Smyrna times., 1922-08-02
BIB. CAHOON, NATIVE SMYRN|AN
PAYS ANOTHER FINE TRIBUTE
THIS TIME TO THE REV. GEORGE
w. HARLAN OF FARMINGTON,MO
Mr.. CahOOOn Left Smyrna and Went
West in Early Manhood and Father
Harlan Deeply Influenced Him

The third Sunday in November, 1868,
with the late Judge John B. ROBINSON
then but % years old, myself but p
both unmarried, | attended the after
noon services in the old Presbyterian
church at Pennington, Mo. Robin
son from our back seat indicated to
me the prominent members in attend
ance. He called my attention to Mil
ton P. Cayce, of precious memory,
Mrs. Cayce and four sons, Ellis P,
{ afterward my very dear friend,) be-
ing the eldest and their three charm
ing daughter. Mr.. Harlan preached
on the CruSiixion and on the immor-
tally of the soul. l had been born
and raised in Delaware, the nursery
of eloquent preachers, of statesmen
and able lawyers, but Mr.. Harlan's |
beautiful, eloquent and touching SER
mon that Sunday afternoon touched |
deeper spirituality in me than | had
before felt it. He depicted Christ and
His mission with deepest appreciation
betrayed His character in all His over
whelming love, simplicity, and tender
ness for mankind. realized was
not only listening to a cultured, refin-
ed gentleman and scholar, but that the
preacher, though small, was a very
spiritually minded man; that in his
slight body dwelt great soul. My
surprise was the greater to find in so
small a town such a highly educated
preacher. Last weeks News sketch
of Father Harlan showed his early
scholastic preparation for the minis
try-rare preparatory education for
the period in which he was reared.
Mr.. Harlan on that Sunday l first met
him was forty-four years old, in the
prime of his life.
On being introduced to him, | told
him how much his sermon had bene-
fitted me, told him my family, the Ca
hoons, had all been, for many genera
lions, Scotch Presbyterians, except my
father, whose love for my mother led
him to the Methodist church; that |
had usually attended with my grand
mother the Presbyterian church and
Sunday School; that liked the Pres
byterian Church because it stood firm
to its convictions.
From that hour Mr.. Harlan became
my friend. grew to love and to re-
spect him next to my father. For
the succeeding fifty-four years Mr.
Harlan has been an inspiration to me
never was in his presence and talk
ed to him but that l did not feel
wanted to pattern my conduct and
life after him and his. 1t matters not
that l greatly failed therein but the
inspiration made me a better mar
than l would have been without Mr.
Harlan's example.
Therein the man proved his life wa:
far more durable and eloquent thar
any sermon he or any clergyman
could deliver, in that the latter is the
oretical while the influence of the con
sistent life of a Christian man O.
woman is immortal, because we in
stinctively, as we think of them moul,
our lives, more or less, after theirs
That is, we strive to reach a highe
ideal, fall short of it though we may
The point is that Reverend Georg
w. Harlan's life is immortal on thi
earth as it is in Heaven, because tn
good he did and the perfect exampl
he set to those who knew him is cum
ulative, is the best part of our live
and has gone far to form the bette
part of our characters. That goo
influence, that sweet example o
Father Harlan impaired to US will de
scend as part of our hereditary tend
encies, throughout all time to our lat
| est descendants. Therein his good in
| fluence on earth is endless, partakin
| of immortality. For nothing die
| though it may be transformed i
| shape. That is strong argument 70
the immortality of the soul. If low
and nature thus so conserve the TIMES
atom of earth, with what greater fore
will it immortalize the highest-ou
| souls-forever. That was one of til
thoughts expressed by Mr.. Harlan
that first sermon / ever heard hil
preach.
Ill How blest Pennington has been
have had so early and long such me
- and women as Father Harlan ar
I others of her dead we remember ar
honor, to give impetus to. its fiji
civilization. / felt, as saw Il
church attendance at Father Harlan
| funeral July 10, 1922, that | knew ]
| town of its population that could fro
it assemble an audience superior to Il
one then there.
/ Rich and ripe was Father Harlan
scholarship, wide as was his invt
crate reading all his long life, pi
gressive as were his ideas, for
therein was cosmopolitan, never pi
vincial, keeping abreast of the worl'
activities, progress and thought as
did, they are the least of what ne W
and did: perfect Christlike m
4 =. hui CY