The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-18


ters of gold. Just an Easter greeting
from that far-off south which I still cal
my home It was great woman who Iona
ago said that places meant much to wo
men, and to women who remember there Is
much in thinking of the place where, il
you no longer have a friend, your dead
sleep. But my Easter lily brought with
1t, as it should, not alone a memory of the
past, but the hope for the future. Beside
the great white flower were two unopened
buds; while the tender green of the rest
less riband told its story of hope as that
pale green tint always whispers, of some
thing, of some great fruit to ripen in the
future All the Easter flowers are inspr-
ing. The faint yellow of the primrose, the
pale-blue of the forget-me- not, the light
purple of the wood violet the tender pink
of the hyacinth and the clear white of the
lilies OF the valley in TIER green frames,
every one of these flowers sing in their col
ors a prediction of beauty to come. There
is not a flower of the spring that is in
tense in its oo,or The brilliant hues be-
long to the flowers of the summer day,
but. in the early spring time, when the
sun itself Is cniy faint gold, the flowers
that come to you, or 10 me, or to my
neighbor, tell as clearly as il they sang
it, Hope on, Hope ever."
And that always seems to me the story,
as well rs the sermon of the Easter day.
1t says to the other one who is griev-
ing for that other one who is not wait
and hope and the grave will give up its
dead. and those who loved on earth will be
united in Heaven" And to that other
one, whole life seems a failure, whose
work has resulted only in mistakes and
who sees nothing but drudgery ahead Of
her, the message of the Easter flower
ought TO be: Friend be of good cheer:
for every sorrow that you have suffered
here on earth there is a great JOY awaiting
you hereafter, and the children of your
brain, which men could not recognize be-
cause of their blindness will become Gods
children and be made perfect, and some
day all this dull stupid world will marvel
al them"
You laugh at me-you, who are mass
of realism, and who find nothing particu-
larly good in this world, and nothing to
be eager TO obtain in the next. You laugh
at me because you think of all the great
troubles of the world, of all the trials and
tribulations, especially those that come to
women, and you mountaineering that all
this is an old story to me-that 1 can be
what you call so foOlishly sentimental"
W nat WONlQ lie De NlAioul stitAluGlli o.
worse, STILL what would a woman be with
out sentiment? She would be hard
hearted creature, seXless, ugly and detest-
able. 1t is only the sentiment that makes
life worth living, for sentiment makes us
willing to have faith in those things not
seen by the eyes of man. Sentiment makes
us willing to be charitable alike in deed
and word. And sentiment. best of ALL
teaches us to hope and hope and hope
unto the very end. Take hope out of life
and what would you have? Neither faith
nor charity, for they would certainly go
with it. Take hope out of life and what
would you be? The most miserable
wretch in the word. How could you en-
dure the grief of to-day if you did not
hope for better things tomorrow?
How could you love any human being If
you did not hope and believe that in him
whom you love the great virtues would
make as nothing the small faults? How
could you love a woman who lacked faith?
have heard of men-great men they were
called-who denied the truths that you and
] accept, and who longed to find for
their companions women whose brains
should be like their own and who would
agree with them in their lack of belief
OF course, the world does not always hear
the result of such marriages, but l do not
believe that any man, no matter how lack
ing in faith he may be himself, can love-
until death do them part, a woman with
out hope for the future
What is love without hope? What is
love worth, If il is to come to an end when
our bodies go the way OF all flesh? Who
would endure the sorrows of love II this
earth were to see the last of It? 1t would
not be worth while suffering, as we women
do, for dear loves sake, If an eternal good
by were to be said to love when the eyes
closed in death. once love has entered the
heart, there must come faith. Not only
faith in the loved one, but faith in a here
after. 1t would be a poor love that one
which claimed that the woman loved was
nothing but a body with a petty trihing
brain, adapted to last for a lifetime. If
that were all that the woman you love
represented, she would not be worth Civ
ing a thought to. But being wise, you look
for something more than that in her. You
seek for her soul, and it is the soul that
makes the body worth anything And you
cannot kill the soul. Explain It? You
can't with all your philosophy, and neither
can ! with all my belief.
You laugh at the special holiday, and
yet you would show a certain i'll nature
AZ the women and children who bear your
name did not recognize the day, make the
house gay with flowers, and have some
pretty tribute suited to the day, as a gift
for you from those who love you. You
call that womans work. You think, in
your bigness Of body and of brain, that
such trifes are not worth consideration.
But wouldn't the household seem bare and
cold and hopeless If Easter day came and
there was not even primrose to tell you
that He who came to save the world had
arisen from the dead? Ii may be that this
is not your belief, but. oh, my friend. If
you have a belief, a belief that teaches
you that there is a hereafter and that to
be happy in that hereafter you must be
loving and kind and good while you are
here, cling to that belief. whatever it may
be. and observe It's festivals and its holi-
days. As surely as you and / know Of
the sorrows Of this earth. as certainly as
we try to do that which is right according
10 our way just so certainly and surely
VIII the great God, In His wisdom. ar
range for us many mansions, since He
realizes over how many different paths
VIII the tired feet tread. But all trusting
60 reach the abode Of rest and peace
Broad? Perhaps so. 1 ask no man. no
woman, TO believe with me. / only beg OF
each man and Of each woman 20 have a
faith, 10 be charitable. and TO live "A hope
ful life. Then that which IS good viii come
10 you, for God. who Is merclful rs tust.
Sometimes ana to-day. especially, when
J look at my lilies. and know that IN my
own home they call them the flowers 81