The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-07

Il a Wiisiam Pitt. n Francis JET
frey OF the immortal pen. and Disraeli
the first. and Edward Everett. and
Bruce, and Catiline. In this month died
Peter the G-eat, the mai Of whom It
was written He gay n polish TO his
people and rras himself a savage. He
taught them the art Of warfare. or
which he himself was ignorant From
the sight OF a sa-al. boat on the river
Mosswa he erected q powerful feet.
making himself an expert and active
shipwr.ght. sailor. pilot and command
er- He changed tie customs
and laws of the Russians anc Ives in
their memory Is the father of rs eou
try"
But / cannot read the epitaphs OF n
out OF a hundred iilustrious graves in
this lrst month OF the year. Many of
those well known gained half their re-
now and did half their WORK through
the help Of those OF whom we know
little or nothing. Lord Herschei is
known ali the world over and Will be
known through all time. but little Is
said of her who was born this first
month Of the year and without. whose
help be never could have been what be
was-h!s sister. Caroline Lucretia Au-
gusta. She helped him hunt the worlds.
She repaired and adjusted his teie-
scopes. She ciphered out his astronom-
icai problems. She was his amanuen-
sis. She planned for him bis work.
She discovered seven comets and made
"a Catalogue Of Nebula and Star
H1rr%arrr IT, -10- - 4~,1~ u,
troduced her to the observatories. but
she has never been properly introduced
to the world.
Preparing For the Future.
According to my text, This month
shall be unto you the beginning of
months; it shall be the first month of
the year to you" Through it make
preparation for the other eleven
months. What you are in January
you will probably be in all the other
months of the year. Prepare for them
neither by apprehension nor too san
guine anticipation. Apprehension of
misfortune will only deplete your body
and gloom your soul and unfit you for
any trouble that may come. On the
other hand, if you expect too much, dis
Appointment will be yours. Cultivate
faith in God and the feeling that he
will do for you that which is best, and
you will be ready for either sunshine
or shadow. The other eleven months
of the year 1902 will not al be made up
of gladness or of grief. The cup that
is all made up of sweetness is insipid.
Between these just opened gates of
the year and the closing of those gates
there will be many times when you will
want God. You will have questions to
decide which will need supernatural
impulse. There may be illnesses of the
body or perplexities of mind or spir-
itual eXhauStions to be healed and
comforted and strengthened. During
the remaining twenty-six days Of this
hope and courage for all the days of
the eleven months. Start right. and
you will be apt to keep right. Before
the ship captain gets out of the New
York Narrows he makes up his mind
what sea route he will take. While
you are in the Narrows Of this month
make up your mind which way you
will sail and unroll your chart and set
your compass and have the lifeboats
we'll placed on the davits and be ready
for smooth voyage all the way across
or the swoop Of a Caribbean whirl-
wind.
h Monster AbominatiOn.
Rev. Solomon Spaulding was for
some time in poor health. and to while
away the time he wrote a preposterous
religious romance One Joseph Smith
somehow got hold Of that book before
it was printed and published it as a
revelation of heaven, calling it the
Book of Mormon" and from that pub.
LEGATION came Mormonism. the monster
abomination Of the earth. Rev. Solo.
mon Spaulding might ave been better
engaged than writing that book OF
f~alsehoods. However much time we
have. we never have time to do wrong.
Harness January for usefulness, and it
will take the following months in its
train. Oh, how much you may do for
God between now and the 31st Of next
December! The beautiful weeping
willow" tree vas introduced by Alex.
ander Pope into England from a twig
which the poet found in a Turkish
basket of figs. He planted that twig,
and from it came all the weeping will.
lows Of England and America; and
your smallest planting of good may un-
der God become an influence continen.
tai and international.
Now that the train of months has
started, let it pass, January followed
by February. with longer days. and
March, with it's fierce winds; and April,
with it's sudden showers; and May,
with it's poisoning orchards; and
June, with its carnival of flowers; and
July, with its harvests; and August.
with it's sweltering heats: and Septem.
Der. with it's drifting leaves; and Oc-
tober, with it's frosts; and November,
with its Thanksgiving scenes; and De
cember, with its Christian hi,arities
March on. o battalion of the months,
in the regiments of the years and the