Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-09-08

Will successfully talk no more religion
than we ourselves have. Tho most of that
which you do to benefit the souls of this
generation you will effect through your
own behavior Go wrong and that will
induce others TO go wrong. Go right and
that will induce others to go right. When
the great Centennial exhibition was being
held in Philadelphia, the question came
up among the directors as to whether they
should keep tho exposition open on Sun
days, when n director, who was man Of
the world from Nevada, arose and said,
his voice trembling with emotion and
tears running down his cheeks: II feel
like u returned prodigal. Twenty years
ago went west and into region where
we had no Sabbath, but today old men,
cries come back to me, and l remember
what my gloriflcd mother taught me about
keeping Sunday, and l seem to hear her
voice again and feel us did when every
evening l knolt by her side in prayer
Gentlemen, l vote for the observance of
| the Christian Sabbath" And he carried
everything by storm, and when the qucs-
| ton was put, shall we open the exhibit
ton on the Sabbath?' it was almost unan-
imous, mo, "No." What one man can
do If he docs right, boldly right, emphat-
ically right
For THIS Generation.
l confess to you that my one wish Is TO
! serve this generation, not to antagonize it,
not to damage 1t, not to rule 1t, but to
serve it.. l would like to do something
toward helping unstrap its load, to stop
! its tears, to balsam its wounds and to in
duco 1t to put foot on tho upward road
that has at It's terminus reclamation rap
turous and gatos pcarlinc and garlands
and dominons onthroncd and coroncted,
for l cannot forget that lullaby in tho
closing words of my text, David, after
he had served his own generation by the
will of God, fell on sleep" What lovely
| sleep it wasl Unnlial Absalom did not
/ trouble it. Ambitious Adonijah did not
worry it. Prosecuting Saul did not har-
| row It, Exile did not fiji 1t with night
mare Since u rcdhcaded boy, amid his
! fathers flocks at night, he had not had
! such good sleep. At 10 years OF age he
! laid down to it. He had had many u
! troubled sleep, as in the cavcrns of Adult
! lam or in the palace at the time his en-
emes were attempting his capture, but
this was u peaceful sleep, II calm sleep, u
rcstful sleep, Il glorious sleep, after he
! had served his generation by the will of
| God he fell on sleep"
Oh what II good thing is sleep after u
hard days work 1t takes all the aching
out Of the head and ell tho WEAKNESS out
/ of the limbs and all the smarting out Of
the eyes From it we rso in the morning,
and it is new world, and if we, like
David, servo our generation wo will at
lifcs close have most desirable and ro-
frcshing sleep. In it will vanish our last
fatigue of body, our last worriIncnt OF
"a, 1nJt of soul 10, tbn
Christians body that was hot with raging
fcvers, so that the attendants must by
sheer force keep on the blankets, it will DO
the cool sleep. To those who are thin
bloodod and shivering with agues it will
! be the warm sleep. To those who, be-
cause of physical disorders, were terrified
with night visions, it will be the dream
less sleep. TO nurses and doctors and
mothers who We're Weakened almost every
hour of the night by those to whom they
ministcred or over whom they watched it
will be the undisturbcd sleep. TO those
who could not get to bed till late at night
and must rise carly in the morning and
before getting rested, it will DO tho long
sleep.
Away with Gloomy Talk.
Away with all your gloomy talk about
departing from this world! IL we have
served our generation, it will not be put
ting out into the breakers 1t will not be
tho fight with the king of tcrrors 1t will
be going to sleep. A friend writing mo
from Illinois, says that Rev. DR.. Wingate
president of Wake Forest college, North
Carolina, after IA most useful life, found
his last day on earth his happiest day, and
that in his last moments he seemed to DO
personally talking with Christ, as friend
with friend, saying: "Oh, how delightful
it is! l knew you would be with mo when
the timc came. and l knew 1t would DO
sweet but l did not know it would be ms
sweet as it is. - Tho fact was he had served
his generation in the gospel ministry, and
by the will of God he fell asleep. When
in Africa Mnjwara, tho servant, looked
into the tent of David Livingstone and
found him on his knees. He stepped back,
not wishing to disturb him in prayer,
and some timo after went in and found
him in the same posture and stepped back
again, but after awhile went in and
touched him, and, 10, the great traveller
had finished his last journey, and ho had
died in tho grandest and mightiest posture
a man ever takcs-on his knees. He had
served his generation by unrolling the
scroll Of IA continent, and by the will of
God fell on sleep. In tho museum of
Greenwich, England, there is fragment
of q book that was found in the arctic
regions amid the relics of Sir John Frank
lin, who had persisted amid the snow and
ice, and the leaf Of that piece of a book
was turned down at the words, "WheE
thou passest through the waters, l will be
with thee" Having served his genera
ton in the cause of science and discovery,
by the will of God he fell on sleep.
A Glorious Awakening.
Why will you keep us all so nervous
talking about that which is only a dormi-
tory and q pillowed slumber, canopied by
angels wingss Sleep Transporting
eleep And what a glorious awakening
You and have sometimes boon thorough
ly bewildered aftor long and fatiguing
journey. We have stopped at a friends
: house for the night, and after hours Of
complete Inconsistencies we have opened
, our eyes, the high risen sun full In our
faces, and before we could fully collect our
faculties have said: "Where am ~ Whose
house is this and whose are those gardens?"
, And then it has flashed upon us in glad
reality.
And I should not wonder II, after we
have served our generation and, by the
will of God, have fallen on sleep, the deep
tleep the restf,l sleep, we should awaken
In blssful bswilderment and for little
while say: Where am II What palace is
thisp Why, this looks like heaven 1t Is,
J 1t Is. Why, there is building grander
} than all tho castles of earth heaved into a