Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-03-07

+tbhou Iaui lived only Il littla 49,
wnn1a shy, but how many MethusaIehs
wouia ~ take to make one PaulS WIS
thon aot rather have Pauls sixty veors
siS,, Meesusnleh,s nine hundred and
thirtn n,ne. robert McCheyne died at
6aId :, years OF age and John Summer
ne;tha. '"en,y-seven years of age, but
the end of their usefulness Lonao naar
MnS: an elephant can beat YOU nj thct
hus II llves a hundred and ffty and two
nunoreu years. Gray hairs are the Bios
noins OF the tree of life if found in tho
%uy VI righteousness, but the frosts of
me second death if found in the wo,, -
sin. :" ~ way OF
me OF our able New York Journals
!ast sprlng printed a question and sent
!. TO many people and among others to
insseii; a the editor of a secular
Journai De a Christian?" Some of The
VVeSspapers answered, No. I answered.
nesi ahd lest you may not understand
1ae+ say, les, again. Summer before
1asi, riding with Mr.. Grady from a re-
llglous meeting in Georgia on SUNDAY
night, he said to me some thinos Whit
! now reveal for the first time because #
~ appropriate now that I reveal them.
ne expressed his complete faith in The
gospel and expressed his astonishment
anu his grief that in our day so many
young men were rejecting Christianity.
FROM the earnestness and the tender.
ness and the confidence with which he
spoke on these things I concluded that
when Henry w. Grady made public pro-
Iesslon OF his faith in Christ ana took
ms place at the holy communion in the
~ethod Church, he was honest and
truly Christian. That conversation that
sunday night, first i'll the carriage and
then resumed in the hotel. impressed
me III such a way that when / simply
heard OF his departure without sanv of
the particulars, l concluded that he wox
ready to go. l warrant there was no
fright in the last exigency, but that he
found what is commonly called the last
enemy" q good friend, and from his
nome on earth he went to a home in
Heaven. Yes, Mr.. Grady not only de-
monstrated that an editor NAV be a
Christian, but that u very great intellect
may be gospelized. His mental capacity
was so wonderful it was almost start
ling. l have been with him in active
conversation while at the same time he
was debating to q stenographer edito-
rails Tor the Atlanta Consultation. But
that intellect was not ashamed to bow
to CHRIST. Among his last dying utter
ances was a request for the prayers of
the churches in his behalf.
There was that particular quality in
him that you do not find in more than
one person out of hundreds of thou
sands namely, personal magnetism.
People have tried to define that quality.
and always failed, yet we have all felt
its power. There are some persons who
have only to enter a room or step upon
a platform or into o pulpit and you are
thrilled by their presence, and when
they speak your nature responds and
you cannot help it, What is the pecu-
liar Influences with which such q mag
netic person takes hold of social groups
and audiences? Without attempting to
define this, which is indetinable, 1 will
say that it seems to correspond to the
waves Of air set in motion by the voice
or the movements of the body. Just
like that atmospheric vibration is the
moral orspiritual vibration which rolls
out from the soul of what we call a mag
nctic person. AS there may be q cord
or rope binding bodies together, there
may be an invisible cord binding souls.
A magnetic man throws it over others as
q hunterthrows a lasso. Mr.. Grady was
surcharged with this influence, and it
was employed for patriotism and Chris
tianity and elevated purposes.
lon may not know why, in the onver
sation which I had with Mr.. Gladstone
q few weeks ago, he uttered these mem
orable words about Christianity, some
of which We're cabled to America. He
was speaking in reply to this remark.
l said: Mr.. Gladstone. we are told in
America by some people that Christian
ity does very we'll for weak minded men
and children in the infant class, but it
is not tit for stronger minded men; but
when we mention you, OF such large in
tel%lectuality,' as being a pronounced
friend of religion, we silence their bat
teries." Then Mr.. Gladstone stopped
on the hillside where we were exercis-
the more confirmed l am in my 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 everything. Do
you have any of that dreadful agnosti-
cism in American" Having told him
we had, he went on to say: Il
am profoundly thankful that none
of my children or kindred nave
been blasted by it. 1 am glad to
say that about all the men at the top in
Great Britain are Christians. why,
sir, he said, Il have been in public
position fifty eight years, end forty
seven years in the Cabinet of the British
Government, and during those forty
seven years l have been associated with
sixty of the master minds of the CEN
fury, and all but five of the sixty were
Christians"
He then named the four leading
physicians and surgeons of his country,
calling them by name and r%emarking
upon the high qualities of each Of them
and added: They are all thoroughly
Christian" My friends, think it will
quite respectable for a little longer
to be the friends Of religion. William
E. Gladstone, a Christian; Henry w.
Grady, a Christian. What the greatest
Of Englishmen said of England is true
of America and CT all Christendom.
The men at the top are the friends OF
God and believers in the sanctities OF
religion, the most eminent of the law
yers, the most eminent of the doctors.
the most eminent Of the merchants, and
there are no better men in all our land
than some of those who sit in editorial
chairs. And if that does not correspond
with your acquaintanceship, l am sorry
that you have fallen into bad company.
In answer to the question put last