Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-02-08
Two str;ags of Gratitude.

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Two Str;aSs of Gratitude.
Have you ever given thanks for two
eyes-medla between the soul inside
/ and the world outside. media that no
! one but the infinite God could create?
The eye. the window Of our immortal
nature, the gate through which all col
ors march, the picture gallery Of the
soul! Without the eye this world is a
big dungeon fear that many Of us
have never given one hearty expression
| Of gratitude for treasure of sight, the
loss Of which is the greatest disaster
possible unless it be the loss of the
mind. Those wondrOus seven muscles
that turn the eye Up or down. to right
or left or around No one but God
could have created the retina. If we
have ever appreciated what God did
when he gave us two eyes. it was when
we saw others with oblterated vision.
| Alas that only through the privation
Of others we came to Il realization OF
our own blessing! If you had harp in
hand and swept all the strings Of graf
! itude, you would have struck this.
which is one OF the most dulcet of the
ten strings.
| through life In silence because the ear
refuses to do it's office They never
hear music, vocal or instrumental. The
thunder that rolls its full diapason
through the heavens does not startle
the prolonged silence. The air that
has for us so many melodies has no
sweet sound for them. They live in a
| quietude that will not be broken until
heaven breaks in upon them with its
harmonies The bird voices of the
springtime. the chatter Of the children,
/ the sublime chant of the sea. the solo
of the cantatrice and the melody of the
great worshiping assemblies mean
nothing TO them. Have we devOutly
thanked God for these two wonders Of
our hearing. with which we can now
put ourselves under the charm of sweet
sound and also carry i'm our memories
the infantle song with which our
mothers put us to sleep and the voices
Of the great prima dOnnas like Lind
and Patti and Nelson. and the sound
Of instruments like the violin of the
Swedish performer, or the cOrnet Of
Arbuckle. or the mightiest Of all in.
struments. with the hand of Morgan
on the keys and his foot on the pedal,
or some Sabbath tune like Corona
tion," In the acclaim Of which you
could hear the crowns Of heaven COM
ing down at the feet of Jesus? Many
of us have never thanked God for this
hearing apparatus of the soul. That is
one of the ten strings of gratitude that
we ought always to thrum after hear
ing the voice of a loved one or the last
strain of an oratorio or the clang Of
cathedral tower.
Further, there are many who never
recognize how much God gives them
when he gives them sleep. Insomnia
is calamity wider known in our land
than in any other. BY midlife vast
multitudes have their nerves so over
wrought that slumber has to be cOaxed,
and many are the victims Of choral
and morphine. Sleeplessness is an
American disorder. If 1t has not touch
ed you and you can rest for seven or
eight hours without waking-if for that
| length Of time in every twenty-fOur
hours you can be free of all care and
worriment and your nerves are retuned
and your limbs escape from all fatigue
and the rising sun finds you n new
man, body, mind and soul-you have an
advantage that ought to be put in
prayer and song and congratulation.
The French financier. almost wealthy
enough to purchase a kingdom, but the
victim of insomnia, wrote, mo slumber
to be bought in any market" He was
right. Sleep is Il gratuty from him
who never sleeps. Oh. the fellcities Of
slumber! Let all who have this real
benefaction celebrate It, That is one
of the sweetest strings in all the instru-
ment Of ten strings.
Further. let US gratefully acknow'-
edge the power of physical lOcOmOtiOn.
To be able to go where we wish and all
unaided-what kindness! What null
titudes have to call In the aid Of cane
and crutch and invalids chair, and
their whole life is hlnderment! How
hard to get about with lack Of strong
and healthy and supple limbs Con-
graduated ought you all to be If you
have the usual physical endowment,
and sympathlzed with ought all those
to be who can neither walk nor climb nor
enter upon any great activities. That
is one of the thousands of reasons why
l hate war with complete hatred. 1t
takes off with bullet or shell or sur
geon's knife the capacity Of men to
achieve their own livelihood or do the
work for which they would otherwise
be fully qualified. Brave men, self
Bacrifcing men. for the rest Of their
life are put on the limits and strangely
suffer in stormy weather from limbs
amputated
Give Thanks For Sound Limbs.
How much Of the human family in
every century has been cut up and
shot to pieces and passed into mutila-
ton! American manhood had hardly
recovered from the decorations Of the
war of the Revolution when 1t was
called to be carved by the swords and
stabbed with the bayonets and black
ened with the gunpowder Of 1872
Hardly recovered was our American
manhood from that when the war with
Mexico began its butchery. Hardly
was American manhood recovered
from that before the civil war took
hold of IL and dug its grave trench
through the north and its grave trench
through the south. Hardly was our
American manhood recovered from
that when the Spanish war came. with
its malaria and crowded hospitals.