The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-02-14

moro than Nall OF us pHySlcal armament
It would not have been so bad II it haC
that shriveled up right hand dangling
useiessly at tho mans side and then cried
out with voice that had omnipotence il
IL. "Stretch forth thy hand" and the
record ia, 'He stretched it forth whole as
the other" The blood rushed through the
shrunken veins, and the shortened
muscles lengthened and the dead nerves
thrilled, and the lifeess fingers tingled
with resumed circulation, and the restored
man held up in the presence OF the skep.
tical Pharisees one OF Jehovahs master.
pieces, q perfect hand. No wonder that
story is put three times In the Bible, sc
that il q sailor we're cast away on barrer
island or a soldiers New Testament gol
mutIlated 10 battle and whole pages are
DESTROYED the shtpwrecked or wounded
man In hospital would probably have at
least one OF those three radiant stories OF
what Christ thought Of the human hand.
How often has the hand decided q des-
tiny! Mary, Queen OF Scots, was escaping
from Imprisonment at Lochlever In the
dress OF Il Iaundress and had her face
thickly yelled. When a boHtman attempted
to remove the veil, sheput mp her hand to
ialr hand OF queen, and so the boatnian
took her back to captivity. Again and
tEeaia ST hns, been .demonstra that the
E5Sfd hath q language az certainly as the
Emo outh. Paimistry, ,tor the scienca4by which
4 1ohardcter and destiny nsss read IN the
y iines OF sthe hand, is yet crude and uncef.
tain and pnsatf sfacto ory, buts sas nstrotogy
4 was the mother OF astro on0mY and alchemy
1 was the mother OF chemistry It may be
that pnlmistry will result an q science yet
to be born.4 q.
the soul, behol d the hand busy IA the arts!
world would be without pictures, without
statuary, without musis without archltec.
ture! Have YOU ever featized what Atty
seeming miracles are tn thHS i've minutes
lingering OF piano OF hafpa6r fute? Who
| but the eternal God gorfd make hand
capable Of that swift sweep pl the keys or
that quIck:ieelIng Of pulses OF u flute
or the twfsk OF the fingers spit33the strings
| OF the harp? All the comp 6s6ES OF music
who dreamed out the otatorio9And the
| csntatas OF the ages would haye had their
work dropped, fiat and useless but for tho
| translations OF the hand. Under Sths daft
| fingers OF the performer What scavalries
galiop and what batteries boom and what
birds carol and what tempests march and
what oceans billow! The great architects
| OF the earth might have thought out tho
! Aihambfas and the Parthenons and tho
st. Sophtas and the Taj Mahals, but all
those Visions would have vanished had 1t
nor been for the hand on hammer, on
lplummet ON trowel, on wall, on arch, Oh
lsplIt6r, ion stairs, on dome.
IL. In Two fllscourses, one concerning the
lear and iii Z 9th sr concerning the eye.
isp0ke from pptents text In the Psalms,
stHe tIktFpi 6nied the ear shall, He not
hear? ia sHe that formed the eye, shall
4 he nof see? but what use in the, eye and
dwhat use In The ear II the haEdhad not
i:be8nBtrung With ull It's nerves a1h owed
4 WItT 8lt fits imuscles and reticulated with
jHfits FONTS and strengthened with all its
Hopes and .contrlved with oil its ingenul-
fxles!; Tie hand hath forwarded all the arts
tAnd tunneled the mountains through
/ which the rail train thunders and launched
all the shipping and fought nll the battles
and built all the temples and swung all the
| cables under the sea as well as lifted to
midntr the wire tracks on which whole
| trains OF thought rush across the con-
tinents and built ull the cities and hoisted
the pyramids.
Do not euloglze the eye aud ear Mt the
| expense OF the hand, for the eye may be
blottcd out, rs iu tho case OF Milton, and
| vet lis hand writes Il "Paradise Lost" oGss
"Snmson Agonistes;" as in the case OF WIZ
|
write the enchantirg Conquest OF Peru. Z
Or the car may DO silenced forever, as In
the case Of Beethoven, and yet his hand
may put into INN ortal cadences the NINTH
| Symphony." Oh, the hand! The God
fashioned hand! The triumphant hand! Il
is an open Bible OF Divine revelation. and
| tho five fingers are tho Isaiah aud the Eze-
krl and the David and the Micah and the
Paul OF that almighty inspiration.
A pastor In his sermon told how little
! Child appreciated the value OF his hand
when he WIS told TINT Oh the morrow 1t
must be umputatei in order to save his
life. Hearing that, he went to n quiet
place and prayed tina! God would spare
| his hand. The surgeon, coming tho next
day to do his work, found the hand 80
much better that amputatfon was post
poued, dud the hand 20. we'll. The pastor,
4 telling OF this In 4 sermon, concluded by
/ holding up his hand and saying, THAT Is
the very hand THAI was spared in an
swer to prayer, and hold 1t up, monu'
ment OF Divine mercy."
| fleer Ct tho sou! when wrung in agony.
| Tears OF relisf are sometimes denlsd to
trouble. The eyelids at such time are as
hot and parched and burning as the brow.
At such time even the voice Is suppressed,
and there is no sob or outcry. Thon the
| wringiug OF tho hnnd tells the story. At
the close OF Il Iifn wasted In sin sometimes
comes that expression OF the twisted
lngers-tho memory OF years that will
mover return, Of opportunities the like OF
which will mover again occur, and con-
science In its wrath pouncirg upon the
SOUL and ull tho past u horror, only to be
surpassed by the approaching horror. So
mun wrings his hands over the casket OF 3
rleud w!fe whom no has cru2lly treated.
Sou man wrings his hands II. the fato OF
sons and daughters whose prospects have
Geeu ruined by his nebriety and neglect and
depravlty. 50 the sinner wrings bis
hands when. after u life full OF offers OF
pardon anu peace and heaven, lie dies
without hope. When there are sorrows TOO
poignant for lnmentation on the lip and
too hot for,the tear glands to write In let
tnrs Of crystal on the chsek, the hand re-
cites tho tragedy with more emphasis than
ANYTHING iu "Macbeth" md "kiUg Lear.
Again, the hand is the chief executive OF.
ncer OF the soul in salatatlon. former
President OF the United States snld: Il
think hanGshaking is u great nuisance, aud
should be abolished. 1t not only makes
the right arm sore, but shocks the Whole
system and unflts Il man for writing or at
tending to other duties. 1t demorailzes
the sntire nervous and muscular systen!'
But while this exercise may he fatisulns it
Is also IN opportunity. He who knows
how heartily to shake hands has one OF the
mishliest nr:s for conveying happiness and
good cheer und lfe eternal. Alter you
have shaken hands with one ltno OF COM
municution Is opened that was not opon
bufore. Two hands clasped In greeting
are Il bridge on'which all sympathes and
kindnesses and encouragements and bless
ings cross over. .Esir
But 1t is not always in such glad sreetihR
that we cum emaloy outright hund. Alas
that so often wo hive to employ the hand
in farewell salutation: II your right hand
retniaerl some impress OF all such uses, u
would be u volume OF bero:Yenents. On,
tho goodhys In which your right hund mas