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r . .. t \ . . Ey Rev. Frank DeWitt Talmntfe, D. D. Eos Angoles nil., May 7—In this •eruion (ho preacher, while appreciat ing at their true value the higher flights of oratory and the famous tri umphs of great sjM'iikors, shows how even the humblest may l*e eflfeetive in the eloquence of Christian conversa tion and example. 'Hie text is John vii, 4t», “Never man spake like this man.” What is true oratory? Mere conjura tion, bewitchery, enchantment, mysti cism, mesmerism or animal magnet ism, a mere transitory magic spell with which a groat public speaker Is able to bypnotir-e an audience* for an evening or for a night alono? Is it a few poetic garlands made up of pretty wax flowers which never grew In a garden, which never caught tl*e in cense laden bioadi of the soil which cannot stand the Hgl* of the day and which, like tli« moon fhrwers, melt away as soon as The morning sun has touched their painted Cheeks? Is it a mere galvanic shock which c;m make a human corpse tremble for a little while and. even lift a hand or shake a head and yet a current which cun nev er bring the dead ho<ty back to life? it a mere magneil* needle which will momentarily mov* an iron heart, as many magnetic needles can make nails and screws stand upon their heads for a few seenntte and the* fall back cold, motion lens httws auei nails as soon as their DfUng toaoh *s taken away? Oh, in* truo oratoiy is more than that. True oratory is uoo *f the most jk) tent gifts, if not tlie meet jiotcBt gift, with which <jod hft*e«vl#w«imao. Ills mighty for good (a- mighty for erfl. It Is a social factor which crealiofj and molds and upbuild* or It is a social factor which ttaderahMe and ilestroy?. and wrecks, if H wnw.* jionslhle for me to believe In the doetrino of tin; transmigration of souk, then I woukl believe in this doctriae la r«#en*nce to oratory. With mera words u skill ful orator can hare hk s|»irtt incar nated in the minds *ttd the hearts of his hearers. With metx* werds not only can the tnm (water conafml his fellow countrymen to think ns he thinks, but to do ira hi; wonM have them do and as lie himself wants to do. The gift of true or airy is soeoud In power to no other human gift. An overstatement Is this? I think not. Andrew Fletcher, the grant Bnctish dramatist and i*>et, onoi* sidd, *T be lieve if a man were permitted to make all the ballads of a country in; need not care who shotdd make Its laws.” A true orator has all the‘power of the sweet singer of the Aekks. He has more than that. In ids own realm he has the power of ixunoind touch. He has the influence of the flushing eye. of'the quivering lip, of the power which comes from a soul on tiro, which reach es forth and as a whirlwind drives op position before him or consumes tlK*m as in a mighty conflagration. If tlio pen be mightier than the sword, thu.'i the orator’s scepter is greater than that of the warrior’s or the writer’s. The Remostb mean tongue compelled men’s ears to hear what his pen could not compel his auditor's eyes to read. Great is tho eloquent tongue of silver speech! Ueecher*N ScrvleeN um Orator. Great if not the greatest of all gifts with which God has endowed man is oratory. Who but one like Henry Ward Beecher could have conquered England during the dark days of 180:1? Then the British factories bad their cottou supply ciWoff by northern ships blockading tho southern ports. British capitalists were calling out, “The Amerleau war must stop or British employees must starve and the British merchants will have uo goods to sell." Not only that, but the peerage or the landowners almost to a man hated our republican form of government. They believed the American congress was a perpetual menace to British interests. Beecher accomplished with his tongue what an Invading army of bOu.OoO men could not have accomplished with bayonets. Alone he faced audience aft er audience, bitter In their hatred to ward him and Ids people. He faced enemies. He left friends. He faced his country’s censors. He left behind him his country's upplauders. Henry Ward Beecher won this victory for his country by the tongue, and the tongue alone. Great Is the power of oratory ami orators! But if it Is great In the pres ent age how much greater must ii have been in the times of the undents! Then the modern printing press had not yet been born, and the human mind could only appeal to the human mind through the inlinenee of the human tongue. But, though the generations preceding Christ sat at the feet of some of the greatest orators who ever lived, though Pericles and Lysias and Lycurgus and .Eschlnes