The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-09-29

N''''''''
1loneymahera in the log, and beak against
the bark, and squirrels chattering on ths
rail, and the call of the hawk out of 0
clear sky make you feel glad.
The sun, which kindles conhagrations
| among the castles OF cloud and sets nina
| ret and dome aflame, stoops to paint the
| lily white. and the huttercup yellow, and
the torgatmsnot blue: What can resist
| the sun? Light for the yova9er over the
deep, Light for the shepherd guarding
the hocks atield. Light for the poor who
| have no lamps to lurn. Light for the
| downcast and the lowly! Light. for a..
| ng eyes and burning brain and wasteh
,aptive, Light for the smooth brow Of
childhood and for the dim vision of the
,ctogenarian! Light for Queens coronot,
md for sewing girls needle, Let there be.
| ighti Whose morning is this? My morn,
| ng. Your morning. Our Father gave us
he picture and hung it on the sky in loops
| # fire. 1t is the heirloom of our family.
And so the night 1t ls the full moon.
| The mists from shore TO shore CLEAN like
| .hattered mirrors. and the ocean Under
her glance comes up with great tides.
painting upon the beach, mingling. as il
were. foam and fire The poor man
besses God for throwing such cheap
light through the broken window pane
into his cabin and to the sick it seems
LIGHT from the other shore which hounds
this great deep OF human pain and WOO
II the sun seem like a song full ond poured
from brazen instruments that fill heaven
and earth with great harmOnies, the moon
is plaintive and mild. standing beneath
the throne of God. sending up her soft,
sweet voice of praise, while the stars listen
and the sea. No mother ever more sweet
" guarded the sick cradle than all night long
this pale watcher Of the sky bends over the
to, 81, ~
is this black framed. blacl, tassel led pic
ture of the NIGHT, It 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
harmonies 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
Of its. extent. Let the first walk be
around this earth. All these valleys, the
larvcste that rave In them. and the cat
tie that pasture them-all these mount
aims. and the precious things hidden be-
meath them, and the crown Of placier they
cast at the feet Of the alpine hurricane
all these lakes, these islands. these conti-
hents. are ours. In the second walk 60
among the street lamps OF heaven. and
see strPtc1lnR Oh on ever! sidc Il "liutr'
neas Of worlds. For us they shine. For
lis they sang at a Saviour's nativity. For
us thev will wheel into line. and with
their flaming torches add TO the snlendor
Of our triumph on the day for which all
other DAYS were made In the third walk.
90 around the eternal city, As we come
near it. bark to the rush Of its ehariots
and the wedding peal of It's great towers.
Tlx bell Of heaven has struck u. It is
high noon. We look oft Upon the chap
let's which never fadr. the eyes that never
~-eer. the temples that never close The
loved ones that never part, the procession
wither. the walls that never can be cap
tured. the sun that never sets. until we
can no longer ca7p and we hide our eyes
and exclaim; eve hath not seen. nor ear
heard. neither have entered into the heart
of man. the things which God hath pre-
pared for them that love HIM. AS these
tides Of glory rise we have 10 retreat and
hold fast lest we be swept off and drowned
in the emotions Of gladness and thanksgiv.
inc and triumph.
Almost every family looks back to a
homestead - some country place where
you grew ur You sat on the doorsill |
You heard the footsteps Of the rain on
the earret roof You swung on the gate.
You ransacked the barn You w1ded into
the brook You thyashed the orchard for |
apples. and the neighboring. woods for
nuts. and everything around the old |
homestead is Of interest to you. ] tell you |
of the old homestead Of eternity. '1n |
Nv Fathers house are many mansions"
When we talk of mansions we think Of
Chatsworth and its park. nine miles in
circumference. and it's conservatory that
astonishes the world: its galleries Of art.
that contain the triumphs of Chantrey,
Carova and Thorwaldsen: of the kings
and the queens who have walked its state
ly halls. or flying over the heather. have !
hunted the grouse. But all the dwelling I
places of dukes and princes and queens axe !
as nothing to the family mansion that is
of the Lord Jesus lifted the pillars and
swung the doors, AMI planted the parks.
Angels walk there. and the good of oil
ages. The poorest ma in that house is
millionaire. and the lowlest king. and
the tamest word he speaks is an anthem,
and the shortest life an eternity. =.
1t took a Paxton to build for Chats
worth covering for the wonderful flower
Victoria repia, five feet in diameter. But
our lily Of the valley shall need no shelter
from the blast and in the oDen gardens OF
God shall put forth its full bloom, and all
heaven shall come to look at it, and its
aroma shall be as though the cherubim
had swung before the throne a thousand
censors I have not seen it yet. ] am in
a foreign land. But my Father is waiting
for me to come home. | have brothers
and sisters there. In the Bible ! have let
ters from there, telling me what fine
place it is. 1t matters not much to me
whether am rich or poor. or whether tie
world hates me or loves me, or whether |
go by land or by sea. il only ] may lit
my eyes at last on the family mansion. 1t
is not frail house, built in a month, soon
to crumble, but an cd mansion, which is
as firm as the day it was built. It's walls
are covered with the ivy Of many ages,
and the urns at the gateway are a-bloom
with the century plants Of eternity. The
Queen OF Sheba hath walked It's hall. and
Esther, and Marie Antoinette and Lady
Huntingdon and Cecil, and Jeremy TAYLOR,
and Samuel Rutherford and John Milton.
and the widow who gave two mites, and
the poo- men from the hospital-these
last two perhaps outshining all the kings
and queens Of eternity.
What clasping of hands, What enbrao
ngs. What coming together of lip 70 lip,
What tears of JOY! You say, Il thought
there were no tears in heaven" There
must be, for the Bible says that God
shall wipe them away" and If there were
no tears there, how could He wipe them
away? They cannot be tears Of grief or
tears of disappointment. They must be
tears of eladness CHRIST will come and