The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-01
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
BY TIE REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAos, D. Q.

1 Tn disgrace. Sir John Fox Burgoyne said
 nothing He was too much of man to 1 try to clear his own record by besmirch- ing the characters of his brother officers.
 In all probability had he tried to defend himself by denouncing his companions in l arms his last condition would have been worse than the first But there at last l came forward an unexpected defender, who completely vindicated Burgoyne.
 This was Major stovln, whose supposed dead body was lying under the sheet upon the table of the council room. Major Stovin had been very seriously | wounded but he was still alive and | heard all that had been said In the coun- l ell of war. He took up his pen and wig orously championed the cause of the de- | famed officer. He wrote: T was lying | there in the room during the council of 1 war and 1 heard all the officers speak
 l want to testify that Colonel Burgoyne pleaded for renewal of the conflict and not for tretreat." And so. my friends, | even when injustice is being practiced | against you do not waste your time by going forth to attack some one else and trying to besmreh other peoples char acters. Be like Sir John Fox Burgoyne- hold your peace. Do your work; do it faithfully, and God will raise up your defenders. Have nc fear of the results. | The stripling David going out to meet | the Philistine giant had good cause to resent the taunts of his brothers, who mocked him and bade him go home and tend the sheep, but it was a good thing for his people that he controlled his tenn per and went out to slay Goliath.
 Work of the Bitter Tongue.
 The ungovernable temper is to be fear ed and dreaded for still another reason the bitter tongue never made an enemy less bitter; the angry retort never blunt ed all enemys sword or threw him off his guard or made him less energetic | for your destruction. We have read about a great ambassador who was man of such violent temper that even the grand vizier of the Turkish Sultan would trem- ble before him. He would rush into the | Turkish officials presence when anything went wrong crying: Tt must be done, 1 1 tell you; it must be done. or else our warships will soon be bombarding your | capitali" But that is not the way you and l are going to make our enemies | bow before us. We will not subdue them by torrents of invective, but only by kind words. Tt Is the angry tongue that break | eth the bone," says the Bible? Oh, mol By long forbearing is a prince per | suaded. and soft tongue breaketh the | bone" An, my friends you want to over | come your enemies, do you? Then do it 1 not with a sledge hammer but with the power of kindness When person hates | you or il treats you then systematically 1 go forth to win him over by love and | forgiveness.
 I was never more impressed with what 1 love and kindness can do than when 1 studying the life of Lincoln. His gen | tleness did more to save the country and give us a reunited north and south than | all the bullets ever fired or all the | swords ever drawn. His policy of con | querng by gentleness was beautifully | illustrated by an incident told in reference to General Rrosecranes. Missouri was at | that time under his command. Guerrilla bands. for which the Confederaey was in nowise responsible had captured three northern soldiers, one a major the other | two privates, and shot them down in cold | blood. General Rosecrans. to retaliate, | ordered that three Confederates. one a | major and two privates, should be shot i One of those so sentenced to die was | Major Lyons. No sooner did Lincoln hear l of 1t than he sent a telegram ordering a. 1 reprieve until he could look into the mat ter and pass upon the action of the court l martial. When General Rosecrans re- ceived the telegraphic orders he was furi- ous. He declared that if the officials at | Washington did not leave him olne he would resign. This pardoning policy of the President was absolutely ruining the | army.
 What did Lincoln do? Did he discharge Rosecrans? No. After he had looked into the matter he sent a letter to the com mander which went thus:
 l Dear General Rosecrans-I have person. ally examined all the papers in the Lyons 1 case, and I cannot see that 1t is a matter | of executive interference, so 1 will turn 1t over to you. with the full confidence ] that you will do what is just and right, | d. nothing in reprisal for the past only what is necessary to insure security for the future. and reminding you that we are | not fighting against foreign foe but
 our brothers, and that our aim is not to | break their spirits, but only to bring them
 back to their old allegiance Conquer by | lxindness-let that be our policy. Very truly yours, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
 Conquer By Kindness.
 Do you wonder when General Rose
 crans received that letter he refrained
 from executing Major Lyons? Do you
 wonder that Lincoln's policy of love was
 the chief means of uniting the north and the south? Do you not also realize that if you try the power of love and kindness you can change many of your enemies
 into friends? Conquer by kindness was
 the policy of the great President Con | quer by kindness is the teaching of
 my text. Are you and l ready to choke
 back that sharp word we are so willing
 to hurl at our enemies in an angry fit of
 temper?
 But I not only state that an ungov-
 ernable temper makes your enemies more
 hateful and bitter than ever before but
 that an ugly temper reacts and strikes
 hardest against those whom you ought tc
 love best on earth, your own friends and
 dear ones. And of all contemptible and
 despicable actions think one of the most
 despicable is for men and women to go
 off in g rage or fit of sulks merely be-
 cause something goes wrong in the house
 and thereby to make wives Husbands
 and children to live in perfect pande-
 monium of fear. And when l speak thus
 I am not talking about a curse which
 is to me merely theoretical. In every | church I have served as pastor there
 have been to my personal knowledge
 at least three or four families living
 such life as I have described on ac-
 count of the ungovernable temper of one l of its members.
 The other day I had this evil brought | to my attention in very sorcible way
 The telephone bell rang and gentle
 man said: "I am a stranger to you. 1 am in great trouble. Can l come and see | you at once?' Yes I said; jump on
 the car and come up." No sooner did he