had won their marvelous triumphs In old Athens, though the mighty Uomnu orators had lived and, like Marcus Tullius Cicero, had hurled their verbal thunderbolts, yet when Jesus liegan to speak every one of his auditors intuitively felt tint u new power of oratory had been Ikii ii. Tho words of my text prove It. With one accord Christ’s hearers said “Never man spake like this man.” The SnhlltiifMt l-'orni of Orator)'. Why Is gospel oratory the suhlimeat form of oratory? Why docs g »spei epeec'i offer to man the greatest oppot- funltles for the development of the true and noble orator's gifts? The true gospel orator’s me sage is the mightiest of nil messages. Jt furnishes the speak er with the mightiest of all themes. It cradles hs thoughts, not like Moses up on tin* waters of a river Nile, but by the Shores of the great moaning seas of the eternities. As a charioteer it harnesses to its verbal chariots charg ers winch have eyes all seeing, ears all hearing, hoofs so swift that their speed is swift as thought. It deals with iu- (initesimals only as they are essential parts of great inanities. It halts not Time at the grave. It makes Time, as a Eugene Sue's Wandering Jew, move on end on and on and never die. Its trum pet is the voice of tho eternities. God, heaven, Immortality, resurrection, as cension, heaven, hell, eternity, redemp tion. salvation, eternal coronation, eter- ur.l Buffering, are its mighty subjects. Like the meanings of the mighty deep, Its voice comes reverberating down the halls of the past ages. Like the echoes which are tossed from hillside to hill side up among (he Alpine crags, its hopes go echoing down the centuries upon centuries and the millenniums up on millenniums to come. Its themes are the mightiest of all themes. No sub ject In all tin* realm of thought is as great as that which occupies the publie speaker in gospel oratory. If its theme were not the greatest of all themes, then my caption today could not b<* written. You must have a great theme to produce “sublime ora tory-” All tin* students of oratory rec ognize this law. Why is Abraham Lin coln’s Gettysburg address to be rank ed among (lie greatest orations of the ag<*s? Was be placing a few poetic gar lands ujvin tlx- graves of the dead? No. He was making a national plea-for for giveness and love. Why did “Patrick Henry, the great Virginia orator, with a single seutenoe rouse the passions of his hearers until lie swept them from off their feet? Though the hangman's noose wa* dangling over every one of Ids auditors' heads, yet they were ready to risk all because he was plead ing for swe«t Lilforty's shrines. Why did John Knox's eloquence set all Scot land nlire? Why did Martin Luther’s Invectives thrill all Bnrope with the di vine love? Why did Savonarola arouse Italy until Its Inliabtfenuts were tumul tuous In agony .‘lnd' , strife? Why did Cicero’s arraignment of Oatlliue and the pblHppios that Demosthenes hurled against tlx* king of Muccdnn create armies and make men enthusiastic In battle? Wore these orators declaiming for selfish pwMtleal purposes, merely trying to destroy rivals who were ob structing their path? No. They were attacking lust and licentiousness and tyranny and crime of all sorts. It was their mighty themes that made their eloquence effective. You must hove a great theme to have a great oration. MiiKt Hove threat Theme. This contention is true. \\'here, then, can you find greater themes for true eloquence than in.gospel oratory? Is there a sounding line which can .go to the bottom of a deeper sea? Is there any power on earth which more surely can transform wrong to right, make the strong core for the weak, make Tyr anny take her i)on heel off tlie neck of prostrate Helplessness, (ban thejFowor of Jesus? Where cmi yon And an im mortal |F<wacea for tin* gsave's horror and for tho cure of sin save in the crucifixion and tlx* resurrection and the atonement of Jesus-Christ? Tin* themes of go-pel oratory are not only wide enough and great enough to pm a man in right bmch with God and heaven, but they are so great that if we once accent them and practice them they will give us perfect homes, perfect neighbors, perfect nations and a perfect world. They Tire so great that If we only practice them “love, Joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper ance," shall everywhere l»e supreme in the human heart. Gould we have a surer cure for all tho evils of the world to come than la offered in the themes of gospel oratory? To make right might and to redress the wrongs of a limited class have been the causes which have Inspired wonder ful orations during the past years. Watch