The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-05-01

IS killing the business man, lne socAStI
woman, the parents and the children. and
instead of possessing JOY and peace We are
under the Juniper tree. The thirst for
pleasure in these days is so great that we
have become absolutely unscrupa.ous IN our
attempts to gain the objects OF oar dc
sireS We ought to be satisfied with luss
what we are and in the most natural way.
We have come into the world with differ
enr gifts. some one with gold. others with
silver. sriil others with marble and many
with only Gay. and our task is to fashion
these things into the strongest manhood
and the truest womanhood, and to do 1t
in the most simple and unaffected man
ner We are too selfish in our living. we
long to satisfy our appetites, our passions
and our desires. This longing has become
uppermost in our living. and the man who
makes it so makes his appetite stronger
than himself. and his need is dreadful, Tor
he who lives simply to eat. to drink, to
sleep and TO dress, whether he be paurcr
or prince, is on the downward grade 10 &C.
srai-.
Contcntment is one OF the greatest
blessings in the world. 1t Is not question
of the possession OF either poverty or
riches. lie Who knows how to be content
possesses the secret, not because he Is
either poor or rich, but simply because he
knows how to be content. The mere fGct
that we are Christians does not amount
20 much in many cases; ii oar religion IN
creaseS our confidence, our hope. our love.
il is good. but if II gives Us the spirit that
we are better tnan other people. II we seek
TO control the interests ot~other peop.e,
make them fashion their lives according
to or own plan, il We are good Simply
thai we may escape punishment, such
profession OF religion Is almost worthless.
The difficulty is not III our surrounding. but
in ourselves. joy is not in things, 1t IS
IL US"
/ met young woman this winter in the
South who tod me that she was the pos
SCISSOR OF $4,000 violin. and with shin
ing face she said, You should hear the
music O: that instrument and yet in the
hands OF very many people 1t would have
been just producer of unharmonious
sounds. while in the hands Of this gifted
Young woman it was truly marvellous. and
all because the music was in her. and the
violin was the best movement Ct the eX-
preston OF that music.
When Ole Bull, the great violinist, played
in Princeton, one of the professors asked
him if the secret of his success was in the
violin or in the bow or in himself, and re
said, The violin and the bow amount to
but little. l never play until l feel that
pressed. and then Gny instrument l touch
becomes remarkable" Many of us are un-
fitted for life because we have become too
artificial. have had wrong ideals and have
tried to be what we never can be.
A friend recently sent me that wonder
full little book, THE Simple Life" by
Charles Wagner, which every one would
do well to read. To the author of this
book I am indebted for some of the eX-
pressons used above, but in one of the
chapters he tells Us in speaking OF the
home life, I'm the time of the Second En-
pire. in one OF our p.easantest sub-prefec-
Sc.ne baths frequentcd by the Emperor,
there wGs 4 mayor, a very worthy man,
and intelligent, too, whose head was sud-
denly turned by the thought that his SOW
creign might one dav descend upon his
home. Up to this time he lad lived in
the house of his fathers, son respectful
OF the slightest family traditions. But
when once the ail-absorbing idea OF receiv-
ing the Emperor had taken possession CT
his brain he became another man. In this
new light what had before seemed srSi-
cient for his needs, even enjoyable, all this
simplicity that his ancestors had loved. AZ
peared poor, ugly, ridiculous. Out of the
question to ask an Emperor to climb tbs
wooden staircase, sit in these old arm
chairs, walk over such sureranuatel car
pets. So the mayor called architect, an
masons, pickaXes attacked walls and c.
moiished partitions, and a drawing-rooa
was made out of all proportion to
the rest OF the house in size and splen-
dor. He and his family retired Ito close
quarters, where people and furniture IL
commoded each other generally. Then,
having emptied his purse and upset his
household by this stroke of genius, he
awaited the royal guest. Alas, he soon
saw the end of the empire arrive. but the
Emperor never. The folly OF this poor
man is not so rare. As scottish as he are
all those who sacrifice tfeir home life to
the demands OF the world"
-. -. II.
What was the difficulty with Elijah?
First his physical strength had beer over
taxed. He had been iaboring under the
highest tension, his nerves were uastru2g.
and he was just in tie position where
Satan could tempt him the worst. Thcrc
are many like him to-day. They are in
despair, and they need not so much spir-
itual physician as the presence OF doctor
who can tell them that their bodies must
have rest, their nerves must be built up,
and they themselves must remember that
their bodies are the temples OF the Holy
Ghost, and that they may sin against God
just as truly when they break commands
touching the body as when they commit
sins touching the soul. Elijah needed resi-.
and instead of taking it he prayed that he
might die.
Second. he looked away from God to his
circumstances. Up to that time he ea-
dured as seeing Him vino was invisible,
| then like Peter when ne saw the wind that
was boisterous he began to sink. do not
think that any minister could preach to-
day if he realized the iniquity that sur
rounded him, the hypocrisy in many
| hearts, the awful sins in many lives; he
,ro,ld orrou. flint and sicE nt heart and