St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-17

W01uCu Oy SIOW otICdm VI AuUAesuAV
whether we sleep or wake, rolling i'm
perceptibly over the pebble Of the eye
and emptying into bone of the nos
tril. Z contrivance so wonderful that II
can see the sun 95,000,000 of miles away
and the point of pin. Telescope and
microscope in the same contrivance.
The astronomer swings and moves this
way and that and adjusts and readjusts
the telescope until he gets it to
the right focus. The microscopic
moves this way and that and adjusts
and readjusts the magnfying glass un-
til it is prepared to do its work, but the
human eye without touch beholds
the star and the smallest insect. The
traveller along the Alps with one glance
takes in Mont Blanc and the face of
his watch to see whether he has time
to climb it. Oh, this wonderful camera
obscura which you and carry about
with us so from the top Of Mount Wash
ington we can take in New England,
SO at night we can sweep into our vision
the consultations from horizon to hori-
zon. So delicate, so semi-infinite, and
yet the light coming 81, 0O0, 900 of miles
at the rate of 100000 miles second
is obliged to halt at the gate of the
eye. waiting until the portcualis be lift
ed. Something hurled 95,O00,0O0 of
miles and striking an instrument which
has not the agitation of even winking
under the power of the stroke.
There also is the merciful arrange
ment of the tear gland by which the
eye is washed and through which rolls
the tide which brings relief that comes
in tears when some bereavement or
great loss strikes us. The tear not an
augmentation Of sorrow, but the
breaking up of the arctic of frozen
grief in the warm gulf stream of con-
ISOLATION. Incapacity to weep is mad
ness or death. Thank God for the tear
glands and that the crystal gates are
SO easily opened. Oh, the wonderful
hydraulic apparatus of the human eye!
Divinely constructed vision. Two light
houses at the harbor 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! TIE tongue is speech
less and clumsy instrument of ex-
preston as compared with it. Have
you not seen the eye flash with indigna-
ton, or kinGle with enthusiasm, or ex-
pand with devotion, or melt with SYM
patty, or stare with fright, or 'leer
with villainy, or droop with sadness,
or pale with envy, or fire with revenge.
or twinkle with mirth, or beam with
love? 1t is tragedy and comedy and
pastoral and lyric in turn. Have you
not seen its uplifted brow of surprise,
or its frown of wrath, or its contrac-
ton of pain? If the eye say one thing
and the lips say another thing, you be-
lieve the eye rather than the lips. The
eyes of Archibald Alexander and
Charles G. Finney were the mightiest
part of their sermons. George White
field enthralled great assemblages with
his eyes, though they were crippled
with strabismus. Many a military chief
tain has 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 vii
lain fed. Under the glance of the hui
man eye the tiger, with five times a
mans strength, snarls back into the
African jungle.
How it adds to John Millions sublim-
ity of character when we find him at
the call Of duty sacrificing his eyesight.
Through studying at late hours and
trying all kinds of medicament TO pre-
serve his sight he had for IL years been
coming toward blindness, and after
awhile one eye was entirely gone. His
physician warned him that if he con-
tinued reading and writing he would
lose the other eye. But he kept on
with his work and said after sitting
in total darkness: 1.-The choice lay be-
fore rue between dereliction of a SUI
preme duty and loss Of eyesight. In
such Il case l could not listen to the
physician, not if Aesculapius himself
had spoken from his sanctuary. Icould
not but obey that inward monitor.
know not what spoke to me from Heav-
en-" Who of us would have grace
enough to sacrifice our eyes at the call
Of duty?
But, thank God, some have been en-
abled TO see without very good eyes.
Gen. Havelock, the son of the more IA
nous Gen. Havelock, told me this con-
corning his father: In India, while his
father and himself, with the army,
were encamped one evening time after
n long march, Gen. Havelock called up
his soldiers and addressed them, say
ing in words as near as can recollect:
Soldiers, there are two or three hun
dred women, children and men at Gavin
pur at the mercy of Mana Sahib and his
butchers. Those poor people may any
hour be sacrificed. How many of you
will go with me for the rescue of those
women and children? / know you are
all worn out, and so am /, but all those
who will march with me to save those
women and children hold up your
hand" Then Havelock said: ut is al
most dark, and my eyesight is very
poor, and ! cannot see your raised
hands, but know they are all up. For
ward to Cawnpur!' That hero's eyes,
though almost extinguished in the
service of God and his country, could
see across India and across the CEN
turtles. But let anybody who has one
good eye be thankful, and all who have
two good eyes be twice as thankful.
Take care of your eyes and thank God
every morning when you open them
for capacity to see the light. do not
wonder ut the behavior of a poor man
in France. He had been born blind,
but was skillful groom in the stables.
A surgeon, riding up one evening,
gave his horses into the care of the
blind groom. Late at night the trav-
cling surgeon went to the stables and
found the groom still at work upon
the horses, and the grateful and SYM
pathetic surgeon resolved in the morn
ing to reward the blind groom with |
money. But in the night the surgeon
himself that perhaps he
could give the groom something bet
ter than money. In the morning he
said to the blind groom: step out |
into the sunshine! You are 40 years of |