The Jackson headlight., 1900-01-27

| watcn TO see wnerner ne mas time TO CLIMB
1t. Oh, this wonderful camera obs scura
which you and I carry about with US, SO
from the top OF Mount Washington We can
take In New England, so at night we can
sweep into our vision the consultations
from horizon to horizon. SO delicate, 80
semi-inhnite; and yet the light coming 50,
COO, 600 miles at the fate OF zoe, 600 miles a
second is obliged to halt at the gate OF the
eve; waiting until the portcullis be lifted,
: Something hurled 9j,OOO,0O0 miles and
striking an instrument which has not the
agitation OF even Winking Under the power
OF the stroke.
There also Is the merciful arrangement
: OF the tear gland by which the eye Is
washed aud through whi,h rolls the tide
which brings the relief that comes In tears
when some bereavement or great loss
strikes us. The tear not an augmentation
OF sorrow, but the breaking up or the arc
tic OF frozen gflet Id the warm gulf stream
OF consolation. In5apacity to weep is
madness Or death. Thenk God for the tear
glands and that the crystal gates are sd
easily opened. Ohi the wonderful hydrPu-
lIc apparatus of the human eyel Diviuely
constructed vision. Two lis hthouses at the
harbor OF the immortal soul Under the
shininG OF which the world sails In and
drops anchor.
What an anthem OF praise 10 God is the
human eye! The tongue is speechless and
IL clumsy instrument of expression as COM
pared with 1t. Have you not seen the eye
flash with indignation. or kindle with en-
thusiasm, or expand with devotion, or melt
| with sympathy, or stare with fright, or
leer with viliainy, or droop with sadness,
or pale with envy; or fire with revenge, OF
| twinkle with t1irth, or bearl with love? It
| Is tragedy and comedy and pastoral and
lyric in tufn: Have you not seen its up:
lifted brow OF surprise, or its flown OF
wrath, or its contraction OF pain? II tho
eye sav one thing and the lips said an 9th.
er thing, you would believe the eye rather
than the lips. The eyes OF Archibald Alex
ander and Charles G. Finney were the
mghtiest part OF their sermons. George
Whiteheld enthralled great hssemblages
with his eyes, though they were crippled
with strabismus. Many d 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, aud tho villain hed. Under
the glance OF the humal eye the tiger
! with five times mans strength, snarl5
back into the African jungle.
Bur 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 sail to his servant! "What
| shall l pay you, in money or In lands-anyA
! thing you ask me7 1 am so sorryI put
| your eye OUT" But the servant refused 10
put any financial estimate on tie value OF
| tho bye, and when the emperor Urged and
| urged again the matter he said: "Oh, en-
| perOr, want nothing but my lost eyei"
| Alas for those for whom thick ard i'm
renetrable veil is drawn across the face Of
the heavens and the face of ene's own
Kindred.
| That was pathetic scene when blind
man lighted torch at night and was
| found passing along the highway and some
| 1n I'M re
when you can see2" "Ah," said he, 81
can see, but carry this torch that others
! may see me and pity my heIplessnesJ and
not run me down. Samson, the giant,
! with his eyes put ont by the Phfli5tlnes,
Is moro helpless than the smallest dwarf
| With vision undamaSed. All the SYM
| pathtes Of Christ wero stirred when He
! saw Bartimeus with darkened retina, and
the only salve He ever made that We read
| OF was mixture OF dust and saliva and a
prayer with which He cured the eyes OF a
blind man from His nativity. The value
of the eye shows as much by its catas.
! trOphe rs by Its healthful action. Ask the
man who for twenty years has not seen the
sun rise. Ask the man who for half a century
| has not seen the face of friend. Ask in
tho hospatal the victim of ophthalmia.
ASK the man whose eyesight perished in q
| powder blast. Ask the Bdftiuieus who
never met a Christ or tho man born blind
who is to die blind. Ask him.
| How it adds to John Millions sublimitS
Of character when we find him at the call
| OF duty sacrificing his eyesght. Through
studying ut late hours and trying all kinds |
i OF medicament to preserve his sight he
| had for twelve years been coming toward |
| blindness, and after awhile one eye was
| entirely gone. His physician warned him |
! that il he continued reading aud writing
! he 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 a supreme duty aud |
| loss Of eyesight. In such case | could not |
| listen tG the physicians, not If Ksculapius |
! himself had spoken from his sanctuary. I |
could hot bat obey that inward monitor. |
know not what spoke to mo from heaven"
! Who OF us woull have grace enough to sac |
| riflce our eyes ut the call Of duty?
| Bat, thank God, some have been enabled !
TO SEQ without very good eyes. General |
General Havelock, told me- s1hls concern
| ing his father: in India, while his father |
and himself with the army were encamped |
one evening time after a long march, Gem |
eral Havelock called up his soldiers and |
addressed them, saying in words as near |
rs can recollec!: "SoldIers are their 200 or |
800 women, children and men Mt Cawnpur |
ut the mercy OF Mana Sahib, and his |
| butchers. Those poor people may any hour |
30 sacrificed. How many of you will go !
with mo for he rescue OF those Womon and |
children? know you are all worn out, |
and so am /. Drt all those who will march |
with me to save those women and children |
holi up your band" Then Have!ock |
said. 1T is almost dark, and my eyesirht |
Ia very poor, and / cannot see your raised |
hands, but [ know they are all mp. |
Forward to Cawnpur!' ruat hcros eyes,
though almost extingushed in the service |
OF God and his country, could see across |
India and across the centuries. But let |
any body who has one good eye be thank.
ful 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 at the behavior OF a poor
man in France. He had been born blind.
but was skillful groom in tho stables
The recoil of this question is tremen-
dous. We stan ut the centre OF vast cir
cumference OF observation. No privacy,
On us, eyes OF cherubim, eyes OF seraphin,
eyes or archanGel, eyes OF God. We may
not bs able to sac the inhabitants uf other |
worlds, but perhaps they may be able to |
sec 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 midalr, but the eagle midsky can
500 the mole midgrass. We are able to see
mountains and caverns OF another world.
but perhaps the inhabitants OF other worlds
can see the towers OF our cities, the flash
OF our seas, the marching Of our process.