The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-02-26

silence, ne had done work which, many
ii man who lives on to sixty and seventy
and eighty years never accomplishes.
There is great deal Of sensele IS praise
Of longevity, as though 1t we're won.
dsriul achievement to live good while.
All, my friends, 1t Is not how long we
live, but how we'll we live and how use-
fully we live. 4 man who lives to eigh-
ty years and accomplishes nothing for
God or humanity might better have
never lived at all. Methusaleh
lived nine hundred and sixty-nine
years, and what did 1t amount to? In all
those more than nine centuries he did
not accomplish any thing which seemed
worth record. Paul lived only little
more than sixty, but how many Methu'
saleh's would 1t take to make one PaulP
Who would not rather have Paul's sixty
years than Methusaleh's nine hundred
and sixty-nine? Robert McChene died
at thirty years Of age, and John Sum-
merfeld at twenty-seven years of age,
but neither earth nor Heaven will hear
the end of their usefulness. longevity
Why, an elephant can beat you at that,
Tor 1t lives a hundred and fifty and two
hundred years. Gray hairs are the
blossoms OF the tree of life II found In
the way Of righteousness, but the frosts
Of the second death II found in the way
Of sin. etE
One Of our able New York journals
last spring printed question and sent
1t to many people and among others to
myself: Can the editor OF secular
journal be Christ!anP" 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 re-
ligious meeting in Georgia on Sunday
night, he said to me some things which
now reveal for the first time because
1t is now appropriate that l reveal
them. He expressed his complete faith
in the gospel and expressed his aston
ishmont and his grief that in our day so
many young men were rejecting Christi
anity. From the earnestness and the
tenderness and confidence with which
he spoke on these things l con-
cluded 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 honest and
truly Christian. That conversation that
Sunday night, first in the carriage and
then resumed in the hotel, impressed
me in such a way that when / simply
heard Of his departure without any of
the particulars, concluded that he was
ready to go. / warrant there was no
fright in the last exigency, but that no
found what is commonly called "the
last enemy" good friend, and from his
home on earth he went TO home in
heaven. Yes, Mr.. Grady not only de-
monstrated thatan editor may be Chris
tian, but that very great intellect may
be gospeliled. His mental capacity was
80 wonderful 1t was almost startling. |
have been with him In active conyer5a-
tion while at the same time he was die
tating to stenographer editorials for
the Atlanta Constitution. But that in
tellect was not ashamed 10 bow to Christ
Among his last dying utterances was a
request for the prayers Of the churches
In his behalf
I 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
always failed, yet we have all felt its
power. There are some people who have
only to enter room or step upon aplat-
form, or into a pulpit and you are
thrilled by their presence, and when
they speak your nature responds and
you can not help 1t. What Is the Pc
:uliar influence with which such q mag
netic person takes hold OF social groups
and audiences? without attempting TO
define this, which is indefnable, will
say 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 or
spiritual vibration which rolls out from
the soul OF what we call magnetic per-
son. As there may be cord or rope
binding bodies together, there may 10
ian invisible cord binding souls. A mag.
netic man throws 1t over others as a
hunter throws lasso. Mr.. Grady was
surcharged with this influence, and II
was employed foT patriotism and Chris
tianity and elevated purpose.
You may not know why, In the conver.
sation which I had with Mr.. Gladstone a
few weeks ago, he uttered these memora'
BILE words about Christ ianity, some Of
which we're cabled to America. He was
speaking in reply to this remark:
said, "Mr. Gladstone, we are told In
America by some people that Chris.
tianity does very we'll for weak-minded
men and children in the infant class,
but II Is not fit for stronger minded
men; but when we mention you, oi
such large intellectually, as being a
pronounced friend Of religion, we
silence their batteries" Then Mr..
Gladstone stopped on the hillside
where we we're exercising and said;
"The older grow, the more confirmed
am in my faith in religion" "sir, y
said he, with flashing eye and uplifted
hand, ''talk about the questions OF the
day, there Is but one question, and that
istho gospel. That can and will correct
every thing. Do you have any Of that
dreadful agnosticism in American" Hav.
Ing told him we had, he went on 70
say: ~ am profoundly thankful that
none Of my children or kindred nave
been blasted by it. ! am glad TO say that
about all the men at the top in Great
Britain are Christians. Why, SIR" he