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But arc the chords of this great ehoru
which rise hourly mid dully from thous
ands of lives ever and always in unison?
Listen to the sounds as they come to us
from the din and bustle of the busy world.
Sounds of strife from I he struggle for
Fame, Honor and Wealth the conlllct
twixtvice and morality the clash of the
rich and the poor. The cry of want, pain
and woe from homes made desolate by
sin and passion ; by crime and wickedness.
Do these form a melody perfect and coin
pleto? Each and all contribute notes of
discord which mar and destroy the harmo.
When lliu song is born in the love of
Fame and Hoiioralouc, although the ech
oes which it sends down the stream of
Time deceive many, yet it is not perfect,
for the true notes of human sympathy and
love are lost tn the sound which selfish,
ness and vain ambitions flood the heart.
In nature there is a never failing con
cord of sound swelling on the cycles of
years. It reaches us from the snowy pe
tals of the regal lilies, the modest mosses
and lichens, the noble forests, the grand
old hills and mountains, vli"' the tiny in
sects, the birds of the forest, and beasts of
the fluids take up the song linisning and
completing the melody which has sound
ed so many thousand years.
All is perfect, complete in the universal
anthem which Nature sends up to her
Creator whose voice breathing life into
flic shapeless, lifeless mass added a new
note to the music of the spheres.
"Well might, the morning stars sing to
gether and all the sons of (bid shout for
Joy when first this grand and perfect
world swung loose from its moorings,
Hung out its spotless banner and sailed
majestic down the thronging skies."
The law of the universe is harmony but
the notes of discord which entered Kden
have spread and multiplied till harsh dis
sonance tells the tale of man's sin and its
punishment.
There are tones wanting in the human
heart when the strings have grown rusty
and lost their rich, mellow sound from
long lying idle, for much using gives a fir.
er, higherquullty of tone, as the viol yields
a melody sweet in proportion to its age.
In many the strings of Faith and Hope
are snapped asunder by doubt and des.
pondency while the hands'lie idly folded
and the song dies on the pale lips.
.Madness comes in his terrible forms
and sweeps the strings with angry fury,
wild revenge, vain remorse, or drooping
melancholy, while terrible discord rules
in tlie poor soul till the storm is hushed
by the angel of death.
But a song is forming in heaven which
Hying swiftly through the gates of gold
proclaims to the shepherds on the hilltops
"Peace on earth and goodwill to men."
The song, the theme, the joy, is now and
the echoes roll and reverberate through all
the earth carrying rest to weary hearts
and burdened souls.
As one failsjto comprehend and under
stand all the beauties and conceptions of
music losing the pleasure and enjoyment
which a full knowledge of the feelings
and passions of the composer gives so do
we miss joys and manifold pleasures and
sutler from mistakes anil mis-sunderstand.
ings many and grievous, since wo are un
able to interpret the thoughts and lan
guage of each other.
Bough and ambiguous words bind and
hinder the expression till the real mean
pis is lost.
Should wo not seek for the ko' which
unlocks the concealed meanings of the
lives around us and releases the impris
oned thoughts, and thus look more (dear
iy into the hearts of those who are dear
to us?
So would our lives bo more harmonious,
and when the song on earth is ended will
it swell on through the ages of eternity,
gathering power and sweetness in the
choir above.
And in the preparation for this song of
eternity we lsarn from the words of an
other that,
He who on these clanging chorda
BBjBMBflijfiBiijilMa
