The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-10-20
Some Rambling Thoughts.
BY s.NE,ro,

with Its hap-hazard feathers actually
has in its mind unless We be ostrieheS
ourselves; but we may attempt To
think its thoughts by reason OF
watching its actions and actions speak
louder than words which is desperately
true OF other two-legged creatures be.
sides ostricheS. Now according TO the
accounts Of travellers, this bird when
alarmed has way of hiding its head;
the idea seeming to be that if IL can
not see the pursuer, the pursurer cam
not see il. If closing the eyes really
stopped pursuit what a pleasantly easy
time this sufferer from woman's
whims would have. But troubles dc
not vanish thus easily, and we laugh
at the poor Ounce Of bird, who
dreams that he has blotted out the
world and its miseries just by refusing
to sec them; yet there are other Ounces
with the same number OF feet, and
they do not all wear feathers.
~
Once upon time, as the fairy
tales express 1t, some hunted ostrich.
es put their heads together-they
would better have been scnrrying over
the sands-and when they were hud-
died like boys in a football scrim-
mage, one of them suddenly exclaim-
ed 81 cannot see any hunter: there is
none, and so said they all; but they
lost their feathers just the same.
On another occasion, an ostrich
thrust his head into narrow hole.
He had a moment before been in the
full glare of the sun, but in the dark
ness he saw nothing, so he communed
with himself, see no sun, ! see
nothing, therefore, there is no sun,
no nothing. Up TO this time | have
been dreaming" But the heritage
kept on growing, and the ardent sun
looked after the neglected eggs and
gave the tinal warming influence to
hatch out another generation of
ounces.
There are people in the world WIN
profess to be good, they bend the
knee in the sanctuary, they give free
ly OF their money, they shout loud
s'Amens': until some fateful day
they come tumbling down in local
esteem; for this Sunday School super
intendent or that deacon has robbed a
bank or wronged woman or any one
of a long list of things that ruin life
and bring disgrace on fair careers.
Then is the favorable time for the
human ostrich TO come along in the
form OF young man, full OF Ques-
tionings in his mind, and full OF con-
ceit when his mind, on little evidence
or much, is once made up. lie argues
thus to himself: s'What did SO and
So profess? Christliness. What did
he do? Stole even poor widows
mite. On what did he base his re-
ligion? The Bible. Who is sup.
posed togiye authority to the Bible?
God. Therefore, | will not be-
lieye in God nor the Bible nor relig-
ion.n
| am not intending TO argue here
what things are untrue, but | want
you to see the charming duncery of
your logic. Let me show you your
own ostrich way, as in mirror. All
The apeients were prepared to swear
that the earth was fiat and the sun
its attendant satellite. They were
even prepared to kill those who
would TESTIFY diffeFs8tly. But while
they were protesting TO run the uni
verse to suit their narrow minds,
what was the truth? The earth was
globular, and its orbit around the
sun had been practically unchanged
for ages. Now it is evident that all
these millions, ignorant Of the truth,
believed in untruth, and yet all their
miriad minds did neither affect nor
hinder the planets in their appointed
journeys
Again, suppose we all with one
accord should deny the existence Of
the sun, we should merely proclaim
our own blindness and the sun would
not be affected particle. 1t would
be still there, hanging holly above us,
our denials of its existence would he
indescribable nothings.
Now supposing God to exist; the
Sacred Books of any number of differ
ent religions with any number Of
different inaccuracies lived forth by
any number of frightful frauds
-fakirs Of Hindustan or evil men and
thieves in Christian churches-do not
affect His existence or put Him aside.
If He exist, million denials OF His
existence amount to nothing more
than did ages of ignorance in relation
to the power that kept our globe cir
cling.
TIA basic fact of the universe be true,
it has been true always and always
will be true, even if never discovered.
Think of the modern claiming III
electricity and you will see what |
mean. The wondrous power we now
control to pull our trains, light our
rooms, cook our meals, has been here
as long as the world has existed. 1t
is truth of nature and still would be,
even though We never had wrenched
its secret forward into light.
~
Even the sun shines Though the night
Brings darkness, yet, not vanished quite,
Our faith is helped by mirrors dim
The misty stars, the moons cold rim
Or, when the cloudy veil hangs low,
Some shreding fleece with gold will glow
And bid us hope Fen the sad soul
Who dwells where months of darkness
roll
May find lis infidelity
Rebuked by some pale stars firm e,
And still, through questionings and
doubts
And rdicule and hooking shouts,
Though all men say no sun exists
And each one argues as he lists,
And, though the planets all combine
To hide his face. still doth he shine
Some day no cloud shall cloak the hill,
| No mist the gloomy valley fill;
! Bat every shadow flee away
Out driven Ivy the perfect day
My brother ostrich, let us think
further one step of the one whose fail
ures have made you hide your head.
| reckon you would regard him as
inexpressibly stupid who tried tt
picture to himself the Grant or Wash
ington monument, with nothing be
fore him but a sharp edged chip. 1T
rough appearance, its dangerous
points, its unfinished and unpublished
sides are not the right things b,
which to estimate the original o.
which it is memento. Think nov
lif you please of those WRECKED
failures among men and women O
good profession, and learn what
would argue concerning them. Mere
fragments are they, and bear NJ
resemblance to the grand block %
which they were once a part. The,
have caused YOU heretofore to bur,
your head from the sunlight of day