The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-02-26

the box in which tremhIes the magnet
| Ne needle. He would explain to you
all the laws Of the compass; he wonld
tell you that no matter which way the
| ships Prov turns that magnetic needle
| always points toward the north pole.
Then the passage of that ship Over the
trackless deep can be made to yor 7ery
simple and plain. When we atteA.pt to
! explain George Washington's career
without the aid of divine compass,
all is inexplicable, but when we tina
the cross as the magnetic needle, guild
ing him over the troubled sea of life,
then mans impossibilities become
Gods easies.'
washington's Divine Compass.
Henry Cabot Lodge summed up the
character of George Washington in
these beautiful words: L see in Wash
ington a great soldier, who fought Il
trying war to a successful end. impos-
sible without him; a great statesman.
who did more than all other men to lay
the foundations Of a republic which
has continued in prosperity for more
than a century. l find in him mar
velous judgment, which was never at
fault; penetrating vision, which be-
held the future of America when it
was dim to other eyes; a great intellec-
tual force, will of iron, an unyieldinS
grasp of facts and an uneQua!ed
strength of patriotic purpose But.
above and beyond that fine conception
of Washington's character, see still
higher beauty. l see in him great
mind and heart, but l see God in that
mind and heart, using him to win SUI
pernatural triumphs. l see George
| Washington able to overcome the
greatest obstacles of the Revolutionary
war Why Because l see George
Washington on his knees in the SHOWS
of Valley Forge. see George Wash
ington overcoming the besetting diff
culties of his presidential life. Why!
Because | see George Washington as
soon as he had taken the oath of office
going to the sacred chancel. There, as
a humble supplicant, he begged the
protection of him who was King Of
kings and Lord of all. l hear George
Washington turn to his old friend, DR..
Craik, and say, Il die hard, but l am
not afraid to die" Why? Because the
Christ who had been his guide through
life was his comforter in death. On,
my brothers and sisters, would that we
might one and all have the same di-
vine reinforcement in life's struggles
that George Washington had. Would
:. that we might be able to use the cross
as magnetic compass to guide us over
the troubled sea of time into the
smooth, unruffled sea of eternity.
| Thus we draw near to the close OF
the earthly career of this greatest of
all Americans. His life and death in
one sense shall in all probability be
/ lust the same as our life and death.
He longed - earnestly and intensely
longed-for the time when he could re-
tura to the beautiful fields Of his dearly
beloved Mount Vernon. When that de-
| lightful day at last seemed near, he
| wrote those happy words: Il have re.
| tired from all public empioyments and
shall tread the paths of private salts
! faction Envious of none, am deter
IQlu6u 10 D0 piedSeu Will dii, anu thiSs
| my dear friend, being the order of my
march, will move gently down the
stream of life until sleep with my ia
! TIERS" But, alas, alas, less than three
years after George Washington return
ed to his beautiful Mount Vernon there
was heard a rustic in the air. The
death angel few down and knocked at
his door, and within a few hours he
! was gone. So with our lives. We may
look forward to a happy and glorious
earthly twilight, but in all probability
| life for all of us means continued work
to the close. 1t will mean hard work
clear up to the end. Then when our
work is done, whether well or poorly
done, God will call us, and we must
CO.. We shall go in all probability as
George Washington went-quickly. IN
expectedly, with hardly a warning.
May we one and all live as he lived.
7 Be able to die as be died. Live in the
hearts of those with whom we have
come in contact; live as Washington
4 has been-a blessed father Of many
nations" :
copyright, 1908. by Louis Klopsch.1