The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-12-18

OF General " hetier y daukuteFBs VINO no0
been insulted and mauled and slain ~
the sspoys. DO great was the vrath
agsinst these murderers that the Scotch
regiment sat down, and, cutting on the
hair Of this dead daughter of General
Wheeler, they divided II among them,
and each one counted the number Of hairs
given him, and each took an oath, which
was executed, that for each hair Of the
murdered daughter they would dash out
the life Of bestial sepoy. But a. we
look over the story of those who in all
ages have suffered for the truth, while
we leave vengeance to the Lord, let US
band together In one solemn vow, one ire
mendous oath, after having counted the
host of the martyrs, that for each one Of
those glorious men and women who died
for the truth an immortal shall Twelve
with God and live forever.
But, as already limited In the first SEN
tence of this sermon. nothing can be more
beautiful than the figures of smoke on a
clear sky. You can see what you will in
the contour of this volatile yapor, now
enchanted castles, now troops of horse
men, now hammered procession, now
winged couriers. now black angel Of
wrath under a spear Of the sunshine
turned to an angel of light, and now
from horizon to horizon the air is a pic
ture gallery filed with masterpieces Of
which God is the artist, morning clouds
of smoke born in the sunrise and evening
clouds of smoke laid in the FURNISHED
sepulchers of the sunset.
A Divine symbol.
The beauty of the TRANSPORTED smoke
Is a divine symbol Of the beauty Of the
church. The fairest of all the fair Is she.
Do not call those prosecutors Of whom
spoke the church. They are the parasites
Of the church, not the church itself. Her
mission is to cover the earth with a su-
pernatural glsdness, to open all the pris-
on doors, to balsam all the wounds, to
moss all the graves, to burn up the night
In the fireplace of great morning, to
change iron handouts into diamonded
wristlets, to turn the whole race around,
and whereas it faced death commanding
1t, Right about face for heaven!' Ac-
cording to the number of the spires Of the
churches in all our cities, towns and
neighborhoods, are the good homes, the
worldly properties, and the pure morals,
and the happy souls. 5
Meet me at any depot the world over,
and with my eyes closed take me by the
hand and lead me so that my feet will not
stumble, and without my once looking
down or looking on the level take me to
some high roof or tower and let me see
the tops of the churches, and will tell
you the proportion Of suicides, Of arsons,
of murders, of thefts. According as the
churches are numerous are the crimes
few. According as the churches are few
the crimes are numerous. The most beau
tiful organization the world ever saw or
ever will see Is the much maligned
church, the friend of all good, the foe Of
all evil, "fair as the moon and clear rs
the sum-" Beautiful in her Author, beau.
tiful in her mission, the heroine Of the
centuries, the bride of Christ, the queen
of the nations.
Men may dcsecrate 1t, as Cromwell
when he stabbed his cavalry horses in st.
Paul's cathedral; or break off the image
of Christ, as did the iconoclasts in York
minister; or hurl against it august liter.
airy antipathies, as did Gibbon; or plot Its
overthrow, as do some in every commune
ty whose pride and hate and debauchery
are reproved by the Ten Commandments
which it thunders and the sermon on the
mount which 1t breathes. But it will
stand as long as the earth stands, the
same unique and wonder working and
beatitic and miraculous thing for which
God decreed 1t. Small wits tax their
brain to say things that will put her at
but many Of them will send
for its coincidence when dying, and their
children will be gathered up under its
after the parental curse has
been removed. Through her gates will
march all the influences for good that
shall ever reach our world. Take her
as a mass, not speaking Of
the acknowledged exceptions, they are
the noblest, grandest, kindest, best men
and women Of the ages. But for them
the earth would long ago have been
burned out volcano. They have been the
salt that has kept the human race from
putrefaction insufferable either to human
or angelic olfactories.
The Hest Institution.
You lying and hypocritical world, shut
up those ISLANDERS about the church of
Christ, an institution which, far from be.
ing what it ought to be, and never pre-
tending to be perfect, is 500 times bet
ter than any other institution that the
world ever saw or ever dreamed Of. The
highest honor ever had, and the highest
honor | shall ever receive, and the high
est honor ever want is to have my name
on her records as member. At her al
tars repented. At her sacraments !
believed. In her service let me die.
From her doors let me be buried. 0
church Of God! Thou home of the right.
nous! Thou harbor from tempest! Thou
efurc for the weary! Thou lighthouse
9. - t.po-a-'