The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1899-04-28
A LESSON FROM LIFE.
Dr.. Talmage Eulogizes the Late JUS
tice Stephen ]. Field.
Religious Training Laid the FOun-
dNtiOn of His Character - The
Great Divine's Tribute to
Departed Friend.
Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 1897
WASHINGTON, April %.

One of the most notable characters Of
our time is the subject of DR.. Talmage's
discourse, and the lessons drawn are
inspiring. Text, Samuel, 1898: "Knov
ye not that there is prince and great
man fallen this day in Israel?'
Here is a plumed catafalque, 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 lamentation:
"Know we not that there is a prince and
agreat man fallen this day in Israeli"
1t was 80 minutes after six, the ex-
act hour of the sunset of the Sabbath
day, and while the evening lights were
being kindled, that the soul of Stephen
J. Field, the lawyer, the judge, the pa
triot, the Christian, assembled.
Our departed friend came forth boy
from minister's home in New Eng
land. He knelt with father and mother
at morning and evening prayer, learned
from maternal lips lessons of piety
which lasted him and controlled him
amid all the varied and exciting scenes
of a lifetime and helped 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 CONNER
oial circle and national legislature and
presidential chair, and you would OBJ
hterate many of the grandest chapters
of that history. 1t is no small advan-
tage to have started from home where
God is honored and the subject of a
worlds 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, Ameri-
can 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 Stock
bridge were his guidance when, half
century after, as gowned justice of
the supreme court OF the United States,
he unrolled his opinions. Bibles, hymn
books, catechisms, family prayers, at
mosphere sapctified, are good SURF ound-
kngs for boys and girls to start from,
and if our laXer ideas of religion and
Sabbath days and home training pro-
duce as splendid men and women as
the much-deridcd Puritanic Sabbath
and Puritanic teachings have produced
1t will be matter of congratulatton
and thanksgiving.
no NOT roee h1y bo +1o+ l,o,ro
mot yet seen emphasized that Stephen
j. Field was minister's son. Notwith-
standing that there are conspicuous ex-
ceptions to the rule-and the exceptions
have built up a stereotyped defamation
on the ubiect-statistic plain and I'M
deniable prove that larger proportion
of ministers sons turn out well than
are to be found in any other genealog-
zeal table. Let all the parsonages of
all denominations of Christians where
children are growing up take the con-
ISOLATION. See the star of hope pointing
down to that Manager!
Notice also that our departed friend
was member of a royal family. There
were no crowns or scepters or thrones
Al JlluG dhCCSJI 1lnS, DuU lIl6
of the Fields, like the family of the
New York Primes, like the family of
the Princeton AleXanders, like a score
of families that | might mention. if it |
were best to mention them, were 1.-The |
children of the King" and had put on
them hOnors brighter than crowns and |
welded influence longer and wider than
scepters. That family of Fields traces
an honorable lineage back 800 years to
Hubertus de la Field, coadjutor of Will |
liam the Conqueror. Let us thank God |
for such families, generation after gen.
Grafton on the side of that which is
right and good.
While allparents cannotaspiret to have
such conspicuous households as the one |
the name of whose son we now cele- |
brate, all parents may by fidelity in
prayer and holy example have their |
sons and daughters become kings and
queens unto God, to reign forever and
ever.
Let young men beware lest they by
their behavior blot such family records
with some misdeed. We can all think
OI HOUSEHOLDS lne names OF winch
meant everything honorable and con-
for long while, but by the
deed of one son sacrificed, disgraced |
and blasted. Look out how you rob
your consecrated ancestry of the name
they handed to you unsullied! Better
as trustee to that name add something
worthy. Do something to honor the
Did homestead, whether a mountain
cabin or city mansion or a country
Rev. David Dudley Field, though 80
years passed upward, is honored to-day
Oy the Christian life, the service, the
ieath of his son Stephen.
Among the most absorbing books of
he Bible is the book of Kings, which
again and again illustrates that though
oiety is not hereditary, the style of pa
'entage has much to do with the style
IT descendant. 1t declares of King Abb
am: ''He walked in all the sins of his
ather which he had done before him."
md of King Azariah: "He did that
which was right in the sight of the
Lord, according to all that his father
had done" We owe debt to
hose who have gone before in our line