The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-05-12

under the act, I will go down like the
Cumberland, with my colors flying.
o, for more men and women or
tact, push and principle.
V. The fifth step in we'll doing IS
to be a man or woman OF faith.
When Thomas A. Edison first con-
ceived the idea of the phonograph, he
said: II can make it." During nine
long years he never lost faith, though
at times it seemed utterly impossible
for him to succeed. And so it has
been with nearly all of his great in
ventions; through faith he has
plodded on night and day, sometimes
forgetting to eat or sleep, yet ever
confident that he was going to sue
coed. The whole history Of u
country has been largely n OF faith.
From the day that Columbus crossed
the Atlantic to the present day, near
ly every great move has appeared IN
reasonable from a worldly standpoint,
but has been undertaken through
| faith. And what shall I now say, for
the time would fail me to tell of Gid
con, and of Barak, and Of J%ephthae.
and of the wonderful things they
have ACCOMPLISHED through faith.
The man or woman who lacks this
quality of faith is of all persons most
miserable, yea, sin lies at their door
and wreaks vengeance upon them.
They don't enjoy their meals because
they cannot trust the cook. The rail-
way conductor Is liable to run b
train off the track, so what is the
good Of travelling? The very earth
itself is liable to open up at any mo-
ment and swallow them. and as for
the Bible. it says, HE that doubteth
is damned"
as ;y1' Be men and women Of eo1'-
Perhaps there was never a tim
when we had so many examples OF
courage as we have to-day.
When the ports Of Europe closed
against the Asiatic Squadron there
was nothing left but to go'to Mania.
Many of our people feared the re-
suits. But Ensign Dewey was a man
of courage. By the forts, oVer the
mines and into the harbor he sailed.
The Spanish fleet was DESTROYED,
many of the forts captured and hnally
Manila taken.
Hobson was no less courageous
when he sunk the Merrimac in the
very centre of the enemies fire.
The P%lattsburgh boys while storm
ing the hills of Santiago sung in the
very hottest Of the battle;
IT'S the star s~pangled banner,
Oh! long NAV it wave,
Ger the land of the free -.
And the home of the brave"
We need more young people to-day
who are not afarid, of the fiery fur
mace, or the den of lions; young peo-
pie who shall go out and meet CO.
Hath in the name Of the God OF Is
rael.
VII. The last quality I shall name
is Perseverance.
Perseverance is the "long pull,
strong pull, and pull altogether" on
1.-THE home stretch"
President Lincoln said of General
Grant, "He Is not easily excited, and
he has the grip of a bull dog. When
he once gets his teeth in, nothing can
shake him off,"
Jacob said to the angel, II will not
let thee 60 unless thou dost bless
me-"
The unjust Judge said, Though I
fear not God, nor regard man, yet be
cause this widow troubleth me, / will
! avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me-" The King
dom of God suffereth violence, and
the violent take it by force.
Robert Bruce made several unsuc-
| cessful attempts to possess his king
dom and crown. While seeking con-
cealment from his foes in a shattered
barn:
HE flung himself down in low despair,
As grieved as man could be;
And after a while as he pondered there,
I'll give it all up said he.
Now. just at that moment a spider
dropped
With it's silken cobweb clew.
And the king in the midst of his thinking
Stopped to see what the spider would 40.
" Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome,
And it hung by a rope so hne,
That how it would get to it's cobweb home,
King Bruce could not divine.
at soon began to cling and crawl
Straight up with strong endeavor,
But down it came, with a slipping sprawl,
As near to the ground as ever"
Nine times the spider tried to reach
it's cobweb home, but every time 1t
seemed to fall still lower.
&" Sure cried the king, that foolish thing
Will strive no more to climb,
When it tolls SO hard to reach and cling,
And tumbles every time"
But up the insect went once more,
All me, tits an anxious minute,
He's only a foot from his cobweb door,
Oh, say, will he lose or win it?
Steadily, steadily, inch by inch,
Higher and higher he got,
And a bold little run at the very last
pinch,
Bravo, bravo!' the king cried out,
All honor to those who try;
The spider up there defed despair,
He conquered, and why shouldn't l?
"And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind,
And gossips tell the tale.
That he tried once more as he tried before,
And that time be did not fail.
"Pay ygoodly heed, all you who read,
And beware of saying, l can't;
It's a cowardly word and apt to lead
To idlness, folly and want"
l am now going to make a state
ment that I do not want anyone to
misunderstood. I would not have
you think for a moment that 1 don't
believe that Christ is our example
in all things, but Paul said follow me