Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1896-11-13
TALMAGE'S SERMON
INTERESTING THEME BY THE
WASHINGTON PREACHER.
Subject; 1.-THE Pageantry of the
Woods.n

II j. 80 bard for us 10 understand religious
truth that God constantly reiterates. As the
sehoolmaster lakes "a blackboard and puts
upon IL figures and diagrams, so that the
scholar may not only get his lesson through
the ear. hut also through the eve 50 God
takes all the truths Of His Bible and draws
them out in diagram on the natural world.
Champellion. the famous Frenchmau. went
down into Egypt 20 study the hieroglyphics
on monuments AMI temples. Alter murn
labor he deciphered them and announced to
the learned world the result 81 his iuvssiigu-
tions. The wisdom. goodness and power %
God are written In hierocyphics all over the
earth and all over the heaven. God grant
that we may have understanding enough To-
decipher them. There are Scriptural pass
ages, like my text. which need To- bee stuffed
in the very presence Of the natural world.
Those know hut little ~ the meaning OF
the natural world who have looked At II
through the eyes of Others. and from book or
canvas taken their impression. There are
some faces so mobile that photographers
cannot take them. and the face nj nature has
such flush and sparkle and life that no hui
man description can gather them. No one
knows the pathos of birds voice unless he
has sat at summer evening" tide AT the edge of
wood and listened To the cry Of the whip
pOOrwill.
There is to-day moro glory in one branch
OF sumac than a painter could put on whole
forest of naples God hath struck into the
autumnal leaf u glance that none see but
those who come face 10 'ace-the mountain
looking upon the man, and the man looking
upon the mountain.
For several autumus | have nude tour
10 the IA r west and one autumn. about this
time, saw that which | shall never forget. |
have seen the autumnal sketches Of CrOpsey
and other skilful pencils. but that week
saw pageant 1000 miles long. Let artist
stand back when God stretches His canvas.
A granier spectacle was never kindled be-
fore mortal eyes. Along 10y the rivers, and
mp and down the sides OF the great hills. and
by the banks Of the lakes there was an indie
scrDable Iningling of gold and orange and
crimson and saffron, now sOaering into drah
and maroon, now filming into solferin0 anl
scarlet. Here and there the trees looked rs
If Just their tins had blossomed into fire In
the morning light the forests seemed as If
they had been TRANSPORTED. and in the even
ing hour they looked as if tho sunset had
burst and dropped upon the leaves. In more
sequestered spots. where the frosts had been
hindercd In their work. we saw the first kin
ding of the flames Of color in a lowlv sprig;
then they rushedup from branch to branch
until the glory Of the Lord submerged the
forest. Here You would find a tree Just
making up its mind to change, and there one
looked as If, wounded at every pore, it stood
bathed in carnage. Along the banks of Lake
Huron there We're hills over which there
seemed pouring cataracts OF fire. tossed up
and down and every whittier by the rocks.
Through some Of the ravnes we saw occa-
sionaily a fOaming stream, as though it was
rushing to put out the conhagration. II Mt
one end Of the woods commanding tree
would set up its crimson banner, the whole
forest prepared to follow. II Gods urn OF
coors were not infinite, one swamp that /
sawaloug the Maumee would have exhausted
it forever 1t seemed as il the sea OF divine
glory had dashed its surf to the tiptOp Of the
Aleghenies and then it had come dripping
down to lowest leaf and deepest cavern.
Most persons preaching from this text find
only in il a vein Of sadness. | find that |
have two strings to this gospel harp-a
string OF sadness and string OF JOY in
finite.
eve all do fade as a leaf"
First.-Like the foliage, we fade gradu
ally. The leaves which week before last felt
the frost have day by day been changing in
tint and will for many days yet cling TO the
bough waiting for the fist OF the wind to
strike them. suppose you that the pictured
leaf that YOU hold in your hand took on it,
color in an hour, or in u day. or in a week?
No: deeper and deeper the flush, till all the
veins of its life now seem opened and bleed
ing away After awhile, leaf after leaf, they
fall. Now those on the outer branches, then
those most hidden ntil the last spark of
tho cleaning forge shall have been
quenched.
So gradually we pass away. From day to
day we hardly see the change. But the
frosts have touched US. The work OF decay
is going on. Now a slight cold. Now a sea-
son of overiAtigue. Now a fever. Now a
etfEa i,,t bo 81. Ia lfyit.
Now rheumatic twinge. Now fail. Little
by little. Pain by pain. Less steady Of
limb. Sight not SO clear Ear not 50 alert.
After awhile we take n staff. Then, after
much resistance. We come to spectaeles. H.
stead Of bounding into the vehicle, We are
willing to be helped in. At last the octoge-
marian falls. Forty yeas of decayiug. No
sudden change. No fierce cannonading of
the batteries Of life, hut fading away
slowly gradually. AS the leaf as the leaf
Again, like the leaf we fade, to make room
| for others Next years forests will be rs
grandly fOiaGed as this. There are other
generations of oak leaves to take the place
of those which this autumn perish. Next
May the cradle of the wind will rock the
young buds. The woods will be all a. hum
with the chorus of leafy voices II the tree
in front of your house, like Elijah, takes Il
chariot of fire, its mantle will fall upon
Elisha. If, in the blast of these autumnal
| batteries, so many ranks fall there are re-
serve forces to take their places to defend
the fortress Of the hills. The beaters of
gold leaf will have more gold leaf to beat
| The crown that drops to-day from the head
of the oak will be picked up and handed
! down for other kings to wear. Let the blasts
| come. They only make room for other life
So when we 60, others take our spheres
We do not grudge the future generations
~. L.. ", H.. 1,.,.I
time. Let them come on and have. their
good time. There is no signing among these
leaves to-day because other leaves are to fol-
low them. After a lifetime of preaching,
| doctoriug, selling, sewing or digging. let US
cheerfuliy give way for those who come on
to do the preaching. doctoring, selling, sew
ing and digging God grant that their life
may be brighter than ours has been. As we
get older do not let us be affronted il young
men and women crowd us little. We will
| have had our day, and wemust let them have
theirs. When our voices get cracked let US not
snarl at those who can MARBLE. When our
knees are stiffened, let us have patience with
| those who go feet as the deer. Because our
leaf is fading do not let us despise the I'M
| frosted. Autumn must not envy the spring.
Old men must be patient with boys DR..
| Guthrie stood up in Scotland and said:
! "You need not think | am old because my
| mar Is Wnlte. never was So young dS / am
! now" | look back to my childhood days
and remember when in winter nights in the
sitting room the children played the biithest
and the gayest of all the company were
father and mother. Although reaching
fourscore years of age, they never got old.
Again, as with the leaves. we fade and fall
amid myriads of others. One cannot count
the number of plumes which these frosts are
| plucking from the hills. They will strew all
the streams, they will drift into the caverns,
they will soften the wild beasts lair and fill
the eagles eyrie.
All the aisles of the forest will be covered
with their carpet and the steps of the hills
glow with wealth of color and shape
that will defy the looms of Administer. What
urn could hold the ashes of all these dead
leaves2 Who could count the hosts that burn
on this funeral pyre of the mountains?
So we die in concert. The clock that strikes
the hour of our going will sound the going