, 1902-12-08
'Helmsman, for the love of heaven.
Teach NE, too. that wondrous song


Learn the secret of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
Comprehend its mystery"
But We snow that inherent in every
soul, and an attribute of every human
life, is an aspiration for an existence
beyond the grave and an abiding con
seriousness that the spirit of man, with
its abundant activities and %boundless
possibilities was created for far better
things than to inhabit a motral body
for Il brief space of time and then eX
pire. And it may be confidently believ,
ed with these aspirations unless the
Universe oil God contains in full meas.
Ure, more indeed than mans mine can
contemplate, something responding to
their call. Thank God that with all
the suffering and distress of body and
mind in his world, we are given power
OF faith through which We may bridge
the chasm of human destiny, and be-
hold the glory of immortality. And
this faith it is, brethren, founded not
only on a consciousness of our natures,
but on divine revelation as well, that
assuages the grief and furnishes con
ISOLATION to them who mourn for depart
ed friends and loved one The mind,
with the aid OF the Divine artist, pic
lures upon the anvas OF eternity
and reunions. AS we exercise u God
given attribute of faith, the grim WIS.,
age disappears from the co~untenance
OF the destroyer of the earthly temple.
Aside from the instinct OF self-pre-
s~ervation, the idea OF death would not
possess for us SO much of terror, were
and the pain of separation.
There is no death; but angel forms
Walk o'er the earth with silenttread;
They bear our best loved things away
And then we call them dead.
DuI ever nedl us, llIousu uloeeu,
The dear immortal spirits tread;
For all the boundless universe
Is life-there is no dead"
Today we speak kind words only Of
those who have gone. We are admon-
ished to write their faults on the sands.
Better still, write them not at all. II
faults they had, they were but men,
after all, with all the frailties OF hui
man nature. Whatever their faults
may have been, they have faded from
the memory. Their virtues are emblaz-
oned on our recollections in enduring
colors. We remember them as men
and brothers, who had sworn to be
guided in their conduct by charity and
justice; and who had pledged unswerv-
ing fidelity to the noble sentiment Of
b~rotherly love. They had taken us by
the hand and called us brother. And
as a fraternity, We are linked by a mys-
FERROUS chain to the inhabitants on the
other shore; and as our songs ascend
to heaven, may we not listen and catch
the refrain coming back to us from
spirit voices, as in olden time the an.
gels were heard singing. Peace on
earth, good will toward men,"
They lived. Our brothers lived. and
they died. We revere their memory,
We extol their good deeds. All that
breathe must share the same fate.
None is exempt. 1t is an inexorable law
of nature. 1t comes to the young and
aged alike. To the pauper and the
king. All of man that is mortal must
find its bed in dust as the long train
Of the ages glides away" 1t matters
not SO much when measured by years
whether a mans life is short or is pro
the all important inquiry is and always
must be, how has he lived? The
bounds that are fixed to the duration
OF life do not always measure it's width
or depth.
1--we live in deeds, not years; il
thoughts not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial;
We should count time by heart beats
He most lives
Who thinks most-feels the nobles'
Act the best"
There comes to each of us today 6
call that l am convinced will not fai
to make its impress upon us-a call
holy and sacred-inviting us before We
Join the 'innumerable caravan" t
strive to lengthen and broaden GU
lives by good deeds. kindly thoughts
and charitable impulses toward oul
brethren and the world.
Charity, the virtue that forms the
keystone of our society. insists not on
ly that the purse shall respond to the
cries Of the needy. but comprehends
far more than mere benevolence. Its
demands reach the tongue and heart
II requires that we shall not wait until
the dull clods Of earth cover the re
mains OF a brother before we learn tc
throw the mantle Of charity about his
faults. 1t seeks to check the voice OF
m~alevolence and SANDER. 1t prompts
us to avoid unkind illusions to anoth
er's misfortunes of condition or char
acter. 1t bids us to assist the unfortu
nate in every situation Of life. All ouI
criticisms of a brothers errors should