The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-09-21
APPROVAL.

WORLDLY APPROVAL.
So the idea Of worldly approval. II
tina. be dominant in a mans life, he is
miserable. Every four years the two
most unfortunate men in this country
are the two men nominated for the
presidency. The reservoirs of abuse
and diatribe and malediction gradually
fllup, gallon above gallon, hogsheao
above h~ogehead, and about
these two reservoirs viii be trimming
full, and q hose will be attached TO
each one, and it will play away on
these nominees, and they will have to
stand 1t and take the abuse, and the
falsehood. and the caricature, and the
anather ID, and the caterwauling, anu
the filth, and they will be rolled IN 1t
and rolled over and over n il until
they are choked and submerged and
strangulated, and at every sign OF re-
turning consciousness tne.- I'll! be
barkel at by ali the hounds OF political
parties from ocean to ocean. And yet
there are d unGred men to-day struG-
Cling for that privilege, and there are
thousands of men who are helping
them in the struggle. New, n a is
not a life worth diving. You car get
slandered aL6 abused cheaper Than
that. TAKE ii In a smaller scale. Do
no, be SO ambitious to have a whole
reservoir rolled over on YOU
But what you see in thu matter of
high political Treferment YOU see in
every community in the 3trugSle fer
what is called social position. Tens
of thousands Of people yin - get
into that realm, and they are under
terrific tension. What is SOFA! POSI-
ton? 1t is 4 difficult thing to define,
but we all know what it is. Good
morals and intelligence are not neces-
sary, but wealth, Ct a shcw of wealth,
is absolutely Indispensable. There are
men to-day as notorious Tor her lper-
tinism as -he night is famous for its
darkness who move in whet" is called
high social Do-ltion. There are und
reds OF out ana out rakes in American
society whose names are mentioned
among the distinguished guests at
the great levees. They have annexed
all the known vices and are longing fer
other worlds of diabolism to conquer.
Good morals are not necessary in
many of the exalted circles of society.
Neither is intelligence necessary You
find in that realm men who would
not know On adverb from an adle tive
if they met it a hundred times III a day.
and who could not write a letter Of ac-
ceptance or regrets without the aid
Of a secretary They buy their libra
ries by the square yard, only anxious
to have the binding Russian. Their ig-
norance is positively sublime, making
English grammar almost disreputable.
And yet the finest parlors open before
them. Good morals and intelligence
are not necessary, but wealth or a
show Of wealth is positively indispen-
sable. 1t does not make any difference
how you got your wealth, if you only
got it. The best way for you to get
into social position is for you to buy
a large amount on credit, then put
your property in your Wife's name
have a few preferred creditors, and
then make an assignment. Then dis
appear from the community until the
breeze is over and come back and
start in the same business. Do you
not see how beautifully hat will put
out all the people who are in cOmpe-
titiOn with you and are trying to make
an honest living? How quickly it will
get you into social position? What is
the use of toiling 40 or so years when
you can by two or three bright strokes
make a great fortune? All, my friends,
when you really loose you money how
quickly they will let you drop, and the
higher you get the harder you will
drop.
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 heartbreaks
that are never reported. High social
life is constantly in a flutter about the
delicate 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
n r1~~1o
equipage against equipage. Uncertain
ty and insecurity dominant in that
realm, wretchedness enthroned, tor
ture at a premium and a life not worth
living!
ALL DEAD FAILURES.
A life of sin, a life of pride, a life of
indulgence, a life of worldliness, a life
devoted to the world, the flesh and the
devil, is a failure, a dead failure, an in
finite failure. I 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 tombstone this inscriptions:
Better for that man if he had never
been bOrn."
But I shall show @ a life that is
worth living. A young man says: Il
am here. 1 am not responsible for my
ancestry. Others decided that. I am
not responsible for my temperament.
God gave me that. But here I am in
the evening of the nineteenth century.
at 20 years of age. I am here, and I
must take an account OF stock. Here I
have a body, which is a divinely con-
structed engine. I must put it to the
very best uses, and I must allow moth
ing to damage this rarest Of machinery
Two feet, and they mean locomotion.
eyes, and they mean capacity to
pick out my own way. Two ears. and
they are telephones Of communication
with all the outside world, and they
mean capacity to catch sweetest music
and the voices Of friendship-the very
best music A tongue with almost in
finity Of articulation. Yes, hands with
which to welcome or resist or lift or
snaite or wave or bless-hands 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-
tect. human Of angelic, could have