The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, February 18, 1904, Image 7
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By Rev.
FRANK DE V/ITT TALMAGE, D.D.,
j Pastor of Jefferson Park Presby*
teri&n Church, Chicago
i
Ijos Anpeles, Cal., Feb. 21.—In tins
sermon the preacher sounds the Lent- j
en call to all classes—the social devo
tee, the business man, the humble
worker and the homekeeper, the rich
and the poor alike—as a summons to
tK^ annual duties of the season of spir
itual preparation. The text Is Joel i,
14, “Sanctify ye a fast; call a solemn
assemblage.”
The Presbyterian church has enrolled
among its leaders many intellectual
theologians. Entitled to a prominent
place among them by his learning, phil
osophic acumen and sanctified common
sense is Dr. Francis L. Patton, former
ly president of Princeton university
and now president of Princeton Theo
logical seminary. Many of his weighty
utterances have impressed me, but none
more than one he made on the value
and usefulness of the Episcopalian
church.
His words In substance were: “I be
lieve the Episcopalian church is one of
the most effective churches In exist
ence today. I believe In Its ritual; I be
lieve In Its teachings. If I were not a
Presbyterian, I would certainly be an
Episcopalian. But, though I love and
honor the Episcopalian church, I also
believe that the most absurd of mon
strosities Is a Presbyterian In his form
' of worship trying to ape an Episcopa
lian. While we are Presbyterians let
us remain Presbyterians. When we
want to become Episcopalians In our
form of worship, in responsive read
ings and in all that the Episcopalian
service implies, let us become Episco
palians. But do not let us try to change
the Presbyterian pulpit Into a chancel
or the grand old simple service of the
Presbyterian church into a concert by
a surpliced choir and into the liturgy
of the Episcopalian church.”
The Sprlnsr Past.
Amen, say I, to the sound advice of
Dr. Patton. The simple doxology, the
two or three congregational hymns,
the chapter read from the Bible, the
earnest prayers and the doctrinal as
well as practical sermon can never be
. :e, T -^elled as a service for the grand old
church which the names of John Cal
vin and John Knox and Thomas Chal
mers and Thomas Guthrie and Lowell
Mason and William Taylor and John
Hall have made immortal. But, though
I would not have the Presbyterian
church adopt a ritual, I still insist that
the Episcopalian church has not an ex
clusive title to all the good things she
may hold dear. Especially do I affirm
that she has not a sole right to her
spring fast, which starts with Ash
Wednesday and closes with Easter’s
S . Way back in Joel we read the !
land, “Sanctify ye a fast; call a
in assemblage.” If that divine
comm/and is still in force for us as for
God’s ancient people, is there a better
time for.its observance than the period
preceding our commemoration of the
passion
It was at
that the
before the! beginning of his ministry
and thereAfasting for forty days, pre
pared for ti\e ordeal of his temptation
It will be well for Presbyterians as for
Episcopalians to meditate on that ex
perience of oiw Lord and draw near to
him in our hefcrts. We must have self
abnegation foir sin before we can truly
have closer union with God. Therefore
the purpose on this sermon is to show
why the Episcopalian Lent should be
come a Presbyterian Lent, also why
the “spring fast, *’ which is the time of
the “lengthening' of days,” should be
observed all ovel- the world by all
Christians, no majtter to what individ
ual churches they '.may belong.
WnrninK of Spiritual DmiKer.
The Episcopalian> ( Lent, in the first
place, calls
pations now
large cities, it cries,^ “Peace, be still!”
to the social whirlpool, which is grad
ually sucking down <js many strug
gling victims as Peter \k as once being
drawn into the depths of the Galilean
lake. It to the women of the
“social abyss,” “You brive something
higher to live for than a nightly round
of receptions and partiesi and a never
ending succession of aftjemoon teas.”
