The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-01-31

|
| lie apparatus OF the human eye! Divinely
constructed vision. Two lighthouses ut the
| hnrbor OF the immortal soul under the
shining Of which the world sails IN and
| drops anchor.
What an anthem Of praise to God is the
human eye! The tongue Is speechless aud
clumsy instrument OF expression rs COM
pared with 1t. Have you not seen the ego
| flash with indiS nation, or kindle with en-
| thusasm, or expand with devotion. or mclt
| with sympathy, or stare with. fright, OF
leer with viliainy, or droop with sadness,
or pale with envy, or Ere with revenge, or
twinkle with mirth, or beam with love: It
Is tragedy and comedy and pastoral and
lyric In turn. Have you not seen its up
lifted brow Of surprise, or its frown OF
wrath, or its contraction Of pain? II tho
eye say one thing and the lips said anoth-
er thing, you would believe the eye rather
than the lips. The eyes OF Archibald Alex
ander and Charles G.. Finney were the
mightiest part Of their sermons George
Whlteneld enthraled great assemblages
with his eyes, though they were crippled
with strabismus. Many military Chief
tain hus with look hurled a regiment to
victory or to death. Martin Luther turned
his great eye on an assassin who came to
take his life, and the villain fed. Under
the glance OF the human eyo the tiger,
with five times a mans strength, snarl5
back into the African jungle.
But those best appreciate the value OF
the eye who have lost 1t. The Emperor
Adrian BY accident put out the eye OF his
servant, and he said to his servant: "Whut
shall / pay you, In money or In lands-any-
thing you ask me? I am 30 sorryI put
your eye out" Butthe servant refused to
put any financial estimate on tie value OF
the eye, and whom the emperor urged and
urged again the matter be said: "Oh, en-
peror, want nothing but my lost eye!"
Alas for those for whom a thick az d i'm
penetrable veil Is drawn across the face OF
the heavens and the face Of ones own
kindred.
Tha; was 4 pathetic scene when a blind
man lighted n torch at night and was
found passing along the highway and somo
one said, "Wby do you carry thnt torch
can see, but carry this torch that others
may see me and pity. my helplessness and
not run me down." Samson, the giant,
with his eyes put out by the Philistines,
is moro helpless than the smallest dwarf
with vision unchanged. all the SYM
pnthies OF Christ were stirred when He
saw Bartimeus with darkened retlna, and
the only salve He ever made that we read
OF was 4 mixture OF dust and saliva and
prayer Will WHICH, u6 CuEeu Tue eyes VI il
blind man from His nativity. The vnlue
OF the eye shows as much by its catas-
trophe as by It's healthful action. Ask the
man who for twenty yenrs has not seen the
SUI rise. Ask the man who for Ealf century
has not seen the face OF friend. Ask 10
the hospatal the victim OF ophthaImta.
Ask the man whose eyesight pershed in
powder blast. Ask the Bartimeus who
never met Christ or the man born blind
who Is to die blind. Ask him.
How 1t adds to John Millions sublimily
OF character when we find him at the call
OF duty sacrificing his eyesight. Through
studying at late hours and trying all kinds
Of medicnment to preserve his sight he
had for twelve years been coming townrd
blindness, and nfter awhile one ego wns
entirely gone. His physician warned him
that II he continued reading. and writing
lie would lose the other eye. But he kept
on with his work and said after sitting In
total darkness: "The choice lay before me
between dereliction OF supreme duty and
loss OF eyesight. In such a case could not
listen to tle physicians, not II Esculaplus
himself had spoken from his sanctuary. I
could not but obey that inward monitor.
know not what spoke to me from heaven"
Who OF US would have grace enough to- sac
riace our eyes ut the call OF duty?
But, thank God, some have been enabled
to see without very good eyes. General
Havelock. the son OF the more famous
General Hnvelock, told me this concern
ing his father; 10 India, whllo his father
and himself With the army were cncamped
one evening time after long march, Gen.
crai Havelock called up his soldiers and
addressed them, saying In words as near
as cnn recolecl: SOLDIERS are their 200 or
300 women, children and men at Cawnpur
at the mercy OF Mana Sahib, and his
butchers. Those poor people may any hour
be sacrificed. How many OF you will go
with mo for the rescue OF those women IA
children? know you are all worn out,
and so am I. But all those who will march
with me to save those women and children
hold up your hand" Then Haveock
suid: 1T Is almo ost dark, and my oyesiSht
is very poor, and I cannot see your raised
hands, but I know they are all up.
Forward to Cawnpur" That hero's eyes,
though almost oxtinguished In the service
OF God apd his country, could see across
India and across the centuries. Dut let
anybody who has one good eyo be thank
ful and all who Lave two good eyes be
twice as thankful. Take care OF your eyes
>Sud thank God every morning when you
open hem for capacity to see the light. I
do not Sonder at the behavior OF 4 poor
man In Tfance. He had been born blind,
but was skillful groom In the stables.
A surg eou ridta2g ID ddttag up One evening 'ave
his horses into the care OF the blifd
Lnte ut night the travelling surgeon we!e-
to the stables and found the groom still at
work upon the horses, and the grateful aud
sympathetic surgeon resolved In the morn
ing to reward the blind groom with money.
But in the night the surgeon bethought
himself that perhaps lie could SlvU the
groom something better than money. In
the m morning he said to the blind groom:
''Step out into the sunshine. You are forty
years OF nSe. I could surely have cured
your blindness il had seen you sooner,
but come to Paris and will give you sight
If you DO not die under the operntiou.'
Paying tho poor mans way to Paris, the
operation was successful. For the first
time tue man saw his vile and children,
and hayiDg taken good look at them ne
turned and said, "Let me look OIL my
friend the surgeon, who has opened NIL this
beautiful worldto me md shown me my
loved ones" Was not that glorious? Only
those who have been restored from utter
blindness can appreciate the. omnipotent
blessing OF eyeslght.
The recoll OF this question Is tremen-
dous. We stan ut the centre Of vast cir
cumfereucc OF observation. No privacy.
On us, eyes OF cherubm, eyes OF seraphim,
eyes OF archangel, eyes Of God. Wc may
not ba able to 500 the Inhabitants OF other
worlds, but perhaps they may be able to
SEQ us. We have not optical instruments
strong enough to descry them; perhaps
they have optical instruments strong
enough to descry us. The mole cannot see
the eagle miduir, but the eagle midsky can
soc the mole midgrass. We are ablc to see
mountains and caverns OF another world,
but perhaps the Inhabitants OF other worlds
can see the towers OF our cities, the fash
Of our seas, tho marching OF our process
sons, the white robes OF our weddings, the
black scarTs OF our obsequies. 1t passes
out from the guess into the positive when
we arc told in tue Bible that the inhablt-
ants OF other worlds do come to this.