the lightnings of Invective that have leaped out of the eyes of the ora tors during the dark days of the aboli tion movement. Amid that mighty hur ricane of oratory we can see William Lloyd Garrison, with clinched-fists, de fying tin* Boston mobs. Wo can hear his biting words, amid a perfect pande monium of wrath, crying: “You will hear me! In spile of yourselves you will hear me!” You can see Wendell Phillips standing amid a shower of brickbats waiting for a lull in the storm to drive into tin* hearts of his hearers another sentence to prove to them why the black men should lie free. We can hear glorious John Bright pleading for the rights of the black men from the other side of the sea. And If Injustice against the black men offered such u □dghty theme for the eloquent tongue shall not modern injustice against the Biavp ofler Just as great a theme roi*go«po| eloquence? Oh, yes, gospel orators have the mightiest of themes for eloquent speech! Tho gos pel of Christ will right all wrongs. It will emancipate « sinner from all sins. It would make all men conquer ors In this world ns well as In the world to come. Man, would you be truly eloquent? Then by the power of the Holy Spirit have your tongue plead for the universal acceptance of the gospel In Impassioned oratory. The Cure For Ula. Gospel oratory gives the subliinest of ail themes. It does more than that. It offers the greatc t of all authorities by which those themes are discussed. It comes to man and places In his band the Bible and says: "Mail, here Is tbe word of God. These are not my state ments. These are promt-»es made b\ our divine Father. If you will accept God’s word and do as thU book directs, your life will be blessed” Now, It Is m «*nsy matter to discuss a wrong. It is often very easy for a physician to diagnose a cancer. But the cure—aye, that is the rub! Easy to attack a moral wrong. Vos. But it is another matter to lind a right solution for that wrong. This the Bible offers. it comes not as a theorist. It comes to the gospel orator's hearers ns did Jesus Christ, it comes as one speaking with a divine authority. No men In the world have greater Influence over their hearers than those who are backed with the positive authority of the Bible. When a man speaks with authority be becomes imperative in bis demands. Why Is Helen Hunt Jackson’s master piece “Hamona” one of the most elo quent books ever penned? She plead ed for justice to the American Indian with tlx* idea that the law of the laud would uphold her in her plea. She was not pleading for the red man as a utopian, a theorist or u social dreamer. She was pleading for the red man at the bar of American law. When she represents jxxir Alessando as being driven from farm to farm she was not picturing a scoundrel, but a man de fra tided of American rights. When she finally describes this poor, inno cent Indian as shot down by a drunken white loafer and then pictures that drunken loafer as being allowed to go free, she was not appealing to human prejudices for favoritism toward the rod man. She was saying: “What is tho law? What Is the American law? The law of America upholds me in my claims.” As Helen Hunt Jackson pleaded for the rights of the Indian under till* American law tho Christian orator pleads for the emancipation of man from sin n»der the law of the Bible. He does-not »ay, “Vhopo this may be.” He does say: “I know this can be and shall be through the blood of Jesus Christ. Tilt* divine statutes declare it.” When a goepel orator stands upon tho promises of G<#1 found in the Bible he speaks with •ertainty; he speaks with absolute eonvWtkm; above all, he speaks as no other advocate unsup ported •an spunk. No other man in pleading for slmph justice has such emphatic divine authority behind him as is found in the word of God when pleading for repen’.anee and righteous ness. Sevpurrt’n Orent iMen. The gospel orat- i is mighty when he pleads for one whom he would save from eternal death. He naturally has all the tire, all the enthusiasm, all the pent up passion of a lawyer pleading at the bar nf Justice trying to save the neck of a client who Is Ixilng tried for murder In the first degree. Aye, lie has more tlwui that. He has all tho in tense e:u-B*s.-t»o*s that was felt'by Wil liam Seward In 184B when he pleaded for the lito of William Ereeman, an Idlotle blank pnuper'who had killed the entire Van Nest family of Auburn, N. Y. It was during the agitation of the aboiltioniHt nvoventeut. Tlie white men of the north m well as the south were against him. His own friends at the bar were against him. Yet there Wil liam II. Seward pleaded and kept pleading. Wlieu ut last his client was bung by tlx* neck unftl lie was dead by postmortem examination It was found out that William Freeman was In troth an idiot and IrrexiFungible for the crime wbHi be had committed and that William 11. Seward, the young at torney,' wiifi right In his defense of him. Gannot you fix.