The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-03-12

years never accomplishes. There is .
great deal OF senseless praise of lon
gevity, rs though it were wonderful
achievement to live a good while. All,
my friends, it is not how long we live,
but how we'll we live and how usefully
We live. A man who lives to eighty
years and accomplishes nothing for God
or humanity might better have never
lived at all. Methusaleh lived $50
years, and what did it amount to? In
all those more than nine centuries he
did not accomplish any thing which
seemed worth record. Paul lived only a
little more than sixty, but how many
Methusalehs would it take to make one
Paul? Who would not rather have
Pauls sixty years than Methusaleh's
800? Robert McCheyne died at 80
years of age and John Summerfeld at
81 years of age, but neither earth nor
Heaven will ever hear the end Of their
usefulness. Longevity! Why, an ele-
plant can beat you at that, for it lives
$50 and 200 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 Christian?' Some of the
newspapers answered no. / answered
yes, and lest you may not understand
me say yes again. Summer before
last, riding with Mr.. Grady from reli-
gious meeting in Georgia on Sunday
night, he said to me some things which
/ now reveal for the first time because
it is appropriate now that reveal them.
He expressed his complete faith in the
Gospel, and expressed his establishment
and his grief that in our day so many
young men were rejecting Christianity.
From tho earnestness and tenderness
and 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
Methodist Church, he was hon
est and truly Christian. That
conversation that Sunday night, first in
the carriage and then resumed in the
hotel, impressed me in such way that
when simply heard of his departure
without any of the particulars, con-
cluded that he was ready to CO. war
rant there was no fright in the last ex-
igency, but that he found what Is com.
monty called 1.-The last enemy" a good
friend, and from his home on earth he
went to 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 it
: was almost startling. have been with
him in active conversation while at the
same time he was debating to stenog.
, tuition. But that intellect was not
[ ashamed to bow to Christ. Among his
: last dying utterances was request for
} tho prayers of the churches in his be.
half.
There was that particular quality in
, him that you do not find in more than
, one person out of hundreds Of thousands
namely, personal magnetism. People
| have tried to define that quality, and al.
J ways failed, yet we have all felt its
power. There are some persons who
} have only to enter room or step upon a
, platform or into q pulpit and you are
t thrilled by their presence, and when
Q they speak your nature responds and
r you can not help it. What is the pecu
t liar influence with which such mag
1 netic person takes hold of social groups
, and audiences? Without attempting to
t define this, which is indeflnable, l will
a say it seems to correspond to the waves
< of air set in motion by the voice or the
? movements of the body. just like thai
l atmospheric vibration is The moral o.
l spiritual vibration which rolls out from
l the soul of what we call magnetic
o person. AS there may be core
n or rope binding bodies together
n there may be an invisible
l cord binding souls. A magnets
@ man throws it over Others as maj
t throws lasso. Mr.. Grady was sur
h charged with this influence, and it wa
d employed for patriotism, and Christian
: ity, and elevated purposes.
j. You may not know why, II
n the conversation which i ha,
t with Mr.. Gladstone few week
G ago, he uttered these memorial
d words about Christianity, some of whicl
n were cabled to America. He was speak
a ing in reply to this remark: said
V "Mr. Gladstone, we are told in Americ
Q by some people that Christianity doe
very well for weak-minded men and chill
a dren in the infant class, but it is no
Q fit for stronger-minded men; but when W
Z mention you, of such large intellectual
S ity, as being pronounced friend of re
d ligion, we silence their batteries" The
d Mr.. Gladstone stopped on the hillsid
t where We were exercising and said
'Tho older grow the more confirmed
r. am in my faith in religion. Sir" sal
J. he, with flashing eye and uplifted hand
s Talk about the questions of tn
:" day, there is but one question, an
Il that is the Gospel. That can and vii
}. correct every thing. Do you have an
y of that dreadful agnosticism in Amer
l. ica?" Having told him we had, he wen
l. on to say: II am profoundly Thankful
IS that none of my children or kindre
n have been blasted by it. l am glad t
d say that about all the men at the top i
Il Great Britain are Christians. VIII,
IL sir" he said, 81 have been in public pr