Class _E„±l_k. 
 Book i3t^-^_ 
 
 GopyrightN?. 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSnv 
 
THE VANITY 
 
 OF 
 
 HUMAN GRANDEUR 
 
 WITH SKETCHES OF AND TRIBUTES TO 
 
 THE MEMORY OF PROMINENT 
 
 PERSONS FROM EAST 
 
 TENNESSEE 
 
 By ETHEL RUSSELL 
 
 1904 
 
 GAUT-OGDEN CO., PRINTERS, 
 KNOXVIHE, TENN. 
 

 LIBRARY nf CONGfTESS 
 Twu GuDles Received 
 JUN 17.1904 
 
 Cooyrleht Entry 
 
 ^Mvv. 3 0- (f of 
 CLASS ^ XXo. No. 
 
 COPY B 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1904 
 
 BY 
 
 ETHEL RUSSELL 
 
^ ^ ^ 
 
 TO ALL WHO HAVE KNOWN SORROW AND BEREAVEMENT 
 
 WHICH THE WORLD CANNOT CONSOLE, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS PRAYERFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR 
 
PREFACE 
 
 " Mnltum in parvo " has been my motto in the prepa- 
 ration of this volume, and its brevity, at least, will be admired 
 by all who realize the value of time. In this short and busy 
 life it is essential that the information which books contain 
 shall be ready to hand and be presented in the clearest and 
 briefest manner possible. The thoughts presented herein 
 have been forged at the anvil of experience and carefully and 
 patiently treasured during many long, weary days. We can 
 not know a truth until we have felt it in our inmost life. 
 We may study and read much, but knozv only what the 
 heart feels. 
 
 This subject first presented itself to me during school- 
 life, and after long and diligent study I prepared and de- 
 livered an oration on " The Vanity of Human Grandeur." 
 From many lessons in life's school I have added notes to the 
 oration until the accumulation will fill a volume. Many 
 manuscripts have been made and preserved, but now dis- 
 carded as non-essential, for it is easy to talk and write at 
 length, but it requires thoughtful study to be brief. I rever- 
 ence a;nd acknowledge help and inspiration from many who 
 now enjoy the full fruition of their labors in the higher 
 society of seraphs and the ransomed in glory, where they 
 are in the midst of the grandeur they tried to describe while 
 here among mortals. My conscience does not accuse and 
 condemn me of plagiarism, and I have endeavored to present 
 unhackneyed phrases and request critics to be sparing of 
 severe censure of the unscrupulous exposition of some neg- 
 lected subjects until their prejudices may be removed by a 
 continued study of the Bible and history. 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 It has been said that there is no eighth commandment 
 in art. Observation teaches that the path of the author is, 
 at its best, with but rare exceptions, spiked with thorns. 
 Their work is often unappreciated and precarious. To the 
 sensitive nature the bahn of sympathy is often as necessary 
 to the growth of the soul as the chimes of gold and silver 
 are to temporal wants. 
 
 Expecting onlv discouragement from mortals, I have 
 long hesitated to present this book to the world, knowing 
 there are already too manv superfluous books extant, but 
 there is yet much to be said without delay, for it is too late 
 when Charon comes to ferry the poor soul over the Stygian 
 river, so freely I say some of them and risk the verdict of 
 the Just Judge v/hom alone I call Master. 
 
 After consultation with Divine and invisible spirits and 
 the highest authority. I courageously launch my humble 
 barque, and guided by the Divine Pilot I expect to anchor 
 safely on " The Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." Alay these 
 tributes to our dead and the treatise on Death comfort us 
 and bear us up above trouble, adversity and earthly tempta- 
 tions to the Heavenly heights. This work will have ac- 
 complished its mission if it succeeds in inspiring" hope of 
 Heavenly reunion, peace and happiness to the disconsolate 
 of earth. Prostrate under the pangs of combined grief and 
 remorse it is no consolation to read Homer or Dante in the 
 original. Jesus wept, and pathetic tears, like the de\vs of 
 heaven, revive the heart in the hour of anguish, but dry 
 sorrow drinks the blood. The Divine Physician prescribes 
 the only panacea for the wounds of the soul, and to Him I 
 commend vou. 
 
INTRO DUCr lO N 
 
 There is a legend which says that a lower peak said to 
 the highest peak of the Alps mountains, " What do you 
 see? " It replied, " I see nothing but fogs and mist." Cen- 
 turies afterwards the lower peak said. " What do you see 
 now? " The highest peak repHed: " I see men walking on 
 the earth and they are building cities." Centuries passed 
 away and the lower peak asked, " What do you see now? " 
 The highest peak said, " I see the great cities of Thebes, 
 Babylon, Corinth and Rome." Centuries more passed away, 
 and the lower peak again asked, " What do you see now ? " 
 The reply was, " I see that Thebes, Babylon, Corinth and 
 Rome have perished ; they have crumbled into dust ; their 
 inhabitants are dead ; and their pomp, and riches, and 
 grandeur have faded from the face of the earth." 
 
 All earthly riches and pleasures and splendors pass 
 away. Only the soul is immortal. It lives forever. It is 
 more valuable than all earthly things. Jesus said, " What 
 will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his 
 own soul?" Read history and you will be convinced of the 
 vanity of human grandeur. I have not read all of this book 
 in the manuscript, but hope to read it when printed. I may 
 not agree with all its author says, but I ask for it a thought- 
 ful reading. Each must read and accept or reject for him- 
 self. ]\Iay both the book and its author have that success 
 which comes from truth and faithfulness. 
 Very truly, 
 
 W. T. RODGERS. 
 
THE 
 VANITY OF HUMAN GRANDEUR 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 This is a subject whidi might be embelHshed with the 
 pomp of much description, yet I shall avoid exaggeration, 
 and take my characters not all from the realms of romance, 
 but shall present to you some real actors who have appeared 
 upon the stage of life, for truth is stranger than fiction and 
 possesses greater power to make us shudder when we con- 
 template it. 
 
 Marie Corelli says : " There is no need to invent fables 
 now, — the fictionist need never torture his brain for stories 
 either of adventure or spectral horror. Life itself, as it is 
 lived among ourselves in all countries, is so amazing, swift, 
 varied, wonderful, terrible, ghastly, beautiful, dreadful, and 
 withal so wildly inconsistent and changeful, that whoever 
 desires to write romances has only to closely and patiently 
 observe men and women as they are — not as they seem, — 
 and then take pen in hand and write the — Truth." 
 
 Romances and love stories usually end in the same way: 
 " They married and lived happily ever afterward." Mental 
 comrades, spiritual affinities and physical mates may be 
 happy, for true love is of the soul. Love is pure and divine ; 
 it is not what the sensualist feels and the voluptuary does 
 not know the meaning of the word. 
 
 Every effort is made in forming matrimonial alliances 
 to reconcile matters relating to fortime, but very little atten- 
 tion is given to the congeniality of dispositions, or to the 
 'iccordance of hearts. 
 
]0 
 
 They who marry for beauty, wealth and convenience, 
 bind themselves for that which may neither last nor please 
 one year. 
 
 William Penn said : '' Never marry but for love, but 
 see that thou lovest what is lovely." 
 
 There should be a union of souls, each should be a 
 guardian-angel presiding over the life of the other, doubling 
 their pleasures and dividing their cares. 
 
 Every impartial observer will 'admit that there is a 
 three-fold vanity in human life : disappointment in pursuit, 
 dissatisfaction in enjoyment, and uncertainty in possession. 
 When we look around us on the world, we behold a busy 
 multitude, employing every method which ingenuity can de- 
 vise; some the patience of industry, some the boldness of 
 enterprise, others the dextirity of strategem. in order to 
 achieve their piu'pose. 
 
 Against the stream of events, both the worthy and the 
 undeserving are obliged to struggle ; and both are frequently 
 over-borne alike by the current. 
 
 Where is the man who will declare that in every point 
 he has completed his plan v.nd attained his utmost wish? 
 Some may be so fortunate as to attain what they have pur- 
 sued, yet none are completely happy by what they have 
 attained. " To human lips it is not given to taste the cup 
 of pure joy." One void opens in the heart as another is 
 filled. On wishes, wishes grow ; and to the close of life it 
 is rather the anticipation of what they have not than the 
 enjoyment of what they have, which occupies and interests 
 the most fortunate. 
 
 Alexander wanted to conquer the world by his greatness ; 
 he conquered it, and, inflated by his successes, he fancied 
 himself a god, and after separating his soul and body by 
 drunkenness or poison, he left this world to explore the 
 shores of Eternitv. He wa-^ted life on everv side for the 
 
11 
 
 lust of conquest, and having disturbed the world, he left it 
 in a disorder that led to a century of crimes and bloody 
 revolutions. 
 
 Pleasure is often the near neighbor of pain ; affluence, 
 of poverty ; victory may be the herald of defeat. The world 
 alternately applauds and hisses. In the midst of the splendor 
 of royalty many have found themselves traveling the road 
 which leads through " the valley of the shadow of death." 
 
 Great has been the fall, deplorable has been the death, 
 of some of the world's most renowned characters, who be- 
 held only the terrestrial side of things and raised their views 
 to no higher objects than the succession of human contin- 
 gencies and the weak efforts of human ability. 
 
 What is known as the First Triumvirate rested on the 
 genius of Csesar, the wealth of Crassus and the achievements 
 of Pompey, who boasted that three times he had triumphed, 
 and each time for the conquest of a continent. Crassus went 
 to the East, hoping to rival there the brilliant conquests of 
 Caesar in the West, but in the midst of the Mesopotamian 
 desert he was slain and his head filled with melted gold that 
 he might be sated with the metal he had so coveted during 
 life. After the death of Crassus the world belonged to 
 Cscsar and Pompey. The insatiable ambition of these two 
 rivals terminated in the civil war, when Pompey was assas- 
 sinated, and his head severed from his body and presented to 
 Caesar, who turned from the sight with generous tears. 
 
 Julius Caesar was now virtually lord of the Roman 
 world. He was great as a general, yet greater if possible as 
 a statesman, and projected vast undertakings, but all his 
 plans were abruptly ended bv the daggers of assassination, 
 drawn by his enemies and some of the lovers of the Republic, 
 who thought he coveted the title of kino;. 
 
12 
 
 " The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. 
 Await alike the inevitable hour. 
 
 The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 
 
 Vanity and love of dress is man's second nature. Fash- 
 ion is the prop of vanity, and people fritter away their time 
 in hollow pursuit. The ape in man has the upper hand, and 
 novelty of fashion is endless. Love of dress in itself, per- 
 haps, need not become a sin, but there is that connected with 
 it which can not but tend to the soul's ruin. It takes the 
 place of better things and hides the true objects of life. The 
 devotees of fashion waste their time, and when they die, not 
 only good works do not follow them, but wasted opportun- 
 ities stand around their bier. Dying men and women with 
 souls to be saved, and whose bodies are soon to be turned 
 into dust, before three worlds, indififerent to everything ex- 
 cept the short-lived grandeur of earth, with the qtiestion of 
 the soul's destiny submerged by the question of dress and 
 dissipation. 
 
 Thousands of parents sacrifice their sons and daughters 
 to worldliness. They are taught to be in sympathy with all 
 the formalities of society, and are inducted into all the hol- 
 lowness of what is called fashionable life. Amid many of 
 the glittering scenes of social life in Anierica, the breath of 
 the sepulchre floats up through the perfume, and the froth 
 of Death's lip bubbles up in the champagne. Few realize 
 how fruitful of pain, and perhaps of eternal woe, is the mad- 
 ness of dissijDation and the rage of amusement. To illustrate 
 this I call your attention to Cleopatra, who was called " The 
 Serpent of the Nile." Julius Cccsar and Mark Antony were 
 completely fascinated by her dazzling beauty, enslaved by 
 her enchantments, charmed by her brilliant wit, and in her 
 company forgot ambition, hoi;or and country. She sailed in 
 a gilded barge, with oars of silver and sails of purple silk. 
 
13 
 
 The time was spent in a round of banquets, games and revel- 
 ries, and it is said that the queen, at the close of a banquet, 
 in order to win a wager that she could consume $500,000 at 
 one meal, dissolved in a cup of vinegar a pearl of fabulous 
 worth, and carelessly drank the costly fiuid. After Antony 
 committed suicide, and Augustus Cjesar became master of 
 the civilized world, she then sought to enslave him with her 
 charms, but failing in this, and learning that he proposed to 
 take her to Rome as a captive, she applied a poisonous ser- 
 pent to her arm and thus ended her eventful life. 
 
 Therefore we see that human grandeur ever tends to 
 destroy itself by corrupting the heart. No worldly enjoy- 
 ments are adequate to the high desires and powers of an 
 immortal spirit. 
 
 Many are the sources of amusement on earth for the 
 beguiling of dull time, among which are the dance, the 
 theatre, the saloon, the gambling-hall and the fashionable 
 watering-places. People want to live, yet they constantly try 
 to pass away the time and forget that it is time which yields 
 the fullness of existence — be it in sorrow or in joy — and 
 at the end of time stands Death, with hour-glass and sickle 
 waiting for the last grains to run out." Many persons use 
 their eyes to peer about in the dust, and never direct them 
 heavenward. They do not seem aware of the starry sky 
 above the clods of earth, so Death comes to them as an un- 
 expected guest who will take no denial though one never 
 prepared for him. You, whose life is yet in your hands, 
 delav not to turn to Him who will save you ; for if Death 
 surprise you on the road of despair with sins unforgiven, 
 heaven and all its stars will fade away in the night that 
 evermore must enwrap your soul. 
 
 Those who have a hrni faith in the Gospel of Christ 
 feel that this world, with all its grandeur, is but a probation- 
 ary dwelling-place, and that Death is an angel of God. sum- 
 
14 
 
 moning- the laborers to their harvest-home. Death is a dark, 
 solitary way, which leads to a starless midnight to those who 
 do not believe. 
 
 Our condition is such that everything wavers and totters 
 around us ; for life never proceeds long in a uniform train, 
 but is continually varied by unexpected events. Prosperity 
 rises by slow degrees, but the progress of evil and misfor- 
 tune is rapid, and it requires no preparation to produce it. 
 
 That good servant, but bad master, fire, can consume in 
 a few moments the luxurious palace, which it cost much 
 time and labor to erect. 
 
 The prospect of the termination of our pleasures and 
 pursuits is sufficient to mark our state with vanity. We pro- 
 ject great designs, entertain high hopes, never to be realized 
 on earth. 
 
 A gentleman of honor, refinement and wealth was be- 
 trothed to a beautiful and accomplished Christian lady. The 
 wedding day was appointed and he had prepared a lovely 
 home, never dreaming that there was another Home where 
 she was also expected to enter, so how sad a change for him. 
 from the highest joy to the deepest sorrow ! She had taken 
 seriously ill, and instead of the merry marriage bell there 
 was heard the solemn funeral knell. There lay his idol in 
 the marble arms of Death, wrapped in her last sleep ; not the 
 fitful sleep of disease, nor the refreshing slumber of health, 
 but the still iciness of ruthless death. 
 
 He saw the casket borne from the hearse and heard the 
 subdued voice of the minister as he read : " Blessed are the 
 dead which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their 
 labors ; and their works do follow them." 
 
 He saw the shrouded form lowered into its final resting- 
 place, and then realized that ' in the midst of life we are in 
 death." 
 
15 
 
 He had been a skeptic, therefore he asked : " Are there 
 no purer, higher enjoyments than earth can give, and if not, 
 whv were we created to love each other and then to be separ- 
 ated and go b&ck to senseless dust? " 
 
 What lamp has philosophy hung in the sable chambers 
 of the tomb? 
 
 He then became convinced that it requires more faith 
 to receive the attempted solutions of philosophy than Revela- 
 tion, and that we must be willing to be guided along un- 
 known paths by other light than that of reason, if we would 
 dwell in the Holy City where all mystery shall be explained. 
 
 Human nature shrinks appalled from death and all that 
 accompanies it. In the silent cities of the dead, with their 
 aisles of tombstones which mark the spot where lay the pale 
 sleepers, the words, " For here we have no continuing city, 
 but we seek one to come,"' seem to issue from the marble 
 lips of the statues. 
 
 In Heaven the brightest diadems will be worn by those 
 who made this life the dressing-room of the soul and were 
 instrumental in saving souls from the death that never dies. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 There is a picture of a procession of the men who have 
 triumphed in Hfe. They are led by Alexander, Caesar and 
 Napoleon, and the way is strewn with corpses, while the tri- 
 umphants are applauded by a barbarous multitude who do 
 not know what nor whom they praise and admire, except 
 as one leads the other. 
 
 The masses, now as in the past, usually prefer scenes 
 of hoi^ror or transient splendor to those that teach intrinsic 
 knowledge of nobler living. Before and since the time when 
 five thousand wild animals were slain during the one hun- 
 dred days' gladiatorial combats in the Collosseum in Rome, 
 people have delighted in that which is not elevating and 
 profitable, and thus becoming acquainted with crime and 
 seeing it so often it loses its hideousness. 
 
 Absorbing scenes and descriptions of woe and horror act 
 as powerful depressants upon the mind and nerves, causing 
 slumber to the undying worm of conscience. Some may 
 think the theatre and the ballroom good places for worldly 
 pleasures, where they may drown the cares of life for an 
 evening, and they argue that it is harmless to thus beguile 
 dull time, yet not many desire to go thence into the presence 
 of God. 
 
 In the storm, cyclone, and all catastrophes and calam- 
 ities, as well as in the dispensations of His providence, God 
 is warning us. In the loudest thunders of heaven, the Lord 
 has said : " Therefore I say unto you, watch ; for ye know 
 not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh." 
 Few, if any, of the thousands who have perished while seek- 
 ing worldly amusements had an idea of being hurled into 
 
• 17 
 
 eternity. With no thought of death and the future, in the 
 midst of merriment and dissipation, many have been taken 
 from the scenes of earth to the Judgment-bar of God. 
 
 " The heart rejoices not when the shadows of death 
 press upon it ; the face smiles not when the eye beholds the 
 image of coming woe, and the ear hears the dread sounds 
 of approaching doom." 
 
 There is much to teach us that if we neglect God's warn- 
 ing and reproof we shall certainly perish, and perhaps like 
 many others — as quick as a flash of lightning. We must 
 arouse from lethargy and improve our opportunities to rescue 
 the perishing and comfort the dying, lest a sudden night 
 descends upon the earth, when it is too late to appeal to God 
 for mercy. 
 
 Beware of the vision of Dante : " All hope abandon, 
 ye who enter here." If something more sensational is 
 required by all who reject the Saviour, they may receive a 
 pass and ticket to the theatre of the nether world, which has 
 the advantage of earth's theatres because all the pieces given 
 are scenes of actual life and the actors present again on that 
 stage the evil deeds of their earthly life. 
 
 All who have not a paid-up policy, or have gained the 
 luxuries of life questionably, should fear lest their life policy 
 expire before all the premiums are sent to the National Bank 
 of Heaven. 
 
 A financier has for sale real estate he values at $5,000, 
 and for which the assessor, disguised as a farmer, ofifers him 
 $4,500, which he refuses. The next day the same man re- 
 turns to assess the taxes, when the price estimated bv the 
 owner suddenly dropped to $2,000. 
 
