Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-03-02

worse is to say it is worse. Let depressed
| and foreboding opinion of everything take
possession OF you for twenty years, and you
will be a sight to behold. 1t is the chastlse-
ment Of God that when a man allows MS
heart to be cursed with cynicism his face be-
| comes gloomed and scowled and lachrymosed
/ and blasted with the same midnight
| But let Christian cheeriulness try its chisel
upon mans countenance. Feeling that all
things are for his good, and that God rules.
| and that the Bible being true the world
| fioralization is rapidly approaching, and the
| day when beer mug and demijohn and distll-
| lery and bombshell and rifle pit seventy-four
Founders and roulette tables and corrupt
book and satanic printing press VIII nave
| quit work. the brightness that comes from
such anticipation not only gives zest to MS
work. but shines in his eyes and gows III his
entire countenance. Those are the facts
look for in an audience. Those countenances
are sections of millennial glory. They are
heaven impersonated. They are the sculp-
| turing of Gods right hand. They are no.
sappas in human flesh. They are halleuiahs
alighted. They are Christ reincarnated.
donot care what your features are or whether
you look like your father or your mother or
look like no one under the heavens, to Goa
and man you are beautiful.
Michael Angelo, the sculptor visiting
! Florence. some one showed him in a bac.S
| ward piece OF marble that was 50 shapelesS
| that il seemed Of no use, and Angelo was
! asked if be could make anythinS out OF IT,
and If so was told he could own it. Tho
artist took the marble, and for nine months
shut himself up to work, first trying to make
OF it n statue of David with his foot on Go
| Hath, but the marble was not quite long
enough at the base to make the PROSTATE
! form OF the giant. and so the artist fashioned
the marble into another figure that is so IA
nous for all time because OF its expressive
| ness. A critic came in and was asked by
| Angelo for his criticism. and he said It was
| beautiful, but the nose of the statute was
not of right shape Angelo picked up
| from the floor some sand and tossed
it about the face OF the statue pretend
| ing he was using his chisel 10 make the
! improvement suggested by the critic.
"What do you think of it now?' said the
artist wonderfully improved" said tho
critic "Well, a." said the artist, 81 have not
changed il at all My friends. the grace OF
God comes to the heart of a man or woman
and then attempts to change forbidding
and prejudicial face into attractiveness. Per-
haps the face is most unpromising Tor tho
Divine Sculptor. But having changed the
heart il begins to work on the countenance
with celestial chisel, and into all the Inca
ments Of the face puts gladness and an ex-
pectation that changes it from glory to glory,
and though earthly criticism may disapprove
of this or that in the appearance OF the lace
Christ says OF the newly created cOuntenance
that which Plate said of Him, "Behold tho
man. y
Here is another nightly chisel for tho
countenance and you may call II revenge or
hate or malevolence This spirit having
taken possession of the heart. it encamps
seven devils under the eyebrows. It puts
81 cfct, Of ha line
You can tell from the mans looks that he il
pursuing some ono and trying to get even
with him There are suggestions of Nero
and Robespierre and Diocetian and thumb
screws and racks all up and down the feat
ures Internal artists with murderers lag
gers have been cutting away at that visage.
The revengeful heart has built its perdition
in the revengeful countenance. Dishgura-
tion Of diabolic passion
But here comes another chisel to shape the
cOuntenance, and it i kindness There
came moving day, and into her soul moved
the whole family of Christian graces, with
all their children and grandchildren, andthe
command has come forth from the heavens
that that woman's face shall be made to cor
respond with her superb soul. Her entire
face from ear 10 ear becomes the canvas on
which all the best artists OF heaven begin to
put their finest strokes, and on the small
compass Of that face are put pictures OF sun
rise over the sea. and angels Of mercy going
up and down ladders ali ahash, AMI mount
aims OF TRANSPORTATION and MONDAY in
heaven. Kindness It is the most magnii-
cent sculptor that ever touched human
cOuntenance.
No ono could wonder at tho unusual
genialitv in the face OF William Window. Sec
rotary OF the Treasury Of the United States,
after seeing him at the New York banquet
Just before he dropped dead, turning hts
winegass upside down saying, If may by
doing this offend some but 10y not doing it
might damage many Be kind to your
friends. Do kind to your enemies. Be kind
10 the young. Be kind to the old. Be kind
to your rulers. BE kind to your servants
BE kind to your supcriors. Be kind 20 your
interiors. BE kind to your horse. BE kind
20 your dog. Be kind to your cat Morn
ing. noon and night be kini, ana the effects
OF it will be written in the language OF your
face That is the gospel OF physioSnomy.
A Bayonnc merchant was in the south Of
Europe for his health. and sitting on the ter
race one morning in mis- inyalidism he saw
rider flung from horse into river, and
without thinking Of his own weakness tho
merchant flung of his invalid's gown aud
swan TO the drowning man, and clutching
him rs he was about to go down the last
time bore him in safety to the bank, when
glancing into the face Of the rescued man he
cried, MY God, have saved my own son"
All Kindness comes back to US in one way or
another; If not in any other way, then in
your own face. Kindness Show It TO
others. for the time may come when you will
need it yourself. People laughed at the lion
becaus he spared the mouse that ran over
him when by one motion OF his paw the mon
stcr could have crushed the insignificant dis
turber. But it was we'll that the lion had
mercy on the mouse for one day the lion was
caaght in a trap ami rOarod fearfully because
ne was held fast by ropes Then the mouse
knaweI OF the ropes and let the lion go free.
You may consider yourself lion, but yo
cannot aiforl to despise mouse.
When Abraham Lincoln pardoned young
soldier at the request of his mother, the
mother went down the stairs OF the White
House saying: "rhey have lied about the
Presidents being hOmely. He is the hand
soonest man | ever saw All over that Presi-
dent rugged face was written the kindness
which he so well illustrated when he said,
"Some Of our generals complain that inn
pair discipline and subordinaton in the
army by my pariOns and respites. hut it
makes me rested after hard days work II
can find some good excuse FOR saving mans
life. and 90 to bed happier as think how
iOvous the signing OF my name will make
the face shine while life lasts and after death
puts n summer sunset between the still lips
and the smoothed hair that makes me say
sometimes at obsequies, 'She seems too
beautiful to bury"
But here comes another chise, and its
name is hypocrisy Christ, with one terrific
stroke in His sermon on the mount described
this charrcter. "When we fast. be not as the
hypOcrites. OF a sad countenance, for they
dslgure their faces that they may appear
unto mon 10 fast Hypocrisy having taken
possession Of the soul. it Immediately APP
pears in the countenance. Hypocrites are
always solemn. They carry several country !
Crayeyards in their faces. They are fearful |
when there is nothing 10 cry about, and in !
their prayers they catch for their breath and |
have such general dole'ulness that they dis |
gust young people with religion. We had ono |
ofthem in one OF my churches. When he ex-
oried, he always deplored the low state OF |
religion in other people, and when he prayed |
it was an attack OF hysteria, and he went into |
a paroxysm OF obs and abs that seemed To |
demand resuscitation. He went on in that |
way until we had TO oxpel him from the |
church for stealing the property intrustet TO |
him ne administrator and for other vices |
that I will not mention, and he wrote me |
several letters not at all complimentary from
the West, saying that he was daily praying |