Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-05-28

Children and grandchildren, summoned
from afar, como softly into tho room ono
by one, for she Is too weak to see moro
than one at time. She runs her dying
fingers lovingly through their hair and
tells them not TO cry, and that sho Ia going
now, bus they will meet again In little
while in better world, and thon kisses
them Roodby and says TO each, "God bless
and keep you, my dear childP The day
of the obsoquios comes, and tho officiating
Clergyman tells tho story of wifoly and
motherly endurance, and many hearts on
earth and in heaven echo the sentiment,
and as she is onrried off the stage Of this
mortal lifo there arc cries Of, Faithful
unto DEATH "She hnth done what she
could" while empowering all tho voices
of earth and heaven Is the plaudit Of the
God who watched hor from first TO last,
saying; "Well dono, good and faithful
servant Thou hast boen faithful over n
fow things. / will make thee rulor over
many things Enter thou into the joy Of
thy Lordp'
The Choice.
But whit became of the father OF that
household? He started as young man in
business and had u small income and hay
ing got q little ahead sickness In tho fam
lily swept it all away. He wont through
all tho business panics Of 40 years, mot
many losses and suffered many betrayals,
but kept right on trusting in God. whether
business was good or poor, setting his chill
drcn good example and giving thom tho
best Of counsel, and never prayer did he
offer for all those years but they woro
mentioned in 1t. flo Is old now and realizes
1t cannot be long before he must quit all
these scenes. But ho Is going to leave his
children an inheritance of prayer and
Christian principles which all tho dcfalca-
tions of earth can never touch and as no
goes out of tho world the church of God
blesses him, and the poor ring his doorbcll
to see II he is any bettor, and his grave is
surrounded by multitude who went on
foot and stood there before the procession
Of carriages came up, and some say, "Thcro
will be no one TO take his place. and
Others say, "who will pity me nowY" and
Others remark, "He shall be held In ever
lasting remembrance. And as the drama
Of bis life closes all the vociferation and
5ravos and encores that ever shook tho
amphithcaters of earthly spectacle were
tano and feeble compared with the long,
loud thunders Of approval that shall break
from tho cloud of witnesses in tho piled up
gallery Of the heavens. Choose ye between
tho life that shall close by being Kissed off
the stage and tho life that shall close amid
ncclamations supcrnal and archangclic.
Oh, men and women on the stage of life
many of you in the first act Of the drama,
and others in the second, and some Of you
In the third, and few in tho fourth, and
here and there one In the fifth, but all of
you between entrance and exit, quote to
you as the peroration of this sermon the
most suggestive passage that Shakespeare
ever wrote, although you never heard 1t
recited. The author has often been claimed
as infdel and atheist so the quotation
shall DO not only religiously helpful to
ourselves but grandly vindicatory OF tho
great drnmatist. | quote from his last
| will and testament:
"In the name Of God, amenl /, VIII
liam Shakespeare Of Stratford- upon-Avon,
| in tho county of Warwick, gentleman, In
perfect health and memory GOOD be prais.
ed, do make this my last will and tesla.
ment, In manner and form following
| First, commend my soul into the hands
of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly
believing through tho only merits of Jesu:
Christ, my Saviour, to be made partnkei
Of life everlasting"