Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-07-20

"Thank God that the world Is sweeter
and more lovely to the feathered deni-
zens of the woods because God has
blessed their lives with the holy joys
of domestic love. Has God not blessed
your life, o Christian, with holy, eter-
nal love?
Always Active.
But there is another fact which I'M
presses NE about the lives OF the spar
rows or of the other birds of the woods,
and that is their ceaseess activity.
They never seem TO be still. If you
are walking along the country road
you see them always on tie wing. II
YOU try to read book under an over
hanging bough and you are covered
up by a curtain Of leaves so that they
cannot see you they still keep Oh the
move. You see them flying hlther and
thithar. Now they are seeking food;
nov hey are speeding away as If they
were going to visit some friends. They
are nylng-yes, nearly always flying
During the intense heat Of the day
/ some OF them may rest FOR little
while IN the cool shade Of leafy bow
er. But for the most part they are ON
the wing and moving this way and
that.
While you watch this ceuseless ac-
tivity Of the bird you may say to me,
"If God is good and God is kind, why
does he not make life easier for the
sparrows?" Then l would say: 1T is Il
good God who keeps the little birds on
the move 1t would be cruel God
who would allow the sparrow to sit
still and do nothing" SuppOsing
should go out today and catch a little
sparrow and shut him in Il golden cage
as some women do with their sweet
throated canaries Then supposlng :
should fill the seed cup of that cage
with the most enticlng bird food and
put the cleareSt purest water into the
cup. Then, supposing | should say to
this Gagged bird: "Now, sparrow, | am
going to make your life a life Of joy,
| for ii shall be Il life Of ease. | Will
| give YOU all the sunlight you want, all
the food you want and all the drink
YOU want | shall clean out the cage
at least twice day, SO no dirt shall be
about you. All that you need to do Is
to sit upon a perch, Just as you sit
upon a tree branch, and twitter and
talk and talk and twitter." What
would be the result? Why, soon, very
soon. the plumage of that sparrow
would be RULED Then his head would
droop. and he would sicken and die.
| All. the sparrow does not find health
and strength and happiness in doing
nothing. God blesses his creatures by
giving them opportunity for ceaseless
activity. lie never blesses a life by
never ending ease.
The Trouts Fin.
Why does the trOut5 fin look like
fake of silver as he leaps out of the
eddy? Because every morning and
evening lie finds his health and
strength and JOY through working and
laboring in the currents Of the brook
to get his daily food. Why do the low
| er branches of tree grow stronger
and heavier Because each lower
branch has to reach out farther and
farther in order to push It's leaves into
the sunlight Why does tie busy man
| find life an endless joy? Because as be
works and keeps on working he not
| f;,.of;hno1 for his 1nnT
ones. but by that work he gets clear
] er brain and purer blood and happier
life. Oh, my friends. do not begrudge
the sparrows their work. Do not say
to me that it is Il cruel God who would
hide food for his little birds in the
earth. Cruel indeed would De that God
who would make life easy for his chill
dren and for his fea,hered friends.
AS | see the little sparrOws flying
hither and thithcr | see that their
wings were not given to them alone
for seeking food. The God who lids
the sparrows work that they may
have happiness and health is thc same
God who says: "Sparrows. | Will pro
feet you from your enemies. ! VIII
give YOU a means for fleeing away
from danger. Though the hunters gun
try to shoot you and the se.pents eye
to fascinate you and the wildcat to kul
you. yet with wings you shall ina
safety for yourself and also safety for
your little ones" Did you ever stop to
think that God never created living
creature unless he made it possible for
that creature to have some means TO
defend himself against his foes IN COM
bat or else some means by which he
might seek safety in flightf
Some time ago it was my privilege TO
spend few weeks camping in the
mountains. At that time there was a
government restriction against taking
a shotgun into those hills. The forest
rangers said. "You must not kill the
birds" 1t was not at that time the
season for hunting the deer. The only
things a man was allowed To shoot
were the ground squirrels. and then he
must shoot with a rifle. In one sense
they offered a rich prize for the camp
er, for squirrels can be cooked into the
most palatable and tOothsome Of dish
es. But" I said to one of the noun
taineers, "why do they say we can
shoot ground squirrels? There are no
ground squirrels here to shoot" "N'
ground squirrels| he exclaimed. why
there are thousands of them about
} THAT Is strange" l answered. -.
have not seen any of them" But ont
evening a short time after alone | tool
q walk away from camp. | left behin'
me for the first time little spanie
dog which generally followed me oI
my tramps. He always ran ahead Il
my walks. This evening | found tina
the mOuntaineer was right. Iher
were literally hundreds of squirrel
around. Then I soiloquized thus: "Ah
now | understand why did not se
S the ground squirrel before! My do