The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-09-19

would have to travel down before
she got to the ballot box? Compared
with this work of training kings and
queens for God and eternity, how in
significant seems all this work of
voting for aldermen and common
councilmen and sheriffs and con-
stables and mayors and presidents.
To make one such grand woman as I
have described how many thousand
would you want of those people who
go in the round of godles sness and
fashion and dissipation, distorting
their body and going so far toward
disgraceful apparel as they dare go
SO as not to be arrested of the police,
their behavior a sorrow to the good
and a caricature of the vicious and
an insult to that God who made
them women and not gorgons, and
tramping on, down through frivo-
lous and dissipated life, to temporal
and eternal destruction. Oh, woman,
with the lightning of your soul
strike dead at your feet all these al
lurements to dissipation and to
fashion. Your immortal soul cannot
be fed upon such garbage. God calls
you up to empire and dominion.
Will you have it? Oh, give to God
your heart, give to God your best
energies, give to God all your cul-
ture, give to God all your refinement,
give yourself to Him for this world
and the next. Soon all these bright
eyes will be quenched and these
voices will be hushed. For the last
time you will look upon this fair
earth; fathers hand, mothers hand,
sisters hand, child's hand will be no
more in yours. 1t will be night, and
there will come up a cold wind from
the Jordan, and you must start.
Will it be lone woman on a track
less moor? All, no, Jesus will come
up in that hour and offer His hand,
and He will say: you stood by me
when you were we'll; now | will not
desert you when you are sick" One
wave of his hand, and the storm will
drop, and another wave of His hand
and midnight shall ureak into mid
noon, and another wave of His hand
and the chamberlains of Cod will
come down from the treasure houses
of Heaven with robes lustrous, blood
washed and Heaven glinted, in which
you will array yourself for the mar
riage supper OF the Lamb. And then
with Miriam, who struck the timbrel
by the Red sea, and with Deborah, who
led the Lords host into the fight,
and with Hannah, who gave her Sam
uel to the Lord, and with Mary, who
rocked Jesus to sleep while there
were angels singing in the air, and
with Florence Nightingale, who bound
up the battle wounds of the Crimea,
you will, from the chalice of God,
drink to the souls eternal rescue.
One twilight, after I had been
playing with the children for some
time, lay down on the lounge to
rest, and, half asleep and half awake,
l seemed to dream this dream: It
seemed to me that l was in far dis
tant land-not Persia, although more
than oriental luxurlance crowned the
cities; nor the tropics, although
more than fruitfulness filled the gar
dens; nor Italy, although more than
italian softness filled the air. And
l wandered around looking for
thorns and nettles, but / found none
of them grew there. And l walked
forth, and I saw the sun rise, and /
said: "When will it set again?" and
the sun sank not. And | saw all the
people in holiday apparel, and l said:
| hax III
mems garb again and delve in the
mine and swelter at the FORGE" But
neither the garments nor the robes
did they put off. And / wandered in
the suburbs, and 1 said: Where do
they bury the dead OF this great
city?' And l looked along by the
hills where it would be most beauti-
full for the dead to sleep, and / saw
castles and towers and battlements,
but not a mausoleum, nor monu.
ment, nor white slab could / see.
And l went INTO the great chapel OF
the town, and said: ''Where do the
poor worship? Where are tho
benches on which they sit?" And .
voice answered: "We have no poor
IN TINS great clty. Anu Wdnucreu
out seeking to find the place where
were the novels of the destitute, ard
l found mansions of amber and ivory
and gold, but no tear did I see or
sigh hear. l was ,bewildered, and
sat under the shadow of great tree,
and I said: what am / and whence
comes all thls?" And at that moment
there came from among the leaves,
skipping up the fowery paths and
across the sparkling waters, very
bright and sparkling group, and
when I saw their step knew it, and
when l heard their voices l thought
/ knew them, but their apparel was
SO different from anything had ever
seen / bowed, stranger to
strangers. But after awhile, when
they clapped their hands and shout.
ed: "Welcome! Welcomed" the
mystery was solved, and | saw that
time had passed and that eternity
had come, and that God had gathered
us up into higher home, and / said:
| 4 IL