The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-04-24
4 GREAT MANS LIFE.
sTEPHEN J. FIELD THE SUBJECT or
DR.. TALMAoe,s SERMON.


DR.. TALMAoe's SERMON.
MS Religious Tfsinins Laad tAs
Foundation Of His Sterling Chafac.
tsr-The Great Diviae's Tribute q
Departed Friend.
copyright. Louis Klopsch. 1891
WAsHlN0roH, April a8.-Ope of the
most notable characters Of our time 10 thu
subject Of DR.. Talmage's discourse, and
tho lessons drawn are inspiring; text, II
Samuel III, SO, "Know 70 not that there
10 a prince and great man fsllan this
day In Israeli"
Here is planned catsfalque, followed
by King David and a funeral Grafton
which he delivers at the tomb. Concern.
ing Abner, the great, David weeps out the
text. More appropriately than when
originally uttered we may now utter this
resounding lamehtation, "Know ye not
that there. Is q prince and great man
fallen this day In Israelr' ~,
II was so minutes after 9, the exact
hour of sunset Of the Sabbath day, and
while tho evening lights were being kin
died, that the soul Of Stephen ]. Field,
the lawyer, the Judge, the patriot, the
statesman, the Christian, assembled. IL
was shutdown in the home on yonder Cap.
itol hill, as 1t was shutdown on all the sur
rounding hills but In both cases the sun
set TO be followed by glorious sunrise.
Hear the Easter anthems still lingering In
the air, "The trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall rise.''
Our departed friend came forth q boy
from minister's home in New England.
He knelt with father and mother at morn
Ing and evening prayer, learned from ma
ternal lips lessons Of piety which lasted
him and controlled him amid all the varied
and exciting scenes Of lifetime and help
cd him to die in peace an octogenarian.
Blot out from. American history the names
Of those ministers SONS who have done
honor to judicial bench and commercial
circle and national legislature and presi-
DENTAL chair, and you would obliterate
many Of the grandest chapters Of chat his
tory. 1t Is no small advantage to have
started from home where God Is honored
and the subject Of worlds emancipation
from sin and sorrow Is under constant dis
cussion. The Ten Commandments, which
are the foundation Of all good law-Roman
law, German law, English law, American
law-are the best foundation upon which
to build character, and those which the
boy, Stephen j. Field, SO often heard in
the parsonage at Stockbridge were his
guidance when, a half century after, as q
gowned justice of the supreme court Of
the United States, he unrolled his opin-
ions. Bibles, hymnbooks, catechisms,
family prayers, atmosphere sanctifled, are
good surroundings for boys and girls to
start from, and II our laxer ideas of reli-
gion and Sabbath days and home training
produce as splendid men and women as
the much derided Puritanic Sabbath and
Puritanic teachings have produced 1t will
be matter Of congratulation and thanks
giving.
A Minister'S Son.
Do not pass by the fact that I have not
yet seen emphasized that Stephen j. Field
was q minister's son. Notwithstanding
that there are conspicuous exceptions to
the rule-and the exceptions have built
up stercotyped defamation on the sub
plain and undeniabfe prove
that larger proportion Of rnpistTs' sons
turn out we'll than are to be found In any
other genealogical table. Let oil the par
sonages of all denominations of Christians
where. children are growing up take the
consolation. See the star Of hope pointing
down to that Manager!
Notice also that our departed friend was
b member Of royal family. There'were
no crowns or scepters or thrones in that
line, but the family Of the
Fields, like the family Of the New York
Primes, like the family of the Princeton
like a score Of families that I
might mention, If it were best to mention
Them, were 1.-THE children Of the King"
and had put on them honors brighter than
,rowns and welded influence longer and
wider than scepters. That family Of Fields
races an honorable lineage back 500 years
% Hubertus de la Field, coadjutor Of Will
lam the Conqueror. Let us thank God for
'uch families, generation after generation
IN the side Of that which il right and
rood. Four sons Of that country minis
or, known the world over for extraordi-
larry usefulness in their spheres, legal,
literary and theological, and
! daughter, the mother of one of the asso-
late justices of the supreme court. Such
antilles counterbalance for good those
antilles all wrong from generation to gem
ration-families that stand for wealth,
got and stingily kept or
vickedly squandered; families that stand
or fraud or ilnpurity or malevolence;
amily names that Immediately come to
very.m mind, though through sense of pro-
,riety they do not come to the lip. The
lame Of Field will survive centuries and
70 synonym for religion, for great juris-
rudence for able Christian journalism,
s the names of the Pharaohs and the
'esars stand for cruelty and oppression
nd vice.
While parents cannot aspire to have
UGH conspicuous households as the one
he name of whose son we now celebrate,
II parents may by fidelity in prayer and
oily example have their sons and daugh-
ers become kings and queens unto God,
, reign forever and ever. But the work
as already been done, and could 60
trough this country and find a thousand
ouseholds which have by tho grace Of
Tod and blessing upon paternal and ma
,rnal excellence become the royal families
America.
Honor the Home.
Let young men beware lest they by their
ehavior blot such family records with
)me misdeed. We can all think OF house.
olds tho names ef-which meant every
ling honorable and consecrated fora long
lille, but by the deed Of one son sacri-
ced, disgraced and blasted. Look out
DIV you rob your consecrated ancestry of
10 namo they handed to you unsulliedl
etter as trustee to that name add some.
ling worthy. Do something to honor tho
d homestead, whether mountain cabin
city mansion or a country parsonage.
ev. David Dudley Field, though SO years
assed upward, is honored today by the
hristian life, the service, the death of his
n Stephen.
Among the most absorbing books of the
ible Is the book Of Kings, which again
I'd again illustrates that though piety Is
1t hereditary the style of parentage has
UGH to do with the style Of descendant.
declares Of King Abijam, "He walked
all the sins Of his father which he had
me before him." and of King Azariah, l
lie did that which was right in the sight
tho Lord, according to all that his IA
~. W. !