The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1900-08-31

4
the neighboring woods for nuts, and
stead is of interest to you. I
tell you of the old homestead of
eternity. 'In my Fathers house are
many mansions" When we talk of
mansions we think of Chatsworth and
| its park nine miles in circumference
and conservatory that astonishes tho
world, its galleries of art that con-
tain the triumphs of Chantrey, Canova
and Thorwaldsen, of the kings and
queens who have walked its stately
| halls, or, flying over, the heather, have
hunted the grouse. But all 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 a million
| aire, and the lowest king, and the
tamest word he speaks is an anthem
and the shortest life an eternity.
1t took Paxton to build for Chats
worth a covering for the wonderful
| flower. Victoria Regia, five feet in di-
ameter. But our lily of the valley
shall need no shelter from the blast,
and in the open gardens of God shall
put forth it's full bloom, and all Heav-
en- shall come to look at it, and it's
aroma shall be as though the cherubim
had swung before the throne a thou
sand censers. l have not seen it yet.
l am in a foreign land. But my Fa
ther is waiting for me to come home. 1
have brothers and sisters there. In
the Bible | have letters from there,
telling me what a fine place it is. It
matters not much to me whether [ m
| 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 frail house, built in a month,
soon to crumble, but an old mansion,
which is as firm as the day it was built.
Its walls are covered with the ivy of
many ages, and the urns a t the gateway
are abloom with the century plants
of eternity. The queen of Sheba hath
walked it's halls, 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 poor
men from the hospital-these last two
perhaps outshining all the kings and
queens of eternity.
A family mansion means reunion.
Some of your families are very much
scattered. The children married and
went off to ST. Louis or Chicago or
Charleston. But perhaps once year
you come together at the old place.
How you wake up the old piano that
has been silent for years. Father and
mother do not play on it. How you
bring out the old relic and rummage
the garret and open old scrapbooks and
shout and laugh and cry and talk over
old times, and though you may be As
years of age, act as though you were
16. Yet soon it is good-by at the car
window and good-by at the steamboat
wharf. But how will we act at the re-
union in the old family mansion of
Heaven? 1t is a good while since you
parted at the door of the grave. There
will be Grace and Mary and Martha
and Charlie and Lizzie and all the dar-
lings of your household, not pale and
sick and gasping for breath, as when
you saw them last, but their eyes.
bright with the luster of Heaven and
their cheeks roseate with the flush of
celestial summer.
What clasping of hands! What en-
bracings! What coming together of
81
say: 81 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 gladness. Christ will come
and say: what, child of Heaven,
is it too much for thee? Dost
thou break down under the gladness of
this reunion? Then | will help thee"
And with His one arm around us and
the other arm around our loved ones
He shall hold US up in the eternal jubi-
lee.
While I speak some of you with
broken hearts can hardly hold your
peace You feel as if you would speak
out and say: "Oh, blessed day, speed on!
Toward thee / press with blistered
feet over the desert &sy. Ny eyes fail
for their weeping. I faint from lis
tening for feet that will not come and
the sound of voices that will not speak.
Speed on, oh day of reunion! And then,
Lord Jesus, be not angry with me if
after 1 have kissed thy blessed feet
l turn around to gather up the long
lost treasures of my heart. Oh, be
not angry with me. One look at thee
were Heaven. But all these reunions
are Heaven encircling Heaven, Heaven
overtopping Heaven, Heaven comming-
ling with Heaven!"
l was at Mount Vernon and went
into the dining-room in which our first
president entertained the prominent
men of this and other lands. 1t was
very interesting spot. But, oh, the
banquet hall of the family mansion of
which l speak! Spread the table, spread
it wide, for great multitude are to
sit at it. From the tree by the river
gather the II manner of fruits for
that table. Take the clusters from
the heavenly vineyards and press them
into the golden tankards for that ta-
BILE. On baskets carry in the bread
of which if man eat he shall never hun
ger. Take all the shot-torn flags of
earthly conquest and intwine them
among the arches. Let David come
with his harp and Gabriel with his
trumpet and Miriam with the timbrel,
for the prodiga.s are at home, and
the captives are free, and the Father
hath invited the mighty of Heaven and
the redeemed of earrn To corna and