The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-10-24
YOU are dead. All nv life has been

that Rev. d. Van Franken, OF New
Brunswick Theological seminary.
wrote for me, a boy under him, when
I was seeking settlement in which
to preach the Gospel. That letter
gave me my first pulpit. DR.. Van
Vranken has been dead more than 80
years, yet I feel the touch of that
magnificent old professor. Strange
sensation was it when l received q
kind message from Rev. Thomas
Guard, of Baltimore, the great Meth
death! By way of the eternal world?
Oh, no; by way of this world. 1 did
not meet the friend to whom he gave
the message until nearly two months
after Thomas Guard had assembled.
So you can start word about some
vigorous long after the funeral
psalm has been sung at your obse-
quies. Kindness! Why, if so men all
aglow with it should walk through
the lost world methinks they would
almost abolish perdition.
suppose oil tilS anu
all to whom these words shall come
by printers type should resolve to
make kindness an overarching, under
girding and all pervading principle Of
their life and then carry out the res
olution. Why, in six months the
whole earth would feel it. People
would say: "What is the matter? It
seems to me that the world is get
ting to be better place to live in.
Why, life, after all, is worth living.
Why, there is Shylock, my neigh bor,
has withdrawn his lawsuit of fore
cause he had so much sickness in his
family he is going to have the house
for one year rent free. There is an
old lawyer in that young lawyers Of
fee, and do you know what he has
gone in there for? Why, he is help
ing to fix up a case which is too big
for the young man to handle, and the
whitehaired attorney is hunting up
previous decisions and making out a
brief for the boy. Do you know that
a strange thing has taken place in the
pulpit, and all the old ministers are
helping the young ministers, and all
the old doctors are helping the young
doctors, and the farmers are assist
ing each other in gathering the har-
vest, and for that farmer who is sick
the neighbors have made "bee," as
they call it, and they have all turned
in 10 hol hin, hic into tho
garner? And they tell me that the
older and more skillful reporters
who have permanent positions on pa
pers are helping the young fellows
who are just beginning to try and do
not know exactly how to do it. And
tions on the reporters pad they says
"Now, here is a readable account OF
that tragedy; hand it in, and | am
sure the managing editor will take
it,
"And I heard this morning of poor
old man whose three children were in
hot debate as to who should take care
of him in his declining days. The old
est son declared that it was his right,
because he was the oldest, and the
youngest said it was his right because
he was the Youngest and Mary said it
was her right because she better I'M
derstood her fathers vertigo and
rheumatism and poor spells and knew
better how to nurse him, and the only
way the difficu! ty could be settled was
by the old mans promise that he
would divide the year into three parts
and spend third of his time with each
one of them. And neighboring stores
in the same line of goods on the same
block are acting kindly to each other.
1t seems to me that those words of
Isaiah are being fulfilled when he
says: The carpenter encouraged the
goldsmith and he that smoothed the
hammer, him that smote the anvil,
saying, it is ready for the soldering
What is the matter? 1t seems to me
our old world is picking up. Why, the
millennium must be coming in. Kind
ness has got the victory"
My hearers, you know and I know we
are far from that state of things. But
WHY uob lilduS uTdle he" ulSpenSd-
ton of geniality. If we cannot have a
millennium on a large scale. let us
have it on small scale and under our
own vestments. Kindness! If this
world is ever brought to God, that is
the thing that will do it. You cannot
fret the world up, although you may
fret the world down. You cannot
scold it into excellence or reforma-
ton or goodness.
And while we take the matchless
kindness from God may it be found
that we have uttered our last bitter
word, written our last cutting para
graph, done our last retaliatory action,
felt our last revengeful heart throb.
And it would not be bad epitaph for
any of US if, by the grace of God, from
this time forth we lived such benefi-
cent lives that the tombstone's chisel
could appropriately cut upon the plain
slab that marks our grave a sugges-
ton from the text: "He showed us no
little kindness" But not until the last
child of God has got ashore from the
earthly storms that drove Him on the
rocks like Mediterranean Eurocly-
douS not until all tho +bro,o. -