Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-10-06
HOUNDED LIKE DEER.
WHERE THE TROUBLED OF EARTH
MAY QUENCH THEIR THIRST.
Or. Talmnnc Sees In the Forest nm
Example Of Hope For the Unfortu-
nate and Hnrassc6 Of the World-A
Lesson From the Life of David.


Example of Hope For the Unfortu-
nate and Hnrasscd Of the worId-A
Lesson From the Life of David.
copyright, 1898, by American Press Asso-
ciaton.l
I WASHINGTON, Oct. DIR Talmagc,
drawing his illustrations from "a deer hunt
In this discourse calls all the pursued and
| troubled of the earth to como and slake
their thirst at the deep river of divine
comfort tcSt, Psalms Kill /, GAS tho
, hart pantcth after the water brooks, so
pantcth my soul after thee, God"
| David, who must some time have seen q
deer hunt, points us here to u hunted stag
making for the water. Tho fascinating
animal called in my text the hart is the
same animal that in sacred and profanc
literature is called the stag, the rocbuck,
the hind the gazcllc, the reindeer. In cen
trail Syria in Bible times there were whole
| pasture fields of them, rs solomon sug-
gests whom he says II charge you by the
kinds of tho field" Their antcrs jutted
from the long grass rs they lay down. No
hunter who has been long in "John
Browns tract" will wonder that in tho
Biblo they were clasScd among clean ami
mails, for tho dcws, tho showers, the lakes
2
Isaac, tho patriarch, longcd for vcnison,
ESau shot and brought home roobuck.
Isaiah compares the sprightlincss of tho
restored cripple of millonnial times to the
. long and quick jump of the stag, saying,
1.-The lame shall lcap as the hart" Solo
mon expressed his disgust at n hunter who,
/ having shot deer, is too lazy to cook it,
saying, "Thc slothful man roasteth not
/ that which he took in hunting"
But one day David, whilc far from tho
( homo from which he had been driven, and
sitting near the mouth of lonely cavo
whore he had lodged and on the banks of
pond or river, heard pack of hounds in
swift pursuit. Because of the previous
silence of tho forest the clangor startlcs
him, and he says to himself, II wonder
what those dogs arc after" Then there is
"a cracking i'll tho brushwood, and the
loud breathing of some rushing wonder of
tho woods and the antlcrs of II deer rcnd
the leaves of the thickct and by an in
stinct which all hunters recognize tho
creature plungcs into n pool or lake or
river to cool its thirst and at the Same time
by its capacity for swifter and longer
swimming to get away from the fouming
barriers David says to himself: AHA,
that is myself Saul after me, Absalom
after me, enemies without number after
me; | am chased; their bloody mu22lcs
at my heels, barking ut my good name
barking after my body, barking after my
soul oh, the hounds, tho hounds But
look there, says David TO himself that
reindeer has splashod into the water. 1t
puts its hot lips and nostrils into the cool
wavo that washes its lathcrcd TANKS and
it swims away from tho fiery CANNES and
=. 4 ~ II. Il n. 4 Il
the deep, wide lake of Gods mercy and
consolation escape from my pursucrs! Oh,
for the waters of life and rescue! AS the
hart pantcth after the water brooks, so
pantoth my soul after thoe o God.
The Adirondacks are now populous with
hunters, and tho deer are being slain by
tho score Talking one summer with a
hunter, l thought l would like to SEQ
whether my text was accurate in its allu-
sion, and rs l heard tho dogs baying lit
tic way off and supposed they we're on tho
track of n deer, l said to one Of the hunt
ers in rough corduroy, "Do tho deer al
ways make for water when they are pur-
sucdg" He said; "Oh, yes, mister. You
see they are hot and thirsty animal and
they know whore tho water is, and when
they hear danger in the distance they lift
their aptlcrs and sniff the breeze and start
for tho Racquet or Loon or Saranac, and
we get into our cedar shell boat or stand
by tho runaway with rifle loaded and
ready to blazo away"
bible Allusions True to Nature.
My friends, that is ono reason why
like the Bible so much-itS illusions are
so true to nature. Its cartridges are real
partridgcs its ostriches real ostrichcs and
Its reindeer real reindeer. | do not wonder
. that this antlcrod glory of tho text makes
the hunters ego sparkle and his cheek
glow and his respiration quicken. To say
! nothing OF its usefulness, although it il
the most useful of all game, its flesh deli
cious, its skin turned into human apparel
its sinews fashioned into bowstrings, it,
antlers putting handles on cutlery ant
the shayings of its horn used rs punRcn
restorative, the name taken from the har
and called hartshorn. But putting aside
its usefulness, this enchanting creature
seems made out Of graccfulness and elias
ITCHY. What an eye, with liquid bright
: ness as if gathered up from IA hundred
lakes at sunset! The horns, q corunH
branching into every possible curve, anC
after it seems complete ascending int
other projections of exquisitencss ire
of polished bono, uplftod in pride o
swung down for awful combat. The har
is velocity cmbodied; timidity impcrson
ated; tho cnchantmcnt of the woods. 1t
eye lustrous in life and pathetic in death
The splendid animal complete rhythm
of muscle and bone and color and atti
tude and loComotion, whether couched il
the grass among tho shadows, or u livin
bolt shot through the forest, or turning u
bay to attack the hounds, or rearing 70
its last fall under tho buckshot of til
trapper. 1t is u splendid appearance tina
the painters pencil fails to sketch, an
only n hunters dream on a pillow of hen
, lock at tho foot of st. Regis is able to pie
l turo. When 20 miles from any settlement
it comes down at eyentido to the lake
edge to drink among the lily pods an
with its sharp edged hoof skaters til
crystal OF Long lake 1t is very pictul
esque. But only when, after miles of pun
suit, with heayng sides and lolling tongu
r and eyes swimming in death tho sta
leaps from the cliff into upper Sarana,
can you realize how much David had su
fered FROM his troubles and how much i
wanted God when he expressed himself i
the words of the text, LAS the hart pan
eth after the water brooks so pantcth III
soul after thee, o God. "
Deer at nay.
Well, now, let all those who have con
ing after them tho lean hounds of povert,
or tho black hounds of persecution, or Il
spotted hounds Of vicissitude, or the pa
hounds of death, or who are in any wiz
pursued, run to the wide, deep, gloriot