Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-07-03
BROkEN HEARTS.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of q
broken heart'-PSalms, XxXiv., Is.
Certainly no one needs the help of
the Lord more than these. and it is a
great privilege to know that there is
somewhere an ''everlasting arm" upon
which they can certainly rely in time
of trouble.
The most discouraging fact in life is
that when we call loudest for friends
they are not often within hearing dis
lance. If we are not in want of them
they are more numerous than we can
count, but when we are sinking
beneath the waters and stretch out i'm
ploring hands there is no one near to
render assistance.
The great sorrows of life must be
borne alone, for no one who has not
himself trodden the wine press of a
like experience can say the word we
need to have said or do the kindly
deed we need to have done. This is
mysterious element in Gods ProYi-
dence which it is hard to understand.
You may not have company in your
Gethsemane, unless it be the compan-
ionship of the angels and of Him who
sends them.
Broken hearts? Are there any,
Perhaps not many if the words are
used in a literal sense. We may well
thank Heaven that it is so. There is a
certain buoyancy, certain lifting
power in human nature which makes
utter hopelessness impossible except
in rare instances. A kind of optimism
creeps into the soul just as a child
creeps into it's weeping mothers arms,
and as the child forces a smile from the
mother, SO this dim prophecy that lat
eventime it shall be light" sends its
ray of hope into the darkness that en-
virons US. We find it very difficult to
wholly despair, for heart beats have
sort of good cheer in them when the
shadows are deepest.
But it is strangely true that there is
very serious significance in the words
''broken hearts," Life is sprinkled
with disappointments from youth to
age. The dreams of earlier times have
not come true, and hardly one of us is
to-day either what or where he expect
ed to be. The wedding march has
changed into an echo, and it's glad
vibrations scarcely reach our ears
The riches we longed for have not
come, and our ships are still at sea
The plans we made have somehow
gone astray, and the children for whom
we would have made any sacrifice
have been called to heaven. Changes
have come like pitiless tornadoes anG
torn up by the roots many of our mos1
cherished desires. Sickness, struggle
bereavement, poverty, like malignant
fairies, have waved their wands ovel
us and we scarcely recognize ourselves
These are stern facts. and they can
not be gainsaid. Look back through
the corridor of time and see yourself
as you were at twenty. What expert
ences you have passed through! They
have left their mark on your face, in
your gait and in your conversation
You have been ploughed, and the fur
rows tell how deep the plough struck
What shall we say, then? That
there is no God? Nay, rather thai
not turn out as they have done, L
life so full of bitterness that it is not
worth living? Nay, rather, life is q
painful means to joyful end. A hare
lesson has been set Us, and it must be
learned. There was never yet a sor
row which was not a stepping stone to
higher things, and never yet fell teal
which did not bring heaven nearer. II
is the evident intention of God that
they shall serve these purposes, and
the mission of religion is to keep us
constantly mindful of that fact.
The sorrowing ones of earth are
specially near to the Father, and strug
Cling souls are objects of His special
solicitude. 1t is hard for us to see His
face at such times, for our tears are
like clouds that hide the sun; but, as
the sun is surely behind the clouds, sc
is His face behind our tears. While il
is a solemn and an awful truth that
perfect sympathy and efficient helpful
ness cannot be found elsewhere, it is a
glorious certainty that both can be
found in Him.
What consolation to know that the
Almighty is not far off; that He is
neither stranger to our miseries mol
Indifferent while we fight the good
fight9 Even when it seems as though
He had deserted and left us to ou1
fate, the rustling of His angels wings
may be heard. and the prayer of be-
seeching faith brings calm into the
soul as though He had whispered
''Peacel Be still"
Broken hearts! Travellers weary
and worn Sailors clinging desperate
1y to wreck! Soldiers wounded al
most unto death! Homes made des.
olate by the invasions of death! Signs
borne on every breeze and disappoint,
ed hopes scattered as thick las leaves
in Vallombrosa!"
Yes, this is all true. 1t is the bur.
den we bear-the burden we must
bear. But be of good cheer. Heaven,
the end of the journey, is not far off.
The minarets are glistening in the
sunshine, and, once there, all will be
peace. If we have the courage to say
"Thy will be doren in this life, we
shall look back in the next life and
see, to our surprise, that all was for
the best; that God was with us as we
toiled along the upward steep. His
arm underneath us, His messengers
lifting us over the rough places. We
must bear our lot bravely, in faith
that He is nigh unto them that are OF
broken heart, and by and by there
will be great rejoicing.-N. Y Herald.
W0man's Greatest Charm.
I am quite sure that men regard
''sweet simplicity" as the greatest
charm in women, and especially in