The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-24

had nine or ten prizes latsly-you know what
taken in. Hallelujahr'
However. it is not my purpose to review the
40 years OF the history OF Bethesda, nor 10 give
you any statistics as TO its past or present work
No Savannahian need be told Of what ID ought
TO be his pride and pleasure TO know. All of
you have, doubtless noted the recent advance
under the present admirable Management, and
are impressed with the magnitude and import
alce OF the work now being done.
My purpose Is to talk, and particularly, to the
boys. in an earnest, unstudisd way, of some
thoughts suggestei by every true life, by life
lie that Of Waitfiald's-
Familiar but priceless truths are contained in
the memorable words OF the great dramatist:
Heaven doth with US as we with torches do
Not light them for themselves; for IL our
virtues
Did not go forth of us, 'twere were all aliSs
As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely
touched
But 10 fine issues: nor nature never lends
The smallest scrHple Of her excellence
but like thrifty goddess she determines
Herself the glory of creditor,
Both thanks and use"
George Whitfield was spirit finely touched"
even by a live coal from the altar" He saw to
1T that this was in truth to fine issues, and we
to-day are in the immediate presence of a part of
the result All fair-minded men must pronouncs
his life an eminentlY, gloriously successful
NE, although he died poor. Judged by the
purely commercial standard he was failure
but by all true standards the lives of all the
Croesuses who have ever lived, of those who are
known only as rich men, dwindle when COM
pared to his into the most paltry insignificance
Why is thisY What was the secret of his sue
cess, OF the love which men bore him while he
lived and of the reverence in which his memory
Is hell even unto this dayl
In the first place, my friends, land address
myself particularly to you. boys he regarded
bhls HE as very sacred and very moment
Gus thing. He did not belittle it, as is the man
ner OF some he did not attempt to have as
little to do with it as he could; he did not run
away from it. No man of his day more COM
pletely, more earnestly lived than did he.
With him life was sacred trust To be ussd for
the furtherance of its true purposes, TO DO ae-
counted for as the most important and COM
prehensive of all gifts. Very early in life, he
mad full understanding with himself, and he
made up his mind as to the dignity and signih-
canoe of this earthly life, and with him to know
the right was to do it. The first and most i'm
portant conclusion to which he came was that
this world was not the rbe-all and the end-all''
of it, Had he not done this, he might
perchance have proclaimed by his conduct
as do so many of the foolish ones of earth, let
US eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we
die. He was sure that this life was but the
beginning of an eternal life which would out
last the stars, and that this life determined that
future life. In this aspect only could it be
significant. In the light OF this conviction it
became all-important; not TO be treated lightly
not to be wasted or frtteFea away, but to be
lived with high thoughts and high purposes.
with special reference to its eternal issues.
y y
mortals, and are preparing yourselves in this
life for the eternal companionship OF the wise
and good of the better country" this lifs will
always seem to you dreary enigma, weary,
stale, flat and Improbable" This conviction
took hold Of the very springs Of Whitded's life
and motives. He ever lived under the stimulus
and inspiration Of this abiding, this pever-fail-
ing conviction. But for this, life would have
seemed to him to be very paltry, very in
significant thing-"not worth the living" Only
few years ago great Englishman died. A
FaIar 80
abundance of tnis worlds goods, in good health
with many friends and thousands OF admirers
John Stuart Mil seemed of all men to have
been favored. His mind was well balanced and
philosophical. He was thoroughly sef-con-
tanned and self-poised, amiable philanthropic,
calm and serene He apparently lacked but one
thing, and that was a belief in the realities
of the future world He was an infidel His
autobiography makes the significant confession
that, for quite year, when still a young man.
ne constantly contemplated self-destruction.
deep and as bitter as ever it has come from the
lips OF the disappointed and dishearteued.
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" Emptiness
or emptinesses, all is emptiness This life shut
up to the narrow confines of few brief years.
cut off from that which is to come did not have
motive enough or stimulus enough He came
| to say, as it seems to me all men must with his
lack Of faith, of his life--"I loathe it," Boys,
avoid more earnestly than the most direful
earthly calamity, this fatal, this fundamental
| error.
Early in life Whitfield formed well-defined
| purposes and plans as to what ne would do and
| be He felt, if you will, that he had a high
mission, rs all OF us ought to feel He dreamt
| great dreams. He was an idealist the world
| might say. But his purposes were fixed and
they were definite His ship was not launched
| without a rudder or compass, bound he knew
| not were and rocked not. No man ever has
| succeeded, or ever will succeed unless early in
| life he makes up his mind what he proposes to
\ be and then directs bis energies contantly
| towards the accomplishment Of his purpose
| This Is true of even the most earthly and most
| selfish success-of the success not worth your
| effort.
Whitfeld's aims were high and lofty, and
| they were so because they were unsefsh. 1t
never entered, Idare say in his thought that
| the main business of life was to get money, to
| accumulate property. He knew what is and
| what has always been profoundly true, there
is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing;
there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath
great riches" His motives were unsordid. His
great heart proposed only good to his fellow.
men, His effort ever was to make them true,
and honest faithful, happy, useful. He felt
that his special mission was to preach to
them what he believed was a pure gospel
1.-The chief good, :" that which alone explained
life and made its riddles Ineligible In This to
him holy mission, he knew neither self indul-
gence nor fatigue, neither selishness nor self
seeking neither compromise nor tsmporizing
neither danger nor fear; he knew only his duty
No braver mas than George Whitfield ever drew
a sword In any cause, He was brave, he was
self-sacrifcing. he endured hardness as a good
soldier" because of his seeing him who is in
visible" II we would be like Whitfield, we
must let our motives and our energies be fed by
the same inspiring sight
Often, too, even in this world such men,
without seeking 1t, get great reward. even the
confidence and love of many. Without any
effort to secure the applause of men. it comes
to them unsought Whitfield met with opposi-
ton bitter and unreentipg, he was sometimes
misunderstood, often harshIy criticized, partic-
ularly by those in place and power, but after
all, he was revered and loved by thousands, and
in this there was great reward the greatest of
earthly rewards, Right here reference to
another kindred spirit, although in different
sphere, seems not out of place. When only
few days ago the soul of Samuel ]. Randall left
its body, a true man, who had treated this life
as a sacred trust. who had always done his
duty as he understood it, without regard to
consequences, departed this life He died
poor man; he never was, infer from the re-
ports or the press, man Of means. Had he
not been rigidly honest man, he might easily
have been a rich man. AS speaker of the
House, as leader of his party, his influence
was often worth millions to an INSCRIPTIONS
lobby, and yet all men, friends and enemies,
unite In emphatic testimony to the fact that his
hands were clean, his record stainless Even
'back-wounding" calumny," that the whitest
virtue strikes, seems for once to have spared a
prominent statesman. Poor though he was, he
was successful vastly more so than some in the
upper House whose chief claim Of distinction
seems to be based upon the tact that they have
Large possessionsn Raaiall was man of
faith. He avoided the mistake of Mill; he read
life and its purposes in the light of that book of
books which Mill did not accept.