The Clayton call. (Clayton, Del.) 188?-189?, 1897-07-06


thanks to the everlasting arms, yet you
must pay the penalty inevitably attached
to error, but even then how hard it is to
undo these moral errors and to triumph in
spite of them.
We are not all so fortunate as was
Columbus who found his Eldorado in
spite OF false calculations There was
but cne thing that saved him and can
save us and that is to have the main un
derlying purpose OF our lives right and
true. Then indeed it will frequently
come to pass that in spite OF q wrong
Judgment and the spirit of procrastina
tion stout heart may help us to triumph
over our first mistakes and go on to vic
tory. But this is the exception to the
rule. The rule Is one long regret. one
great struggle to recover and then 70
sigh with certain old man who locking
back over his own career said YEARLY to
a friend: 1T is a sad thing to make q
mistake in life.' Therefore we say to
you to-day, begin Alright. settle the ques.
tions of life which you ought to settle
now ana 20 on us the he0lems did When
they left Egypt. as Columbus did when
he left Spain, with your faces steadfastly
set towards an honorable name at the
setting sun.
(D sIEzE YOUR PPoRTUNITIEs AS THEY
PASS YOU.
A legend ON one of the walls of the
temple at Delphos read thus: know
thy opportunity. And the Bard of
Avon has put the warming in equally
forcible terms:
There tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune;
Omitted, all tke voyage cf their life
Is bound in shadows and in miseries.
They are golden words; therefore If
you see the chance to make a friend,
take it without fail for friends make
more great men than genius. If you
can lift the life burden from any should
ers of the weary, lift it off and bear it a
little way on the journey, for you may
help some one of the elect unawares. If
you can place kind action anywhere
in your reach drop it there and pass on,
you may find it again some day when
you are poor and in need. If sweet
thought or gentle feeling comes knock
lug at your door let it in and give it
shelter, tomorrow it may be the one
small star of consolation to shine out
over your own life's night of discourage
ment If some great truth appears be-
fore your mind like a Bethlehem star
and strangely stirs your nature to its
depths. follow it at once, it may lead
you to the cradle of new and God-sent
hope of better things.
''If on thy soul, as thou dost read, a ray of
purer light
Breaks in-oh check il not; give it full scope.
Admitted, it will break the clouds which long
have dimmed thy sightand lead thee till at
last
Convictions, Ike the SUMS meridian beams,
illuminate thy mind.'
(2). IT is equally important to float
into and stay in the swim of the river of
truth and ses that no snag twists You
-G5Juad - u part o. the shore EherS yc1
will stick to the end of your days while
others are moving on down the stream
of an horable aud useful life to the
shoreless sea. What multitudes throng
the banks of life on either side watching
the great and good go by. In the lonely
quarry near Baalbec once saw gigau-
tic block of stone squared and dressed
nearly to completion and seemed to haYe
been destined for some vast temple, but
it lies there to-day, neglected and for
gotten, while the building went up with
out it. It reminded me of the great
temple of truth that is rising out our
midst out of living stones. In this
structure, if there is Mich for you
and there is, for God hath said twill
you let it pass you by? Shall another
take your place? Will you suffer that
temple to rise to completion withou
you and your support? Do not; Tor even
now there are too many such blocks of
humanity half chiselled lying all about
us lonely and neglected. abandoned be
cause they would bear no more of the
fashioning essential for the builder S
use. Receive warning from these splen-
did migltt-7ta0e-beens aud take your place
in the world, in society, in literature, in
business, in the Church and. instead OF
standing still. catch step and march
along in the throng that is coming from
the east and from the west and from the
north and from the south to sit down
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of God.
But do not be discouraged if you haye
found it more difficult than some of
your classmates to reach your gradua
tion, if you have been forced to burn
the midnight oil while they. with en-
vious ease, mastered the lessons of the
hour.
You have a thought to comfort you,
which is, that there is a certain talent
in the reach of every young person quite
as effective in the practical affairs of
life as smartness: APPLICATION Gun
powder has placed the big man and the
small one on the same footing in & dual
so does application give the dull boy
equal chances for success with the bright
one. have read that one of the great
est of English diyines-Isaac Barrow
was SO stupid in his youth that even his
own father observed and admitted 1.-THE
must have been dull indeed-often ex
pressing his contempt for his son. Yet,
when years afterwards. the University
of Cambridge sought for q successor tc
the great and brilliant Newton. the qoun-
dam stupid Isaac Barrow was selected
to fill his place. The one passed before
the world like some splendid comet
wLile the other began as a rush liehi
and slowly grew into a sun.
In these two illustrious lives we hayt
striking illustration of the race o.
genius and application and we see how
both won the crown. But we must con.
fess that the former has greater tempta-
tions than ever attack the latter. In tht
race of life the smart boy is very mucl
inclined to run little ways ahead like
the hare and then sit down to wait fqi
the dull boy to catch up. Standing still
is always demoralizing besides the IN
expected SO often happens in life that il
is silly TO count victory until one has the
crown on his head. I imagine it is fol
this reason and others that so many tai