 A private servant, whose wages are $1.00 a week, sends 
 or takes, without permission from her employer, a portion 
 of the table luxuries home to her sick mother and brother. 
 Wh.en her offense is discovered she suffers the penaltv, and 
 
18 • 
 
 otlier families are warned never to trust her, and she is dis- 
 carded by all her honest friends. 
 
 A county officer, whose salary is $TOO a month, appro- 
 priates the public funds to selfish use, therewith paying his 
 railroad fare, his carriage hire, and buying his cigars and 
 opera tickets. This is a w'ell-known fact to all his special 
 friends, who never betray him because he is popular in 
 society and has higher political aspirations. It is a popular 
 inclination, encouraged by many in authority, to excuse trans- 
 gressions in proportion as they are great. 
 
 " It is a sin to steal a pin, 
 I Much more to steal a greater thing." 
 
 A hungrv child takes a loaf of bread or a basket of 
 grapes from the market-house and receives severe punish- 
 ment. Many cold and hungry children would never be 
 tempted to steal if the men behind the vote would condemn 
 the manufacture and sale of intoxicants. Instead of the 
 liquor dealer bemg required to pay tribute, he should be com- 
 pelled to abandon his trade. To gain your consent to be 
 directly or indirectly turned into a corpse by alcohol, he 
 promises to preserve your body indefinitely, but not infinitely. 
 
 " The cup that sparkles with brilliant hues, which capti- 
 vates the eye, and whose hidden power fires the veins with 
 fever and life, has a dreg that is the poison of death. He 
 who drinks for pleasure will drink again for passion ; he 
 who drinks for passion will drink again for madness ; he who 
 drinks for madness will drink again for death and hell." 
 
 Troubles can swim, so do not try to drown them in 
 liquor! Wonted melancholy returns when stimulating ex- 
 citement passes away. The life of the inebriate and gambler 
 is a hard one, but the death is still harder. 
 
19 
 
 DON'T SEND MY BOY WHERE YOUR GIRL 
 CAN'T GO. 
 
 Don't send my boy where your girl can't go, 
 
 And say : " There's no danger for boys, you know, 
 
 Because they all have their wild oats to sow." 
 
 It is no more right for my boy to be low 
 
 Than your girl. Then please do not tell him so. 
 
 This world's old lie is a boy's worst foe; 
 
 To hell or the kingdom they each must go. 
 
 Don't send my boy where your girl can't go; 
 
 For a boy or a girl, sin is sin, you know ; 
 
 And my baby boy's hands are as clean and white. 
 
 And his heart is as pure as your girl's tonight. 
 
 What sends the soul of a girl to hell 
 
 Will send the soul of my boy as well. — Scl. 
 
 St. Philip Neri says : '" One God alone, if He is against 
 me, who will save me ? One soul alone, if I lose it what will 
 become of me? One more sin might be my last; if it were I 
 should be lost." 
 
 The daily press and monthly magazines print advertise- 
 ments of wine and whiskey because men engaged in this 
 traffic pay them liberally for attractive cards. 
 
 Satan chuckles over the reformer's efforts and the 
 shrieks of the orphans and widows over the lost. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Why do we find so little comfort in the living present 
 and invest the past with a glittering garb, or picture the 
 future as an El Dorado? Is this indifference to the present 
 a part of the beneficent scheme of nature to make life en- 
 durable ? 
 
 In a picture representing youth and age, a boy stands 
 erect in a boat and looks hopefully and happily away over 
 the expanse of sunlit waters, while an aged man gazes 
 mournfully upon the shore from which the vessel has lately 
 sailed. This is simple and pathetic, but expresses it all. The 
 world is before the one and behind the other. 
 
 We too often cultivate anrl teach the habit of saying 
 unpleasant truths, and if we were presented with a record of 
 our utterances on many subjects, the humiliation might cause 
 remorse. We should judge others lenientlv, remembering 
 that our own faults are probably far greater. When tempted 
 to make injurious remarks on the failings' of others, we 
 should remember these words : "- Consider thyself, lest thou 
 also be tempted." We all have our infirmities — let us bear 
 with each other. 
 
 IF WE KNEW. 
 
 Could we but draw the curtains 
 
 That surround each other's lives. 
 See the naked heart and spirit. 
 
 Know what spur the action gives. 
 Often we should find it better. 
 
 Purer than we judge we should; 
 We should love each other better 
 
 If we only understood. 
 
21 
 
 Could we judge all deeds by motives, 
 
 See the good and bad within, 
 Often we should love the sinner, 
 
 All the while we loathe the sin ; 
 Could we know the powers working 
 
 To o'erthrow integrity. 
 We should judge each other's errors 
 
 With more patient charity. 
 
 If we knew the cares and trials. 
 
 Knew the efforts all in vain. 
 And the bitter disappointment — 
 
 Understood the loss and gain — 
 Would the grim, external roughness 
 
 Seem, I wonder, just the same? 
 Should we help, where now we hinder? 
 
 Should we pity where we blame? 
 
 Ah! we judge each other harshly. 
 
 Knowing not life's hidden force; 
 Knowing not the fount of action 
 
 Is less turbid at its source. 
 Seeing not amid the evil 
 
 All the golden grains of good — 
 Oh ! we'd love each other better 
 
 If we only understood. 
 
 — Bessie IV. Smith. 
 
 A. Lincoln said: "God must like common people, or 
 he would not have made so many of them. It is no pleasure 
 to me to triumph over any one, and I have not wilHngly 
 planted a thorn in any man's bosom. The purposes of the 
 Almighty are perfect and must prevail, though we erring 
 mortals may fail to perceive them in advance." 
 
 IS IT ALL IN VAIN? 
 
 No recompense comes to my labors, 
 
 Though plead I or patiently wait; 
 The barriers are high and unyielding 
 
 That bar me my rightful estate. 
 
No songs for the victor e'er greet me, 
 
 No tribute is laid at my feet, 
 Today and the desolate morrow 
 
 Conspire to delude and to cheat. 
 
 The waves that bore other ships homeward 
 
 Took mine to a harborless shore ; 
 The wind that sped safe their full cargoes 
 
 Only scattered my limited store. 
 
 Alone through the wilds of the forest 
 
 T blazed out a trail with my skill ; 
 It served as an open pathway 
 
 Where others all passed at their will. 
 
 Down deep went my plow in the furrows, 
 
 At dawn and at noon and at dusk ; 
 When I reached out my scarred hands to gather, 
 
 There was nothing but empty husks. 
 
 The stars that keep watch o'er my fellows, 
 And brighten the gloom of their night, 
 
 Seem set in their courses against me; 
 And dare I the heavens to fight? 
 
 Yet somehow my heart doth assure me 
 That back of the gloom and the frown 
 
 My Father's kind face is uplifted, 
 
 His strong hand is holding my crown. 
 
 Not v;iin are my toils and my trials 
 
 Nor useless my bitter defeats, 
 If only they drive me to Jesus 
 
 And leave me in dust at His feet. 
 
 — Mrs. Dora Kirkpatrick. 
 
 Every Christian is a child of the King — a crown prince. 
 No one is poor who is " rich toward God." He has a rever- 
 sionary estate that fadeth not away. Except where estates 
 are left as testamentary trusts they revert to the common- 
 wealth, therefore a dead man does not own anything. " The 
 millionaire of today may be a pauper tomorrow. The pauper 
 
of time may be the Croesus of eternity. Riches take to them- 
 selves wings and fly away, the dying Christian takes wings 
 and flies to riches." 
 
 Fortunes are lost as well as won in speculation, but 7iot 
 all fortunes are won or lost in that way. JNIany who have 
 the capacity to make money lack the capacity to keep it. A 
 man once possessed $19,000,000, then died in debt. Another 
 lived in a poor house, five feet wide, and left $30,000,000. 
 He lived without the capacity- to enjoy his riches, and there 
 are few more pitiful creatures than the miser who worships 
 gold and silver idols. 
 
 THE MISER. 
 
 He said to himself : " I would fain be rich, 
 
 No squandering spendthrift I ; 
 With miglit and main the gold I'll gain, 
 
 To spend in the by and by. 
 I'll grasp and gather and pinch and save. 
 
 Nor answer the fools who jeer. 
 But my hungry till their coin shall fill. 
 
 To pay for each mocking sneer." 
 
 And so, as the years rolled swiftly by, 
 
 A mountain of gold he piled, 
 Whose shadow fell on his lonely cell. 
 
 Where never a loved one smiled. 
 He meant to barter his wealth for joys 
 
 To brighteii his journey's end. 
 But it grew a part of his very heart 
 
 That he could not bear to spend. 
 
 He died, and all of his schemes and plans 
 
 The mould of the churchyard hid. 
 With ne'er a tear on his friendless bier, 
 
 Nor flower on his coffin lid ; 
 He left his gold for a spendthrift fool 
 
 To scatter to earth and sky. 
 And the grasses wave on his lonely grave, 
 
 Neglected snd rank and high. 
 
24 
 
 There are beautiful lands that he might have seen, 
 
 There are joys that he might have known, 
 There are cries to heed, there are mouths to feed, 
 
 There is seed he should have sown. 
 And grateful blessings from thankful lips, 
 
 And love of a child and wife. 
 All these he sold for a bag of gold — 
 
 And his was a wasted life. 
 
 — Joe Lincoln, in L. A. IV. Bulletin. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Here is a sketch of a daughter of rich parents who were 
 recognized leaders of the most fashionable and exclusive 
 society of the beautiful city where they reside. 
 
 She was cradled in luxury, with all her childish fancies 
 gratified, and no expense was spared in her education, for 
 she was trained to become a social autocrat. Her cultivated 
 genius made her proficient in music and dancing and she 
 graduated at the head of her class in a female college. 
 
 She made her dchnt surrounded by admirers, for she 
 was a beauty and lacked not personal magnetism, and this 
 was one of the most successful social gatherings ever assem- 
 bled here. 
 
 Her aspirations for power, fame and riches (her father 
 possessed $1,500,000) knew no bounds. She was in demand 
 both in her own and other cities, and her absence was the 
 occasion of disappointment and many heartaches at enter- 
 tainments. She possessed a subtler sense, which she had no 
 leisure to cultivate, and her intrinsic powers of soul lay dor- 
 mant. 
 
 The law regarding the disuse or misuse of the physical, 
 mental and aesthetic faculties, is relentless. Use is life, but 
 abuse or neglect is atrophy and death. They who neglect 
 their finer spiritual sentiments sin against their better selves, 
 and wound peace and happiness. It was with her as with 
 all the children of genius, neglect of faculty is swiftly fol- 
 lowed by ruin and loss. 
 
 Her waking hours were at a premium, and her leisure 
 must be devoted to music practice and preparation for the 
 next social event. The daily papers, the popular novels and 
 
26 
 
 magazines required so much of her time that when she be- 
 came too weary for their perusal, her maid reheved her by 
 continuing the reading while she reclined on a luxurious 
 couch endeavoring to recuperate her overtaxed nerves and 
 strength. 
 
 Year after year continued her social triumphs, and the 
 fruits and flowers which were beautiful in anticipation were 
 in reality apples of Sodom, ashes and bitterness to the lips, 
 and the fragrance of the flowers became a compound of 
 bitter-sweet, poppy, aconite and nux vomica. 
 
 Enervated physically and mentally and always more 
 unhappy than contented with all she has tasted, yet the thirst 
 is unquenchable and the water like that of Marah, — beau- 
 tiful, but bitter. 
 
 One Sunday night, in a dream or vision, she reviewed 
 the troops enlisted in fashionable society's bloodless warfare, 
 and they all marched gracefully, but were arrayed not in the 
 conventional evening uniforms, but in sorrow's weeds, and 
 they kept time to Beethoven's funeral mareli. 
 
 She awoke to remorse and penance, and resolved to 
 renounce society once for all. Her relatives and friends were 
 shocked when they read the announcement heading their 
 favorite column that their idolized leader " forever renounces 
 worldly amusements and resolves to atone for a wasted life." 
 She was now only twenty-four, and her future looked as 
 inviting as it did six years before when she entered society, 
 their favorite then, as now. 
 
 Most pathetic is the tragedy of the atrophy of the soul, 
 — the death from starvation of the finer feelings. 
 
 A reaction occurred which her remarkable will power 
 and medical skill were pov/erless to check, and alas ! for 
 her, the end was in sight ; she imagined she could hear the 
 plashing of the oars of the boatman coming to row her over 
 the tide. 
 
27 
 
 The pathos of her face was heart-rending. She had all 
 the symptoms of melancholia and brain fever, and her dearest 
 friends were prostrated with grief, for her mind was chaos. 
 At irregular intervals she seemed to realize everything when 
 her associates and sympathizers would attempt to console 
 her, but this only intensified her mental anguish, and only 
 regrets for herself and piteous, soulful warnings to others 
 were uttered. Her descriptions of visions caused the once 
 gay and haughty to weep and sob piteously. All the elite 
 of the city and many ofliers visited this home of sorrow, for 
 sympathy makes the world akin. Mirth gave place to sor- 
 row that refused to be comforted, and hopes were crushed 
 by disappointment, and their dreams of grandeur vanished, 
 for the icy chill of death shook her feeble frame and she 
 yielded her mortal breath. 
 
 During her brief illness, for she survived only three 
 days of this indescribable anguish, all of her acquaintances 
 who had an opportunity called to see her, and many of the 
 scenes beggar description. 
 
 The interesting details of the experience of this popular 
 society leader would fill a volume. Those who are familiar 
 with the life and death of the worldling may exercise their 
 imagination. 
 
 HELP THAT COPIES TOO LATE. 
 
 Ah ! woe for the word that is never said 
 
 Till the ear is deaf to hear, 
 And woe for the lack to the fainting head 
 
 Of the ringing shout of cheer. 
 Ah ! woe for the laggard feet that tread 
 
 In the mournful wake of the bier. 
 
 For baffling most in this dreary world, 
 
 With its tangles great and small, 
 Its lonesome nights and its weary days, 
 
 And its struggles forlorn with fate, 
 
28 
 
 Ts that bitterest grief, too deep for tears. 
 Of the help tliat comes too late. 
 
 — Ma'-garct B. San,s;stcr. 
 
 We blindly refuse to study and heed the dearly bought 
 experience of others, but await our own, which come too 
 late for personal profit. Too late are the saddest words in 
 our language, but we have no faith to believe this until it 
 is too late. 
 
 There are pretentious people who are so ignorant of their 
 responsibilities that they unconsciously present, as snecess 
 models to the young, men who have cultivated the grasping, 
 over-reaching instincts which over-shadow all the finer qual- 
 ities of the physical, intellectual and spiritual nature. 
 
 Man, being the most complex creature in the universe, 
 will become atrophied if all his higher natural and spiritual 
 qualities are undeveloped and unused. Specialists and mere 
 money-getters are the most pitiful failures when the dormant 
 faculties of body and soul become atrophied. We must instil 
 into the minds of the young that all labor is noble and holy 
 that develops the higher attributes of their being and broad- 
 ens their sympathies. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Shakespeare said : " Nothing can we call our own, but 
 death, and that small model of the barren earth, which serves 
 as paste and cover to our bones." The summons of the death 
 angel is always imperative, and the rich and poor must obey 
 the call. 
 
 "To purchase Heaven has gold the power? 
 Can gold remove the mortal hour?" 
 
 That was an impressive scene in 1893, when two hun- 
 dred millionaires assembled in his hrownstone mansion on 
 Fifth Avenue to view the remains and witness the funeral 
 of Jay Gould. The casket was in a large front room, under 
 an immense mirror, surrounded by white roses and floral 
 designs. The psalms and hymns and funeral service may 
 have impressed these living men of wealth with the truth 
 that money will not delay death's messenger nor purchase 
 heavenly treasures. The dead man had accumulated $100,- 
 000,000, and had not stopped gathering until he died, nor 
 will they till thev follow him. The contrasting scenes of 
 the house and streets were wonderful. The funeral was 
 semi-piiblic, and soon the streets were thronged with an 
 irreverent crowd, who ridiculed the black streamer on the 
 door, forgetting that the time would soon come for death to 
 cast them out of the world. When will mortals learn hu- 
 manity from the affliction of their brethren, or wisdom from 
 their own transient and fugitive life? 
 
 The skeptic, attempting to be wise beyond what is per- 
 mitted to man, plunges mto a darkness more deplorable. 
 Humble love, and not' proud reason, keeps the door of 
 Heaven, and love is adniitted where proud science often 
 
30 
 
 fails. We know but little of the conditions of the future 
 existence, but love must last, for the Eternal God is Love. 
 Love is the coin which will be current in the universe when 
 all the other coinages of all the nations of the world shall 
 be useless and unhonored. Therefore let us seek this 
 precious treasure first, then other things of less value may 
 be added. 
 
 It has been proven and we know that religion is the 
 basis of civil society and the source of all good and of all 
 comfort. Faith and hope live in death itself, for the children 
 of God can say, " While I expire I hope." The Christian 
 religion offers a glorious Savior to all men, and Heaven to, 
 the saved soul. 
 
 Strong men declared that nothing had ever appealed 
 to them so strongly before for Christian religion as the utter 
 desolation and hopelessness of his family when Robert G. 
 Ingersoll, an agnostic, lay cold and silent in death. He had 
 been a popular orator, and accjuired fame chiefly through his 
 writings and lecture attacks upon the Christian religion, 
 therefore he left a heritage of unfaith to the family he loved. 
 They had no hope for future union, and the dreariness and 
 loneliness prostrated them and they reluctantly surrendered 
 to the incinerating urn the one tangible thing between them 
 and the eternity of separation. The only funeral services 
 corjsisted of reading from Col. Ingersoll's writings. It was 
 all secular and brief — not a soothing, consoling note of 
 music, not a prayer for sympathy, or help or mercy. 
 
 Amid the gigantic forces of the world's evil, love will 
 endure and triumph, because " God is love." Love will over- 
 come all the forces of infidelity arrayed against it in spite 
 of Paine's " Age of Reason," or \^oltaire's " Philosophy of 
 History," because love is the foundation of both human and 
 divine laws. 
 
 Milton says: " God made thee perfect, not immutable; 
 
31 
 
 and good he made thee, but to persevere he left it in thy 
 power : ordained thy will by nature free, not over-rul'd by 
 Fate Inextricable, or strict necessit}-." 
 
 " Our voluntary service He requires, not our necessi- 
 tated." Volunteers are welcome to help conquer the world 
 for Jesus, and to join the crusades lest more laboring men are 
 beguiled by their greatest enemy, anarchism or nihilism. It 
 has been denied that the death of President McKinley was 
 ordained of God. but was the wickedness of nihilism. The 
 assassin canie upon him Judas-like and shot him, after be- 
 traying him with the grasp of the hand. The president, 
 wotmded unto death, asked that his murderer be protected 
 and spared to await the verdict of the courts. This was a 
 grand triumph of law and a good blow to mobism, for 
 lynching is a dangerous species of anarchy which should 
 be driven from the land hx the strict enforcement of the 
 law. Nihilism would divide the land and give as much 
 to the idler as to the worker, and assassinate every 
 king, president and officer of the law on earth. May the 
 constituted authorities crush this venomous reptile wherever 
 it lifts its head — before its power is fully tested. 
 
