Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-09-23

fully hurtled for quick flight. but that
flight can be kept mp for almost incred-
ible distances. We find these wonder
full flights recorded by the different
columbine societies I'm different parts
OF the world. In 1865 thirty pigeons.
which are only the domesticated names
OF the wild doves, were thrown into
the air at Liverpool and started for
Client. The distance between these
two places on straight line is over
300 miles. The first bird which arrived
home made that distance in twelve
hours ana twenty minutes. If this
homing pigeon flew in Il direct line lac
Travelled at an average speed OF TWEEN
ty-iive miles per hour for twelve Long
hours. Once II pigeon was let loose in
London ana travC:ed to Antwerp. $50
miles distant. in five hours. lie made
nm average of about thi.ty-siS miles
per hour. In 1874 the doves speed was
tested. wien seventy birds few from
st. Sebastian. Spain. TO Venice. ON n
straight line they Travelled distance
OF over IG0 miles. I!oming Pigeons
have f!oNn from Arizona 10 New York
The enduring swifiEcSs Of the love Is
such that II can overly mountains and
even defy seas.
Genie to Christ Now.
The swif.ueSS Of tie doves flight is
one of tie greatest Inspirations 20 me
nf all OF isai;,h's vis.oI. Why the
swlftnessf Because ] know ;h.t W.
can come 10 Christ now. oh. my broth
or, II takes n swift wing for YOU In an
instant of time 10 cross over all that
FAR country OF sin which separates
you from Gods doyeeot. The distance
from Arizona to New York or from st.
Sebastian, Spain, to Venice. where
doves have flown. is not as far. Tell
me. o man. did You not start forth on
your journey OF sin ten. twenty, forty
years ngo? Why. let me recount the
years. You have not seen commun-
ion table since your mother died. You
have not made one earnest prayer for
ten years. II | was today TO count
over the list OF your Intimate friends
l would find them without exception to
be men and women who have not been
IN the past and are not now living
Christian lives, oh, my brother. my
poor sin sick brother. you have long
distance to come back to God. But
you can come by divine grace. You
can come now. You can come ms quick
ly az the new converts of the church
which Isaiah saw I'm vision came to
the mercy seat. You can come with n
superlative swiftness You can come
with the lightning velocity OF a flying
dove.
But why talk about IsaSah's church
OF the future? Why caption this SER
mon with the title. THE Coming Awak-
eningW When Isaiah saw this migrat-
ing dove and used it as an emblem was
he 0lluding only 10 culture church? ]
think not. ! think as the Hebrew
prophet was standing there on the
mountain OF inspiration looking of on
what was to come he kept saying 10
himself, "Why is il not possible for
this vision of Gods church TO be mate
rallied now!' Is not God willing to
bring this beatific condition TO present
man IL the members OF the children OF
God will today cooperate with the
Holy Spirit? Yes. he can, he will, was
the prophets thought. l know this is
the thought today running through
many II Christians mind. God can and
God will make the prophetic vision OF
Isaiah come true now il we. the
church members, will only truly yield
ourselves and consecrate our minds
and hearts TO Christs will. o man.
. woman, the greatest enemy of
Jesus Christ today is not the infidel
and scofrer outside of the church. 1t Is
the man AMI the woman inside the
church who do not cooperate with
Jesus in his purpose TO save the world
for Christ through the agency OF his
church. If we yield ourselves TO his
will even the smallest and the most
insignificant can become mighty for
God, for, as Joshua hath said; zone
man of you shall chase thousand, for
the Lord your God he il Is that fight
eth for yOu, ais he hath promised you
Take good heed, therefore. unto your
selves that We love the Lord your Cod"
81. Marks OF Venice.
The symbol OF the dove which Isaiah
uses To describe the church could not
be better Illustrated than by the spec
tacle In the great square of Venice.
which is fianlled on the one side by the
famous Cathedral OF st. Mark. With
but few exceptions I have seen all the
great cathedrals of the world. l have
seen some as white as that OF st. Pc
ter's, whose walls. even though they
may be hundreds OF years old, seem TO
be as white as the whitest OF alnbns-
ter. i have seen some dark as an Afri-
cans skin. others red as an Indians
l have seen some cathedrals which i'm
pressed me by their gigantic size The
higher / climbed on the roof of Mil
ans greatest structure the more my
awe and bewilderment. / have seen
some that were perfect poems In stone.
But, take IL all In all. though Ii cost
not nearly a. much as some others, the
most impressive cathedral / ever saw
was st. Marks OF Venice
Like unto natural scenery, st. Marks
Is the Yellowstone park, not the Yo-
semitic or the Gothard pass, among the
cathedrals. IL impressed me not with
Its size so much as its exquisite color
ings. Its roof. Its walls. Its arcades
all blended as the colors OF rainbow
frozen in stone. The tops Of its lofty
columns We're not hldeous with grimy
gargoylcs. They were chiseled into
Hover gardens, which grew ut your
feet or with their leaves hung down
from above. These different flower
gardens were so perfectly chIseled that
1t seemed Az If the winds, sweeping up
from the Venetian canals were, gently
swaying them as the rosebushes bend
ell under the touch OF a summer breeze
III your fathers garden.
Over the front doorway were the
-FOUR massive bronze horses which Ma
poleon carried away to Paris after his
conquest In Italy. but which the over
throw OF the Bonaparte dynasty re
stored 10 their places. With archeu
neck and sinewy limb like creatures OF
life they seemed just ready for a bat
tiefield charge or run over the hills
after the hounds or n gentle caress by
mistress or chivalric knight. There
Within those walls, the chanccl and an
dltorium blend In such perfect har-
mONV that whom \ cfn