Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-12-16

us all right. Hardly anything affects
me SO much in the uncovering of Pom
peii as the account Of the soldier who,
after the city had for many centuries
been covered with the ashes and
scori@ of Vesuvius, was found stand
ing in his place on guard. hand on
spear and helmet Cd head. Others fed
at the awful encouragement. but the
explorer. 1,700 years after. found the
body of that brave fellow In right posi-
ton. And 1t will be grand thing If.
when our last moment comes, we are
found In right position toward God, on
guard and unaffrighted by the descend
ing ashes from the mountain Of death
/ do not suppose that ! am any more
of a coward than most people. but de-
clare to you that would not dare to
sleep tonight If there were any being
In all the earth with whom would
not gladly shake hands. lest during the
night hours my spirit dismissed to 9TH
er realms, should, becau1e of my un-
forgiving spirit, be denied divine for
giveness.
"But," says some woman. there Is a
horrId creature that has so Injured me
that rather than make up with her
would die first" Well. sister, you
may take your choice. for one or the
other 1t will be-your complete pardon
of her or Gods eternal Punishment of
you. But" says some man, that fell
low who cheated me out of those
goods, or damaged my business credit,
or started that lie about me in the
newspapers, or by his perhdy broke
up my domestic happiness, forgive him
l cannot, forgive him | will not" Well,
brother, take your choice. You will
never be at peace with God till you are
at peace with man. Feeling as you
now do, you would not get so near the
harbor of heaven as to see the light
ship. Better leave that man with the
God who said: vengeance Is mine.
will repay" You may say: Il will
make him sweat for that yet. will
make him squirm. mean to pursue
him to-the DEATH" But you are damag-
Ing yourself more than you damage
him, and you are making heaven for
your own soul an impossibIlity. If he
will not be reconciled to you. he recon
ciled to him. In five or six hours it will
be shutdown. The dahlias will bloom
against the western sky. Somewhere
between this and that take q shovel
and bury the old quarrel at least six
feet deep. "Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath"
Renounce Hntreds.
But" you say, II have more than !
can bear. Too much is put upon me,
and | am not to blame II | am some
what revengeful and unrelenting.'
Then I think Of the little child at the
moving of some goods from a store.
The father was putting some rolls OF
goods on the child's arm. package after
package. and some one said. THAT
child Is being overloaded. and 80 much
ought not TO be put upon her," when
the child responded, Father knows
how much can carry" And God, our
Father, will not allow too much I'M
position on his children. In the day Of
eternity 1t will be found you had not
one annoyance too many. not one ex-
ASPIRATION too many, not one outrage
too many. Your Heavenly Father
knows how much you can carry.
Again, we ought not to, allow the pas
sage Of the sunset hour before the dis
missal Of all our affronts. because we
may associate the sublimest action of
the soul with the sublimest spectacle
In nature. It Is q most .delightsome
thing to have our personal experiences
allied with certain subjects. There is a
tree or river bank where God first an
swered your prayer. You will never
pass that place or think of that place
without thinking of the glorious COM
munion There was some gate or some
room or some garden wall where you
we're af1anced with the companion
who has been your chief JOY In life
You never speak Of that place but
with q smile. Some of you have pleas.
ant memories connected with the even
Ing star, or the moon IN Its first quar-
ter, or with the sunrise, because you
saw 1t Just as you were arriving al
harbor after tempestuous voyage
Forever and forever, o nearer, asso'
oiate the sunset with your magnani-
nous, out and out, unlimited renun'
citation of all hatreds and forgiveness
of all foes.
admit 1t is the most difficult Of all
graces to practice, and at the start you
may make complete failure, but keeE
on in the attempt to practice 1t. Shakes
peare wrote ten plays before he reach
ed Hamlet" and II plays before he
reached MERCHANT of Venice" and q
plays before be reached Macbeth
And gradually you will come from the
easier graces to the most difficult. Be
sides that, 1t Is not matter OF per
sonal determination so much as tho
laying hold of the almighty arm OF
God, who will help us to do anything
we ought to do. Remember that In al
personal controversies the one least te
blame Will have to take the first step
at pacifcation If 1t Is ever effected.
The contest between Eschines and
Aristippus resounds through history
but Aristippus, who was least to
blame, went to lEschines and said,
AShall we not agree to be friends be-
fore we make ourselves the laughing
stock of the whole country And
Eschines said, Thou art far better
man than 1. for began the quarrel
but thou hast been the first In healing
the breach" And they were always
friends afterward. SO let the one OF
you, that Is least to blame take the
first step toward reconciliation. The
one most In the wrong will never
take 1t.
Practice Forgiveness.