The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1897-06-05

With TWO lungs III tOe udhAs, ehC ihSuA
ance companies the commercial esta bllsh |
ments, the reformatory associations, the
churches, there are tens Of thousands OF
men and women today doubled up witt
rheumatism, or subject TO the Deuralgias
or with only fragments of limbs, the rest
of which they left at Chattanooga, or Soutf
Mountain, or the Wilderness and they arr
worth more to the world and more 10 ths
church and more to God than those OF u
who have never so much AS had a finger
joint stiffencd by a felon.
Put to full use all the faculties that re
main and charge on all opposing clrcu1n
stances with the determination OF John OF
Bohemia, who WAS totally blind and yet
at IA battle cried out, II pray and beseect
you to lead me far into the fight that J
may strike one good blow with this sword
of mine DO not think so much OF what
faculties you have lost as of what faculties
remain. You have enough left to make
Yourself felt in three worlds, while yor
hell, the earth and balk hell and wiz
hc:.v,n. Arise from your discouragements,
O men and women of depleted or crippled
physical f,.cLl;ies, and see what, by the
special help of God, you can accomplish!
The skilled horsemen stood around
Buccphalus. unable to mount or manage
him. SO wild was the steed. But Alexander
noticed that the sight Of his own shadow
seemed to disturb the horse. So Alexan-
der clutchcd him by the bride and turned
his head away from the shadow and TO-
ward 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, over which
you have so long pondered, and your heao
turned toward the sun-the glorious sur
of gospel consolation, and Christian hope,
and spiritual triumph.
A New Outfit.
And then reIDem Der that aii pnySIcai
disadvantages will after awhile vanish.
Let those who have been rheumatismed
out of a foot, or cataracted out OF an eye,
or by the perpetual roar of our cities thun-
dered out of an ear, look forward to the
day when this old tenement house Of flesh
will come down and a better one shall be
builded. The resurrection morning will
provide you with a better outfit. Eithe,
the unstrung, wornout, blunted and Grip
pied organs will be SO reconstructed that
you will not know them, or an entire new
set of eyes and ears and feet will be given
you. Just what it means by corruption
putting on interruption we do not know,
save that it will be glory ineffable. Nc
linping In heaven, no straining OF the eye
sight to see things little way of, no put
ting of the hand behind the ear to double
the capacity of the tympanum, but faculties
perfect, all the keys of the instrument at
tuned for the sweep of the fingers of ecstasy.
But until that day OF resumption comes
let us bear each others burdens and &C
fulfill the law Of Christ
Another form Of disadvantage under
which many labor is lack of early educa-
ton. There will be no excuse for igno-
rance in the next generation. Free schools
and illimitable opportunity Of education
will make ignorance a crime. believe In
rr1So education and those naHenfe
who neglect to put their children under
educational advantages have but one right
left, and that is the penitentiary. But
there are multitudes of men and women In
midlife who have had no opportunity.
Free schools had not yet been established,
and vast multitudes had little or no school
at all. They feel it when as Christian
men they come to speak or pray in reli-
gious assemblies or public occasions. pa
triotic, or political, or educational They
are silent because they do not feel COM
pefent- They owe nothing to English
l.&N