The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-08-25

possessed b. ~ Asva - suppose
sae was. never doing him . kindness
sn,il the day she ran away. % that
ae wrote In his diary these words: Il
d.d not forsaks her. have not dlsmis-
sej her. Iwill not recall her." Pant
ing one foot upon outside persecution
and the other foot upon home trouble.
John Wesley climbed up into the
heights Of Christian Joy. and after
preaching 10000 sermons and travelling
2,o.ooo miles. reached the heights Of
heaven. though In this world he had
It hard enough-"a sharp rock on the
one side and a sharp rock ON the 9TH
er."
Again. that woman stands in the cri-
sis OF the text who has bereavement
and a struggle for livelihood at the
same time. Without mentioning names
l speak from observation. All. II Is q
hard thing for a woman to make an
honest living, even when her heart Is
not troubled, and she has fair cheek.
and the magnetism Of an exquisite
presence. But now the husband or the
father Is dead. The expenses Of the
obsequies have absorbed all that was
left In the savings bank. and. wan and
wasted with weeping and watching.
she goes forth-a grave. q hearse. a
coffin behind her--to contend for her
existence and the existence Of her
children. When ! see such a battle as
that open. shudder at the ghastliness
Of the spectacle. Men sit with en-
briOdered slippers and write heartless
| essays about women's wages. but that
question Is made UP Of tears and blood.
and there Is more blood than tears.
Oh. give woman free access to all the
realms where she can get livelihood,
from the telegraph Office to the pulpit!
Let mems wages be cut down before
hers are cut down. Men have iron In
their souls and can stand It. Make the
way free to her of the broken heart
May God put into my hand the cold.
bitter cup Of privation, and give me
nothing but a windowless hut for shell
ter for many years rather than that
after I am dead there should 60 out
from my home into the pitiless world
Q woman's arm to fight the Gettysburg,
the Austerlitz, the Waterloo OF life for
bread! And yet how many women
there are seated between the rock OF
bereavement on the one side and the
rock Of destitution on the other! Bozes
and Seneh interlocking their shadows
and dropping them upon her miserable
way. There IL o sharp rock on the
one side and sharp rock on the other
side"
What are such to do? Somehow Let
them climb UP into the heights Of the
glorious promise: Leave thy father.
less children. will preserve them
alive and let thy widows trust in me-"
Or get up into the heights of that other
glorious promise: 'The Lord preserv-
eth the stranger and relleveth the Wild
ow and the fatherless." o ye sewing
women on starving wages! o ys wid-
ows turned out from the once beautiful
home! . ye female teachers kept on
niggardly stipend! o yej despair1ng
women seeking in vain for work, war
dering along the docks and thinking
to throw yourselves into the river last
night! We women Of weak nerves,
and aching sides, and short breath and
broken heart, you need something more
than human sympathy. You need the
90 Al 80
arms. He knows II all. and he loves
you more than father or mother or hus-
band ever could or ever did. and instead
Of sitting down. wringing your hands
In despair. you had better begin to
climb. There are heights OF consolation
for you. though now there Is a sharp
rock on the one side and q shayp rock
on the other side"
Again, that man Is in the crisis OF
the text who has wasted life on the
one side and an unilluminated eternity
on the other. Though a man may 40
his life have cultured dellberation and
self poise, II he gets into THAI position
all lis self possession Is gone. There
are all the wrong thoughts Of his ex-
istence. all the wrong de .ds. all the
wrong words-strata above strata,
granite, ponderous. overshadowing.
That rock I call Bozex. On the other
side are all the retrbutions Of the fut-
ure. the thrones Of Judgment, the eter-
nal ages, angry with his long defiance.
That rock call Seneh. Between these
two rocks 10000 times 10000 have per.
ished.
o man immortal. man redeemed. man
blood bought. climb up out OF those
shadows! Climb up by the way Of the
cross. Have your wasted life forgiven.
Have your eternal life secured. This
hour Just take one look to the past and
and see what II has been. and take one
look to the future and see what II
threatens to be. You can afford to lose
your health. you can AFFORD to lore
your property. you can afford to lose
your reputation. but you cannot afford
to lose your soul. That bright, gleam-