The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-11-29

| faction. Worldly success Is IN atmosphere
that breeds the maggots OF envy and Jeal-
ousy and hate. There are those who will
| never forgive you II YOU lave moro omolu-
| ments or honor or ouse shan they have.
TO take you down is the dominant wish
OF most Of those who IRE not as high as you
are, They will spend hours and days and
years to eDtrap you. TLey will hover
around newspaper offices to get one mean
line printed depreciatlng you. Your heaven
Is their hell.
dying President o: the United States
said many years ago ia regard to HE lie
time OF experience. ''1t doesn't pay" The
| leading statesmen OF America in letters Of
advice warn young men to keep out OF
| politics. Many OF the most successful
| have tried in vain to drown their trouble
| in strong drink. On the other hand, there
are millions OF people who on departing
this lie will have nothing to leave hut a
good nam- and lie insurance whose
ilIunIned faces are indices OF tllumtned
souls. They wish everybody we'll. When
| the fire bell rings. they do not 60 to the
| window at midnight to see il it is theil
store that Is on fire, for they never owned
| q store, and when the September equinox
Is abroad they do not worry lest their
| ships founder in a gale, for they never
| owned Il ship, nnd when the nominations
are made for high political office they are
not fearful that their name will be over
| looked for they never applied for offlce.
There Is 50 much heartiness and freedom
| from care in their laughter thut when you
hear 1t you are compelled to laugh In sym.
pathy, although you know not what they
| are laughing about.
When the children OF that family assem-
| BILE In the sitting room OF the old home
| stead to lear the fathers will read. they
are not fearful OF being cut off with mill
HoIp al lnr ~ m q
never owned anything more than the farm
OF seventy-1ve acres, which yielded only
enough plainly to support the household.
They have more happiness in one month
than many have in a whole lifetime.
Would to God had the capacity to ex-
plain to you on how little man can be
happy and on how much he may be
wretchedl Get you heart right and all Is
right. Keep your heart wrong and all Is
wrong. That is a principle settled In
heaven.
Another thing decided In that high place
Is that this world is schoolhouse or col
! lege for splendid or disgraceful gradun-
tion. We begin in the freshman class OF
good or evil and then pass into the sopho-
more and then into the junior and then
into the senior, and from that we graduate
angels or devils. In many colleges there is
IN "elective course" where the student
selects what lie will study-mathematic
or the languages or chemistry or phiIoso-
phy-and II is ON elective course we all
take in the schoolhouse or university or
this world.
We may study sin until we nre saturated
with 1t or righteousness until We are e1em-
Publications. Of 1t. Graduate We all must,
but we decide for ourselves the style OF
[ graduation. It is m elective course. We
can study generosity until our every word
RI nd aHnfrihntfnn
money or time will make the world better,
or we may study mennness until our soul
shall shrink up to smaliness untmaRina-
BILE.
We may under God, educate ourselves in
to self control that nothing. can anger or
into aa irascibillty that will ever and anon
keep our face flushed with wrath and every
nerve a-quiver. Great old schoolhouse OF
a world In which we, are all being educated
for glory or perditton!
Some have wondered Why graduation
day In college Is :called "commencement
day" when 1t Is the last day Of college ez-
ercises, but graduation days are properly
called commencement day. To all the
graduates 1t Is the commencement OF active
llfe, and our graduation day from earth
will be to US commencement OF our chier
life, our larger lie, our more tremendous
life, our eternal life. But what day COM
mencement day on earth Is! The student
never sees any day like 1t. At any rate,
never did.
Old Niblo's theatre In New York comes
back to me. The gowned and tassel-hatted
professors behind US. aud our kindred and
| friends before us and above US, and the air
redolent with garlands to be thrown to US.
What commencement day 1t was Tor all
| OF us about to graduate! But mightler
| dny will 1t be when we graduate from this
IL ho condemnation
| or handclappipg OF approval? Will there
be flung 10 US nettles or wreaths? Will 1t
be resoundlng "Come!' or q reyerbera.
| ting "Depart?"
BY the bloody thro es OF the mountain
| on which Jesus died. and by the sepulcher
whore His mutilated DO dy was incIosed in
darkened crypt and by the Olivet from
| which He arose, while asto nlsaed disciples
clutched for His robes to detain HIN In
their companlonship, and by the rndlapt
and omnipotent throne Oh which He sits
| waiting for the coming OF all those whose
redemption was settled in heaven, i'm
plore you bow your head In immediate and
| final submission. Once exercise sorrow
| for what you have done aud exercise trust
| In Him for what He Is willing to do,and all
Is we'll for both worlds. Then you can
swing out defiance to all opposition, hu-
man and diabolic. In conquering His foes
| II
that passage in Coossians that represents
Him '"havlng despoIIed prlncipallties and
| powers, He made Il show of them, openly
| trlumphlng," 80 bringing before us that
overwhelming spectacle OF O Roman
Triumph
When Pompey landed at Br!ndisl, Italy,
returned from his victories, he dts5anded
the brave men who had fought under him
and sent them rejoicing to their homes.
aD1hlQznnad
chariot was followed by princes in chains
from kingdoms he had conquered, and
flowers such Us only grew under those
Italian skies stfewed the way, and he
came under arches Inscribed with the
names OF battleaelds on which he had
trlumphed and rode by columns which
told OF the 1900 cities he had destroyed
ind the 12.0OO,0OO people he had con-
uuered or slain. TEen tine banquet was
spread, and out OF the ehallces filled to
the brim they drank to the health OF tho
conqueror. Belisurius, the great soldier,
returned from his military achievements
and was robed in purple, and In the pro.
cession were brought golden thrones and
pillars OF precious stones and the (urni.
ture OF royal feasts, and amid the splen.
dors OF kingdoms overcome lie was hailed
to the hippodrome by shouts such as ha
seldom rung through the capital. Then
also came the convivlalities. In the year
| 974 Aurelian made bis entrance to Rome In
triumphal car, in which he stood while
winged figure Of Victory held wreath
above his head. Zonobia, captive queen OF
| Palmyra, walked behind his chariot, her
person encircled with fetlers of gold, un.
| der he weight of which she nearly tainted.
but still captive. Aud there we're In the
procession 200 lions and tigers and beasts
OF many lan,s and 1900 gladlators excused
from the cruel amphltheater that the!