The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-02-01

stand, and the covers of the bed are
smooth, and the face is calm, her white
hair on the white pillow-case like snow
already fallen. But the soul is gone
up to look upon the things that the
night before she had been reading of
in the Scriptures. What a transport
ing look on her dear old wrinkled face!
She has seen the King in His beauty"
She has been welcomed by the Lamb
who was slain" And her two oldest
sons, having hurried upstairs, look and
whisper, Henry to George: THAT is re-
ligion" and George to Henry; "Yes,
that is religion,"
There is New York merchant who
has been in business l should say forty
or fifty years. During an old-fashioned
revival of religion in boyhood he gave
his heart to God. He did not make the
CHASTITY, and infinite, and everlasting
mistake of sowing wild oats" with
the expectation of sowing good wheat
later on. He realized the fact that
most of those who SOW wild OATS
never reap any other crop. He started
right, and has kept right. He went
down in 1857, when the banks failed,
but he failed honestly. and never lost
his faith in God. Ups and downs-he
sometimes laughs over them-but
whether losing or gaining, he was grow
ing better all the time. He has been
in many business ventures, but he
never ventured the experiment of gain
ing the world and losing his soul. He
has kept many a business man from
failing by lending his name on the
back of note till the crisis was past.
All heaven knows about him. for the
poor woman whose rent he paid in her
last days, and the people he encour-
aged in many ways, after they entered
Heaven kept talking about it; for the
immortals are neither deaf nor dumb.
Well, it is about time for the old mer-
chant himself to quit earthly residence.
As it is toward evening, he shuts the
safe, puts the roll of newspapers in his
pocket, thinking that the family may
like to read them after he gets home.
He folds up s. bill and gives it to the
boy to carry to one of the carmen who
got his leg broken, and may be in need
of little money; puts a stamp on
letter to his grandson at college, let
ter with good advice and an Enclosure to
make the holidays happy; then looks
around the store or office and says
to the clerks, Good evening"" and
starts for home. He enters his own
home, and that is his last evening on
earth. He does not say much. No
last words are necessary. His whole
life has been a testimony for God and
righteousness. Every hour in Heaven
for all the million years of eternity
that old merchant will see the results
of his earthly beneficence and fidelity;
while on the street where he did busi-
ness, and in the orphan asylum in
which he was director, and in the
church in which he was an officer,
whenever his geniality, and benefi-
cence, and goodness are referred to,
bank director will say to bank director,
and merchant to merchant, and neigh
Dor to neighbor, and Christian to
Christian: That is religion. Yes, that
is religion"
There is a man seated or standing
very near you. Only few minutes
ago he came down off the steps of as
happy home as there is in this or any
othe city. Fifteen years ago, by rea-
son of his dissipated habits, his home
was a horror to wife and children.
What that woman went through with
in order to preserve respectability and
hide her husbands disgrace is a trag-
edy which it would require Shake
speare or Victor Hugo to write out in
five tremendous acts. Instead of his
supporting her, she supported him.
The children had often heard him
speak the name of God. but never in
prayer, only in profanity. 1t was
the saddest thing on earth that |
1 can think of "a destroyed |
home! Walking along the street |
one day an impersonation of all |
wretchedness,h he saw sign at the door
of Young Mems Christian association,
Meeting for men only" He went in
hardly knowing why he did SO, and sat
down by the door, and young man /
was in broken voice and poor grammar |
telling how the Lord had saved him /
from a dissipated life, and the man
back by the door said to himself, Why 1
cannot 1 have the Lord do the same |
thing for me? And he put his hands
all atremble over his bloated face, and
said, 90, God, want that! must have
THAR and God said: "You shall have
it, and you have it nowI'' And the man
came out and went home a changed
man. What changed that man? What
that home? What took
that wife. who was a slave of fear and
drudgery, and made her queen on a
throne of affection? l hear whisper
ing all through this assemblage. 1
know what you are saying: That's
religion! Yes, that's religion My
Lord and my God, give US more of it,
Why, my hearers, from all parts of
the earth, do you not get this bright,
and beautiful, and radiant, and bliss
full, and triumphant thing for your
selves, then go home telling all your
neighbors on the Pacific, or in Nova
Scotia, or in Louisiana, or Maine, or
Brazil, or England, or Italy, or any
part of the round world that they may
have it, too; have it for the asking;
have it now! Mind you, do not start
from the pessimistic standpoint that
David did, when he got mad and said
in his haste: "All men are liarsr' or
from the creed of others that every
man is as bad as he can be-.
Here He comes now. Who is it? 1
might be alarmed and afraid if had
not seen Him before and heard His
voice. 1 thought He would come be-
fore 1 got through with this sermon.
Stand back and make way for Him.
He comes with scars all around His
forehead; scars in the center of both