Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-01-07

perunenvv and pounded Of misfortune.
The brightest life must have its shadows
and the smoothest path its thorns. On the
happiest brood the.hawk pounces No es-
cape from trouble of some kind While
glorious John Milton was losing his eye
sight he heard that Sulmasius was glad OF
IL. While Sheridans comedy was being
enact d in Drury Lane theatre, London,
his enemy sat growing nc IL in the stage
box While Bishop Cooper was surround
ed by the favor Of learned men, his wife
took his lexicon manuscript. the result ~
a long life Of anxiety and toll. and threw
IL into the fire Misfortune, trial vexa-
tion for almost every one Pope. applaud
ed of all the world, has "a stoop in the
shoulder that annoys him so much that he
has a tunnel dug 50 that he may 60 un-
observed from garden 10 grotto and from
erotto 90 garden. Cano. the famous Span
ish artist. Is disguised with the cruclflx
ilat The priest holds before him because 1t
Is such poor specimen Of sculpture And
80. sometimes through taste and some
times through learned menace and some
times through physical distrcsses-aye in
10. O0O ways-froublcs come To hGrass and
annoy
And yet il Is unfair to measure a mans
life by his misfortunes. because where
there is ore stalk Of nightshade there nrc
80 II arigolds and harohclls: where there
Is one cloud thunder charged there are
hundreds that stray ncross the heavens,
the glory Of land and sky asleep In their
bosom Because death came and took your
child away. did You Immediately forget all
the five years. or the ten years. or the -
years. in which she came every night for
a kiss. all the tones Of your heart pealing
forth at the sound OF her voice or the soft
touch of her hand? Because IN some
financial Euroclydon your fortune went
into the breakers, did You forget All those
years i'm which the luxuries and extrays-
gances of life showercd on your pathway
Alas. that is an unwise man, an migrate
full man. an unfair man, an unphilosophiO
man. and. most OF all. an Christian
man. who measures his life on earth by
groans and tears and dyspeptic fit and
abuse and scorn and terror and neuralgia
thrust
Wasted Years.
Again. remark that 5here are many
people who estimate their life on earth BIZ
the amount Of money they have accumu-
lated They say. THE year 1866, or 1870,
or 1898. was wasted " Why Made no
money Now, il is all cant and insincer-
ity TO talk against money, as though il
had no value II may represent refinement
and education and 10 coo blessed surround
ings II is the spreading Of this table that
feeds the children's hunger II is the
lighting of the furnace that keeps you
warm IL is the making of the bed on
which you rest from care and anxiety IL
Is the carrying Of you ont al last % decent
sepulcher and the putting up Of the slab
OH which Is chist led the story Of your
Christian hope Il Is simply hypocrisy,
this TRADE ia pulpit and lecture hall
against money
But while all this Is so, he who uses
money or thinks OF money as anything
but IA means To an end will find out his
mistake wien the Rlittering Treasures slip
out of bis nervclcss grasp and he goes ont
of this world without "a shilling OF money
or "a certificate Of stock He might better
have been the Christian porter that opened
his gaze, or the hcgrin "a workman who
last night heavcd the coal into his cellar
Bonds and mortgages and leases have their
use. but they make a poor yarlstirk with
which 10 measure life "Thcv that boast
themselves In their wealth and trust in the
can. by any means redeem hI- .t,' her or
give 10 God ransom for him that he
should not see CORFU tion
But remark there are many wish
there were morc-wEu estimate sir life
by their moral and spiritual development
II j. not sinful cgotism for Christian
man To say, Il am purer than used 10
he am more consccrated to Christ than
! used to be ! have got over q great ~ any
Of the bad habits ia which ! used 10 in
dulge am great deal better man than
| used 10 he There - no sinful egotism
in that II j. net base egotiSm for sol
der to say Il know more about military
tactics than used 10 before took mus
kct In my hand and learned 20 present
arms, and when | was "a pest 10 the drill
officer II is not base egufism for sailor
TO say. Il know better how 10 rlew down
the mizzcn topsail than used Ia before
had ever seen "a ship And there Is mo-
sinful egotisn when "a Christian man
fighting the battles of the Lord. or If you
will have it, voyaging toward haven u
eternal rest, says Il know more about
spiritual tactics and about voyaging to
ward heaven than used TO
Why. there are those in this presence
who have measured lanccs with many "a
foe and endorsed H. There arr Christian
men here who have become swarthy by
hammering at he forge OF calau ity They
stand on an entirely dif, rent plane Of
character from that which they once uccu
pied They are measuring their life on
earth by golden gated ~abbaths hy pentc
costal prayer meeting by communion tn
bles. by bnptismal fonts by halleluiahs in
the temple. They have stood on sinai and
heard it thunder They have stood on
Pisgah ana looked over into the promised
land They hav" stood on Calvary and
seen the cross bleed They can. like Paul
the apostle, write on their heaviest trou
hles Hight and but for moment
The darkest night their soul Is irradiated
as was the night over Bethlehem by tho
faces If these who have come To proclaim
glory ard good cheer They are only wait
ing for the gate To open and the chains TO
fall off and The glory to Begin
Joy Of Doing Good.
! remark again. there are maryland /
wish there were more-who are estimating
life by the good they can do
John Bradford said he counted that day
nothing at all In which be had not by pen
OF tongue, done some good II "A man be-
gin right, cannot tell how many tears he
may wipe away, how many burdens he
may lift, how many orphans he may com
fort, how many outcasts he may reclaim
There have been men who have given their
whole life In the right direction, ooncen-
trating all their wit and ingenuity and
mental acumen and physical force and
enthusiasm for Christ I hey climbed the
mountain and delved into the mine and
crossed the sea and trudged the desert and
dropped at last into martyrs graves wait
ing for the resurrection Of the just They