Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-01-02

@1A
! Copyright. Louis Kiopsch. 1907
SIN this discourse DR.. Talmage shows
| an open door for any one who desires
4to be useful and illustrates how
little thing may decide ones destiny. The
text is Proverbs XIV. IL revised YER
SION, "A word fitly spoken is like apples
| of gold in baskets OF silver.
A filigree basket loaded with fruit -
| put before us in the ext. What IS ordi-
narily translated pictures" ought to be
baskets" Here is a silver network
basket containing ripe and golden apples,
pippins or rennets You know how such
apples glow through the openings OF
basket Of silver network. You have seen
such a basket Of fruit on many table.
1t whets the appetite as well as regaies
| the vision Solomon was evidently fond
| Of apples, because he so often speaks OK
| them. While he writes 10 glowing terms
| of pomegranates and figs and grapes
| and mandrakes, he seems to lind solaee
as well as lusciousness in apples, calling
out for supply Of them when ne says
| in another place, Comfort ME with APP
| pies" Now you see the meaning OF my
text, "A word atly spoken is like apples
Of gold in baskets of silver
You see the wise man eulogizes just
one word. Plenty of recognition has
| there been for great orations. Cicero's
arraignment of Catiline. the philippics of
| Demothenes the five days argument of
Edmund Burke against Warren Hast
| ings, Edward Irying's discourses on the
Bible and libraries full Of prolonged ut
| terances, but my text extols the power Of
one word when it refers TO "a word fifty
spoken"
This may mean single word or
| small collection Of wordssomething you
can utter in one breath, something that
you can compact into one sentence. "A
word fifty spoken"--an encouraging word,
kind word, timely word, sympa-
thetic word, an appropriate word. | can
pass right down the aisle Of any church
and find between pulpit and front door
| men whose temporal and eternal destinies
have been decided By a word
Choosing an occupa ton.
tell you what is great crisis in ev-
cry mans history. 1t is the time when
he is entering an occupation or profess
sion He is opposed by men in middle
| life, because they do not want any more
| rivals, and By some of the aged, because
/ they fear being crowded off and their
places being taken by younger men. Hear
the often severe and unfair examinations
Of young lawyers by old lawyers, Of
young doctors by old doctors, of young
| ministers by old ministers. Hear some of
| the old merchants talk about the young
| merchants. Trowels and hammers and
| scales often are jealous OF new trowels
| and new hammers and new scales. Then
| ii is so difficult to get introduced. How
| long time has many a physician had his
| sign cut before he got call for his SER
| vices and the attorney before he got Il
| case! Who wants to risk the life of his
| family to a young physician who got his
| diploma only last spring and who may
| not know measles from sca.latina, or to
| risk the obtaining of verdict for 10000
| TO an attorney who only hree years ago
read the first page Of Bll ckstone?
| How Is the young merchant TO com
| pete with his next door bargain maker,
| who can afford to under sell sohe things
| because he can more than MIKE il up by
| the profit on other things, Cf has failed
| three times and had more money after
| each failure? How is tnat mechanic 10
/ make a livelihood when there are twice
| as many men in that trade as can in hard
| times find occupation? There are this
very moment thousands of men who are
| Just starting life for themselves, and they
need encouragement. Not long haFangue,
not quotation from profound book, not
page, not a paragraph, but a word, one
word fifty spoken.
4 IL Il
| has been forty years in business, go into
| that young merchants store and say,
| Courage He needs only that one word
| although, Of course, you will illustrate it
| by telling your own experience, and how
long you waited for customers, and how
| the first two years you lost money, and
| how the next year, though you did better
| Illness in your household swamped the
| surplus with doctors bills Why does not
that old lawyer 90 into that young law
| yers office just sfier he has broken down
| in making his first plea before jury and
say that word with only two syilables,
| Courage" He needs only that one word.
although, Of course, you viii Illustrate it
| by telling him how you broke down in
| one of your first eases and got laughed at
by court and bar and jury, and how Dis
! raeli broke down at the start. aud how
| hundreds OF the most successful lawyers
at the start broke down. Why do not the
successful men go right away and tell
those who are starting what they went
through, and how their notes got protest
ed, and what unfortunate purchases they
made. and how they were swipiled, but
kept right Oh until they reached the gold
en- milestone? Even some who pretend 10
favor the new beginner and say they
wish ...i,h we'll put obstacles in his way.
The Need of Courage.
There are SO many men who have MI
the elements of usefulness AID power ex-
cept onc--oourAge Ii you can only under
God give them that yon give them every
| thing. In illustrating that one word show
them that every man that ever amounted
20 anythiu! had terrific struggle. Show
him what ships Decatur had 10 fight and
what mountain Hannibal had to climb
and what a lame foot Walter Scox had
to walk on. and that the greatest poet
who ever liyed-Milton--wa blind. that
one Of the sraudest musicians of all tbs
! ages Bcethoven--w4s deaf, and thai
Stewart, in some respects the greatest
merchant that America ever saw, heGar
in his small store, dining on bread ans
cheese be!and the counter in a suatchee
interregnum between customers, he open
/ ing the store aud closing 1t. sweeping /
out with his own broom and being al:
OWE GRAND boy. Snow tbem that within
| ten minutes walk here are stores. shops