The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-09-24

/ most unfortunate men in this country
are the two men nominated for the
presidency. The reservoirs of abuse,
and diatribe, and malediction gradual
! ly fill up, gallon above gallon, hogs
head above hogshead, and about mid
summer these two reservoirs will be
trimming full, and a hose will be at
tached to each one, and it will play
away on these nominees, and they will
have to stand it, and take the abuse,
and the falsehood, and the carica-
ture, aud the anathema, and the cater
wauling, and the filth, and they will
| be rolled in it and rolled over and over
in it until they are choked, and sub
merged, and strangulated, and at every
! sign of returning consciousness they
| will be barled at by all the hounds of
political parties from ocean to ocean.
And yet there are hundred men to-
day struggling for that privilege. and
there are thousands of men who are
helping them in that struggle. Now,
that is not life worth living. You
can get slandered and abused cheaper
than that! Take it on smaller scale.
Do not be so ambitious to have a whole
reservoir rolled over on you.
But what you see in the matter Of
high political preferment you see in
every community in the struggle for
what is called social position. Tens of
thousands of people trying to get into
that realm, and they are under terrific
tension. What is social position? It is
difficult thing to define, but we all
know what it is. Good morals and in
telligence are not necessary, but
wealth, or show of wealth, is abso-
lutely indispensable. There are men
to-day as notorious for their Iibertin-
ism as the night is famous for its dark
ness who move in what is called high
social position. There are hundreds
of out-andout rakes in American So
ciety whose names are mentioned
among the distinguished guests of the
great levees. They have annexed all
the known vices, and are longing for
other worlds of dIabolism to conquer.
Good morals are not necessary in many
of the exalted circles of society.
There are thousands to-day in that
realm who are anxious to keep in it.
There are thousands in that realm who
are nervous for fear they will fall out
of it; and there are changes going on
every year, and every month, and every
hour, which involve heartbreal1s which
are never reported. High social life is
constantly in fiutter about the deli
cate question as to whom they shall let
in and whom they shall push out, and
the battle is going On-pier mirror
against pier mirror, chandelier against
chandelier, wine cellar against wine
cellar, wardrobe against wardrobe,
equipage against equipage. Uncer-
tainty and insecurity are dominant in
that realm, wretchedness enthroned,
torture at premium, and a life not
worth living.
A life OF sin, a life of pride, a life of
indulgence, life of worldliness, a life
devoted to the world, the flesh and the
devil is a failure, dead failure, an in
definite failure. l care not how many
presents you send to that cradle, or how
many garlands you send to that grave,
you need to put right under the name
on the tom bstone this inscriptions: Bet
ter for that man if he had never been
born"
But l shall show you life that il
worth living. A young man says: II
am here. l am not Response BILE for my
ancestry; others decided that L am
not responsible for my temperament;
God gave me that. But here 1 am, in
the evening of the nineteenth cen
fury, at 20 years of age. | am here,
and | must take an account of stock.
Here l have a body which is a di--
vinely reconstructed engine. L must
put it to the very best uses, and 1
must allow nothing to damage this
rarest of machinery. Two feet. and
they mean locomOtion. Two eyes, and
they mean capacity to pick out my own
way. Two ears, and they are tele-
phones of communication with the out
side world, and they mean capacity to
catch sweetest music and the voices of
friendship-the very best music. A
tongue, with almost infnity of articu-
lation. Yes, hands with which to well
come or resist, or lift, or smite, or
wave, or bless-haIds to help myself
and help others.
Here is a world which after 5000
years of battling with tempest and &C
cident is still grander than any archi-
OCCGs AuIldh VI bSC1iCt COuIl nave
drafted. l have two lamps to light me
"a golden lamp and Il silver Tampa
golden lamp set OH the sapphire man
tel of the day, silver lamp set on the
jet mantel of the night. Yea, l have
that at 90 years of age which defes all
inventory of valuableS-a soul, with
capacity to choose or reject, to re-
joice or to suffer, to love or to hate.
Plato says it is immortal. Seneca
says it is immortal. Confucius says it is
immortal. An old book among the
family relics-a Book with leathern
cover almost worn out and pages
almost obliterated by oft perusal, joins
the other books in saying l am inn
time, sixty years yet to live. / may
not live an hour, but then must lay
out my plans intelligently and for .
long life. Sixty years added to twenty
have already lived, that will bring
me to eighty. 1 must remember
that these eighty years are only
brief preface to the five hundred
thousand millions of Quintillions of
years which will be my chief residence
and existence. Now, understand my
opportunities and my responsibilities.
If there is any Being in the universe all
wise and all benefcent who can help a
man in such a juncture, l want Him.
The old Book found among the family
relics tell me there is God, and that
for the sake of His Son, one Jesus,
lie will give help to man. To
Him L appeal. God help me! Here,
have 50 years yet to do for myself
and to do for others. must develop
this body by all industries, by all gym
nastics, by all sunshine, by all fresh
air, by all good habits. And this soul
must have swept and garnished, and