aufcih aii
THE COURIER
have brought down upon his head the anathemas of the whole Cal
vinistic church, is able to gather around him a host of able divines
of his sect, backed by a vast army of conscientious church mem
bers, does it not seem that another reformation is dawning? Does not
the fact that those ministers and preachers who throw aside the
traditional dogmas of a misty theology and take their stand on the
side of simplicity and truth aro today securing the largest following
seem to indicate that the public sentiment of these days demands
more of practical Christianity and less of scholastic theology, more
of humanity and love in the Christian churches, and leea of form and
ceremony?
THE MESSAGE OF THE LILIES.
(Written for Thk Courier.)
THE reign of death is over. Tall, whito lilies proclaim that
life has come. Thoy lift their waxen bowls up in tho Bunny
air and bring a new. fresh hope to the human hoart. It
such a miriclo of whiteness can come from the dark uncouth earth
surely thoro can be a hope that from these poor broken bodies of
ours a whito soul will burst into a bloom by and by like tho tall
whito Easter lilies.
H
fc
,f
L
r
i
Thus far, while perhaps the majority of the members of the
various religious denominations do not believe in many of the articles
of faith of their respective churches, while Presbyterians do not
believe in predestination, while Baptists do not believe in tho absol
ute necessity of immorsion, while Episcopalians and Catholics do
not believe in the rites and ceremonies they subscribe to, all these
remain and Christians aro made involuntary hypocrites. Tho Pres
byterians aresbakingsomo ofTbf the impedimenta. Tho revision when
completed will remove some of tho objectionable articles in the
confession of faith and materially modify others. Largo numbers
of Christians are offering up tho prayer that God may hasten the day
when they will be no longer liable to tho charge of hypocrisy, when
they can remain in the church and not have to subscribe to a mass of
things in which they do not honestly believe, when religion will have
been simplified, when the way to heaven will not have to be learned
from ponderous guide books prepared by ignorant and over-presumptuous
man. V. M. S.
THE DRAMA ON WHEELS.
A theatre in a Pullman car
Is strictly up to date,
The stage is set, the pert soubrette
Chirps like a candidate.
While dashing headlong o'er tho land,
The polished villain shows his hand.
The troupe's your servants to command,
Tho public pays the freight.
A theatre in a Pullman car
Is good for jaded eyes;
The footlights throw their golden glow,
And blink in weird surprise.
You catch the hero's ringing cry
"Oh, Marmaduke, where shall wo fly?"
"Me cheyilde, me cheyilde! He shall not die,
For Vidocq's in disguise!"
The theatre in a Pullman car
Will pass the time away,
For on the wing they dance and sing
And mix in mimic fray.
You lean back snugly in your seat,
(Whilo plunging through the frost and sleet)
As radiant Rehan trips so neat,
So witching is her Bway.
The theatre in a Pullman car
Will speed tho laggard's hour,
For ou the rail the song and tale
Have sweet and Boothing power.
"The play's the thing!" young Hamlet cried,
"I'll tame the haughty despot's pride;
Ha, mark you now tho henchman's stride,
Who stalks as to devour!"
A theatre in a Pullman car
Will soon be all the rage,
The song and jest and piquant zest
When Mansfield treads the stage.
Modjeska, tender, naive, serene,
Will lend her beauty to the scene,
And Rehan rules, the drama's queen,
And Marlowe as the page.
James E. Kixsella.
Thou waxon chalico of rich perfume
That spill'st thy fragrance on the gontle air.
What unseen power hath brought thee forth
From tho damp dark earth, bo bleak and bare?
Who wrought within tho womb of earth
The germ that gave thy brilliant life?
Who lifted up thy silver cup
With all its lustrous beauty rifo?
Thou answorest not, nor knowest thou
No moro than we, whence came our lifo.
Wo only hope hat far away
Beyond this world of toil and strife,
There is a God who fashioned us
As thou wort fashioned, from the earth,
And that our lives sometime will find
Like thine, a fair and flower like birth.
Lent is over. We discard the gray cloak of sorrow and put on
the garments of joy. This Easter day means more to tho human
race than any other day in all the year. Wo stand beside the empty
tomb, the stone is rolled away and an angel sits there pointing
toward tho skies. The -tngel may be a myth, tho tomb may not be
empty, but we believe, and that belief is tho sweetest and the
holiest belief that can come to the human heart.
Tall white lilies by the door
Proclaim tho reign of death is o'er.
A message from the gloomy earth
Foretelling our immortal birth.
We lay our bodies in the tomb
Close wrapped in folds of heavy gloom.
But as tho lilies tall and white,
We hope our souls will burst in bloom
Beyond the reach of earthly blight.
The trees aro all abud, tho birds are singing, the lilies aro ringing
their silent bells to the heart that hears, so dry your tears today, or
look up through them to the sunny skies, and hope, hope with a
steadfast hope, for hope is all there is of life.
William Reed Dunroy.
LONDON AS A "MODERN BABYLON.'
Editor Stead who got to Chicago before Christ might well have
stayed at home if immorality is what he is after. Facts brought
out in the Oscar Wild a case make it apparent that the depravity of
"Modern Babylon" still exists, nay flourishes, in London. Many
persons high in literary, art and theatrical circles are implicated. If
Christ should venture into London he would find a condition of
things that would, by comparison, make Chicago a haven of virtue.
Economy and Strength.
Valuable vegetable remedies are used in the preparation of Hood's
Sarsapurillu in such a peculiar manner as to retain tho full medical
value of every ingredient. Thus Hood's Sarsaparilla combines econ
omy and strength and is the only remedy of which "100 Doses One
Dollar" is true. Bo sure to get Hood's.
HOOD'S PILLS do not purge, pain 01 gripe, but act promptly,
easily and efficiently.