The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1901-05-31

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Sod launched this world, and H,
never launched failure. The Gar
den of Eden was a useless moras:
compared with what the whole worlG
will be when it blossoms and leaves
and flashes and resounds with its
coming glory. God will save it any
how, with me OF without me, but
want to do my share. l have some
equipment-not as much as some
others, but what 1 have 1 will use
have power to frown, and 1 will
frown upon iniquity. l have power
to smile, and / will smile encourage
ment upon all the struggling. have
a vocabulary not so opulent as the
vocabulary of some others, but l
have a storehouse of good words,
and / mean to scatter them in help
fulness. 1 will ascribe right motives
to others when it is possible. If can
say anything good about others, l
will say it. If I can say nothing but
vile of them, l will keep my lips shut
as tight as the lips of the sphinx,
which for 5000 years has looked off
upon the sands of the desert and
uttered not one word about the desc
lation. The scheme of reconstruct
ing this world is too great for me
to manage, but / am not expected to
boss this job. / have faith to believe
that the plan is well laid out and Will
be well executed. Give me brick
and a trowel and 1 will begin now
to help build the wall. l am not
soloist, but / can sing Rock of Ages
to a sick pauper. l cannot write a
great book, but l can pick cinder
out of child's eye or splinter
from under his thumb nail. | now
enlist in this army that is going to
take the world for God, and | defy
all the evil powers, human and satan
ic, to discourage me. Count me into
the service. 1 cannot play upon
musical instrument, but L can polish
a cornet or string harp or applaud
the orchestra"
All through that mans experience
there runs a faith that will keep him
cheerful and busy land triumphant.
I like the watchword of CromwelPs
Ironsides, the men who feared moth
ing and dared everything, going into
battle with the shout: THE Lord Of
hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is
GU refuge! Selah!" No balance that
human brain ever planned or human
hand ever constructed is worthy of
weighing such a spirit. Gold and
precious stones are measured by the
carat which is four grains. The
dealer puts the diamond or the pearl
on one side of the scales and the
carat on the other side and tells you
the weight. But we need something |
more delicately constructed to weigh |
that wonderful quality of faith which |
1 am glad to know will be recognized |
and rewarded for all time and all |
eternity. The earthly weighman
counterpoises on metallic balances
the iron, the coal, the articles of hui
man food, the solids of earthly mer-
chandise, but he cannot test or an
nounee the amount of things spirit
ual. Here is something which the
Attic and Babylonian weighing sys-
TENS of the past and the metric
weighing system of the present can
not manage. THE Lord weigheth the
spirits"
Put also into those royal scales the
spirit. Every healthy man
and woman has ambition. The lack
of it is a sure sign of idiocy or i'm
The only question is, what
shall be the style of our ambition?
To stack up stupendous fortune, to
acquire a resounding name, to sweep
everything we can reach into the
whirlpool of our own selfshness-that
is debasing, ruinous and deathful. If
in such a spirit we get what we start
for, we only secure gigantic discon-
tent No man was ever made happy
by what he got. 1t all depends upon
he spirit with which we get it, and
he spirit with which we keep it, and
,he spirit with which we distribute it.
Not since the world stood has there
oeen any instance of complete happi-
ness from the amount of accumula-
ion. Give the man of worldly ambi-
lion 60 years of brilliant successes.
lie sought for renown, and the nations
peak his name. He sought for afflu-
nee, and he is put to his wits end
% find out the best stocks and bonds
n which he may make his investments.
lie is director in banks enough and
rustee in enough institutions and
president of enough companies to
oring on paresis, of which he is now
ying. The royal balances are lifted
o weigh the ambition which has con-
rolled a lifetime. What was the
worth of that ambition? How much !
lid 1t yield for usefulness and Heaven?
less than scruple, less than grain
# sand, less than an atom, less than
lothing. Have funeral a mile long s
With carriages, let the richest robes &
# ecclesiastics rustic about the cas-
,et, caricature the scene by choirs t
which chant: blessed are the dead I
hat die in the Lord" That mans life {
s a failure, and if his heirs scuff1e S
n the surrogate's court about the in /
a pacity of the testator to make a {
asst will and testament it will only {
'e prolongatiop of the failure. The 6
on, through dissipation, spent his '
hare of the fortune before the father I
led and so was cut off with a dol s
ar, The daughter married against his c