Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-10-12

looked at the clock, and you heard n
striking, "One, two, three" When did
your mother diet At noon3 In the ~
Ing twilight, when the flush Of the Get.
ting sun was slowly fading away and
lts ball Of FIRE was sinking behind the
western hiils7 Oh. no. You had been
awake all night worrying about her.
The last relapse came about 2 o'clock
In the morning. Her life went out with
the Growing Of the cock and with the
first glimpse Of the dawn. The reason
why most people die in the early hours
of the morning is because the sun has
long been very fur away from 10. At
that time there 10 less vitality In the
mir. Then physical hold on earthly
life IL weakest. 80, my friends, az
earth grips us less about 2 OF 3 o'clock
In the morning let the Holy Spirit grip
us closer to Christ. Let these few min.
utes In the early morning be to 10 %.
cred moments for communion with
God. When we awaken don't rebuke
the Holy Spirit and break the divine
spell. Let us then hear old Ell saying:
The Lord would commune with thee.
Listen, child; listen, listen to the voice
Of the Lord"
But the voice Of the Lord IL heard In
the daylight al we'll as In the darkness,
when we are standing upon our feet a.
we'll ~ when we are lying upon our
backs, when we are tramping over the
hillsides, or sitting by the seashore, or
watching the mad rush Of the whirlpool
rapids Of Niagara falls. or when we
are in the presence of the ~pyrotechnics
Of a thunderstorm. or when we watch q
bird build her nest. or the wild flower
lift up it's cheeks to be kissed by the
sunbeams In mountain glen. or when
we hear the ripping Of the brook leap
ing over the rocks to find O bathing
pool in which the fcathered songsters
can take their morning bath. And Of
all places where the voice Of the Lord
can be heard distinctly speaking to rs
I believe that voice can best be heard
in the silent places" Of nature. far
away from the habitations Of man. II
a human being cannot hear the voice Of
the Lord in the woods and on the
boundless prairies OF from the deck Of
. steamer or sailing ship cutting the
waters Of the mighty deep. then I be-
lieve It is almost impossible for him to
hear the divine voice speaking under
cathedral tower or from pulpit in the
village kirk. Yet some people make a
boast that for them the lips Of nature
are absolutely dumb. In 1t they can
neither hear the love Of man nor the
love Of God calling them to the better
and the nobler and the higher life.
Deaf e Voice Of Nature.
Mime. de Stael was the great French
leader Of a Parisian salon. She was
the one woman whom Napoleon I.
feared more than the marshaled armies
Of any crowned head Of Europe. She
was the brilliant daughter Of a famous
father. She was exiled from Napo-
Icons capital on account Of her sway
over the minds of the French people.
Yet she once declared that when the
voice Of nature spoke to her 1t always
spoke to deaf ears. Said she: III I was
in Naples I would not care II I never
lifted the curtain Of my room and look
cd out Of my hotel window at the bay
80 many people rave about. I would
not 60 ten feet to see the grandeur and
the sublimity Of the sun capped Alps.
But l would be willing to travel clear
around the world to hear a brilliant
man talk whom I had never met be-
| FORE"
I 2nd AnA 01NNh a tnottrNNyNU m th0k
II man ls deaf to the voice Of God call.
ing to him In the "silent places" Of ma.
ture he Is deaf to some Of the sweetest
and clearest pieadings OF the divine
love. For my part l never see the
wild flowers growing either In valley
or upon mountain height but they cal
to me "Fr1end. consider the lilies Of
The 6ehdS. Christ is weaving for me my
garments. Shall he not clothe hts hu
man children. o ye Of little fnith?"
never see . mother bird caring for bel
young but she calls to me: Il am g
sparrow. God feeds me. Cod will feed
you" I never stand before a great
natural wonder. like Kilausa or Yosem
lite or Gothard pass. but over 1t and
underneath It and all around 1t myri
dds Of voices are calling from the Isl
lent places" Of nature az the voice Of
the Lord called to Moses out n tht
burning bush: Take thy shoes OF
from thy feet. for this is holy ground
Thou art now In the presence of thy
Maker. I am God. Listen to me and
obey me. I am God. who made al
things, the omnipotent and omniscien,
and omnipresent God. Canst thou no
trust him who holds the sea In the
palm of his hand, who can look upor
the earth and make 1t tremble. who
can touch the hills with his finger an(
make them smoker"
The care and the protection Of the di
vine Fathers love always speak to me
In the "silent places" Of nature. Many
years ago the voices Of nature sounded
for me their divine lessons In on,
mighty chorus. I stood upon Observa
ton point and looked OF upon the won
derful Grand canyon OF Yellowstone
bark. 1t Is n Of the most marvellous
places Of the world. There before 20,
is a valley smooth as the door OF {
great cathedral. yet large enough Il
gather into 1t one Of the nations of tn,
world. From each side OF this noo1
rise two p~recipitous basaltic wallis ovel
n thousand feet In height. SCARED ant
scanned with battling the elements o.
the ages, down which at intervals de