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

Brief LIves-InIdeIity the Source
of Much Woe-ChrIsCs Matchless
stories.
copyright. Louis Kopsch. 1891
| WAsHINGrON, Dec. 31.-ln this h0li-
day discourse DR.. Talmnge takes the
/ opportunity of Offering some very prac-
iical and useful suggestions; text,
! Psalms xc. 8, We spend our years as
Il tale that is teld."
The Israelites were 40 years In the
wilderness. and during 3S years Of the
10 nothing is recorded OF them. and
suppose, no other emigrants had
luIler or more uninteresting tine than
they lad. SO they got to telling stories
stories concerning themselves or con-
cernlng others; stories about the brick
lSllns of Egypt. where they had toiled
in slavery: stories about how the wa
ters Of the Red sea piled up into pal
isades at their crossing; story Of the
lantern hung in the heavens TO guide
them by night; story OF ibises destroy
ing the reptiles Of the wilderness;
stories of personal encounter II must
have been an awful thing to have had
nothing TO do for SO years except to
get lost every time they tried to escape
FROM the wilderness. SO they wblled
away the time in story telling. In
deed. there were persons whose one
business was TO narrate stories, and
they were paid by such triies as they
could pick up from the surrounding
listeners. To such instances our text
refers when II says. I'VE spend our
years as a tale that Is told"
At this tremendous passage from the
year 1890 to the year 1900 II will do us
all good to consider that our whole life
is a story told-a good story or a bad
story. a tragic story or mrthful story.
A wise story or foolish story. clean
story or n filthy story. story OF sue
cess or a story OF failure We spend
our years as tale that is told.
In the first place | remark that ev
cry persons life Is Il very Interesting
!. story My text does not d''prrcla'c II
tale that is told" We have all of uS
\ been entertained hy the story teller
when snow bound IN the raj train OF
In the group II winters EiRh in the
farmhouse. or gathered around blaZ
ing hearth with SouIr hunters NJ the
mountain inn. Indeed. II is Il praise
worthy art to niperSonnte good story
well. II you doubt the practical and
healthful and inspiring use OF such
story. take down from the library
| Washington Irving's Tales Of Tray-
eler' or Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Twice
Told Tales" But az interesting as any
OF these would be the story Of many
an obscure life II the tale were as well
itold. Why do we all like biographies
land autoblographlcS? Because they
tare stories OF eminent human lives.
kr .S1'e story of the life Of back
snt / tReon. of a man who looks stupid.
Ifof one about whom you never ~"e"'S<a
word must be Just az thrilllng|on a
small scale as on large scale Is a life
nf n CYRUS. or Caesar. or Pizarro
ar a Mark Antony. or Charlemagne.
Life Experiences.
lIf Won pet the confidence Of that very
plain man just come out OF the bacK-
woods and can induce him to give the
stirring experiences Of his life. he VIII
telI Won that which will make your
blood curdle and your hair stand on
end: that night when a panther dls-
puted his pathway on the way nome
| thai landslide. when the mountains
seemed about to come down on his
cabin: that /. ccident to his household
and no surgeon .vithin Is miles; that
long storm that shut them In ana the
food was exhausted; that contest at his
doorway with bandits. who though'
there might be within something worth
taking: that deathbed. with no one ou'
himself to count the flutterlng pulses
Oh. YES. while I'VE spend our years
as tale that is told" ii Is an interest
ing story. 1t is the story or an I'D
mortal. and that makes 1t interesting
He is launched on an ocean OF eterha
wears. in voyage that will never Ter
inmate. He is striking the keynote o.
an anthem or dirge that VIII never
I come to its last bar That Is wha
makes the devotional meetings or moo
ern times so much more interesIlh'
than they used to be. They are hlle'
not with discourses by laymen on 'n'
snbiect of Justification and sanctihca
tion. which lay discourses adminis'e
more 10 the facetiOus than TO the edi
fving. but with stories OF what GO'
hos done for the soul how everything
suddenly changed: how the promise
becamp balsamic In times OF mcerd
tion: how hp was personally helped on
and helped MP and helped on. Nothln
can stand before such n story OF pei
sonal rescue. personal transformation
nersonal illumination. The mightles
and most skillful argument agaihs
Christianity Collapses under the VI
grammatical but sincere statenen
The athelstic professor OF naturai pm
losonhy goes down under the story
that backwoodsman's conversion.
s Start Anew.
All that elaborate persuasion OF IL
, old folks Of the folly of giving up a
h tive life too soon means nothing
compared with the simple incident yo
s NAV relate to them Of the fact th'
BENJAMIN Franklin was governor
PENNSYLVANIA at 81 years OF age al
}. ,bot D.ndclo Of Venice at 90 years I
age. although his ryrSighi had oee
DESTROYED through heing compelled [
his enemies to look into pollSh'
q metal basin under the full blaze OF u
\ sun until totally blind yet this sign
"a less nonagpnaran lrading nm army