Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-08-31

burning brain and wasted cantlxe'
Light for The smooth brow of child.
hood and for the dim vision of the
octogenarian, Light for queens cor.
opet aud for sewing girls needle, Let
there be light! Whose morning Is thlsr
MY morning. Your morning. Our
Rather gave us the picture and hung
II on The sky i'm loops of fire. 1T Is the
heirloom of our family. And so the
night. 1t is the full moon. The mists
from shore TO shore CLEAN like shatter-
ed mirrors and the ocean under her
glance comes up with great tides.
painting upon the beach. mingling. as
Y Were. foam and fire. The poor man
blesses God for throwing such n cheap
hght through the broken window pane
INTO his cabin, and 10 the sick il seems
n light from the other shore which
bounds this great deep Of human pain
ana woe. IL the sun seem like n song
tul and poured from brazcn instrr-
mentS that fill heaven and earth will,
great harmonies, the moon is plaintive
ana mild. standing beneath the throne
OF God. sending up her soft. sweet
voice of praise. while the stars listen.
sNeetly guarded the sick cradle than
all night long this pale watcher of the
SKY bends over the weary. heartsick.
slunbering earth. Whose is this
black framed. black tasseled picture
of the night? 1t is the heirloom of our
Family. Ours the grandeur of the
spring. the crystals OF the snow. the
coral OF the beach, the odors of the
garden. the harmonics of the air
You cannot see large estate in one
morning. You must take several walks
around it The family property Of this
royal house of Jesus is so great that we
must take several walks to get any
idea Of its extent. Let the first walk
be around this earth. All these val
leys, the harvests that wave i'm them.
and the cattle that pasture them-all
these mountains, and the precious
things hidden beneath them, and the
crown of glacier they cast at the feet
of the alpine hurricane-all these
lakes, these islands. these continents.
are ours. In the second walk 60
among the street lamps of heaven. and
see stretching Off on every side n
wilderness of worlds. For us they
shine. For us they sang at Saviour's
nativity. For us they will wheel into
line. and with their flaming torches
add 10 the spierdor of our triumph on
the day for which all other days were
made. In the third walk. go around
the eternal city. AS we come near IL.
bark to the rush of its chariots. and the
wedding peal of its great towers. The
of lao.
high noon. We look off upon the chap
lets which never fade. the eyes that
never weep. the temples that never
close. the loved ones that never part.
the procession that never halts. the
trees that never wither. the walls that
never can be captured. the sun that
never sets, until we can no longer
gaze. and we hide our eyes and ex-
claim: Eye hath not seen. nor ear
heard. neither have entered into the
heart OF man. the things which God
hath prepared for them that love himr
AS these tides OF glory rise. we have to
retreat and hold fast lest we he swept
or and drowned i'm the emotions OF
rladness. and thanksgiving. and tri-
umph.
w h"N tHitN you OF the iIiOuN prop
erty? X Is considered an honor to
marry into family where there is
great wealth.. The Lord. the bride
groom Of earth aud heaven. offers YOU
his heart and his hand. saying I'm the
words OF the Canticles: Rise up my
love. my fair one. and come away"
and once having put on thy hand the
signet ring OF his love. you will be en-
lowed with all the wealth OF earth.
and all the honors OF heaven.
Homestead of Eternity.
Almost every family looks back 10 a
homestead-some country place where
you grew up. You sat on the doorsill.
You heard the footsteps OF the rain on
the garnet roof. You swung on the
gate. You ransacked the barn. You
waded into the brook. You thrashed
the orchard for apples, and the neigh
boring woods. for nuts; and everything
around the old homestead is of interest
TO you. l tell you OF the old homestead
OF eternity. "In my Fathers house are
many mansions" When we talk OF
mansions, we think OF Chatsworth, AMI
It's park, nine miles in circumference,
and its conservatory, that astonishes
the world; its galleries OF art. that con-
tain the triumphs OF Chantrey. Canova
and Thorwaldsen; OF the kings and the
queens who have walked it's stately
halls, or, flying over the heather, have
hunted the grouse. But ell the dwell
ing places OF dukes, and princes. and
queens. are, as nothing to the family
mansion that is already awaiting our
arrival. The hand of the Lord Jesus
lifted the pillars, and swung the doors,
and planted the parks. Angels walk
there, and the good Of all ages. The
poorest man in that house is n million.
aire. and the lowliest a king, and the
tamest word he speaks Is an anthem.
and the shortest life an eternity.
1t took Paxton To build for Chats.
worth covering for the wonderful
flower Victoria regia. five feet in diam
eter. But our lily OF the valley shall
need no shelter from the blast, and I'm
the open gardens OF God shall put forth
It's fuil bloom, and all heaven shall
come TO look at it, and its aroma shall
be as though the cherubim had swung
before the throne thousand censers. |
have not seen il yet. | am in a |
foreign land. But my Father is wait |
ing for me to come home | have |
brothers and sisters there. In the |
Bible have letters from there, telling |
me what fine place ii is. 1t matters |
not much to me whether / am rich or |
poor, or whether the world hates me
or loves me, or whether go by land |
or by sea. If only | may lift my eyes
at last on the family mansion. 1t is
not a rrail house, built i'm a month.
soon to crumble, but an old mansion.
which Is as firm as the day ii was
buiit. Its walls are covered with the
IVY or many ages, and the urns at the
gateway are a-bloom with the century
plants of eternity. The queen of She
ba hath walked its halls. and Esther.
and Marie Antoinette. and Lady Hunt.
ingdon, and Cecil. and Jeremy Taylor.
and Samuel Rutherford, and John Mil