The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1898-09-16

Himself Friendly-Five Sermons In Ev
cry Healthy Handshake.
copyright. 1885, by American Press Asso
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1.-THE obtain
ing of good friends, which most lool
upon as matter of happy accident Dr.
Talmage in this sermon shows to be g
matter of intelligent selection; text
Proverbs xviii, "a, ga man that hath
friends must show himself friendly"
About the sacred and divine art OF
making and keeping friends I speak-a
subject on which | never heard of any
one preaching-and yet God thought il
of enough Importance to put it in the
middle of the Bible these writings OF
Solomon, bounded on one side by the
popular psalms of David and on the
other by the writings of Isaiah the
greatest of the prophets. 1t seems all a
matter of haphazard how many friends
we hive or whether we have any friends
at all, but there is nothing accidental
about it. There is a law which governs
the accretion and dispersion of friend
ships. They did not "just happen SO"
any more than the tides just happen to
rise or fall, or the sun just happens to
rise or set. 1t is science, an art, a
God given regulation.
Tell me how friendly you are to 9TH
ers, and | will tell you how friendly
others are to you. I do not say you
will not have enemies. Indeed, the best
way to get ardent friends is to have ar
dent enemies if you get their enmity in
doing the right thing. Good men and
women will always have enemies, be-
cause their goodness is perpetual re-
buke to evil, but this antagonist Of
foes will make more intense the love OF
your adherents. Your friends will gath
er closer around you because Of the at
tacks of your assailants. The more your
enemies abuse you the better your coad-
tutors will think of you.
Unjust Assault Multiplies Friends.
The best friends we have ever had ap-
peared at some juncture when we were
especially bombarded. There have been
times in my life when unjust assault
multiplied my friends, as near as
could calculate, about 90 a minute.
You are bound to some people by many
cords that neither time nor eternity can
break, and l will warrant that many of
those cords were twisted by hands ma
levolent. Human nature was shipwreck
ed about so centuries ago, the captain
of that craft, one Adam, and his first
mate running the famous cargo aground
on a snag in the river Hiddekel, but
there was at least one good trait OF hui
man nature that waded safely ashore
from that shipwreck, and that is the
disposition to take the part of those un-
fairly dealt with. When it is thorough
ly demonstrated that some one is being
prosecuted, although at the start SLAM
derous tongues were busy enougp, de-
fendery finally gather around as fthick
as hoheybees ON a trellis of bruised
honeysuckle.
If, when set upon by the furies, you
can have grace enough to keep your
mouth shut and preserve your equipoise
and let others fight your battles, you
will find yourself after awhile with
whole Gordon of allies. Had not the
world given to Christ on his arrival at
Palestine very cold shoulder, there
would not have been one-half as many
angels chanting glory out of the hymn
books of the sky, bound in black lids of
midnight. Had it not been for the heavy
and jagged and tortuous cross, Christ
would not have been the admired and
loved of more people than any being
who ever touched foot on either the
eastern or western hemisphere. Instead,
therefore, of giving up in despair be-
cause you have enemies, rejoice in the
fact that they rally for you the most
helpful and enthusiastic admirers, In
other words there is no virulence that
can hinder my text from coming true,
ga man that hath friends must show
himself friendly"
1t is my ambition to project especial
" upon the young a thought which
may benignly shape their destiny for
the here and the hereafter. Before you
show yourself friendly you must be
friendly. do not recommend dram
affixed geniality. There is such a thing
as pretending to be en- rapport with 9th
ers when we are their dire destructants
and talk against them and wish them
calamity. Judas covered up his treach-
cry by a resounding kiss, and caresses
may be demoniacal. Better the mytho.
logical Cerberus, the three headed dog
of hell, barking at us, than the wolf
in sleeps clothing, its brindled hide
covered up by deceptive wool and its
deathful howl cadenced into an limo
cent bleating. Disraeli writes of Lord
Manfred, who, after committing many
outrages upon the people, seemed sud-
denly to become friendly and invited
them to banquet. After most of the
courses of food had been served he blew
a horn, which was in those times a sig
nal for the servants to bring on the des-
sert, but in this case it was the signal
for assassins to enter and Stay the
guests. His pretended friendliness was
a cruel fraud, and there are now people
whose smile is a falsehood.
One Must BE Friendly.
Before you begin to show yourself
friendly you must be friendly. Get your
heart right with God and man, and this
grace will become easy. You may by
1-,, x,our Y1a4,,-r