Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-09-11

tional influence. We will not tell you
his name, as It might bias your judg'
ment." The specialist placed the ex
crescence under the microscope. After
carefully examining 1t he said: ut is
fatal cancer. Who's throat did 1t
come from?" General z. s. Grants"
was the answer. "Then," said the great
bacterioogist, General Grant is doom.
ed. He must die"
Tho souls AmictiOn.
How terrible are these diseases that
physicians confess themselves unable
TO cure! How startling, then, Is the
divine statement that the soul may he
afflicted with such disease similarly
beyond human medicament. Sin is
leprosy. Sin is the cancer Of the soul
gnawing at Its vitals Sin is the fore
runner Of eternal death. There are
men today within the sound Of my
voice who in their own strength have
been fighting sin for the last twenty
or thirty years. But as you grow
weaker the power of your sin Is grow
ing stronger God have pity upon you,
for you are a doomed lcper. You are
doomed by leprous sin.
But though from our standpoint lep-
rosy is incurable, yet the lcprous scales
were cleansed by divine power.
Therefore 1t is to Christ and to Christ
alone that we must look for the euro
of sin. The moral leper may go with
confidence TO Christ, who cured the
physical lepers by a word. When the
ten lepers came to the Saviour plead
ing for help, Christ turned and said:
"Go show yourselves unto the priests.
And it came to pass as they went they
were cleansed." Naaman, the great
captain, was helpless in the hands of
his human physicians. On account Of
his wealth and fame Naaman-like
General Grant afflicted with cancer
must have had the best doctors the
royal court OF Damascus could sum-
mon; but when Naaman, obedient to
the divine command through Elisha
went and dipped seven times in the
river Jordan his flesh became like the
flesh of n little child o my brother
md sister, you who are cursed with
leprous sin, will you not come to the
divine fountain? VIII you not battle
in Christ's blood? VIII you not today
by the Calvary cross seek supernatural
medicament?
Leprosy may take n very long time
in which to fatally develop, although
such is not always the way the dis.
ease progresses. Sometimes the scourge
in few months may change a beauti-
full body into hideous corpse, but the
quick result is the exception and not
the rule. At this first touch OF lep-
rosy usually there may only be hard.
ness, or rather a numbness, of tho
skin in a spot about the size Of ten
cent piece. The skin at that one place
merely turns as white as snow. II
you know nothing about the disease,
you may not worry about it. You
may, for n long time, be Indifferent to
the numbness. Then, some day when
you are in a physicians office seeking
advice for some other cause, you may
turn to the doctor and say: "By the
way, doctor, l have very peculiar
something the matter with my hand
1t does not hurt me, but It is numb in
one place" Then the physician with
grave face will look at your hand.
Then he will take pin out of the
lapel OF his coat and prick that spot,
| Then he will turn and say: "You are q
| leper. You are already doomed, al.
though death may be many years
away"
The Fatal White Mark.
When going through one of the leper
hospitals of Calcutta, l saw standing
in one of the wards a beautiful laxen
| haired baby boy. lie was only about
six or seven years of age. He was
one of the healthlest looking and pref
test children | ever saw. He was the
son Of an English soldier. he was
such a lovely boy, and while his great
big eyes were looking at me he was
standing there with his thumb in his
mouth sucking it as some Of us per
haps have sucked our thumbs wher
we were children. l turned and said
to the lovely boy, why are you heleY
Got the disease" he answered
"Where?' said as the great tears be
!
raised one Of his pretty bare legs
Then pointing to the ball Of his foot
he said, There it is" AS l looked
could hardly keep back my sobs.
saw in the ball Of his foot the fata
white mark. 1t was like beautiful
snowflake. The child was doomed
He was leper
But. though leprosy may come In
seemingly harmless way, the diseas
for four. five, ten. even fifteen year
will keep on steadily spreading. 1t vii
spread until the fingers fall off from tn
hands and the toes from the feet Itwil
keep on spreading until the skin bloat
and cracks and the hair falls out. $
leprous sin, coming in a seemlngl.
harmless way, will keep on spreading
until 1t makes the face hideous, tn
body deformed. 1t may keep on spread
Ing for years until at last the fata
leprous sin will destroy the body a
well as the soul.
1t Is related that young Englis
artist, desiring to paint the figure o
Innocence" used as model the fac
OF a lovely little child. The eyes, tn
lips and the smile of his model wer
the most beautiful he ever saw All Ems
land came to admire the picture. Man
years afterward, when the artist ha
attained to great fame. he decided t
paint companion picture TO the one h
, had painted in his youth. He wante