The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-03-03

a-lighted. They are Christ re-incar-
/ do not care what your fea-
lures are or whether you look like your
father or your mother, Or look like no
one under the heavens-to God and
you are beautiful. My friends,
the grace Of God comes to the heart of
a nan or woman and then attempts to
change a f%orbidding and prejudicial
face into attractiveness. Perhaps the
face is most unpromising for the Divine
Sculptor. But having changed the
heart it begins to work on the IL
with celestial chisel, into all
the lineaments of the face puts a glad
ness and an expectation that changes
it from glory to glory, and though
earthly criticism may disapprove of this
or that in the appearance of the face,
Christ says of the newly created
tenance that which PLATE said of him:
behold the man"
Here is another mighty chisel for the
c~ountenance, and you may call it re-
venge, hate, or malevolence. This spirit
having taken possession of the heart it
cncamps seven devils under the eye
brows. 1t puts cruelty into the COM
preston of the lips. You can tell from
the mans looks that he is pursuing
some one and trying to get ever with
him. There are suggestions of Nero,
and Robespierre, and Diocletian, and
thumbscrews, and racks all up and down
the features. Internal artists with
murderers' daggers have been cutting
way at the visage. The revengeful
heart has built it's perdition in the re-
vengeful countenance. Designation
of diabolical passion!
But here comes another chisel to
shape the countenance, and it is kind
ness. There came a moving day, and
into her soul moved the whole family
of Christian graces, with all the chill
dren and grandchildren. and the COM
mand has come forth from the heavens
hat that woman's face shall be made
to correspond with her superb soul.
Her entire face from a to a be-
comes the canvas on which all the best
artists of Heaven begin to put their
finest strokes, and on the small CON-
sunrise over the sea, and angels OF
mercy going up and down ladders all
a-fash. and mountains of transfgura.
ton and MONDAY in Heaven. Kind
ness! 1t is the most magnificent
sculptor that ever touched human
countenance. No one could wonder at
the unusual geniality Of the face of
William Window, secretary of the
treasury of the United States after see
ing him at the New York banquet just
before he dropped dead, turning his
wine-glass upside down, saying: 81
may by doing this offend some, but by
not doing it, ! might damage many
A Bayonne merch ant was in the
south Of Europe for his health, and sit
ting on the terrace one morning in his
invalidism, he saw a rider flung from a
horse into the river, and, without
thinking Of his own weakness, the
merchant flung off his invalid's gown
and leaped into the stream and swan
to the drowning man. and clutchinl
him as he was about to go down the
last time, bore him in safety to the
bank. when CHANGING into the face o.
the rescued man, he cried: my God
l have saved my own son!" All kind
ness comes back to us in one way OIL
another If not in any other way then il
your own face. Kindnessl Show it tc
others, for the time may come when you
will need it yourself. When Abraham
Lincoln pardoned a young soldier
ut the request Of his mother, the
mother went down the stairs Of tn,
White house saying: "They have lice
about the presidents being homely; ht
is the handsomest man l ever saw" AL
over that presidents rugged face wa
written the kindness which he SO vel
illustrated when he said: ''Soine o
our generals complain that l impair
discipline and s~ubordination in tn,
army by my pardons and respites, bu'
it makes me rested after a hard day.
work if l can find some good excus
for saving a mans life, and l go to be,
happier as l think how joyous the sign
ing of my name will make him and hi
family"
But here another chisel, an
its name is hypocrisy. Christ with on
terrific stroke in His Sermon on tn
Mount described this character: ''Whei
We fast be not as the hypocrites, Of
sad countenance; for they disfigur
their faces that they may appear unit
men to fast" Hyprocrisy having take
possession Of the soul it immediatel
appears in the ~countenance. Hypc
critics are always solemn. They carr
several country g~raveyards in the
faces. They Are fearful when there
nothing to cry about, and in thei
prayers they catch for their breath, an
have such general d~olefulness that the
disgust young people with religion
A a cannot have hypocrisy in h
heart without somehow showing it
his face. All intelligent people WI
witness it know it is nothing but
dramatiZation.
Here ONE another chissl, and tn
belongs to the old-fashioned religio
1t first takes possession Of the who
soul, washing out sins by the blood
the Lamb and starting Heaven rig
there and then. This done deep dow
in the heart, religion says: snow l
me go up to the windows and fro
gate Of the face that set up some sign
that l have taken possession of tn
castle. l will celebrate the victory
an illumination that no one can mi
take. l have made this man hapI
and now l will make him look happ
l will draw the corners of his mouth
far up as they were drawn down. l wi
take the contemptuous curl away fro
the lip and nostril. ! will make his ey
fash and his cheeks glow at every me
ton of Christ and Heaven.
"Now." says some one. 81 know We
good people who have no such religlG
in their faces" My friend, the reas,
probably is that they we e not co
verified until late in life. Worldline
and sin had been at work with the
chisel only five or ten years Do N
be surprised that Phidias and Gree
ough, with their fine chisels, cannot
a short while remove all the marks
/, the stonemason's CROW bar, which h
been busy there for a long while.
say 10 all the young. If you would ha
4 sympathetic face, hopeful face, col
ageous face, cheerful face. kind face,
: the earliest possible moment. by t
: grace of God, have planted in your SO
D sympathy. and hope, and courage, al
Y good cheer, and kindness. Oh, t
: power Of the human face! wars
that you have known faces SO magnet
and impressive that though they va
ished long ago they still hold you wi
a holy spell. How long since 70
. child went? WELL" you say, IF 81
had lived sha would have be,
4 10 years old now or 20 or
years" But does not that infan
: face have a supremacy over your c
tire nature? During many an events
J does IL not look at rOu2 In yo