The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-05-03
Stephen J. Field the Subject Of
DR.. TaImage's Sermon.
HIS RELIGIOUS TRAINING
Laid the Foundation of His Ster-
ling Character. The Great
Diyine's Tribute to a De.
parted Friend.

discourse, ahO tIe iSsSohS -
inspiring; text, II Samuel Ill, 3o,
Know ye not that there is prince
and great nan fallen this day IN
Israeli
Here isa plumed ca5afalque, follow
ed by kiug David aud funeral Grafton
which he delivers at the tomb. Con-
cernipg Abner. the great. David weeps
out the text. More appropriately than
when orisiually uttered we may now
utter this resouuding lamentatlon,
"kuow ye not that there is q prince
and great man fallen this day IN
l>raei?
IL was 80 minutes alters. the exact
hour of >unset Of the Sabbath day, sno
while the evening lights were being
kindleG that the soul of Stephen .
Field, the lawyer the juoge, the pa
...inr. the statesman, the Christian. as
cepded. :, as >undown IL the home
on ,onder Capito! hill. as it was Suu
down on all ;he surrounding hills. but
in both cases the sunset 10 be followed
b, q glorious sunrise Hear the Easter
aprhsms sill lingering in the air. The
trumpet shall sound, aud The dead shall
rise
Our departed friend camef"rth a boy
from minister's houre In New Eng
land He Suelt with fathsr aud moth
er at morning aud evening prayer.
learu.d d from u,aternal lips lessons OF
piety which lasted him al d controlled
hun amid all the varied and exciting
scenes of lifetime and helped him to
die iu peace au o;togepaIiau. Blot out
from American history tie rames OF
those nlinisters' sous who have done
honor 70 judicial bench aud commercial
circle and national legislature and
presidential chair, and you wuuld OBJ
literate many Of the grandest chapters
of that history. Itis no snail advan-
taee 10 have started from home where
God is honored and the subject OF a
world emancipation from sin and sor-
row is under constant discussion. The
Ten Commandments, which are the
foundation of all good law-Roman law
German law, English law, American
lsw-are the best foundation upon
which to build character, and those
which the boy, Stephen J. Field, so
often heard in the parsonage at Stock,
bridge were his guidance when, halt
century after, as sowned justice OF
the supreme court of the United States,
he uurolled his opinions. Bibles,
bvmnhooLs catecbisms. family prayers
atmosphere sancti6eG, are good sur
roundings for boys aud boys and girls to
start from, and if eur laxer ideas OF
religion and Sabbath days and home
training produce as splendid men and
women as the much derided Purltanlc
Sabbath and Puritcnic teachings have
produced it will be matter OF congrat-
.ation and thanksgiving.
Do.not pass by the fact that | have
not yet seen emphasized that Stephen
J. Field was ministers son. Not
withstanding that there are consplcous
exceptions to the rule-and the excep-
tions have built up stereotyped de-
famation on the subject-statistics
plain and undeniable prove that a alarger
proportion Of ministers sons turn out
we'll than are to be found in any other
genealogical table. Let all the parson-
ages of all denominations Of Christians
where children are growing up take the
consolation. See the star OF hope point
ing down to that manger!
Notice also that our departed friend
was a member Of royal family. There
were DO crowns or scepters or thrones
in that ancestral line, but the family OF
the Fields, like the family Of the New
York Primes, like the family Of the
Princeton Ale1anders, like a score OF
families hat might mention, if it
were best to mention them, were the
children Of the King and had put on
them honors brighter than crowne and
welded influence longer and wider tnan
scepters. That family Of Fields traces
an honorable lineage back 500 years to
Hubertus de la Field. coadjutor Of vii
liam the Conquoror Let US thauk God
for such families, generation after gen.
Grafton On the side Of that which is
tight and good Four sons Of that
coun1r, minister, known the void over
for extraordinary usefulness in their
spheres, legal, commercial, literary aud
theological, aud ( daughter, the moth
er of the associate justices Of the su-
preme court Such families counter
balance for good those families all
VT pg from generation to geperatlon-
families that's :aud for wealth, upright
eou>ly got and stingily kept or wickedlA
sQuapdered; families that stand for
fraud or impurity or malovolenee; faml-
ly names that immediately come to
every mind. though through sense Of
pro,rie1y they do not come to the lip.
The name of Field will survive centu-
ries aud be synonym for able Chris
tian journalism, as the names OF the
Pbaraohs and the Caesars stand for
cruelty and oppression and vice.
While parents cannot aspire to have
such conspicuous households asthe one
the name Of whose son We now celebrate
all parents may by fidelity in prayer
and holy example have their sons and
0augnteTS become Kings ana queens
unto God. to reign forever and ever.
But the work has already been doue,
and ! could 90 through this country
and 6ud thousand households which
have by the grace Of God and blessing
upon paterual and maternal excellence
become the royal families Of America.
Let young men beware lest they by
their behavior blot such family records
with some nisdeed. We can all think
Of households the names of which
meant everything honorable and conse-
Grated for long while, but by the deed
Of one son sacrificed, disgrace6 and
blasted. Look out how You rob your
consecrated ancestry of the name they
handed to you unsull:ed! Better as
L