The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-08-27

might be asked, ever to the half Of
MS kingdom. Herod, like all men who
give themselves up to passions sway.
his k~ingliness. He un-
cro"ned himself: All sense of proper
ton disappeared from his mind. He
thought only Of the hour. Forgetting
his obligation to sovereign Rome, and
TO the people over whom he held
sway, he gave solemn oath to do what
soever the dancing girl might ask.
She, carefully coached by her moth
er. besought the grisly trophy Of
the head OF John the Baptist on a
platter. Startled by the request,
Herod was yet too weak to refuse |
IL, and an executioner was sent to the
dungeon where the prophet was in
carcerated. and the deed was done.
The Dark Hour.
There come hours to every servant
Of righteousness when he feels, as
the disciples of John felt on this
black day, that truth is
Forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne
Hate n lust and power seemed to
have things all their own way in
Macherus at that time.
But that dark day was only a short
day. The faith for all who would be
wise and useful is hat the wheel of
time is turning. John, sacrificed for
a wOman's vengeance, is crowned to-
day on earth and In Heaven; and
Herodias and Salome and Herod are
names that r synonymous with in
fanny. All who would stand stead
fast for righteousness need to learn
the lesson Of patience. It takes cour-
age to be content to live simply in
the midst Of ostentatious neighbors;
| To Gaon n1non when CYpfrehod cha "a O.
ters are not Questionable; to alb
stain from liquor When comrades are
drinking; to be modestly religious
when religion Is not vogue.
But wait. The end Is not yet. As
the homely Italian proverb has it,
God does not always pay on Satur-
day-but He always pays" We may
cultivate the gift Of reaching for
ward to the bright future to illumine
our dark .todays.
Reverently standing In the pres
ence Of John the Baptist, we are
Of our time is for men n women
with convictions. God and His world
moved to declare that a deep need
both call for friends who believe
something hard enough to suffer for
it. Given a choice between the mar
row-minded zealot' and the man who
is so broad that he does not believe
in anything, we choose the former.
Our nation was made by men with
convictions. The shining epochs in
the long stretch Of the centuries are
those wherein men dared to stand out
for causes and convictions. Korea Is
a luminous land at this hour because
these men are going INTERESTINGLY tC
!, prison, pain and exile beyaGSe Of the
Name.
The Coronation Day.
John seemed to lose in the battle
} within the walls Of old Macherus
,, nineteen hundred ear ago. He hac
not been dead many days before {
royal proclamation from the one
whom he called King Greater thar
Herod declared him a victor, and on,
' Of the greatest Of the sons Of men
l This faith that present defeat ma!
mean ultimate victory Is an e~ssentia
part of the creed Of every militan
saint The late Judge Albion w
Tourgee put this creed into a poem
t II am but dust!
$ Altho He slay,
Yet will I trust
\ Through all the fray in Him.
So boaSted one.
q Breasting a battle Just begun.
The noontide came.
a The soldier faced the sheeted fame,
= Defying WEAKNESS n woe.
v And giving ever blow for blow,
From out the din and dust
O OF tina world-fray.
Il In accents shrill:
In accents Shill:
'AlthO He slay,
Yet will I truSti
The night came down.
Lo, stark and prone
The warrior lay. Above him thronge
% The tide Of hose who smote an
It wrOnged.
"a The fight was Ger; the wrong ha
~ won;
q 1.-The earth no better. now twas don
- ~ His blood soaked up the dust;
ia Valor and strength were vain.
-. .A1thnugh He SlaY vet VIII | trust