Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-01-06
URDAY, JANUARY 6, 1000.

llcan smlting his breast with stroke
that brought down the heavens In com.
paralysis. about catalepsy. about drop.
sy, about phthnlmia--stOrles that be
so well told that they have rolled down
to the present and will roll down
through the entire future.
heard Daniel Baker. the wonderful
evangelist of his time. preach what |
supposed was great sermon, but |
remember nothing Of it except a story
that he told. and that. | Judge from
the seeming effect. may that afternoon
have brought hundreds into the king
dom of God. | heard Truman Osborne
preach several sermons. but | remem-
Der nothing Of what he said In public
or private except a story that he told,
and that was. among other things, the
means OF my salvation. The lifelong
work Of John b. Cough. the greatest
temperance reformer OF all time, was
the victory of anecdOte. and who can
ever forget his story Of Joel Straton
touching him Oh the shoulder or OF
Deacon Moses Grant at Hopklnton. or
OF the OutcnSt woman nicknamcd Hell
Fire" but redeemed by the thought
that she was one of us?' Dwight L..
Moody the evangelist OF worldwide
fame and usefulness. who recently
passed to his grrnt reward Oh high.
during his valuable labors in the pulpit
welded the anecdote for God and
heaven until all nntions have been NOV
ed by IT,
Make Blessings Known.
II you have had experiences OF par
don and comfort and dlsenthra llment.
tell OF IT, Tell 1t In the most pointed
and dramatic way you can manage.
Tell il soon. or you may never tell II
at all. Oh. the power Of the tale thai
Is told!" An hours discourse about
the fact that blasphemous behavior is
sometimes punished in this world
would not impress us az much as the
simple story that IN a town OF New
York state at the close OF the last cen
tury 80 profane men formed them
selves into club. calling themselves
Society Of the Drulds" They met
regularly to deride and damage Chris
tlanlty. One night In their awful meet
ing they burned a Bible and admins
tered the sacrament to dog. TWO Of
them died that night. Within three
days three were drowned. In five years
all the 36 came to bad end. Before
justices of the peace II was sworn
that two were starved to death. seven
were drowned. eight were shot. FIVE
committed suicide. seven died on the
galows. one was frozen to death and
three died accidentally. Incidents like
that, sworn to. would balk any pro-
posed Irreverent and blasphemous be-
havior.
In what way could the fact that in
fidelity will not help any one die well
be so powerfully presented as by the
incident concerning a man falling Ill
In Paris Just after tho death OF Vol
talre when a professional nurse was
called In. and she asked, "ls the gentle
man a ChrIstianT why do yeu ask
that?" said the messenger. The nurse
replied. ,"l am the nurse who attended
yoltaire naMs IN Ms fssst fast fitness. and Tor all
the wealth Of Europe | would never see
another infdel die" What discourse
in its moral and spiritual effect could
equal tale like that?
You might argue upon the ract tnal
those fallen are our brothers and SIS
ters. but could we impress any one
with such n truth so well as by the
scene near Victoria park. London.
where men were digging a deep drain,
and the snoring gave way. and great
pile Of earth fell upon the workmen'
4 man stood there with his hands In
his pockets. looking Mt those who were
irving 10 shovel away the earth from
those who were buried. but when some
one said to the spectator. "Bill. your
brother Is down there" th0n the spec
tator threw off his coat and went 70
work with m agony Of earnestness to
fetch ND his brother. What course OF
argument could so well as that Incl
dent set forth that when we toll ro'
the salvation Of soul It Is brother
whom we are trying to save?
A Brief story.
A second reading Of my text reminds
me that life il not only n story told
hut that II is brief story. a long mar
ratIve stretched out indefinitely loses
It's interest. II Is generally the story
that takes only a minute or half min
ME TO rphenrSe that arrests the atten
tiou. And that gives additional inter
PCT to the story Of our life 1t IL
short story. Subtract from our llIe Ill
the hours of necessary sleep. all tn
hours of lncapncIty through fatigue
Illness. all the hours Of childhood an'
youth before we get fairly to work. AM
vou have abbreviated the story OF III
so much that you can appreciate I'll
nsalrnist's remark when he says
''ThOu hast mnle my days as hand
breadth" and can appreciate the apos
tie lanes expression when he CON
mares life to N vapor that appearet
for 2 little season and then vanishe
away"
II does not take long to tell all IN
yicIssitudps Of lfe-tsr gladnrss an
the griefs. the arrivals and the d'
Z partures the successes and the raj
ures. the victories and the defeats. IN
ups and the downs. The longer W
live the shorter the years. We hardl
get over the bewidering fatigue OF 81
lectng gifts for children ana rrieno
;, and see that the presents get Oh
!. time TO arrive on the appropriate da
= tban we see another advancing grou
Of holidays. Autumnal fruit 30 sharl
" chases the summer harvest. and u
:, snow Of the white blossoms OF sprini
: time come 40 soon after the SHOWS