The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-03-21

versation Aristotle and Plato and Rob-
ert South and Sydney Smith and Locke
and Samuel Rogers and Chaucer and
Paul Richter and Swift, and Hazlitt and
Leigh Hunt and Talleyrand and Burke
and Edward Irving, while. to make
music for us. Handel and Mozart and
Mendelssohn come in, and we watch
Columbus landing, and see John Har-
wards legacy of 5000 paid over for
the founding of Harvard university
and Joshua Reynolds and David Wilkie
and Rembrandt tell lis of their pic
lures. Oh, the books! Thank God for
the books, and thanks be to all the
authors! May the inkhorn ever be UNI
der divine inspiration!
When bad book is printed you do
well to blame the publisher. but most
OF all blame the author. The malaria
rose from his inkstand The poison
that caused the moral or spiritual
death dropped in the fluid from the
tip OF his pen. The manufacturer Of
that ink could tell you that it is made
of tannin and salt of iron and nutgalls
and green vitriol. but many an author
mas dipped from his inkstand hyper
criticism and malevolence and Islander
and salaciousness as from fountain
OF death. But blessed be Gcd for the
authors inkstand in 10000 studies
which are dedicated to. pure intelli-
gence, highest inspiration and grand
est purpose. They are the inkstands
out of which will be dipped the redemp-
ton of the world. The destroying an
gels with their swords seen in Ezekiels
vision will be finally overcome by the
merciful angel with the writer's ink
horn.
Newspaper Impres lions.
wrong theory is abroad that the
newspaper impression is ephemeral.
Because we read and cast it aside in
an hour and never see it again we are
not to judge that we are parted from
Its influence. No volume of 500 pages
makes such impression upon the people
as the daily newspaper. 1t is not what
we put away carefully upon the shelf
and once in awhile refer to that has as
close relation to our welfare as the
story of what the world is now doing
Or has recently done. Yesterday has
more to do with today than something
occurring a century previous. The
engineers who now guide the rail
trains, the captains who now COM
mand the ships, the architects who now
design the buildings, the batons that
now control the orchestras. the legisla-
tors who now make the laws. the gen
erals who now march the hosts, the
rulers who now govern the nations, the
inkhorns that now flood the world
with intelligence-these are what we
have most to do with.
You have all seen what is called in
delible ink. which IS weak solution
of silver nitrate. and that ink you can
not rub out or wash out Put it there,
and it stays. Well, the liquid of the
editorial and reportorial inkstands is
an indelible ink. 1t puts upon the
souls of the passing generations char
acters of light or darkness that time
cannot wash out and eternity cannot
efface. Forever indelible. Be careful
how you use it. The impression made
with it will be resplendent or repul-
sive on the day for which all other
days were made.
But how shall speak Of the ink
horn of the worlds evangelization?
oh, how many loving and brilliant and
glorious pens have been dipped into
it! Thomas a Kempis dipped into it
and brought up his Imitation of
Christ" Horace Bushnell dipped into
it and brought up Every Mans Life
Plan of God" Thomas Binney dip
ped into it and brought up his weigh
House Chapel Discourses." Conybeare
dipped into it and brought up the Life
and Epistles of Paul" Archbishop
Trench dipped into it and brought up
the "Epistles to the Seven Churches"
Stuart Robinson dipped into it and
brought up "Discourses of Redemp
ton" Austin Phelps dipped into IL
and brought up "The Still Hour" Mark
Hopkins dipped into it and brought I'D
Evidence of Christianity" Thomas
Guthrie dipped into it and brought up
THE Gospel in Ezekiel" John Cum
ming dipped into it and brought up
The Apocalypse" Oh. the opulence
of Christian literature! Oh, the
mighty streams of evangelistic power
that have poured from the writer's
inkhorn that appeared in Ezekieps
vision,
The Mothers Letters.
While you recognize the distinguish
ed ones who have dipped into the ink
stand of the worlds evangelization do
not forget that there are hundreds of
thousands of unknown men and wom-
en- who are engaged in inconspicuous
ways doing the same thing! How
many anxious mothers writing to the
boys in town! How many sisters writ
ing encouragement to brothers far
away! How many invalids bolstered
up in bed, the inkhorn on the stand at
their side, writing letters Of coincidence
to those worse off than themselves,
They are flying all the time kind
words, gospel words, helpful words,
saving words. Call the evangeiistic
inkhorn into service in the early
morning, when yon feel well and you
are grateful for the protection during
your sleeping hours, and write before
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