Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-12-25

a palace; a stone crypt. not n canopied
crib. Among all the compositions Of
Gluck, Mendelssohu, Schubert. Chopin.
Mozart, Haydn. Wagner and Beetho-
ven there Is not a greater than Han
ders Messiah" For once Handel sur
passed Handel. Study the history Of
William Z. Gladstone. Isaac Newton,
Asassiz. Sir william Hamilton. Hugh
Miller. Sir William Jones. Washington,
the Adsmses. Sir Walter Scott John
Calvin. Thomas Chalmers, and 1t will
easily be seen that the wise men Of
all times have been willing to bow az
the manger. oh, my brother. never
again in your presence let the infidels
and agnostics sneer at the mentality Of
the manger. worshipers. when you
and bow at the foot of the infant
Christ. We are bowling In goodly COM
pany. We are bowling with the intel
lectual giants OF the present and OF the
immortal past
Followed the GIes ming star.
Where did the wise men come 'FRONT.'
The far east? The word ''east'' is very
indefinite. 1t might mean eastern Asia
or China. 1t might and probably does
mean Persia or India. At all events,
the east was far or 1t was so far on
that these strange travellers must have
startled the Inhabitants of the west.
ern capital with their peculiar garb
and their foreign accent. 1t was 80
far of that In all probability the wise
men wouk have been unable to find
the Jerusalem capital had they not
been led by that wonderful star. the
star OF the east. All. yes. the mssi. In
weary days march. Travelling In their
time had to be done on foot or on horse
or camel back. They had to tramp
through the parched deserts. They
had to climb the loftiest of mountains
and fathom many q deep valley. How
tired they must have become! II Mel.
chior was old in all probability he
would never have reached the manger
but for the strong arms Of his two
friends. But wherever the three wise
men hailed from. that cleaning star
would beckon them on and on and on.
And yet. my friends. though the wine
men had to travel long distance, they
did not have to go any farther than
some sinners will have to travel to find
Christ. My. my. my. how long dis
lance some Of us have wandered forth
into the land OF sinI Ten, twenty, thir-
~ years ago we started. Young man,
you have not worshiped at the man
ger since your mother died. Young
woman, you have not felt the touch OF
the manger since the day you almost
gave your heart to Christ in the VII
lage revival-almost, but refused. Old
man. for quarter OF a century you
have never uttered the name OF Christ
except In blasphemy. Yes. yes, the
sinner will have long distance to trav.
ell to find the manger. He must travel
back over the crooked paths OF many
a sinful year. But this Christmas, II
he will. he can find the uanger-nnd Il
reckoning him from the far country OF
sin even as the star in the east guided
the three wise men to the infant Christ.
A Hoped For Emigration.
oh. that today we might see q great
emigration from the faro9 land OF sin
toward the hanger. oh, that today
the prodigals In the far country might
seek the old homestead Of mercy, even
as the Bethlehem caravansary was
sought OF old. In Imagination we can
picture how the wise men started. Per
haps weeks, perhaps months before
that FIRST OF all Christmases these orr
entail sages were working diligently at
their allotted tasks. One Is studying
In one part OF the house. another In an
other and the third In still another.
Perhaps Melchior, the aged astrologer.
with an astronomical glass is silently
and earnestly studying the heavens.
Patiently the aged scientist Ia watching
and waiting for the stars to change
their relative positions. Suddenly a
tremor Of excitement shakes his frame.
Silently. swiftly, awfully. divinely,
there passes before the lens a strange
night. 1t does not look so much like q
star as a great orb OF light. like dia-
mond giittering upon the anger Of God.
beckoning, always beckoning. In great
excitement the old man staggers to his
feet and calls his two comrades. Cas-
par. the smooth faced saga rushes
quickly into the room because be In
younger than the swarthy middle aged
Moor. At first the three say nothing.
They are too absorbed TO speak. Then
Baithasar opens q musty parchment
written hundreds Of years before, and
begins to read from the Hebrew prophet
Micah: But thou Bethlehem Ephratah.
though thou be little among the thou
sands Of Judah, yet out OF thee shall he
come forth unto me that Is to be ruler
In Israel. whose goings forth have been
from OF old, from everlasting" "Yes,"
answered the old man Melchior, that
reminds me OF another passage from
the Hebrew prophet Isaiah: Unto US q
child Is born. unto us a son 10 given.
and the government shall be upon hls
shoulder. and bis name shall be called
Wonderful. Counselor, the Mighty God.
the Everlasting Father, the Prince Of
Peace" Yes" may have answered
the poetic young sage. Caspar, that
reminds me OF what the Hebrew psalm.
LIST wrote, Thou are my son: 10, Gomez
In the volume 1t Is written OF ms.'S
Come. comradest" they shout to each
other. Come. the star II bsckonine
us. Come! Gomez And they leave
their instruments and their manu-
scripts and set out on their journey.
Would that before the dawn OF next
Christmas many exiies from Christ
might start and take this Journey with
the wise men! Would that all who are
lost In the mountains OF sin might leave
behind their dead selves and seek the
manger, which is sfar on In the land
OF purity and love!
OHeSfAss Of Love.
What did tho wise men do when
they found the maneerf They knelt
and wershiped. Yes. but mere than
that. They gave their presents. because,
from time immemorial. the gold, the
frankincense and the myrrh have al
ways been suggestive symbols In wor-
ship. II Is ono act to bow ut the man.
ger; 1t IL another act to give yourself
as an Offering to Christ. The motive
which prompts the Christmas gifts u
or more importance than the intrinslo
value OF the gifts themselves. I was
mora franraasaH Nth xS.tS