Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-10-14

wheel broken at the cistern when your
dear ones were translated? Your broth
er, how did he go? Your mother said
to the nurse, "Now, nurse, think
John Is better tonight, but II you need
me Just give rap upon the floor and
/ will come up" 1t seemed that you
were asleep only a little while when
commotlon In the house made you leap
out Of bed. You rushed to your broth
er's room. You saw the breathing be-
coming heavier and heavier. At last
the doctor said, HE is gone" You
looked at the clock, and you heard 1t
striking, zone, two, three" When did
your mother die? At noon? In the even
ing twilight, when the flush Of the set
ting sun was slowly fading away and
its ball Of fire was sinking behind the
western hills? Oh, no. You had been
awake all night worrying about her.
The last relapse came about 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 IL because the sun has
long been very far away from us. At
that time there Is less vitality in the
air. Then our physical hold on earthly
life is weakest. So, my friends, as
earth grips us less about 2 or 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 US sa-
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 Is heard In
the daylight as well as in the darkness,
when we are standing upon our feet as
well as 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 pyrotechnlcs
of thunderstorm, or when we watch
bird build her nest, or the wild flower
lift ND its cheeks to be kissed by the
sunbeams in mountain glen, or when
we hear the rippling Of the brook leap
ing over the rocks to find bathing
pool in which the feathered songsters
can take their morning bath. And OF
all places where the voice Of the Lord
can be heard distinctly speaking to US
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 or from the deck OF
a steamer or sailing ship Chen otben he
waters of the mir -,,l, 9 tt,,, 30
-, :. UTMOST imposslDle Ior hiiu "
enr neTre the divine voice speaking under
cathedral tower or from pulpit In the
village kirk. Yet some people mako
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.
Denf TO Voice of Nature.
Nine. de Stael was the great French
leader Of a Partisan salon. She was
the one woman whom Napoleon l.
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: "If was
In Naples | would not care II l never
lifted the curtain Of my room and look
ed out of my hotel window at the bay
80 many people rave about. | would
not 20 ten feet to see the grandeur and
the sublimity of the sun capped Alps.
But | would be willing to travel clear
around the world to hear d brilliant
man talk whom l had never met be-
fore"
Sad. sad. such a testimony as that
II man is deaf to the voice Of God call
ing to him in the "silent places or ma
ture he Is deaf to some Of the sweetest
and clearest pleadings OF the divine
love. For my own part never see the
wild flowers growing either in valley
or upon mountain height but they call
to me: "Friend, consider the lilies OF
the fields. Christ Is weaving for me my
garments. Shall he not clothe his hui
man children, o We Of little faithT l
never see a mother bird caring for hei
young but she calls to me: Il am a
sparrow. God feeds me. God Will feed
YOU" | never stand before a great
natural wonder, like Kilauea or Yosem'
ite or Gothard pass, but over 1t and
underneath 1t and all around 1t myri'
ads of voices are calling from the "sl'
lent places" Of nature as the voice OF
the Lord called to Moses out or the
burning bush: "Take thy shoes Oh
from thy feet, for this is holy ground
Thou art now in the presence OF thy
Maker. am God. Listen to me and
obey me. I am God, who made all
things the omnipotent and omniscient
and omnipresent God. Canst thou not
trust him who holds the sea In the
palm of his hand, who can look upon
the earth and make it tremble, VINO
caD touch the hills with his finger anc
MAKE them smoke?"
y The care and the protection Of the dl'
vine Fathers love always speak to me
In the "sllent places" Of nature. Many
years ago the voices Of nature sounded
for me their divine lessons In one
mighty chorus. stood upon Observa'
ton point and looked Off upon the Won
derful Grand canyon Of Yellowstone
park. 1t is one Of the most marvellous
places of the world. There before you
hn "a