It says to the young meli of the “so
cial abyss,” who, under nfie power of
stimulants, are trying to work In the
store by day and to danc e almost ev
ery night until 1 or 2 o' clock in the
morning, "Young man, yc u had better
stop and consider to what purpose you
are devoting the best ene -gies of your
life.” It warns the social devotee of
the spiritual danger of hid course, as a
noted New Y'ork capitalist warned him
of the financial danger! when some
time ago he said: “The young men
ThL will not succeed lit business are
those who night after night may be
found in the ballrooms i ,nd the dance
halla and at the city cluljhouses drink
ing a little, playing cardu a little and
eating expensive dinners.. They are
sometimes called the drtones of so
ciety. This is a misnomer., Like some
small insects that sport frtr a day in
the sumrc sr sunshine, they jare minute
destructives. Their lives in/ the econo
my of social life make one( of the pet
ty agencies of degeneratloni”
Was not the capitalist glght? Are
not the ballroom and the 'dance hall
and the clubhouse a continujal menace
to success in business? Caia a young
map go to a progressive eujehre party
und play cards untl 11 o'clock and sit
down to a midnight banquet and then
be In the right physical ^ n( i mental
trim to sell goods in the state the next
ig >ur commemoration or tue
arid resurrection of our Lord?
at (this season of the year, too,
■ Mjastcr withdrew to the desert
ief beginning
eAfastlng for
' t Rio ordeal o
lopalxau' Lent, in the first
a halt to the social dissi-
• being practiced in all the
morning? is not the social shrine also
a very poor foundation upon which to
build the altar of Jesus Christ? Is not
most of its intluence spiritually deplet
ing? Some time ago I read a wonder
ful book entitled “The Call of the
Wild.” The central figure of that story
was a magnificent dog, a cross between
a St. Bernard and a Great Dane. He
was stolen from his California home
und sent far north into the Klondike
regions, where he was compelled to
drag the minors’ sleds over the Alaskan
snows. Jack London, the writer, with
a master hand traces him from a great,
big, loving house dog down and down
until he Is a dog thief among dog
thieves. He traces his degeneracy down
and down until at last the hayings of
the wolves cal! him into the darkness
of the northern forests, and “the call of
the wild” is answered by “the srspouse
of the wild.”
Obey the Divine Command.
Is not society’s call too often “the
call of the wild?” In the social world
when you give u banquet do you uot
for the most part ask only those in
your own social set? Do you obey the
divine command, “When thou makest
a dinner or a supper call not thy
friends nor thy brethren, neither thy
kinsmen uor thy rich neighbors, lest
they also bid thee again and a recom
pense be made thee. But when thou
makest a feast call the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou
shalt be blessed, for they cannot rec
ompense thee, but thou shalt be recom
pensed at the resurrection of the Just”
Is not society’s call often “the call of
the wild” because It Is a call to selfish
ness, the call of only doing good to
them who do good to you? Is It not
often the call merely of wealth to asso
ciate with wealth and social caste with
social caste? Oh, ye worshipers at the
social shrines, better heed today the
Lenten call! Better snuff out the many
lights of the ballrooms and the ban
quet halls! Know ye not that during
the “spring fast” the lowly Nazarene Is
knocking at the door of your hearts
trying to get in?
‘Tis true we cannot reach Christ’s for
tieth day,
Yet to go part of that religious way
Is better than no deed.
Neither ought other men’s abuse of Lent
Spoil the good use, lest by that argument
We forfeit all our creed.
The Lenten Call.
The Episcopalian Lent, in the next
place, is a protest against business ab
sorption. It says to the merchant, the |
manufacturer and the professional
man: “You have a right to work. In
deed, you must work and work hard if
you are to support your family and
meet the financial necessities which
are yours. But, O man, you have no
right to make the acquisition of money
the chief object of your life any more
than you have a right to live to eat. I
‘By the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread.’ But that sweat should not
make thee indifferent to God or to the
higher purposes of life, for which thou
wert created.”
But the great danger of money mak
ing is that tiie acquisition of wealth
may become a passion. The calls of
the money market become so great and |
urgent that an average business man ;
does not feel that he has time to stop j
and think about bis relations to God.
