The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-01-05

throne, expressed to me in his palace |
the same sentiments of peace, and his |
wife, the then empress. with tears In
her eyes, said. in reply to my remarks:
"Your majesty, there will never be an
other great war between Christian ma
tions." 'Ah, hope there never will be!
If there should ever be another great
war, | am sure it will not start from this
palace
What a boon to the world if Russia
and Germany AID England and The
United States could safely disband all
their standing armies and dismanlle
their fortresses and spike their guns!
What uncounted millions of dollars
would be saved, and, more than that,
what a complete cessation of human
slaughter: What ar improvement of
the morals of nations! What an adop-
ton Of that higher and better manifesto
which was set to music and let down
from the midnight heavens of Be,hie-
hem ages ago! The world has got to
come to this. Why not make it the
peroration of the nineteenth century,:
Are we going to make a present to the
twentieth century of reeking hospitals
and dying armies and hemispheric
graveyarGs? Do you want the hoofs
Of other cavalry horses on the breasts
of fallen men? Do You want other har-
vest fields quilted with wheels of gun
carriages? Do you want the sky glar-
ing with conflagration of other home
steads? All. this nineteenth century
has seen enough of war. Make the ;.e-
be blasted with it.
Will it rot be grand if on the first day
of the twentieth century the last will
and testament of the nineteenth CEN
;ury shall be opened and it shall be
found to read: ''in the name of God,
amen. I, the dying century, do make
tEis my last will and testament. give
and bequeath to my heir, the twentieth
century, peace of nations; swords,
which | direct to be beaten into piow-
shares, and spears, which must be
turned into pruning hooks; armorcs.
to be changed into schoolhouses and
fortresses to be rebuilt into churches,
and | order that greater honors be put
on those who save life than upon those
who destroy it. And if amid the uni
versal peace now attained those two
nations, Spain and Turkey, do not stop
/ their cruelties, let the other nations,
| banded together, extemporize police
force 10 wipe those countries off the
map of nations as wet sponge wipes
from a boys slate at school a hard sum
| in arithmetic. This last will sign and
seal and deliver on the 3lst day of De-
cember. in the year of our Lord 1860,
all the civilized nations of earth and all
| the glorified nations of Heaven witness
! ing"
But what we do as individuals, as
churches. as nations, as continents, we
must Go very soon, if we want the trans
| ition from century to century to be
worthy transition, for hear the trum-
pets of the approaching century and the
gathering hoofs of the host it leads en-.
! It has been custom in all Christian
lands for people to keep watch night
as an old year goes out and new year
| comes in. People assemble in churches
about ten o'clock of that last night Of
the old year, and they have prayers and
songs and sermons and congratulations
until the hands of the church clock al
most reach the figure IL, and then all
bowl silent prayer. and the scene is
nightly impressive, until the clock in
the tower of the church or the clock in
the tower Of the city hall strikes 10,
and then all rise and sing with smiling
face and jublant voice the grand dox,
ology, and there is a shaking of hands
all around
But what tremendous watch night
the world is soon to celebrate! This
century will depart at ~ o'clock of the
31st of December of the year 1900.
What night that will be, whether
starlit or moonlit or dark with tom
pest! 1t will be such sight as you and
| never saw. Those who watched the
coming in of the nineteenth century
long ago went to their pillows CT dust
Here and there one will see the 1ew
century arrive who saw this century,
yet they were too infantile to appre-
ciate the arrival. But on the watch
! night of which speak in all neighbo
hoods and towns and cities and cont.
nents audiences will assemble and bow
in prayer, waiting for the last breath
of the dying century, and when the
clock shall strike IL there will be So
lemnity and an overwhelming awe such
as have not been felt for 100 years, and
then all the people will arise and chant
the welcome of new century of joy ant
sorrow, of triumph and defeat. of harp
ness and woe, and neigh borhood viii
shake hands with nei ighborhood, ant
church with church, and city with city
and continent with continent, acc
hemisphere with hemisphere, ane
earth with Heaven, at the stupendou:
: departure and the majestic arrival
May we all be living on earth to see th,
: solemnities and join in the songs ant
) shake hands in the congratulations @
that watch night, or if between this ant
that any of us should be off and ava,