Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-07-25
Id brings the dead to life, immortal

were to be relieved. She took her needle
and relieved them. She was not like those
persons who sympathize with imaginary
sorrows and go out in the street and laugh
at the boy who has upset his basket of
cold victuals. or like that charity which
makes a rousing speech on the benevolent
platform and goes out to kick the beggar
from the step, crying, Hush your miser-
able howling! Sufferers or the world :
want not SO much theory are practice; not
so much tears as dollars; not so much kind
wishes as loaves of bread; not SO much
smiles as shoes; not so much God bless
you," as jackets and frocks. / will put
one earnest Christian man, hard working.
against 5000 mere theorists on the subject
Of charity. There are great many who
have fine ideas about church architecture
who never IN their lives helped to build a
church. There are men who can give you
the history of Buddhism and Mohamme-
danism who never sent fdrthing for
:vangeIization. There are women who talk
beautifully about the suffering of the world
who never had the courage, like Dorcas,
to take the needle and assault it.
l am glad that there is not page of the
worlds history which Is not record of
female benevolence. God says to all lands
widows mite rattle down into the poor
box" The Princess of Cont sold all her
Jewels that she might help the famine
stricken. Queen Blanche. the wife OF
Louis VIII. of France, hearing that there
were some persons unJustly incarcerated
in the prisons, went out amid the rabble
and took stick and struck the door as a
signal that they might all strike it, and
down went the prison door, and out came
the prisoners. Queen Maud, the wife of
Henry L., went down amid the poor and
washed their sores and administered to
them cordials. Mrs. Retson, at Alatagor-
da, appeared on the battlefield while the
missiles of death We're flying around and
cared for the wounded. Is there a man
or woman who has ever heard of the civil
war in America who has not heard of the
women of the sanitary and Christian COM
missions or the fact that before the smoke
had gone up from Gettysburg and South
Mountain the women of the north met the
women of the south on the battlefield, for
getting all their animosities, while they
bound up the wounded and closed the eyes
Of the slain? Dorcas the benefactress.
| come now to speak of Dorcas the Ia
mented. When death struck down that
good woman, oh, how much sorrow there
was in the town of Joppai | suppose there
were women there with larger fortunes,
women perhaps with handsomer faces. but
there was not grief at their departure like
this at the death of Dorcas. There were
not more turmoil and upturning in the
Mediterranean Sea dashing against the
wharves at that seaport than there were
surgings to and fro of grief because Dorcas
was dead. There are a great many who
go out OF life and are unmIssed. There
may be a very large funeral, there may be
"a great many carriages and plumed
hearse there may be high sounding eulo-
gums, the bell may toll at the cemetery
gate, there may be very fine marble
shaft reared over the resting place, but
the whole thing may be a falsehood and a
sham
The church of God has lost nothing;
the world has lost nothing. 1t is only
aha IA lnt
ceasing to find fault. 1t is only an idler
stopped yawning. 1t is only dssipated
fashionable parted from his wine cellar,
while on the other hand no useful Chris
tian leaves this world without being
missed.
The church of God cries out, like the
prophet, Howl fir tree for the cedar has
fallen!' Widowhood comes and shows
the garments which the departed had
made. Orphans are lifted up to look into
the calm face of the sleeping benefactress.
Reclaimed vagrancy comes and kisses the
cold brow of her who charmed it away
from sin, and all through the streets of
Joppa there is mourning-m mourning be-
cause Dorcas is dead.
Has that Christian woman who went
/ away fifteen years ago nothing to do with
these things2 / the Towering out of
her noble heart. | hear the echo of her
footsteps in all the songs over sins for
given, in all the prosperity of the church
The good that seemed to be buried has
| come up again. Dorcas Is resurrected!
After awhile all these womanly friends
| of Christ will put down their needle for
| ever. After making garments Tor others
some one will make a garment for them !;
/ the last robe we ever wear-the robe for
the grave. You will have heard the last
/ cry of pain. You will have witnessed the
last orphanage. You will have come in
worn out from your last round OF mercy.
| do not know where you will sleep nor
what your epitaph will be, but there will
be lamp burning at that tomb and an
| angel of God guarding 1t, and through all
the long night no rude foot will disturb
the dust. Sleep on, sleep on Soft bed i,
| pleasant shadows, undisturbed repose!
| Sleep on
Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep
From which none ever wake to weep,
Then one day there will be a sky rend-
ing and whirl of wheels and the flash of
a pageant, armies marching, chains clank-
ing, banners waving, thunders booming.
and that Christian woman Will arise from
the dust, and she viii be suddenly sur
, rounded-surrounded by the wanderers of
the street whom she reclaimed. surround
ed by the wounded souls to whom she had
administered
Daughter of God, so strangely surround
ed, what means this? 1t means that re-
ward has come; that the victory Is won;
that the crown is ready; that the banquet
ling earth, Sing it through all the flying
heavensi Dorcas Is resurrected
In 1855, when some of the soldiers came
| back from the Crimean war to London,
! the Queen OF England distributed among
them beautiful medals called Crimean
medals. Galleries were erected for the two
| houses of Parliament and the royal family
| to sit In. There was IA great audience to
witness the distribution of the medals. A
| colonel who had lost both feet in the bat
| tie OF lnkermann was pulled in on wheel
| chair; others came in limping on their
| crutches. Then the Queen OF England arose
| before them in the name of her Govern
ment and uttered words OF commendation
! to the officers and men and distributed
those medals, inscribed with the four great
ttefelds-Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann
and Sevastopol. As the Queen gave these
to the wounded men and the wounded Off
| GERS the bands of music struck up the ma
! tional air, and the people, with streaming
eyes, joined IN the song:
God save our gracious queen!
Long live our noble queen!
God save the queen,
| And then they shouted ''HuZza, Huzza,''
| Ob, Ut was proud day for those returned
| warriors! But a brighter, better and glad
der day will come when Christ shall gath
| er those who have toiled in His service
! good soldiers OF Jesus Christ. He shall rise
before them, and in the presence OF all the
| ElOfiHeu OI HedNtn ne VIII say. W ell
done, good and faithful servant" And
| then He will distribute the medals of eter-
nal victory. not inscribed with works of
| righteousness which we have done, but
with those four great battlefields. dear to
earth and dear to Observation-Disclosures
| Nazareth. Gethsemane and Calvary,
Among the lights which lie through
| the shadows of life, the brightest i,
| love.
For every foolish thing in law ther.