 The imperishable riches of the mind and soul are of- 
 fered, yet their possession is forced upon none. " Whosoever 
 will, let him take the water of life frqely." If any perish of 
 thirst, it is only because they refused the water of life. God 
 leads none to the edge of the abyss of destruction and there 
 hurls them ofif. 
 
 Unbelief says : '' I can not understand the mysteries of 
 resurrection." Can we understand the transformation that 
 makes the beautiful butterHy rise from the tomb of the 
 worm ? 
 
 In I. Cor., 15, Christ's resurrection is made the pledge 
 of ours, and His tomb was in a garden, where nature's cycle, 
 from life to death, and from death to life, teaches that death 
 
does not end all. He rose amid Inmdreds of lesser but similar 
 resurrections. The favorite resurrection flower, the lily, rises 
 in purity and beauty from the ugly buried bulb. 
 
 Those who do not study *' Vol. T." the Bible, fail to find 
 the real beauties in nature, which is " Vol. II " in God's reve- 
 lation. Nature's analogies confirm the promise of renewed 
 life after death which is proclaimed by the Bible. 
 
 Our spiritual resurrection must begin here and without 
 delay if we would be transformed into a heavenly character. 
 
 " To change life's cloth, not trim it for display, 
 
 Christ gave His charter. 
 All men can be religious when they pray. 
 
 But few at barter; 
 Better be self-denying every day. 
 
 Than once a martyr." 
 
 We too easily or quickly forget spiritual things and 
 make only an imperfect endeavor to comprehend them. We' 
 seek the dead " historic Christ," rather than the living, 
 lovmg, sympathetic Christ. 
 
 Christ left for our heritage an ideal life and the prin- 
 ciple of universal brotherhood. Alas ! for all who do not 
 love one another, for love is of God. The highest love must 
 imitate the self -surrender of the Good Shepherd who gave 
 himself for his sheep, and came not to be ministered unto 
 but to minister. It allows enmity to none, though much 
 causes grief and disapprobation. Love, sympathy and help- 
 fulness is the perfection of human life. Christ loves the 
 soul regardless of the rags of the beggar or the silks, furs 
 and jewels of the rich. He teaches the law of social sym- 
 pathy and service, and was the greatest social reformer, be- 
 cause He dwelt among the poor and went about doing good. 
 The poor have furnished some of the world's best and great- 
 est leaders, and the common people supply the food and 
 
clothes of the world, yet they are not satisfied with ordinary 
 duties and spheres of work. 
 
 Each individual and profession is dependent upon 
 others, and the farmer, who is the most independent of any, 
 often envies his professional brother in the city his easy life. 
 Success is the result of the best mental and physical efforts 
 combined, therefore we who have only ordinary equipment 
 and opportunity must be thankful for what we have and 
 usefully employ them. With nearly all people this life is 
 necessarily one of toil and struggle. They who perform 
 manual labor have little sympathy for brain workers, while 
 the one envies the other his calling". 
 
 Everything- seems to go wrong with some men who toil 
 and sulTer. yet fail in the eyes of humanity. There are 
 those who lost all on earth and were cheated out of all but 
 their coffin and the spot where they lie buried, who now 
 share the riches of Heaven. 
 
 There are others — Fortune's favorites — who turn 
 everything to their advantage, and are so absorbed in their 
 successes that they neglect the one great treasure — their 
 eternal soul. Kingsley says : " Man, in his pride and self- 
 sufficiency, despises humiliation and penance, and the broken 
 and the contrite heart." 
 
 Nothing but the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus 
 caw atone for our sins. 
 
 Many of us are so selfish and our sins of commission 
 and omission so great that we must do penance all our lives. 
 As our punishment, the stings of conscience never cease to 
 torment until death comes as the comforter of all whom 
 time can not console. 
 
 Many of us do wrong unintentionally, and passion often 
 forces the tongue to utter what after reflection condemns. 
 Reflection may be made at leisure over sins committed in 
 haste. We may confess, repent and be forgiven, — yet re- 
 
34 
 
 pentance is not ended — the penitential tears continue to 
 flow, for remorse is the torturer of the brave and penitent 
 soul. Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before 
 to judgment, and some men they follow after. I. Tim., 5 124. 
 Therefore we know sin is punished here or hereafter, but 
 remorse and the penalty inflicted or suffered here can not 
 be compared with eternal misery and despair. 
 
 Sin separates from God. J^sus became sin for us in 
 order that we might never experience eternal separation 
 from God. He suffered death on the cross and paid the 
 penalty once for all for the v/orld's sins. Those who receive 
 the Lord Jesus as Saviour, who by faith accept the fact of 
 atonement for sin as the only way of salvation, will be ad- 
 mitted into the blessed presence of God and given a home 
 in Heaven. 
 
 " Faith builds a bridge from this world to the next. 
 O'er death's dark gulf, and all its horror hides." 
 
 Intense excitement or anger withers the physical en- 
 ergies like fire, and the various forms of fashionable dissipa- 
 tion cause more physical and mental fatigue than useful 
 labor, for work produces refreshing slumber. Those who 
 take life quietly retain their physical beauty and vigor longer. 
 Buoyancy of spirit comes from well-spent years. 
 
 Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, was the founder of 
 the most hideous cruelty devised by man, yet these were not 
 more excruciating that the stings of remOx'se for a misspent 
 life. Society makes demands of her devotees that involve 
 some in bankruptcy and change the current of others' lives 
 from humility and sacred reverence to pride and selfishness. 
 This spirit has invaded the churches until the choir and 
 leading members must appear in purple and fine linen every 
 Sabbath. Society girls dare not appear in church on Easter 
 Sunday without the conventional costume, so if one is absent 
 it is inferred that her dressmaker or milliner failed to finish 
 
35 
 
 the new dress or hat Saturday night. I may fail to attend 
 a wedding or place of amusement because it is humiliating 
 to my pride to be scorned for my simple apparel, but such an 
 excuse for absence from divine services shall never be 
 charged to my account. I confess that it is embarrassing 
 from a worldly view, and from experience I sympathize 
 with all who dare feed their souls during these ordeals. If 
 slighted by those present living — our souls may commune 
 with redeemed spirits who never utterly forsake the perse- 
 cuted. 
 
 The poverty of the poor is increased by an attempt to 
 follow rich leaders, and anvthing is imitated quicker than 
 refinement of soul or intellectual culture — because these are 
 seldom appreciated or understood. 
 
 People who should know better have been guilty of 
 snobbery in its worst form. All society people who regard 
 the transient fashions above imperishable riches are snobs, 
 " who hope to make you think they are unconscious of your 
 existence, and all the time are endeavoring to dazzle or stun 
 you by their appearance." 
 
 All college graduates with only superficial knowledge 
 of books and humanity are snobs, who are soiiietimes after- 
 zvards transformed by diflicult lessons thoroughly compre- 
 hended, and severe discipline in life's school, into beautiful 
 butterflies, yet oftener they remain in the chrysalis state. 
 We easily recognize the external appearance or occupation, 
 but it requires the skillful art of acute imagination to dis- 
 cover beauties of soul. The snob neglects the study of 
 psychology, but they who possess the elements of universal 
 brotherhood will never scorn anyone for misfortunes. 
 
 The elite must remember that it is a parody on success 
 to regard as successes those who eclipse all others in the 
 financial and social galaxy, — if the soul is ignorant of the 
 ctiqiictte of Heavenly society. 
 
36 
 
 The reallv enlightened see no honor in ambition which 
 collects wealth that can not be used by its possessor, while 
 the lack of it by those from whom it was taken deprives 
 them of life's comforts or necessities. Culture is a park, 
 free to all wdio can appreciate its beauties, an-d not an iso- 
 lated pleasure garden, exclusiyely for the arrogant. 
 
 It is not what the rich give, but what they share in 
 hospitality with their humbler cousins that deserves true 
 recognition, and praise. " The difference between pride and 
 vanity is that we have the one and other people have the 
 other." 
 
 Many of us are self-appointed judges, and we who have 
 the greatest faults ourselves are the most merciless critics. 
 We desire to know all the faults of others, and are most 
 unscrupulous in seeking to know the unknowable. A gossip 
 knows all the evil that occurs, and much that never occurs ; 
 and the wdiisperers are unwelcome messengers who deliver 
 the news and comments of local gossips. Let listeners be- 
 come deaf to these peddlers and they will become discour- 
 aged in the free distribution of their wares. 
 
 "Slander meets no regard from noble minds; 
 Only the base believe what the base only utter.'' 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The vanity of the curious was displayed in New York 
 City recently when Miss May Goelet, one of the richest 
 American heiresses, married. The excitement and disorder 
 before and during- the ceremony was unparalleled at any 
 previous great wedding in New York. A force of two 
 hundred policemen was powerless to check the ten thousand 
 people eager to see the bride, and four hours after the 
 ceremony Fifth Avenue was still crowded with women seek- 
 ing souvenirs from the church decorations. 
 
 At a grand wedding this year the bride wore a dress 
 that made even New York stare at its beauty and novelty, 
 for it is literally all colors. The result of the five month's 
 work spent upon it is too exquisite for description. The 
 material is the finest quality of chiffon, embroidered in floral 
 designs of natural sizes in all the delicate and beautiful 
 colors. The petals are of chiffon and the embroidery is done 
 in silk and chenille, and the flowers seem to float from a 
 cloud, the edge of which is a foam of the finest lace. We 
 all should admire beauty, but let us not covet these rich 
 costumes of the butterflies of fashion, for the fashion of this 
 w^orld passes away. For those who spend their time on earth 
 in purchase of its worth and are content wnth simple clothing, 
 white robes have been prepared. Rev., 6: ii. 
 
 Any one with $10,000,000 can storm the citadels of 
 New York society and reach their goal — Fifth Avenue. 
 When an abode is gained there at immense cost the next 
 step is to spend as much time as possible away from Fifth 
 Avenue, at the fashionable resorts or in foreign travel. 
 
 Society leaders wield a power in the world unequaled by 
 any for evil or good, and alas ! if the power is evil. What of 
 
38 
 
 those who believe the only true success means fame or riches, 
 the owner of a palace, a yacht, a private Pullman car, or 
 ability to buy one's wife the finest jewels on the market, or 
 one's daughter an English duke, or some foreign title? 
 
 Financiers and speculators will have dividends at the 
 hazard of conscientious principles. They try to appease 
 their conscience by benevolent donations, while their vanity 
 is fed by flatterers who praise their financial ability and 
 liberality. Many are arrant hypocrites who deceive the peo- 
 ple — by being humane and public-spirited — into the belief 
 that it is not the money for which they care ; while others 
 prefer riches alone regardless of flatterers. Selfishness lurks 
 in all our thoughts, pleasures entice us, temptations master 
 us, and pride rules our wills. 
 
 Dogmatic selfishness among the different churches must 
 be eradicated if the best results are desired, and if the in- 
 different and unbelieving arc influenced to realize their duty 
 to themselves. 
 
 T am distinctly not a materialist, nor am I a medium of 
 spiritualism, yet I understand spiritisin to that degree that 
 I feel at home in any church where man is proclaimed as a 
 sinner and Christ as a deliverer from sin and sorrow. I have 
 a preference, — yet I like all the evangelical denominations, 
 from the solemn ceremonies of the Episcopal to the sim- 
 plicity of the Baptist. I could afford to live and die and be 
 buried from any one of them, for I have friends among the 
 redeemed who pursued their pilgrimage to Heaven over 
 different roads leading into the essential thoroughfare — 
 consecration and faith. If the Bible is taken for their guide, 
 the dift'erences in both political and religious creeds are 
 trivial. 
 
 A blast from The Rani's Horn says : " Some forms of 
 Bible study are attempts to satisfy soul hunger by eating the 
 dishes instead of the dinner." 
 
39 
 
 Two orphan girls of equal attributes of mind and soul 
 sought employment with a rich uncle in a progressive little 
 city. Rebekah, as the name signifies, was admired for her 
 enchanting beauty, and was given a place in the store, which 
 she filled with politeness and dignity. Beatrice possessed 
 a remarkable power of making others happy, disobliging 
 herself to oblige others. Being of the popular ages, eighteen 
 and twenty, they, with their relatives, were the recipients 
 of honor in both church and social circles. 
 
 Beatrice was kind and condescending. So her aunt 
 gradually imposed more duties upon her as time rolled on. 
 Selfish and jealous lest she should eclipse her own daughters 
 in society, but with the plea that her cooking was superior 
 to theirs, she was recjuested to remain at home and prepare 
 dinner while all except her uncle went to church. " Our 
 hired girl '" was the name often used in speaking of her. 
 Cold indifiference increased to scorn among the proud and 
 thoughtless young people, which was humiliating to her 
 refined, sensitive nature. She endured the ordeal, taking all 
 her troubles to the Friend of JMartha, who gave Divine 
 sympathy and alleviation. 
 
 Rebekah, having in the eyes of the world the elevating 
 and popular position, continued to be a favorite in society, 
 but this was not all. Instead of being quiet and sober- 
 minded, she was frivolous to excess during her leisure, and 
 spent as little time as possible with her humble sister. 
 Nothing occurred to humiliate her, and she is now an orna- 
 ment to society, while her sister in obscurity makes her 
 relatives an excellent servant and is beloved by the poor, 
 who appreciate her kindness. The poor, ragged beggars all 
 know her, and she never refuses the hungry ones who fre- 
 quent her kitchen door. " The grief that does not speak, 
 whispers the o'erfraught heart and bids it break." She gives 
 
40 
 
 sorrow words, for the Man of Sorrows comforts her. for 
 she goes to Him in prayer for even her enemies. 
 
 The most genuine and enduring worldly pleasure con- 
 sists in promoting the pleasure of others, and trust in Jesus 
 frees the soul from future anxiety. 
 
 Much more might be said of these sisters, but wc shall 
 leave the rest for the imagination of the reader. 
 
 A celebrated Frenchman said: " Perfection consists not 
 in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things 
 with an extraordinary spirit." Our aim should be to ennoble 
 our duties or profession, instead of depending upon some 
 prominent or popular position to which we aspire or now 
 possess to ennoble us. To become an expert in the art of 
 cooking and house-cleaning requires as much skill as that 
 of some of the more profitable and popular occupations. The 
 hired girl who is thoroughly prepared to serve in the kitchen 
 and parlor deserves as much honor as the hired girl who 
 serves in the store or school room. The private servant in 
 the home with an average grade of 90 is the peer of the 
 public servant of the school, office or store whose average 
 grade is 90. The noble women who prepare the food and 
 clothing of the world and patiently endure sorrows and cares 
 in obscurity will be recognized in Heaven as the millionaires 
 and political leaders are on earth. The girl who can manipu- 
 late the scissors and needle in useful and artistic work, and 
 knows the chemistry of food and can mix the ingredients for 
 a dinner that will tempt a sick man's appetite, should be 
 universally regarded as the superior of her who is only 
 familiar with the studies which occupy the leisure part of 
 lift, and is a monopolizer because she is up to date on the 
 formalities of society's mystic realm. 
 
 lentil dignified women regard their worthy home as- 
 sistants as they do their husband's assistants in the office or 
 store, they must serve themselves or employ unsatisfactory 
 
41 
 
 help. Many poor girls could be elevated to lives of useful- 
 ness if Christians regarded the teachings of Christ and 
 would ignore the decrees of hip^h society. 
 
 While the home helper is scorned by the professed 
 followers of Christ as well as the unsympathetic world, girls 
 ■have no courage to seek work except in the big department 
 stores, where all their wages are required for dress. 
 
 Those noble girls who dare sacrifice their worldly am- 
 bition because they regard the Lord's promises of more value 
 "than the decrees of man, may pass through life unrecog- 
 nized, but the smallest deeds of love and service will be cred- 
 ited to their account and made known on the Judgment Day. 
 
 Christ, who knows all about toil and persecution, sym- 
 pathizes with the girl who works until her strength is ex- 
 hausted and receives one dollar, with a severe reproof for 
 some insignificant mistake, as the only reward for a week's 
 lalior. Let us seriously consider this subject and decide 
 whether it is pride, selfishness or thoughtlessness that causes 
 people to scorn and evade the unpretentious who do the use- 
 ful work of the world. 
 
 A girl wrote to Dr. Talmage to know what he consid- 
 ered the most important word in his vocabulary, and he re- 
 plied : " Helpfulness " ; and said to a friend that he wished 
 she had asked for two words and he would have added 
 " sympathy." 
 
 Physical labor eases the pains of the mind, hence the 
 industrious poor are happier than they who have more 
 money and time than they know how to use. 
 
 "Labor is, rest — from the sorrows that greet us; 
 Work — and pure slumbers shall wait on thy pillow ; 
 Work — thou shalt ride over care's coming billow." 
 
 " He that provideth not for his own, and especially for 
 those of his own household, is worse than an infidel." God 
 
42 
 
 does not want us to prefer the log cabin to the commodious 
 residence, and only the coarse, repulsive or indigestible to 
 delicious, tempting, appetizing, nourishing food. 
 
 There is nothing in the Bible or any good book or paper 
 against refinement of life and mental culture, and the 
 products of the world were intended for man's benefit, and 
 due attention must be given to our physical needs, for the 
 mind and soul can not produce the highest results when the 
 body is in a languid state. 
 
 " Don't wait until tomorrow 
 To twine wreaths around my brow; 
 If flowers are to cheer me, 
 Let me know their beauties now ! 
 Don't wait until tomorrow, 
 Or ask the Why or How ; 
 Don't wait until I'm coffined. 
 But bestow your roses now." 
 
 '■ When the pang, the strife is past. 
 When my spirit mounts on high, 
 Catch me up in Thine embrace. 
 In Thy bosom k-t me lie ! 
 ' Freed from sin and freed from death. 
 Hid with Thee, in heaven above, 
 Oversplendor me, O Cod, 
 With the glory of Thy love." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Presidential candidates are misrepresented and abused, 
 like all other conspicuous people, while the newspapers of 
 the opposite political persuasion contain abusive cartoons and 
 articles that become an ordeal to their meekness and Chris- 
 tianity. The presidential office is one of manifold cares and 
 duties, and all he says or does must be most carefully con- 
 sidered, or the meaning is liable to be perverted or the object 
 misrepresented. While the honor is great, it is not to be 
 coveted or envied, for the responsibility is equally great. 
 
