The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-31
The Mountain Heights.

HC ''NiShhS'
 The traveller climbing up the noun tain height naturally looks behind as well as ahead. He looks toward the land across which he has travelled as well as toward the region to which he intends to go He looks back toward his wilder ness as well ahead toward his Utopia. We wonder not that when Marcus Whit man, after weeks and months of trav- cling finally stood upon the tops of the Rocky mountains and saw the present states of Oregon and Washington stretch ing away toward the west. his blood tin gled and that his eyes grew moist with tears.
 We wonder not that when on the fa- nous Fourth of July, 1885 he spread his blanket upon the tops ,of these moun- tains he and his little company knelt and dedicated that new country to their God and prayed that it might be blessing to their native government But after the great missionary had feasted his eyes upon Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson and the flowing rivers of the Columbia and Willamette methinks I can see him turn and shade his eyes and look back toward the east He kept looking far ther and farther east until In imagina- ton he could see clear across the conti- nent, until he saw his beautiful home, which he had left in the central part
  the Neg Perces Indians for Christ Then with inspired eyes he saw how God led him with his young bride on toward the west on through the farm lands of Ohio and Illinois and Indiana, on to the rolling Mississippi, on and on through the hostile Indian tribes, on and on until he stood upon the pedestal of the Rocky moun- tains with new world spread under his feet "Yes, yes,' I can hear the great missionary say, God has cared for me all through He has protected me. He has fed and clothed me. I thank thee. o Father, for what thou hast done for me and mine during the journeylng of many months'
 Backward, Turn Backward.
 It is always natural for the travellers up the mountain heights to look back toward the land over which they have come. Do you not suppose Balboa turned his eyes toward Spain as well as toward the occident when he saw the Pacific ocean roll at his feet? Do you not sup pose De Soto and Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake and Captain Cook and Marquette and La Salle and Livingstone and Stanley and all the modern as well as ancient nav igators and discoverers have looked back ward toward their home lands as well as toward the regions to which they were heading? Thus the most natural place to-
 
 he had climbed Pisgah's heights was to the south and the east and the north as well as toward the west He looked to- ward the geographical scenes of his child hood and middle age and old age as well as toward the future and the promised land.
 How good God has been to Moses! How good He has been to us, Let us for moment go back to the scenes of our infancy, as Moses thoughts turned to the river Nile and to Egypt. Did we not then have some one to love and provide for us during the days of our childhood? When Eliphalet Mott, the great president of Union college. became very old man, he lapsed into a beautiful second child hood Day by day his faithful wife used to sing the same lullabies with which his mother once sang him to sleep. When the white-haired patriarch became restless at night. she would gently place her hand upon his wrnkled forehead and softly sing Isaac Watts old hymn:
 Hush, my dear; lie still and slumber;
 Holy angels guard thy bed
 Heavenly blessings without number
 Gently falling on thy head.
 Then tile old man would close his eyes like a little babe. He continually kept calling over the names of his mother. and father and sisters, and brothers. And when he conducted family prayers for the last time he closed with the simple