The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-20
DIR. TALMACE'S SERMON.


of a definite aim at the outset of career and points out the folly of the wrong start" which must end in ultimate dis appointment or ruin The text is Il sam- uel xviii, p, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son?'
 Every great movement inevitably finds it's specialization in the personality of one or more leaders. Soon after Oliver Cromwell died the Ironsdes melted away. The monarchical throne was again estab- lished. The son of a decapitated ruler was crowned in Westminster abbey as Charles II. When Harold, the last of the Saxon kings. fell at Hastings, William the Conqueror became the undisputed claimant of the English throne, and the Norman dynasty was established. When Robespierre and Marat and Danton died, the reign of terror" ceased. Mob an- archy" had to bend the knee at the shrine of established law" When Prince Absa- lom brilliant mentally and handsome physically, but depraved morally, the un- scrupulous leader of all the insurrection- ists of Davds kingdom, died at once his | followers were scattered and the national upheaval which threatened to demolish his fathers throne was stiled.
 No sooner was this tragedy over than general Joab, the commander of the royal forces, wishes to send the news to the anxious king. He wanted to do as other general have done before and since his time. Commodore Perry. after his great victory on Lake Erie, sent to the Presl- dent this significant message We have met the enemy and they are ours" Will liam T. Sherman in 1863 telegraphed to Abraham Lincoln the news that his jour ney from Atlanta to the sea had been &C., eomplshed So General Joab turned to one of his young men. Cushi by name, and in tones of authority said "Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab and ran'
 The Race of Life.
 Hardly was this command given and the messenger on his way when a stalwart young soldier approached the general. He was a physical athlete. His chest was ! broad and deep, his eye clear and quick. The muscles of his sinewy limbs were | moving in perfect action under the cov- ering of his skin His name was Ahimaaz. l He was the son of Zadok. He was l young fellow of intense energy. He first | saluted the commander in military fash 1 ion, and then said: Let me, l pray thee, run after Cushi." General Joab looked at the young man in surprise He then asked
 
 1 thou run, my son, seeing thou hast no tidngs to bear? Why. Cushi will tell the I king all he wants to know. All that you l can do is to get out of breath, and run l and run and run and run, and yet accom- l plish nothing But the young man would listen to no reason. He again l begged the commander to let him run. l Then, General Joab, impatient to get rid l of the persistent suppliant. sharply re- ;n1. Ind ina n race was foolish, because it was without an object, unless he wanted to outstrip 1 Cush the authorized messenger. as the | bearer of evil tidings. In such a race 1 there could be no prize worth the winning, no goal but disappointment no recogni- l ton of the tremendous expenditure of en- l ergy He ran as thousands of young men | do who leaving their proper post of duty. l come in eager haste to our large cities, neither knowing nor caring for what pur- | pose they are entering the race of life. I Ahimaazes of the twentieth century, l clear eyed and broad chested, 1t is very
 important that you get the right start. l The stronger you are mentally and phy- l sically the more important Is 1t that you | direct your energies aright. The swfter l the locomotives velocity the more essen- tial is it that it be under the charge of l s<illful engineer. for it to have a good l safe track and be equipped with safety brake The longer the carrying range of | a rife the greater the necessity of hav- l ing the barrel aimed straight before the marksman places his forefinger upon the 1 hair trigger Therefore the object of 1 this discourse is to tell young men not only how they are to start. but also how they may have an overrulng providence | to guide them when they start.
 l A Pioneer Journey.
 I l compared to a pioneers journey across the American continent where no white mans foot ever trod before 1t will be such a journey as John c. Fremont took in 1S42, or as David Crockett took in 1910. l or as Sam Houston took when, on ac 1 count of a domestic sorrow, he resigned l the gubernatorial chair of Tennessee in l 1929 and plunged into the dark forests of 1 the west, or as Lewis and Clark took
 when they explored the northwest in 1904 O5. It will be a Pathfinder's journey, be- cause there will be strange and unknown | mountains to climb and freshets to cross 1 and deserts to pass over and quicksands | to avoid and dark continents" to ex-
 plore. Although millions and billions of
 human beings have lived, there is not one | of all those mutitudes who has had just
 the same dangers to face as have you and l. Each man as an individual must be-
 come free thinking and free acting He l must decide his own course. No other can
 place himself in exactly his position.
 l I was never more impressed with this l fact than in my relationship with my fa- l ther do not believe that man and l his son ever lived closer together than did 1 my father and I for oyer twenty years. | There is hardly a city in the United l States of any size which together we have | not visited Upon the high seas we al- | ways occupied the same stateroom. In l the hotels our rooms opened into each other. When at home many night have l I sat LID with him in his study talking | until after midnight. But though l en- | tered the same profession and was his l constant companion, yet I found out that 1 when crisis came in my life l had to 1 decide by the supreme court of my own | intellect, and not with his. l would al- 1 ways ask his advice He would gladly give | me that advice But he would always end
 nm his advice with these words: Now, l my hoy. remember that you must decide | this uuestion in your own way. Every | man knows his own business best ana no | man can rightly decide for another"
 | Young men, you are going to meet temp | tations and dangers which only your eye | can see and only your ear can hear. It IS
 absolutely essential that you have moral
 code bv which you can be able to discern
 orickly right from wrong You should
 have A spiritual compass which will teach | won how to steer clear of the concealed | reefs and the jagged rocks of sin as the
 mariner protects himself against the de-
 struction of the sea by chart and mag l natic needle You should have an indi- | a.a. ,,,hich Iifts the danger signal of sim