Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-01-12

A vast majority OF men have no surplU'
Of confidence for others and hardl
enough confidence for themselves. TIL
so through life saying depressing thing
and doing depressing thinga. They chill
prayer msetings, discourage charitable IL
situations, injure commerce and XII
churches They blow out lights whci
they ought to be kinding them, They
hover around dull fire OH their own
hearth and take up so much room that no
one can catch the least caloric, instead OF
stirring the hearth into n blaze, the crac
| klo of whose backlog would invite tn,
whole neghborhood to como in to feel I'll,
Astounding warmth and see tho transflg
uration of tho faces. AS wo all have t.
guess great deal about the future, let us
guess something good, for it will be more
| encouraging and the guess will be just a.
! apt to come true. What lot Of migrate
tho Lord has at his table-peoplo who
| have hid three meals IA day for 80 years
and yet fear that they will soon have to
rattle their knife and fork on an empty
dinner plate How many have had, win.
ter and spring and summer and fall, cloth
ing for GO years, hut expect an empty
wardrobe shortly How many have lived
under free Institutions all their days, but
fear that the United States may bo telc
scoped in some foreign collision oh, but
the taxes have gone upl Yes, but, thank
God, it is easier with money, to pay the
taxes now that they are up than it was
without money to pay the taxes when they
were down. We want a few men who
have faith In God and that mighty future
which holds several things. among them
millennium. Columbanus said to his
friend "Deicolus, why arc you always
smilingf" The reply was, "Becauso no
one can take my God from mer' Wo want
moro men to feel that they have u mission
to cheer others and to draw up the corners
of peoples mouths which have n long
while been drawn down--more Davids
who can shepherd whole ilocks of bright
hopes and play harp of encouragement
and strike down Goliath OF despair, and
of whom we can say. "Ihou art worth
10000 of us -
what Might he Done.
1 admit that this thought of my text,
fully carried out, would change many of
the worlds statistics Suppose village
is said to have /, GOO inhabitants and that
ore half of them--namely, 500--have for
years been becoming less in body, ard
through nigVardincss and grumbling, less
in soul Each ono Of these is only ono
what she once was. Tho original 800 have
been reduced one-half in moral quality,
and are really only 250. Suppose that the
other 800 have maintained their original
status ana are mother better nor worse
Then the entire population Of TINT villaf,
Is 750. But suppose another village q
,000 and 800 OF them as the years 90 By
through mental and spiritual culture,
augment themselves until they ave really
twice the men and women they originally
were, and the other SEQ remain unchanP
ed and are neither better nor worse, then
the population of that village is / 800
Meanness 10 subtraction and nobility il
addition. According as you rise in thC
Ecale of holiness and generosity ard con
secration, you arc worth or 10 or 80 ui
100 or 900 or 10, 600 others
Notice, my friend, that this David, war
rior, strategist, minstrel, master Of blank
verse and stone Singer at the giant, WHOM
the soldiers of the text estimated clear vi
into tho thousandfold of usefulness, OF
this particular occasion staid at home OF
In his place of temporary residence. Gen
eral Joab, General Abishai and Genera
Ittai, who commanded the boys in the
right wing and left wing and center, die
their work bravely and left %, 000 Of the
Lords enemies dead on the field, ant
many of the survivors got entangled ir
the woods of Ephraim, and mixed up IL
the bushes, and stumbled over tho stump'
Of trees, and fell into boys, and were de
voured Of wild beasts which seized then
in the thickets. But David did his woi l
at home. We all huzza for heroes who
have been In battle, and on their return
what professions we form, and what tri
| III hal WI nat han
quets we spread, and what garlands W,
wreathe, and what orations we deliver
and what bells we ring, and what can
nonades we firel But do we do justice t
the stay at homes? David, who was wortl
10, QUO of those who went out to meet tn,
Lords enemies in the woods of Ephraim
that day did his work in retirement.
Stay at Home Heroes.
Oh, the world needs day of judgmen
to give many of tho stay at homes prope
recognition. In the different wars tn,
sons went to the front and on ships decf
or battlefield exposed their lives and earn
ed the admiration Of the country. Blu
how about the mothers and fathers VIII,
through long years taught those sons thu
noble sentiments that inspired them to y
and then gave them up, when perhaps
few words of earnest protest would hay,
kept them on the farm and in the home
steadY The day Of final reward will revea
the self sacrifice and the fidelity Of thou
sands who never in all their lives received
one word of praise. Oh, ye unknown, y
faithful and Christian and all endurin,
stay at homes have no power now to d.
you justice, but ! tell you of one who ha
the power, and Of the day when he will
put it forth. 1t will DO tho day when til
thimble, and the ladle, and the darninl
needle, and the washtub, and the spinning
wheel, and the scythe, and the thrashini
machine, and the hammer, and the trowel
and the pillow, will come to as high an ap
probation as "a ~ FOUNDER, or the sword
or the battering ram that pounded dow
the wall, or the flag that was hoisted OIL
the scaled parapets.
The warrior David Of my text showe
more self control and moral proves il
staying at home than he could have show
commanding in the field. He was nat
ural warrior. Martial airs stirred him
The glitter of opposing shields fired him
! He was one of those men who feel at HON
in the saddle patting the neck of paw
, ing cavalry horse. But he suppressed him
self He obeyed tho command of tn
> troops whom he would like to have con-
handed
, Some Unknown BATTLES.
Some of the greatest Sedans and Aus
terlitzes have been in backwoods kitchen
ur in nursery with three children dow
: with scarlet fever, soon TO Join the two a.