Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-07-17

yet he lived long enough, with that
frail body. to bring the gospel mes
sage to the whole English speaking
race Of his time. Fanny Crosby, the
inspired hymnologist, who has written
many thousands Of souls have nestled
"Safe In the Arms Of Jesus (Which is
perhaps her most popular hymn, has
such a weak. frail little body that
there seems to be nothing to her phys
ically, and in addition to her other
physical infirmities God put out the
light Of her two eyes. And there she
sits, in the darkness Of her own room,
in order that with her eyeless sockets
she may better see the face Of Jesus
Christ. Frances r. willard in all prob
ability never saw a perfect we'll day
in thirty years. yet with her weak
body she headed one Of the mightiest
reform movements Of her time. With
her devoted companions she toured up
and down this land. speaking in every
town and city of 10000 inha bitants or
over. When she became too feeble to
travel, in order to keep her from work.
ing her friends sent her across the
seas. Yet even there, under the shad-
ow Of the trees. she would write her
letters which reused oil the women
Of Christendom to better deeds for
God and humanity.
To show what power this sickly little
woman was able to exercise, male
auditor gave his impression of her to a
friend In this way: when she COM
menced to speak, felt sorry for her.
She seemed to be such n wee little bit
Of sickly woman, so very frail and
helpless, but when Frances Z. Willard
had been speaking short time this
wee little bit of a woman seemed to
me to grow nine feet tall, and she
seemed to have in her hand battering
ram with which she was pounding up
on the door Of my heart until had to
open 1t and let the Saviour in" To
show what was the influence Of this
frail little woman and the work which
she did I would quote statement
made by Wendell Phillips. He turned
to a young man, who was complaining
that there were no great reformers to-
forms to champion and said: Young
man. did you hear Frances Z. Willard
speak tonight? II you did, in that
frail, little sick body you saw one of
the mightiest powers for good this
world has ever seen. You also saw her
denouncing, perhaps, the mightiest
curse of all ages, the curse Of intoxi-
cants. Go and do as the sickly Frances
e. Willard Is doing"
The Solicitations of the Saints.
Now, to you who are sitting before
me today with the pale face of an in
valid bring the salutations Of the
saints who have lived in the C9sarean
palaces Of physical intlrmity. l would
tell you to do something for God in
spite Of your bodily pain, as blind John
Milton did; as Bella Cooke. who has
been bedridden for over forty years is
doing; as Paul did, who was Gin bodily
presence weak" Your very physical
sufferings ought to bring you closer to
Christ. Your very sicknesses ought to
make you the more anxious to do some
thing for the Saviour now that your
time on earth may be short They
ought to make you as anxious to dc
something for Christ as was the dying
president of Union college, who, when
his physician told him he had but one
hour on earth to live, said, Then place
me upon my knees, that l may spend
that hour in prayer with God, pleading
for the salvation Of sinful souls"
Would that today, in the presence OF
these saints who have lived in the
modern CAESARS palaces Of physical
torture, we might all consecrate our
frail as well as our we'll bodies to the
service Of the Lord Jesus Christ!
would encourage those Christians
also who are trying to maintain their
Christian integrity in spite of an evil
past BY this statement l mean those
Christians whose past sins have been
heralded over the world, even as
Gains sin was known by the black
mark which had been stamped upon
the murderer's brow. II it is hard for
young girl to be good and pure and
true when she is living in a Christian
home and has practically never been
out Of her mothers care, how much
harder must it be for young girl tc
be good and true and pure when she
has had her feet cut and lacerated by
treading the crooked and stony path
way OF sin and has had her fair name
blackened by the condemnations Of a
dissolute life! If IT is difficult for q
young man to hold an honorable posi-
ton in society when his record Is
clean and good, how much more diff
cult must 1t be for man to attain ar
honorable life when he has served out
his time In felon's cell or has had his
hair cropped by the convict's shears
and his clothes striped with the marks
of the pcnitentiary! II 1t Is Difficult,
for a Christian to live right whose
nearest neighbors can find nothing bu,
good to say Of him and his past. how
much more difficult must it be for @
man to live good life who has beer
drunkard, libertine, thief. 90
cial outcast! Would you. o Christian
merchant, today be willing to have re
formed ex-convicts MS occupants Of
your Officer Would you, o mother, al
low reformed servants in your home
whose past lives have been dissolute'
"No." in all probability you woult
both answer In an un-Christian way
Il do not bear such people any Ill will
but would prefer not to have then