The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-01
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
An extraordinary fact about the
success of many a great man is that
he has gone very low before he began
to rise; the tide seemed to run out to
the limit before it turned. 1t would
seem as if the final test of fitness to
endure success is ability to hold on in
the teeth of apparent failure. Thus,
the great firm of Cadbury, in England,
was on the verge of extinction before
it commenced to rise; the Cadbury
brothers had almost reached the point
where they would be unable to pay
twenty shillings on the pound to their
creditors point beyond which they
each of them had mastered some other
calling in preparation for the failure
which seemed inevitable. when sud
denly the business began to return a
profit. The experience is a familiar
one to most business men; and it was
true in the case of Moses.
AS the American slang phrase has
it, he was down and out" From a
pampered place in the palace. he had
fallen into the lot of an obscure sheep
herder away or in indian. He had
reached the stage of seemingly utter
failure and loneliness. beyond which
he could detect no CLEANS OF success.
At the time he was unable to reckon
up the manner in which these new
conditions were making Tor success.
Yet like his ancestors. Isaac and
jacob. ne ndQ a Sn6DncEO WIG
by the wellside; and the right sort OF
wife is one of the most important ele-
ments in any mans success. He had
undergone the discipline of defeat ana
apparent failure. In this quiet seques-
tration he had been given opportunity
to weigh all considerations calmly, to
take a square look at himself, and to
take account CT stock"
Where Lesson OF Success Is Learned.
The desert of meditation must have
its place in every we'll rounded life, as
truly as the mart of activity Moses
had become learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians; he needed now the
deeper wisdom of self contemplation
and of communion with God. Most OF
us would produce more if we were less
busy. one of the evils of our day is
that men and women are so franucally
hurried over little things not worth
while that they rarely produce any
great work; we have hundreds of
clever painters and scarcely single
great artist; an army or men men ana ana
no great writer's; musicians by the
myriad, but no great singer or player
or creator.
All the real effectiveness is being
hurried out of us. We need to take
time to be that which is worth while.
The Lord is saying to us, as he said to
Moses, and as Jesus said to his dis
ciples, "Come We apart and rest
awhile" 1t is in the lonely places that
we get the deepened vision into life
which constitutes understanding The
career which has had its Egypt, and
expects its Canaan, must also have its
indian.
An Investigators Surprise.
There is a turn of a phrase in this
Exodus narrative which stimulates
thought: when Jehovah saw that he
(Moses) turned aside to see, God call
ed unto him out of the midst of the
bush" While about his every day
81 -1,x of Tof11
70 had seen a bush burning. without
being consumed Instead of passing it
by with a glance, Moses said, 81 will
turn aside now, and see this great
sight
There you have the mark of the I'M
usual man. Every lot and calling is
filled with wonders; but only the rare
follower of that calling sees them. The
number of men who return a puzzled
shake of their heads. or a blank look
when some one projects a why" at
them concerning the things with which
they are most IA nliliar, is really aston
ishing. Ten thousand men have gone
down to the sea in ships without ever
noticing the wonders of the deep which
Frank Bullen, a common seaman. re-
cords in his Cruise of the Cachalot."
An unfailing stream of travellers and
Sightseers is ever in motion over the
earth, but because these have not see
ing eyes most of the world remains in
ignorance concerning the wonders of
the out-of-the-way places. An investi-
eating turn of mind is not common;
Moses had it. because he was not a
common man.
Since It is ever to the inquiring
spirit-"seek and we shall find"-that
God reveals his secrets. he impaired a
great revelation to Moses that day.
For in the burning bush was Jehovah
himself: Moses was not the last who
set out to look into natural phe-
nomenon and found the great Source
OF nature himself. Indeed, no man can
tell when he will come up with God
himself.