Evening star., 1924-10-12

angle made by the interScc-
ton of, Sixteenth ard Mount
Pleasant streets will be ded
icated in honor of the first bishop
ordained in the Methodist Church in
America = Francis Asbury. itincrant
preacher. bishop. organizer of Amerl-
'au tehodlSm, and on" of til"
builders Of the nation. He was a
pilgrim warrior whose conquest was
that of souls.
Augustus Lukeman, The sculptor,
has fixed in enduring bronze TIL.
qualities of the man IN a manner
that is nothing less than faultleSs,
FOR he reveals Asbury in grave COM
munings on things holy. finger of
Ithe right hand keeping a IN ndi;ated
passage in the Bible ready for refer
"nce, while the sIackened rein Of the
horse, whose bent head reaches for
the knee, shows with what = patient.
steady unhurrying the rider made his
,'trcuit.
His was a moving forward in pa
tient endurance III the s1irit of ut
tor self-Sa criiice in the cause II
hinCs thar age spiri;Uai. lu the
journal Of .ASbuy i written: Il
look back upon a martyrs lie Of tod
md priva'i"n and pam. and on sees
that stuff Of which martyrs are made
tin tho nUbls aSCcti ism q: thy statue.
triau one could have captured CON
:uwately the essence OF the mans
lie, and the SITTING is matchleSS in
It's appropriateness for he seems to
hc riding down the mobiles: of our
streets. the Avenue ot The Presidents.
toward the Washington Monument.
WAile OF his left The EapCisis viii
soon erect 4 monument TO Roger. VIII
lams. one Of the uobi->t figures III
Dr - Fee
tory of the country. I, il excellent
company that they have given TINS
intrepid pathfinder into t,ic frontier
= laces Of Il western moving people.
Tor h" t"ivr,-d 2.n.nu" m les and
preached 1900 sermons
lie WAS d chris ian knight of the
-"ad. his "", Sol3l !'oS%" "sSiolI+ gdth-r-
d in their brief space in the Saddle
"ags behind him. lie had no horuo.
or h" felt th;.t il waS 4 = ave in
JnStIre To amy Womsn. should h.
marry. for his would be an s,1seuce
from the roof-tree fifty weeks on;
.'f each year Moreover, h saW
sart thly ties interfere with tn" duties.
Of other ministers. and his VA Ia
unalloyed csrous:ug OF the cause OF
chris: in the New World.
pften he was ill., for his spirit vu$
stronger than his body. ana Yet II,
'raNelcd on, hoping I" fiud -oun" Sl.e!
ter for the night, oUiy to come upon
deserted shack. where, alter i SUP
p"rless night. hc lay utu.i tn. dirt
floor I'D had for rovcr.n" moth ny
hTt his garments. In rhe morning
otter It prayer in gratitude for his
>Jfe- keeping during III" IS II, he
rode on to future labors. th>uEiul 4
te was directed 10 alI Inn "r house
Where simple food could H., obtained.
:: =.
1T was continuous hardship riding
on and ever OF. in heath and III
sickness. in storm and ia sunshine.
In his journal" he sneah@ often a.
the weather. but almost always To
say that il rained hard or that winds
nlew boisterouS1y or that Intense cold
made travelling It difficult matter.
From these constant references IL
the gloom Of his days one gathers his
marked gravity, for he II aver men
tions th" beauty Of the Towering
uillsidcs. the music "f streams. the
piping of birds or the endless wonder
of the starry heavens. Was it that
he feared any and all things that
could distract his attention from
things holy. which meant II him
limited field FOR his soul to Craze i'm"
lie has been mos; apply likencd TO
hat most chivalrous knight in the
service of the ross. ST. Francis of
ASSlSt, bUt lie differed from nm
almost complete lack Of ina gina
zion. They both eSQousad poverty.
both journeyed from place 20 place
n quest Of souls. and both were
princely beggars in the nam" of
heaven. but an cffulgencc of radiant
10y shone from the life of the apostle
IF the twelfth century--a man who
rould stop to preach TO the birds.
whom he called his little brothers.
~ in ,ln
of Il flowing wild crabappIe tree
-,limpse Of the Holy Grain. and in the
Nrnbcr sunlight the Veritable smile Of
Tod.
In that quality of III" overSouI they
differed most markedly. one could
lathe his spirit in the grace Of the
Most High in a glorious sunset: the
other 50 regulated his hours that he
'oulu pray in solemn petitions at
east twelve times q day. Eut that
difference is the balance that we
rtrike to the credit Of the personal
aqua ton. a factor that no man can
"hange. apparently
AS one reads through the three vol
umes of -Asbury'S Journals" he is
ware of a most intimately searching
light that penetrates all the inches
of his life, for he was ever fearful of
iailing from grace, was ever in dread
est some slight weed of earthly quail
ity should grow in the garden Of his
"wn soul. He analyses his reactions
4" all contacts and stimuli, and he
Prospects his feelings with re-
lslticSS severity. Friends praised him.
| Did that make him vain? he queries.
Did the title of bishop make him less
| tumble of heart?
He had long since determined that
whatever ccstacy he obtained from
fe must be the thrill of JOY that
',oules from his conquest of souls. III
md confined to bed in the home OF
friends, he gets UP and moves on. i'll
n his saddle, lest he be smothercd in
Kindness, oh. that plenty may not
hurt me. nor ease destroy me-. cries
out this martyr. lie is one human
being who never capitalized his in
iiinities. His was the relentleSs duty
Of soldier: he was holding the bat
dement's of heaven against the on
SlaughtS of Satan, and an eternal
vN,ilance was the price of his victory.
Self was inundated utterly.
Even after he was made d bishop
nc received only $6i a year in SAL
ary plus his living expenses the lived
On the back of a horse and his ex-
pcnses were small indeeO. One finds
.onstant reference to his need of
clothes, often his dress was nothing
less than ragged, but when he had a
little money some friend had greater
need than he and like true Bayard
he gave where the distress was
greatest.
Sometimes friends would make
10th for a dress for him, and how
grateful ne was. Once he would have
had $50, If he hadn't spent s5 for a
coat, He had to pay as much as a
dollar day at an inn and he found
.A.-yI