Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-03-22
GOOD INFLUENCES.
Or. Talmage Talks About the MISSION
NJ the "Wrlter's IDkhOrf.
How II Makes For the Worlds Bettermcn'
..The Inkstand Of the Worlds
Eyangelization.
downright 1901. J

.un, necuIiar text DR.. Talmage dis
drUrm 81 good influences brought to bear
for the worlds Improvement. Inc text is
Ezekiel tx. Q, And one man among thehl
was clothed with linen, with a writer's
inkhorn by his side, :: to,.,
The poem from which my. text IS taken
is epic. lyric dramatic, weird ana over,
lowering. 1t is more than Homeric OF
T pontesnSe No one ever had such dl-
Vine dreams as Ezekiel In VISION TINS
nronhet had seen wrathful angels, destroy
inc angels. each with a sword. but IN my
te4t he sees a merciful angel with an INK
horn. The receptacle for the ink IN oiden
time was made out of the horn OF COW
or a ram or a roebuck, as now IL is maui
out of metal or glass, and therefore was
called the inkhorn, as now we say inh.
stand. We have all spoken OF the power
of the sword, of the power OF wealth., oi
the power of Office, OF the power OF social
influence. but to-day ] speak of the power
for good or evil in the inkstand. IL is
upon your tables, holding black or blue
or red liquid. 1t is fortress, an armory,
gateway, ransom or a demoiltlon'
"You mistake" says some one. 1t IS the
pen that has the power" No, my friend.
What is the influence of dry pen! Pass
it up and down a sheet of paper, and 1t
leaves no mark. 1t expresses no opinion.
II nives no warning. 1t spreads no intelli-
pence. 1t is the liquid which the pen dips
out of the inkstand that does the WORK.
Here and there a celebrated pen, with
which Declaration of Independence or
Magma Charta or a treaty was signed mas
been kept in literary museum OF nationai
archives, but for the most part the pens,
whether, as of old, made out OF reed OF
l. .,1 rcftl
tallic substance, have disappeared, while
the LIQUID which the pens took from the
inkstand remains in scroll5 which, If put
together, would be large enough to en-
wrap the round world. For practical, Tor
moral, for religious, for eternal purposes,
| speak of the mission OF the writer's
inkhorn." -,
First. I mention that which is purely
domestic. The inkstand is in every house
hold. 1t awaits the opportunity to eX-
press affection or coincidence OF advice.
Father uses it: mother uses it; the, sons
and daughters use it. 1t tells the home
news; it announces +he marriage. the
birth, the departure, the accident. the last
sickness, the death. That home lnkstand
what mission it has already executed
and what other missions VIII u YET lai,
FIJI! May il stand off from all inslncerity
and all uuerulousness. Let it tell only that
which it would be well to read after the
hand that wrote it and the hand that re-
ceived it can write no more: Dip out OF
that inkstand only that which is paternal,
maternal, filal, sisterly, brotherlly. Sacred
let it be, not to what are sometimes called
the Household GODS" but to the one and
the only God who "setteth the solitary IN
families" Dip out of it solace for par,
ents on the descending grade OF years and
encouragement for those who are climbing
the sleeps.
The carvers and glass blowers are ever
busy making more ornate and skilllnl
bowls for the ink, but not one OF them VIII
be SO sacred as the old fashioned inkstand
out of which was dipped the liquid for the
making of the family record on the plank
leaves in the Bible between the Old and
the New Testaments, not so many leaves
now blank as before recent years MADE
birthday or mortuary Insertions. FROM
that home inkstand the child, dips, out
material for those large and awkward let
tiers that one always makes when learning
to write. and from it are taken the trem,
bling letters that show the wrinkled hand
is gradually forgetting its cunning
Oh, We who have with recent years SET
homes of your own, out OF the new nome
inkstand write often to the old folks, II
they be still living, A letter means more
to them than to us, who are amid the ac-
Invites Of life and to whom postal CORE
spondence is more than we can manage.
they await the coming of the letter. Un-
dertake no great thing in life without their
advice Old people for counsel, young peo-
ple for action. Even though through de-
cadence they may be incompetent to give
valuable opinions on important AFFAIRS,
compliment them by asking their, counsel
It will do them good; it will make their
last DAYS exhilarant. Make that home ink
stand a source of rejuvenescence to those
who are near the terminus OF the earthly
Journey. Domestic correspondence is not
attended to at once The newspaper,
Joining with the telegraph, bears the It'd
ings Of all the neighborhood, but swlttest
revolving wheel of modern printing press
and quickest flash along the. electric wires
can never do the sympathetic Work OF the
home inkstand. As the merclful angel OF
my text appeared before the brazen altar
with the inkhorn at his side in Ezekiel
vision. so let the angel of filial kindness
appear at the affairs Of the old homestead:
Furthermore, the inkstand of the busi-
ness man has it's mission. Between now
and the hour of your demise, . CONNER,
cial man, o professional man, there Will
not be day when you cannot dip from
the inkhorn a message that will influence
TEMPORAL and eternal destiny There Is
rash Young man running into wild specu-
lation, and with as much ink as you can
mt on the pen at one time you may save
him from the Niagara rapids OF ruined
| life. On the next street there is young
man started in business who through lack
of patronage or mistake IN purchase OF
goods or want of adaptation is on. the
brink of collapse. One line OF ink from
YOUR pen will save him from being an un'
| derling all his life and start. him on ca
reer that will win him fortune whicn
will enable him to become an endower OF
| libraries, an opener OF art galleries and
| builder of churches.
The most largely successful and useful
| men of our time once wore an old coat
| because they could not afford new one
and got wages less than that which they
paw their cook or butler. 1t will be
| mighty thing if out of your inkstand you
| can dip mans earthly and everlasting
| fortune. Dip out of that inkstand not one
word of DISAGREEMENT. People have
| enough burdens to carry without your
| adding one ounce to the heft. From your
| inkstand put not one blot on an honest
| ambition. Keep all the whole OF your fac
| tory spinning rays of sunshine. If you are
| Christian man, put into your business
| letters an adroit, moral, religious sugges
| ton that will keep the receiver thinking
| after he has left the counting room for M
| home and far on into the night when ne
| lies upon a wakeful pillow. Tomorrow
morning at IL o'clock, as you begin to an
swer your letters, you will have on the NH
of your pen enough ink to. save soul from
death and hide multitude of sins. 49,.
| Furthermore, great are the responsible