Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1914-07-24
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Ry George II. Bennett.

lIOlH lllt lduluhb thuiic'' "a 'i'N '''-
in silent war. Magnificent is thu
cloudless dawning witnessed from the
wide extending plain, the seashore, OIL
the lofty mountain height:
"I stood upon the hill, when heaven {
wide arch
Was glorious with the sun s return
ing march,
And woods were frightened, and soft
gales
Went forth to kiss the sun-clad
wales.
The clouds were far beneath me
bathed in light,
They gathered midway round the
wooded height,
And in their fading glory, shone
Like hosts in battle overthrown.
The veil Of cloud was lifted, and be-
low
Glowed the rich valley; and the
rivers flow.
Was darEened by the forests shade,
Or glistened in the white cascade,
Resplendent in the mellow blush Of
day"
How amazing is the fact that the
world rolls in the lap of immensity
and brings to us a sunrise every
twenty-four hours; and then, what
impressive meaning has the sunrise
to all the children of the earth. What
veal or woe does every rising sun
fortell:
go glowing morn, so wonderful
and white,
So full of gladness and so full OF
pain.
Forever and forever shalt thou be
To some the gravestone of dead de-
light,
To some the landmark of new do
main"
But how startling must have been
the first visible sunrise. Many long
ages before man or any living thing
appeared on the earth, the world was
incandescent and self-luminous. min
iature sun twinkling in the solar gal
aNy, During those millenniums of
molten heat the waters of the globe |
were buried in its fiery depths or sus-
pended in its glowing atmosphere in
gaseous form. Ages passed away and
the molten world cooled. The lum-
inous surface darkened and solidifed.
The time came when the watery va
pors in the upper regions of the air
condensed, the clouds were formed
and the rains began. In process of
time dense mantle of cloud en-
shrouded the world The world was
sunk in deepest darkness. Fearful
hurricanes swept the seething earth
and crashing thunders rent the heav-
ems. The period of worldwide storm
continued many long ages. That era
of storm and darkness marked the
ending Of the star-period of cosmic
history and the beginning of the
planet-era of the world Genesis de
scribes that time when it says, "and
the earth was waste and void and
darkness was upon the face of the
deep
The world had no succession of day
and night but as time wore on, the
waters were drawn from the mighty
veil Of cloud and the seas were form
ed. The mists and fogs became less
dense, the clouds were lifted, and at ,
last the sunbeams penetrated the veil
of cloud, and the world had its first
morning. The succession Of day and
night thus began. The days were '
dim and weird in the feeble light, /
but as time rolled on the air became {
clearer, and the clouds were higher :
New features were added to the sys- 5
TEN of physical nature. The era of 5
storm was drawing to its close. The '
world became cooler. And at the end |
of ages morning came when the
clouds were broken and parted after a
a night of wind and rain. The skies .
cleared. The eastern horizon glowed i
with the faint blush of dawning. The )
leaden clouds were fringed with Grim a
son. The mountain peaks were tipped I
with gold. Ruddy streamers burst c
through the misty barriers, and flood t
ed the east with mellow light. The t
shadows fled before the legiOns of the II
rising sun-and then a dazzling form IL
appeared on the rim of the horizon. q
1t lifted its golden face above the +
50 the majestic sun arose 7
to look for the first time, in visible l
rising, upon the green fields and to s
Hood the hills with glory. With what
did the wild creatures of e
the primeval world contemplate that c.
glowing disc. How serene and ma W
ieStic was the sun. Ii
The signs. seasons and years which Il
have marked the flight of time down
he ages began with that visible sun. :
rise The epoch of higher forms of :
and animal life began with 7
the close of gloom. when began the =
reign of the direct sunbeam. But the !
sun! Sunk in the abyss of space more
han ninety million miles-yet how
We feel his power. This world re- y
elves but one part in twenty-five
million of the solar heat d
and yet this is sufficient to melt is
BED of ice one hundred feet thick over 81
he whole earth in a twelve-month. b
How small seems his burning disc in b
he sky-yet how vast, for it meas b
,rac S66 00O miles across its face q