Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1905-04-01
! SATURDAY NIGHT TALKS |
What the Sheep Teach Us.
BY F. E. DAWSON.
April 2, '05.-CJohn 1O:7-1S)
April 2, '05.-(John 1O:7-lS)



ing lands Of the far west, or the
Grampian hins Of Scotland. or the
rugged mountains OF Switzerland, OF
the vast upIands of Australia, or the
historic fields Of Palestine, there is
something peculiarly attractive and
romantic about the business.
David was a shepherd. and in his
psalms is heard the bIeating of his
fathers sheep. The Ettrick shepherd
got his wonderful poetic inspiration
during the ten years in which he was
watching fiocks of Laidlaw. The shep
herd and his sheep is a. favorite fig
ure of the Bible. Christ calls himself
the Good Shepherd. There Is almost
Infinite suggestiveness in the theme OF
the shepherd and the sheep as the
Chief Shepherd applies ii to men and
women.
For instance, the most OF us prefer
being led rather than driven. There
is something in every man that rebels
at the crack Of the whip To be per
emptorily ordered about. goes against
the grain of any man who is not com
pletely cowed into subsection. There
are some races which seem to accept
servitude and adapt themselves to
being mastered by others, but Ameri-
cans do not belong TO that class
Arbitrary treatment sours us. Conn
pulsion rankles in our breasts. We
will refuse 10 pay the stamp tax
throw the tea into the harbor. and
take the consequences. We can be
allured. cajoled. loved into almost any
course of action. but II any one says
"You shalli" we instantly bristle all
over with rebellion. That is human
nature. The race was created with
that disposition. The first wrong do
ing was precipitated on account OF the
prohibitory law of the Garden OF Eden
what mattered 1t that there was an
orchard-full Of ripe fruit from which
TO select so long as one tree was for
hidden. The officer who says Go and
capture that battery" may or NAV
not be obeyed But the officer who
saws Come on, boys!" will find his
men crowding upon his heels, ami
they will climb over the muzzles OF
smoking guns glad to die at the feet
OF their commander.
And then again we prefer a good
pasture to a poor one. In New Eng
land il seems to be taken for granted
that because a Sleeps nose Is sharp,
nature intended IL to browse among
the scanty heritage of a stone-covered
field. so that if there is a piece OF
ground in the farm that no other
creature can live on, it is turned into
a sheep pasture.
How many man has had to feed
his mental, moral and spiritual ma
ture on the short commons. because
of his inability to secure the best pas
turage for which he was created. The
world is full of illustrious examples
of men and women who made the
most desperate efforts against intel
Iectual starvation and never knew
what IL was to be fulfilled. They be
came famous because. with pine knots
and tallow dips they found their way
out Of the desert to which the world
had doomed them into fresh fields
and pastures new" where they found
nutritious food at last.
Sheep have a right to expect food.
and so have men. The Good Shepherd
said TO the under shepherds whom
he left in charge, Feed my sheepE
II would seem as though some OF
them understood him to say. Stone
nv sheep!" or SHEAR my sheep" in
stead OF Feed my sheep" An old
preacher once said. "I have learned
something about feeding sheep, and
especially lambs, that has helped me
much in dealing with men. Here IS
a good rule for both: Give il to them
often. a little at time, and warm"
All kinds of mental pabulum received
that way is conducive to growth and
development.
And then again we all want life
abundantly. Life is something more
than mere existence. A clam has
life in the sense of existence. A sick
man has life. but it is at low ebb.
A alternating bear has life. but its
pulsations are feeble. Lazarus after
his resurrection had life. but he -
bound hand and foot with grave
clothes. What we want is some power
that will set us free from orr limita
tions and assist us to rise above our
environment.
And then there is for us at last the
eternal sheep-fold. How strange II
is that human beings with all their
bright anticipations of what there
is beyond should hesitate to move vi
to those supernal hills A shepherd
was once striving to get his flock uT
from the valley where all the pasture
had been consumed to table-land
where the grazing was abundant
But the ascent was rough and the
flock reluctant. They knew their shep
herd but they would not climb. And
then. in his wisdom. he took laml
and laid 1t on the ledge. It missed
its mother. and crept TO the edge and
bleated; the mother sheep had missed
her baby lamb. and wondered that thu
shepherd had been so cruel as to take
her only one. But when she heard
the plaintive bleat she knew it in
stantly. climbed to the summit with
out DELAY and the whole flock follow
ed. So sometimes a HOUSEHOLD laTl
s,,,-.,,,.t.,5 - 4l,o fold sl,nva i ynOrs