Questions & Answers
The morn of life has battled down the gloom, And selfish night yields treasures to the day, Giving to hung' ring hearts an earth-wide room, Whose beauties love alone can well portray. To whom owe we this blest unfolding hour? Through whom have we this great deliverance gained? Through whom know Love, the only Power, Save her whom God through Christ hath well ordained? We touch our lips to silence when we think Of all we owe, yet never can repay, And gratefully we take the cup and drink The old, yet new-known, Life, and Truth, and Way.
I cannot eat but little meat, By microbes it is spoiled; And sure I think I cannot drink, Save water that is boiled; And I'll endure low temperature, Since by the doctors told That to live long and keep us strong ’Tis better to be cold. So let bacteria scourge and scare, With ailments manifold, To do us good we'll eat no food, And keep our bodies cold.
Go list to the voice that is calling to action, Go sit at His feet, and humility feel, Go drink at the fountain of Life everlasting, Go carry the tidings, " Tis Christ that doth heal. " Go visit thy brother, his bondage enduring, Go bear ye his burden and show him the way; Go speak to him kindly and carry the message, " 'Tis Christ that can heal thee if thou wilt obey.
Never yet in darkest mood Doubted I that Thou wast good, Nor mistook my will for fate, Pain of sin for heavenly hate,— Never dreamed the gates of pearl Rise from out the burning marl, Or that good can only live Of the had conservative, And through counterpoise of hell Heaven alone be possible. — Whittier.
TAKE a robin's leg, (Mind) the drumstick merely; Put it in a tub Filled with water nearly; Set it out of doors, In a place that's shady; Let it stand a week, (Three days for a lady); Dip a spoonful in to a five-pail kettle; It should be of tin, Or, perhaps, bell-metal; Fill the kettle up, Put it in a boiling; Skim the liquor well, To prevent its oiling; For thickening and for salt, Take of rice one kernel; Use, to light the fire, Any but our journal. Let the liquor boil Half an hour—no longer: (If it's for a man, You can make it stronger).
The following has been written in reply to the lines which appeared in the "News," entitled, "Weakness and Perversity. " God, the Eternal Mind, far-reaching, unconfined, Whose love no thought can comprehend, or goodness has divined; He who pervades all space, in whom all life exists, To whom all powers, all heights, all depths, are less than summer mists; He hath created us, in image like His own— As from the lofty forest tree a thistle ne'er has grown, So from the Mind of God nothing unlike Him springs, For like yields like; God has made us, then are we worthless things? Are we by nature weak, when He is mighty, strong? Must we, while knowing well the right, in weakness do the wrong? Is mind indeed so base?—its source is pure and high; Must we to brutal instincts fall and every virtue die? If this indeed were true, then were our birthright fled, His likeness would be torn away, and all that's vital, dead; Then sin could conquer us, but victors now are we, Knowing that all things shall be ours through Him that made us—free! Why did you do the wrong, desiring much the right? Because yon understood not God, thought darkness to be light, Deemed sin a mightier power than was Omnipotence, Yourself a frail, uncertain thing, helpless, without defence! The flesh indeed is weak, but 'tis not flesh that lives, It is not flesh that to the soul thought and emotion gives, 'Tis Spirit, boundless, strong, that gives us life and breath; The flesh may crumble and decay, but Spirit has no death! Then act, act with thy might! scorn failure and despair, Remembering he who conquers all, a crown of life shall wear! No sacrifice is vain that in His Name is done; Then forward press with steadfast hope until thy goal is won! And all thy future days one mighty song shall be, A song wrought by a Master-hand in matchless harmony! Swelling in sweet refrain, soaring beyond confine, Until thy life is lost in His,—Eternal and Divine! BY ONE "CONCERNED.
The following lines are chiefly interrogatory, and cordially invite answer in rhyme on the subject they broach, from any "whom it may concern. " What is it that leads us so astray? We know the right, but do the wrong: Shunning the "strait and narrow way," In devious paths behold earth's throng! We are not deaf, nor are we blind: We know how fatal is the way; But something base in mortal mind Makes virtuous purpose easy prey.
No gain is lost; the clear-eyed saints look down Untroubled on the wreck of schemes and creeds; Love yet remains, its rosary of good deeds Counting in task-field and o'erpeopled town. Truth has charmed life; the Inward Word survives, And, day by day, its revelation brings; Faith, hope, and charity, whatsoever things Which cannot be shaken, stand.
The Shepherdess calls the sheep! Where have they gone astray, The long and cloudy day? Around the big earth-ball, Thrills the clear, gentle call,— The Shepherdess seeking the sheep. The lambs are cold and numb, The wolves have wasted the fold, (In sheep-skin as of old) And not since Galilee, From blue Tiberian sea, Has such a summons come! Oh, tender as the wind of May That woos the buds to bloom, And stirs their dear perfume; As strong as Sun's demand That clouds forsake the land, She calls them, night and day!
Brave Christian soldiers, gallantly marching. Joyfully singing all the bright way, Gird on your armor, follow your Leader, Jesus commands you and you must obey.