The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-07-10

tH N.NA HF8NANH NNH#H III ID NfHMNs MuMtH I
God thai thia religion of Christ. "a moro won- /
aorlul emperor trro. mlgnt oysrahad6v at /
your liyra. Are y0u iowly iu ambition or /
circumstance, putting over you iis CROWN /
Arc You higa in talent aud position. putting /
over you iis cf0Wuf on, Tor moro of the /
saeohaune In our lives and laa Of tho worm /
Woodl
What Ls true of individuals ia true OF ma
ll0ua. God sets them upt0 rsvolve ns stars. /
but they may iall NORWOOD.
Tyre the atmosphere OF the desert. fra |
grant With spices, coming iu Caravans 10 her /
ialu, 900 seas cleii into foam by the keels ii ]
her udon merchantmen, her markets rich !
with horaee and cumels from foEarmah. her
bazanr filled with upholstery from Dedan. |
with omeuid and coral and agate from
syria, with wines from uelbou. with om-
br0ldered work from Ashur aud Chllmad !
Where new the CLEAN Of her towers. where
the roar oi her charluls. where the mnsts o.
her ships? Lot the fishermen vino dry their
nets WIN re once she stood, let the sea that
PUSHES upon the barrgnness where once she
challenged the admiration Of all nations. let
tho bgrbafIuus who set their rude tents
wheru once her palaces glittered. answer
the question. She WIS q star. but by her
own sin turned 90 wOrmwOOI and has fallen
Hundred gated Ihebes, for all time DO De
the study OF the antiquarian aud hler0giy-
phist hef stupendOus ruins spread over "a
miles, her sculptures presenting IN figures Of
warrior and chariot the victories with which
the now forgotten kings OF Egypt shook the
nations, her OhelisEs and columns. Carnac
and Luxor, the stupondous temples OF her
prldel Who can imagine the greatness Of
Thebes IN those days when the hppodrome
rang with her sports and foreign royalty
bowed az her shrine aud he avenues roare1
with tho wheels Of professions In the wake
Of returning couquerors2 What dashed
down the vision Of chariots and temples aud
thrones2 What hands pulled upon the
columns Of her glory2 What ruthlessness
deiaced her sculptured wall aud broke ODE
hsks and left her ihdescribnble temples great
skeletons Of granite2 What spirit Of de-
struction spread the lair OF wild beasts In
her royal sepulchera. and taught tho miser-
able cottagers OF to-day TO build huts In the
courts Of her temples, and sent desolation
and ruin skulkiug behind the obelisks, and
lodging among the sareophagi. and leaning
against the columns. and STOPPING under the
arches ana weeping in the waters which 20
mournfully by rs though they were carrying
the tears Of all ages2 Let the mummies
break their long silence and come up 10
shiver In the desolation and point 10 fallen
gates and shattered statues and deiaeed
sculpture. responding "rhebes built not one
{
and loved sin. Thebes was a star but she
turned to NORWOOD and has ialien."
Babylon, with her 251 towers and her
brazen gates and her embattled walls the
splendor of the earth gathered within her
| palaces, her hanging gardens built by
! Nebuchadnezzar TO please his bride, Amytls,
! who had been brought up in mountainous
| country and could s-Ot endure tine fiat cour.
| try round Babylon-the5e hanging gardens
built, terrace above terrace. till at the height
Of 400 feet there were woods waving and
| fountains playing. the verdure the foliage,
/ the glory looking as # mountain were on
/ the wing. On the tptopa king walking with
| hisqueen, among statues snowy white, look
/ ing up at birds brought from distant lands.
/ and drinking out Of tankards Of solid gold
| or looking off over rivers and lakes upon ma
/ lions subdued and tributary. crying sis not
this great Babylon which l have buil2'
/ What battering ram smote the walls? What
/ plowshare upturned the gardens2 What
| army shattered the brazen gates3 What
/ long fierce blast OF storm nut out this light
| which iIlumined the world? What crash OF
| discord drove down the music that poured
/ from palace window and garden grove and
/ called the banqueters to their reYel and the
! dancers to their feet? I walk upon the
scene Of desolation to find an answer and
| pick up pieces Of bltumen aud brick and
broken pottery, the remains OF Babylon, and
as in the silence Of the night hear the surg
.ng of that billow OF desolati0n which rolls
over the scene, hear the Wild waves say
ing: Babylon was proud. Babylon was
| impure. Babylon was u star bHt by sin she
| turned to wormwOod and has fallen
From the prosecutions Of the pilgrim
fathers and the Huguenots in other lands
God set upon these shores nation. The
council fires OF the aborigines went out in
the greater light Of free government The
sound OF the warwhoop was. exchanged for
the thousand wheels OF enterprise and prog
: ress. The mild winters, the fruitful sum
mers, the heathiul skies. charmed from
other lands race OF hardy mem who loved
God and wanted tn be fraes Before the
woodman's AK forests fell and rose again in
to ships masts and churches pillars. Cities
on thebanks OF lakes be2intO rival cities 0Y
the sea. The land quakes with the rush OF
the rail car and the waters are churned
white with the steamers wheel. Fabulous
bushels of western wheat meet on the way tab
uloustons of eastern coal. Furs from the NORTH
pass on the river trusts from the south. And
/ trading in the same market is Maine lumber
man and South Carolina rice merchant anC
Ohio farmer and Alaska fur dealer. And
churches and schools and asYlums scatter
light and love and mercy and salvation upor
: go 600, 900 Of people.
- pray that our nation may not copy thu
,. crimes of the nations chat have persisted an'
| our cup of blessing turn to NORWOOD, anf
t | like them we go, down. am by nature ant
$ by grace an opHmist, and expect that this
4 | country will continue to advance until Chris
4 shall come agafn. But be not deceived
o Our Only safety is in Righteousness towar'
2 God and justicetowa man. II we forge
the goodness Of the Lord to this land, an
s break His Sabbaths, and improve not by tn
$ dire disasters that have again and agail
d come to us as a nation. and we learn savlni
: lesson neither from civil war nor raging cpl
g demic nor drought nor mildew nor scourg
e of locust and grasshopper nor cyclone no
a earthquake; ifthe political corruption whio
10 has poisoned the fountains Of pubic vlrtu
and beslmed the high places Of authority
D. making free government at times hissih
+ and bywori in all the earthS il the drum
r enuess and hcentiousness that staggeran
4 baspheme In the streets Of our great o1tie
q. as though they were reaching aft
d the fame of Cyrinth and
8. sodom are not repented Of, we wi
T, vet sec the smoke Of our natioD
er ruin; the pillars Of our national anc sta
Z ~ r.n 1fauefrO1relv Tbn