The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-25
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
BY THE Rev. FRANK. DE WITT rALMAeg. D. D.

1 inIlQenCe
- cupation of the evening hours is the
tonic of this sermon, which is especially
timely at the beginning of winter. The
preacher pleads for wise and eaIetui
method of spending the leisure period Oh
the day The next is Psalm civ, 70, Man
goeth forth unto his work and To MS
labor until the evening"
never take walk or ride upon a
street ear or enter a store or finish
tournev upon a railroad train without be-
ing impressed with the universal fact
that this is a busy world. Most people
are in a treadmin of ceaseless activity.
OF course there are individual exceptions
to this rule, but the vast majority OF the
human race are working just as hard and
as long hours as it is possible for them
to do. We may think that some men are
not working up to the full limit of their
mental and physical capacity, but II we
once put ourselves in these mems places
Invariably we will find out that we could
not work harder than they if we tried
to do their kind of labor. What a lazy
fellow!' once said gentleman who was
impatiently watching a workman empty
IL
means of bucket. "Why, I could fill
that bucket twice to his once!' Al last
he determined to set his workman an ex-
ample of the right kind of industry 80
he took the pail out of his employees
hands and went to work with intense zeal.
The water simply flew out OF that tank
| Instead of filling the pail two or three
times a minute, he emptied SIX or elen.
bucketfuls of water a minute mere
not work like that?' please, your nom
or" answered the workman. would you
be kind enough to go on working that
| wav for another twenty minutes! never
doubted that six pals could be emptled
in a minute, but what 1 want to Know
is how long you could keep on Worklhs
| at that rate II you had to work all oay
long" 1t is easy enough TOT soou iaoo
| horse to run a mile under three minutes
but how many miles could he cover at
that rate? Yes, [ am right when as
sert that the vast majority OF people are
working up to the full limit OF their phys
zeal and mental capacity. II they Were
compelled to do much more, they "ouiu
soon have a physical collapse, as an over
driven horse might be easily killed Il
| forced to go far at racing speed
All Still at Night.
This worldlike work starts at early
dawn and continues right on to sunset
Hour after hour the Waterman PAGES
his lonely beat during the long dark
hours of the night. No one seems TO
be anywhere around. The great city
seems to be dead. One o'clock passes
| Two O'Clock comes. All is still. Then
3 O'Clock and o'clock. Then the mlS
wagons begin to rumble. The electIlc
cars begin to rumble. BY and by tue
myraids upon myraids of people break
fast Then the day workmen begin TO
climb their scaffolding, and the me-
chanics to sit at their benches, ana Iac-
tory wheels begin to turn, and the stores
are crowded with customers and the law
courts are filled with busy lawyers, and
the various human beehives hum ana
| buzz with life. But as the day speeds
on the tired laborers begin to look at
their watches. Three o'clock in the after
noon comes. Then A, 5, g. Then the rae
tory whistle blows. The great business
centers Of the town are emptied. The
shutters are put up. The securities are
locked away in the vaults. The show
cases are covered with protecting cloths.
Man may work eight, ten or even twelve
hours. but the evenings for the most part
are his own.
Now / want to consider with you what
we shall do with our evening. | am not
here to talk about what we shall do as
clerks down at the store, when the eyes
of our employers are on us. But what
shall we do with our winter evenings,
when we are practically our own masters
and can do with our time as we will?
The evening. in the first place, should
be the home hour. 1t is the time when
a man should get acquainted with his
family 1t is the time when he should
become a child again. Then, instead of be-
ing like Paul and putting away childish
II. ..I,.. 1taN q ha
store and play bean bag with his chill
dren and shoot marbles with his boys
across the figures of the carpet and tell
stories to his little ones, as Eugene Field
used to make rhymes for his babies. 1t Is
the time when You should try to beat
your biggest boy al game of checkers
and when you should read your eldest
daughters latest composition and find
out how she likes her new teacher. Then.
after the babies are put to bed and the
good night prayers have been said and
tic kisses given. it is the time when you
should draw your chair up to te sitting
room fire alongside of your wlfe's chair.
While she is darning the stockings Is the
time when you should open to her your
whole heart and tell her everything about
your hopes and your plans. Before you
married her you did not think any win
ter night too cold or too damp when
you waded through the snow to visit her
in her fathers home Surely you can
afford to spend few evening hours with
her alone as you used to do before she
became the mother of your babies. But,
alas, how many men there are who look
upon an evening spent at home in the
family circle n wasted night How
many there are who when you talk about
their days of counting shrug their Shout
ders and say: YES. yes. | know But
those days are gone for good. | suppose
We all have to be silly once in awhile,
but l have outgrown my lovers age a
long time ago"
Outgrown the Lovers Age.
My brother, have you right to out
grow your lovers age? Have you right
to steal from the home those sacred
hours which you ought to consecrate to
the championship of your wife and chill
dren? Shall we do as many men are
doing who never have their children think
of their fathers except as money making
machines? Shall we let our wives work
and slave for us and yet have that ach-
ing heart void which only a true hus-
bands love and companionship can fill?
1t is said that when Seargant S. Prentiss
was about to die during the long weeks
of suffering which preceded his death he
would never let his wire out of his orom.
With his great yearning eyes he watched
her every step. l wonder what were his
thoughts Happy the man i'll such stu
alton who, looking at the partner of his
life, feels no twinge of an accusing con-
science has no recollection of hours
wasted away from her and from his