The Monte Vista journal., 1898-01-08
!. Myror Reeds Sermon.

there were some children playing leap
frog. That was better. What we need
Ia life, and pictures and poems Of life.
Our hymns are too dOleful. Think OF
singing thing like this: "Unveil thy
bosom. faithful tomb" am popular
with the hackmen OF this city because
am rapid ut funeral. l do not want
to freeze them to death.
The MOravians are the only people
who know how to conduct funeral.
They dress in white and sing cheerful
songs. The average funeral contrndicts
the plain teachings OF Christ. We are
improving. Several funerals TINT l
have attended lately have Ind the door
marked with flowers. The Mnsons bury
n brother and throw In bit Of ever
green. The frost of death does not
wilt life and turn 1t yclloT'. II am the
resurrection and the life" saith the
Lord. l have been to funerals that
were simply ghastly. l have known II
preacher to harrow up the mourners
for an hour. 1t was his opportunity.
suppose the average jury wishes that
the lawyer would quit. Preachers are
bad enough. but II would repeat and
reiterate us some lawyers do, you peo-.
pie would bolt-you would go out b.
blocks. The jury cannot get away
neither can you get away from fun
eral. The old test Of Oratory was to
make the people cry. The new test IL
to make people think. There was :;
preacher In India who could make peo-
pie cry by pathetic use Of the word
"MesopOtamia." He could sound GER
tnin note till dog would howl. He
was AL" In camp meetings. l never
saw him mt ghost dance.
I cannot read whitfield's sermons moi.
Spurgeon's nor MOody's. There IL no
thought in them for Inc md the doc.
trine is abominablc. am not big
enough coward to worship the God
these men present. The best sermon
met In Scotland was on n headstone H.
n graveyard:
Here lies David ElginbrOd:
Have mercy on him. gracious God
He would on you II he were God
And you were David Elginbrod.
The eloquent man makes you feel
what he feels. He can do II by pict-
urc. by n statue. by poem, by IA
speech. by song. l can get myself
into n good mood by reading Longfel-
low:
Such songs have power TO quiet the
restless pulse Of care.
And comes like the benetiictIon that
follows after prayer.
/ have read J. T. Headley's descrip-
tion Of n battle. hut know ms read
that J. \. Ileadley had never been In
battle. His writing Is as artificial as
n cotton rose wired onto stick or n
wooden plume on n learsc. In Count
Tolstoi's War and Peace" you read OF
battles, you do not need proof that the
writer was In them. All OF them he
saw and part OF them he wns In. II is
as renl ns n tootnnche. "EloIuence."
says TOrimin. sis u virtue; Il forbids
retailing doctrines ut second hand; aay-
Ing things that are memOrixed and not
felt" However, could a smooth. olenr-
inOtis preacher OF ten years ngO insist
mt extreme length on the Infamous doc
trlnc Of the damnation OF non-clcct In
fnnts! ! can ss.c how he could do II.
but cannot see how lie could do II and
remain fat. He was taught the doc
trine. he memorIxed 1t and repeated;
lie never believed 1t OF any particular
baby. When Fnrrngut had passed the
forts and the Hartford lny broadsidc
to the main street Of New Orleans,
there was Intense excitement on the
lcvee. One man was especially violent.
lie cursed and damned with rage.
There was nm eloquent sailor and gun.
ner on the Hartford. He was leaning
on the rail- He caught the eye Of the
fanatic orator. He said nothing. He
reached out his hand and pattesi his
big gun. II wns patting u sleeping
earthquake.
was talking with Wisconsin farm.
er. He wns telling me Of visit he had
made to his old farm In York state. lie
got on at the station and walked up TO
the old place where he had picked up
stone and plowed and sowed aud era
died and rnked and hound. He said
the first acquaintance lie met was n
Canadian thistle. Although II was rain.
Ing he looked at the familiar weed and
took on his hat and said: How do you
do. Slrr There is sympathy In elo-
Quencc. The feeling Robert Burns had
for mice and wounded rabbits AMI
sheep out In the winter storm and
Mary In heaven. Robert Burns felt
with creation. That is the rca sOn he
did not live very long md is loved for.
ever. "ElOVucncc." says Robert lnEer.
soil. "is not up In the stars; Il II down
In the grnss." ! need not repeat to you
the speech of Abraham Lincoln At Get.
tysburg. II II not more than two min
utes long. John Brown said q few
mighty words on his way TO the scaf.
fold. Sir Walter Raleigh would have
liked John Brown. lie said to the Rlser-
IN: 81 did not know that this was no
beautiful n country" have aecn high
Indifference to death. We captured q
guerrilla him reti.hnnticti. He
objected 10 ln'Ing bound or blinifoidei.
lie stood there an his fathers farm In
the bend Of the river. where he learned
to swim. md he looked nj us. lie
looked straight nt thirty cnrbincs that
looked straight nt him. lie took OF his
slouch Int. put II In shape. crease In
the crown and proper dent In the side
and thanked me for general Kindness.
! wanted To let him 60, hut i,c had
taken prisoner my sergeant week bc.
fore and murdered him. Rnd hardened
my hcnrt. Hut win never forget thu
perfect pose and balance of the man.
lie Ind never heard Of Shakespeare.
but hc played Hamlet" II do not sct
my life for pins fec. and for my
soul. what rnn you do with thatr
! do not have II at hand. but the
speech of tcsi Cloud. an Indian, ought
10 70 into the scliool readers. I have
barely time 10 rad you two spesscl,cs.
A few yrars aEo visited Craigeuput.
took. where Thomas Carlyle wrote
"Hartor ltrsartus." and waited for q
publIshrr. On tlse way hack to Dam.
fries stopped 1t the graveyard st Iron
flea~ klxl ASs...sh-.