THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
PAGE 4
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Continued from page 1)
_______ _
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Everybody knows what daily bread means, and that
one must eat as long as one is in the world, and also
that it tastes good—I think of that. Perhaps, tco,
my children occur to me, how they love to eat, and
are so lively and joyful at table. And then I pray
that the dear God would only give us something to eat.
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
It hurts when one receives an affront: and revenge
is sweet to man. It seems so to me, too, and my in
clination leads that way. But then the wicked servant
in the Gospel passes before my eyes and my heart
fails, and I resolve that I will forgive my fellow
servant and not say a word to him about the hundred
pence.
“And lead us not into temptation.”
Here I think of various instances where people, in
such and such circumstances, have strayed from the
good and have fallen; and that it would be no better
with me.
“But deliver us from evil.”
Here I still think of temptations and that man is so
easily seduced and may stray from the straight path.
But at the same time I think of all the troubles of life,
of consumption and old age, of the pains of childbirth,
of gangrene, and of the thousand-fold misery and
heart sorrow that is in the world and that plague and
torture poor mortals, and there is none to help. And
you will find if tears have not come before they will be
sure to come here; and one can feel such a hearty
yearning to be away and can be so sad and cast down
in one's self, as if there were really no help at all.
But then one must pluck up courage again, lay the
hand upon the mouth and continue, as it were, in
triumph—
“For Thine is the kingdom
And the power
And the glory.
Amen.”
A prayer must in the very nature of things be the
expression of a wish, for we would not pray for things
undesirable. That for which we pray is quite likely
to be granted, if our petition is reasonable, for the
desire probably in the event of prayer would be so
great that we would do our part. Prayer is not real
when based upon a whim, but becomes effective when
the petitioner is willing and anxious to live his part,
to do his part. No prayer will do much for one who
prays and then deliberately goes out and by his own
action gives the lie to his prayer.
SNEEZING
“Cupid sneezing in his flight
Once was heard upon the right,
Boding woe to lovers true;
But now upon the left he flew,
And with sportive sneeze divine,
Gave of joy the sacred sign.
Acme bent her lovely face,
Flush’d with rapture’s rosy grace,
And those eyes that swam in bliss,
Prest with many a breathing kiss;
Breathing, murmuring, soft and low,
Thus might life forever flow!
‘Love of my life, and life of love,’
Cupid rules our fates above,
Ever let us vow to join
In homage at his happy shrine.
Cupid heard the lovers true,
And upon the left he flew,
And with sportive sneeze divine,
Renew’d of joy the sacred sign.”
—C atullus
The above clever poem is the outgrowth of an an
cient superstition regarding sneezing. From this it
appears that woe followed sneezing “at the right,”
but a sort of left-handed sneeze was an omen of joy
and good luck generally. It passeth the understand
ing of we “moderns” the importance that once at
tached to so simple and involuntary an act as sneezing.
To sneeze with us is to sneeze—some of us imagine
that we may be “catching cold,” but there the matter
ends. There is no denying the fact that the sneeze
which “hangs fire” is one of the most distressing
experiences that well-bred society has to suffer.
When you feel like sneezing there is nothing that
you would sooner do for the time being—we all know
that.
History relates many instances where a resounding
sneeze and the half-hallelujah which followed it
brought discovery and sometimes woe to the sneezer,
regardless of whether he sneezed to the right or left—
as set forth in the poem above.
If our students will delve into the literature of the
past they will discover for themselves many remarkable
things and events. And looking up these matters for
one’s self has a tendency to make them stick in the
mind. However, we shall proceed with our sneez
ing:
It is said that when the King ot Menomotapa sneezed
certain ceremonies resulted which showed that the
sneeze of despotism was a matter of grave concern—
as we in this day would say, “Not to be sneezed at.”
Those who were near the King when he sneezed would
salute him in so loud a tone that persons in the ante
chamber would hear it and join in the acclamation;
this would be heard in an adjoining chamber and per
sons therein would join in the “hubbub,” and in this
way the commotion would be carried to the street,
and eventually all about the city. Amusing, isn’t it?
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