Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-03-23

WASHINGTON, March 17-ln a new
way and from a peculiar text DR.. Tai
mage discourses Of good influence
brought to bear for the worlds I'm
provement. The text Is Ezekiel TX, 2
"And one man among them was cloth
ed with linen, with n writer's inkhorl
by his side"
The poem from which my text is tax
en- is epic, lyric, dramatic, weird ant
overpowering. 1t Is more than Ho
meric or Dantesque. No one ever haC
such divine dreams as Ezekiel. In
vision this prophet had seen wrathfu
angels, destroying angels, each with
sword, but in my text he sees a merci
full angel with an inkhorn. The re
ceptacle for the ink in olden time was
made out of the horn Of a cow or
ram or a rOebuck, as now 1t Is made
out Of metal or glass, and therefore was
called the inkhorn, as now we say ink
stand. We have all spoken Of the pow
er of the sword, Of the power OF
wealth, Of the power of office, Of the
power Of social influence, but today
speak of the power for good or evil in
the inkstand. 1t Is upon your tables,
holding a black or blue or red liquid.
1t is a fortress, an armory, a gateway,
n ransom or a demolition. "YOu mis-
take" says some one. 1T Is the pen
that has the power" No, my friend.
What Is the influence Of dry penf
Pass it up and down a sheet of paper,
and it leaves no mark. 1t expresses no
opinion. 1t gives no warning. 1t
spreads no intelligence 1t is the liquid
which the pen dips out Of the inkstand
that does the work. Here and there a
celebrated pen, with which n Declara-
ton of Independence or Magma Char
ia or a treaty was signed has been kept
in literary museum or national ar
chives, but for the most part the pens.
whether, as Of old, made out Of reed
or later of wing or bird or still later OF
metallic substance, have disappeared,
while the liquid which the pens took
from the inkstand remains in scrolls
which, If put together, would be large
enough to enwrap the round world.
For practical, for moral, for religious
for eternal purposes, | speak OF the
mission Of "the writer's inkhorn."
The Home Inkstand.
First, I mention that which Is purely
domestic. The inkstand is in every
1t awaits the opportunity
to express affection or coincidence or
advice. Father uses It; mother uses it;
the sons and daughters use it. 1t tells
the home news: it announces the mar
riage, the birth, the departure. the ac-
,ident. the last sickness. the death.
That home inkstand, what a mission it
has already executed, and what other
missions will it yet fulfill May 1t
stand off from all insincerity and all
righteousness. Let it tell only that
which it would be well to read after
the hand that wrote it and the hand
that received it can write no more.
Dip out Of that inkstand only that
which is paternal, maternal. filial. SIS
.erly, brotherly. Sacred let it be. not to
what are sometimes called the house
hold gods" but to the one and the only
God who "setteth the solitary In fam
lies" Dip out of it solace for parents
IN the descending grade Of years and
for those who are climb
ng the sleeps.
The carvers and glass blowers areever
1usy making more ornate and skillful
bowls for the INK, but rot one OF them
will be so sacred as the old fashioned
nkstand out Of which was dipped the
iouid for the making CT tie family
'ecord on the blank leaves In the Bible
between the Old and the New Testa-
nents, not so many leaves now blank
IS before recent years made birthday or
nortuary insertions. From that home
nkstand the child dips out material
or those large and awkward letters
hat one always makes when learning
o write, and from it are taken the
rembllng letters that show the wrln-
lied hand is gradually forgetting It's
oh, We who have with recent years
et up homes Of your own, out OF th2
lew home inkstand write often to the
I'D folks, If they be still living. A let
er means more to them than to u.s.
Who are amid the activities OF life and
o whom postal correspondence Is more
han we can manage. They await the
coming Of the letter. Undertake no
treat thing In life without their advice
DID people for counsel. young people
or action. Even though through deca-
lence they may be incompetent to give
'aluable opinions on important ahairs'
them by asking their coun'
el. 1t will do them good; It Will MAKE
heir last days exhilarant Make that
lome inkstand a source Of reJuyenes-
ence to those who are near the ter
minus Of the earthly journey. Domes'
ic correspondence is not attended 10
IS once. The newspaper, Joining with
he telegraph. bears the tdings OF al
he neighbo; hood. but swiftest revolv-
ng wheel Of modern printing press
md quickest fash along the electric
wires can never do the sympathetic
work Of the home inks:and. AS the
nerciful angel Of my text appeared be-
ore the braZen altar with the inkhorn
It his side In Ezekieps vision, so let
he angel Of flial kindness appear al
he altars of the old homestead.
Warn the Careless.
Furthermore. the inkstand OF the
business man has its mission. Between
low and the hour Of your demise, o
man. o professional man.
here will not be day when you can
lot dip from the inkhOrn message
hat will influence temporal and eter-
lal destiny. There is a rash young
nan running into wild speculation, and
with as much ink as you can put on
he pen at one time you may save him
-. 81 rr1ir1o1