Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-12-03


are still anchorlng in the ground and
live its life over again. Choice may be
given to the living man-choice to live
right or wrong; choice to reach after
the higher or the lower life-but the
time will come when man, like the
tree, which may live many centuries
beyond the age Of man, shall fall.
Then there will be no power of choice.
What has been done by him is done
and never can be changed. What has
been left undone by him will be left
undone and will never, never be done
by him as long as eternity lasts. A
fallen log symbolizes 1t.
The fallen tree is a dead tree, which
nearly always falls in the direction 1t
has grown. / say nearly, because there
are exceptions, which, though rare, do
occur. Once in great while a tree
does not fall In the direction in which
1t has grown. A city merchant loving
natures widest haunts, might go into
the woods to build there a little cottage.
The site is selected near the bank of a
running stream. When the foundations
are laid the architect finds that an old
tree is leaning dangerously toward the
rising walls. The merchant would like
to have the virgin beauty of the trees
untouched but fearing lest the tree
might fall upon his future home and
injure some one, he gives orders to the
workmen to cut the tree down. The
ropes are tightly twisted about the
branches and tied to other trees grow
Ing in an opposite direction from the
house. The sharp ak begins to bury
Its head into the wood. The workmen
pull. With mighty groan the old for
est monster falls where it never SEEM
ed likely to go. Or tornado sweeping
up the valley might push the tree over
in direction toward which 1t had
never leaned. But these exceptions are
very rare. They are as exceptional as
the man who has always lived a bad
| life and at the last moment Is convert
ed by deathbed repentance and who is
thereby able to fall, when the clock Is
striking IL, into the outstretched arms
of loving Christ. Most trees-indeed,
1t might be said practically all trees
when they die fall in the direction in
which they have grown. About the
trees trunk and above the trees
branches and underneath the trees
roots are the great ever influencing
laws of specific gravity. If tree leans
little to the right, vt almost invari-
ably falls to the right; II to the left, it
falls to the left.
swiftness of DSath.
When man comes to die. rs a rule,
the only thing he can do Is to die.
When the messenger comes, he has not
any inclination to think about any
thing else but dying. If the fatal dis
ease gnaws at the vitals for many
months and perhaps years. the doctors
and nurses and loved ones conceal the
| truth from the patient for fear of de-
pressing him. Or death comes like a
stroke Of lightning out Of clear sky.
1t comes, as it did to my father, one
moment clear Drained and on a preach
| ing tour, the next upon a deathbed and
unable to speak q word. 1t comes, as it
came to Robert G. Ingersoll, a dizzi-
ness, a fainting fit, and he is gone. It
|
young man OH the night he was attend
ing a religious meeting. The minister
urged and entreated him to make de-
cision for Christ. but he refused. You
must make up your mind one way or
the other" Then" answered the
young man, 'if must, refuse Christ
for tonight" That night on his way
| hoy ,.id o>nn 1y 30
brains were dashed out by an over
hanging bough,
Death often comes suddenly-as a
thief, as a watch in the night. A man
dies as tree falls. He dies as he has
lived. Among all the Bible recordo
there is but one exception to this rule
The pages of the Bible contain only
one account of deathbed repentance
oh" said young man In my Pitts
burg church. II am so sorry you said
there are no deathbed repentances"
NO" answered an elder, "he never
said that He said that though you
might want to repent upon your death
bed in all probability you will have no
time to repent. You will have only
|
would, but you will not" Death
bed repentances are as exceptional
among the human race as 1t is for a
tree in the forest untouched by human
hand to fall in different direction
from the way 1t has grown. He that
is unjust shall be unjust still He that
is filthy shall be filthy still He that is
righteous shall be righteous still, He
that is holy shall be holy still" A fall
en- log symbolizes It,
The UndyinE Fruit.
The fallen tree Is dead tree, the in
fuence of whose past life never dies.
Trees have an earthly mission. They
are mighty factors in the planets daily
life In the celebration OF Arbor day
by the schools and educational institu-
tons it would be appropriate, although
it is not especially enjoined by statute,
= >aouple with study of trees lessons
on our birds and the great Importance
Of their protection. The young people
cannot have too great an apprecia ton
of nature or too keen sense Of the re-
latlon between her many beauties and
utilities. Atmospheric changes are
more or less Influenced by trees.
DrOughts and freshets are often caused
by the lack of trees. Many countries
Of the far east have been absolutely
uine6 by the ruthless destruction of
The forests From an inhabitabIe conn