Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-09-23
Calnnage
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaae. d. ID.

Of auturSn. and finds In them a lesson
OF Gods strength and providence and
the love and care ha JAS for all his
children. The text is Amos ". 10. HE
that fOrmcth the mountains"
Have you ever visited the Schroon
lake OF the Alps? Have you ever slept
under the shadows OF the snow capped
Rlgl. with Its horizon sweep OF 300
miles In circumference? Then you
have visited Lake Lucerne. one Of the
most romantic and picturesque lnkes
that ever Tapped the foot Of hill or
nestled to sleep like smiling babe In
lap OF gigantic mountain. The old
poet sings OF the charms OF Lake Ge-
neva. another of Switzerlnnd's scenic
wonders. with It's battle SCARED castle
standing sentinel over II. castle
whose walls are scanned with defying
the cannonadlng Of the elements. as
well a. resisting the attacks Of man.
This Is his song:
A Thousand feet In depth below
The massey waters meet and flow:
So far the fathom line was sent
From Gibbons snow white battiement.
But. though others may sing about
Windermere or Lake SANTA OF Fin
land or Lake George Of New York or
the Lake Of the Woods Of Mime
sofa. all Of them beautiful lakes. I still
believe that Lake Lucerne Is the queen
OF romantic lakes for many Of US.
There we not only saw some OF the
most beautiful OF all scenes. but we
also stood before Thorwaldsen's great
est masterpiece. "The Lion Of Luz
ccrne." Most Of you know the history
OF that marvellous piece Of statuary.
When the French throne was tottering
amid the upheaval Of the awful revo-
luton which has made the names of
Robcspierre and Marat and Barere
Infamous for all time. Louis XVI. and
Marie Antoinctte dare not trust their
lives and those Of their children to the
loyalty OF their own soldiers. They
sent across the northern border and
hired some Swiss soldiers to be their
bodyguard. Eight hundred Of these
were quartercd In the Tuilerles. Fatal
Aug. 10. 1892. came. and the mob
broke loose and started for their royal
prey. They battered down the gates
and doors OF the kings residence.
They slew the Swiss soldiers wher-
ever their hated uniforms were seen as
mercilessly rs the Sioux Indians toma-
hawked Custer and his little handful of
followers on the Little Big Horn river.
They literally annihilated the whole
band In order to get nj their hated
rulers. Thorwaldsen. the great Danish
sculptor. to commemorate the death OF
these brave soldiers OF the Swiss
guard, chiseled into the solid rock OF
Lucerne the colossal form OF the dying
Swiss lion struck to the heart by q
spear. yet In his death agony still de-
Tending the lilied shield OF France.
What u wonderful statue is that. which
thousands OF tourists every year travel
|, miles and miles to study.
But as stood before that marvellous
piece OF stone under the shadow of the
overtowering Rigi l said to myself this:
"Yes. many Swiss soldiers have been
struck down by foreign bullets. but
more, far more. have br0oded their
lives away because their hearts have
plned under inconsistencies when they
have been removed from the sight OF
yondcr hills" When Nebuchalnezzar
took his bride. Amytis. To the glorious
capital OF Babylon, she could not get
over her longing for the hills of her
childhood. Babylon was built In Hat
country. To satisfy her longing for
the mountain scenes OF her youth her
loving husband erected for his queen
the famous hanging gardens" But
what earthly king could erect for his
loved ones such gigantic hills as those
which cradle the youth OF the Swiss
peasantry: We who We're born in the
mountainous countries Of the west
or east can sympathize with those
Swiss peasants IL we have been COM
PEELED TO live on prairie lands and can
never overcome our longing for the
mountains. As the hills. the mighty
hills, have spoken OF God 10 Amos. the
herdsman. they have also spoken to us
living among the mountains OF the
western hemisphere. l thought today
l would try TO find God among the
mountains.
The strength of God.
The gigantic hills In the first place
teach us the omnipotcnt strength OF
the God who created them. They seem
TO speak to us something like this: 20
man. why wilt thou not look upon me
even as thou wouldst regard the works
Of human hands? When thou stnndest
before the huge pyramids Of Egypt
with their great blocks OF stone thou
dost not say they were built by n race
Of pygmies. about whom Homer and
| Hesiod wrote. Thou dost not go In
the moonlight and dream dreams upon
the Acropolis overlooking old Athens
and see there visions of Its ancient
splendor. with Its Parthcnon and Its
columns and its statuary and its mar
BILE OF purest white. and say there lived
not giants In those days. Thou dost
not walk through the corridors Of the
Alhambra. with its mosaic floors and
Its magnificent walls. and say that the