Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-01-05

=
we IKE 70 live our lives over again?
q Would we like 10 have the year OF
y 1895 sessl& greet ;uss in. the swadS I;
+ clothes or newborn babe? WoDl1
we like TO make the plea bf theF 6lI
Hpoas Feen in-lrhymes he sang these
Bsd&sn<a: ttr.s sic..swardy Oh, ,irne IN
6 - ! :'' INA again jus. for ,oS,zS,,
some -Ur Us ,rranvy admft trat-we.
eds = -. pest wears ovey.
again. SfQ3hegsE5nst as .franEfy state
that fhed 3arot SO desire Bon jarIin
Franklin belonged to the first gropp.
nucpe " htAfetters 10 his son he. s. tef
thus ~ should have no objection 10 n
Hrepettion OF my life IRON Sits> Begin
49, oE1y asSiEg the advantages au-
shcrs lave asa-sa-seeeHd- edition to cor
eet-'seEse-fasits. -of-tlae- liFst.-So 1
might, besides correcting the faults.
change some sinister accidents and
events OF 1t for others more favorable.
fnt though this were denied L should
lstii accept the Offer" But perhaps
Hen1amin Franklin would not have
Written thus IL he had taken all the
possibilities into account. 1 would
Re to show you in this sermon that
Gods way OF giving only one earthly
life to one man is the best way. May
God help us today as we, on this last
Sunday of the year. take retrospect
Of the years that are gone.
No man, In the first place. could take
the Journey OF life over again unless
be took with IL the dangers that he
escaped In his first experience, which
might be fatal TO him in his second,
nor could he be sure of achieving again
the successes that he had before.
hive been told that when gold was
dscoyercd IN California every boat in
View York harbor that could be
brought Or rented was drafted into
the service TO carry to the western
shores those who were possessed by
the gold fever. So anxious were men
= dig 10 California hills that they
we're ready to risk their lives in any
- hulk. Some three or four Hundred
4azy crafts in the year 1850 rounded
'npe Horn. Some Of these tubs were
Ipt ftto sail rcross Lake Michigan on
asummer day. One, 1 have been told,
vaB nohins but a ferryboat. But.
orange to say, all those cranky boats
p4chcd California In safety. Not one
yes wreckcd that year. Many an iron
nat With screw propeller has since
tPen destroyed upon the dangerous
rocks OF South America. But during
the first year OF the California gold
fever not one boat was lost on the
voyage. So with us i'm the Journey OF
Ne We know not how we have
veathered the financial and the do
r1eotie storms. but we have. We know
dnq no well how fierce the cyclones
Rvesblovn. on our Cape Horns. But,
owing weathered them once and real
va what the dangers were. we have
I've doubts whether we should ever
Nbie to weather them again.
And this fact IS especially empha-
red by the awful failures that some
- cur friends have made In life who
fVeoe CREST deal smarter than we and
% were in every way better equipped
the struggle. 1t is such a little
0ing that will turn the scales OF sue
Se>s upfor down. That little thing
always seemed to be on the wrong side
" Pie scales for some OF our friends.
HidS YOU ever know how Hannibal
Hdmlin was first defeated fov the
United States senate? Mr.. Hamgn was
q grcat Joke lover. Away back IN tho
snriy forties Mr.. Hamlln was speaker
of the lower house OF the Maine legis.
hture. There was at that time mem.
! bee<of. aha heuse whose hair was Very
4thiA Ibis member was Very SenSliye-
<Hh,rR. M h,l.l~kal A., i'll. s.s-.wh d.
Hamiin leaned over his desk one day
and said: "Mr.Ts9endSe=sos anye
made a mistake in Parting : OR ia,r.s
f~ peve got twQ, more hairs on one
SIDE mAf you have on the other" That
was a harmless joke, was ii nofg Yet
shat maa fnrou&hf hatc5oke koecaIne
Mr.. Hamlin's bitter enemy. lie said.
mr.. Hamifn has insulted nie.'' A few
years later iIinnniba,r Hamnn was the
candidate of his party for the United
States Senate.S AIR n en- bers sofl tho
MaireNegislature whowere OF. his par
ty voted for him, with the exception OF
this 'one member who had scarcity
OF hair, about which Hamin once
ma5S harmless joke. But the cast
Ing OF that one Vote was the means OF
keeping Hannibal Hamlin out OF the
senate for six years. That one vote
3 was necessary to his election. Thus we
md >thal scores and scores OF our
friends have failed i'm life, as il were,
by the turning OF hair Further
: more. as we look back we can see our
successes have seemed 10 come to us
by the turning of a hair Almost were
We Vng. not once or twice or thrice.
ANY times were we almost ruin
>rever.
~ Dangers Escaped. A 3@ie
- Do you not remember that awful
5truggle You had to get established ir
3busihesssa Night after nigh. You useG
to walk the floor ,TheL, when yea
Just got foothold and things ssemee
to be Coming your way, do you not
remember these years of panic aud
hard timesf Would you IKE to live
those years over ,again2 Your bust
ness partner broke down at that time
WA nervous prostration. He died in
aan insane asylum. Your own brain
WINS almost Sctazed. Your hair is white
n today from those trials, Would you
IS IKE to live them over again? How
q 40 you know you would come through
them next time as successfully as you
chavei dones sYoe know that il seemed
a lrnereo chance that your fathers old
sfriehd came 10 your rescue at that
time or that .oil was. discovered upon
ycuf farm lapd, which land you could
never give away before and which
'laud you were almest tempted to let
IN Entriha.a hna 90 .a
like to be caught again in that rail-
road accidenf re Iwhapslyou were on.
train thai was Wrecked, IN which,
nzIyupasseagers were crushed or mu-
ltilated. iYou' doanoto Know how it hap.
pened. You were sitting in the car
Hadi9gi suddenly The engine gave. a
hriek. the hrakes were damned hard
tdoXa1e Then YOU awake in q .aazed