St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-01-13

| IL, /, 2. give you an unfailing
prescription for wakefulnese: Spend
the evening hours rehearsing your
wrongs and the best way of avenging
them. Hold a convention of friends on
this subject in your parlor or Office at
eight or nine o'clock. Close the evening
by writing bitter letter expressing
your sentiments. Take from the desk
or pigeonhole the papers in the case to
refresh your mind with your cnemy's
meanness. Then lie down and wait for
the coming of the day. and it will como
before sleep comes, or your sleep will be
worried quiescence and, if you take the
precaution to lie fiat on your back, a
frightful nightmare.
Why not put bound to your animos-
ity? Why let your foes come into the
sanctities of your dormitory? Why let
those slanderers who have already torn
your reputation to pieces or injured
your business bend over your midnight
pillow and drive from you one of the
greatest blessings that God can offer
sweet, refreshing. all invigorating
sleep? Why not fence out your enc
mics by the golden bars of the sunset?
Why not stand behind the barricade of
evening cloud and say to them: "Thus
far and no farther" Many a man and
many woman is having the health of
body as well as the health of soul eaten
away by the malevolent spirit. have
in time of religious awakening had per-
sons. night after night come into the
inquiry room and get no peace of soul.
After awhile have bluntly asked them:
as there not some one against whom
you have hatred you are not willing
to give up?" After a little confusion,
they have slightly whispered: Yes"
Then have said: "You will never find
peace with God as long as you retain
that virulence."
Again, we ought not to allow the sun
to set before forgiveness takes place,
because we might not live to see an
other day. And what if we should be
ushered into the presence of our Maker
with grudge upon our soul? The ma
jority Of people depart this life in the
night. Between IL o'clock p. m. and
three o'clock a. m. there is something
in the atmosphere which reiaXes the
grip which the body has on the soul,
and most people enter the next world
through the shadows of this world.
Perhaps God may have arranged it that
way so as to make the contrast the more
glorious. I have seen sunshiny days
in this world that must have been al
most like the radiance of Heaven. But
as most people leave the earth between
shutdown and sunrise they quit this
world at its darkest, and Heaven, al
ways bright, will be the brighter for
that contrast. Out of darkness into ir-
radiation.
Shall we then leap over the roseate
bank of sunset into the favorite hunt
ing ground ofdisease and death, carry
ing our animosities with us? Who
would want to confront his God, against
whom we have all done meaner things
than anybody has ever done against
us, carrying old grudges? How can
we expect His forgiveness for the great
er when we are not willing to forgive
others for the less? Napoleon was en-
couraged to undertake the crossing of
the Alps because Charlemagne had pre-
viously crossed them. And all this
rugged path of forgiveness bears the
bleeding footsteps of Him who con-
quered through suffering, and we ought
to be willing to follow. On the night
Of our departure from this life into
the next our one plea will have to be
for mercy, and it will have to be offered
in the presence of Him who has said:
IF you forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Heavenly Father for
give your trespasses."
What sorry plight if we stand there
hating this one and hating that one and
wishing that one a damage and wishing
some one else calamity, and we our
selves needing forgiveness for 10000
obliquities Of heart and life. When our |
last hour comes, we want it to find us
all right.
Hardly anything affects me SO much
in the uncovering of Pompeii as the nc
count of the soldier who, after the city |
had for many centuries been covered |
with the ashes and scoriae Of Vesuvius,
was found standing in his place on
guard, hand on spear and helmet on |
head. Others fled at the awful SUBJ |
but the explorer, 1,700 |
years after, found the body Of that
brave fellow in right position. And it
will be a grand thing if, when our last
comes, we are found in right |
position toward God, on guard and I'M
affrighted by the descending ashes |
from the mountains of death. do not |
suppose that am any more of a cow
ard than most people, but declare to
you that would not dare to sleep to-
night if there were any being in all the
earth with whom I would not gladly
shake hands, lest during the night hours
my spirit dismissed to other realms, 1
should, because of my unforgiving spir-
It. be denied Divine forgiveness. i.
But" says one woman, ''there is q
horrid creature that has so injured me
that rather than make up with her
would die first" Well, sister, you may
take your choice, forone or the other it
will be-your complete pardon of her
Or Gods eternal Punishment of you.
But" says some man, that fellow who
cheated me out of those goods or dam
aged my business credit or started that
lie about me in the newspapers by
MS perfidy broke up my domestic hap
oiness. forgive him I cannot, forgive
him l 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 lightship. Better leave that man
With the God who said: Vengeance is
nine. 1 will repay" You may say: II
will make him sveat for that yet; will
make him squirm; mean to pursue
linn to the DEATH" but you are damag-
ng yourself more than you damage
lim. and you are making Heaven for
your soul an impossibility. If he will