Amid the whirl of business activities he
feels a great deal as did Oliver Wen- i
dell Holmes during his trip through :
England. He said be went so fast he
had time “to talk with lots of people,
but he had time to have a true conver
sation with non* 1 .” By that the poet j
Holmes meant that he had time to drop
here a word and there a word, but he I
went through Europe so quickly he |
had no time to exchange heart to heart |
thoughts with great thinkers, as he did
with Max Muller when he lay in his
house sick for nearly a week. But, i
though the business world would de
mand all of a man’s energies, the
Lenten season comes into a busy mer
chant's life and says, “O man, you |
should never be too busy to take time j
to think of your responsibilities to
God!” So the Episcopalian Lent sends
its best men straight into the very
heart of Wall street. In old Trinity
church in the busiest part of the day |
during the Lenten season we hear the i
Christian preacher’s voice calling, as do
the Mohammedan priests from the
minarets of the eastern mosques: “O
business men, come to prayers! Come ;
to prayers! O ye business men, come
to prayers, come to prayers, come to
prayers!”
A Tien For Higher Lif»>.
The Lenten season pleads with busi- j
ness men for the higher life, as I once !
heard Robert Speer plead with n great
audience of men for the higher life.
' “Men,” said he, “I have always been
ambitious. By that I mean I have al
ways wanted to make the most out of
! my life. If I had thought 1 could
have made more out of my life by en
tering the United States army I cer
tainly would have done so. Had I
; thought I would have made more out
; of my life by entering business I
should have consecrated my energies
to money making. But I did think I
could make most out of my life by be
ing an evangelist of God. Therefore,
men, I beg and plead with you, no mat
ter who you are, to live for the higher
life. If yo i are a merchant, be a
Christian merchant; if a lawyer, be a
Christian lawyer; if n manufacturer,
be n Christian manufacturer.” Thus
the Lenten season says: “Live for the
higher life. ' Make your eounte’’, O
man, a Christian counter. Make your
mechanic’s bench a Christian bench.
Make your office a Christian.office. Be
like Paul, a Christian tentmaker. At
the same time he was a Christian
preacher.” O business men, wher
ever you may be and whatever you
may be doing, “sanctify ye a fast; call
a solemn assemblage!” Come to pray
ers! Come to the Lenten prayers!
A Spiritual Honaecleanlnff.
The Episcopalian Lent, in the next
place, is a time for spiritual house-
cleaning. As the “spring fast” lmm»
uinieiy succeeds tfie time when the
business man takes an account of
stock, we find the spring fast comes
just before the days when the house
wives are turning the houses upside
down in their semiannual attacks upon
•jhe dust and the moths. It is the time
which we husbands dread, but it is the
bousecleaning time, which every pru
dent wife declares is essential for the
physical health of her family. It Is ab-
solutefy necessary to keep physical dirt
out of a house, yet in spite of all pre
cautions it will keep creeping in every
where. Although the workmen in the
Philadelphia mint are as careful as
they can be, the dirt and the fine parti
cles of gold will sift through the floor
cracks. So great are these siftings that
every year the floor Is taken up and
the dirt is separated from the gold, and
thousands of dollars’ worth of gold are
thus collected for the United States
treasury. In spite of all our precau
tions the minute, Innumerable stains of
sin will creep Into the heart. There
fore each year It Is very desirable to
obey the call to the Lenten spring fast.
Once a year Is certainly not too often
to take a spiritual accounting and to
conduct a serious self examination. The
call to a fast should reach the ear of
every Christian. What does that mean?
Shall our wives and mothers and sis
ters go to the grocer and the butcher
and the baker and say, “We do not
want any more meat or vegetables or
bread for the next forty days?” Does
it mean that all the members of a home
shall go without physical nutrition, as
Dr. Tanner fasted for forty days and
Leonard Thress fasted for fifty days
and Rev. C. H. Dalrymple fasted for
thirty-nine days and Milton Rathburn
fasted for thirty-six days and Estella
F. Kuenzel fasted for forty-one days?
Oh, no. The habit of fasting, inspired
by boastful folly and the desire of see
ing how long we can live without tast
ing food, is Just as sinful as the oppo
site extreme of gluttony, to see how
much one can eat without utterly de
stroying the smooth workings of the di
gestive organs.
Spiritual housecleaning does not
mean the complete abstinence from
physical food. It docs mean emphatic
ally the reconsecration and the rededi-
cation of the domestic fireside to Jesus
Christ through self abnegation. It
means that we shall have prayers at
the cradle. It means that we shall
have prayers in the bedroom and pray
ers in the parlor and prayers In the sit
ting room and prayers In the kitchen
and have the dining room spread with
a gospel banquet of the “bread of life.” ,
If next week you were to entertain the
king of England or the emperor of Ger- |
many, you would turn your home up
side down to make it attractive for the j
advent of his majesty. Shall we not in j
the same way, by spiritual houseclean-
ing, prepare for the entertainment of
our Heavenly King by easting out of
doors all sinful thoughts and desires
which find lodgment in our hearts?
