The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-07-02

preacher takes for his pulpit lofty peak
overlooking Yosemite valley and for his
theme the vivid impressions awakened by
his inspiring surroundings. The text Is
Psalms xiv. A. 1.-The strength of the hills
is His"
The word big is absolutely appropriate
when applied to the United States. Big
are we in geographical area. Individually.
many of the European monarches could
be placed inside of our state of Texas,
and yet there would be enough left to
set up in governmental business a Bulgaria
| or Portugal or a Switzerland, besides
having to spare a front yard and
back yard large enough for the kingdom
of a prince of Monte Carlo No har-
vest fields and cotton plantations greater
than ours. No area of coal and iron beds
| and gold and silver and copper mines
greater than ours. Big are we in the con-
| ceptions of our people. The mightiest rail-
roads. the largest tunnels, the mig'htiest
aqueducts. the mightiest bridges are here.
Big are we in the numbers of our inhab-
| itants besides being big in our way OF
doing things.
| Big is a word which can be applied
to the United States, but that word big
| especially can be applied to her natural
wonders OF Niagara Falls and Yellowstone
park and the Grand Canyon of Arizona,
and. above ALL to Americas wonderful
Yosemite valley, which, as a wonderland,
has not It's superior In all the world The
first time l viewed 1t was under specially
favorable circumstances. We left the rail-
road in the early hours of the morning
for long, seventy-two mile drive to this
| w. r1d1 F.r1 x.I1 Iaxr arais.
description and crowded with marvellous
memories. Sometimes, during tnat long,
twelve hours ride, We could pick whole
bouquets of wild flowers The flora OF a
luxuriant springtime was bidding us well
come. Then the storm clouds shout us in
and the sun disappeared. Then, we
climbed up and up the heights of the
Sierra Nevadas, we shivered and shook,
first in a rainstorm, again in hailstcrm
and then in a binding snowstorm Our
limbs became so cramped that circulation
was almost stopped, but on and on and
on we went until 1t drew near to the
evening hour. Then the storm cleared
away. God lifted the curtains of the clouds
and suddenly the grandest view ever pam
oramaed before mortal eyes was mine.
There" said the driver, rs Yosemite
valley!' Them said l. lone of the dreams
of my life is fulfilled" But though have
dreamed many wonderful dreams. though
have seen many of the wonder scenes
Of the world, I never dreamed of or saw
sight like that. Chaos and cosmos. love
and hate. beauty and revolving hideous-
ness, summer and winter, hoary headed
mountains with their snowcaps of spotless
white and with their limbs lined knee
deep in wild flowers: appalling precipices
and lovers retreats; roaring. rushing
cataracts, with their Spirits of the evil
winds" and rainbows playing amid the
mists, and as passementeries coloring the
neither robes of the different falls: re-
rulsions and fascinatons-all seemed to
be there. They were stretching out their
hands toward me and calling, Come.
brother, come and sit at my feet. Come,
and I will hurl thee from yonder cliffs
and upon thy poor mangled body I will
let the vultures and the wild beasts ban
ouet Come and I will show thee sights
and wonders of which thou hast never
conceived. Come, comet Amid ten thou
sand different voices In one great chorus.
Come. come. GOMEZ! they kept calling.
And the echoing mountains off In dis
lance threw back the calls as from great
sounding boards. "Come! Come! Come"
Even today In imagination I can hear
those strange, weird. conflicting voices
calling me. Oh, the many emotions that
surged through my heart and soul when
first looked down, from Inspiration
height" and descended into the farther
valley As the rocks and the cliffs be-
gan to close in around me I felt as did
Dante with Virgil by his side that
was descending into hell. AT the next
moment I seemed to feel that angelic
COMPANIONS were by my side and that
the paradsiacal gates of pearl were Open
ing for my celestial entrance. Michael
Angelo painted both heaven and hell in
enc picture. Yosemite valley is Last
Judgment"
Coronation Robes.
Eyerywhither | turned joy and sorrow,
peace and anguish happiness and terror,
celestial Gabriels and demoniac Frank
STEMS white winged hopes and raven
garmented messenger of despair side by
side as cliff jewellers, were inhabiting the
dark caverns of those rocks, or were
waving to me from those dizzy heights,
or were lowering under those tents OF
snow canvas, or were dwelling in en-
chanted palaces far above, yet within the
range of my wondering sight. Are those
storm clouds?' l asked myself. Then l
would answer: mo. Those are not
storm clouds. Those are coronation robes,
for l see them waving over cathedrals
and over village kirk spires Angels
seemed to be holding those garments IN
their hands while listening to the wor-
Shipping suppliants within prayer ana
saying, tThese robes, o weeping mortals,
are for you as soon as your earthiy
work is done and you shall come 10
dwell with Christ forever.
Here the rocks seemed to be great
ayalanches of snow or overlapping gla-
ciers of ice ready to tumble down upon
us and crush us; there they seemed 10
be whole cities in ruins, as though ten
thousand Vesuviuses had belched forth
their fires and demolished them and then
the demons had exhumed these broken
walls and destroyed houses. Just TO snow
what awful carnage pandemonium naa
wrought Here there seemed to be huge
mountains cut in twain with the other
halves thrown away Into space; there
they looked like worlds just started ana
then left in a formative state. as though
that Divine Creator had gone on ana
forgotten all about them. Here tney
seemed to be unscalable heights erected
as walls about huge prison Tor iost
souls while there. again. as In Sentinel
rock they seemed to be signal stations
lifting themselves high above the clouds
to put us in touch with other worlds ana
with God Thus these walls OF rock,
these fortresses of rock, these mighty
obelsks and pyramids of rock these great
sheets of rock upon which God mad reg
istered the histories of the ages, seemed
TO be object lessons. 1t was as tnousn
the Creator had opened his treasure
vaults lust a little that we might peer
in and see his unlimited resources.
AS the evening hours settled INTO the
night the last thought inspired by such
sublime surroundings more and more TOOK
possession of my soul. There as l lay
,lpon my pillow under the shadow of
mil