Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-02-07


refuses to do it's office. They never
hear music. vocal or instrumental. The
thunder that rolls Its full diapasor
through the heavens does not startls
the prolonged silence. The air that
has for us SO many melodies has ne
sweet sound for them. They live In q
quietude that will not be broken unit
heaven breaks in upon them with fl
harmonies. The bird voices OF the
springtime. the chatter OF the children
the sublime chant OF the sea, the sols
of the cantatrlce and the melody Of the
great worshiping assemblies NEAR
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 in our memories
the infant.le song with which on,
mothers put us TO sleep, and the voices
or the great prima donnas like Limo
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
strumerts. with the hacd of Morgan
on the keys and bis 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.
n hO 10 n. -
strain of an oratorio or the clang of q
cathedral tower.
Further, there are many who never
recognize how much God gives them
when he gives them sleep. Insomnia
is a calamity wider known In our land
than in any other. BY midiife 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. IL it has not touch
cd 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 oil care and
worriment aud your nerves are returned
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 gratuity from him
who never sleeps. oh, the felicities of
slumberi Let all who have this real
benefaction celebrate II. Tint is one
of the sweetest strings In all the instru.
ment CT ten strings.
Further, let US gratefully acknowl.
edge the power of physical Iocomotion.
To be able to go where we wish and all
unaided-what kindnessl What null.
titudes have to call In the aid of cane
and crutch and invalid's chair, and
their whole life is a Underwent How
hard TO get about with lack of strong
and healthy and supple IimbsI Con.
graduated ought you all to be IL you
have the usual physical endowment,
and sympathized 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 rea sons why
| hate war with complete hatred. II
takes of with bullet or shell or sur
geon's knife the capacity of men 10
achieve their own livelihood or do the
work for which they would otherwise
be fully qualified. Brave men. self
sacrificing men. fer 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 I'm
every century has been cut up aud
shot TO pieces and passed into mutila.
toni American manhood had hardly
recovered from the decorations of the
war OF the Revolution when IL was
called to be carved by the swords and
stabbed with the bayonets and black
ened with the gunpowder OF 1912.
Hardly recovered was our American
manhood from that when the war with
Mexico begun its butchery. Hardly
was American manhood recovered
from that before the civil war took
hold of It 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.
Thank God that now four of the great
est nations are allied in good under
standing-the United States, England.
Germany and Russia-and II they will
do the right thing they can forever
stop national and international strife
and put an end to Wholesale amputa-
tion- There are enough accidents in
time or peace to keep the race mutiiat-
ed more than 1t ever ought to be, and
the human family needs all Its arms
and hands and feet to do the work
that God calls 1t to do.
Further, celebrate on the instrument
of ten strings our illumined nights.
They spread their tents over us. and
some OF us hardly go out to look at
them. During the nights other worlds
come In sight. The author of my text
chimed the silver bells In the tower of
the midnight heavens, saying. when
consider the heavens. the work of
10y AhSSfSs TIC luOou dnU the SUITS,
which thou hast ordained, what is man
that thou art mindful OF himr' We
thank God for the day; we ought also
TO thank him for the night. Worlds
on worlds in sight Of the naked eye,
but more worlds revealed by telescope.
At least one night Ia his lifetime every
man ought to go into astronomical OBJ
servatory and see what has been done
by the great World Builder. Thank
God for lunar and stellar illumine-
ton!
Further, on the instrument of ten
strings celebrate the possession of our
reason. a severe stroke upon the head
or sudden calamity or any one of
fifty kinds OF accident might dethrone
our reasoslahd leave, us worse Off than
the brute. for the brute has a substi.
tute for reason in what is called In.
stinct but a mans brain shattered
and he has neither mind nor instinct
The asylums for the insane. though
Ill the time multiplying. are not enough
10 shelter the demented. Through the
examining system employed in many of