St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-09-06


it Off" and so, very likely, we never do it
One of these little foxes once got into
the heart of Roman governor, Felix
who was listening to the Apostle Pau
as he told about Jesus and the good
way OF life and made him say: "When
have convenient season will call for
thee" But we do not know that the
convenient season ever came. Probably
Jesus never stood at the door of Felix's
heart again, and he was driven away by
this naughty little fox. Just so By-and-
By has robbed many man and woman
of their souls-just by whispering to
them when they were boys and girls
1T is just as well to put off loving Jesus
and being his disciple until you are
grown-up" and when they were grown
up they didn't want to do it any more.
The house of Never. is built. they say,
Just over the hills of the By-a d-By;
Its gates are reached by a devious way,
Hidden from all but an angels eye.
1t winds about and in and out
The hills and dales to sever
Once over the hills Of the By-and-By
And you're lost in the house OF Never
THE house of Never is filled with waits,
With just-in-a-minutes and pretty.soons;
me noise OF their wings as they beat the gates
Comes back to earth in the afternoons,
When shadows fly across the sky
And rush in rude endeavor
To question the hills OF the By-and-By
AS they ask for the house of Never.
"Thc no Sc of Never was built with tears;
And lost in the hills Of the By-and-By
Are million hopes and million fears
A baby's smiles and womans cry.
The winding way seems bright today,
Then darkness falls forever
For over the hills of the By-and-By
Sorrow waits in the house of Never"
The special hunter who is always on
the watch for By-and BY is called Right
nowl" He is just like his name.
He catches the sly fox just as soon as
he sees him prowling around the vines of
duty, and keeps him from nibblng off
the buds and causing the vines to wither
and be fruitless.
The iavorite weapons which this good
hunter uses in fighting By-andBy are
two texts. One is found 2 Cor. 6: 2,
which says, Behold, now is the accepted
time" and the other is in Eccles. O: 10,
which says: Whatsoever thy hand
fndeth to do, do it with thy might"
This last text he chose twenty-nine hun
dred years ago and the other one a
thousand years later: but they are good
ones yet.
Here are some verses which found the
other day about a twin brother of By
and-By, whose name is Pretty-Soon:
THE LAND OF 'PRETTY.sooN.'
81 know land where the streets are paved
With the things we meant to achieve.
1t is walled with the money we meant to
have saved,
And the pleasures for which we grieve
The kind words unspoken, the promises bro
ken,
And many coveted boon,
Are slowed away there in that land some
where
The land of 'Pretty-Soon.'
"There are uncut jewels of possible fame
Lying anout in the dust,
And many noble and lofty aim
Covered with mold and rust.
And oh, this place, while it seems so near,
Is further away than the moon
Tho our purpose is fair. yet we never get
there
To the land of 'Pretty-Soon.'
1.-THE road that leads to that mystic land
Is strewn with pitiful wrecks.
And the ships that have sailed for its shining
strand
Bear skeletons on their decks
1t is further at noon than it was at dawn,
And fttrt Iara tu11f .
OH let us beware of that land down there
The land of 'Pretty-Soon."
-[Rev. CHARLES A. SAVAGE in the
New York Independent.