Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-12-16


your own Hot climate for richest spec
linens OF coral, hot trouble for the Jew
els OF the soul Tho coral fishers going
out from Tore del Greece never brought
ashore such fine specimens as are, brought
ont or the scalding surges of misfortune.
look down into the tropical sea. and
there is something that looks like blood.
and say, ''Eas thore been a great hat.
tie down there?" Seeming blood scat
tered all up and down the reefs. IL is
the blood of the coral, and il makes me
think or those who come out of great
tribuiation and have their robes washed
white In the blood of the Lamb. But
these gems OF earth are nothing TO the
gems Of heaven. mo mention shall be
made of coral 4"
Again, j take your hand, and We walk
on through this garden Of the sea and
look more particularly than we did mt
the beauty OF the coral. The poets have
oil boon fascinated with it. One of them
wrote:
There. with broad and easy motion,
Tho fan coral sweeps through the clear deep
SEQ.
And tho yellow and scarlet tufts of tho ocean
One specimen of coral In called the
dendrophilia, because IL is like tree /:
another IL called the astrara, because IL
Is like u star: another Is called the
brain coral, because it is like the conyo-
buttons OF tho human brain; another is
called Tan coral, because it is like the
instrument with which you cool your
SELF ON a hot day; another specimen is
called the organ pipe coral. because 1t
resembles the king of musical instru-
ments. All the flowers and all the
shrubs in the gardens Of tho land have
their correspondencies in this garden of
the sea. OOrcllumi 1t is a synonym for
beauty. And yet there n no beauty in
the coral compared with our religion.
1t gives physiognomic beauty. It does
not change the features. It doex NOT
give features with which the person
was not originally endowed, but &c sets
behind the features OF the homeless
person n heaven that shines clear
through. So that often, ON first 90
quaintanoe, you said of a man, "He 10
the homeliest person ever saw, ;" when,
after you came to understand him and
his nobility Of soul shining through his
eountenance, you said, '.He is the love-
hest person ever saw" No one ever
had homely Christian mother. What
ever the world may have thought of her
there were two who thought well--your
father. who had admired her for so
years, and you. over whom She bent
with SO many tender ministrations.
When you think Of the angels of God.
and your mother among them, she out
shines them all. oh, that our young peo-
pie could understand that there is Moth
ing that so much beauties the human
countenance as the religion of Jesus
Christi 1t makes everything beautiful.
Trouble beautiful Sickness beautiful.
Disappointment beautiful Everything
beautiful
Near my early home there was n place
called the Two Bridges These bridges
leaped the two streams. Well, nv
friends. the religion of Jesus Christ Is
two bridges. IL bridges all the past It
arches and overspans all the future. II
makes the dying pillow the landing
place Of angels fresh from glory. IL
turns the sepuloher into Maytime or
chard. 1t catches up the dying into full
orchestra Corallumi And yet that does
not express the beauty. "No mention
shall be made of coral"
Work That Rndures.
/ take your hand again and walk a
little farther ON in this garden of the
sea, and notice the durability of the
work Of the coral Montgomery speaks
OF it he says, "Frail We're their forms.
ephemeral their lives, their masonry
F" Rhizopods are insects so
small they are invisible, and yet they
built the Apennines and they planted
Tor their own monument the oordilleras
1t takes 1877, 600. 900 Of them to make
one grain. Corals are changing the navi-
CATION of the sea. saying to the COM
merce of the world, "TAke this chan
mel, Take that channel, " avoid the
other channel. Animalcules beating
back the Atlantic and Pacific seas II
the insects Of the ocean have built a reef
j. 900 miles long. who knows but that
they may yet build reef 1000 miles
long. and thus, that by one stone bridge
Europe shall be united with this conti-
nent on one side and by another stone
bridge Asia will be united with this
continent on the other side and tho
tourist of the world, without the turn
OF steamers wheel or the spread OF n
ships sail, may go all around the world,
and thus be fulfilled the prophecy.
There shall be no more sea-"
But the durability of the coral IS work
is not at all to be compared with the
durability of our work for God. The
coral Is going to crumble in the fires of
the last day, but our work for God will
endure forever. No more discouraged
man ever lived than Beethoven, the
great musical composer. Numerically
criticised by brother artists and his nu-
sic sometimes rajeoted. Deaf for IS
years and forced ON his way to vicnna
to beg food and lodging at q very plain
house by the roadside. In the evening
the family opened musical instrument
and played and sang with great enthu.
siasm. and one of the numbers they rem.
dered was 30 emotional that tears ran
down their checks while thsy sang and
played Beethoven. sitting In the room.
too deaf to hear the singing, was curl.
GUS to know what was the music tina.
so oyerpowered them, and when they
got through he reached up and took the
folio In his hand and found it was his
own music--Beethoven's Symphony In
A"-and he cried out, "I wrote thati''
The household sat and stood abashed 70
ind that their poor looking guest was
the great composer. But ne never left
that house alive A fever seized him
that night and no relief could be afford
ID, and In few days he died. But Just
before expiring he took the hand OF his
nephew. who had been sent for and had
saying. After al, Hummei.
must have had some talent" Poor Bee
thoveni His work still liyeA and In the
twentieth century will DO better appre-
ninted than &c was In the nineteenth.
and az long as there is ON earth an or
chestra to play or an oratorio to sing
beethoven's nine Symphonies will be
The enohantment OF nations.
But you are not composer, and Won
say that there is nothing remarkable
about you. only mother trying to
a.