Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-12-05

the stars; electrology, or the cnteohism
of the lightnings What advancement in
musicl At the beginning Of this century,
confirming itself, so far as the great
masses of the people were concerned, to
few airs drawn out on accordion or
massaored on church bass viol, now en-
chantingly dropping from thousands Of
fingers in Handel's Concerto In B Flat"
or Guilmant's Sonata In D Minor. F"
Thanks to you. o century. before you die,
for the asylums of mercy that you have
founded-the blind seeing with their
/ fingers. tho doaf hearing by the motion
of your lips, tho born imbecile by skill
full object lesson lifted to tolerable in
telligence. Thanks to this century for
tho improved condition of most nations.
The reason that Napoleon made such
successful sweep across Europe at the
beginning of tho century was that most
Of the thrones of Europe wcro occupied
either By imbeoiles or prohigates. But
most Of the thrones of Europe are today
occupied by kings and queens compe-
tont. France republio, Switzerland a
republic, and about SO free constitutions,
am told, in Europe Twonty million
serfs Of Russia manumittod. On this
western continent can call tho roll Of
many epublics-Moxico. Guatemala,
San Salvador, Costa RIGA, Paraguay,
Uruguay. Honduras, New Granada,
Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia,
Chile. Argentine Republic, Brazil. The
once struggling village Of Washington
to which the United States government
moved, its entire baggage and equip
ment packed up in seven boxes which
got lost in the woods near this place,
npw she architectural glory of tho con-
tfnent and admiration Of the world.
Good Word For Newspapers.
Tho money power, 30 much denounced
aid ofton justly criticised, has covered
tits continent with universities and
FREQ libraries and asylums Of morcy.
Tho newspaper press, which at the be-
ginning Of tho century was an ink roller,
by hand moved over che sheet Of paper
at timo, has become the miraculous
manufactures of four or five or six hun
dred Thousand sheets for one daily news
papers issue. Within your memory, o
dying contury, has been the genesis of
nearly all the great institutions evangcl-
istic! At London tavern March 2, 1902,
British and Foreign Biblo society was
born. In 1916 American Biblo society
To-, 1904 Srn6nU
School union was born. In 1910 Ameri-
can board Of commissioners for foreign
missions, which has put its saving hand
on every nation Of the round earth, was
born at haystack in Massachusetts.
The National Temperance society, tho
Woman's Temperance society and all
the other temperance movements born
ia this century. Africa, hidden to other
centuries, by exploration in this century
has been put at the feot of civilization,
to be occupied by commerce and Chris
tianity.
The Chinese wall, once an impossible
barrier, now Is usoless pile OF stone
and brick. Our American nation at the
opening of this century only slice Of
land along tho Atlantic coast, now the
whole continent in possession Of our
schools and churches and missionary
stations. Sermons and religious intolli-
qence which in other times, If noticed
20 all by the newspaper press, were al
lowed only paragraph of three or four
lines now find the columns OF the secu-
lar press in all the cities thrown wide
open, and every week for 90 years, with
out the omission Of single week. l
have been permitted to preach one entire
gospel sermon through the newspaper
press. thank God for this great oppor-
tunity!
Glorious old century, You shall not
be entombed until we have, face to face,
extolled you. You were rocked in a
rough cradle, and the inheritance you
received was for tho most part poverty
and struggle and hardship and poorly
covered graves of heroes and heroines,
Of whom tho world had not been worthy,
and atheism and military despotism and
the wreck Of the French revolution.
You inherited the influences that result
ed in Aaron Burr's treason, and another
war with England, and battle OF Lake
Erie, and Indian savagery, and Lundy' S
Lane, and Dartmoor massacre and dis
senson bitter and wild beyond meas
urement, and African slavery, which
was vet to cost national hemorrhage
of four aw.1l years and million pre-
cious lives Yes, dear old century, you
had an awful start. and you have done
more than we'll, considering your paren-
tage and your carly environment. 1t is
a wondor you did not turn out to be the
vagabond century Of all time You had
a bad mother and bad grandmother.
Some of the preceding centuries were
not flt to live in-their morals were so
bad, their fashions were so outrageous,
their Ignorance was so dense, their IN
humanity so terrific.
Years of Progress.
o dying nineteenth century, before
you 20 we take this opportunity of tell
ing you that you are the best and the
mightiest OF all the centuries Of the
Christian era except the first, which
gave us the Christ, and you rival that
century in the fact that you, more than
all the other centuries put together, are
giving the Christ to all the world. One
hundred and twelve thousand dollars at
one meeting a few days ago contributed
for the worlds evangelization. Look at
what you have DONE o thou abused and
deprecated century All the Pacific
isles, barred and bolted against the Cos
pei when you began to reign, now all
open, and some Of them more Christian-
lied than America. No more, as once
written over the church doors in Cape
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