Democratic messenger., 1905-08-12

was president OF the famous Ogle-
thorpe university and Mr. Talmagc's
grandfnther's youngest brother" II I
look like Samuel X. Talmage,. who died
before | was born. why coHd he not
have looked like his grandfather or
great grandfather: If inherit my
physical traits from my grandfather
and he In turn from his grandfather.
why. In the same way. cannot trace
back my spiritual nature and those
higher ycarnngs after the better and
nobler life and my holier desires--trace
them back generation after generation
to some remote progcnit0r! Why can
hot hear that faroff voice pleading
with me to be good and true? Jack
London's noble st. Bernard dog heard
"Ihe Call of the Wild" pleading with
him to become wolfish king to lead
OH his hungry pack TO destroy the elk
or the moose caught m the northern
SHOWS. My friends. we. too. may hear
the strange ancestral voices wiihln us.
We know that the voices Of our Chris
tian forcfatlcrs and foremothers. per-
haps hundred years dead, are now
calling TO US to live the Christ life and
TO walk with God. Voices -myrlads Of
voices about us. voices celestial.
voices demoniacal. ancestral voices
which call us up as well as evil voices
which call MS down.
As we place the palms OF our hands
as sounding boards back Of our ears
we may hear other strange voices call
ing us TO the higher life. At first we
cannot make out what these voices
are. We are In doubt whether we are
listening to silence itself or to voices
crying from long distance. We are
In doubt whether we hear any real
sound. just as we used 10 he when. as
boys, we would place our ears close
to the railroad track to hear the rum
bling of the oncoming train. At first
we would hear faint murmur. the
hum of the rail. but the train would
come nearer and the rumbling would
grow louder and louder. So. when we
place our ears close to the side OF the
cradle, we seem to hear the voices of
childhood days. the parental voices Of
the old homestead. These In chorus
are sounding "The Call of the Good"
How long. how very long ago, in child
hood days. those voices first sounded.
Calls "a the Higher Life.
How many years back can you re-.
member those voices OF childhood?
"Oh." you answer. IL can remember
back twenty. thirty. forty years ago.
l can remember clear back TO the time
when | was five years of age. re-
member when my father sold his farm
and went to town and became n store
Keeper. We had big yellow cut on
that farm, which was my playmate.
I wanted TO take that cat along to
town. but mother would not let me.
When all the children. OF whom | was
the youngest. We're piled into the wag-
on to leave the old house. l cried so
hard that mother ut last relented and
said could take the eat. remember
how held that cat In my arms and
carried her to our city house" What.
cannot you remember farther back
than that? oh. yes. you can. my broth
er. | think today you can hear strange
"Volces OF the Good" calling you to the
better life, which were whispered In
prayer over your cradle. Perhaps to-
day you can hear parental voices.
pleading with you for the better life,
which were whispered over you on the
s1nu affnr vnn xyara horn
Many years ago when the Massachu-
setts hills We're covered with forests
and In the dark recesses OF the woods
the smoke from the Indian wigwams
was seen by the pilgrim colonists three
little white children We're stolen away.
Searching party after searching party
went forth. but the lost could not be
found. Many years after there came n
rumor TO the coast that three young
maidens were living with an Indian
tribe In the interior OF the state. The
father and mother of one OF these sto-
len children went TO this tribe. but
when they arrived there they could not
tell their own daughter from the other
white maidens. Their daughter was
stolen when u baby; now she was
grown girl. Finally the mother sat
down under tree and began to sing
the old lullaby with which she used to
Groom her darling to sleep. No sooner
did the mother begin to sing that lula
by than one Of the young girls stopped
In her work 10 listen. Then she crept
up nearer and nearer TO the singing
woman. Then with bound she ran
and placed her head In the white WON.
ans lap and in the Indian dialect sob
bed: Mother. My mother! My lost
and found mother.' All. yes. II was the
voice Of the cradle that called her TO
her mothers side. And so today you
and hear strange voices that are
sounding THE Call OF the Good" They
are the voices of prayer OF love. OF
tenderness with which our mothers and
our fathers gave us 10 God when we
were very little children. Friends. can
not you hear these voices! Just put
your hand To the back OF your ear and
In Gods name listen. Yes. those voices.
those loving voices. those voices OF pa
rental prayer. Of early childhood. ut