The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-07
BY WILLIAM 7. ELLIS.


BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
The sin of the young makes the
sorrow Of the old. There is no land
or time wherein the cry of King Da-
via over his renegade son is not echo
ing from some parent heart: 80 my
son Absalofn, my son, my son Absa-
lofn! would 1 had died for thee, Q
AbsaloTn, my son, nay sonP" Great
poems have been written upon
this tragic incident, OF the king at the
gate. waiting for tidings from the bat
tie upon which the fate of his king
dom hinged, yet more concerned Tor
his erring boy than for his throne.
Human ties are strongest. All the
millions and power that men possess
cannot atone for the heartbreak OF
having sons who are fools ana vast
rels. One or the greatest merchants
OF the new world recently died from a
broken heart. because his son had
died as fool dieth. There is no in
terest in all the world SO important as
the welfare OF the boys. That Is why
the nation Is giving redoubled atter-
ton to whatever ministers to the
Railyine to the Trouble Flag.
This perfumed prince and royal
RAKE of an ancient day had stolen the
hearts OF the men of Isreal, and had
set up the standard of revolt at He
bron. From thence he had marched
upon Jerusalem, taking his blindly
devoted father by surprise. and COM
polling him to fee for his life, through
a Garden of Gethsemane. utterly
crushed, the king would have des-
paired at this perfidy of his own be-
loved son. There was no further heart
in him to stand or to fight.
There are some kinds of men whose
friends prove themselves in time OF
adversely. David was one such: me
rabble went with Absalom, but to Da-
vid there remained many loyal hearts,
upon whom the princes good looks
and polite practices had created no
impression but that of indignation and
contempt. Some OF these had been
with David in the hold; little these
rough men of the wilderness cared for
Absalom's deliberately dressed hair.
They were the old guard, who knew
how to fight for their leader. and to
when q man flies the trouble nag,
he learns something about himself, as
we'll as about his friends. For IL he
has been living big, brave, strong,
unkelfish life, adversely will only
prove the genuineness and steadfast-
ness OF hts friends David had a host
of such, who were willing to tight
with him to the last ditch.
sycophants and Friends.
on the other hand. Absalom had an
army OF sycophants who were willing
to make merry with him so long as
he paid the piper; They followed Es Alb Alb
for their own profit. They were fair
weather friends, such as the most con-
temptible weakling can get in any
number by a days lavish spending on
broadway. Thousands of present day
Absaloms think that these are real
friends, never having learned that
friendship feeds on other food than
favors. 1t needs strength of charac-
ter, and the ability to get out of ones
= - 4tl<.s.c
I'm order TO make friends. Selfish men
are frfendless men.
Once on shipboard I Travelled with a
young German returning from South
America. who had many curious
trophies. The most interesting of these
"a rather grisly memento-was the
shrunken head of a native. 1t was the
head OF a full grown man. yet no larger
than that OF a monkey. 1t seems that
the natives in one part of South Amer
lea decapitate their enemies, and then,
by a secret process. In which red-hot
stones are said to figure, they remove
the bones Of the head and shrivel up
the flesh and the skin so that the
features and contour are preserved, but
diminished by five-sixths. Anybody
who has seen or handled one of these
shrivelled heads will not soon forget it.
THAT horrible practice suggests the
truth that selfishness shrivels up hu-
man nature. Absalum was adorned
with a famous poll; but it had been
shrunken by the blistering Goals OF sell
fishness so that, truly seen, 1t was but
a hideous miniature of the measure of
a man.
When Battle Is Joined.
A mans past determines his future;
as certain eminent politicians. have
found whose prospects have lately been
blasted by revelations OF their true
past. When this battle between the
rebel son and the royal father was
Joined, Absalofn's antecedents fought
against him, whereas David's were like
a reinforcing army. A heaFtbroken old
man was David, but still he was a
great general. The training of years
could not be shaken off. 1t was Inn
possible for him not to do the wise and
soldierly thing. Moreover, he had with
him the veterans OF many wars, ac-
eustomed to conquest under his banner.
army OF David; they were on the
kings service. and not seeking their
individual ambitions. They Insisted
that during the battle he should remain
IN the city, saying, Thou art worth ten
thousand OF US" In his hour OF bitter
ness that must have been a sweet as
surance to David. Just to feel the
nearness OF true and loyal hearts is a
profound source OF comfort. The
knowledge that these men loved and
trusted him so was a success greater
than the possession OF a Kingdom. So,
with new dociIIty, David, who through
out this experience shows as one of the
most pathetic figures in history, yield
ed himself to the counsels of his
friends. Only one condition did he i'm
pose upon them: Deal gently for my
sake with the young man"
Hanged by His Hair.
TO such a battle there could be only
one issue. The forces OF selfshhess and
greed and disunion were arrayed
against q trained army, animated by
one purpose Twenty thousand of Abb
saiom's host fell before David's men
and in flight through the woods. As
for Absalom himself, that hair which
had been his pride and delight became
his undoing As he rode furiously
his own precious hfe-talking nc
thought Of rallying or resculng those
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