Preparutlona For Chrlat.
The Lenten season in the home means
simply the spiritual preparation for
Christ to visit the home. When Mar
tin Farquhar Tapper, the famous Eng
lish poet, came to visit us in Brooklyn
we gave to him the very best room in
the house. We gathered together the
most famous literary men of the city
to meet him. At that party Horace
Greeley came, and William Cullen
Bryant came and read his “Thanatop-
sis,” and George William Curtis came,
and I think John G. Whittier came. I
well remember my mother giving to
me Tupper’s popular book, “Proverbial
Philosophy,” and saying: “Bead that
book. You should know who Martin
Farquhar Tupper is before he comes,
and then you can honor him as he
should be. honored.” In like manner
the Lenten season In the home is an
appropriate time for the spiritual prep
aration for Christ’s coming to the
home. The children should be told all
about him and be prepared to welcome
the Saviour as a friend. The cook and
the chambermaid should be told all
about him, so that they may know how
Christ loved Martha, the busy cook, as
well as the gentle Mary who sat at his
feet. Home friends should be told all
about him. so that they also may come
iu and honor the divine guest. As we
in the Brooklyn home read and reread
the writings of the English poet in or
der to know what his thoughts might
be, so to prepare for the advent of
Christ in the home we should read and
reread the words which he spoke unto
his disciples of old. We should prepare
to greet Christ not as a stranger, but
us a long loved and anxiously awaited
friend.
Fop Better Choreli Life.
The Lenten season is an annual plea
for the spiritualization of the church.
Ministers of the different Protestant
churches are more and more getting
into the custom of going into a “re
treat” at least once a year, where by
fasting and prayer they may spiritual
ly prepare themselves for their ec
clesiastical ministrations. At least
once a • year as church members we
should go into a spiritual “retreat.”
In that “retreat” we "hould call upon
our Heavenly Fathei that the Holy
Spirit may bless us in our relation
ship with our midweek prayer meet
ings and Sunday schools and Christian
Endeavor societies and bless us in our
relationship to his great church at
large.
After Jesus Christ drove the money
changers out of the temple, were the
attempts to secularize the bouse of
God into a place for mere educational
and literary and musical and social
and financial enjoyment forever aban
doned? Do not some of us, conscious
ly and unconsciously, fall Into the er
ror of coming to church merely on ac
count of the oratorical gifts of the
preacher? Did .»ot thousands upon
thousands of worshipers sit at the feet
of a Beecher, a Cummlng, a Rowland
Hill sad a John Wesley, not because
they were worshiping God, but rather
because they were worshiping a bril
liant man? Do not thousands upon
thousands of people go to the great
cathedrals of Europe In order to hear
the music, just as those same musical
lovers would sit at the feet of a Liszt, |
n Paderewski or a l)amrosoh v
We know that the,finest living ran- I
*ical composer of Italy leads the Vati- '
can choir and the finest organist of all !
London is master of St. Paul’s famous |
organ and that Plymouth church was
not more noted for the fact that it had
one of the greatest of preachers than
that It had one of the greatest of mu
sicians, who was able to make its or
gan pipes weep and sob as well as
sound a mighty hosanna. Are not some
of our churches on account of their
wealth being more and more secular
ized into mere social clubs? Do not
many professional men go to church
uot lor the spiritual good they may get
out of those churches, but that they
may be able to come in touch with
those who worship in those congrega
tions? Is it not becoming more and
more the custom for the members of
the church boards of trustees to judge
of the success or the failure of the
church by the criterion of money—by
the way that church in its collections
is able to take in as well as give out
wealth?
Heed tbe Snminona.
Oh, yes, my frienda, the church mem
bers should heed the Lenten summons.
