The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1902-12-05
PETTY ANN0YANCES.
Frank De Witt TaImage, D. D.,
Takes Unique Text.
idkens the Grasshoppcr Pest 20 the
Small nurdens of Life--soIomon's
Advice 20 the Young Men of
His Time II Good Today.

sound advice ARE given to worried,
harassed men and women i'm this ser
mon by Rev Frank De Witt Talmage.
on the text Ecclesiastes xii, >, "The
grasshopper shall be a burden"
\ unique text, capable Of many diff.
ferent interpretations. Some suppose
the Solomonic burden" of the grass.
hopper, or more strictly speaking, Of
the eastern locust, refers to the nag.
ging pains of the chronic dyspeptic.
The locusts, properly cooked, were edi-
bic. They constituted one Of the most
delicate of foods. They were often
served to inyalids and to those whose
weak stomachs were unable to assimi
late any other kind Of diet. Thus
some commentators assert that the fig.
ure Of the text is that of an old man
contorted with pain because his diges.
tive organs have given out The din
ner of lOcusts which he has eaten in
stead Of being transformed into blood
and bone and nerve and muscle is
lying like lump of lead within him.
Others assert that the text is the figure
Of an aged man whose emaciated body.
with its shriveled limbs and curved
backbone, has taken upon itself the
form Of lean grasshopper. Thus
Tithonus in his old age was supposed
to have been changed into this chirp-
ing insect because the Greek gods who
had promised him Immortality upon
earth had refused to endow him with
eternal youth.
But, though many interpretations are
offered to explain the meaning OF my
text, there is one simple Interpretation
which, believe, will appeal to the
common sense of all. Solomon used
the figure Of the chirping grasshopper
10 Illustrate the fact that if we do
not have the grace Of God in our hearts
there will come time when the little
annOyances Of life will tease and tanta-
lie and trouble us. even as the buzzing
Of an insect can destroy the slumbers
Of a sleeping invalid or as the slam
llAHE Vi n MWOI IAdhfN Il III NWMrlN liUS-
Hated patient start up in fright and
Dedews his cold forehead with clammy
sweat. The wisest Of all men seems TO
say to you and me, "The religion Of the
Lord Jesus Christ is just as essential
for the little troubles as for the big,
for the insectile trials as for the noun
famous Affections" The purpose Of
his sermon is to discuss some Of the
little annoyances Of life and to state
now, by the grace Of God, we may
combat them. want to present this
theme TO those whose physical and
mental frames have been prematurely
weakened by the strenuous, hardwork-
ing lives they have been compelled to
cad as well as to those whose once
strong bodies are bordering upon nerv-
BUS collapse on account Of the natural
approach Of old age.
The kitchen and bedroom and nurs-
cry and parlor of the average home re-
veal many Of the so called petty an
aoyances which can render morbid and
unhappy the minds and the hearts Of
The inmates, especially Of the wives
and mothers. 1t is the annoyance Of
rying to build a fire early in the morn
ing, when the damper will not work,
hat exemplifies how the grasshopper
may become a burden. 1t is the trou-
ole Of getting the children off TO school
1t the right time, when the tired moth
sr finds that her boy has worn hole
IN one of his stockings and there is
1ot another clean pair to put on. 1t is
the annoyance of hunting up a pair Of
scissors which your little girl lost when
she took them to make dolls dresses.
II is the annoyance of having the
butcher and the grOceryman fail to
bring home the vegetables and the
meats in time to be cooked for dinner
And then there is the annoyance to the
wife of having her husband complain
because his meals are not served on
lime. 1t is the nagging annoyance that
comes every little while TO all good
Of having lot of people
1rop in for dinner at the last moment |
when you are not expecting them and |
when you have nothing suitable in the
arder to cook for them. 1t is the |
same kind Of annoyance that Martha,
IN the little village of Bethany, expert |
snced when her brother Lazarus |
brought Christ and some of the disci- |
Dles to the home. Or it is the annoy |
snce Of having company call when the
.hlldren have been playing hide and
seek in the parlor and have turned the
furniture upside down as though a cy-
lone had struck it, or the annoyance
# being seen on the stairs by some
particular friend when your hair is
inkempt and your dress is disordered
rom working in the storeroom or from
packing or from putting up lace cur
aims or from canning peaches or max
ng currant jellies for the next winters
upply.
The housekeeper's little annoyances
would not amount to much if there
we're only few Of them and if these
came but seldom. But the
rouble with the burden Of the grass
loppers is that this insect always trav-
Is in multitudes. They advance by
warns, by hundreds, by thousands,
y millions. They travel in such great
numbers that they make the huge
in the African forests turn
nd fee in wild terror for their lives.
hey will destroy every harvest in
heir tracks and eat bare every tree
ranch. Their advent is a curse, and
heir departure nearly always leaves
omplete desolation. In the life Of Sir
'homas Graham, the great financier
gho built the Royal Exchange Of Lon
on. we read that he was left a found
ng in a country field. His mother