Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-01-06
Calnage
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, d. d.

Los Angeles, Cal, Dec. 31.-In this
sermon at the close of the old year
the preacher deals with the discomfort
in the human heart, which often in
spires the wish that we might live life
over again. The text is Job ii, 4, All
that a man hath will he give for his
life"
This question naturally arises on
this last Sunday of the year: Would
we like to live our lives over againF
Would we like to have the year of
1905 again greet us in the swaddling
clothes Of a newborn babe? Would
we like to make the plea Of the old
poet when in rhyme he sang these
now familiar lines:
Backward, turn backward, ch. time In
your flight
Make me a child again just for tonight.
Some of us frankly admit that we
would like to live our past years over
again. Others just as frankly state
that they do not so desire benjamin
Franklin belonged to the first group.
In one of his letters to his son he wrote
thus: II should have no objection to a
repetition of my life from its begin
ming. only asking the advantages au-
thors have in a second edition to cor
rect some faults of the first So l
might. besides correcting the faults,
change some sinister accidents and
events of it for others more favorable
But. though this were denied, l should
still accept the offer" But perhaps
BENJAMIN Franklin would not have
written thus if he had taken all the
possibilities into account. would
like 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 a retrospect
of the years that are gone.
No man, in the first place, could take
the journey of life over again unless
he took with it the dangers that he
escaped in his first experience, Whlcl
might be fatal to him in his second
nor could he be sure Of achieving again
the successes that he had before.
have been told that when gold was
discovered in California every boat IN
New York harbor that could bC
brought or rented was drafted into
the service to carry to the western
| i - .1,oco x,,bo ,xoro pnSspSSpd by
the gold fever. SO anxious were mel
to dig in California hills that they
were ready to risk their lives In any
old hulk. Some three or four hundred
crazy crafts in the year 1850 rounded
Cane Horn. Some Of these tubs were
not fit to sail across Lake Michigan OF
a summer day. One, | have been told
was noehing biE a ferryboat. But
strange TO say, all those cranky boats
reached California in safety. Not one
was wrecked that year. Many an iron
boat with screw propeller has since
been destroyed upon the dangerous
rocks of South America. But during
the first year of the California gold
faver not one boat was lost on the
VOYAGE. SO with us in the journey OF
life We know not how we nave
weathered the financial and the DO
mestic storms, but we have. we kno"
only TOO we'll how fierce the cyclones
have blown off our Cape Horns. But
having weathered them once and real
ized what the dangers were, we nave
grave doubts whether we should ever
be able to weather them again
And this fact is especially empna-
sized bv the awful failures that some
of our friends have made in life VINO
were q great deal smarter than we ana
who were in every way better equipped
for the struggle. 1t is such a little
thing that will turn the scales OF sue
cess I'M or down. That little thing
ALWAYS seemed to be on the wrong siue
Of the scales for some Of our friends
Did YOU ever know how HanniDal
Hamlin was first defeated for the
limited States senate? Mr.. Hamlin was
a great joke lover. Away back IN tne
earlv forties Mr.. Hamlin was speaker
of tbe lower house of the Maine legls
lature There was at that time mem
| her of the house whose hair was very
thin This member was very sensitive
about his bald head. In joke MT
Hamlin leaned over his desk one day
and said. Mr.. So-and-so, you nave
made a mistake in parting your halr
You have got two more hairs on on'
side than you have on the other" ina
was q harmless joke, was it not? 1e
that man through that joke became
Mr.. Hamlin's bitter enemy. He salu
"AIr. Hamlin has insulted me-" A few
wears later Hannibal Hamlin was TN
candidate Of his party for the Unite'
States senate. All members OF ID
Maine legislature who were of his par
tv voted for him, with the exception o
this one member who had a scarclt
of hair. about which Hamlin one
made a harmless joke. But the cas'
ing of that one vote was the means 0
keeping Hannibal Hamhn OUT Vi u
senate for six years. That one vot
was necessary to his election. Thus W
find that scores and scores OF ou
friends have failed in life, as 1t were
by the turning Of hair. Furthel
more, as we look back we can see ou
successes have seemed to come to u
by the turning of a hair. Almost wer
we flung. not once or twice or thrE'
but many times were we almost run
ed forever.
Dangers Escaped.
Do you not remember that avn
struggle you had to get established
business? Night after night you use
TO walk the floor Then, when 20
lust got a foothold and things seems