The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1905-12-08


struggle alone to the end.
Philosophers have likened life to n
battle and poets to n journey, while
those Of us who have lived half cen.
tury or more know that Il ls a strug-
! gle frequently without satisfactory re.
suits. We come onto the stage of ac.
! tivity in the bloom of youth and at a
| time when looking about us, we find
our surroundings strange; we have
everything to learn; we see organized
society and behold architecture and
order and system in the pursuits of
men, and commerce and industry in n
| thousand forms, and we wonder from
whence all these came.
We are ignorant of human nature,
but learn that men struggle in the
eager pursuit for wealth and position
and fame, and come in conflict with
one another and that animosities and
ioalOusICs are cngcndcrcd and of this
condition, we realize the necessity for
civil government, for the existence of
law and order and we find that tri.
bunals have been established to make
laws others for their enforcement and
still others to execute them. We rec.
Ogni2c the necessity for education and
learn that If we would eliminate much
of the useless friction in social exist
encc we must have schools supple.
mcntcd by churches.
Although ! am not member of any
established denomination and do not
subscribe to any formulated creed, |
am a dcvOut believer in all christian
institutions and agencies because they
are instrumental in producing high
er state of civilization and in bringing
men into closer harmony and sympa-
thy with their fellow.men and elevate
the race so that the necessity for civil
restraint will in the course of time
largely disappear; and | believe that
our noble dead were fully impressed
with these truths and acted intelligent
ly in accordance with these notions.
Those whose lives we commemorate
were strong in their domestic and per-
sonal attachments; they loved the re-
tlning and elevating influences of the
home circle, the presence of parents
and brothers and sisters, of wife and
children, and the association of good
men; and such men always make good
citizens and contribute healthy innu-
ence in weaving the social fabric.
They were industrious, sober and fru-
gal, and added full measure to the
aggregate wealth of the land. AS
members of the communities in which
they lived, they performed their du-
ties with more than average intelli-
gence and fidelity and although many
of them differed from me respecting
their opinions of public policies, have
no reason to doubt that they did so in
the utmost good faith.
| cannot forego the temptation of
briefly referring to n practice | am
sure you Will condemn. We are quite
too apt in the sharp conflicts of life
to condemn men without knowing the
truth respecting them. Envy and jeal-
ousy frequently prompt to the defama-
tion of the living and to staining their
character and saddening their lives by
the poison of slander only to discover
that after death has overtaken the
victim, he was really very good man.
This order teaches a better doc.
trine; it would have us look on men
in their true light and measure them
according to their real worth, and
eXalt and purify and protect the wo-
manhood of the land.
| never see an unfortunate fellow
being reeling in drunkenness through
the streets, or looking from behind
prison bars, that | do not feel that |
am in sense responsible for him and
owe him active aid and | never wit
ness a painted Courtesan plying her
vocation, that | do not remember that
she was once the innocent child of
worthy parents and that slightly
changed circumstances would have
made her happy wife and mother
OF the many interesting stories re.
lated in the gospel, none is more fas.
cinating to me than the character of
Mary Magdalene who after having
fallen from her high estate was
through the grace and teachings of
Christ restored to a pure womanhood
so that her name has come down to us
through the ages as a model woman
and mothers are not now ashamed to
impart her name to their daughters.
We should not forget that charity Is
one of the great virtues. But | am
afraid we sometimes confuse charity
with almsgiving which is its smaller
and more insignificant part Many
weary human being has sunk down
under the burdens of life and become
tii puNIdol anu lOUlu rest Ill Il pau
per's grave who would have succeeded
and surmounted his difficulties If he
had now and then received kindly
word to help him over the rough
places. And doubtless this is the
meaning Of the Apostle Paul, when he
says:
Though I speak with the tongues
OF men and of angels, and have not
charity, am become as sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And
though | have the gift of prophecy and
understand all mysteries, and knowl.
edge; and though | have all faith, so
that | could remove mountains, and
have not charity, am nothing. And
though | bestow all my goods to feed
the poor, and though | give my body
to be buried, and have not charity, it
protiteth me nothing. Charity suffer.
eth long, and is kind charity envieth
not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up, doth not behave itself un.
seemly, seeketh not her own. is not
gf1xv ~.