The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-09-27


appreciation of culture and Of art
through my mind, but may lose nv
mind. What a frail hold, then. I
have upon any earthly possessioni
In courts of law, if you want to get
. man of a property, you must serve
upon him writ of ejectment, giving
hima certain time to vacate the prem
ises, but when Death comes to us and
serves a writ of ejectment, he does
not give us one second of forewarn.
ing. He says: "On of this place!
You have no right any longer to the
possession" We might cry out: II
gave you a hundred thousand dollars
for that property" the plea would
be OF no avail. We might say: 1--WE
have warantee deed for that prop
erty;;" the plea would be of NO avail.
We might say: 1--WE have a lien on
that storehouse;" that would do us
no good. Death is blind, and he can.
not see seal and cannot read an in
denture. So that. first and last, want
to tell you that when you propose
that l give up my soul for the world
you cannot give me the first item Of
title
Having examined the title OF q
property. your next question 10 about
insurance. You would not be silly
enough to buy large warehouse that
could not possibly be insured. You
would not have anything to do with
such property. Now, I ask you
what assurance can you give me that
this world is not going to be burned
up? Absolutely none. Biologists tell
us that it Is already on fire; that
the heart of the world is one great
living coal; that it is just like ship
on fire at sea, the flames not bursting
out because the matches are kept
down. And yet you propose to palm
of on me, in return for my soul, a
world for which, in tn. first place,
you give no title, in the second place,
for which you can give no insurance.
'Oh," You say, "the water of the
oceans will wash over all the land and
put out the fire." Oh, no. There are
inflammable elements In the water,
hydrogen and oxygen. Call of the
hydrogen, and then the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans would blaze like heaps
of shavings. You want me to take
this world, for which you can give
NO possible insurance.
Now let us look at the other property
the soul. We cannot make bargain
without seeing the comparative value.
The soul! How shall I estimate the
value of it? Well, by its exquisite or
ganization. 1t is the most wonder
full piece Of mechanism ever put TO-
gether. Machinery is Of value in pro-
portion as it is mighty and silent at
the same time. You look at the engine
and the machinery in the Philadelphia
mint, and as you see it performing
its wonderful work you will be sur
prised to find how silently it goes. Ma
chinery that roars and tears soon de-
stroys itself; but silent machinery is
often most effective. Now, so it is with
the soul of man, with all its tremendous
faculties; it moves in silence. Judg-
ment, without any racket, lifting its
scales; memory, without any noise,
bringing down all its treasures; con-
science taking its judgment seat with
out any excitement; the understand
ing and the will all doing their work
velocity, majesty. might, but silence,
silence. You listen at the door of your
heart. You can hear no sound. The
soul is quiet. It IL 30 delicate an in
strument that no human hand can
touch it. You break bone, and with
splinters and bandages the surgeon
sets it; the eye becomes inflamed, the
apothecary's wash cools it; but a soul
of the track, unbalanced, no human
power can readjust it. With one sweep
of its wing it encircles the universe and
overvaults the throne of God. Why
in the hour of death the soul is SO
mighty it throws aside the body al
though it were toy. 1t drives back
medical skill az impotent. It breaks
through the circle of loved Ones who
stand around the dying couch. With
one leap it springs beyond star and
moon and sun and chasns of immensi.
ty. 1t is superior to all material things!
No fire can consume it; no floods can
drown it; no rocks can crush it; nc
walls can impede it; no time can ex
haust it. It wants no bridge on which
to cross a chasm. It w&nts no plum
met with which to sound . depth.
soul so mighty, so swift, 50 silent, must
be priceless soul.
I calculate the value Of the soul also
by its capacity for happiness. How
much joy it can get in this world out
Of friendships, out of books, out o.
clouds, out of the sea, out Of flowers
out of ten thousand things, and yet Ill
the JOY it has here does not test its ca
pacity. You are in concert before til,
curtain hoists, and you hear the instru
ments preparing-tbe sharp snap Of th'
broken string, the scraping of the bow
across the viol. There is no music i,
that" you say. 1t is only getting read.
for the music. And all the enjoymen
of the soul in this world, the enjoy
ment we think is real enjoyment il
only preparative; 1t is only anticipa
tive; it is only the first stages Of th,
thing; it is only the entrance, the be
ginning of that which shall be the or
| chestral harmonies and splendors O