They should heed the spiritual call,
which soars above the discordant ones
of the busy marts even as the clear
note of the thrush may be heard above
the bedlam of the woods sounding the
reveille of the morning. They should
hear the Lenten call which says to the
clergyman, “Oh, ordained undershep
herd of the Christian pulpit, down on
your kneci and pray!” Lent calls to
the elders and deacons and Sunday
school officers, “Down on your knees
and pray!” It calls to the lay members,
whether bediamonded and in silks or in
humble homespun, “Down on your
knees in prayer!” Oh, that we might
all heed the spiritual Lenten call and
make Christ’s church a veritable “house
of prayer.”
Thus, my friends, the spring fast
calls to the men in the social world
and to the men iu the business world
and to the men in the home and to the
men in the church to come to prayers.
It calls at this time because on tbe
coming of Ash Wednesday we shall
celebrate the beginning of one of the
most triumphant and yet saddest times
of all Christ's earthly existence. The
Jordanic baptism was’ just over. Christ
was about to begin his divine mission.
We know not how far the human na
ture he assumed may have obscured
for the time the divine attributes he
possessed. It may be that in those for
ty days of solitary thought and prayer
he realized more clearly than in his
former years the sublimity of his work
and of his sacrifice. He saw what his
work was to be. He saw how he must
carry the burden of man’s sins and die
for man and be resurrected before’ be
could retur s Father’s throne.
May this coming spring fast of the
Lenten season be to you also a time of
spiritual awakening. May it be a time
when you will not only realize that
God has a glorious earthly work for
you to do, but a time when you can
realize that after work is done you
shall live on and on and with Christ
and never die. May you during the
next coming forty days be much in
prayer, much in earnest beseechment.
May you also feel and know that the
way you are to be best fitted for that
earthly work is by tbe depth of your
repentance as well as by the height of
your glorious and triumphant faith.
May God bless this Lenten season to
us all! •
[Copyright. 1904, by Louis Klopsch.]
BEGINS WORK with the first dose,
cleansing the blood of all the poisonous
acids that produce RHEUMATISM, driving
out all the dangerous germs that infest the
body—that is the way cures are effected by
Other medicines treat symptoms; Rhtumacidt removts tbt
cause, and, therefore, its
CURES ARE PERMANENT.
Helps the digestion, tones up the system. Sample bottle
free on application to Bobbitt Chemical Co., Pro
prietors, 316 West Lombard St., Baltimore, Md.
Closing Out Sale
-OF-
WINTER GOODS!
In the face of 16 cents cotton,
We are daily receiving our beauti
ful spring goods— Percales, Prints,
Toil DuNords, Chambrays, Mercerized
and Silk Waistings in lovely designs.
Insertions, Embroideries to match in
short lengths, bought at a bargain.
Will give you the advantage of our
purchase. In order to make room for
spring goods will sell Ladies’and Chil
dren’s Unoin Suits at prices that will
look cheap when next season comes.
Buy good Underwear for the School
Children and save many colds and
sore throats. Good Shoes, Stockings
and Rubbers save many doctor bills
and these are to be had here cheap.
Now is the time to buy goods. They
are advancing daily in the markets,
and you hear every body talking high
prices except at our store. Here we
have anticipated the advance and
bought early.
Come quick and get the pick.
Respecif t'dy.
,L G. I^ipscomt> & Co.
We Have Clipped Off the Profits.
As the winter season advances, and it will soon be time for Spring
Goods, we have decided to clip off the profits in some of our lines in order
to close out the goods. You all know what “Cut i rices’’ means at
CLARY’S. Here are a few of the many bargains we offer:
Men’s Shoes.
LIVE BARGAINS AT COST. %
$3.50 “Richmond Standard” (lined) at 53.00. 53.50 Kiser Quality, 53.25.
53 50 Kiser King, 53.25. Celebrated Brotherhood Shoes, 53-°°- 5l-5o Pat
ent Colts, 52.75. Good line Shoes at 98c. Odds ami ends at cost.
Ladies’ Shoes.
53.00 “Ratcliff” at 53-oo “Runaway Girl” (Bluchers) at 52.75.
53.00 “Home Journal,” 52 50. “Southern Girl’’ (lace), 89c and 79c. Some
broken lines at cost. Few more pairs “Maid Marion” and “Gate City”
Shoes at 98c. Good line CHILDREN'S Shoes to be sold cheap before the
cold season is over.
