Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-06-10
Calnnage
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. d. d.

try and the folly OF those who belittle
or undervalue ii. The text Is Proverbs
vi. @. go to the ant. thou sluggard.
consider her ways and be WISE"
Ii was hot. sultry afternoon in
summer on the famous Chautauqua
grounds OF New York when Bishop
John ii. Vincent knocked ut Wilbur
Chapman's door. ''Come in." called
the evangelist. In walked the founder
of the Chautauqua movement in this
country. He said. chapman. want
you to go and hear n lecture this after
noon.' what onT "It is given by a
college professor. The lecture Is en-
titled My Friends the ella Monster.
the Horned Owl. the Opossum and the
Rat" mo. bishop" said DIR. Chap
man: II cannot 20. am utterly worn
out by speaking. Besides that. l have
a big meeting for tonight for which
must rest and prepare. You must let
me Off this once" "No. Chapman,
will not let you of. You must come.
There is n great treat In store for
you" So. under the pleading demands
Of Bishop Vincent. he went.
AT first" said DIR. Chapman after
ward. Il sat away back In the audi
cnce. that l might be able to slip away
unseen. But as the speaker began to
talk about his novel friends l became
more and more absorbed. CncOn-
sciously l went halfway down the
aisle and took a seat nearer to the
speaker. Then. as he talked on and
on, crept farther and farther until
was In the front seat. There l sat for
nearly two long hours laughing and
crying and learning the great lessons
of life from the lives of the most hum
BILE of Gods creatures. I never before
realized that there was so much love
and affection and unselfishness and
brain power in creeping things and
loathsome reptiles and poisonous liz
ards and repulsive rats"
The little things Of earth reveal the
power of Gods love and care. as well
as the greater things. King Solomon
would introduce to us one of his little
friends. He would have us use an ant
hill for pulpit. He would have for
the preacher of the morning one of the
ordinary. commonplace, large mandi-
bled. many jointed. long antennaed.
six legged insects that we can see in
almost every country bypath. He
would tell us that the ants intelligent
forethought. her pcrsevering energy,
her many social afiinities. her mortal
hatreds. her sens;tiveness to smell and
color. her architectural genius with
which she constructs the palace In
which are to be deposited the precious
eggs. her slaves and nurses who serve
her I'm peace. her military captains who
marshal her great armies in war. her
care for the cocoons In which the grubs
are developed into the perfect insects.
as the caterpillar unfolds the transfg-
ured life of butterfly. offer unlimited
fields for gospel illustration. "Go to
the ant. thou sluggard. consider her
ways and be wise"
"Busy as nm Amt"
Busy. busy, busy. BUSY as an ant
Is an old proverb. Whether she Is car
ing for her eggs or finding the grubs:
whether she belongs to foraging par
1 ty or Is going forth upon II war of con-
quest to capture the eggs of another
hive, which eggs she intends to devel-
op into future slaves: whether she is
migrating from one part Of the country
20 another or Is building the walls and
the Railways. squaring the chambers.
laying the foundations or arching the
dome Of a new house. the ant Is al
ways busy. She works during the day,
she works during the night. she works
while she eats: II almost seems that
she works while she sleeps. Her ambi-
ton Is not to find out how little she
can do. but how much she can do. She
works. and works. and works. She
keeps on working. To do something Is
the very breath of her existence.
This proverb Is automatic. You go
out for n summer stroll and one of your
little children calls: ''Oh. mother. come
and look See these little black things.
What are theyw ''Ants. my dear.
you say Then you stoop over that hive
and watch them. They are moving, al
ways moving. Some are busy house
cleaning. II you could enter the cham
Der of an ant mound. you would find
that each room and connecting hall
way are absolutely clean. Every par
ticle of dust which once choked those
galleries has been carried out, piece by
piece. and deposited afar off. where II
will not obstruct the openings of the
ant hill. Some of these ants are house
cleaning. Some are going after food.
Some are caring for the grubs. But
they are all working-the ants are al
ways working. Their working hours
are simply unlimited. Sir John Lub-
book, the famous naturalist. reported
that he once watched II single ant who
worked without intermission or relaXa-
ton from O o'clock i'm the morning until
nearly 10 o'clock at night. For sixteen
hours that ant continued diligently at
her task. You cannot dream of a lot
Of ants getting together. as do some
men today. whose chief aim seems to
be to find out how little work they
can do I'm life and what Is the maxi