News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1897-11-03


Is 1t not better to 20 up to the very head
quarters of knowledge
On the Rim of the wheel.
Does not our common sense teach us
that it is better to be at the center than to
be clear out on the rim of the wheel. hold
ing neryously fast to the tire lest we be
suddenly hurled into light and eternal fe-
licityy Through all kinds of optical instru-
ments trying to peer in through the cracks
and the keyholes of heaven, afraid that
both doors of the celestial mansion will be
swung wide open before our entranced vi
sion, rushing about among the apothecary
shops of this world, wondering if this is
good for rheumatism, and that is good
for neuralgia, and something else is good
for bad cough, lest we be suddenly ush-
cred into land of everlasting health,
where the inhabitant never says, . am
sick"
What fools we all are to prefer the cir
| conference to the center! What a dread
full thing it would be if we should be sud
denly ushered from this wintry world into
the May time orchards of heaven, and if
our pauperism of sin and sorrow should be
suddenly broken up by presentation of
an emperor's castle surrounded by parks
with springing fountains and paths up and
down which angels of God walk two and
two. We are like persons standing on the
cold steps of the National picture gallery
| IN London, under umbrella in the rain
afraid to go in amid the Turner's and the
| Titians and the Raphaels leone to them
and say, "Why don't you go inside the
gallery oh" they say, I'VE don't
! know whether we can get in" | say
Don't you see the door is open?" Yes,
they say, but we have been so long on
these cold steps we are so attached to
them we don't like to leave" But"
say, lit is so much brighter and more
beautiful in the gallery; you had better go
| in. 1" No" they say, I'VE know exactly
how it is out here, but we don't know ex-
actly how it is inside,
So we stick to this world as though we
! preferred cold drizzle to warm habitation,
discord to cantata, sackcloth to royal pur-
! pie, as though we preferred a piano with
| four or five of the keys out Of tune to an
| instrument fully attuncd, as though earth
! and heaven had exchanged apparel, and
earth had taken on bridal array and hcav-
! en- had gone into deep mourning, all its
waters stagnant, all its harps broken, all
chalices cracked at the dry wells, all the
lawns sloping to the river plowed with
| graves, with dead angels under the fur
row. Oh l want to break up my own in
fatuation and | want to break up your in
| fatuation with this world | tell you if
we are ready and if our work is done the
sooner we go the better, and if there are
blessings in longevity want you to know
right well there are also blessings in an
| abbreviated earthly existence.
Taken From the Evil to Come"
If the spirit of this sermon is true, how
consoed you ought to feel about members
of your family that went early Taken
from the evil to come" this book says.
What c fortunate escape they hadl How
| glad we ought to feel that they will never
have to 20 through the struggles which
we have had to 20 through They had
! just time enough to get out of the cradle
and run up on the springtime hills of this
world and see how it looked and then
they started for better stopping place.
They were like ships that put in at St.
| Helena, staying there long enough to let
passengers 20 up and see the barracks of
Napoleon's captivity, and then hoist sail
for the port of their own native land
| They only took this world in transitu 1t
is hard tor us, but it is blessed for them
And if the spirit of this sermon is true,
then we ought not to 20 around signing
and groaning when another year is gong,
but we ought to 20 down on one knee by
the milestone and see the letters and thank
God that we are sos miles nearer home
We ought not to 20 around with morbid
feelings about our health or about antici-
pated demise We ought to be living not
according to that old maxim which USED
to hear in my boyhood that you must live
as though every day were the last you
must live as though you were to live for
ever, for you will Do not be nervous lest
you have to move out of Il shanty into an
| Alhambra
One Christmas day l witnessed some
thing very thrilling We had just dis
tributed the family presents Christmas
morning when | heard a great cry of dis
tress in the hallway. A child from a
neighbours house came in to say her father
was dead 1t Was only three doors off
and | think in two minutes we were
there. There lay the old Christian sea
captain, his face upturned toward the
window, as though he had suddenly seen
the headlands and with an Illuminated
countenance, as though he were just GO
ing into harbor The fact was he had al
ready got through the Narrows. In the
adjoining room were the Christmas pres
ents waiting for his distribution. Long
ago, one night when he had narrowly es-
capped with his ship from being run down
by great ocean steamer, he had made his
peace with God, and a kinder neighbor or
a better man than Captain Pendleton you
would not find this side of heaven With
out moments warming, the pilot of the
heavenly harbor had met him just off the
lightship
The Old Sea Captains Story.
He had often talked to me of the good
ness of God and especially of time when
he was about to enter New York harbor
with his ship from Liverpool, and he was
suddenly impressed that he ought to put
back to sea. Under the protest of the crew
and under their very threat he put back to
sea- fearing at the same time he was losing
his mind, for it did seem SO unreasonable
that when they could get into harbor that
night they should put back to sea But
they put back to sea, and Captain Pendle-
ton said to his mate, You call me at 10
o'clock at night At l2 O'Clock at night
the captain was aroused and said: What
does this mean thought told you to
call me at 10 O'Clock, and here 1t is 12
why, said the mate, u did call you at
10 o'clock, and you got up, looked around
and told me to keep right on the same
course for two hours, and then t. call you
at ~ o'clock Said the captain; lis it