Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-01-06

ment, to give many of the stay at homes
proper recognition. In the different
wars the sons went to the front and on
ships deck or battlefield exposed their
lives and earned tho admiration Of the
country, but how about the mothers
and fathers who through long years
taught those sons the noble sentiments
that inspired them to go and then gave
them up when perhaps a few words Of
earnest protest would have kept them
on the farm aud in the homestead? The
day Of final reward will reveal the self
sacrifice and the fidelity Of thousands
who never in all their lives received
one word of praise. Oh, ye unknown,
ye faithful and Christian and all endur
ing stay at homesl l have no power
now to do you justice, but tell you Of
one who has the power and of the day
when be will put it forth. 1t will be
the day when the thimble, and the la
die, and the darning needle, and the
washtub. and the spinning wheel, and
the soythe, and the thrashing machine,
and the hammer, and the trowel, aud
the plow, will come to as high an ap
probation as "a FOUNDER, or the sword,
or the battering ram that pounded down
the wall or the flag that was hoisted
on the scaled parapets.
4 Great Soldier.
The warrior David of my text showed
more self control and moral prowess in
staying at home than he could have
shown commanding in the field He
was a natural warrior. Martial airs
stirred him. The glitter of opposing
shields fired him. He was one of those
men who feel at home in the saddle,
patting the neck of a paving cavalry
horse But be suppressed himself. He
obeyed the command Of the troops whom
be would like to have commanded.
Some Of the greatest Sedans and Aus
terlitzes have been in baokwOods kitoh
ems or in nursery, with three children
down with scarlet fever, soon to join
the two already in the ohurchyard, or
amid domestic wrongs and OutTages
enough to transform angels into devils,
or in commercial life within their own
counting rooms in time Of Black Friday
panios, or in mechanical life in their
own carpenter shop or on the soaffold-
ing of walls, swept by cold or smitten
by heat. No telegraphic wires reported
the crisis Of the conflict. no banner was
ever waved to celebrate their victory,
but God knows, and God will remem
Der. and God will adjust, and by him
the falling of a tear is as girtaiuly no
ticed as the burning Of world, and the
hutter Of sparrow's W g as the flight
of the apocalyptic arch'o 81.
Oh, what God We I've for small
things as we'll as big things David no
more helped at the front than helped at
home. The four regiments modified
for the defense of the throne Of Israel
were right In protesting against David's
exposure Of his life at the front. Had
be been pierced of an arrow or cloyen
down with battleax or fatally slung
from snorting war charger, what dis
aster for the throne of Israel AbsalOm. |
his son, was low fellow and unfit to
reign his two chief characteristics were
his handsome face and his long hair
so long that when he had it cut that
which was scissOred off weighed 1920
shekels, after the kings weight, and
when man has nothing but a hand
some face and an exuberance Of hair
there is not much Of him. The capture
or Staying Of David would have been a
calamity irreparatle. Unnecessary ex-
posure would have been a crime for Da'
vid, as it is crime for you.
Some people think it is bright thing
to put themselves in unnecessary peril
They like to walk up to the edge Of a
precipice and look off, defying vertigo
OF go among contagious when they can
be of no use but to demonstrate their
own bravado, or with glee drive horses
which are only harnessed whirlwinds
or see how close they can walk in front
OF a trolley car without being crushed,
or spring on rail train after 1t has
started, or leap off rail train before 1t
has stopped. Their life is a series Of
narrow escapes, careless Of what pre-
dicament their family would suffer at
their sudden taking off or Of the mis-
fortune that might come to their bust
ness partners or the complete failure Of
their life work, if coroner's jury must
be called in to decide the style of their
exit. They do not take into considera-
tion what their life is worth to others
Taken off through such recklessness
they 90 criminals. There was not one
man among those four full regiments
Of 1000 Israelites that would have so
much enjoyed being in the fight as Da-
vid, but he saw that he could serve his
nation best by not putting on helmet
and shield and sword, and SO he took
the advice Of the armed men and said,
"What seemeth to you best l will do. "
Warrant that you will die soon enough,
without teasing and bantering casualty
to see if it can launch you into the next
world.
Keep Out Of Peril.
In nine cases out of ten the fatalities
every day reported are not the fault Of
engineers or brakemen or conductors or
cab drivers, but of the stupidity and
recklessness of people at street or rail
road crossing. They would like to have
the Chicago limited express train, with |
900 passengers and advertised to arrive
at a certain hour in a certain city, slow
up to let them get two minutes sooner
TO their destination. not one farthing
of their own or any one clse's welfare
dependent on whether they arrive ons
minute before ~ o'clock or one minute
after. You ought to get permission from
n railroad superintendent TO mount be-
side the engineer on a locomotive to re-
alize how many evils Of recklessness
there are in the world-funeral process
Iions whipping up to get across before
,he cowcatcher strikes the hearse; man
Of family, with wife and children be-
Iide him In q wagon, evidently having
made CLOSE calculation as to whether
stroke from the locomotive would pos
them backward OF forward in the jour
ney 10 the village grocery; traveller ON