The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-01-07
Rv Mark Field.

Those of the .'unco guild who are
directly descended from Puritan an
cestry, and who are strongly tinctur-
ed with the austerity which, in the
seventeenth century. punished child
for laughing on Sunday, and which
exacted repentance in sack cloth and
ashes OF the man who kissed his wife
on Sunday, will doubtless pronounce
the headline of this article as being,
not only heretical, but abominable.
For the .unco guild do not believe
that Christians should have any
amusements at all, on Sunday or on
Il any other day With them christian
lily is all sadness. They would have
us all--old and young continually
lending our ears to the agonizing
prayer in Gethsemane, or holding our
! eyes on the heart-rending scene thai
blotted out the sun, convulsed the
earth and emptied the sepulchres OF
/ the prophets.
! On this subject the Quakers divided
several years ago, the most OF the
younger ones advancing TO the en-
dorsement OF the enjoyment of the
| beautiful in nature and art, while
those of the ancient orthodoxy huns
/ on to their inherited notions about the
4 sinfIlness of wearing neckties, and
the frightful idolatry of Horticulture,
and of all home decorations. 1t was
/ about at the time of the commence
ment of this radical change in Quaker
! dom that one of the orthodox, driving
| past residence in Richmond, Ind,
where a progressive was watering a
bank OF flowers, drew UP and asked.
\ Friend Silas, don't thee think it
mighty foolish business to waste thy
| time on those posies?' Yes, friend
Samuel" replied Silas, ''but don't
/ thee think that God was employed in
mighty foolish business when he made
them?" The orthodox veteran pulled
down his broad brim, and drove on
without saying a word more.
| The young Quaker turns the point
makes the transition for us.
I. God, We are told, made man. And
for mans enjoyment He made flow
ers, and landscapes, and fruit-bearing
trees, and crystalline streams, and
towering forests and vast oceans, and
star-illumined skies, with all the
countless beauties that float and
swim and run and sing and fly. or
earth below and in the heavens above
Yes, God made all these things, but
j the '.unco guild made themselves, ant
a miserably bad job is the result
I All those who have had full, clea,
view of God in His works have fount
no conflict between them and Hi:
word. The poetry of the prophets i!
drawn from the poetry of the universe
The music of the inspired and inspir
y ing lyrics of the Psalmist is the echt
of the songs of the spheres that chan
the praise of their maker from tn,
dome of the ETHEREAL blue. Listen t,
David:
t The heavens declare the, glory o
God,
| And the armament showeth His hand
work.
DAY unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night showeth knowl
edge"
Now man is the epitome OF the uni
verse, and he finds it all in himself
AS change is the order in external ma
ture SO is 1t the order in Him. All til
alterations of light and darkness, O
/. heat and cold, of joyous sunshine an,
!, gloomy clouds, which he sees withou
are reproduced in him. He learns from
experience. as well as from Solomon
: that all these changes have their sea
sons: and he finds in no long tim
5 that the sunshine periods are neithe
too numerous nor too far extended 70
g his good. He also finds that both tn
!. recurrence and the efficacy of thes
! periods depend very largely on hi
/ own will, judgment and effort. Can h
:. find within the boundary OF tn
e christian religion any authoritativ
V is law and order-as interpreted nv