Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-04

most of the crosses in this world and will
wear most of the crowns in the next"
He declared that fifteen years ago Colonel
Parker came "as a voice crying in the
wilderness, but now, thanks to his noble
and persistent efforts, he had become the
apostle of light and liberty in education
in America"
For the next hour Colonel Parker held
his audience spellbound by his lecture.
Child and Man" He said that 1.-The
greatest mystery and deepest problem be-
meath the throne of the eternal was the
child. Perhaps some of his hearers were
not astonished to hear him say that the
child was born savage, but he soon
clearly showed that civilization does not
take with 1t all the good of the primitive
man, and that the child possessed his
best traits. Children are savages in their
fancies because they love myths and
fairy tales; because it creates the world
in which 1t lives, and because i Is an
ardent worshiper of nature. He de-
scribed the radiant world in which the
child lives in words as beautiful as those
of our dear lake poet, who sang: "Heav-
en- lies bout us in our infancy" Some
people oppose the plan of telling children
myths and fairy tales because they are
not true, but myth life is the beginning
of spirit life, and we have for an example
the Great Teacher Then, what is truth?
If we could have seen the face of the
Savior when he was asked this question
we might have had some hint of the
truth. Children are searehers for truth.
God made them So Every child, too, is
a born naturalist. Their love for flowers
proves this. A child is born with a love
for the eternal God and for all men.
Criticism and i'll will are mans excuses
for not helping his brother man. TO
know the soul means salvation. Science
Is God-you cannot understand the Bible
unless you understand the immediate
revelation. The future of love lies in I'M
derstandng the little child. All ques-
tions of gold and of silver sink into in
significance when we study the Babe of
Bethlehem and all other little children.
The lecture was interspersed through
out with stories from his own full expe-
rience and was replete with exquisite
imagery and beautiful thought. No x
rays were needed to reveal this great
travellers love for children. He does not
even believe in the ubiquitous bad boy
The marvellous success of his life ceased
to be a wonder to his hearers when they
saw and felt the magic of this potent
charm-love for children.
At p. m. Grambs' orchestra gave an
other delightful concert The following
selections were rendered: Anniversary
March," '@rhe Bowery;" cornet solo,
"Honeysuckle polka" by Mr.. Jackson,
with orchestral accompaniment.
AT $50 a prime favorite among Chau-
tauquans appeared before the assembly,
Mr.. James A. Burdette of New York, who
for an hour swayed his audience by his
wonderful power of mimicry and elocu-
ton. AS Hon. J. b. Graham said In his
Introduction: Life has its gay side as
well as its grave side, and he who makes
us laugh is just as truly a great philos-
opher as he who presents earnest
truths" In that case Mr.. Burdette is the
equal of Socrates. His hearers were con-
vu1sed with laughter from beginning to
end. His readings were ASLEEP at the
Switch" "Nebuchadnezzar or the Negro
and the mule" "How Engineers Make