The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-02-28
you got in the University of Hard

vHosO Wv H'"iiy W SIS", "'' as.
you: "At ten, or twelve, or fifteen
years Of age started for myself; 70.
ther was sick, or father was dead. "
But somehow they got through and
got up. / account for it by the fact
that there is special dispensation OF
God for orphans. All hail. the father
less and the motherless! The Lord AL
mighty will see you through. Early
obstacles for Mr.. Grady We're only the
means for development OF his intellect
and heart. And lol when at thirty
nine years of age he put down his pen
and closed his lips for the perpetual
silence, he had done work which
many a man who lives on to sixty and
seventy and eighty years never accom-
plishes. There is great deal OF sense
less praise of longevity, as though it
were wonderful achievement to live
. good while. All, my friends, it is not
how long we live, but how well we
live and how usefully we live: A man
who lives to eighty years and accom-
ylishes 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
anything which seemed worth record.
Paul lived only little more than
sixty. but how many Methusalehs
would it, take to make one PAUL.
Who would not rather have Paul's
sixty years than Methusaleh's nine
hundred and sixty -nine9 Robert Nc
Cheyne died at thirty years of age
and John Summerfeld at twenty
seven years of age, but neither earth
nor heaven will ever hear the end OF
their usefulness. longevity Why,
an elephant can beat you at that, for
it lives 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.
A GREAT EDITOR AND TRUE CHRISTIAN.
One of our able New York journals
last spring printed a question and sent
it to many people and among others to
myself: "Can the editor of a secular
journal be Christian9" Some of the
newspapers answered, No. / answer
ed, Yes; and lest you may not under
stand me l say, Yes, again. Summer
before last, riding with Mr.. Grady
from religious meeting in Georgia
ON Sunday night, he said to me some
things which Inow reveal for the first
time because it is appropriate now that
1 reveal them. Heexpressed his COM
plete faith in the Gospel and expressed
his establishment and his grief that in
our day so many young men were re-
jecting Christianity. From the earnest
ness and the tenderness and the conf
dence with which he spoke on these
things l 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 honest and truly
Christian. That conversation that
Sunday night, first in the carriage
and then resumed in the hotel, inn
pressed me in such a way that when
simply heard of his departure without
any Of the particulars, l concluded
that he was ready to go. warrant
there was no fright in the last ext
gency, but that he found what is com
monty called 1.-The last enemy" 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. I have been
with him in active conversation while
at the same time he was debating to a
stenographer editorials for The At
lanta Constitution. But that intellect
was not ashamed to bow to Christ.
Among his last dying utterances was
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 quail
ty, and always failed, yet we have all
felt its power. There are some persons
who have only to enter a room or step
upon platform or into pulpit and
you are thrilled by their presence, and
when they speak your nature responds
and you cannot help it. What is the
peculiar influence with which such q
magnetic person takes hold of social
groups and audiences2 Without at
tempting to define this, which is indie
Unable, I will say it seems to CORE.
spond 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 mag
netic person. AS there may be cord
or rope binding bodies together, there
may be an invisible cord binding souls.
A magnetic man throws it over others
as hunter throws lasso. Mr.. Grady
was surcharged with this influence,
and it was employed for patriotism
and Christianity and elevated pur-
poses.
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 Amer
lea. He was speaking in reply to this
remark: l said, "Mr. Gladstone, we
are told in America by some people
that Christianity does very well for
weak minded men and children in the