*! the earnestness of a Seward pleading? I can. I cannot think of a lawyer defending a client who is lieing triod for liis life unless that law yer is In an agony of suspense until the acquittal comes in the two words, "Not guilty,” spoken by the foreman of the Jury, “Do you make your client’s interests yoiir interests?" I once asked a lawyer friend. “Yes." he answered. "So much do 1 make tlierr interests my interests- that if they are being tried for life I am disturbed In my sleep and dream about them. Every moment of my waking thoughts is with them. I often get up in the middle of the night during a trial and write, so anxious uni ’ I to save them.” "Ah.” then I said to myself, “no wonder you are a great speaker when you plead for a life in this way. No wonder your whole soul goes forth Into a mighty pica for your clients when you are as one pleading for your own life.”- No wonder the g k- pel orator’s plea »s a mighty plea. Ev cry word lie utters, every gesture be makes, every thought that Is born in bis brain, lias the mighty purpose of saving some man from eternal death. Mightily as a Christian lawyer does be plead for the salvation of men. But the Christian orator has a higher and even -i greater inspiration than the saving of sinful men and women -from eternal death. He stands In a unique position. He Is not only pleading for the salvation of men, but also for what is pleasing to God. And of all inspira tions to “subllmest oratory” there Is no inspiration like unto that. The Christian orator, the advocate of the divine will and pleasure: Let me illustrate tny thought by a simple ver bal picture. You are not the only son of your mother. She has another boy, younger than you. But, whereas you are in one sense the good boy, he has been the bad. He drinks; he swears; he lies; he does everything he ought not to do. Again and again your moth er came to his rescue. Your father left her a little money. She has spent It all trying to save him. One night he rnine home from a drunken spree. When' she spoke to him It made him mad. In a rage he knocked her down and kick od her in tla* breast. As n result of that kick a cancer has formed. Fin* D going to di«\ Yon are heartsick. “Oh. mother, mother!” you say. “If I could only make you well and happy again!" As you kneel by her bedside she runs her Uiig**i's through your hair Juat as she did when you were a boy and answers: “Harry, you can make me happy. Will you? Then I want you to go after your brother Joe and get him to e ime home again for my sake.'' With a cry you leap to your feet. You shake the dying woman’s hand off your forehead. “What—gp for that drunken brute, whose cruel heel has given you your death wound? Never, mother—never! I wi.I siohhu In jail— nye, or in the infernal regions—first.” Then your mother begins to plead. She i says; “Harry, you have suffered on u< count of Joe, but have not I suffered? Have not 1 given my life for him? And, oh, Harry, I cannot die happy un less we save your brother Joe.” Once there was a time when you wanted to Save your brother Joe for his own sake. Now there comes a greater inspiration into your life. You want to save bim lx*eause you can make your mother happy, who is dying on account of Joe’s sins, is not this the figure of God’s love? The Christian orator is inspired with a desire to save sinful man from eternal death for himself. But more than that—aye, far more than that— he Is Inspired with the transcendent hope of pleading for man to turn from sin and be saved In order to satisfy the desire of a divine Father for the return of his prodigals. He does it now for Christ’s sake—for Christ’s sake. “For God so loved the world that he gave bis only begotten Son, that whosoever belleveth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Oh. tho mighty inspiration which makes a gospel orator not only plead to save men for themselves, but to save men for the sake of tfio divine Father's forgiving love! The Power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, while tbe sublime oratory of tho gospel speaker may be awakened by many different inspirations, its mightiest factor is due to the power or the Holy Spirit himself. When Jesus ( hrist stood up before tho Jewish peo ple to «i>eak, Ids hearers intuitively felt there whs a strange, a superhuman and a divine power