Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-12-02

molten gold stamped pith the image Of
The earth, earthly. They saw some great
souls by avarice turned into homunculi,
and they said TO themselves, "I will seek
after higher treasure"
A-pooR THING TO HUNT.
From that time they did not care
whether they walked or rode, if Christ
walked with them; nor whether they
lived in mansion or in a hut, If they
dwelt under tho shadow of the Almighty;
nor whether they were robed in French
broadcloth or in homespun, If they had
the robe Of tie Saviour's righteousness;
nor if they wor, s;lndaled with morocco
OF calfslin. if tlriy were shod with the
preparation of the Gospel Now you see
peace on their countenance. Now that
man says: "What q fool was to be en-
chanted with this world! Why, / have
more satisfaction in FIVE minutes in the
service of God than / had in all the first
years Of my life while was gainget-
ting. / like this evening of my day a
great deal better than did the morn
ing. In the morning greedily devoured
the prey, but now it is evening, and am
gloriously dividing the SPOIL
My friends, this world is poor thing
to hunt. It is healthful to go out in the
woods and hunt. It rekindles the luster
of the eye. 1t strikes the brown of the
autumnal leaf into the cheek. It gives
to the rheumatic limbs the strength to
leap like roe. Christopher North's pet
gun, the muckle-lnou'd Meg, going off
in the summer in the forests, had its
echo in the wintertime in the eloquence
that rang through the university halls
of Edinburgh. 1t is healthy to go hunt
ing in the fields, but tell you it is be-
lifting and bedwarfng and belaming
for a man to hunt this world. The ham,
mer comes down on the guncap, and the
barrel explodes and kills you instead of
that which you are pursuing.
When you turn out to hunt the world,
the world turns to hunt you, and as
many sportsman aiming his gun at a
panther's heart has gone down under the
striped claws, SO while you have been
attempting to devour this world the
world has been devouring you. So it
was with Lord Byron. So it was with
Coleridge. So it was with Catherine of
Russia. Henry II went out hunting for
this world, and its lances struck through
his heart. Francis 1 aimed at the world,
but the assassin's dagger put an end to
his ambition and his life with one stroke.
Mary Queen Of Scots wrote on the win
dow of her castle:
From tho top Of all my trust
Mishnp hnth laid me in tho dust
The queen dowager of Navarro was
offered for her wedding day costly and
beautiful pair of gloves, and she put
them on, but they were poisoned gloves,
and they took her life. Better g bare
hand of cold privation than a warm and
poisoned glove of ruinous success. "Oh, f"
says some young man in the audience,
81 believe what you are preaching. /
am going to do that very thing In the
morning of my life am going to devour
the prey, and in the evening shall d.
vide the spoil of Christian character. I
only want little while to SOW my wild
oats, and then will egood."
Young man, did you ever take the CEN
sus Of all the old people? Hoy many old
peoplesare,sih III Sne, Two
or none? How many in avast assemblage
like this2 Only here and there gray
head, like the patches of snow here and
there in the fields on late April day.
The fact is that the tides of the years are
so strong that mon 60 down under them
before they get to be 60, before they get
to be so, before they get to be 40, before
they get to be 30. And if you, my young
brother, resolve now that you will spend
the morning Of your days in devouring
the prey the probability is that you will
never divide the spoil in the evening
hour. He who postpones until old age
the religion of Jesus Christ postpones it
forever.
Where are the men who 30 years ago
resolved to become Christians in old age,
putting it off certain number of years2
They never got to be old. The railroad
collision, or the steamboat explosion, or
the slip on the ice, or the falling ladder,
or the sudden cold, put an end to their
opportunities. They have never had an
opportunity since, and they never will
have an opportunity again. They locked
the door of heaven against their soul,
and they threw away the keys. They
chased the world, and they died in the
chase. The wounded tiger turned on
them. They failed to take the game
they pursued. Mounted on swift
courser, they leaped the hedge, but the
courser fell on them and crushed them.
Proposing to barter their soul for the
world, they lost both and got neither.
DIVIDING THE SPOIL.
While this is an encouragement to old
people who are still unpardoned, it is no
encouragement to the young who are
putting off the day of grace. This doc
trine that the old may be repentant is to
be taken cautiously. 1t is medicine that
kills or cures. The same medicine given
to different patients, in one case it saves
life and in the other it destroys it. This
possibility of repentance at the close Of
life may cure the old man while it kills
the young. Be cautious in taking it.
Again, my subject is descriptive Of
those who come to a sudden and radi-
cal change. You have noticed how short
q time it is from morning to night-only
seven or eight hours. You know that
the day has a very brief life. Its heart
beats "a times, and then it is dead. How
quick this transition in the character Of
these Benjamites! SIN the morning they
shall ievour the prey, and at night they
shall divide the spoil" Is 1t possible
that there shall be such transforms
ton in any of our charactersa Yes. A
man may be at o'clock in the morning
an all devouring wording, and at z