 When Lafayette visited the United States in 1824, 
 although his friend Washington was dead, all the other presi- 
 dents were living. " What to do with our ex-presidents " 
 might have been then a question, but for many years our 
 presidents have not. as a rule, long survived their term of 
 service. j\Ir. Cleveland is the only living ex-president. The 
 strain of their office is great, and appears to be increasing 
 with the years. Ex-Governor Taylor said in an address to 
 the people in 1898: " Twenty years of anxiety and nervous 
 strain and the perils and sweat of political campaigning and 
 official agony will have been rounded up with the close of 
 my present term of office, and I will be ready to gladly sur- 
 render all my hopes of further promotion to others who are 
 more ambitious and who find delight in giving and receiving 
 blows. I have concluded that twenty years of such a life is 
 enough for any one man of my temperament. I retire from 
 politics because I am tired of its harrowing antagonisms. I 
 am tired of it because as I grow older I find myself less and 
 less able to bear the stings of criticism and the stabs of 
 slander. If I had an office to give to every friend who asks, 
 
44 
 
 and a pardon for the son of every old weeping mother, and 
 the husband of every sobbing wife; if I had money to put 
 in al! the bony hands of poverty daily extended to me for 
 help; if I had power to protect the weak against the strong; 
 if I could give happiness to all the people and sorrow to 
 none. I would be contented to remain in the field of politics. 
 I have had my ambitions and have earnestly sought to reach 
 high position in order that T might be able to benefit my 
 fellow men. I have succeeded, but the realization was like 
 the rainbow or elusive phantom, ever in sight, never in reach, 
 resting ever on the horizon of hope, and I have discovered 
 that he who climbs to the summit of political prominence will 
 look dowai with longing eyes upon the humbler plane of life 
 below and wish his feet had never wandered from its w^armer 
 sunshine and sweeter flowers." 
 
 The responsibilities of rulers and those in high places 
 are seldom realized by those who do not occupy them. It is 
 recorded that a king of Poland abdicated his throne and 
 became a porter. When asked why he did so strange a thing, 
 he replied : " I'pon my honor, gentlemen, the load which I 
 cast off was by far heavier than the one you see me carrv. 
 The weightiest is but a straw when compared to that weight 
 under which I labored. 1 have slept more in four nights 
 than I have during all my reign. I begin to live and to be 
 a king myself. Elect whom you choose. As for me, I am 
 so well it would be madness to return to court." 
 
 We have the dying testimony of many whose minds 
 were absorbed by wealth, that cares and fears increased 
 with their treasures. In youth they promise themselves peace 
 and sweet repose for age. but arriving there the anxiety and 
 fear of financial disaster distracts their expected ease, and 
 keeping their fortune causes more trouble than the work of 
 acquiring it. He who possesses a fortune and loses it never 
 bears his loss philosophically. Two men make a balloon 
 
45 
 
 ascension. One falls upon a bed of rock, and avails, " This 
 is a hard world." The other falls upon a bed of down, and 
 e.vclaims, "This is sweet repose !" The environment? of 
 the prosperous keep them aloof and indifferent to the dis- 
 tressed. 
 
 Sobbing and shivering with cold, Ethel IMerwin, daugh- 
 ter of A. B. Wilson, the millionaire sewing machine inventor, 
 last Thursday night begged admission to the Waterbury 
 almshouse. 
 
 " I have no friends and no money," said she. " My 
 husband has deserted me. T have been driven from pillar 
 to post. I am sick and hungry, and I have no clothes that 
 protect me from the wind. Please take me in for my father's 
 sake." 
 
 Thus, in the city where her father paid $200,000 in taxes 
 during his lifetime and gave away a fortune to charity, his 
 daughter begged for alms. 
 
 A. B. Wilson, the sewing machine inventor, started in 
 business here after serving his apprenticeship with a journey- 
 man's kit, but his hundreds grew to thousands, and these 
 rounded a full million, as royalties for his patents poured in. 
 He died in 1888 with his fortune fast melting away because 
 of his luckless business adventures in which he embarked 
 during his last years. His children, except his second 
 daughter Ethel, were dead. She married Henry Merwin. 
 He deserted her in a few months and obtained a divorce. 
 Her mother died, and a year ago she was left alone. She 
 has done housework in families who were formerly employed 
 by her father, and others of her father's employees have 
 given her sums of money to keep her alive. — Nczv Haven 
 Dispatch. 
 
 Many have not the courage to survive financial calamity. 
 They dare not meet their proud rivals of the business world, 
 for humiliating is the contrast between then and now. They 
 
46 
 
 realize that those depenclinc,- upon them must give up their 
 social positions, for the money is gone wherewith to purchase 
 the luxuries society demands. The world never sympathizes 
 with the unfortunate — but scornfully rejoices — secretly? — 
 ah ! no, but delights in publishing the misfortunes and faults 
 of all who lose in the battles of life. 
 
 Reader, is it safe to have time, talent and soul invested 
 in this deceitful world? 
 
 He who escapes with his soul secure, after the fierce 
 fires of financial disaster have consumed all earthly treasures, 
 and dares go to the fashionable churches and testify and 
 work for Jesus, will have treasures in Heaven of which the 
 world never knew. Is not life too short for any man honestly 
 to acquire, to have and to hold great riches? This question 
 is left for the reader's next leisure hour, to be answered as 
 reason and experience have taught. 
 
 We know that death soon separates the man and his 
 great riches, and if he has starved his soul and given his life 
 to feasting and pleasure, the poor blind girl's hope is more 
 desirable than his. 
 
 Half the worry and work of life is not required to 
 supply our real wants, but the mind annihilates present pos- 
 sessions and seeks for more. The rich exercise the least that 
 privilege which produces tlie greatest happiness — making 
 others happy. When riches become ministers of mercy, sym- 
 pathy and helpfulness, they are incense to the skies. 
 
 Riches are worth striving for if used to elevate the life 
 and soul to contemplate the useful and sublime. 
 
 The Lord never intended for His people to despise this 
 world which He formed, framed, furnished and adorned for 
 their probationary abode where the soul is prepared for its 
 native Heaven. We must not love and prefer this world 
 before Him who made it, and give Him only what we can 
 spare from this. He requires that we lay up treasures and 
 
47 
 
 desire Heaven as a greater g-ood than earth — not a lesser 
 evil than hell — when we can live here no longer. 
 
 Col. Henry Watterson, the veteran Kentucky editor, in 
 an address before the graduates of a business college, said : 
 " Find out a nation's sins and you find therein its dangers. 
 The danger we must fear and bew^are of has its roots in 
 human nature, is fostered by our peculiar conditions and lies 
 in the effect of money upon the national moral sense. The 
 brains of the country are all engaged in money-making, and 
 money-making alone." 
 
 Dr. Talmage says : " The over-shadowing curse of the 
 United States is the greedy, all-grasping monster, monopoly, 
 which has the republican party in one pocket "and the demo- 
 cratic party in the other pocket." 
 
 Here is a sketch of two of the world's poorest men : 
 One was always weary with laziness or tired with inactivity, 
 and not shrewd enough to " put other men's shoulders to the 
 wheel." He had assumed the duty of husband and father, 
 but shirked the cares of both, which fell on his wife's shoul- 
 ders. All his life was a curse of protest against the evil of 
 the rich and their ill-gotten wealth, yet his poverty was as 
 ill-gotten. Then he died and left it all — for this was his all. 
 
 Another was a multi-millionaire, whose whole life had 
 been given to money-getting. He over-reached and under- 
 bid, gave little and took much, until he amassed a fortune, 
 which he could not enjoy. Then he died and left all — for 
 this was all. These men were alike mental and moral pau- 
 pers, for all avenues of delight in nature, books and people 
 were closed to them. Worst of all, in greed or in jealousy, 
 they had valued gold above the " Pearl of Great Price." 
 
 I thoroughly believe in ambitious discontent with our 
 spiritual endeavors and ideals, and would incite in others 
 am.bition for imperishable riches and soul-love. 
 
48 
 
 " The Christian who never smiles has much to answer 
 for." 
 
 Innocent laughter is not undignified but is one of the 
 most scientific forms of exercise, and is an excellent medicine 
 for the over-taxed nerves and brain. We should not smile 
 approval of follies and misdemeanors, and amuse ourselves 
 at the expense of others whose innocent mistakes or ignor- 
 ance appear ridiculous to us because we have the advantage 
 of experience and culture. 
 
 THE RIDICULOUS OPTIMIST. 
 
 There was once a man who smiled 
 
 Because the day was bright, 
 
 Because he slept at night, , 
 
 Because God gave him sight 
 To gaze upon his child ; 
 
 Because his little one 
 
 Could leap and laugh and run, 
 
 Because the distant sun 
 Smiled on the earth, he smiled. 
 
 He smiled because the sky 
 
 Was high above his head. 
 
 Because the rose was red, 
 
 Because the past was dead! 
 He never wondered why 
 
 The Lord had blundered so 
 
 That all things have to go 
 
 The wrong way here below 
 The over-arching sky. 
 
 He toiled and still was glad 
 
 Because the air was free, 
 
 Because he loved, and .she 
 
 That claimed his love and he ' 
 Shared all the joys they had! 
 
 Because the grasses grew. 
 
 Because the sweet winds blew, 
 
 Because that he could hew 
 And hammer, he was glad. 
 
49 
 
 Because he lived he smiled 
 
 And did not look ahead 
 
 With bitterness or dread, 
 
 But nightly sought his bed 
 As calmly as a child. 
 
 And people called him mad 
 
 For being always glad 
 
 With such things as he had, 
 And shook their heads and smiled. 
 
 — Chicago Times-Herald. 
 
 It is uncharitable to be constantly frowning and grumb- 
 ling about " other people being so much happier than we 
 are." There are those who have soured on the world because 
 they have been deceived by some and have not received the 
 homage of others. Blessed are they who expect no satis- 
 factory dividends from selfish investments in worldliness, 
 for they shall not be disappointed. 
 
 " When our hatred is too keen, it places us beneath those 
 we hate." None but weak minds blame and scorn all the 
 family for the sins and misfortunes of one of its members. 
 Charity does not condemn the helpless for the personal obli- 
 gations of others. 
 
 Idleness and satire are two beloved hand-maids of evil. 
 Indolence is the mother of m.isery, while physical and mental 
 work is essential to happiness. 
 
 The arrogant are never happier than when encouraged 
 by ilatterers who take satanic pride in listening to irony and 
 invectives. May we pray : Lord forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do ! 
 
 Sarcasm is another of the many sins that go before to 
 Judgment. 
 
 " People sufifer more to be lost than to be saved, and 
 punishment often begins on this side of the grave." 
 
 " To cherish an unforgiving spirit is to refuse to go all 
 the way to the cross with Christ." 
 
50 
 
 " When the heart is full of compassion there is not room 
 for prejudice." 
 
 To know self, and something- of everything, and every- 
 thing about some things, to be the ruler of the soul, and to 
 have a purpose in life, and entertain high ideals, is success. 
 
 " Pride has but two seasons — a forward spring- and an 
 early fall." Misfortunes arising from man's own rashness 
 are the hardest to bear. A horrible dream may disturb sleep, 
 and a rash word or deed murders peace, and hangs like an 
 incubus over the soul. Things seemingly commonplace often 
 have caused imexpected and awful calamities. 
 
 One of the most shocking tragedies which has occurred 
 in this country in years was Ihe killing in New York City of 
 Paul Leicester Ford, the author, whose best known book is 
 " Janice IMeredith," by his brother, Malcolm W., who imme- 
 diately shot himself, and the brothers were buried side by 
 side. The author was a deformed cripple, while his brother 
 was one of the finest athletes in the world. When the father 
 died he gave nothing of a large fortune to Malcolm, and his 
 brothers and sisters would not share with him. He brooded 
 over it until it unsettled his mind, and he shot his brother 
 and himself. 
 
 Rev. S. W. Adriance says : 
 
 " Th? choice day of grace is soon lost to the idler, 
 
 Nor wait the swift moments that speed by our side; 
 
 ***** 
 
 They stay not, those opportune angels of service, 
 
 But draw far away from the lover of ease ; 
 ***** 
 
 Life is not base, though it struggle with hardship." 
 
 " Industry and frugality should co-exist. Idleness is 
 the parent of vice ; industry, of virtue." 
 
 True religion sympathizes with those who need sym- 
 pathy, and the rich may be blessed by ministering to the 
 needv. 
 
51 
 
 We should not think it undi^8:nified and a sign of weak- 
 ness to " weep with those who weep." " Christ went about 
 doing good" — having "not where to lay His head." By 
 patience and humility here we shall be exalted hereafter 
 through our self-sacrif ces for others. 
 
 We need to be, with " Christ our model," genuine Chris- 
 tians, not imitation Christs. 
 
 Paul says that those that are Christ's have crucified the 
 flesh. Crucifying was the most painful of deaths, and it is 
 not without pain that we can crucify our lower nature, but 
 we may rise above this into superior power and bliss. 
 
 Religion is a permanent investment that pays dividends 
 in comfort and satisfaction that mere wealth and the world 
 can not give. Many of us have faith to believe, but lack 
 courage to work in the midst of a scoffing world, and we are 
 easily dejected by those who speak sneeringly of religion. 
 
 Overwork physically or spiritually kills fewer people 
 than excessive leisure, for inactivity and stagnation is slow 
 suicide. 
 
 Praise pleases all, but commendation is due only those 
 who work, and work today. 
 
 Division increases pleasures, but diminishes cares and 
 sorrows. Riches are useful for one much-neglected use — to 
 elevate the helpless and fallen and train souls for Heaven. 
 Earth's benefactors enjoy a tranquillity of mind which selfish 
 wealth can not purchase. 
 
 " 'Tis true my little purse grows light, 
 But then I sleep so sweet at night ! 
 This grand specific will prevail, 
 When all the doctor's opiates fail." 
 
 The longest life here is but a moment when compared 
 with the infinite length of eternity, and we make " much ado 
 about nothing " as regards temporal affairs, and too often 
 neglect the all-important eternal welfare. We mtist confess 
 
52 
 
 that we are more interested in perishable riches, and worldly 
 losses and cares trouble us more than the loss of eternal 
 souls. 
 
 The costliest sacrifice is cheap if it secures the eternal 
 safety of a precious soul and insures heavenly reunion. The 
 province of the soul is large enough to occupy all our leisure, 
 and no dv.Il time should remain to be beguiled with selfish 
 amusements that are questionable in their influence. 
 
 The advocates of dancing say it is good exercise which 
 produces a graceful manner and carriage, and should not be 
 classed with the serious evils of the world, but with the 
 elevating amusements. They say there are just as good 
 people who dance as there are who do not, and when the 
 latter get to Heaven the dancers will be in sight. 
 
 Little " no harms " are often the beginnings of un- 
 expected endings, and the fascination of dancing is some- 
 times like the fascination of wine, which leads to the most 
 sinful way of living and the hardest way of dying. 
 
 Many dance until the rosy tint appears upon the cheek, 
 then go to an open window or a veranda for the cool night 
 zephyrs to fan them away, never to return again. There 
 are recorded facts more deplorable than these untimely 
 deaths, when the soul is sacrificed to selfish pleasures. 
 
 There are those to whom dancing is a physical delight, 
 yet it is more commendable not to work so hard for one's 
 relaxation. Take a brisk walk in the open air and call upon 
 your less fortunate cousins and weep with them, then extend 
 the hand of aid and sympathy, and the happiness will be real 
 compared with the utterly frivolous existence you covet. 
 
 What is presented in any theatre that compares with 
 the beauty and grandeur of the Psalms and hymns, the sub- 
 limity of the vision of St. John, or the inspiration we may 
 receive from the " Trumpet Blasts " and visions of Heavenly 
 reunion and grandeur, described by Dr. Talmage ? 
 
53 
 
 Church services might be made so impressive and inter- 
 esting that the desire for worldly amusements would rapidly 
 decrease if all ministers would study to present the Gospel 
 attractively. Be not deluded with the idea that I mean frivo- 
 lous services, for I believe divine services should be always 
 grave and solemn. All time and opportunity should be 
 valued highlv. for there are inexhaustible subjects of wisdom 
 and sublimity in both the visible world and the Celestial City. 
 For all W'ho prefer tragedy, real life presents various scenes 
 which can not be equaled by Nature's handmaid, Art, but 
 alas ! for the actors. 
 
 No disaster ever occurred in an American theatre equal- 
 ing in loss of life the Irocjuois fire in Chicago, and but two 
 in the history of the civilized world surpass it. In Chicago 
 six hundred people were killed ; in the destruction of the 
 Ring theatre in A ienna, twenty-two years ago, eight hundred 
 and seventy-five perished ; and the burning of Lehman's 
 playhouse in St. Petersburg seventy-two years ago caused 
 the death of eight hundred. The number of holocausts in 
 theatres is large, and many people have paid an enormous 
 price in flesh and blood for amusements from the time when 
 wild animals bounded in Roman amphitheatres to the pr -sent 
 time, and prophets of punishment in future worlds paint no 
 terrors worse than those wliich have marked many assem- 
 blages of the pleasure-seeking. There have been real trag- 
 edies, shrieks and wails of the dying — scenes that cause all 
 the horrors ever depicted in mimic realms behind footlights 
 to pale and shrivel into comparative nothingness. 
 
 The vanity of human grandeur is like a stream con- 
 stantly flowing until death dries the fountain. 
 Shakespeare says : 
 
 "This is the state of man; today he puts forth the tender leaves ot 
 Hope, tomorrow blossoms, and bears his bhishing honors thick upon 
 him: 
 
54 
 
 The third day comes a frost, a kdling frost. 
 
 And, — when he thinks, good ea^y man, full snrely his greatness is 
 
 a ripening, — nips his frnit, and then he falls. 
 Life's but a walking shadow ; a poor player, 
 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no 
 
 more." 
 
 The way to fame is through much tribulation. Yotm;:^ 
 says there would not be muc'n envy in the world if we knew 
 how little some enjoy the g'reat thin!.2:s they possess. 
 
 "High stations tumult, but not bliss, create; 
 None think the great unhappy, but the great." 
 
 Jay Gould said that after a man's fortune passed the 
 half-million mark he bade farewell to peace and happiness. 
 
 We want rest unto our souls, but ambition disdains con- 
 tentment, which is found within ourselves in a meek and 
 lowly disposition of the heart, and courts transport, admira- 
 tion and applause, which often ends in disappointment. 
 
 We are not happy and contented because we seek what 
 we have not, and forget wliat we have until it is lost or 
 gone, when we realize its value. 
 
 Our real wants are few and easily supplied — our imag- 
 inary ones are boundless and insatiable. If we possess all 
 that nature requires we then invent artificial appetites and 
 wants. 
 
 When delayed, future rewards cease to encourage and 
 future punishments to alarm — therefore, if man's life were 
 prolonged, and the number of their days known to mortals, 
 many more would perish. 
 
 Fear of punishment often guides to duty, and if it were 
 not for this dread many of the world's and fortune's favorites 
 would pass an idle life of vanity and selfishness until their 
 light, like the meteor, vanishes in the sable smoke of death. 
 They who seem most secure in health and wealth, like 
 the great trees of the forest, have many blasts to^ shake them, 
 
55 
 
 and in their efforts to withstand Hfe's sfonns — often fall 
 with a crash. 
 
 Human happiness dwells in the soul, not in the flesh. 
 We all are inclined to grasp at forbidden fruit, and scorn 
 what is wholesome and attainable. Nothing is permanent in 
 nature, everything ascends or declines. When freed from 
 necessary contention, we quarrel through envy or ambition. 
 The great calamities of life often fall on the elevated posi- 
 tions, for there the storms are most violent and the thunder 
 loudest. We should remember and admire the wisdom of 
 Agur's petition : " Remove far from me vanity and lies. 
 Give me neither poverty nor riches. F^eed me with food con- 
 venient for me : lest I be full and deny thee ; and say, who 
 is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal ; and take the name 
 of my God in vain." Prov., 30. 
 
