The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-21
Here and There
In the News

| AoI 81 liAo VI
member of the Confederate Congress
in Richmond and repeated thirty years
later at the funeral of Zeb Vance in
the Senate chamber at Washington,
the Rev. DR.. Moses d. Hoge, one of
the, most effective pulpit orators this
country has known, spoke of the GER
tainty of death, "the boost of heraldry,
and the pomp OF powere," and of how
little all this counts for in the newt
able hour which comes to all man.
kind. Those who heard his dis
course on either of these occasions or
who have read it in the Record will
recall the very striking illustration
employed by the preacher to enforce
the lesson of the day: a royal funeral
before the King of France and his
| court at Notre Dame seated in all the
majesty and ceremony OF royal state,
| the bier before the altar draped in
mourning for the departed spirit and
Massillon, the most noted of French
orators. in the pulpit. The scene was
oppressive; on every hand in the
great cathedral there were the trap
pings of grief and from the vaulted
roof came back in waves of sorrow
the plying strains of the ''Miserere,"
Clad in his priestly robes Massillon
arose in the pulpit. His eyes wan
dered over the impressive scene-the
vast assembly, the King and his
court, the purple emblems of sorrow
and finally resting upon the high
erected bier, MassilIon exclaimed:
There's nothing great but God"
The Lesson Of Yesterday's ObsequIes.
1t can well be imagined what
meaning this exclamation conveyed
to the royal audience and to the
people on that occasion, and 1t comes
back to the thoughtful heart when
ever one Of the mighty men of this
earth join the innumerable caravan
moving on and ever on through the
valley of the shadow into the light
beyond: when ambitions and achieve
ments and hopes are but as the dust
of the chariot wheels of the King 4
Kings. There was a great lesson in
the Capital OF the Nation yesterday
of the vanity of this thing that men
call life and such, indeed, 1t is, for
as Longfellow expressed It:
This life OF mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call death"
Down in the Old North State, as al
ready noted in this column. the queer
things men say and the queer things
they do. possess many charming feat
ures. There is living in Charlotte al
very able and eloquent Presbyterian
preacher, who has a cousin by the name
Of Aleck Graham, for many years one
Of the bright educational lights of the
town. There Is in the same State a
large and thriving, settlement almost
wholly made up Of the descendants Of
Scotch immigrants or Of the immigrants |
themselves, for the Scotch are a hardy |
race, some of who still speak Gaelic. |
or at least Aleck Graham said so when |
he told the story. The preacher was in |
vited to deliver a sermon at Laurin- |
burg on a notable anniversary occasion, |
and, as he knew what his congregation |
would be, thought that he would make |
an impression which he did, as the Sc |
ouel will show.
Brushing Up on Gaelic.
One night before the event he went |
around to cousin Aleck's>to make some |
inquiries about the people. and in the
course Of the evening said:
Cousin Aleck, do you happen to know |
any Gaelic?'
Well, | know a few words. and |
strange to say, now that you have ask
ed me, / remember a little song in Gae-
lie / have not thought OF for nifty years
but l believe I could sing it now"
I'm so glad; sing it. Cousin Aleck;"
and Cousin Aleck sang it.
Sing it again, Cousin Aleck." and
Cousin AIeck sang it again. and for
the third time
Then the preacher sang it. and as
he has "a good voice for singing" as
well as for preaching, he tried IT over
and sang IL we'll. He had gotten pre-
cisely what he wanted for the~oc-
casion just ahead of him. and when
the day came he was in Laurinburg
ready to perform his part in the cele-
bration OF the event that had called
him there. The church was crowded
and the spirit of the devotion filed
the souls of all the worshipers. The
preacher was at his best, which Is
rather better than any other preach
er's best, and after n most eloquent
passage in his discourse he paused
and sang the little song in Gaelic
Cousin Aleck had taught him. The
effect was immense, as the saying
goes, and the sermon moved on in
orderly fashion to it's 'fnality and in
my brethren" The peo-
pie crowded about the dominic and
among them an excellent Scot who
said
What the Song Meant.
Mr.. Meenister-That was a most
excellent sermon; but l would like to
cay that the song you sang comported
neither with the dignity OF your
subject nor the solemnity Of the
occasion; do you happen to know what
II means"
mo" answered the preacher, II
don't know what 1t means"
where did you get it and who
told you about it?" persisted the in
quirer.
why" answered the preacher, II
got it from Cousin Aleck Graham"
Well, I'll tell you what it means:
it means: The dram is good. the
dram is good, the dram is good: /
like it,"
1t is said that the preacher got
away from Laurinburg in fairly 1
good order, but from that day to this.
he has never sought any further in
formation from Cousin Aleck on the
subject of gaelic, one OF the most
OF tongues and especially
adapted to the expression of noble I
Thoughts in brief sentences.