Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-12-13


In our day. And am I not right IN
saying that one Of the characteristics
CT the time In which we live Is disaster
cyclonlc?
But look at the disasters oceanic.
Shall call the roll OF the dead ship
I! ping2 Ye monsters Of the deep. an
swer when l call your names. The
| Vile de Havre, the Schiller. the City of
| Boston. the Melville. the President. the
! Cimbria. the Oregon. the Mohegan-
! But why should so on calling the
roll when none OF them answers and
the roll is as long as the white scroll of
the Atlantic surf at Cape Hatteras
! breakers? If the oceanic cables could
report all the scattered life and all
the bleachcd bones that they rub
| against in the ocean. what message
| of pathos ana tragedy for both beach.
esi In one storm eighty fishermen per
/ iShed of the coast OF Newfoundland
aud whole fleets of them Off the coast
! of England. God help tho poor fellows
| at sea and give high seats i'm heaven
| to the Grace Darlings and the Ida Lew
Uses and the lifeboat men lowering
around Goodwin sands and the Skier
Il
the earth. proposes to capture the 9th.
er fourth and Is bombarding the land
ali around the earth. The moving of
the hotels Mt Brighton Beach back
! ward 100 yards from where they once
stood, a type-of what is going on all
around the world and on every coast.
The Dead sea rolls today where an
cient cities stood. Pillars of temples
that stood on hills. geologists now find
| three-quarters under the water or alto
| getber submerged. The sen. having
wrecked so many merchantmen and
fotillas. wants to wreck the continents,
and hence disasters oceanic. Alas for
Galveston and other cities almost
drowned!
A wealth CT BLESSINGS.
| Look at the disasters epidemic
speak not of the plague In the fourth
| century that ravageds Europe and in
Moscow and the Neapolitan dominions
and Marseilles wrought such terror In
the eighteenth century. but l look at
the yellow fevers and the choleras and
the diphtherias and the scarlet fevers
and the typbolds of our time. From
| Hurdwar. India. where every twelfth
year 100000 devotees congregate, the
caravans brought the cholera. and that
one disease slew $4,000 In eighteen
days In Bossorah. Twelve thousand in
one summer slain by it in India and
| $4,000 in Egypt. Disasters epidemic.
Some of the finest monuments In Green
wood and Laurel Hill and Mount Au-
burn are to doctors who lost their lives
( haff1fDc with coufhnrp oniI,,,,to
But now turn the leaf In my sub
ject. and plant the white lilies and
the palm tree amid the Magistrates
and the myrtle. This age no more
characterized by wonders of disaster
than by wonders of Distinguishing
of longevity: the average OF human life
rapidly increasing. Forty years now
worth 400 years once. Now can tray.
el from Manitoba TO New York i'm less
than three days. In other times IL
would have taken three months. In
other words. three days now are worth
three months OF other days. The aver.
age OF human life practically, greater
now than when Noah lived. with his
$50 years and Mcthuselah lived his
900 years.
/ A'hNs.AhS~' VI iAtNiiir,tHNf. w GNstitIlOU
+. Chases and the Abraham Lincolns
and the Henry Wilson's of the coming
time will not be required to learn to
read by pine knot lights or seated on
shoemakcr's bench, nor will the Fer
gusons have TO study astronomy while
watching the cattle. Knowledge rolls
its tides along every poor mans door,
and his children may 20 down and hattie
in them. IL the philosophers OF n hun
dred years ago were called up 10 recite
In a class with our boys and girls. those
old philosophers would be sent down
10 the foot OF the class because they
failed 10 answer the questions. Free
libraries in all the Important towns and
cities Of the land. Historical alcoves
and poetical shelves and magazine ia
bles for all who desire to walk through
them or sit down Mt them.
Inideiity DwIndIing.
Blessings Of quick information: News
papers falling all around us thick as
leaves ina September equinoctiaL News
three days old rancid and stale. We
see the whole world twice day
through the newspaper at the break.
fast table and through the newspaper
at the teatable, with an extra here
| and there between.
Blessing OF gospel proclamation: Do
you not know that nearly all the mis-
slonary societies have been born within
a hundred years and nearly all the b.
bic societies and nearly all the great
philanthropic movements? Christian
| Ivy Is on the march, while infidelity is
dwindling Into imbecility. While inf
deity is thus dwindllng the wheel of
Christianity Is making about a thou
sand revolutions in n minute. All the
copies of Shakespeare and Tennyson
and Disraeil and of any ten of the
most popular writer's OF the day less In
number than the copies OF the Bible
going out from our printing presses. A
Few years ago In six weeks more than
2,0Oc,OOO copies OF the New Testament
purchased-not given away, but pur-
chased, because the world viii have II.
The most popular book today Is the
Bible. and the mlghticst institution Is
the church. and the greatest name
among the nations end more honored
than any is the name of Jesus
wonders OF SELF sacrifice. A clergy.
man told me in the northwest that for
SIX years he was missionary at the
extreme north. living 400 miles from a
postoiiice. and sometimes, the Their
niometer 40 degrees below zero. he
slept out Of doors In winter wrapped
III faDpit skins woven together. I said:
is II possiblef You do not mean 40
degrees below zeroT' He said. al do.
and | was happy" All for Christi
Where Is there any other being TINT
viii rally such enthusiasm? Mothers
sewing their fingers off to educate their
boys for the gospel ministry. For nine
years no luxury on the table until the
course through grammar school and
college and theological seminary be
completed. Poor widow putting her
mite into the Lords treasury. the face
OF emperor or president impressed upon
the coin not so conspicuous as the
blood with which she earned IL. MI