The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-08-28

profit out Of the transfer and exchange
of all that which is produced and manu-
featured. A business man may belong to
any one or all of these classes. and not
one is independent of any other.
When the prince Imperial Of France
fell on the Zulu battlefield because the
strap fastening the stirrup to the saddle
broke as he chung to 1t, his comrades all
escaping, but be falling under the lances
Of the savages, a great many people
blamed the empress for allowing her son
to 20 forth into that battlefield, and 9th
ers blamed the English government for
accepting the sacrifice, and others blam-
ed the Zulus for their barbarism. The
one most to blame was the harness max
er who fashioned that strap Of the stir
rup out Of shoddy and imperfect materi-
al, rs 1t was found to have been after
ward. If the strap had held. the prince
imperial would probably have been alive
today. But the strap broke. No prince
Independent Of a harness maker! High,
low, wise, ignorant, you In one occupa-
ton, l in another, all bound together.
The Discipline of Work.
30 that there must be one continuous
line Of sympathy with each others work.
But whatever your vocation, IL you have
a multiplicity Of engagements, II into
your life there come losses and annoy
ances and perturbations rs well as per-
centages and dividends, II you nre pur-1
sued from Monday morning until Satur-
day night, and from January to Janua-
nv by memorable obligation and duty,
then you are a business man, or you are
a business woman, and my subject Is
appropriate to your case.
We are under the impression that the
MOL and tug of business life arc prison
into which a man is thrust, or that it is
an unequal strife where unarmed man
goes forth to contend. shall show you
this morning that business life was in
tended of God for grand and glorious
education and discipline, and if shall
be helped to say what want to say l
shall rub some Of the wrinkles of care
out Of your brow and unstrap some of
the burdens from your back. am not
talking of an abstraction. Though never
having been In business life, l know oil
about business men. In my first parish
at Belleville, N. j., ten miles from New
York, a large portion Of my audience
was made up Of New York merchants.
Then went to Syracuse, a place Of i'm
mense commercial activity. and then l
went to Philadelphia and lived long
among the merchants of that city, than
whom there are no better men on earth,
and for rs years I stood in my Brooklyn
pulpit, Sabbath by Sabbath, preaching
to audiences the majority Of whom were
business men and business women. 1t is
not an abstraction Of which l speak, but
a reality with which l am well acQuaint-
ed.
In the first place, remark that BUSH
ness life was intended as a school Of en-
ergy. God gives US a certain amount Of
raw material out Of which we are to hew
our character Our faculties are to be
reset, rounded and sharpened up. Our
young folks having graduated from
school or college need higher education,
that which tue rasping collision of every
day life alone can effect. Energy Is
wrought out only in the fire. After a
man has been in business activity 10, 20,
80 years, his energy is not to be measur-
ed by weights or plummets or ladders.
There Is no height it cannot scale, and
there is no depth it cannot fathom, and
there is no obstacle it cannot thrash.
The Meaning of 1t.
Now, my brother, why did God put
you in that school of energy? Was 1t
merely that you might be n yardstick to
measure cloth, or steelyard to weigh
nour2 Was it merely that you might be
better qualified to chatter and hggle ?
No. God placed you in that school of en-
ergy that you might be developed for
Christian work. II the undeveloped tai
ents in the Christian churches of today
were brought out and thoroughly har-
messed, believe the whole earth would
be converted to God in twelvemonth.
There are so many deep streams that are
turning no mill wheels and that are har-
messed to no factory bands.
Now, God demands the best lamb out
of every flock. He demands the richest
sheaf Of every harvest. He demands the
best men of every generation. A cause
in which Newton and Locke and Mans
field toiled you and l can afford to toll
in. oh, for fewer oilers in the cause Of
Christ and for more Christian workers,
men who shall take tho same energy that
from Monday morning to Saturday night
they put forth for the achievement Of Il
livelihood or the gathering of fortune,
and on Sabbath days put 1t forth to the
advantage Of Christ's kingdom and the
bringing Of men to the Lord.
DR.. Duff visited man who had in
herted a great fortune. The man sud
to him: II had to be very busy for many
years Of my life getting my livelihood.
After awhile this fortune came to me,
and there has been no necessity that l
toll since. There came n time when l
said to myself. Shall now retire from
business or shall l go on and serve the
Lord in my worldly occupation" He
said: II resolved on the latter, and
have been more Industrious in commer-
cial circles than ever was before, and
since that hour have never kept farth-
ing for myself. have thought it to be q
great shame IL couldn't toll as hard for
the Lord as | had toiled for myself, and
oil the products of my factories and my
commercial establishments, to the last
farthing, have gone for the building of
Christian institutions and supporting the
church OF God" Would that the same
energy put forth for the world could be
put forth for God. Would that n thou
sand men in these great cities who have
achieved fortune could see it their duty
now to do all business for Christ and the
alienation of the worlds suffering!
A school of Patience.
Again, l remark that business life is a
school OF patience. In your everyday
life how many thingsso annoy and to dis.
quiet! bargains will rub. Commercial
men will sometimes fail to meet their en-
gagemcnts. Cashbooks and money draw
er will sometimes quarrel. Goods ordered
for a special emergency will come too
late or be damaged in the transportation.
People intending no harm will go shop
ping without any intention Of purchase,
overturning great stocks of goods and
insisting that you break the dozen. More
bad debts on the ledger. More counterfeit
bills in the drawer. More debts to pay
for other people. More Weaknesses on