St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-02-15
THE OLD YEAR GONE.
VI Talmage Speaks Of the Arrival
of the New.

Words of Encouragement to All the
imfd and Doubting-January
I'm History-A Time of
Sadness.
lCopyright. 1901, by Louis Klopsch. N. ~
Washington,
In this, DR.. Talmage's first dis
course for the new year, he speaks
words of encouragement to all the
tlmid and doubling. The text is Exc
aus 1879: "This month shall be unto
You the beginning of months; it shall
oe the first month OF the year to
YOU"
The last month of the old year has
passed out of sight, and the first
month of the new year has arrived.
The midnight gate last Wednesday
opened, and January entered. She
deserves better name, for she is
called after Janus, the heather deity,
who, they supposed, presided over
doors, and SO might be expected to
preside at the opening of the year.
This month was of old called the wolf
month because, through the severity
OF its weather, the hungry wolves
came down seeking food and devou-'
ing human life. In the missals OF the
middle ages January was represented
as attired in white, suggestive OF the
snow, and blowing the fingers, as
though suffering from the cold, and
having a bundle of wood under the
arm, suggestive of the warmth that
must be kindled.
Yes, January is the open door OF
the year, and through that door will
come what long professions, some OF
them bearing palm leaves and some
myrtle, others with garlands OF
wheat and others with cypress and
mistletoe. They are coming, and
nothing can keep them back-the
events of twelvemonth. 1t will, l
think, DC one of the greatest years OF
all time. It will abound with bless
ing and disaster. National and inter-
national controversies of momentous
import will be settled. Year of cor
onation and dethronement, year that
will settle Cuban and Porto Rican and
Philippine and South African and Chi
nese destinies. The tamest year for
many decade past has dug its mil
lions of graves and reared its millions
of marriage affairs.
We can expect greater events in
this year than ever before, for the
worlds population has so vastly in
creased there are SO many more than
in any other year to laugh and weep
and triumph and perish. The
mightier wheels of mechanism have
such wider sweep. The fires are
kindled in furnaces not seven times
but 70 times heated. The velocities
whirling through the air and sailing
the seas and tunneling the noun
tains will make unprecedented DEM
onstration. Would to God that be-
fore the now opening year has closed
the earth might cease to tremble
with the last cannonade and the
heavens cease to be lighted up with
any more confagration of home.
steads and the foundries that make
swords be turned into blacksmith
shops for making plowshares.
The, front door of q stupendous
year has opened. Before many of you
there will be IL months of oppor.
tunity for making the world better
or worse, happier or more miserable
Let us pray that it may be a year
that will indicate the speedy redemp'
ton of the hemisphere. Would ia
God that this might be the year in
which the three great instruments
now chiefly used for secular purposes
might be put to their mightiest use
in the worlds evangelization-the
telegraph, the telephone, the phono
graph! Electricity has such potent
tongue, such strong arm, such swift
wing, such lightning foot, that it oc
ours to me that 1t may be the angel
that St. John saw and heard in apoc
alyptic vision when he started back
and cried out: II saw another ange
flying in the midst of Heaven having
the everlasting Gospel to preach un
to them that dwell on the earth anl
to every nation and kindred ani
tongue and people" They were
tongues of fire that sat on the head:
of the disciples at the Pentecost, ane
why not the world called to God BY
tongue of electric fire? Prepare YOU
batteries and make ready to put up
ON the wires the world wide messag,
!. Of 'whosoever will"
Furthermore, this month of Janu
airy has the greatest height and deptl
8 of cold. The rivers are bounded il
crystal chains. The fountains tina
made highest leap in the summer
parks now toss not one jet, for ever!
drop would be frozen tear. TIL,
sleds craunch through the hard snow
Warmest attire the wardrobe can at
ford is put on that we may defen.
ourselves against the fury of the ele
ments, Hardest of all the month
for the poor, let it be the season o
\ greatest generosity on the part o
the prosperous. How much scuttl
of coal or q pair of shoes or Goa
or shawl may do in Arrangement o
suffering between the first of Janu
arv and the first of February Co
only knows. Seated by our warn
registers or wrapped in furs whicl
make us independent of the cuttin
January blast, let us not forget tn
freless January blast, let us not fol
,et the fireless hearth and the thi
Garments and the hacking cough an
the rheuhH tic twinge of those VIII
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