The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-05-01

put down MS pen ana CLOSED MS Ups 1oE
the perpetual silence he had done
work which many man who lives on
to sixty and seventy and eighty years
never accomplishes. There is
great deal of senseless praise of
longevity, as though it were won
derful achievement to live good while.
All, my friends, it is not how long we
live, but how we'll we live and how USE
fully we live. A man who lives to
eighty years and accomplishes nothing
for God and humanity might better
never have lived at all MethhsaleR
lived nine hundred and sixty=nine years,
and what did 1t amount to? In all
those moro than nine centuries he did
not accomplish any thing which seemed
worth record. Paul lived onlya little
more than sixty, but how Rany
Methusalehs would it take to make one
Paul? Who would not rather have
Paul's sixty years than Methusaleh's
nine hundred and sixty-nine? Robert
McCheYne died at thirty years of age
and John Summerfield at twenty
seven years of age, but neither
earth nor heaven will ever
hear the end of their usefulness. Lon
gevity. Why, an elephant can beat you
at that, for it lives one hundred and
fifty and two hundred years. Gray
hairs are the blossoms OF the tree of life
If found in the way of righteousness,
but the frosts of the second death if
found in the way of sin.
One OF our able New York journals
last spring printed question and sent
it to many people and among others to
myself: Can the editor of secular
journal be a Christian?" Some of the
newspapers answered mo" 1 answered
'Yes;" and lest you may not UNDER
stand me [ say yes again. Summer
before last, riding with Mr.. Grady
from religious meeting in Georgia one
Sunday night, he said to me some
things which now reveal for the first
time, because it is appropriate now that
IL reveal them. He expressed his
complete faith In the Gospel and ex-
pressed his establishment and his grief
that in our day so many young men
were rejecting Christianity. From the
earnestness, and the tenderness, and the
confidence with which he spoke on
these things I concluded that when
Henry w. Grady made public profession
of his faith in Christ and took his place
at the holy communion in the Metho-
dist church he was honest and truly
Christian.
That conversation that Sunday night,
1tst in the carriage and then resumed
in the hotel, impressed me in such a
way that when simply heard of his de-
parture without any of the particulars, I
concluded that he was ready to go. /
warrant there was no fright in the last
exigency, but that he found what is COM
monty called ''the last enemy a good
friend, and from his home on earth he
went to his home in Heaven. Yes, Mr..
Grady not only demonstrated that an
editor may be Christian, but that a
very great intellect may be gospelized.
His mental capacity was so wonderful
1t was almost startling. / have
been with him in active conversation
while at the same time he was debating
to stenographer editorials for the At
lanta Constitution. But that intellect
was not ashamed to bow to Christ.
Among his last dying utterances was a
request for the prayers of the churches
; in his behalf
You may not know why in the con-
versation which / had with Mr.. Glad
stone few weeks ago, he uttered these
} memorable words about Christianity,
some of which were cabled to America.
He was speaking in reply to this re-
mark: I said: 'Mr Gladstone, we are
told in America by some people that
Christianity does very we'll for weak
minded men and children in the in
FAINT class, but it is not fit for stronger
minded men; but when we mention Won.
of such large intellectually. as being a
pronounced friend of religion, we ST.
lence their batteries" Then Mr. Glad
stone stopped on the hillside where we
were exercising and said: s'The older
grow the more confirmed l am in nv
!, faith in religion, SIR" said he,
with flashing eye and uplifted hand
talk about the questions of the day,
there is but one question and that is the
gospel. That can and will correct every
thing. Do you have any of that dread
full agnosticism in American" Having
told him we had he went on to say: II
am profoundly thankful that none of
my children or kindred have been
blasted by it. / am glad to say that
about all the men at the top in
Great Britain are Christians. Why,
sir" he said, 81 have been in public 20
sition fifty eight years, and forty-seven
years in the Cabinet of the British Gov
eminent, and during those forty-seven
years have been associated with sixty
of the master minds of the century, and
all but five of the sixty were Chris
tians." He then named the four lead
ing physicians and surgeons of his
J country, calling them by name and re-
marking upon the high qualities of each
of them, and added: ''They are all
thoroughly Christian" My friends, 1
think it will be quite respectable for a
little longer to be the friends of refig-
ion. William E. Gladstone, Christian:
Henry w. Grady, Christian What the
greatest of Englishmen said of En-
gland is true of America and of
all Christendom. The men at the
top are the friends of God and believers