The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-02-03

he las dropped the catechism. The
wheel of fortune turns up again. and
/ he gets his $50 900. Now he has prayers
on Sabbath morning alone. The wheel
of fortune keeps turning up, and he has
5000. and now he has prayers on
Sabbath morning when he feels like It
and there is no company. The wheel
OF fortune keeps on turning up, and
he has his $500. 900 and no prayers at
all. Four-leaf clover in pasture field
is not 80 rare as family prayers in the
houses of people who have more than
$500. But now the wheel of for
tune turns down, and the man loses
$500, 900 out of the 100000. Now on
Sabbath morning he is on stepladder
| looking for Bible under the old news
papers on the bookcase. He is going
to have prayers. His affairs are more
and more complicated. and after aw lille,
crash goes his last dollar. Now he has
prayers every morning, and he hears
his grandchildren the catechism. Pros
perlty took him away from God; adj
versity drove him back to God. Hot eli
mate to make the coral; hot and scald-
ing trouble to make the jewels of grace
in the soul. We all hate trouble, and yet
it does great deal Tor us. You have
heard, perhaps, of that painter who
wished to get an expression of great
distress for his canvas, and who had
his servant lash a man fast and put
him to great torture, and then the
artist caught the look on the victims
flfsa nd falx
the canvas. Then he said to the ser.
want, More torture" and under more
torture there was more thorough ex-
preston of pain, and the artist said:
stop there; wait till catch that ex-
preston. There! Now l have it u pom
the canvas. Let loose the victim.
have work that will last forever"
''Oh, you say, she was an inhuman
| painter" No doubt a bouti it. Trouble
is cruel and inhuman; but he is great
pain ter, and out of our tears and blood
on his palette, he makes colors that
never die. Oh, that it might be pic
ture of Christian fortitude, of shining
hope!
On the day was licensed to preach
the Gospel an old Christian man took
my hand and said: My son, when
you get in a tight corner on Saturday
night, without any sermon, send for
me, and will preach for YOU" Well,
it was great encouragement to be
backed up by such good old minister,
and it was not long before l got in to
a tight corner on Saturday night,
without any sermon, and sent for the
old minister, and he came and
preached, and it was the last sermon
he ever preached. All the tears cried
at his funeral could not express my af-
lection for that man. who was willing
to help me out OF tight corner. All.
my friends that is what we all
want-somebody to help us out
of a tight corner. You are in
am used to judging of human counts
nances, and see beyond the smile and
beyond the courageous look with
which you hide your feelings from 9TH
ers. know you are in tight corner.
What to do? Do as l did when sen
for old DR.. Scott. Do better than did
send for the Lord God OF Daniel, and
OF Joshua, and of every other man who
got into a tight corner. TO-" says
some one, ''why can not God develop
me through prosperity instead of
through adversity?' l will answer
your question by asking another. Why
does not God dye our northern aud
temperate seas with the coral? You
say: The water is not hot enough.
There! In answering my question you
have answered your own. hot climate
for richest specimens of coral; hot
trouble for the jewels of the soul. The
coral-hshers gong out from Tore del
Greece never brought ashore such fine
specimens as are brought out of the
scalding surges of misfortune. l look
down into the tropical sea, and there
is something that looks like blood, and
l say: HAS there been great battle
down there?' Seeming blood scattered
all up aud down the reefs. 1t is the
blood OF the coral, and it makes me
think of those who come out Of great
tribulation and have their robes
washed white in the Blood of the
Lamb. But these gems of earth are
rothing to the gems of Heaven. No
mention shall be made of coral"
One specimen of coral Is called the
dendrophilia. because is like a tree
another is called the astrara, beca use
it is like star; another is called
the brain coral, because it IS
like the convolutions of the hu.
man brain; another is called fan coral,
because it is like the instrument with
which you cool yourself on hot day
another specimen is called the organ
pipe coral, because it resem bles the
king of musical instruments. All the
flowers and all the shrubs in the gar
dens of the land have their CORE.
spondencies in this garden of the sea.
Corallum 1T is a synonym for beauty
And yet there is no beauty in the
coral compared with our religion
1t gives physiognomic beauty. l,
does not change the features; il does
not give features with which the per-
son was not originally endowed, but
it sets BE- hind the features of the home
Hest person Heaven that shines cea.
through. So that often, on first &C
quain lance. you said of a man: He is