The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-04-20
BENTON LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, APRIL 20. 1899

oecdust OF MS Drlluancy and Dltte1.
ness the COL knentators might we'll have
supposed him to be the star Wormwood
| OF the text. AS the regions he devas-
tated were parts most opulent with
fountains and streams and rivers. YOU
see how graphic my text is: "There
fell great star from heaven, burning
as it were lamp, and it fell upon the
third part of the rivers and upon the
fountains of waters, and the name of
! the star is called Wormwood'
Have you ever thought how many
embittered lives there are all about
us. misanthropic, morbid, acrid satur-
nine? The European plant from which
wormwood is extracted. Artemisia alb
sinthium, is perennial plant, and all
the year round it is ready to exude it's
oil, and in many human lives there is
perennial distillation of acrid expert
ences. Yea, there are some whose
whole work is to shed a baleful in
fiuence on others. There are Attilas
of the home, Attilas of the social cir
Gle. Attilas of the church, Attilas of
the state, and ene-third of the waters
of all the world, if not two-thirds the
waters, are poisoned by the falling of
the star Norwood. 1t is not uncom-
| plimentary to human nature that most
men. as soon as they get great power
become overbearing. The more power
men have the better, il their power be
used for good. The less power men
have the better, If they use it for evil
Birds circle round and round and
round before they swoop upon that
which they are aiming for. And if
my discourse so far has been swinging
round and round. this moment it drops
straight on your heart and asks the
question: Is your life benediction to
others or an imbitterment, blessing
or a curse, a balsam or wormwood?
Some of you. l know, are morning
stars. and you are making the dawn
ing life of your children bright with
gracious influences. and you are beam
ing upon all the opening enterprises
of philapthroPic and Christian endeav-
or. and you are heralds of that
day of gospelization which will yet
flood all the mountains and valleys of
cur sin accursed earth. Hail, morn
ing star! Keep on shining with en-
couragemert and Christian hope!
Some of you are evening stars, and
you are cheering the last days of old
people. and, though cloud sometimes
comes over you through the querulous-
ness or unreasonableness of your aged
father and mother. it is only for mo-
ment, and the star soon comes out
clear again and is seen from all the
balconies of the neighborhood. The
old people will forgive your occasional
shortcomings, for they themselves sew
eral times lost their patience with yoil
when you were young. and perhaps
whipped you when you did not deserve
it. Hail, evening star! Hang on the
darkening sky your diamond coronet.
But are any of you the star Worm
wood? Do you scold and growl from
the thrones paternal or maternal? Are
your children everlastingly pec2ed at:
Are you always crying "Hush!" to the
| merry voices and swift feet and to the
laughter which occasionally trickles
through at wrong times and is sup
pressed by them until they can hold it
no longer, and all the barriers burst
into unlimited gutfaw and cachinna-
ton. as in this weather the water has
| trickled through slight opening in
the mildam, but afterward makes
| wider and wider breach until it carries
all before it with irresistible freshet?
Do not be too much offended at the
noise your children now make. 1t will
be still enough when one of them is
dead Then you would give your right
hand to hear one shout from the silent
voice or one step from the still foot.
You will not any of you have to wait
very long before your house is stiller
than YOU want it. Alas, that there
are so many homes not known to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children, where children are whacked
and cuffed and ear pulled, and sense
lessly called to order, and answered
sharply. and suppressed. until it is
wonder that under such processes they
do not all turn out Mana Sahibs!
What is your influence upon the
neigEborhood, the town or the city Of
YOUR residence? l will suppose that
YOU are star of wit. What kind of
rays do you shoot forth? Do You use
that splendid faculty to irradiate the
world or to rankle it? l bless all the
apostolic college of humorists. The
man that makes me laugh is my bene-
factor. / do not thank anybody to
make me cry. l can do that without
assistance. We all cry enough and
have enough to cry about. God bless all
skillful punsters, all reparteeists, all
propounders of ingenious conundrums,
all those who mirthfully surprise
ms with unusual juxtaposition of
words. Thomas Hood and Charles
Dickens and Sydney Smith had divine
mission, and SO have their successors in
these times. They stir into the acid
beverage of life the saccharine. They
make the cup of earthly existence.
-. nj N ;s eovn times sfale affArveSee a nd