Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-06-08

SlUu lol liduu, you can make IL Sta1it
for honesty. If once it stood for wick
edness, you can make it stand for pur-
ity. There have been multitrtdes Of in
stances where men and women have
magnifics.tly conquered the disasters
Of the name inflicted upon them.
Again, many people labor under the
misfortune of incomplete physical
equipment. We are by our Creator so
economically built that we cannot af-
ford the obliteration OF any physical
faculty. We want our two eyes, our
two ears, our two hands, our two feet,
our eight fingers and two thumbs. Yet
what multitudes of people have but
one eye, or but one foot The ordinary
casualties of life have been quadrurled.
quintupled, sextupled, aye. centuplcd,
in our time by the Civil War, and at
the North and South a great multitude
are fighting the battle of life with hall,
or less than half the needed physical
ornaments. / do not wonder at the
pathos of a soldier during the var who,
when told that he must have his hand
amputated, said: Doctor, can't you
save it," and when told that Il was inn
possible. said. with tears rolling down
his cheeks: We'll, then, goodbye, cid
hand; I hate to part with you. You
have done me a good service for many
years, but it seems you must SO. Good
bye"
a celebrated surgeon told HE OF a
scene in the Clinical Department of one
of the New York hospitals, when
poor man with 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 amputation, 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 : will die
with my leg on" What 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 ont. Il
pray and beseech you to lead me so
far into the fight that 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 re-
laft ~, 10
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
age him, so wild was the steed. But
Alexander noticed that the sight Of his
own shadow seemed to disturb the
horse. So Alexander clutcheG 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 over
which you have so long pondered, and
your head turned toward the sun-the
glorious sun of Gospel consolation, and
Christian hope. and spiritual triumph.
Now, suppose man finds himself in
mid-lfe without education, what is he
to do? Do the best he can. The most
effective layman in former pastoral
charge that / ever heard speak on re-
ligious themes could, within five min
utes of exhortation, break all the laws
Of English grammar. and if he left any
law unfractured he would complete the
work of lingual devastation in the
prayer with which he followed it. But
would rather have him pray for NE,
il were sick or in trouble, han any
Christian man / know Of, and in that
church all the people preferred him in
exhortation and prayer to ali others.
Why? Because he was so thoroughly
pious and had such power with God he
was irresistible; and as be 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 could
wipe out of my eyes enough tears to see
the closing hymn, ended the meeting,
fearful that some long-winded prayer
meeting bore would pull us down from
the seventh heaven.
Not a word have / to say against ac-
curacy of speech, or fine elocution, or
high mental culture. Get all these you
can. But do say to those who were
brought up in the day of poor cchool-
houses and ignorant schoolmasters, and
no opportunity: You may have so
much Of good in your soul and 80 much
of heaven in your everyday life that
you will be mightier for good than any
who went through the curriculum OF
Harvard, or Yale, or Oxford, yet never
graduated in the school of Christ. When
you get up to the gate of heGyen no
one will ask you whether you can parse
the first chapter of Genesis, but wheth-
nj Ice oI tho tf the