The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-05
DR. RICE'S LECTURE
MrrHoprsr 1rfNIsVER AT PER
 RY sTREET CHURCH.
Spoke to . Large Audience on "over the Window aill' Thoughts Suggested by Life In
 Biz Cities.

A large Auotence neafu v. pastor of the Court street Metnoo,ss Church. deliver his lecture, over the SWindow ssil', at the Perry street Meth odist Church last night. and more .ap- preciative audience is rarely ever seen.
 pr Rice took his subject. over the window sin" from an incident which about ten years ago whiie ne was in New york and the working out of his theme in a logical manner was forcefui and convincing. He is undoupt- edly {, great student of human life and human nature. Moreover, his lecture ein- bodies in high degree the deepest ana profound thoughts of a physiological ana sociological student.
 Some ten years ago." said pr. hice' 'T was riding on the elevator trains M New york and noted a number of women leaning over their window sills. solitary. many of them sad, looking on as every few minutes the trains thundefed past. felt the tragedy of the situation Were they living in their little lone rooms all shut in from the world? Yes and no. Their material selves were then-their bodies. their clothes, which were a part of themselves. their loved ones and their material envfrons- Bnt that was not all. Seven worlds were open to each one of
 them. That of sense, of solids, liquids, gases and forces all around us, that of
 science in which these are studied, classi-
 fisd and their laws expounded. that of the ideal relations of things; mathematics.
 logic, ethics. aesthetics. and so forth; that of prejudice and idoiatry. that of personal opinion, that of madness, that of the SUI pernatural.
 .'These are too vast to be completely compassed by any one of us. though they are open to us all. So we select some one or more in which we live and move. To most the chief one is that of sense. This alone is vast as infinity. If you burn your finger in the fire you think you perceive 1t instantly, but sensation travels ninety feet per second So if she had arms long enough to reach the sun ana should burn her fingers there, 1t would be 1,12O years before she knew 1t. But most are content to live only In the lower regions of this world of sense-- among things we taste, feel. suffer, etc. Here we are on a level with beasts and birds. The. dog lives in world of sense far kener and greater than we can know. So others may settle other phases of this vast area to work out their destiny.
 ''some men live in the world of vasary and madness. Are we not all crazy on some subject7 The musician lives In a world of music, of sounds. aestheticaily COElUkucQ. lCnAt DUH NLAOO8h iAos - AsAS1A. elan, lived in e world of sound and his poetry is music. Browning, though an accomplished musician, lived in world of sight and talks in visions. The artist lives in a world of beauty. His purple lines. if he Is an impressionist, are every where.
 ''what determines what world shall be her home. or what worlds? Every object brought to the door of our hearts must be met there by a thought from within that shall open the door and let 1t in. Where do these thoughts come from? These materials are partly in our blood. We are all dead people warmed over. They come by suggestions from birth on. Every soul Is both a social product, or outcome. and a social effect.
 ''The barometer now popular Is a lit- tie girl with a changeable skirt whose color registers weather conditions. Way do we men cut our hair7 Because Fran els I. had to have his cut to dress a wound. Why do wear buttons on the back of my coat? Because the knights of the midle ages put them there to hold their belts in position for their swords. etc. Most of our thoughts come to us this way.
 While the woman hangs over the win- dow sill lines converge upon her from every direction, and along all these lines truth, by the car load, is delivered at the threshhold of her life every moment. The extent to which she can take it fin. win be determined by her first thirty. years.
 "But is this all her place in the world? Is she lone soul? The telegraph wires before her window carry messages wisn the wings of lightning. messages of hope and despair alike. while hundreds of English sparrows sit on them all uncon- soious. The cars thunder past with all their freight of avordupois and of des- tiny. The strets below swarm with all types of fife and woe. Heart cries and burdens are everywhere. Can she lean over the window sill all unconcerned. Her mission is to gather and embody the truths and treasures of her seven worlds and then slip quietly out to answer their call. And what are their calls? The sick are crying for health; the poor in purse and spirit for wealth, for mastery over forces and conditions; the outoast and solitary for that reaction of soul upon soul which comes only of mutual recog- nItion of one's true worth; the ignorant for knowledge; all for their right place among men; for the sense of the bealtl- fuI for God. Out of every car window comes these cries for help to realize themselves from all classes as they sped by, or toll below
 .For the soul that only leans over the window sill in silent indifference and dreams its solitary dreams, will die be- hind the window sill, unwept, unhonored and unsung."