 Some exponents of speculative fniance in America 
 should realize that if they were under the jurisdiction of 
 English courts there would be far greater safety for in- 
 vestors, but that disasters might await them. The vanity of 
 human grandeur is again explained in the conviction of 
 Whitaker Wright to a sentence of seven \ errs" p.^; al servi- 
 tude from which he escaped by suicide. " 'Tis better to endure 
 the ills we have, than fly to others we know not of." The 
 most wretched worldly life should be endured instead of 
 rushing into eternity, thus plunging the guilty soul in endless 
 night. If people would be impressed with proper views of 
 their constant and personal accountability to God, this con- 
 viction should arrest all in their transgressions, and sin raid 
 sorrow would decrease. Man's accountability to God should 
 be realized by all, and every day we should live as if we were 
 going immediately to Judgment, and also as if we expected 
 a long earthly pilgrimage. Unbelief makes our miseries eter- 
 nal, while faith and hope are the only cheap and universal 
 
 cures for all the ills and sorrows men endure. 
 
 % 
 
56 
 
 One higher than the highest of earth will reward the 
 righteous and punish the guilty here or hereafter, and not a 
 cup of cold water given to a disciple will be forgotten. The 
 heart's adoration and the prayers of the poor are always 
 acceptable to God. The undivided heart and consecrated 
 life is what God requires of His people, and to assist in S(jul- 
 winning is the work we must do if we would have treasures 
 in Heaven. 
 
 God approves of the beautiful and sublime in art. for 
 He has given us the beautiful and sublime in nature, so we 
 should cultivate elevating sentiments, yet there are divine 
 prohibitions against greed and covetousness. In jealous 
 rivalry for supremacy vast fortunes are exhausted and busi- 
 ness firms involved in bankruptcy and souls sold for naught 
 — sacrificed to the world — in the struggle. 
 
 The anxiety of the millionaire is greater than the anxi- 
 ety of those with just what they can manage in peace and 
 comfort. The former has to trust so much to others that 
 he fears becoming their prey, and financial panics or confla- 
 grations are feared because he has so many investments. The 
 four elements are indispensable to man as servants, yet when 
 the}^ pass beyond his control they become enemies of destruc- 
 tion and extermination, when his works of use and beauty 
 melt into oblivion. If he hhnsclf escapes their vengeance, 
 he soon becomes a victim to the insidious ravages of disease 
 or time. 
 
 " Alan is but as a flower, and the haughty creations of 
 his genius mere dust and ashes in the great day of Destiny." 
 
 " JJ'Iiat is a mail profited if he shall gain 
 the li'holc z^'orld and lose his ozun soul?" 
 
 Get riches, my boy ! Grow as rich as you can ; 
 'Tis the laudable aim of each diligent man 
 Of life's many blessings his share to secure, 
 Nor go through this world ill-conditioned and poor. 
 
57 
 
 Get riches, my boy! Ah, but hearken you. mind! 
 Get riches, but those of the genuine kind. 
 Get riches, — not dollars and acres, unless 
 You thoughtfully use them to brighten and bless. 
 
 Get riches, not such as with money are bought. 
 
 But those that with love and high thinking are wrought ; 
 
 Get rubies of righteousness, jewels of grace. 
 
 Whose brightness Time's passing shall never efface. 
 
 Get riches ! Do not, as the foolish will do, 
 
 In getting your money let money get you 
 
 To steal life's high purpose from heart and from head 
 
 And prison the soul in a pocket instead. 
 
 Get riches! Get gold that is pure and refined; 
 Get light from above ; get the love of mankind ; 
 Get gladness through all of life's journey; and then 
 Get heaven forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 — Nixon Waterman, Arlington Heights, Mass. 
 
 The happiest and most useful men are not the richest. 
 The poorest people are those already possessing more than 
 they can manage, yet with an insatiable ambition for greater 
 wealth. Where perishable riches is the greatest ambition of 
 life, present possessions do not give peace and joy, for there 
 remains an endless desire for more. The alhirement of 
 worldy treasures deludes many who indefinitely delay the 
 preparation of the soul until they are on the brink of the 
 abyss of death, when it is too late. 
 
 Sickness and suffering have enough to do without the 
 anxiety of the burden of the unsaved soul. When the body 
 is tortured with pain and scorched with fever the trial is 
 then sereve enough to occupy the mind without the remorse 
 of a life sacrificed to worldliness. 
 
 The thief on the cross is the only Bible record of re- 
 pentance and salvation on the brink of eternity. 
 
 Nothing is more pathetic than physical pain accom- 
 panied b}^ conscious remorse and anguish for a misspent life, 
 
58 
 
 and nothino- appeals more stronolv to the Christian to do 
 his duty, lest some soul is lost by his ncc^lect. 
 
 Ah, the wrong that might be righted 
 
 If we would but see the way ! 
 Ah, the pains that might be lightened 
 
 Every hour and every day. 
 If we would but hear the pleadings 
 
 Of the hearts that go astray! 
 
 Let us step outside the stronghold 
 
 Of our selfishness and pride ; 
 Let us lift our fainting brothers, 
 
 Let us strengthen ere we chide ; 
 Let us, ere we blame the fallen, 
 
 Hold a light to cheer and guide. 
 
 If they who spend their lives in useful and faithful ser- 
 vice and daily repentance and prayers to God, often dread 
 death as an ice-cold stream in winter, though the chill be 
 btit a moment's, what is the remorse of those on their dying 
 beds whose preparation for eternity is just begun? If con- 
 secrated mothers and workers for the Lord feel unworthy to 
 enter the King's palace and partake of His riches, what are 
 the thoughts of those who spend idle, selfish or wicked lives ? 
 
 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil 
 heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. Heb., 
 5 •■ 12. 
 
 Alany lives are not worth living because of unbelief. 
 We should pray to God to make the eternal world a reality 
 to us and make us realize our responsibilities while here. 
 The lives of all who do their best in all times and places are 
 successes. Much patient training is necessary for brilliant 
 performances. If we neglect opportunities to do good some 
 soul may be lost by our indifference. We can not transfer 
 to our brother our personal responsibilities and thus evade 
 remorse or other punishment. Life is a failure where 
 
59 
 
 worldly riches are more highly esteemed than the priceless 
 treasure — the Soul. 
 
 If millionaires continue to multiply and to combine, the 
 London Express fears that a new table of measures will have 
 to be put into the arithmetics, somewhat after this fashion : 
 
 Ten mills make a trust. 
 Ten trusts make a combine. 
 Ten combines make a merger. 
 Ten mergers make a magnate. 
 One magnate makes the money. 
 
 The worldling and self-indulgent live their easy, care- 
 less lives r-egardless of their personal responsibilities to God 
 for all their time and possessions, which are only a loan from 
 Him. 
 
 " When brought to the verge of the grave, and made to 
 stand there, looking out upon the great eternity beyond, with 
 its everlasting throne, its Great Judge and all its eternal 
 verities of truth, justice and wrath," what is their remorse? 
 
CHAPTER A'lII. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 " Death has a different visage for each and every son of 
 man. To the sweet babe, Death is the mother's semblance, 
 which softly takes the infant soul to God. To the brave 
 youth, Death comes like an honored chieftain bearing laurel 
 crowns. To the coward. Death is some hideous monster, 
 who, far from standing before the dying one, needs but show 
 his form to hurry the soul into Eternity." 
 
 To all who are prepared to meet God in peace, angels 
 are sent from the upper world as ministers of love and mercy. 
 To all who have passed a selfish and unrighteous life, evil 
 spirits appear from the lower world as ministers of sorrow 
 and woe. 
 
 It is often that men are unmercifully criticised and all 
 their weaknesses and follies exposed while they live. Public 
 servants and professionals are often caricatured and ridiculed 
 by their opponents, but " when they go where no treason 
 lurks, no envy dwells, no grudges grow," their good qualities 
 are gathered into garlands and placed on their caskets. Like 
 eulogies, they may incite the living to nobler lives, but they 
 are nothing to the dead. Sometimes it requires the death- 
 angel to cause the worldling to seek God. ]\lanv hav^^ re- 
 turned from funerals resolved to meet their loved ones in 
 Heaven. Many have viewed the silent sleepers and paid the 
 last earthly tribute to their beloved, and after committing to 
 the grave their earthly treasures, have become humble fol- 
 lowers of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
 world. Death has made sad havoc all around, and we have 
 no assurance that the relentless archer will leave us long 
 undisturbed. We must not imagine that it is necessary for 
 
61 
 
 the life of a good Christian to be gloomy and melancholy, 
 but some pleasures must be resigned for others infinitely 
 greater. 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons says : " When we pray for the preser- 
 vation or restoration of health and God does not grant our 
 prayer, we must not infer that our prayers are in vain, for 
 God answers our petitions either directly or indirectly. If 
 He does not grant us what we ask here He prepares us for 
 the glories of Heaven by the chastening." 
 
 Great prosperity turns us toward Mammon, and we 
 become dizzy with selfish pride and almost lose sight of 
 God. We are startled by distress or bereavement into the 
 realization of our dependence upon God for temporal and 
 spiritual gifts and blessings. Before men go out to war, 
 orators tell them that they all will be remembered by their 
 country and their names be recorded in history, but go to 
 the lonely graves or to the cities of the dead and many have 
 not even the formal inscription " Unknown." We have the 
 full-length portraits of the great leaders and conquerors, for 
 these form the historian's theme, but all Heaven knows the 
 true hero, and there shall they gain full recognition for tiieir 
 deeds and shine as the stars, each with a distinct light. 
 
 Requiems are mournfully tolled from the bells of all 
 the churches in this world, and all the homes have been 
 draped in mourning or contain emblems of sorrow or dis- 
 tress. 
 
 " There are none to decline your nectared wine, 
 But alone you must drink life's gall." 
 
 " Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and 
 you weep alone," is sadly true ! 
 
 The weakest have courage to bear the misfortunes of 
 others, yet personal griefs test the fortitude of the brave 
 and strong, for each heart knoweth its own bitterness. When 
 the laughing world gives no solace and our dearest friends 
 
62 
 
 forsake us and we are so weary we almost sink beneath the 
 cares, let us go forth and seek those more distressed — for 
 we often feel we are the most persecuted of any — and our 
 pain will be lessened by their anguish if we aid them in 
 word or deed, for we were born to serve, and activity of 
 mind and body sustains the drooping soul. 
 
 " Oh ! loving Father chide u? not for weeping, 
 
 For Jesus wept while Lazarus still was sleeping; 
 . We miss our loved ones day by day. 
 
 But He who made the tears to flow, can wipe them all away. 
 Oh, glorious hope ! Oh, blessed thought of earthly trials done, 
 If faithful here, we shall meet again in our Father's Home." 
 
 " The language of tears is universal, and Death, that 
 can not weep, sets weeping all. No man is master and no 
 man is pupil of this ancient lore, which is unstudied, yet 
 correctly classical." 
 
 " Procrastination is the thief of time. 
 Year after year it steals, till are are fled ; 
 And to the mercies of a moment leaves 
 The vast concerns of an eternal scene." 
 
 " How excellent that life they ne'er will lead ! 
 The thing they can't but purpose, they postpone. 
 All men think all men mortal, but themselves." 
 
 " So dies in human hearts the thought of death, 
 Ev'n with the tender tear which Nature sheds 
 O'er those we love, we drop it in their grave." — YoiDig. 
 
 " A death-bed's a detector of the heart, 
 Here tired dissimulation drops her mask, 
 Thro' Life's grimace, that mistress of the scene ! 
 Here real, and apparent, are the same." 
 
 " Heaven waits not the last moment ; owns her friends on this side 
 
 death ; and points them out to men ; 
 A lecture, silent, but of sovereign power ! 
 To vice, confusion ; and to virtue, peace." 
 
63 
 
 Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour? 
 What tho' we wade in wealth, or soar in fame? 
 Earth's highest station ends in " Here he lies " : 
 And " Dust to Dust " concludes her noblest song. 
 
 " Life's little stage is a small eminence. 
 Inch-high the grave above ; that home of man, 
 Where dwells the multitude : we gaze around ; 
 We read their monuments ; we sigh ; .and while 
 We sigh, we sink ; and are what we deplored ; 
 Lamenting, or lamented, all our lot!" — Yoiiiig. 
 
 We should not damp the delight of our few short hours 
 of happiness by gloomy anticipations of misfortunes which 
 we can not prevent. 
 
 " We are often in happy ignorance of the tliundei"bolt 
 that is about to fall from the smiling and cloudless heavens." 
 
 "The Father hath willed it so, 
 That mortals may never know 
 Whether there lies in the future years 
 A grave of hope to be wet with tears, 
 A palace of ioy or woe, 
 
 Lest feet should falter and hearts grow faint. 
 He knew it was better so." 
 
 Music is a universal language except to those who are 
 born without the power to appreciate it. Only when genius 
 is married to science are the highest results produced. 
 Beethoven, the greatest composer who ever lived, chose 
 patience for his guide. He was keenly susceptible to the 
 pleasures of society, but at an early age was obliged to 
 isolate himself on account of defective hearing, and was 
 brought nigh to despair, but art alone sustained him. He 
 once could hear perfectly, but finally became unable to hear 
 his own heavenly music, and in life's meridian another soul 
 was welcomed Home. 
 
 Mozart was painfully apprehensive at the thought of 
 death, and died at the age of 36. He was the most remark- 
 able infant prodigy that ever existed, and passed through 
 a childhood the most remarkable that child ever lived. He 
 
64 
 
 composed much and easily. " The Requiem " was his last 
 composition, of which he said to some friends : " Did T not 
 tell you truly that it was for myself that I composed that 
 death chant ? " 
 
 "The limit of life is brief — 
 'Tis the red in the red rose-leaf, 
 'Tis the gold in the sunset sky, 
 'Tis the flight of a bird on high. 
 
 Yet we may fill the space 
 
 With such an infinite grace 
 That the red will vein all time, 
 The gold through the ages shine, 
 And the bird fly swift and straight 
 To the lilies of God's own gate." 
 
 — Unidentiiied. 
 
 TKIBUTE TO OUR MOTHERS 
 
 Consecrated mothers fight the bravest battles in all ages, 
 and these holy wars last so long — from infancy to the 
 grave. The kingliest victories are not won by admirals on 
 battleships, but in woman's kingdom — the home, where the 
 mother, in the continual wars, nobly fights on after victory 
 in some lines and defeat in others, then silent, unseen, goes 
 down. God sanctifies the services of the mother in the home 
 or sick-room as He does that of the minister who preaches 
 the gospel. She who ministers for weeks to the beloved 
 sufferer and after all hope of recovery is gone, she watches 
 the life fade away and sees the grave conceal the dear form 
 from mortal view, can be really consoled by none except 
 Christ, who wept while Lazarus slept. 
 
 Literally, Christ never married, but zvas and is the 
 especial friend and confidant of all troubled womanhood. 
 Figuratively, the " Church is His Bride, the Lamb's wife, 
 therefore woman has the privilege to go to Christ with all 
 her troubles, for by His oath of conjugal fidelity He hath 
 sworn to sympathize." 
 
65 
 
 Let us not forget the consecrated sisters who cooperate 
 with the Lord in His work of redemption by assisting in 
 sonl-saving and are the humble instruments of the return of 
 sinners to God. They who serve others, ministering to their 
 needs, wiping away tears and comforting their sorrows, 
 serve God. 
 
 America's Queen, Frances E. Willard, was editor of 
 The Chicago E,vcning Post and president of the W. C. T. U. 
 from 1879 until her death in 1898. Her Heavenly birthdays 
 are recognized annually by her followers. Dorothea Dix, 
 the angel of the insane asylums, fought life's battles alone. 
 The angel of the sick-room, Clara Barton, has been presi- 
 dent of the American Red Cross Society for more than 
 twenty years. Helen Miller Gould, whose fame is secure 
 as one of the noblest American women, gives freely both 
 money and work to many worthy causes. There are others 
 who live lives of single blessedness, and give their undivided 
 attention to those husbands and sons whose own wives and 
 mothers are too much oppressed with their private cares to 
 preside over those of the world. 
 
 If your work produces wrinkles and silver locks, and 
 is unrewarded and unappreciated^ — rejoice! for the con- 
 flict will soon end and angels will accompany the freed spirit 
 home. Disregard the derision and censure of the world 
 if your noon is lengthening into the evening of life, for soon 
 these will cease to be felt where no heart will be left unsat- 
 isfied, for that happy region is the abode of love — of love 
 without the defilements or disquietudes of mortality, for 
 there it is an everlasting pure enjoyment. Thence came and 
 new dwells Jesus again, for " God so loved a lost world that 
 He senfHis only Son to redeem it from its sins, and to bring 
 it to eternal blessedness." 
 
 For reasons best known to themselves — not always of 
 necessity — many good women fight the battles of life alone. 
 
66 
 
 An alliance with an indolent and selfish man is superfluous, 
 a hindrance — not a help. Before the consummation of 
 marriage some have become widozvcd, and ever remain true 
 to their departed lovers. There are and have been many 
 guardian spirits over homes already established by others, 
 who might grace a throne of their own. After all — they 
 are never alone, for Heaven is on their side. Paul says the 
 unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord (I. Cor., 
 
 7:34). 
 
 The common people do the work, bear the burdens and 
 weep the sympathies of the world. Moses, the meek law- 
 giver ; David, the sweet singer ; Burns, the poet ; Martin 
 Luther. Newton. Lincoln, and many others to whom the 
 world is indebted, were not cradled in luxury and reared in 
 <ease. Earth's benefactors do not all dwell in the sunny ciime 
 of riches and fame ; many serve God and pass lives of toil 
 •and self-sacrifice in obscurity. Pneumonia, diphtheria, and 
 the many afflictions of humanity, would have an unlimited 
 sweep if it were not for the common doctors and nurses. 
 Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton and other popular and 
 noble women have nursed the sick in conspicuous places, yc' 
 there have been thousands of as good nurses, though never 
 h^ard of except among their own people. 
 
 Dr. Talmage says : " All of a woman's life is one of 
 self-sacrifice when she works and has the care of a home 
 amid sorrow or sickness. Self-sacrifice brings all the real 
 happiness of life, for God rewards magnificently in the 
 deep and eternal satisfactions of the soul, yet the world 
 hears nothing of them. You could not with the agonies of 
 an inquisition make them say they prefer to indulge their 
 own selfish pleasures to serving others. These noble women 
 have many responsibilities, for by the food they provide, 
 the couch they spread, the books or papers they introduce, 
 and by all they do, they are helping to decide the eternal 
 
welfare of the human race. There are the trials of non- 
 appreciation, sickness or fatigue, for she often rises in the 
 morning half rested. She is the banker of her home, the 
 president, the cashier, the teller, the discount clerk, and often 
 there is a panic. O, man of business, if you had as many 
 cares as that you would be a fit candidate for an insane 
 asylum ! " 
 
 SKETCHES AND TRIBUTES. 
 
