The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-11-21
a Courtier on His Knees-Ihe inter
national Sunday School lesson icT
November 26 is "NeheHiiah ,
Prayer.'-Nehemiah l..
D. NIIIIAN II ELIlS.
Nv WILLIAM L. ELLIS.

in. and it Will be easy to near d mp
pant discussion by the young lepoi'f
ers concerning the out-oI1ua 80
religion. Splicing their talk with on
stdarabla profanity, these young men
xiii demonstrate how sucn mo0eih
and wise men of the world as tieiii-
se'ves are quite superior 10 tHdt
crown thing called Christianity. men
90 downstairs to where the edilorlai
writer's have their offices, alonS Will
the men who control the destlnleS Oh
he paper. Probably no profanity
will be heard. and a SURPRISING Pio-
portion of the men VIII De louho 70
be members of the church ana occa-
sionally speakers at religious conVen-
tons. The parallel is significant
but its principal point is that a httle
knowledge of life tends to l~rreVerence
whereas a broader grasp OF hufnah
nature and human history makes
men religious. The reporters VIII
have outgroWn their rivolou 49,
tude toward the sublimities by the
time they have graduated into edl-
torial offices.
In like fashion, one may find the
clerks in the departments at WASH
ington, Ottawa and London, quick
with eleven sneers and goes al re-
ligion. but presidents, premiers, CAB
met officers and other leading states
mel may be found during their hours
Of ease, reading the books of religion
and philosophy. The inventor OF the
Calling gun. DR.. Calling, once SAID
to me when our conVersaLon cnahceu
to fall upon his friend, Mr.. lngerSoil,
hat he thought Mr.. 1ngersoll was q
very able man and a very clever a
but by no means a truly great man.
for every great man is possessed OF
the spirit of reverence. May We not
add that the greatness OF the great
consists in the recognition OF n
greater? The coronation or Kin
George was = religious function.
Our present lesson takes us into an
oriental palace. We find one OF the
confidential servants of "the great
king q man with constant access 70
the royal presence forgetting his pride
privileges and bowling low III
prayer to the ord for Hosts, OLD
Shushan. that scene Of royal pcmp.
never witnessed a nobler spectacle
than N~ehe1niah's ~prayerful concern
Nehemiah vas higher when he bent
upon his knees than when he stood
before the conquering Aerxes.
Religion and Affairs.
There is u suspicion widely preva-
lent that the writer's of religious lit
arature do not know real life. They
dwell in an artificial atmosphere Of
piety. They meet only their own
kind. Like some preachers, they are
out Of touch with men in n every
dayncss OF life, where men meet as
men and the trade Of each is forgot
ten. That religious talk and teachin~
is often perfunctory and professional
cannot be denied. Some Of the
standards they hold up will not en-
dure the fresh air and the sunlight.
Nevertheless and Notwithstanding.
religion is for real men and for
strong men, for the statesman at the
capital and for the farmer at the
pillow. That is one Of the attestations
of the present time. The Men and
Religion Movement which is covering
the country. the rapid spread Of the
brotherhood idea, the astonishing
growth Of Adult Bible Glasses. n
popularity of the Laymen's Mission
AIRY Movement, the imposing parades
of the Holy Name Society, all testify
that Nehemiah. the religious ma OF
affairs, has many successors, and that
the man who Is out in the busy
Of private devotion. The recent death
Of a splendid Southern gentleman,
Justice Harlan, Of the United States
fIprenle Court, recalls the fac that
many Of n ablest jurists in our land
are conspicuously active in church
work.
News From Home.
One evening my raft IN the Tigris
River tied UP at Mosu1. opposite the
ruins of old Nineveh, and reputed to
be the o inaccessible city in the
Turkish Empire. Early the next
morning 1 had q visit from a man
who said that he had seen the Amer
lean flag flying above my tent, and
he had made haste to come and
speak with me because he also was
an American. He was the only
American within a radius of hun
dreds of miles. and it seemed good to
him to see the old flag once more,
and to be able to have n
fellow-American. Throughout my
Sojourn at MoSul ne was at my service
showing me many and varied cour-
tesies. all because / was q man from
home.
That is human nature. An unlet-
tered boyhood friend from h old
home back in the country town, can
have the al of the public man in his
private office, while men OF affairs
cool their heels in the outer office.
Who has not seen a busy city mar
reading the little home paper with
mons intnraof {Aor no haSfn~c &yynOr