St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-01-14

the soul, though preached to an aud
ence Of only one man or one woman
The Lord has ordained all such in
vGlids for a style Of usefulness whic
athletics and men of 200 healthy az
oirdupois cannot affect. It was not a
enemy that fastened you in that on
room or cent you on crutches. the long
est journey you have made for man
weeks being from bed to sofa and iron
sofa to looking glass. where you ar
shocked at the pallor Of your owl
cheek and the pinchedness of your fea
lures; then back again from mirror I,
sofa and sofa to bed. with a long sigl
saying: "How good it feels to get bacl
again to my old place on the pillow!'
Remember who it is that appointed tn,
day when for the first time in man,
years you could not 60 to business and
who has kept record of all the wear,
days and all the sleepless nights o
your exile from the world. o weary
man! o feeble woman, 1t was the Lore
who shut you in! Do you remember
that some of the noblest and best Of
men have been prisoners? Ezekiel .
prisoner. Jeremiah . prisoner. Paul {
prisoner. St. John q prisoner. John
Bunyan a prisoner. Though human
hate seemed to have all to do with them
really the Lord shut them in.
No doubt. while on that voyage. Noah
end his three sons and all the four Ia
dies Of the antetfiluvian world often
thought of the bright hillsides and the
green fields where they had walked
and of the homes where they had lived.
They had had many years of expert
ences. Noah was 600 years old at the
time Of this convulsion Of nature. He
had seen 600 springtimes, 600 sum-
mcrs. GOO autumns. 600 winters. We
IRE not told how old his wife was at
this wreck Of enrth and sky. The Bible
tells the age of great many men, but
only once gives q woman's age. At
one time it gives Adams age ms 100
years. and Jareds age at 1872 years, and
Enoch's age as 365 years. and all up
and down the Bible it gives the age Of
men, but does not give the age Of wom-
en-. Why? Because. I suppose, q wom-
ans age is none of our business. But
all the men and women that tossed in
that oriental craft had lived long
enough to remember a great many Of
the mercies and kindnesses Of God, and
they could not blot out, and think
they had no disposition to blot out the
memory of those brightnessses, though
now they were shut In. Neither should
The shut in Of our time forget the bless
ings of the past Have you been blind
for ten years? Thank God for the time
when you saw as clearly as any of us
can see, and let the pageant Of all the
radiant landscapes and illumined skies
which you ever looked upon kindle
your rapturous gratitude. I do not see
Haphael's Madonna di San Sisto" in
the picture gallery of Dresden. nor
Rubens' Descent from the Cross" at
Antwerp, nor Michael Angeles Last
on the ceiling Of the vati-
can, nor Saint Sophia at Constantine
pie. nor the Parthenon on the Acrop-
oils, nor the Tai Mahal Of India. But
shall / not thank God that have seen
them? Is it possible that such mid
night darkness shall ever blast my Vi
SION that | cannot call them up again?
Perhaps you are so deaf that you can
not hear the chirp Of bird or solo of
or even organ in full dinpa-
son, though you feel the foundations
under its majestic roll, or even
the thunderstorm that makes Mount
echo. But are you not
grateful that once you could hear trill
and chant and carol doxoiogy? can
not this hour hear Jenny Lind sing:
Comm Through the Rye" or Ole
Bulls enchanted viol, or Parepa Rosa's |
voice over many thousands |
Il voices and many thousands OF in
truments in the national peace jubilee
II 80 years ago, all these sounds accom-
,anied by the ringing of bells and the
runs on Boston common. But can
yer have NY ears 80 silence6 that
will rot remember that I did hear
hem? Are you chained to your room
ow, your powers of locomotion all
,one, or. il coming to the house of
;od, every step Is a torture?
Do you forget when in childhood you
anced and skipped because you were
. full of life you had not patience to
ralk. and in after years you climbed
he mountains Of Switzerland, putting
our alpenstock high up on glaciers
rmped long reaches In competition,
nd after walk Of ten miles you came
a jocund as the morning? Oh, you
aut-ins. Thank God for vivid MEM
~ OF the times when yon were free
: the chamois On the rocks. as the
agile going straight for the sun. When
he rain pounded the roof of the ark.
lie eight voyagers on that craft did
OF forget the time when II gayly pat
red in a summer shower, and when
,e door Of the ark shut to keep out the
.mpest they did not forget the time
hen the door Of their home in Ar
enia was closed to keep out the spring
inns which come to fill the cups Of lily
I'd honeysuckle and make all the trees
the wood clap their hands.
Again. notice that during that 40 &
lys OF storm which rocked that ship
! that universal ocean Of Noah;s time {
e door which shut the captain Of the I
lip inside the craft kept him from :,
any outside perils. How those wrath I
l seas would like to have got their wet
lnds on Noah and pulled him out and r
NIX him' And do oil Of you Of the $
eat army of the shut-in realize. '
ougf you have special temptations c
here you are now, how much Of the s
tside style Of temptation you escape? a
, you, the merchant incarcerated in c
{ sickroom. realize that every hour VI /
e day you spend looking out Of the a
ndow or gazing at the particular fig a
e on the wall paper or listening to the il
ock's ticks men are being wrecked by O
e allurements and uncertainties OF 4
siness life? How many forgeries are b
how many trust funds are i,
amped. how many public moneys are g