Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-06-03
casualties of life have been q%uadrupled,

are fighting the battle of life with half,
or less than half the needed physical
ornaments. l do not wonder at the
pathos of a soldier during the war;, who,
when told that he must have his hand
amputated, said: Doctor, can't you
save it?" and when told that it was i'm
possible, said, with tears rolling down
his cheeks: We'll, then, goodbye, old
hand; l hate to part with you You
have done me a good service for many
years, but it seems you must go. Good
bye"
A celebrated surgeon told me of a
scene in the Clinical Department of n
of the New York hospitals, when a
poor man with a wounded leg was
brought in before the students to be
operated on. The surgeon was point
ing out this and that to the students,
and handling the wounded leg, and was
about to proceed to amputatlon, when
the poor man leaped from the table
and hobbled to the door, and said,
Gentlemen. l am sorry to disappoint
you. but by the help of God l will die
with my leg on" What a terrific loss
is the loss OF our physical faculties!
Put to full use all the faculties that
remain, and charge on all opposing cir
cumstances with the determination of
John of Bohemia, who was totally
blind, and yet at a battle cried out, 81
pray and beseech you to lead me so
far into the fight that l may strike n
good blow with this sword of mine"
Do not think so much of what faculties
you have lost as Of what faculties re-
main. You have enough left to make
yourself felt in three worlds, while you
help the earth, and balk hell, and win
heaven. Arise from your discourage
ments, o men and women of depleted
or crippled physical faculties and see
what, by the special help of God you
can accomplish!
The skilled horsemen stood around
Bucephalus, unable to mount or man
& him, so wild was the steed. But
Alexander noticed that the sight of his
own shadow seemed to disturb the
horse. So Alexander clutched him by
the bride, and turned his head away
from the shadow, and toward the sun,
and the horses agitation was gone. and
Alexander mounted him and rode off,
to the establishment of all who stood
by. And what you people need is to
have your sight turned away from the
shadows of your earthly lot V
which you have so long pondered. and
YOU head turned toward the sun-the
glorious sun of Gospel consolation. and
Christian hope, and spiritual triumph.
Now, suppose a man finds himself in
mid-life without education, what is he
to do? Do the best he can. The most
effective layman in a former pastoral
charge that l ever heard speak on re-
ligious themes could. within fye min
utes of exhortation, break allfthe laws
of English grammar, and if II left n
law unfractured he would col kplete the
work of lingual devastation in the
prayer WITH whit. he followed it. But
| would u kther have him pray for me,
if 1 weSse Sick or in trouble. 'hnn any
Christian man l kno@ OF. and iP that
4 church all the peGjle preferred him in
exhortation ana prayer to all others.
sMSlN2 Because he was SO thoroughly
.1pious and had such power with God he
was irresistible; and as he went on in
his prayer sinners repented and saints
shouted for joy, and the bereaved seem
ed to get back their dead in celestial
companionship. And when he had
stopped praying, and as soon as l could
Vi Of my eyes enough tears to see
thS.aosing hymn, l ended the meeting,
fearful that some long-winded prayer
meeting bore would pull US down from
the seventh heaven.
Not a word have l to say against ac-
curacy of speech, or fine elocution, or
high mental culture. Get all these you
can. But l do say to those who were
brought up in the day Of poor SCHOOL
houses and ignorant schoolmasters, and
no opportunity: You may have SO
much of good in your soul and SO much
of heaven in 0 everyday life that
you will be mightier for good than any
who went through the curriculum OF
Harvard, or Yale, or Oxford, yet eve
graduated in the school of Christ. When
you get up to the gate of heaven nc
one will ask you whether you can parse
the first chapter of Genesis, but whetll-
er you have learned the fear If the
Lord, which is the beginning of wis.
dom; nor whether you know how tc
square the circle, but whether you have
lived a square life in a round world
Mount Zion is higher than Mount Par.
nassus.
But what other multitudes there arr
under other disadvantages! Here is
Christian woman whose husband think!
religion a sham, and while the wife
prays the children one way the hus
band swears them another. Or here i!
a Christian man who is trying to d.
his best for God and the Church, ant
his wife holds him back and a y OF
the way home from prayer-meeting
where he gave testimony for Christ
What a fool you made of yourself.
1 hope hereafter you will keep still.
And when he would be benevolent ant
give fifty dollars, she criticises him TO
not giving fifty cents. l must do jus
tice and publicly thank God that
never proposed at home to give any
thing for any cause of humanity or re
ligion but the other partner in the do
nestle firm approved it. And when !
seemed beyond my ability and faith il
God was necessary, she had three
fourths the faith. But l know mel