 John Russell was born in Ireland, May 20, 1776. He 
 left there and came to America in 1795, and was married 
 to Sarah Rosana Sprowell, September 22, 1803. Their only 
 son, William S. Russell, was born one hundred years ago, 
 June 26, 1804, and died at Decatur, Tenn., April 5, 1866, 
 aged 62. He was a prominent citizen and ex-sheriff of 
 Meigs County. He was noted for his hospitality and phil- 
 anthropy, and his doors were always open to ministers of 
 all denominations. The Ck'il War brought financial re- 
 verses and great changes. His was the first death in this 
 family, but others have followed on, and soon, so soon, all 
 may be gone. 
 
 " And oh ! the years and tears since then ! 
 The miles and smiles that have lured us on ! 
 The graves we have passed and the moments when 
 The cradle and coffin seemed almost one." 
 
 A Bible, one hundred nnd fifty years old, is now pos- 
 sessed by T. J. Russell, in which appears the record of his 
 grandfather, John Russell, who brought this Bible from 
 Ireland. 
 
 Sarah R. Neil died January 2^, 1882, aged 36. She 
 was a kind mother and a devoted Christian. Her sudden 
 death was a severe shock to her relatives and friends, yet no 
 one was ever better prepared to obey a hasty summons than 
 she. 
 
 Her daughter, Minnie, always frail and delicate, like 
 certain flowers, disappeared gradually from the earth as if 
 exhaled to Heaven, and in 1903 went Home. 
 
68 
 
 John T. Russell. Jr., died April i8, 1883, aged 53. 
 
 In 1886, in her thirty-sixth year, the lips and ears of 
 Fatima Russell Jones became heedless to the prattle and cry 
 of her six young children. 
 
 " Mother is dead," was their wailing cry, 
 
 " Vainly we call, and cry and weep. 
 We can not awaken from that sleep 
 The mother who loved us and gave us birth. 
 Her dear form rests 'neath a swell of earth." 
 
 For one brief year Grandma filled the vacancy occa- 
 sioned by the death of this mother. Her own family all 
 being married and scattered abroad or gone from the earth, 
 Susan Blevins Russell resided at the home of Capt. W. O. 
 Jones, and tenderly cared for her motherless grandchildren, 
 until July 2"]. 1887, when 
 
 " The Golden Gates were opened wide, 
 A gentle voice said ' Come,' 
 And angels from the other side 
 Welcomed our grandma Home." 
 
 After long years come echoes and memories of: 
 
 " Kindness and love and patient ways. 
 Of watchful care through nights and days. 
 Memory of hands with toil acquaint 
 Of burdens borne with no complaint; 
 Echoes of prayers and hopes and fears, 
 A perfect trust through many years." 
 
 Grandma had just passed her seventy-eighth birthday, 
 and her sister, Mary Taylor, passed away just two weeks 
 before, they being the last two of the older members of a 
 large family. 
 
 Life's labor ended and F. Grundy Russell passed from 
 the earth in 1898. 
 
 In ]\Iarch. 1899, the soul of Capt. W. O. Jones was 
 safelv anchored in the Haven of Rest. His youngest son 
 
69 
 
 preceded him Home only one month. He was a popular 
 steamboat captain on the Clinch and Tennessee rivers, and 
 admired by all who can appreciate true worth. He was a 
 devoted Christian and Mason, regarding the duties and ob-, 
 ligations of both. After the ceremonies of the beautiful 
 ,]\lasonic ritual the sad duty of assigning the body to the 
 tomb was performed. " Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust 
 to dust." Another brother sleeps in Decatur cemetery. 
 
 Sunie Jones Coulter, his only daughter, " crossed over 
 the river and anchored on the Heavenly shore," July 13, 
 1902, aged 27 years. She was married to Robert J. Coulter 
 in December, i-SqS, and .they for a while resided in Dayton, 
 Tenn., but later they went to Roswell, New Mexico, where 
 she died and was buried — far from the Tennessee home. 
 Her Christian life was beautiful — an inspiration to her 
 loved ones — and may her two children be often reminded 
 of their saintly mother. Her last and fatal illness continued 
 eleven weeks, when the accumulated force of faith and char- 
 acter and fidelity to God served so well. When the insidious 
 ravages of disease invaded her happy home, with great effort 
 and patience she endeavored to stay the monster off, but 
 she at last surrendered with the faith of a victor. She talked 
 with her husband about the parting, and was so well pre- 
 pared and the way was so plainly open to her, that the conver- 
 sations were as if she were preparing for an earthly journey. 
 They joined in singing some sweet songs, and she left many 
 evidences of her Christian character. For five weeks Sunie's 
 sufferings were intensely painful, and she then asked God 
 to take her Home. While being purified in this furnace 
 of affliction, spiritual gravitation was drawing her Heaven- 
 ward, and at times, without any delirium, she would speak 
 of seeing the loved ones gone before ; so she left the fra- 
 grance of a sweet life as a heritage to those who lino-cr here. 
 
70 
 
 "Lo! the prisoner is released, 
 Lightened of her fleshly load ; 
 Where the weary are at rest, 
 She is gathered unto God. 
 
 Borne by Angels on their wings, 
 Far from earth the spirit flies, 
 Finds her God r?nd sits and sings. 
 Triumphing in Paradise." 
 
 Thomas Gallaher was born January 20, 1800, died 
 August 20, 1872. 
 
 Elizabeth Wilhams Gahaher died July 21, 1884, aged 
 66 years. She was kind, obliging and industrious, and con- 
 sidered the comfort and happiness of others before her own. 
 Sickness is a great test of character, and for six years she 
 endured the excruciating pa'ns of rheumatism. 
 
 Dr. Talmage says : " The most conspicuous thing on 
 earth for God's eye and the eye of angels to rest upon is the 
 invalid's chair or couch. Those who submissively endure 
 afflictions and tortures will answer to the roll-call of the 
 martyrs, rise to the martyr's throne, and wave the martyr's 
 palm, in the Home where there shall be no more pain." 
 
 " The applause of a good actor is due to him at what- 
 ever scene of the play he makes his exit." He lives long 
 who lives well. '' Like a thief in the night," the pale angel 
 of death entered our home and another world-weary soul 
 was taken Home. June 14, 1878, in his thirty-eighth year, 
 James Blair Gallaher made his exit from life's stage. The 
 Masonic chain was again broken and the silver cord severed 
 that bound the mortal to the immortal. None excelled him 
 in industry and philanthropy, and he left a large void in the 
 world. He was an affectionate friend, possessed of a lively 
 sense of humor, and fond of innocent amusements. He was 
 essentially and necessarily a man of action, a brave soldier 
 who was serevely wounded in battle, a useful citizen, and 
 
71 
 
 gaVant as any knight of old — yet never married. After the 
 death of his father, he assumed the responsibiHties of the 
 home and tenderly cared for his invahd mother. He prac- 
 ticed the principle that it is better for a man to ivear out than 
 to nist out. Death relieved him of his sufferings, after six 
 months of intense pain. 
 
 After a lingering illness, on November 22, 1898, Lizzie 
 Bradley Fox passed peacefully from this life. She had been 
 a student of Robertsville Academy, and was admired for 
 kindness and modesty. She gave her heart to Jesus and 
 united with the church at the age of sixteen, and was a true 
 child of the' King. On her twentieth birthday, September 
 16. 1894, she and Dr. P. W. Fox were united in marriage, 
 and resided at Beaver Ridge. She was the mother of two 
 daughters, Lucile Agnes, new eight years of age, and resid- 
 ing with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. S. Bradley, at 
 Lonsdale ; and Lina May, who at the age of fifteen months 
 had gone before to meet her mamma, after one year's sep- 
 aration. 
 
 In August, 1903, Dr. P. W. Fox, the father and hus- 
 band, joined them in the Heavenly Home. By energy and 
 perseverance he became well prepared to continue the prac- 
 tice of his profession, yet his useful life ended when hope 
 seemed brightest. In the midst of worldly success and ambi- 
 tion he was warned by a thunderbolt from a clear sky that 
 the world's sun was obscured by the shadow of death, but 
 to emerge in the full light of God's eternal day. 
 
 After three weeks of painful illness, Daisy B. Fox 
 obeyed the message, " Come higher," and was escorted by 
 angels to regions of peace and love. Her earthly home was 
 the scene of devotion and solicitude that has rarely been 
 surpassed. The -continual presence and skill of physicians 
 were all in vain to restore the young sufferer until the Great 
 Physician interposed and transformed her wearv soul into 
 
a celestial spirit. She was the peer of any who ever lived 
 for personal magnetism and nobility of soul, and to know her 
 was to love her. Although only twenty years old, she was 
 prominent in religious and educational circles, and a popular 
 teacher, so her friends anticipated for her a brilliant and 
 useful future. The void in our hearts caused by her absence 
 has never and can never be filled, yet' we must submit to the 
 immutable decree and strive and hope for Heavenly recog- 
 nition at the greatest reunion. The memory of her many 
 kind words and acts reminds us that she was for a brief 
 time among us, and we are incited to contemplate sublime 
 ideas. She was district deputy president of the Rebekah 
 Lodge at Beaver Ridge, and the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs 
 assisted in the funeral services. 
 
 Albert T. Gallaher. eldest son of D. H. and M. E. Galla- 
 her, died November 25, 18S0, aged 18 years. He was one 
 of the victims of the terrible poisoning affair near Kingston, 
 at Col. James I. Dail's, when one of his daughters was mar- 
 ried to Joel Hembree. Albert died as he had lived, a happy 
 Christian. The noblest deed is the offering of a young life 
 to God where it will be forever safe in His holy keeping and 
 all Heaven rejoices at the gift. 
 
 Joseph H. Gallaher, aged 26, died January 16, 1895, at 
 his home in Hardin \'alley. He was a Christian and pre- 
 pared for death. He has been sadly missed from the Jiojne 
 here, but has gone to welcome the loved ones to the Eternal 
 Home. 
 
 Joe Hardin, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Freeman, died 
 April 15, 1902, aged two years. 
 
 " God needed one more angel child 
 Amidst His shining band, 
 And so He bent with loving smile, 
 And clasped onr darling's hand." 
 
73 
 
 One sweet, sad voice ennobles death, 
 And still for nineteen centuries saith, softly, 
 " Ye meet again." 
 
 In May, 1897. Will T. Christian, of Hardin Valley, 
 joined his father and loved ones gone before. He was a 
 young man of usefulness and promise and is sadly missed 
 by many. The remaining children were again bereaved, 
 when their mother, Anne Christian, was called froni the 
 earth, in October. 1903. 
 
 " Oh! who can tell of a mother's love? 
 Who can measure, save God above? 
 'And none can tell of a mother's loss. 
 But those who bear that heavy cross." 
 
 Daisy Gallaher Lackev, aged 24, died December i, 1893, 
 at Garner, Texas. She professed religion in early life and 
 joined the Cumberland P]-esbyterian Church at Russell's 
 Chapel. She lived a pure, consistent Christian life, and by 
 her daily walk, proved that she was a child of the King. In 
 church and Sunday-school she filled her place well, but in 
 her home-life she showed her brightest traits of character. 
 Her home was made happy by her lovely disposition and 
 Christian influence. The world is better by her life and by 
 her sweet disposition she drew all to her and repelled none. 
 She lived happily and made others happy. Her new friends 
 in Texas, where she lived only one short year, mourn their 
 loss as if they had known her all her life. During her illness 
 she had the best medical aid, and attention from friends, but 
 death claimed her and she exchanged her bridal robes for 
 those of immortality. Those eyes now blind to earthly scenes 
 are opened where tear-drops never more dim the eyes. In 
 the Weatherford cemetery, as the sun sank behind the 
 prairies, they laid her to rest — far from her home in 
 " Sunny Tennessee," — away from kindred dear, where the 
 wild flowers of Texas shall bloom on her lonelv o^rave. 
 
74 
 
 In the summer of 1902, the husband, Dr. Charles W. 
 Lackey, joined his bride in the Home where they await the 
 coming of others to be present at the " Grand Reunion." 
 
 April 6, 1895, the spirit of Aunt Sallie Hardin passed 
 over the river and began its march with the chosen hosts of 
 God in the Celestial City. She was 74 years of age, and was 
 preceded seven years by her husband, James Hardin, a prom- 
 inent and prosperous citizen of Hardin Valley. She had been 
 for many years enlisted in the Army of the Lord — so con- 
 quering the last enemy — she left the discords of earth to 
 listen to Heavenly harmony. Seven years later, they were 
 followed by their daughter. Laura Hardin Bogle. April 18, 
 1902, after two weeks of intense suffering, she took her 
 flight to the Home where sorrow, pain and death are felt 
 and feared no more. From a worldly view we see nothing in 
 death but decay, removal and absence — yet it is the key 
 which unlocks the door of the King's Mansion. 
 
 " An angel came with lightning speed, with death-dew 
 on his ebon wing, and fanned the brow " of Sephie Crozier 
 Cross until the sun of her earthly journey had set and her 
 soul was released from the tenement of clay in which she 
 had known much sorrow and suffering, to be forever free 
 from pain and care. The death of a loved one should lead 
 us to invite " Christ, the Man of Sorrows," to our homes, for 
 it opens a window of Heaven and gives us a glimpse into the 
 beyond. As we see them there we become more Heavenly- 
 minded, and anticipate the peace and love of that reunion. 
 Mrs. Cross was one of the most beautiful and accomplished 
 women in East Tennessee, yet as earth's attractions vanish, 
 those of Heaven should be more precious and esteemed. She 
 was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and 
 Rev. J. H. Henry delivered a grand sermon on " Death," 
 referring with tear-dimmed eyes to the noble mother who lay 
 in the casket before the altar. 
 
75 
 
 June 24, 1900, she was joined by her son, Sam C. Cross, 
 who was injured while smoothing some ground with a roller, 
 and he survived the fatal accident only two weeks. While 
 none apprehended a serious result. Sam himself chose the 
 wiser part and prepared for the worst. He delayed not the 
 gift to Jesus of his only true possession — his undivided 
 heart — making the complete surrender all alone with Jesus ; 
 then, requesting the presence of ministers and other Chris- 
 tians, he conducted an impressive Divine service, when he 
 warned his associates to be also ready. After this he lost no 
 opportunity to tell the " sweetest story," and truly he was 
 an evangel'. " Oftentimes a subtler sense informs some 
 spirits of the approach of things to be," so gradually he sank, 
 and went Home. The sad funeral was held in the presence 
 of many weeping friends, and the beautiful young form was 
 deposited in the grave to await the Resurrection. 
 
 Death pitched his tent in another home and stretched 
 out his icy hand and plucked a flower. The spirit of Willie, 
 daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Theo. Sienknecht, fled from the 
 earth in September, i8g6. She was the sunshine of the home 
 and admired by many for her cheerful and friendly disposi- 
 tion. One of the saddest features of the bereavement was 
 that three of her sisters were confined to their beds with fever 
 and could not attend the fvmeral. 
 
 April 9, 1901, the immortal soul of Sallie Watson Burns 
 took its flight to the God who gave it. She had reached the 
 age of 71, and had lived a Christian more than forty years 
 when her summons came, after an illness of only nine days 
 of pneumonia fever. She manifested a peaceful reconcilia- 
 tion to the Divine will and assured the sorrowing ones of 
 Heavenly reunion if they too continue faithful. 
 
 The announcement on April 15, 1903, of the tragic death 
 of A. N. Adams at Wheat created a profound sensation 
 throughout the countrv and was received with sincere regret. 
 
76 
 
 We are again reminded of the certainty of death, which 
 often comes unexpected in both time and manner. His love 
 and protection to his wife and young children ended abruptly 
 and so soon, for he was only 33 years of age, in life's pride 
 and valor's noon. Their loss is mourned with fond regret, 
 but they weep not as those who have no hope, for he loved 
 the Lord and desired to serve Him. 
 
 We have heard him testify of his faith and request the 
 pravers of the Christians for his mother before she believed 
 and trusted Jesus. In 1898, during a glorious revival con- 
 ducted by Rev. U. S. Thomas and others, his mother, after 
 repentance and many prayers for mercy, was happily con- 
 verted when Nute was by her side rejoicing. He was con- 
 verted and joined the church when quite young, and was a 
 constant attendant upon divine services, where he delighted 
 to praise God in song: " Love of the Saviour" and " Christ 
 Receiveth Sinful Men " were two of his favorites. 
 
 He was a useful citizen, having served the county as 
 an officer, and was one of the most active and beneficial 
 members of the A. K. L. Society at Roane College. He was 
 a member of East Fork Lodge Xo. 460, F. & A. M., where 
 he filled different offices creditably and honorably. 
 
 The impressive funeral services were held in the Baptist 
 Church in the presence of a large crowd, and he was buried 
 with Masonic honors. 
 
 The following lines express thfe sentiments of his esti- 
 mable widow : 
 
 " I know thou hast gone where love has renounced 
 The stain it had gathered in this. 
 
 I know thou hast drunk of the Lethe that flows 
 Through a land where they do not forget. 
 
 That sheds over memory only repose, 
 And takes from it only regret. 
 
77 
 
 And though, like a ' mourner who sits by a tomb,' 
 
 T am wrapped in a mantle of care, 
 Yet the grief of my bosom — Oh ! call it not gloom, — 
 
 Ts not the black grief of despair. 
 
 By sorrow revealed, as the stars are by night. 
 
 Far off a bright vision appears, 
 And hope, like the rainbow, a being of light. 
 
 Is born, like the rainbow, in tears." 
 
 Lttcinda Jones, wife of Rev. George Jones, died of 
 paralysis November 6. 1900, aged 64 years. She had been 
 a member of the Baptist Chtirch for forty-seven years, and 
 her funeral was the first service held in the George Jones 
 Memorial Church. She conquered the last enemy and 
 crossed over the river and anchored beyond this vale of tears, 
 three years before her husband. Rev. George Jones, who was 
 at the table eating his dinner when he dropped dead from his 
 seat like a bird from its perch. October 15, 1903, at his home. 
 Wheat, Tennessee. He had been afflicted with heart disease 
 for a year, alternately better and worse. On the day he died, 
 mistaking the approach of death for returning health, he said 
 he was better. Death was wi.hout a pain and the grave with- 
 out a terror, for he lived in the constant expectaion of death. 
 He stood and calmly waited, to hear the keel upon the shore 
 to bear him across the dark river. We never knew a man 
 who seemed to dread death less. He said: " Death is only 
 transition ; the grave, the gateway to perpettial and higher 
 life." " Uncle George " was /T^ years of age, and was born 
 near where he died. He became a Christian wdiile young, 
 and was a minister of the Baptist Church, ordained in 1870. 
 He was a man of broad patriotism and unfaltering Christian 
 fidelity. The world was his country ; to do good, his religion. 
 As a public-spirited man and philanthropist he was without 
 a rival ; a character in whom were nobly blended the best 
 elements of human nature. He had no children of his own, 
 
78 
 
 but many boys struggling to gain a foothold on the slippery 
 shores of life, owe their success to the encouragement from 
 " Uncle George." He was the leading founder of Roane 
 College, Wheat, Tennessee, and was president of the board 
 of trustees until his death. He contributed the principal 
 funds and superintended the erection of the church which is 
 a in cm or ia!, bearing his name. Before his death he be- 
 queathed the remainder of his estate to this church and 
 turned the most of it over to the trustees. 
 
