The Bossier banner., 1899-04-27

| That is the man. that is the woman"
And the blessing will come down upon
you as Christ shall say: Il was hun
CRY, and ye fed me; was naked and
ye clothed me; was sick and in pris-
| on, and ye visited me. Inasmuch as We
did it to these poor waits of the street,
ye did it to me-
Again, the street impresses me with
| the fact that all classes and conditions
| OF society must commingle. We some
times culture a wicked exclusiveness
Intellect despises ignorance. Refine
ment will have nothing to do with
boorishness. Gloveshate the sunburned
hand, and the high forehead despises
the fiat head. and the trim hedgerow
will have nothing to do with the wild
copsewood. and Athens hates Naz-
areth. This ought not so to be. The
astronomer must come down from his
starry revelry and help us in our navi-
CATION. The surgeon must come away
from his study of the human organ
ism and set our broken bones. The
chemist must come away from his alb
oratOry, where he has been studying
analysis and synthesis, ard help us to
understand the nature of the soils. l
bless God that all classes of people are
compelled to meet on the street. The
glittering coach wheel clashes against
the scavenger's cart. Fine robes run
against the peddler's pack. Robust
health meets wan sickness. Honesty
confronts fraud. Every class of people
meets every other class. Impudence
and modesty. pride and humility, puri-
ty and beastliness. frankness and
hypocrisy, meeting on the same block,
in the same street, in the same city.
| Oh, that is what Solomon meant when
he said: ''The rich and the poor meet
together. The Lord is the Maker of
| them ALL
| like this democratic principle of the
gospel of Jesus Christ which recog-
nizes the fact that we stand before God
on one and the same platform. DO not
take on any airs. whatever position you
have gained in society: you are moth
ing but man, born of the same parent
regenerated by the same Spirit,
cleansed in the same blood, to lie down
in the same dust, to get up in the same
resurrection. 1t is high time that we
all acknowledge not only the Father
hood of God, but the brotherhood of
man.
Again. the street impresses me with
the fact that it is very hard thing for
a man to keep his heart right and to
| get to Heaven. Infnite temptations
spring upon us from these places of
public concourse. Amid such afflu-
ence, how much temptation to covet-
business and TO be discontented with
our humble lot! Amid so many oppor-
tunities for overreaching, what temp
| tation to extortion! Amid SO much
display, what temptation TO vanity.
Amid SO many saloons of strong drink.
what allurement to dissipation. In the
maelstroms and hell gates of the street.
how many make quick and eternal
shipwreck! If a man-of-war comes
back from battle and is towed into
the navy yard. we go down to look at
the splintered spars and count the bull
let holes and look with patriotic ad-
miration on the flag that floated in vic
tory from the masthead. But that man
is more of a curiosity who has gone
through 80 years of the sharpshooting
of business life and yet sails on, victor
over the temptations of the street.
Oh, how many have gone down under
the pressure, leaving not so much as
the patch of canvas to tell where they
perished! They never had any peace.
Their dishonesties kept tolling in their
ears. If I had an AK and could split
open the beams of that fine house, per-
haps l would find in the very heart of
it skeleton. In his very best wine
there is smack of poor mans sweat.
Oh. is it strange that when man has
devoured widows houses he is dis
turbed with Indigestion? All the forces
of nature are against him. The foods
are ready to drown him and the earth,
quake to swallow him and the fires to
consume him and the lightnings to
smite him. But the children of God
are on every street. and in the day
when the crowns of Heaven are distrib.
uted some of the brightest of them will
be given to those men who were faith.
full to God and faithful to the souls OF
others amid the marts of business
proving themselves the heroes of the
street. Mighty were their temptations
mighty was their deliverance, and
4 mighty shall be their triumph.
Again. the street impresses ME with
the fact that life is full of pretension
and sham. What subterfuge, what
double dealing. what two-facedness!
Do all people who wish you good morn
ing really hope for you a happy day
Do all people who shake hands love
each other? Are all those anxiou:
about your health who inquire con
; cerning it? Do all want to see you who
ask YOU to call? Does all the world
know half as much as it pretends t.
know? Is there not many a wretchet
} stock of goods with brilliant show
window? Passing up and down tn,
, streets to your business and YOU
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