Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-01-19
THoRoFARE.


The revival is still in progress; several
conversions have been made, and there are
still many seeking the true way. The Rev.
]. H. Payran, of Paulsboro, viii preach on
Thursday night. This is called Paulsboro
night.
Mrs. Jesse Mullen, who has been very
I'll with pneumonia, is gradually recover
ing.
Miss Sarah Mcbride, and Master James
Mcbride, OF Bridesburg, Pepna., were recent
visitors in the home of Mr. and Mrs. VIM
r. Gibbs
The Misses May and Abbie Rambo and
Miss Alice Parker spent last Sunday with
Mr.. and Mrs. George H. Parker, at Sewell
Miss Hettie Budd is spending week
with relatives IN Philadelphia
Mr.. III. A. DeHart finds the weather al
most too warm at Orlando, in Florida
The simple shepherds from the star-it brooks
Brought visionary looks,
As yet in their astonshed hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tongue.
The magi of the East, in sandals Worn,
Knelt reyerent, sweeping round,
With long pale boards their gifts upon the
ground.
The incense, nirrh and gold,
Thy baby hands, divine, were impotent to hold
W. htHBl1 Oit.
II has come and gone, Christmas that
season of JOY, which brings some ray of
giadness even to the dullest hearts. The
Christmas carols have been sung; the
Christmas gifts exchanged, and the poor
have not been forgotten; though, think,
few of us remember that it is because of
the lsexample set rs by the magi, who
brought the most precious things of which
| they knew, and laid them at the feet of the
Holy One, that we make little sacrifices, if
necessary, to remember loved ones on
the blessed Christmas ru. And the
poor lit is hoped that the incense, and
the myrrh, and the gold will be laid at
their feet, and will bring them good, and
warmth, and shelter while these bitter
winter winds are blowing. The year is
gone but not the winter, and it will
have many sad tale to tell before its end
comes. In the interim we watched
| the 'Old Year, out with proper ceremony,
and with due impressi yeness The chimes
which sounded it's death knell, rang in
the New Year with its mystery and its
chances; its dreams of success and happi-
ness, and its forebodings of disaster and
death. Even in chi dhood the hilarious
ringing Of those midnight bells never failed
to bring train of pensiye imagery into my
fancy. Then a year was an eternity and
all desirable things were possible to it,
knew that disagreeable things, and sad
things did happen sometimes, and might
come that year-to other people, but not to
me. Each New y ear was, to my mind, a
beautiful white page upon which only the
most delightful things could possibly be
written And now Well it has been
said that one cannot realize, practically,
that one is mortal until after thirty One
! knows it. indeed, and could preach a
homily on the insecurity of human life.
but one cannot bring it home to one s self
any more than on hot June day we car
properly appreciate the freezing days Of
December But n0w-shall | confess a
truth ?-I begin to count the probable num-
Der of future years, and to grudge the
expenditure of moments, and shortest
periods like miser's farthings. In proper.
ton as the years both lessen and shorten
their value increases, and, like another
| before me, Il would fain lay my Intellectual
/ finger upon the spoke of the great wheel
i am not content to pass away like a
weaver's shuttleu Those metaphors solace
me not, nor sweeten the unpalatable
draught OF mortality. | care not to be
carried with the tide, that smoothly bears
human life to eternity; and rebel at the
inevitable course of destiny. | am in love
with this green earth; the face Of town and
country; the unspeakable rural solitudes
and the sweet security of streets" I dc
not want to be weaned by age; or drop,
like mellow fruit as they say, into the
grave l would set up my tabernacle here.
The thought of new state of being stag
gers me. Sun, and skv, and the greeness
of fields, and society, and lamp-light, and
fireside conversations, and innocent van
tiles, and tests, and irony itself-do these
things all go out with life ?-And books =
Must knowledge come to me, il it comes al
all, by some experiment of intuition, and
no longer by the delightful process Of
reading Shall | enjoy friendships there,
lacking the recognizable faee--the sweet
accurance of a look %