The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1895-02-15

plowman," That was Sir Astley's op-
| portunity. Lord Give was his fathers
dlsmay, climbing church steeples and
! CONG reckless things. His father sent
| him to Madras, India, as a clerk in the
service of an English officer. Give
watched his time, and when the war
/ broke ont came to the chief of the host
that saved India for England. That
was Lord Gives opportunity. Pau
/ line Lucca, the almost matchless
| singer, was but little recognized
until in the absence Of the soloist
in the German choir she took her place
and began the enchantment of the
world. That was Lucca's opportunity.
| John Scott, who afterward became
Lord EldOn, had stumbled his way
along in the practice of law until the
case of ACkfoyd vs. Smithson was to be
tried, and his speech that day opened
all avenues of success. That was Lord
Eldon's opportunity. William Fl. Sew
ard was given by his father Thousand
dollars to get a collegiate education.
That money soon gone his father saidt
Now you must fight your own way"
and he did, until gubernatorial chair
| and United States senatorial chair
were his, with a right TO the
presidential chair, if the meanness of
American politics had not swindled
him out of it. The day when his ia
ther told him to fight his own way was
William Ii. Stewards opportunity.
A city missionary ia the lower parts
of the city found a young woman in
wretchedness and sin. He said: ''Why
do you not go home?" She said: ''They
would not receive me at home" He
said: what is your fathers name,
and where does he liver" Having OBJ
tanned the address and written to the
father, the city missionary got re-
ply, on the outside of the letter the
word Immediate underscored. 1t
was the heartiest possible invitation
for the wanderer to come home.
That was the city missionary's
opportunity. And there are oppor-
tunities all about you, and on them
written by the hand of the God who
will bless you, and bless those whom
you help, in capitals of light, the word
Immediate" A military officer very
profane is his habits was going down
into a mine at Cornwall, England, with
Christian miner-for many. of those
miners gro Christians. The officer
used profane language while in the
cage going down. AS they were com
ing up out of the mine the profane of
fcer said: eff it be so far down to
your work, how much farther would it
be to the bottomless pit?" The Chris
tian miner responded: 'T do not know
how far it is down to that place, but if
this rope should break you would be
there in a minute" 1t was the Chris
tian miners opportunity. Many years
ago clergyman was on a slOop on our
Hudson river, and hearing a man utter
blasphemy, the clergyman said:
You have spoken against my best
friend, Jesus Christ" Seven years
later this same clergyman was on
his way to the General Assem-
bly, of the Presbyterian church
at Philadelphia, when young
minister addressed him and asked
him if he was not on a sloop on the
Hudson river seven years before? The
reply was in the affirmative. WELL"
said the young minister II was the
man whom you corrected for uttering
the oath. 1t led me to think and re-
pent, and am trying to atone some
what for my early behavior. / am
preacher of the Gospel and dele gate
to the general assembly," Seven years
before on that Hudson river sloop was
the clergyman's opportunity.
l stand this minute in the presence
of many heads of families. Iwonder
if they all realize that the opportunity
of influencing the household for Christ
and heaven is brief, and will soon be
gone? For while the house is full of
the voices and footsteps of children.
You sometimes feel that you can
hardly stand the racket. You say:
'Do be quiet! 1t seems as if my head
would split with all this noise," And
things got broken and ruined, and it
is: where's my hat?' "Who took
my books?" WHO has been busy
with my playthings?" And it is
a-rushing this way, and a-rushing that,
until father and mother are we1l-nigh
beside themselves. 1t is astonishing
how much noise five or six children
can make and not half try. But
the years glide swiftly away. After
awhile the voices are not so many,
and those which stay are more
sedate. First this room gets quiet, and
then that room. Death takes some,
and marriage takes others, until after
awhile the house is awfully still. That
man yonder would give all he is worth,
to have that boy who is gone away for
ever rush into the room once more with
the shout that was once thought too
boiste rous. That mother who was once
tried because her little girl, now gone
forever, with careless scissors, cut up
something really valuable, would like
to have the child come back, willing
to put in her hands the most valuable
wardrobe to cut as she pleases. Yesi
Yes! The house noisy now will soon be
still enough, l warrant you; and as
when you began housekeeping,
there were lust two again. Oh,
the alarming brevity of infancy
and childhood! The opportunity
is glorious, but it soon passes.
Parents may say at the close of life:
What pity we did not do more for
the religious welfare of our children
while we had them with us!D But the
lamentation will be of no avail. The
opportunitys had wings and it van
ished. When your child gets out of
the cradle let it climb into the out
stretched arms of the beautiful Christ
Come thou and all thy house into the
ark"
But there is one opportunity so much
brighter than any other; so much more
inviting, and so superior to all others
that there are innumerable fingers
pointing to it, and it is haloed with