Connecticut western news., 1902-02-27

has no pleasure in our wounds, for we are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood.
 In all the anguish of our heart
 The Man of Sorrows bore part.
 Once in the ancient amphitheater a lion with one paw caught the combat ants sword and with his other paw caught his shield. The man took his knife from his girdle and slew the beast. The king, sitting in the gallery, said: That was not fair. The lion must be slain by sword.' Other lions were turned out, and the poor victim fell. You cry, shame! shame" at such meanness. But the King in this case is our brother, and he will see that we have fair play. He will forbid the rushing out of more lions than we can meet. He will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able. Thank God! The King is in the gallery! His eyes are on us. His heart is with us. His hand will deliver us. Blessed are they who put their trust in him."
 The Angels In the Gallery.
 l look again, and I see the angelic gallery. There they are-the angel that swung the sword at the gate of Eden, the same that Ezekiel saw up holding the throne of God, and from which I look away, for the splendor Is insufferable. Here are the guardian angels. That one watched patriarch; this one protected child; that one has been pulling soul out of temptation. All these are messengers of light! Those drove the Spanish armada on the rocks. This turned Sennacherib's living host into a heap of 1S5,OO0 corpses. Those wonder chanted the Christmas carol over Bethlehem until the chant awoke the shepherds. These at creation stood in the balcony of heaven and serenaded the newborn world wrapped in swaddling clothes of light. And there, holier and mightier than all, is Michael, the archangel To command an earthly host gives dig nifty, but this one is leader of the 10000 chariots of God and of the ten thou sand times ten thousand angels. l think God gives command to the arch angel, and the archangel to the sera- phim, and the seraphim to the cher ubim, until all the lower orders of heaven hear the command and go forth on the high behest.
 Now, bring on your lions! Who can fear? All the spectators in the angelic gallery are our friends. He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot"
 Though the arena be crowded with temptations, we shall, with the angelic help, strike them down in the name of our, God and leap on their fallen car angelic faces and swift wings and lightning foot, I hail you today from the dust and struggle of the arena! ~ l look again, and see the gallery of the prophets and apostles. Who are those mighty ones up wonder? Hosea and Jeremiah and Daniel and Isaiah and Paul and Peter and John and James. There sits Noah, waiting for all the world to come into the ark, and Moses, waiting till the last Red sea shall divide, and Jeremiah, waiting for the Jews to return, and John of the apocalypse, waiting for the swearing of the angel that time shall be no longer. Glorious spirits! Ye were howied at, ye were stoned, ye were spit | upon! They have been in this fight themselves, and they are all with us. Daniel knows all about lions. Paul fought with beasts at Ephesus.
 Help From the Prophets.
 In the ancient amphitheater the peo- pie got so excited that they would shout from the galleries to men in the arena: At it againw "Forwardw ''One more stroker' Look outv' Fall backr' "Huzza! Huzza! So in that gallery, prophetic and apostolic, they cannot keep their peace. Daniel cries out, ''Thy God will deliver thee from | the mouth of the lionsp' David ex- | claims, He will not suffer thy foot to 1 be movedp' Isaiah calls out: Fear not! I am with thee! Be not dis mayedr' Paul exclaims, "Victory l through our Lord Jesus Christw That throng of prophets and apostles cannot keep still. They make the welkin ring with shouting and halleluiahs.
 l I look again, and see the gallery of the martyrs. Who is that? Hugh Lat liner, sure enough! He would not apol- ogize for the truth he preached, and so he died, the night b ore swinging from the bedpOst in perfect glee at the thought of emancipation. Who Is that army of 6,666f They are the The ban legion who died for the faith. Here is a larger host in magnificent array, 884, ,00O, who perished for Christ In the prosecutions of Diocletian. Ton der Is a family group, Felicitas of Rome and her children. While they were dying for the faith she stood en- couraging them. One son was whip ped to death by thorns; another was flung from a rock; another was behead- | ed. At last the mother became a mar | tyr. There they are together, a family i group in heaven! Wonder is John Brad
 ford, who said in the fire, We shall
 have merry supper with the Lord to-
 uight!" Wonder is Henry Woes, who
 exclaimed as he died, If I had ten
 heads, they should all fall off for
 Christw The great throng of the mar
 tyrs. They had hot lead poured down
 their threats; horses were fastened to
 their hands and other horses to their
 feet, and thus they were pulled apart;
 they had their tongues pulled out by
 redhot pinchers; they were sewed up
 in the skins of animals and then
 thrown to the dogs; they were Gaubed
 with combustibles and set on fire! If
 all the martyrs stakes that have been
 kindled could be set at proper dis
 tances, they would make the midnight
 all the world over bright as monday!
 And now they sit yonder in the mar
 tyrs' gallery. For them the fires of
 persecution have gone out; the swords
 are sheathed and the mob hushed. Now
 they watch us. with an all observing