The Monte Vista journal., 1898-02-19
Myror Reeds Sermon.


Mrs. sarratt. At Mankato. Minnesota.
a generous citizen offered to present
me with . few slivefs from the plat
form on which thirty Sioux calmly
took their station to die.
We must be careful Of the food for
our minds. Nothing has such drawing
and deadly power az public execu-
tion. The last one here In Denver was
a public disgrace. Public hankinE
used to be q common, everyday anair
In England. But murders were planned
under the scanold.
The worst of crime ia initiation. the
powder In ready and the fuse and an
Item in a newspaper lights 1t.
A boy and his father came to Indian
apolis to be present at hanging. They
could not see it-n white sheet shut in
the spectacle. But they could he near
1t. They could breathe the atmosphere.
They did; they bought the newspapers
that had In them livld reports Of the
crime and pictures Of the gallows and
the knot. They supped full Of horrors
and went home and read the papers In
the evening as kind Of luncheon.
That night that boy and his sister muir
dered their father and nearly mur.
them was set ON fire by what they had
seen. heard and read and breathed. The
century plant blossomed.
When you hear Of one suicide, you
may expect more. Many people these
days have an aversion to life and they
read how one walked out Of the open
door and they think about II and II
seems no easy to go into oblivion. II
- a deadly mistake. There ID no Oh
livion to any living thing. I once drove
a horse who would stop at the foot Of
n hill and look at II and go one side
and the other and In minute or SO
make dash at 1t and clear II at
gallop. He was sensible horse. Some
people get their troubles little BY little.
NO much day. a dribble Of trouble.
Some people get Ii all at once. It In
something like a ride to Idaho Springs.
very pleasant ont Mount Vernon way.
But there is hill somewhere In the
neighbOrhOOd that Is heart breaking.
My business calls me TO places of
pain and death. Except for that shun
the gloomy and the doleful. As much
ns possible avoid crepe, and dOleful
hymns written by people who were in
prison and about to be tortured and
about to die. Do not tell your friend
how Ill he Is looking. He knows how
Ill he feels, am getting 40 far civilized
TINT can hate and detest q mans
opinion and still respect him. Once I
could not do II.
Nothing In the life Of Stonewall Jack
son made such a mark ON my mind a.
this: He and his cadets from the mil
itary academy In the valley Of Virginia
were called out in the fall Of 1859 to
guard the Jail in which John Brown.
sentenced. was waiting death. When
jackson and his boys found out by the
instinct Of brave men the kind Of .
man they were guarding they filed In
and shook hands with the old man.
Brave. deceat men have q grip and
password: they know one another.
Wolfe and Non.cafm knew one an
other. Grant and LonGstreet locked
arms after the surrender and Grant
called him "Pete."
Thomas Carlyle writes q book On
Heroes" Think OF the assembly!
Mahomet was not q plutocfat: he
mended his shoes In front Of bis black
tent. He was a. democratic ~ . SOL
dier Of my regiment And with Ma
homet he assemblies Dante. Knox.
Burns, Cromwell. Roeseau, Shakes
pears. Luther. even Napoleon. I
would leave him out. There 10 q death
mask Of him Ia St. Louis, and II looks
wicked and poisonous.
like polIteness and 4 right rever-
ence. was fairly polite man when I
came TO Denver. People say TO me.
"You do not recognize me on the
street" The next day I recognize ev.
60 hare headed half way up
Sixteenth street. Not one In ten WIN
answer my salute. The next day do
not see anybody.
Denver II q cold -blooded propoaition.
II 10 the coideAt town socially that I
ever lived In. I can explain II: We
were not brought up together. We are
here from the ends Of the earth ard the
Islands Of the sea. You will pardon me
for speaking Of an Indiana town; II
would take me couple Of hourS to Oet
from home TO the postomce. What II
the use Of this insane race aftae DOL
lar! Why no; live while yoq iivei
A thousand peopSe have rad the trial
OF q sausage maker where one has
read '"The Resmon On the Mount" We
cannot mentally and normally live on,
that garbage. FI. Z
One Of my boys in Belgium writes
to me that the chisf Of Thousand
workmen comes into the. shop and
shakes hands and says "Good morn
Ing TO every one Of the thousand. And
when he leaves he shakes hands and
says Good evening" to all ee them.
Nupposing that would break out II
Denver! He writes me that whaa he
takes q trnmcar he aalutes the cou4Dc.
tor and the conductor aaluies him. -
nt the hotel and at the table. This 1T.
the business Of poliicneas does not cost
much effort.
Ia the second volume Of wilhelm
Meistcr Goethe tells Of school where
The chrlfifsa are taught thsve fvvef.
ences. ous for what II above them. one
for Whist y % their level. one for what
IL below them. They are taught rev.
ercnrc for everything living.
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