Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-08-02
A "WHlTE CITY,"
The Variability and Impermaneney of Our
Present Abode.

Beautiful as was the court of honor,
tremendous as were the buildings in
which the Columbian exposition was
housed, we all felt oppressed during
our visits to the Worlds fair with the
thought that
All hats bright must fade,
The brightest stllthe fieetest
And now that fire has swept across
the most beautiful part Of the grounds
and left only heaps Of ashes, we realize
as never before how often beauty and
frailty 90 together. Indeed, in life as
we know il here they seem inseparably
Joined The evening cloud, the pris
matte bow. the violet, the lily and TIE
rose. are all but for moment or an
hour, and fade to nothingness What
IS our consolation? Only this, they
were not made to endure. They were
never intended for permanency. The
conhagration which swept out Of eN-
istence the glorious per.style caused
many an exclamation of regret, but no
horror Of despair; because we all real
lied that its beauty was not fashioned
10 endure II burned like finder be-
cause built Of tinder-
How It's glory and its fate would
have afforded themes for Spenser. Her
bert or Quarles. All lovers Of the
Faerie Queene remem Der that ii closes
with an 'unperften canton upon
"Mutabilitie. describing in disiointed
rhymes this state of life so tickle.
It would have emphasized the warning
Of Herbert how "All things burn and
Quarles would have found in it thou.
sand new "Emblemsr Of mans state
Indeed TO the meditation Of the
philosopher, as TO the eye Of faith,
this world is but a great White City
incompatible both for It's beauty and
its perishableness. II bears every ap.
pearance Of having been built for
summer season only, and we scarcely
need the words Of inspiration to warn
as that this earth is not our abiding
place. We have seen this past year
that il does not need the vast arma
ment of war 10 tread down the wealth
OF the people a whisper, sudden fear
and one billion dollars worth of prop.
erty has disappeared There win be
death in the world even II the great
Krupp gun be silent. The prick OF
a pin, the failure Of valve
in the heart for an instant; nay. the
pressure OF tiny cloth upon some
point in the brain, and the fair Use
in which the spirit dwelt is fallen INTO
indistinguishabl ruin. Even the wis
dom OF this world seems scarcely TO
outlive the lips that spake it. "our
little systems have their day." and are
forgotten. We blow the dust from the
edges of the great tones that lie upon
our library shelves and read here and
there page for the merriment Of our
children. Mans wisdom and his
wealth pass from the face of the earth
as quickly as his body. Glorious rs
pleasure and in moments of swelling
pride. it does not take us long TO dis
cover that it is great White City. sur
passing our dreams but disappointing
our hearts best hopes We may dis.
guise its frailty with the appearance OF
strength for a little while, we may
patch IL and repair it after each gust
or storm, but nothing can give il per.
nancy; and before very long il shall
wholly melt with fervent heat"
All these things are as evident 10 the
as 10 Tie child Of God But
the disciple Of Christ is not east down
by such proof of the worlds ''mutabii-
tie lie knows of a city that hath
lie possesses treasures
that are true riches. lie has home
in mansions that are eternal in the
Heavens. IL is the consciousness Of all
this winch enables him to use this
world without abusing it. lie does
not attempt to make of il other than
he knows il TO be. a place for pleasure
and a place for study, but a home.
And the proof Of that better life. OF
v hich this is but the shadow, the earn
est is himself. That heaven which
'lay about him in his infancy has
never wholly vanished from his spjr''-
gal vision. With the multiplied witness-
ing to the perisha bleness of the wol IL
about him he has had increasing evil
ience of a deathless soul within. AM
what in earlier life were intimations a. |
have become intuitions Il |
a deathless life. The decay Of wealill. |
the loss Of health. do not take him by /
surprise, because he knows that all |
earthly beauty must turn to ashes |
when its purpose has been fulfilled. |
But amid the wreck. and in fun view |
Df all the loss, he still has within his |
own heart the full proof of the prom
ses in that he himself is not touched |
II the fame There is something Of |
which he is sweetly conscious. that
death can not reach. Chicago Interior |
THE DEBIT SIDE.