Year: 1878

Il a4..


His Address Before the Young Mems Chis-
tian Association Last Night.


At the Y. M. @. A. rooms there was gath
cred as many gentleman as the limited space
would allow, the audience being made up
chifiey of elderly middle-aged church mem
bers and ministers, with here and there a
young man scattered. Tt was announced
that the meeting was for young men only,
but as the secretary asserts it was just such
q gathering as was desired, perhaps there was
some mistake in the announcement. The
great feature in the meeting of course was
the address of Bishop Cheney. He COM
menced by narrating an anecdote connected
with the death of DR.. j. Walcott (Pete1
Pindar) who, when the throes of dissolution
were upon him was asked by friend If any
| thing could be done for him, said there was
one thing that friends could not do, give
| him back his youth.


He, commenting upon this incident, dwelt
upon the Importance of our youthful days
what grand thing youth is, and the infiu-
ence youth has with youth both for good and
evil. he, describing beautifully vast bill
lowy sea of tasseled corn which first met his
gaze and the few hands scattered here and
there who should gather in the ripened
harvest likened it to the Christianizing work
among the youth. He felt it pleasurable
duty to speak to young men, and would di-
rect attention to the words, .sHe that is faith
full IN that which is least is faithful also in
much. = Luke xvi ch., 10th W He said there
was danger in neglecting the little things
even on the part of Christians. He warned
against this. In Christianity, as in all things
else, we should begin with the little things
A vivid description of the walls of Jerusalem
razed to the ground, the gates in ashes and
the kings heart swelling with the desire to
build up the walls, but it was vast work,
| and how should it be accomplished? Each
| 'sbuilt the wall over against his own dwel-
ling" 1t was grand picture and it showed
just where the Christians work should be
begun-at his own door. We are apt to un-
derestimate little things because they are
really more difficult than great things. Al
luding to the late Milwaukee wheat corner,
he described it as grand, sweeping business
stroke which business men would envy, but
more difficult process is adding dollar to
dollar till fortune is made. It is the same
with the Christian workers. Though Martin
and Judson did works which the whole
Christian world saw and approved, the strug-
Cling, self-denying young man whose labor
was in his own closet and home circle, was
doing, perhaps, a harder task. The little
things accomplished is the way that sue
cessful, growing, holy Christian lives are
built up.


Little things are despised because there is
but little worldly glory attached to them.
There is great temptation to desire
to be seen of men. The thought
that countless eyes behold us stimulated to
emulation; but this is not SO in Lit tie things.
IA splendid description of the "forlorn
hopes heroic dash upon the enemys bat
terry and glorious triumphal raising of the
flag upon his battlements amid the shouts
and plaudits of the surrounding armies,
was contrasted with the fortitude and heroic
patience of the line drawn up, who have to
stand the fire and stoically wait the COM
mand to advance. The one is applauded-
their heroism is heralded throughout the ma
ton, the other is never known to fame,
and yet upon their patient valor depended
more the victory than the dash of the other.
Men are tempted to dispise little things be-
cause of the slowness of the result. A
young Christian feels that he wants to do
much for his God and Savior. He wishes in
an hour to become the great evangelizer.
He should pause and ask himself how God
works. Christ turned water into wine in a





watered the hill side with the gentle rain
which trickled softly down to the ibers of
the roots and is sucked up through the ten
drills of the vine till it becomes the generous
wine in the luscious grape. It takes 365 days
IN the ordinary way to do that which in one
instance was done in a moment. God is
never in hurry. It is the same in the
growth of grace.


It is good to be ambitious; to
be animated by a noble desire to ex-
col IN ones vocation. Though we
censure the ambition of Cesar or Ma
poleon, we admire the energy of the thriving
lawyer and earnest doctor. St. Paul says
''covet earnestly" not the ordinary gifts,
but "the best gifts,'' and the way to accom-
plsh it is in the words Of the text AS an
illustration Of the Importance of little things,
he spoke of the wonderful astronomical
calculations which foreteu an eclipse years
before the event, and the man who makes
them commenced by learning the multiple
cation table. He spoke Of Moody's work in
Chicago. He could move an audience of
10000 men, but he commenced by teaching
half dozen ragged, swearing newsboys.
Another beautiful illustration was from the
late report of engineers upon New York
harbor. Tt was feared that it would choke
up with sand, but it was discovered that the
accumulation was the skeleton of a small
animal; it had put it's life in the work, and a
mighty work was being accomplished, and
he urged all Christian young men to put
their life into their work. His address was
eloquent, impressive and persuasive in the
extreme, and it is much to be regretted that
it was not delivered before hundreds of
young men In place of the very few present.