Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-01-07
SATURDAY Az NIGHT Y! |!
Xl(}SER M
,W@A@ BY
p REySAMUEL
u WpuRVlSDl
DO THEY ..COME BACK7''

MRukvIAUu
DO Trey "COME BACK7"
Text. LET the shadow return back
ward."-II Kings xx. TO-
A new term has come into our won.
derful American phraseology, already
rich with expressions from the "dia.
mond.' the "gridiron" and the "turf."
Now from the squared circle" comes
a so called Renoism. It is
stated positively. like an axiom in
that 'they, don't come
back" That is, he-to quote a certain
famous colored lady-that brings
home the bacon" must be one who
hasn't had u defeat or hasn't been too
long out of the game. To step out of
line. or worse, to be pushed out. marks
the beginning Of the end. No rabbits
foot talisman can ward of the inevi-
table hour. From that time 1.-THE paths
of glory" lead but to defeat.
10 II Trus7
Let's face the question bravely and
sensibly. After one has reached the
zenith of his powers and there comes
q reverse, more or less serious, can
be "come back?' Physically seldom
or only for time For the fighter,
the sprinter. the ball player, the ath-
lete, the man who has had break
down (his friends tell him vertigo"
the doctor says "slight stroke"). the
woman with nervous prostration, it's
a mighty SOLDERING thought-but you've
touched your limit. You've caught
sight Of the day when you can't "con'e
back" In that vague thing we call
success" can. one 'come back" after
defeat or. failure? Yes, frequently.
Mark Twain did. And the business
world Is full Of men who went down
In tlefeat only to rise again to greater
heights. But, mind, you, I'm an opti'
mist. Cold blooded statisticians say
Is per cent do not ''come back" How
ever, % do. You may be among them.
In the moral world can one ''come
backs" Thank God, yes. Not al
ways into the society against which
they have sinned, but into regard
of right minded men and, most of
all, into their own self respect. 1t
is. old fashioned, it seems, to quote
i"Whlie the lamp holds out to burn,
the vilcst sinner may RETURN" but it is
an eternal truth.
10 Defeat Failure7
: You cannot always measure q man
by his defeats. You must know what
use he makes of them. The injured
oyster turns his wound into pearl.
The young Jew Disraeli sits down
amid bowls of derision at his maiden
speech in the house Of commons Ills.
answer lis. "The day will come when
you shall hear mev Carlyle through
many weary years, In poverty and
pain, writes his first volume Of 'The-
French Revolution He lends the
priceless manuscript to Stuart Mill,
and MilPs servant lights the fire with
it. In spite Of his hardship and de"
spair again he wrote the masterpiece
of today. Milton is blind. Dante and
Hugo cxiles, Bunyan. Raleigh and Lu'
Their are in prison. Darwin and II. /.
Stevenson are inyaIids. Eyes, but
they all made good; they came back.
Mr.. Preacher" True. But Robert E.
Lee didn't. He surrenders his sword
and the Army of Northern Virginia.
Yet north and south say he is greater
than If he had triumphed. Some men
fight and win; others fight just as
faithfully and lose. Many splendid
success Is built upon a heroic failure.
Up In the dungeon at Machaerus
there's fash Of steel in the. shudder'
ing light, and John the Baptist has
failed-only to succeed. Sunset at
midday on Golgotha. A mangled body
is hustled into q borrowed tomb. and
the Man of Nazareth lies among the
failures of time-only to succeed for
eternity.
The Dial Of Ahaz.
Well. when we arc all done here, Will
there be another chance to come
back?' Is there somewhere in the
spirit world where we have another
opportunity? Can we take up the task
sighted here? Will God turn back the
universe and give us yesterday? No
one seems to know. ""Tis not so
nominated III. the. bond"-that is the
Bible. There's no encouraging word
from that undiscovered country from
whose bourne no traveller has ever re-
turned Better not coun. on it. LAS
tree. falls so shall it lie." Each new
morning. is the slrest chance to "comc
back" Sometimes your day may be
prolonged. Once upon time an an
ciept. king named 4Iezekiali was sick
about to die. Prayer was offered Tor
his recovery. In the courtyard. Wis.
ible from his palace window. was the
town clock. a great dial, built by King
Ahaz years before. AS sign Of fa-
vorable answer the shadow was to go
back ten degrees on the dial. At high
noon some supreme light shone from
the mercy seat. like that shone "above
the brightness of the sun" to Saul OH
the way to Damascus. rose on the otb@
er side Of the dial Of Ahaz, and Heze-
kiah had fifteen years added to his