 IMart Wilkey died suddenly of rheumatism of the heart 
 one Sunday morning in 1891. He retired Saturday night in 
 his usual health, with the exception of slight rheumatic pains, 
 but was found dead, having expired before he could call for 
 help. He was in his seventy-fifth year. — one of the oldest 
 citizens of Kingston. 
 
 Her husband had preceded her one week, when Lutitia 
 Wilkey died, after a lingering illness ; not knowing of his 
 death, she realized no separation. She was 74 years old, and 
 had the satisfaction of knowing her labors were not in vain, 
 for she left a well-trained and interesting family of children 
 and grandchildren. 
 
 Thus the twain, united for half a century on earth, were 
 reunited in the better world after a week's separation. For 
 one month unconscious much of the time, and hovering be- 
 tween life and death, she passed away without knowing her 
 husband had gone before. 
 
 Hugh Martin, Sr., after a lingering illness, departed this 
 life at his home in Kingston, on September 27, 1893, in his 
 fifty-seventh year. He had been a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church for more than thirty years, and the wisdom 
 and ability which he exercised in aid of religion, by counsel, 
 work and funds, is held in grateful remembrance. 
 
 In less than two years his wife, Sallie Center Martin, 
 joined him in their eternal Home, where they await their 
 
children and friends who remain in this world of change and 
 sorrow'. 
 
 Sarah Louise Wardlaw. of Shelbyville. Tennessee, died 
 March 23, 1897, aged 65. The immediate cause of her death 
 was the second stroke of paralysis. She was the widow of 
 Rev. T. D. Wardlaw. deceased, who was recognized as the 
 finest classical scholar and most learned member of the 
 Southern Presbytery. Mrs. Wardlaw's Christian character 
 was impressed on all her acquaintances. 
 
 Edgar Walton, only son of Rev. and Mrs. J. H. Henry, 
 died suddenly February 26. 1894. of rheumatism of the heart. 
 He was a genial, promising young man, manly in his way, 
 though only a boy in years, 16. When his death occurred 
 like an untimely ■f'"ost, there was much grief and many tears, 
 but they wept not as those who have no hope, for Edgar had 
 asked the loving and compassionate Saviour to have mercy. 
 Again we are warned to be ready for the Angel of Death in 
 youth or age. 
 
 Arminta Ladd Carmichael died November 18, 1891, in 
 her twenty-fifth year. She patiently endured a continued ill- 
 ness, then quietly and calmly pillowed her head on a loving 
 Saviour's arm, and as she breathed her last, whispered softly 
 to her husband. " Meet me there." She had high conceptions 
 of the Christian religion and died as she had lived, loving 
 and trusting' Jesus. Those who knew her best loved her 
 most. 
 
 On July 2. 1890, Addie L. Cox, wife of Charles E. Cox, 
 died after an illness of six months, aged 26 years. Thev had 
 been married little more than three years, and at the age of 
 nine months their babe was left without a mother, the sweet- 
 est and dearest friend on earth. She was resigned to the 
 Lord's will and her last words were to her husband : " I 
 regret to leave you and my baby, but there will be a wav 
 provided for you. Be a good man and see to training our 
 
80 
 
 chikl in the rii:^ht way ; take him to church and Sunday- 
 school. The thought of death does not excite me, I am 
 ready to go." 
 
 A. B. Alexander died of typhoid fever at his home in 
 Kingston, where he was a popular druggist and useful citi- 
 zen. He was a devoted Christian and a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Churcli. South. He left a wife and 
 little daughter, who did not then understand the loss of a 
 kind and loving father. 
 
 Sallie Butler Crowder died May 27, 1899, in her thirty- 
 ninth year. She was converted and joined the church at the 
 age of thirteen, and was a noble mother, modest lady and 
 devoted Christian. After a long illness, when strength was 
 almost exhausted, she called her family around her and said 
 she would perhaps die before morning. Kissing all goodbye, 
 she admonished them to meet her in Heaven, exclaiming, 
 " 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus," and requested the hymn 
 simg, and that they join with her in prayer. She exclaimed: 
 " I can almost see Heaven; I will watch and. wait for you 
 all," and quietly sank until she went to live with God. May 
 all the relatives meet her again where sickness and death are 
 imknown. 
 
 Col. Henry I. \A'elcker died at the age of 80. He was 
 a prominent and useful citizen, esteemed for his honesty, and 
 by his industry becan.ie possessed of many comforts and 
 luxuries, Init all could not stay the hand of death. Again 
 we are reminded of the Divine injunction: "Be ye also 
 ready." His remains were interred at Kingston, with 
 Masonic honors. 
 
 Rufus Wilson, of Loudon County, died suddenly of 
 heart failure. He had been to the field directing some work, 
 and on returning to the house fell dead. Thus a prominent 
 citizen passed away. 
 
 Tobias Peters passed peacefully from this life April 14, 
 
•81 
 
 1900, ag'cd 80 years. Through many trials and vicissitudes 
 he marched to the eventide of Hfe, basking in the mellow 
 radiance of venerable old age. While in apprehension of 
 speedy dissolution, he read his Testament nearly through. 
 He was a useful citizen and faithful Christian. 
 
 John G. Bruce died October 13, 1S91, yet their invalid 
 mother remained to pray to God to bless and guide her eight 
 fatherless children. Death soon came again, and on January 
 3, 1892, the mother died, when the younger children were 
 cared for in the" Masonic Orphans' Home." 
 
 Maggie Burns Burkhalter died October 3, 1890. She 
 was a Christian, and left bright hopes that she has gone to 
 Heaven. When almost seized by the pangs of death, she 
 tried to shout praises to the Redeemer and asked the friends 
 who surrounded her to meet her in Heaven, exclaiming, " I 
 am going to meet papa.'' After two years she was followed 
 by her little daughter, Mamie Myrtle, of only four summers. 
 She was stricken with diphtheria and lived only live days. 
 
 Oma Cormany, of Kingston, Tennessee, died July 21. 
 1900. She became a Christian in her thirteenth year, and 
 had just passed her nineteenth birthday and seemed to be 
 emerging into the zenith of Christian usf^fulness when the 
 summons came. From the beginning of her Christian life 
 she took up the cross and was a faithful worker and constant 
 attendant upon religious services. Her influence for good 
 survives her, and the world is better by her life — yet she 
 was taken in the bloom of youth. 
 
 Mollie M. Lee died October 14, 1895, after having been 
 a great sufferer for many months, when all the powers and 
 talents of the most skilled' physicians in Tennessee were ex- 
 hausted in her behalf. She was born in Virginia, but her 
 parents moved near Scarboro, Tennessee, where she died and 
 was buried. She left this world in the full triumph of a 
 living faith, having, given her heart to God eleven vears. 
 
82 
 
 before the close of her earthly life. She had been a student 
 of Carson and Newman College, but graduated with honors 
 at Sweetwater Seminary in May, 1890. She was industrious 
 and accomplished, a successful and popular teacher who had 
 an ambition to do all in her power for God and humanity. 
 She never mourned nor complained, but endured her suffer- 
 ings calmly, and regarded death as rest to her soul. 
 
 John Lee, son of Moses G. Lee, died in 1898, in his 
 thirty-fifth year. While hauling baled hay piled so high that 
 he was seated beyond the reach of the brake, in going down 
 hill he was unable to check the momentum, and was pitched 
 off between the wagon and horses, when two wheels of the 
 wagon passed over his body, crushing and mangling him so 
 that he died on the fourth day from the effects of the injuries. 
 
 Their father, Moses G. Lee, an aged and esteemed citi- 
 zen, died in December, 1903, at his home, Scarboro, Tenn. 
 
 Mary W. Chrisenberry departed this life and entered 
 into rest April 7, 1901, in her seventy-fifth year. From the 
 cradle to the grave her life was one of continuous labor and 
 arduous trials. Her husband preceded her twenty-seven 
 years, and since his death she seemed more than ever devoted 
 to her children, and we believe in the home of the soul is a 
 rich reward for faithful and devoted Christian mothers. She 
 had been a consistent member of the church for fifty-nine 
 years, so we surely can trust such a one in the hands of a 
 just and merciful God. 
 
 Annie Maude and Willie Chrisenberry were called 
 Home in 1899. 
 
 " Two little angels now on high, 
 
 They hand in hand together roam, 
 Two links now bind us to the sky, 
 Two spirits beckon us to come." 
 
 August 16, 1902, after a long, painful illness, the soul 
 of G, W. Carmichael passed into the great beyond. In 
 
83 
 
 November, 1896, he had been for a week a penitent at the 
 blood-bought mercy seat, when serene smiles of faith and 
 hope beamed from his countenance and the faithful few 
 realized that the services at the Chapel during unfavorable 
 weather had not been in vain. All medical aid failed to give 
 relief and his agonies were most pathetic during his last 
 hours. Alas ! for the cry of widowhood and orphanage. 
 
 In March, 1903, his widow, Mary Smith Carmichael 
 ■died of pneumonia. 
 
 " .A. motherless group, with aching hearts, 
 A new, fresh grief as each day departs ; 
 Nothing remains save a deep, black pall 
 And mocking echoes through room and hall, — 
 Echoes of earth on a coffin-lid. 
 Thoughts of a face forever hid, 
 Shafts of pain that pierce and rend. 
 Sobbing farewells to their best friend." 
 
 The old Carmichael home was noted for its hospitality, 
 and the entertainment received there is gratefully remem- 
 bered by friends and strangers. The older members of this 
 family have passed from the trials into the rewards of Chris- 
 tian hospitality. 
 
 On July 14, 1893, while George and Charlie Shelton 
 were heaping hay in a meadow with steel pitchforks, they 
 were struck by lightning, which instantly killed the elder 
 brother George, and felled the latter senseless to the ground, 
 and he recovered and still lives. George, who received the 
 fatal stroke, was noble and kind, and a useful member of the 
 church and Sunday-school. 
 
 Lewis Smith was instantly killed by lightning while 
 harvesting wheat in June, 187S. 
 
 Arthur Peak, aged 22, who had been working in a field 
 in Gallaher's Bend, Clinch River, during an electric storm, 
 was struck by a bolt of lightning and instantly killed, July 2, 
 
84 
 
 1896. His mother, Lucy ('lailaher Peak, died March 4, 1884, 
 at Robertsville, Tenn. 
 
 Lieutenant Robert S. Triplett, of the Third Tennessee 
 Volunteers, died in camp at Anniston, Ala., September 18, 
 1898, of meningitis. He was buried in the beautiful ceme- 
 tery at Oliver Springs, Tenn., where his mother keeps his 
 grave green and beautiful with flowers. A tablet to his 
 memory is in the chapel of the Science Hall, University of 
 _y^ T ennessee, where he was a cadet. He was a cousin of 
 ^ Ad jutant^eneraF- Hannah, and exceedingly popular. He 
 
 !^^^ was only twenty-four years old. and his untimely death is 
 
 lamented by all who knew him. 
 
 FAMILY REUNION. 
 By J. B. Tadi.ock. 
 All gathered 'round the old homestead, 
 Where all had lived, but two were dead ; 
 Children and grand, thirty, numbering all, 
 Upon old home and me did call. 
 
 Their pictures they had met to take. 
 Singing and merriment to make. 
 The artist here was on that day, 
 To show old home when far away. 
 
 The children passed the day in glee. 
 And happy, I was glad to see ; 
 Blind on the paths they had to tread. 
 The thorns and griefs they did not dread. 
 
 But mother, sister, cold and dead, 
 Some gloomy thought around them spread ; 
 They were not here to smile and kiss. 
 Oh! what a void at home to miss! 
 
 Strange mothers here may come and be, 
 But mother here you'll never see ; 
 Yes, others soon this home will hold, 
 And in the grave. I'll soon be cold. 
 
85 
 
 How strange to you this home will be, 
 When / am gone, this change you'll see ; 
 Some lonely evening you'll pass by, 
 And heave a lone and bitter sigh. 
 
 Yes, lovely home and fleeting day, 
 Like flying clouds, will pass away ; 
 And strangers' children here will sing, 
 And carry water from the spring. 
 
 The stranger then the field will plow, 
 Some other maid will milk the cow ; 
 You then may look the farm around — 
 In all the fields I'll not he found. 
 
 You know not now how you will feel, 
 Your heart will ache, while tear-drops steal ; 
 A long farewell you'll sigh and say, 
 " Perhaps in Heaven we'll meet some day.'' 
 
 Swift passed the hours and soon the day. 
 And / at home was left to stay; 
 When all was o'er and all done. 
 The sighing breeze and lingering sun, 
 
 Both seem a farewell hymn to sigh, 
 And say that earthly joys soon must die; 
 This shady home and leafy bower. 
 Will leave me in some fleeting hour. 
 Robertsville, Tenn., July lo, 1894. 
 
 The author of this poem, John B. Tadlock, was called 
 Home in September, 1903, and his relatives and friends 
 realize the truths of the preceding verses. 
 
 A poem on the death of Willie Anna Keebler, written 
 by her grandfather, J. B. Tadlock : 
 
 Father, mother, you need not cry, 
 I'm gone to live in the Home on high ; 
 My grave with flowers there you spread. 
 And left me with the lonely dead, 
 
86 
 
 There flowers fade upon the tonih, 
 But flowers here eternal bloom ; 
 Among these blooming fields I roam, 
 And would not go back to your home. 
 
 Down there you say onr streets are gold — 
 The half of Heaven was never told; 
 Diamonds and gold you prize there, 
 Such dross we value not Jierc. 
 
 Here I'm free from care and pain, 
 Which never will reach my home again ; 
 No more I'll meet you at your home. 
 But Heavenly streets tcr soon will roam. 
 
 I care not for your fading flowers, 
 
 They pass within a fleeting hour ; 
 
 Your banks will break, your stores will burn, 
 
 And earthly goods to dust will turn. 
 
 My body is sleeping in the tomb, 
 No more I'll walk your halls and room; 
 Cold snows and ice lay on my breast, 
 But with my Saviour I'm at rest. 
 
 The thundering train can't wake my sleep, 
 Nor storm}^ winds aown mountains sweep; 
 So farewell to father and mother ! 
 A sweet good-bye to sister and brother! 
 
 When God shall keep you there no more, • 
 I'll meet you at the Heavenly door ; 
 With longing eyes for you I'll wait, 
 And lead you through the pearly gate. 
 
 Ill memory of Cora, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sevier 
 Tadlock. 
 
 Our Cora's dead — a doleful sound. 
 For her dear form lies under the ground. 
 " In cold clay now my body lies. 
 Till the last trump shall rock the skies, 
 
87 
 
 My body here must lie in gloom. 
 The owl at night scream o'er my tomb. 
 The storms may rock the forest bough, 
 The farmer o'er my breast may plough. 
 
 You ne'er will hear my bitter cry. 
 The sun and moon shall sail the sky, 
 And by your side I'll never stay, 
 Nor shall I near your cottage play. 
 
 I heard the sigh, I saw the tear. 
 Therefore I would not stay one year ; 
 I did not come oh earth to stay, 
 I dashed the bitter cup away. 
 
 Its bitter dregs I would not drink. 
 So I stood on Jordan's brink ; 
 I saw your fields in green arraj'ed, 
 But very soon I saw them fade. 
 
 The serpent hissed among your bowers, 
 I saw the thorn among your flowers ; 
 My little cradle now is still, 
 Which on earth I never shall fill. 
 
 Father, mother^ do not weep, 
 I'm only going Home to sleep; 
 At Heaven's gate I'll take my stand. 
 Hoping there to see you land." 
 
 --J. B. Tadlock. 
 
 ]n the Garden of Earth fair was growing 
 A beautiful bud ; when the frost 
 
 Touched the petals, all radiant and glowing- 
 The garden its treasure had lost. 
 
 Then the King of the country leane'd over 
 And caught the sweet rose to His breast; 
 
 How soon shall its beauty recover 
 In Elysian Isles of the Blest. 
 
88 
 
 Child-nature, the purest, the rarest. 
 
 Wherever on earth it is seen, 
 The noblest, the brightest, the rarest, 
 
 Are marks for Death's arrows so keen. 
 
 But she's left ev'ry sorrow behind her. 
 
 Sweet Willie, so fair to our sight. 
 The chains of earth's sin can- not bind her — 
 
 O, fortunate Seraph of Light ! 
 
 Dear mother, so sorrowfully weeping. 
 
 This message of love is for thee:. 
 Thy darling seems silently sleeping. 
 
 Yet her spirit is gladsome and free. 
 
 The soul which was lent thee, not given, 
 To its home with the angels has flown. 
 
 For " Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven," 
 And God will take care of His own. 
 
 — Mrs. A. B. Tad lock. 
 
 George W, Hembree died of paralysis, Febrtiary lo, 
 1900, aged 50 years. He never ftilly recovered from a stroke 
 of paralysis first suffered by him in May, 1899. However, 
 he had considerably improved, and hopes were entertained 
 that he might possibly live for many years, but the dreaded 
 malady renewed its attack, this time bringing death in its 
 icy grip. Thus lay in the presence of loved ones the lifeless 
 and manly form of the husband, father and friend. In a 
 beautiful tribute to his memory, from East Fork Lodge, 
 where he had been a Master Mason twenty years, we quote 
 the, following: 
 
 " The duty assigned to us is both pleasing and sad ; 
 pleasing in that we have an opportunity of presenting a fezv 
 of the many virtues and good qualities of our departed 
 brother, and sad in that he is no more with us, and that we 
 shall never more hear from him words of admonition, warn- 
 ing and encouragement. The Grand Master has called our 
 
89 
 
 brother from labor to rest : his work completed, his Sabbath 
 of eternity has begun. Truly the bereaved ones may look 
 back upon his life with, real and affectionate pride ; he was 
 gentle, kind and amiable to a remarkable degree, winning 
 the friendship and affection of all with whom he associated. 
 Measured by the rules of ^Masonry, we do not hesitate to call 
 our brother grcal. ]\Iasons ever rejoice in the elevated char- 
 acter of their members, and it is profoundly gratifying to 
 them to be able to refer to such a man while living and say : 
 /He is one of us,' and when dead to refer to his life as an 
 example, and embalm his .memory in our hearts. After the 
 impressive ceremonies of our craft, his mortal remains were 
 consigned to mother earth, to sleep that calm, sweet sleep 
 which comes to those only who walk uprightly. There we 
 leave him till his hope shall end in sweet fruition, and on 
 the glorious morning of the resurrection his body rises im- 
 nwrtal as his soul." 
 
 " The Lord's ways are not as our ways," and the dis- 
 pensations of His providence are mysterious to us. One by 
 one earth is made less desirable and Heaven more longed 
 for. January 28, 1904, our esteemed and beloved physician, 
 L. N. Holioway, of Wheat. Tennessee, awoke in the pres- 
 ence of the King in the Holy City to sing the new song, 
 never more to suff'er pain or know sorrow. F'or more than 
 a year he had been a great sufferer from rheumatism, but 
 partially recovered, and hopes were entertained for complete 
 restoration of his health. January 5, 1904, he was stricken 
 with fever and became unconscious a few days before his 
 death. There remain his wife, four daughters, one son, his 
 aged mother, relatives and a host of friends to mourn their 
 loss. He was a native of Rhea County, but practiced his 
 profession for more than a quarter of a century in Roane 
 County, where he has been instrumental in the Lord's ser- 
 vice in comforting and restoring the sick and suff'erinef. Dr. 
 
