Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-18
Sunday Morning Talk.
The Fine Art of Dying.

We speak often Of the fine art OF living,
hut there is an equally fine art Of dying,
and every now and then we get splendid
embodlmeut Of it. No better instance has
been afforded IN recent years than that OF
The late President Harper of Chicago Uni
Versity. There was never man In whom
the tides Of life were stronger lie was
alive to the tips of his fingers. lie tossed
off eighteen hours of work daily as easily
and ioyousIy as the robin pours forth his
morning song. He seemed to be equally
interested In a multitude OF different pur-
suits. As some inviting avenue of labor
opened before him he was in the habit OF
saying How 1 wish l could drop every
ching else and give myself to that" He
was constantly projecting plans whose real
izalIou would require years Of patient and
Intense labor
Il was this eager. ambitious. capable.
tire!ess worker who more than a year ago
was stricken with mortal disease and given
by his physicians to understand that but a
Ycw months more remained 10 him on earth
How did ne receive the announcements Did
he complain and revolt2 Did he show the
white feather? Did ne sink IN the deep
waters of affection? On the contrary, he
at once faced the situation as ne had every
other problem OF his life. As calmly as II
he were preparing the schedule OF lectures
for new term at Chicago University no
set his house in order planned for the com
pletiOu OF important BOOKS, pusHen along
with the days work steadily and as Sc
reuey as though he had a hundred more
years before him. The victim often OF eN-
Crutiatiug pain, ne never lost his nerve, nor
did his iudomitable purpose falter But this
IS by no means all DR.. Harper faced
death as "a Christian should. The great re-
liEi0us problem OF the universe which In
4 a. as.sQg .fH "a Ia
pupils as an abstract matter now came
home Go him as a most vital personal con-
Germ. lie called in his friends 20 help him
find the needed solution lie prayed much
and sought the prayers of others for him
self. lie scrutinizcd his inner motives and
hs put the finger OF self-criticism On what
lie considered TO be his own faults, Out OF
this severe intrOspection and out Of this re-
Canyossiug OF the foundations OF his re-
lgious belief-on which hi- marvellous ca
TCer Of usefulness had all these years been
Duilt-there came 20 President Harper a
fresh and gladdenlng sense OF the validity
OF all his religious hopes and yearnings.
The imminence of death only made more
clear the vision OF the hereafter. so that at
last the uuspeakably great privilege was
given him Of being able 10 say from the
heart i have no idea what the activities
Of the next state of existence will be like,
but | have less hesitation about taking the
next step into the future than | had about
leaving Yale and coming TO Chicago"
Surely there is nothing mawkish about
this method Of dying and there is some
thing far greater in It than stoical accept
ance of the inevitable. 1t must have been
that President Harper, as physical strength
declined, caught a vision OF two great
truths respecting life In the world TO come.
one is that heaven is a place OF larger
knowledge than have here, and the
other that heaven means not idleness. but
work, and work Infinitely more interesting
and varied than any earthly occupation can
ever be. To man OF DIT. Harper's tenn
permanent. with his eager desire for more
truth and his marvellous capacity and rel
ish for work a heaven would be robbed of
Its richest attractions that did not offer the
chance 10 learn and the chance TO do.
THE PARSON