The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-08-07

qucaLn TO Cnem Ire CHRISTIAN religion,
which has been SO much comfort to
me. and hope may be solace for them;
l bequeath to them hope of reunion
when the partings OF life are over.
Share and share alike may they in
hcrit eternal riches. l bequeath to
them the wish that they may avoid my
errors and copy anything that may
have been worthy. In the name Of
God who made me, and the Christ
who redeemed Inc, and the Holy
Ghost who sanctifies me, make this
my last will and testament. Witness
all you hosts of Heaven. Witness
time. witness eternity. Signed,
sealed and delivered in this our dying
hour. Father and Mother" You did
not get that will proved at the surro-
gates office, but / take it out to-day
and read it to you. l take it out OF
the alcoves of your heart. / shake the
dust off it. ask if you will accept
that Inheritance, or will you break
the will?
Oh, ye of Christian ancestry You
have responsibility vast beyond all
measurement. God will not let you off
with just being as good Jas ordinary
people when you had such extraordi-
nary advantage. Ought not flower
planted in a dollhouse be more thrifty
than flower planted outside in the
storm? Ought not a factory turned by
the Housatonic do more work
than factory turned by thin
and shallow mountain stream?
Ought not you of great early oppor-
tunity be better than those who had
cradle unblessed? A father sets his
son up in business. He keeps an ac-
count of all the expenditures. So
much for store fixtures, SO much for
rent, so much for this, so much for
that, and all the items aggregated,
and the father expects the son to give
an account. Your Heavenly Father
charges against you all the advantage
of pious ancestry-so many prayers
so much Christian example, SO many
kind entreaties-all these gracious
influences, one tremendous aggrei
gate, and he asks you for an account
of it. Ought not you to be better
than those who had no such advan-
| tage? Better have been founding
picked up off the city commons than
with such magnificent inheritance of
conservation to turn out indifferently.
| Ought not you, my brother, to be
better, having had Christian nur-
ture, than the man who can truly
| say this morning: "The first word
I.remember nv father speaking to me
was an oath; the first time remember
my father taking hold of me was in
wrath; / never saw Bible till / was
ten years of age, and then Twas told it
was pack of lies. The first 20 years
of my life l was associated with the
vicious. l seemed to be walled in by
sin and DEATH"
Now. my brother, ought you mott
leave it as matter of fairness with
you-ought you not to be better than
those who had no early Christian in
fuence? Standing as you do between
the generation that is past and the
generation that is to come, are you go
ing to pass the blessing on, or are you
going to have your life the gulf in
which that tide of blessing shall
drop out of sight forever? You
are the trustee of piety in that
ancestral line, and are you going to
augment or squander that solemn
trust fund? Are you going to disin'
herit your sons and daughters of the
heirloom which your parents left youf
Ahi that can not be possible-that can
not be possible that you are going to
take such position as that. You are
very careful about the life assurances,
and careful about the deeds, and
careful about the mortgage, and care
full about the title to your proper
ty, because when you step off the stage
YOU want your children to get it all
Are you making no provision that they
shall get grandfather's or grandmoth
er's religion? Oh, what last will and
testament you are making, my brother
SIN the name OF God, amen. |, being
of sound mind. make this my last will
and testament. l bequcath to my
children all the money L ever made
and all the horses / own; but
1 disinherit them, rob them of the
ancestral grace and the Christian in
fiuence that 1 inherited. have squan
dered that on my own worldliness.
Share and share alike must they in the
misfortune and the everlasting out
rage. Signed, sealed and delivered il
the presence of God, and men, and an
gels, and devils, and all the genera
tions of earth and Heaven and hell
July, 1896"
Oh, We of highly favored ancestr,
wake up this morning to sense o
| vour oDnortunitv and responsibility
l think there must be an old cradle, o.
fragment of cradle somewhere tina
could tell story of midnight suppl