Frnnot* , « l.n»t S*roiiKliold.
A report of uncertain origin which
obtained currency a few days ago at
tributed to the United States the in
tention of purchasing and to France
the Intention of selling the small group
of islands off the coast *f Newfound
land known as St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Our Paris correspondent was able to
send us the assurance that tbe report
was absolutely devoid of foundation.
The islands have a certain material
value for France. But from the purely
commercial point of view their value to
our neighbors cannot be very great.
Their total area is only ninety-three
square miles, and according to the last
census the population was only 6,852, of
whom only -1.700 are permanent resi
dents. the balance being made up of a
floating population of officials, gen
darmes and fishermen. Practically no
vegetation exists on tue barren, rocky
surface of the islands.
This little group of rocky islands, set
in the northern sea, is the sole remain
ing relic of the once great empire which
France possessed on the North Ameri
can continent—London Post.
Corsets and Dress Goods.
We have a splendid line of Corsets which we want to introduce to the
ladies of Gaffney. To do this we will make a reduction on them for a short
while: One line in white, blue and pink at 74c; one lot white at 69c; line
54c ones at 49c; 5i <x> Corsets at 90c, guaranteed for 30 days.
Big cut in the Dress Goods line. All 10c Fleeced Goods now going for
8j£c yd. All heavy Dress Goods marked down to close out at once.
Nice line Lace Curtains at 98c.
Grocery Department.
This department is always complete with a big stock of the best brands
of Groceries, Canned Gocds, Fruits, Cigars, Tobacco, &c.
A visit to our store will convince you that \VF) MEAN BUSINESS.
LIMESTONE
STREET.
Sam W. Clary.
North Gaffney
Mfg. Co.
Silver and Wounds.
Dr. Reboul has made use with excel
lent results of a sheet of silver leaf lu
dressing wounds and ulcerations. The
silver sticks closely to the surface of
the wounded or diseased tissue and a
small quantity of cotton soaked in col
lodion Is sufficient to keep it in place.
When the wound is fresh it heals
quickly without inflammation or sup-
•puration. A perfect cicatrization of
ulcerated cancer of the skin has been
attained by this means.
The antiseptic properties of silver
are not popularly known’. Some years
ago Dr. Rollin of Lyons, In cultivating
microbes in a bouillon which be bad
placed In a silver cup, found that the
microbes perished and at the end of a
few hours completely disappeared, and
the fact was all the more remarkable
as the same microbes multiplied when
placed in another vessel. Pursuing bis
investigations, Dr. Rollin analyzed the
bouillon which was contained In the
sliver vessel and found therein a very
small trace of silver, which infinitely
small quantity had rendered the bouil
lon antiseptic.
North British and Mercantile Insurance Company.
Oar friends will be interested in learning that our losses in the
Baltimore conflagration, amounting to about $1,000,000 00, will
be paid in cash without discount immediately upon adjustment.
Our instructions from London are to draw for the funds neces
sary to meet these claims and thus avoid disturbing our Ameri
can securities. Yours truly,
New Yoik, Feb. 10, ’04. ‘ E. G. RICHARDS, Mgr.
This Company lost and paid $2,330,000.00 in Chicago fire
Oct., 1871; $742,067.56 in Boston fire, Nov. 1872; $860,000.00;
St. John firs, June 1877.
THE TRADERS’ INSURANCE CO.’S LOSS
in the Baltimore fire is $170,000.00. Cash in Bank today,
$264,000.00. Policy holders’ surplus, $1,679,462.61.
Chicago, Feb. 9th, ’04. S. A. ROTHERMEL, Sec’y.
THE WESTERN ASSURANCE CO.
As you are doubtless interested in knowing how the Company
fared in the Baltimore fire. I am pleased to say that our losses
are $350,000, and that our adjusters who are now in Baltimore,
have been instructed to adjust and to pay all losses by draft on
home office. Very truly yours,
GEO. A. DEXTER, Mgr.
Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 19, ’04.
The above company is represented at Jones J. Darby’s
agency, who solicits your bu4iness.
1 /^ A 1WJ Made on Real Estate in City of Gaffney and
County of Cherokee. Abstracts furnished.
Ac
ATTORNEYS AT LAW. SUr Theatre Building.
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