The record-union., 1897-12-15

x
from our midst was a friend. The ma
ton knows her as the distinguished
mother; we, Of the home city, know her
as one whose kindly words and smile
have been a cheer and a benediction to
many heart and home.
For her the long, long night has
passed; the morning breaks at last, but
her place upon this earth will be va
cant forever Hers is unspeakable
gain, but ours Is unutterable loss.
cit is given only now and then to
a pilgrim to spend so many years upon
the earth, and she wrought for herself
place in life that can never be filled
by another But the great comforts
of this hour are those spiritual ones
that we have a right to appropriate to
ourselves when we remember that
above everything else Mother Mckln-
ley was a Christian woman Like
Enoch. she walked with God, and is
not, for God hath taken her.
"It was this that so enriched and
beautified her life upon the earth.
When Jesus said: He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit he uttered a larger
truth than we have been wont to ac-
cept. Holiness, the roundness, complete
perfection, symmetry and then beyond,
beyond all human kin, everlasting life.
This is the abiding of the child OF
| God-the word is not transient. in its
| meaning-to abide is to remain.
when God said of Jesus, by the
mouth Of his holy prophet he shall not
fail or be discouraged, he also uttered
the great truth this his own should not
fail to be discouraged for the abiding
is in Him. The everlasting life means
what this means. The full depth of
| this for such brave and gentle spirits
as hers, we cannot understand now, but
we may know hereafter.
cit is not given to many to have
such grace of life, such perfection of
| character, as crowned her whose going
out from among us we mourn to-day.
| If were to indulge in analysis of her
/ character, I think I would place first
| of all her glorious motherhood. The
wisest man said of such as she: THE
heart of her husband doth safely trust
| in her She will do him good and not
evil all the days of her life. Strength
and honor are her clothing, and she
| shall rejoice in time to come. She
! openeth her mouth with wisdom: and
| in her tongue is the law of kindness.
! She looketh well to the ways of her
household, and eateth not the bread
of idleness. Her children rise up
and call her blessed. Give her Of the
fruit of her own hands, and let her
own works praise her.
'It is worth all the care and trial
and sorrow to be worthy of such di-
vine portraiture as this, and she was
\ u-or ~ Of harhnn1 W. tho
crowning glory of her days. She was
by divine right the general mistress of
| her own house. Always tender and
true in her loving sympathy, self
poised and sturdy in her personal up
rightness, she ruled like a queen over
her own home The law of kindness
was the law of her life, and none knew
her there but to feel the gentle in
| fuence of her presence. She might
have been a proud mother, but I think
no one heard her say so. Her great
loving heart throbbed with tenderest
| anXieties for those whom the kind
father had given her, and her children
rise up and call her blessed.
| Another characteristic Of Mother
Mckinley was her unvarying cheerful
ness. When her pastor suggested to
| lltI OIlCe ludl Tie way I1uSt De grow
| ing brighter as she advanced toward
her heavenly home, she replied that
it had been bright always. Her faith
| that God does all things well, that he
makes no mistakes, was the one creed
| Of her Christian life.
| "She was a Christian indeed. Unde-
| monstrative and unobstrusive, yet sha
was well known as one of the disciples
of Christ. Until the infirmities of in
| creasing years made it impossible, she
frequented the prayer service, and
| when she could no longer do that kept
her place in the morning service on the
! Lords day. Now the end crowns the
| work. She has come down to her grave
like the well ripened grain, ready for
the harvest.
''She grew old beautifully, because
she walked with God. We may para
| phrase the well-known words Of the
poet and say:
"'No more, no more, the worldly shore,
| Dlsturbs her with its loudened uproar,
| With opened eyes her spirit flies,
Beyond the gates of Paradise.
| We weep and wall, but for her,
This happier one, her course is run.
| From lands of snow to lands of sun
| With open eyes her spirit flies
| Where summer sings and never dies !"
Where the Lord God Almighty and
| the lamb and light thereof where they
| shall hunger no more, neither thirst
| any more, neither shall the sun light
| upon them, nor any heat, for the lamb
| which is the midst of the throne shall
yex them and lead them into fountains
of living waters
Blessed, indeed, will it be for one
| who loved the flowers of earth so well
to walk with Him by the fountains of
| living waters. and God Himself shall
| wipe away all tears from their eyes.
She will be gone from us, but she will
| remain Blessed are the dead who die
! in the Lord, for their works do follow
| them.
In moments of sorrow or weakness
she Will be with us. and the influence
of her life will afford such strength as
earthly communion could not give. One
who filled it to the very brim, the meas
ure of being as she did needs no full
some eulogy. Works of charity live
on beyond the doing; kindness brings
| the harvest of sowing. Love outlives
the past, the present and the future
Tongues shall cease, but life endureth
forever. The highest need of praise
that can be given is that which the
Savior gave to the faithful woman
when He said: she has done well what
Thin in flesh ; Perhapsit's