it is folly to exhaust yourself i'll
working for what Death will disdain
fully tell you cannot be transported.
The purpose of religion is to inspire
YOU with sound and broad ideas on this
subject, to restrain you from wasting
your efforts on matters of little mo
ment Religion and common sense,
therefore, or, to put it still more forci
bly,, religion and the highest philoso
ply, are one and the same thing.
First-We brought our bodies into
this world. This is of no special conse-
quence, because we need them only
while we are here and shall leave them
in the grave when we go hence. The
Church has an odd theory that we shall
take them with US, but it is to be hoped
that this is an error. 1t is certainly /,
very undesirable thing to look forward
to. By the time we get through Will,
them they will be pretty we'll worn out
The body is only the souls raiment
and when we reach heaven we shall
need change.
Second-We came into this world &
bundle of undeveloped faculties. A
child is a fagot of possibilities. Not
what he is. but what he may become,
gives him interest and value. We do
not care so much for his environment
as for W hat he will make out of it. II is
natural qualities are simply an unopen-
ed chest of tools, and the experiences
through which he will pass are the
material out of which he is to make
something.
He may be born in a palace, or he
may be born in howell; these are mere
accidents or incidents. With our false
notions of good and i'll fortune we ex-
aggerate the Importance of surround
ings, but the eternal truth is that sur
roundings are of very little conse-
quenee.
A daily laborer can make as much
out of his soul as his employer can
make out of his. Neither riches nor
poverty impede spiritual progress. One
can be as noble in two humble rooms
as in the costly mansion, for whether
you are in the one or the other the same
events happen to you, and they must
be controlled by the same qualities of
character.
Sorrow is sorrow wherever you find
it, and no bank account can purchase
immunity. A grave is grave, wheth-
er there is a costly monument above it
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you reckon with actual experience you
or poverty and come to all alike, and
when you look at the he arts of men you
find the same mes S IRE of human nature
in them all.
Now, when we take our departure,
what shall we carry with US?
Death is terrible democrat. When
he comes he takes no note of where or
how you have lived. He ignores all
class distinctions with a kind of con
tempt. He does not care whether your
body is clothed in fine linen or in rags.
He has been sent for your soul, your
naked soul, pnre or impure, and that
alone will he take with him. He strips
your environment from you as you
would throw aside a tattered garment
The only thing he will allow you to
carry-absolutely the only thing-is
your character.
When you reach heaven you are what
you are, neither more nor less; and
your surroundings in this life are of no
account whatever. If you have done
well, then you will have reason to be
satisfied; if you have done ill, you will
see that you have made a mistake
That is the stern and relentless truth
of the case.
When we came into the world we
brought great possibility. When we
leave it We shall carry the record of
what we have done, and whether that
is to be little or much depends entirely
upon ourselves.-N. Y. Herald.
Huh ~ exclaimed the first little girl
after she had heard the story of the ia
of man 'tthn Sarnant oOpl6p 4 am r,t IN