The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1897-06-10

stod for fraud, you can make it stand
for honesty. If once it stood for wick
edness, you can make it stand for pur-
ity. There have been multitutdes Of in
stances where men and women have
magnificently conquered the disasters
Of the name inflicted upon them.
Again, many people labor under the
misfortune of incomplete physical
equipment. We are by our Creator so
economically built that we cannot af-
ford the obliteration of any physical
faculty. We want our two eyes, our
two ears, our two hands, our two feet,
our eight fingers and two thumbs. Yet
what multitudes of people have but
one eye, or but one foot! The ordinary
casualties of life have been quadrupled,
quintupled, sextupled, aye, centupled,
in our time by the Civil War, and at
the North and South great multitude
are fighting the battle of life with half,
or less than half the needed physical
ornaments. l do not wonder at the
pathos of soldier during the war, who,
when told that he must have his hand
amputated, said: doctor, can't you
save it?' and when told that it was i'm
possible, said, with tears rolling down
his cheeks: "Well, then, goodbye, old
hand; I hate to part with you. You
have done me good service for many
years, but it seems you must go. Good
| bye"
A celebrated surgeon told me of
! scene in the Clinical Department of one
| of the New York hospitals, when
poor man with wounded leg was
| brought in before the students to be
operated on. The surgeon was point
ing out this and that to the students,
and handling the wounded leg, and was
! about to proceed to amputation, when
the poor man leaped from the table
and hobbled to the door, and said,
"Gentlemen, am sorry to disappoint
| you, but by the help of God I will die
with my leg on" What terrific loss
is the loss of our physical faculties!
Put to full use all the faculties that
remain, and charge on all opposing cir
cumstances with the determination OF
John of Bohemia, who was totally
blind, and yet at battle cried out, 81
! pray and beseech you to lead me SO
far into the fight that may strike one
| good blow with this sword of mine.
Do not think so much of what faculties
you have lost as of what faculties re-
main. You have enough left to make
yourself felt in three worlds, while you
help the earth, and balk hell, and wiz
heaven. Arise from your discourage
ments, o men and women Of depleted
or crippled physical faculties and SCI
what, by the special help Of God yol
can accomplish!
The skilled horsemen stood arount
Bucephalus, unable to mount or man
age him, so wild was the steed. Blu
Alexander noticed that the sight of hi
own shadow seemed to disturb tn
horse. So Alexander clutched him b!
the bride, and turned his head ava!
from the shadow, and toward the sun
and the horses agitation was gone, AM
Alexander mounted him and rode off
to the establishment Of all who stoo,
by. And what you people need is t
have your sight turned away from tn
shadows of your earthly lot owe
which you have so long pondered, an
your head turned toward the sun-th
glorious sun of Gospel consolation, an
Christian hope, and spiritual triumph
Now, suppose a man finds himself i
mid-life without education, what is h
to do? Do the best he can. The mos
effective layman in a former pastora
charge that I ever heard speak On re
ligious themes could, within five min
) utes of exhortation, break all the law
l of English grammar, and if he left an
law unfractured he would complete tn
work of lingual devastation in tn
prayer with which he followed it. 81
. 1 would rather have him pray for m,
, if I were sick or in trouble, Than an
Christian man I know off, and in thu
church all the people preferred him i
exhortation and prayer to all other
: Why? Because he was so thorough
I pious and had such power with God b
H. was irresistible; and as he went on j
g his prayer sinners repented and saint
g shouted for joy, and the bereaved seen
: ed to get back their dead in celesti;
It companionship. And when he ha
a stopped praying, and as soon as cou]
wipe out of my eyes enough tears to Sc
e the closing hymn, ended the meetin
n fearful that some long-winded praye
S meeting bore would pull us down fro
e the seventh heaven.
b Not a word have I to say against a.
a curacy of speech, or fine elocution,
l. high mental culture. Get all these yc
" can. But do say to those who we
n brought up in the, day of poor cchoo
% houses and ignorant schoolmasters, ar
t. no opportunity: You may have
@ much of good in your soul and SO muG
It of heaven in your everyday life tn
n you will be mightier for good than al
n who went through the curriculum
n Harvard, or Yale, or Oxford, yet new