Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-03-14


close the shop; we must open the windows
of ou- souls toward God. The Sabbath is
"hallowed" or holy day. The Lord knew
how busy we would be ON the secular DAYS
SO busy that we are likely to give little
or no thought to spiritual things-where-
lore lie SAID. Il will give them day for
their souls; when they may come up into
the mountains and breathe the clear air
with Me"
So lie has given us time divided and adj
Justed TO our needs, and it behooves us 10
make an economical use OF it. Some people
are always in haste; others are always be-
hind time. II was a wise saving OF Fla.
veis, TO come before the opportunity is
to come before the bird is Matched; to
come. after the opportunity is TO come al.
ter TIE bird Is flown" Every day. every
hour. every moment strikes its own bal
ance.. Postponement is prohigacy. Pro-
crastir alton is a spendthrift as well as
thief. II was Lord Chesterfield. one OF
the wo ldliest OF men, who wrote to his
son. Never put off until tomorrow what
you can do to-day"
But the worst OF all capital crimes is
killing time" The phrase is significant
significant OF murder most foul. The
youth who seeks to quiet memory and an
uneasy conscience by plunging into dissipa-
ton; the old social campaigner who wan
ders about with WORKOUT stomach and
wizened heart in search of pastures new
the devotee OF fashion, whose idle days
are spent IN recovering from worse than
Idle nights-thesc all are chronocides, and
they are moral suicides as well.
Oh, the waste, the frightful. irrevocable
waste! Dreaming empty dreams, building
castles in the air, fighting specters and
wlndmills, entertaining vain regrets and
foolish hopes, brooding on old grudges,
tearing characters to tatters over the tea
cups, borrowing trouble. writing books
hat ha kal
be, groaning over imaginary aches and
pains, crossing bridges before We come to
them-what large part of life these fill:
And every moment lost this way is lost to
self culture, lost to humanity, filched from
the service of God.
The world is full Of commonplace people
who have squandered their birthright and
fallen short of all the large possibilities of
their being through the misuse OF time
They sit tilted back in their chairs and
twiddling their thumbs while Waterloo is
being fought, and they wake up and begin
to fret when nothing is going on. They
never catch up with themselves. The
more convenient season. leads them D
stern chase year in and year out
One OF the valuable secrets OF success is
knowing how TO economic the fragments
OF time. An hour seems a little matter,
but you can read twenty quarto pages in
an hour, and an hour a day for four years
nouiu NdAiy you through the f.ucNctOpdeOla
Britannnica. Ten minutes are hardly worth
considering. yet Longfellow in his youth
translated Dante's Inferno" in the ten
minutes day after day. while he waited
for his coffee to boil. Gather M the frag.
me ITS that nothing be lost" While Pro-
lessor Mitchell was in charge OF a division
during the Civil War he said to a young
officer: You excuse yourself on the ground
that You are only n few minutes late. Sir.
have herr in the habit of calculating the
value of miliionth part OF a second!' 1t
IS the loss OF time. a little here and n little
there. that makes life failure and eternity
an irremediable disappointment.
VIII there be an end of time? Ave.
when eternity begins. The life beyond is
unconditional by the falling sands of the
hour glass. At the sounding OF the sew
enth trumpet John saw an angel arrayed
IN majesty, with one foot planted on the
sea and the other on the land, who pro-
ss,., the end of the present cycle,
here shall be time no longer," But to
all intents and purposes death marks the
end OF time Tor every man. Probation is
over. once for all. The present probation
would. indeed. be a farce. if there were
another after it. The fabric is lifted from
the loom and there is no gathering up its
loose ends. School is out and life begins.
Wherefore, whatsoever thy hand findeth
to 40. do it witt thy might. and do it here
and now; for there is no work. nor device.
nor knowledge, nor wisdom on the grave
whittier thou coest. 1t is true saving of
Emerson's. mo man has learned any
thing rightly until he knows that every
day is doomsday." for every day and every
hour has the issues of eternity wrapped up
in it.. In hoe momento pcndit eternitas.
The time 10 will. to choose. 10 act is now.
II SIN Il to be repented of. repent now IL
Christ is to be accepted, accept Him now.
Now is the accepted time and to-day is the
day of salvation. The golden opportunity
Is never offered twice; seize thou the hour
when, fortune smiles and duty points the
way"