Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-01-09


be off for that wreck of u world. must
stop that groan. l must hush that dis
tress. l must fathom that abyss. must
redeem those nations. Farewell, thrones
and temples, hosts chorubic, seraphlc,
archangelic! will como back again,
carrying on my shoulder ransomed
world. Till this is done l choose earthly
scot to heavenly acclamation, and =
cattle pen to king 5 palace, frigid zone
of earth to atmosphere of celestial radi-
ancc. l have no time 10 lose, for bark ye
to the groan that grows mightier while
1 waitl FAREWELL Farewcll!' "Yc
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
that, though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor.
Was there ever contrast so overpow-
oring us that between the monday CT
Christ's celestial departure and the mid
night of his earthly arrival? Suro
enough, the angels were out that night
III tho sky, and in especial meteor acted
Us escort, bat all that was from other
worlds, and not from this world. The
earth made no demonstration Of wei
como. If one OF the great princes of this
world steps out ut IL depot, cheers re-
sound, and the bands play, and the flags
wave But for the arrival OF this mis-
sionary Prince of tho skies not IL torch
larcd, net trumpet blew, not plume
huttercd. All the music and the pomp
wero overhead Our world opened Tor
him nothing better than barn door.
The rajah of Cashmere sent to Qucon
Victoria bedstead of carved gold aud
canopy that cost $3.50, coo, but the
world had for the Prince Ct heaven and
earth only litter of straw The crown
Jewels in the Tower ol London amount
to $I5, 600, 600, but thismcmbor OF eter-
nal royalty had nowhere te lay his head.
To know how poor he WAS, ask the camel
drivers, ask the shepherds, ask hilary,
ask the three wise men of the east who
afterward came 10 Bethlehem. To know
how poor lie was, examine all the rec
ords of real estate i'll all that oriental
country and $ge what vineyard or what
field be oW ned. Not one. OF what mort
gage was he the mortgagec? OF what
tenement was he tie landlord? OF what
lease was he the lessee? Who over paid
him rent? Not owning the boat Oh
which he sailed, or the beast On which
he rode, or tue pillow on which no slept
he had 80 little estate that, i'll order to
pay his tax he had to perform mir
acle, putting the amount Of the assess
mcnt in a fsh's mouth and having it
hauled ashore And after his death the
world rushed in 10 take IN inventory OF
his goods, and the entire aggregate was
the garments he had Worn, sleeping in
them by night and travelling in them by
day, bearing on them the dust of the
highway and the saturation of the sea.
St Paul in my text hit the mark when
he said of the missionary Prince, "For
your sakes he became poor. p"
= Succlnct biography.
The world could have treated him
better if it had chosen. 1t had all tho
means for making his earthly condition
Only few years before,
when Pompey, the general, arrived i'll
Brindisi, ne was greeted with arches
and a costly column which celebrated
-. -, COO. coo rsorIo whom no n"ri
killed OF conquered, and he was allowed
to wear his tliumphal robe in the sen
ate. The world had applause for impe-
rial butchers, but hutIttiMg for the
Prince OF Peace. Plenty of golden chal-
ices for tic favored TO drink out of. but
our Prince must put his lips TO the
bucket of the well by the roadside after
he had begged for ii drink. Poor? Born
in another mans barn and eating at
another mans table and cruising the
lake in another mans fishing smack
and buried in another mans tomb.
Four inspired authors wrote his biogra-
ply, and innumerable lives of Christ
have been published, but he composed
his autobiography in a most compressed
way. lie said, 81 have troddcn the Wine
press alone. "
Poor in the estimation of nearly all
the prosperous Glasses They called him
Sabbath breaker, wine bibber, traitor,
blasphemer and ransackcd the dictionary
Ct opprobrium from cover to cover to
express their detestation. I can think
now Of only two well to do men who
ospoused his cause, Nicodemus and Jo-
seph of Arimathea. His friends for the
most part were people who, i'll that eli
mate where ophthalmia, or infamma-
ton OF the eyeball, sweeps ever and anon
as Il scourge, had become blind, sick
people who were anxious to get well
and troubled people in whose family
there was some one dead or dying. If
he had Il purse at all, it WAS empty or
we would have heard what the soldiers
did with the contents. Poor? The pigeon
in the doyecot, the rabbit in its bur-
row, the si!kwmm in its cocoon, the
bee in its hive is better provided for,
better off, better sheltered. Aye, the
brute creation has home on earth,
which Christ had not. A poet says:
If Gu windy days the raven
Gamhol like "A dancing slSifT,
Not the less he loves his haven
On the bosom of the cliff.
If almost with eagle pinon
Der the Alps the channels roam,
Yet he has some small dominion
Which no doubt he calls his home.
A Homeless Prince.
But the Crown Prince of all heavenly
has less than the raven, less
than the channels, for he was homeless.
Aye, in the history Of the universe there
is no other instance of such coming
down. Who can count the miles from
the top of the throne to the bottom of
the GROSS? Cleopatra, giving banquet
10 Antony, took Il pearl worth 500, 600
and dissolved it in vinegar and swal-
lowed it. But when our Prince, accord
ing to the evangelist, in his last hours
took the vinegar, in it had been dissolv-
ed all the pearls Of his heavenly royalty.