90 
 
 Holloway walked " In His Steps," for he went about doing 
 good, often exposing' himself to unfavorable weather, that 
 he might relieve pain and sickness. He who suffers for the 
 good he does to others, and if it prove his death, is a hero 
 ■ indeed. The shadows make the sunlight brighter and more 
 glorious, the frailties of the man exalt the perfections of 
 God. We realize that perfection is never attaine'^1 by 
 frail humanity, for were man perfect our race would be a 
 race of Gods. May his weeping relatives remember that 
 death is the door which opens to us immortality, and is not 
 the worst of all evils when it is an alleviation to mortals 
 who are worn out with sufferings, and the physician of him 
 whom medicine can not cure. 
 
 His wife is a most estimable v.'oman. and by their united 
 industry and perseverance, made their home one of happi- 
 ness, comfort and hospitaliiy. The sweetest consolation to 
 the bereaved is, he not only laid up treasures on earth, but 
 he laid up treasures in Heaven, whence came his beloved 
 children, Maude Ethel and Benjamin, as ministering spirits, 
 and accompanied his redeemed soul to Paradise. His life has 
 been a blessing, and may his death be a solemn warning to 
 all to be prepared to meet God in peace and join the ran- 
 somed spirits in the realm? of eternal glory. He had been 
 a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for many 
 years, and was buried with Masonic honors. 
 
 ■' He did not speak evil of men : if he had nothing good 
 to say, he said nothing at all." 
 
 vSuccessively for three years the home of ]\Ir. and Mrs. 
 John Montgomery was shaken by the storms of life, when 
 three flowers were plucked to be transplanted into the Gar- 
 den of Paradise. 
 
 " Sorrows brood upon blackened wing, 
 Death has come with his cruel sting; 
 Hearts are bleeding, pleading and crushed. 
 While rooms are darkened and voices hushed." 
 
91 
 
 In his twenty-fourth year, Septeml^er 12, 1900, John C. 
 Montgomery died, after a brief ihness. 
 
 Having passed her twentieth birthday. Elizabeth Mont- 
 gomery died, September 23, 1901. 
 
 Just one vear a bride, in her twenty-fourth year, on 
 August 25, 1902, Annie Montgomery Russell exchanged her 
 wedding garments for the robes of immortality. 
 
 These were three servants of God who were not 
 ashamed to bear the yoke and acknowledge Him Master. 
 Peace, love, patience and meekness characterized their spirits 
 and their most expressive and beautiful qualities were their 
 religious lives. Religion is everywhere essential to success 
 in the home, store, bank, and in the great business affairs of 
 the world. Having followed the Lord with incessant vigi- 
 lance, undiminished devotion to duty, and unshaken faith. 
 Death appeared to them young and beautiful, accompanied 
 by the sweetest angels and glorified spirits, who bore them 
 on their pinions to the beautiful Home above. 
 
 Tribute to Beulah Elizabeth, daughter of W. T. and 
 Annie Russell : 
 
 This lovely bud, so young and fair, 
 
 Called hence by early doom, 
 Just came to show how sweet a flower 
 
 In paradise would bloom. 
 
 Ere sin could harm or sorrow fade, 
 
 Death came with friendly care, 
 The opening bud to Heaven conveyed 
 
 And bade it blossom there. 
 
 November 29, 1899, death invaded the home of Dr. 
 R. P. Eaton and made the first break in the famil}' circle 
 by claiming his wife, after a painful suffering of nineteen 
 weeks. Cornelia N. Eaton was 61 years of age, and had 
 been a Christian since her girlhood. Her disposition was 
 
92 
 
 as sweet as her character was strong. For the gentle in- 
 fluence and self-sacrifices of her life, her memory is cher- 
 ished. She w-as one of nature's gentlewomen, noble in her 
 impulses, democratic in her opinions, hospitable in her home, 
 careful and frugal in the conduct of the household, which 
 was an ideal one, made so by the reigning spirit of her self- 
 control, her wonderful will-power and undaunted energy. 
 Charitable in words and deeds, she was beloved of all, and 
 many considered it a great pleasure to be a pensioner upon 
 the store of her advice and direction. The hands that 
 labored in industry and smoothed the wrinkles of care and 
 anxiety with a loving touch are now cold and motionless, 
 but the memory of her influence is a monument more en- 
 during than marble, and like the circle of flowers that were 
 deposited with her in the tomb, as sweet as it is endless. 
 
 The mother is gone, " the queen-chair is empty, and 
 death overshadows the home. But through the gloom a 
 radiance comes — 'tis a sun-burst from the crest of Golgotha, 
 where the cross stands — an ever-directing sentinel pointing 
 us to Heaven." 
 
 This is the land of the dying, so through death we enter 
 the real land of. the living. In November, 1902, Dr. A. C. 
 Brasel, of Petros, died, after a brief illness of typhoid fever. 
 He was a popular young physician, and the future seemed 
 inviting for success in his profession, but he has gone where 
 he knows more than ever of the science of health. His life 
 was short, but a success, for he cultivated the spiritual as 
 well as the material side of his being. 
 
 In January, 1892, in his sixty- fourth year, A. J. Burum 
 died, at his home at Wheat, Tennessee. He was a devoted 
 husband, kind father and obliging neighbor, preferring the 
 happiness of others to his own. His family was the great 
 object of his life, and for them he spent all his physical, 
 intellectual and relisrious energies. He was a charter mem- 
 
93 
 
 ber of East Fork Lodge, F. & A. M., and they prepared a 
 beautiful tribute to his memory. His daughter, Alice, pre- 
 ceded him Home nine years, she being only twenty-five years 
 old. His widow and younger children joined the older ones 
 in California in October, 1892. where they all now reside. 
 
 Frank P. Burum died September 13, 1896, aged 34. 
 He was the third of that family called Home to glory. He 
 was converted and joined the church when quite young. 
 His Christian experience was not always the brightest, yet 
 he never denied the faith nor fell into doubt. ]\Iany months 
 before his death he was greatly revived, and mingled his 
 voice in the prayer and praise of God's people, and passed 
 over the river in triumphant faith. Heaven has another 
 attraction, and seems nearer and brighter than ever. While 
 we mourn his death, we realize that Christ and His holy 
 angels and the loved ones gone before welcomed him Home. 
 May his two sons and all the relatives be encouraged to hope 
 on. 
 
 One by one earth's ties were broken when Wm. Staples, 
 Sr., Nannie Staples Carter and Elizabeth Bradley Staples 
 followed each other after brief intervals. Death again en- 
 tered the Staples mansion on January 30, 1896, when the 
 young husband was robbed by the remorseless enemy of his 
 companion, Blanche Cross Staples. Less than three years 
 before she entered that home a beautiful bride, possessed of 
 wealth, social honors and religious influence, yet her life 
 seems prolonged by good deeds. She was a noble, queenly 
 woman, descended from old Southern families, and with that 
 gentle grace of the South, she was ,a faithful and earnest 
 worker in her ]\Iaster's vineyard. At Dossetts, near her 
 father's home, she was the leader in the erection of the 
 church on the hill where slie sleeps. She regarded death 
 as the crown of life, and her earnest prayers and exhorta- 
 tions are recalled bv manv. ]\Iav ]\Iarguerite, her beloved 
 
94 
 
 daughter, be often reminded of her saintly mother and imi- 
 tate her example. She has since been joined by her babe, 
 and mother, Mattie McClellan Cross, where they await the 
 grand reunion in the Celestial City. 
 
 .Mortal life is the vestibule of immortal life, and r-^- 
 ligion is necessary to train our souls for Heaven. They who 
 early bow the knee and give their willing heart and service 
 to the Lord possess imperishable riches. Lena Crawford 
 Long triumphed in the thoughts of death, for she was pre- 
 pared to meet that stern monarch of the grave. To her hus- 
 band, children and friends the ordeal seems a grievous 
 chastening, for " no chastening for the present seemeth to 
 be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth 
 the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are 
 exercised thereby." i\Iay the memory of her sweet influence 
 inspire the husband and children to follow the footsteps of 
 Jesus and meet their beloved, who with beckoning hands 
 calls them to the Heavenly Home. She was a noble mothf x", 
 and hoped against hope to remain with her three children 
 and train their young lives for usefulness and Heaven, but 
 God knev^ best, and took her to make the Eternal Home more 
 attractiA'e to them and melt the frigid splendor of the con- 
 ventional heaven into a domestic scene. May the bereaved 
 be often reminded that their departed loved one has not gone 
 into silence and unconsciousness, and that she awaits them 
 in a home of beautiful architecture and magnificent fur- 
 nishings, and will return wUh the angels to comfort their 
 dying hour and accompany them Home. 
 
 Her anxious husband employed the best medical aid, 
 and she rallied strength sufficient to leave her home in 
 Oliver Springs and go to Texas, where she remained awhile, 
 thence they went to California, where she died. May 22, 
 1900, aged 34. Her spirit took its flight and all that re- 
 
95 
 
 mained to mortal view was deposited beside the tonib of 
 her father, W. H. Crawford, near the " Peaceful Ocean." 
 
 " If we entertain Christ in tlie person of His disciples in 
 this world, when we pass up into the next country we shall 
 meet Christ in a regal procession, and He will g'ive us a 
 share of the riches of Heaven and extend to us grand, 
 glorious and eternal hospitalities. Those entertainments 
 excel in grandeur and munificence any given by the kings 
 and rulers of earth.'' Lena Long v.'as charitable and hos- 
 pitable, and her disposition was as sweet as her character 
 was strong. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ON THE DEATH OF W. H. CRAWFOKD. 
 
 Whereas, The sad news of the sudden death of Rev. 
 William H. Crawford, which occurred on the night of 
 August 7. 1891', came on the wings of the lightning from 
 the Occident; and 
 
 Whereas, Wc, his latest friends and neighbors for 
 many years, acquainted with hinj in all the relations of life, 
 believe it proper to bear testimony to our appreciation of the 
 life, character and services of the great and good of earth, 
 not only because it gives a sense of melancholy personal 
 gratification and pleasure to us, but as an incentive to holy 
 living for the young and rising generation, do hereby make 
 this solemn declaration : 
 
 Resolved, By the Board of Trustees of Roane College, 
 that as a man he was one of the noblest works of God. He 
 was venerable and possessed of great wisdom, goodness and 
 virtue; as a citizen he was loyal, law-abiding and liberty- 
 loving; as a neighbor he was cheerful, charitable and hos- 
 pitable , as a father he was patient, persistent and pains- 
 taking in the mental and moral training of his children ; as 
 a husband he was considerate, indulgent, afifectionate, self- 
 sacrificing, and his hearth was the home of every domestic 
 virtue ; as a teacher, he instructed not onlv bv the grandest 
 
96 
 
 precepts, but by the noblest examples ; the thoughtless, the 
 heedless and the lawless were awed into order by the majesty 
 of his matchless love ; as a Christian his life was an open 
 epistle, to be read of all men He obeyed the divine injunc- 
 tion by which to secure never-failing- fullness : " Seek first 
 the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these 
 things shall be added unto you." If any Christian grace 
 more than another predominated his almost matchless char- 
 acter, it was that he relied with implicit confidence in, and 
 proved this priceless promise, for literally he took no thought 
 for tomorrow what he should eat. or wherewithal he should 
 be clothed, though poor indeed in material things, most like 
 his noble Master, the lowly Nazarene, " who had not where 
 to lay his head," but better far than this he was rich in what 
 the worthlessness of this world's wealth can never give — 
 rich in grace, gentleness and goodness, which had grown to 
 live forever in the garden of God. " A great man has this 
 day fallen in Israel." His life to the home circle, to society, 
 to the state, to the church, has been a priceless example. 
 To his children his life and love and example are an heritage 
 of honor and crown of glory forever. 
 
 Rev. Geo. Jones, President, 
 W. T. Gai,i,aher, Secretary. 
 
 To the U^crshipfnl Master, IJ^ardeiis and Brethren of Bast 
 Fork Lodge No. 460. F. & A. M.: 
 
 Your committee appointed at the regular meeting in 
 August. 1891, to draft suitable resolutions in regard to the 
 death of W. H. Crawford, would respectfully submit the 
 following report : 
 
 I. That we have not the language to express our feel- 
 ings touching our regard to the hero, Rev. W. H. Crawford, 
 who fell a victim to the ruthless hand of death August 5, 
 1891, on the fruitful soil of California, far away from his 
 
97 
 
 earthly home, but close to the home to which he had long 
 since been aspiring, and to which he had pointed a multitude 
 of others — some who had passed him in the Lane of Life, 
 and scores more to follow ; in fact, the good influence will 
 never cease. 
 
 Brother Crawford was a Mason in the fullest accepta- 
 tion of the term ; he possessed all those noble tenets that go 
 to make up a Mason ; he was charitable, truthful, benevolent, 
 firm, and ever ready to relieve the distressed, which is so 
 characteristic of our faithful craft. Such a life as Brother 
 Crawford's was, will be greatly missed, and his place as a 
 Mason, minister. Christian, father, husband, teacher and 
 neighbor hard to fill. In fact, Brother Crawford possessed 
 some of those noble tenets that few persons ever attain. 
 Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That while Brother Crawford's membership 
 was elsewhere, yet he often affiliated with us ; was our 
 brother in the mystic tie ; was a member of the noble order ; 
 that we cherish the many pleasant visits and the wholesome 
 instructions received from him. 
 
 Resolved, further. That while we realize that he will 
 never more meet us around our sacred altar in the earthly 
 Lodge, nor counsel us in Lodge assemblies, yet we rely on 
 the promises of that Book that serves as a guide to our faith 
 and practice, believing that while our force on earth is dimin- 
 ished, the number of the redeemed is swelled in the beautiful 
 home of the soul, where all good Masons hope to meet l>y 
 and by. 
 
 H. B. Jones, 
 
 M. R. Richmond, 
 
 L. N. HOLLOWAY, 
 
 Couimittee. 
 He was a graduate of Washington College, under old 
 Professor Doak, and ordained a minister of the Cumberland 
 
98 
 
 Presbyterian Cluirch when only twenty years old, and for 
 fifty }ears was engaged in educational and ministerial work 
 in East Tennessee. Virginia and Georgia. He was president 
 of Roane College for twelve years, and one of his assistant 
 teachers says he never heard him speak evil of anvone. 
 He squared his acts before all men. He resigned this posi- 
 tion in May, tSqo, and went to California, where his weight 
 changed from 125 to 175 potmds. He enjoyed fine health 
 and spirits, and after arriving at manhood his life was 
 singularly free from disease and infirmity. 
 
 In September, 1891, he contemplated returning to Ten- 
 nessee, . after Synod should meet in San Francisco. On 
 Sunday. August 2, he preached in the morning, though feel- 
 ing unwell. He attempted to preach again in the evening, 
 but was so unwell he had to ask a minister who was present 
 to conclude the service. He gradually improved until Wed- 
 nesday the 5th, eating his accustomed meals and taking his 
 usual exercise. While preparing for prayer meeting, one of 
 the young men of the church suggested that as he had not 
 entirely recovered perhaps lie had better remain at home. 
 This he finally did, and soon after prepared to retire to his 
 bedroom up stairs. Going to his room he soon returned for 
 some water, and pleasantly passing back through the house, 
 bade the old folks good night and played with the children. 
 Warm and full of the fellowship of man, he passed into the 
 society of God his Father and Elder Brother. He went up 
 to his room and began to prepare for the night's sleep — the 
 temporary rest for the body ; while doing so, alone with 
 himself and God, he fell asleep until the morning of the 
 first resurrection — the deep sleep of death ! Next morning, 
 as he came not to his meal, a messenger was sent to call him. 
 He was found, on the floor cold in death. He had not gone 
 to bed. No noise had been heard. There was no evidence 
 of a struggle. There the body lay, calm and serene, as if 
 
99 
 
 he had wrapped the drapery of his couch about him and 
 lain down to pleasant dreams. He died of apoplexy. The 
 remains were moved by loving hands from Newman to 
 ^^'inters, California, and buried in the lot of his son-in-law, 
 Rev. H. C. Culton, in the cemetery there. After a toilsome, 
 self-sacrificing, noble Christian life, he sleeps well. 
 
 Alemorial services w^ere held at Roane College, August 
 13, 1891. The usual emblems of mourning and beautiful 
 flowers were in front of the altar, but the most touching 
 emblem was the vacant chair and walking cane. It was a 
 solemn occasion when five of his children, Rev. J. R. Craw- 
 ford. James and W. B. Craw^ford, Mrs. W. L. Welcker and 
 Mrs. J. B. Long, assembled with many friends to reverence 
 his memory. 
 
 Rebecca Branson Douglas died August 13, 1895, aged 
 50. She was a most noble Christian woman, and throughout 
 her life and in her last moments gave the most positive proof 
 of the consolations of the Christian hope. " Mother " is a 
 word that binds all in the ties of universal brotherhood. 
 
 Her husband, George W. Douglas, died October 18, 
 1900, aged 69. Five children — Mrs. Geo. H. French, Mrs. 
 Albert Allen, DeKalb, Elbert and Daisy Douglas — survive 
 them. Another veteran of the Civil War has passed away. 
 He was the first lieutenant of Company G, of the Eighth 
 Tennessee Infantr}-. His regiment saw^ much hard service, 
 and ]\Ir. Douglas was wounded thirteen times and lost a 
 leg by the bursting of a shell near him, on August 6, 1864, 
 at Utoy Creek, before Atlanta, Georgia. He was honorably 
 discharged from service June 16, 1865, at Company Shops, 
 North Carolina. He was prepared for the Grand Reunion 
 in the Heavenly Home, and he sleeps in the National Ceme- 
 tery, Knoxville. 
 
 With the words, " God is calling me," D. L, Moodv 
 passed to the higher life. 
 
 L.ofC. 
 
100 
 
 Sacred to the memory of Frank, son of W. H. and 
 Maggie Browder: 
 
 " I saw the young mother in tenderness bend 
 
 O'er the couch of her slumbering boy, 
 And she kissed the soft Hps as they murmured her name, 
 
 While the dreamer lay smiling in joy. 
 O ! sweet as the rosebud encircled with dew, 
 
 When its fragrance is flung on the air, 
 So fresh and so bright to that mother he seemed. 
 
 As he lay in his innocence there. 
 But I saw when she gazed on that same lovely form, 
 
 Pale as marble, and silent and cold, 
 But paler and colder her beautiful boy, 
 
 When the tale of her sorrow was told. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 But the Healer was there, who had stricken her heart. 
 
 And taken her treasure away. 
 To allure her to Heaven He had placed it on high. 
 
 And the mourner will sweetly obey. 
 There had whispered a voice, 'twas the voice of her God, 
 'I love thee, I love thee! pass under the rod.'" 
 
JUN 17 1904