about him. When the true Christian orator arises to speak, then also this strange influence is felt. The same divine Influence that Christ hail over an audience you and I may have in degree if we will only let the Holy Spirit work In us and through us, for Christ distinctly says that the very works he did we may do If we-will only let the Holy Spirit live In us. “A Christ bin orator," some one says— “what does that mean? If I truly give myself up to the Holy Spirit, can I be come a great speaker ami address great audiences? Why, I have not tho voice. I have not ihe physical strength. In one sense I have not the education. I could not stand before a multitude of people if i tried.” No. not that. I do not believe God will ever call you to be a Spurgeon, a Guthrie, a Beecher or a Mason. Not that. I do not believe, week in and week out, you will be called up on to fill an auditorium with a formal sermon. But you can be a great orator for Christ nevertheless. Did you ever stop to think that public speaking isouly public conversation on a big scale? Tbe other day I was talking to an old man who used to he a student of the groat Dr. Eliphalet Nott of Union college. One day in the oratorial class a student arose to speak. He began to let .out his voice In rotund style. He dramatically lifted his arms and twitched his eyebrows when Dr. Nott stoppt*d him and said: “My son, that is not oratory. If you have some thing to say, just tell It? to us as you would If there were only three of us Alone In a room. Public speaking is only public eon versa! ion on a big scale.” Don’t you grasp the truth? By the law of Christian oratory you may never be called upon to address a large audience at once, but you can address two or three hearers for Christ at, the breakfast tab'e. You can address a neighbor for i hrist in the street car going down to business. You can speak for Christ In the prayer meeting and in the Sunday school. You can be come an exponent of the subllmest ot- atory of Hie world, the gospel oratory, by which the Holy Spirit works in you and through you in conversation. Will you consecrate i»n eloquent tongue to the divine Master? “Jnst tell it,” says Dr. Nott. If you have anything to say for Christ by the Holy Spirit power, will you not just: tell It? My father once told me that the first great orator he ever heard was Theodore Frellngliuyseu of New Jer soy. He was an Intellectual giant—sen ator, chancellor of the University of New York. Whig candidate for the vice presidency in 1844 and president of Uutgers college. His fame was nation al and international. My father said: “Of course l expected to see and to hear a perfect whirlwind of oratory, but great was my surprise when Theo dore Frelinghuysen quietly arose in that New Jersey courtroom. He placed his foot upon the rung of the chair. Then he commenced to talk to the Jury in a simple, earnest way, ns you or 1 might talk In a private parlor. But he won his case. It was the finest piece of quiet oratory to which I ever listened. He had something to say, and he said It.” Yes. you may not be a speaker to 6,000 auditors, but you can have un au dience of two, three, five, ten. twelve hearers. You can have as great an au dience for Christ as Theodore Freling huysen had In that New Jersey jury box for his client. If you have any thing to say for Christ, will you say It? Will you speak It for Christ by tho power of the Holy Spirit working In you and through you In sublime gos pel oratory? [Copyright inoc, by Klopsch.] Perfect Soda Water \ Daintiness marks the making and serving of our Soda Water; satisfaction and refresh ment follows the drinking. Fairly good Soda is not hard to find, but absolutely perfect Soda is a rarity. We serve perfect Soda because we have the fountain, the experience, the skill, and do not hesitate to spend money to make our Soda best. We look after the cleanliness as care fully as though we had to do all the drinking ourselves. To Drink Our Soda Water and Eat Our Ice Cream is to Co Out Glad. : : Cherokee Drug Company, Limestone and Frederick Streets. H -GOTO- | Smith [ Hardware Company -‘FOR - i Disc Harrows! Disc Harrows!! 1 £ 3 y- A car load just received. Our prices are right. ^ 1 Our Harness Department M m 1 Is in full blast—good stock. Can mi-ke or repair ^ ^ anything in the Harness line which is run by Mr. ^ ^ Hinson, who is very efficient and worthy of ^ ^ patronage. : : |Smith Hardware Co.| GAFFNEY, S. C. 3 Big Sale A " The Sale Conducted by G. W. Groves & Co. • Has been a success fully up to our expectations, and we sincerely thank the people of Cherokee County for the liberal patronage extended us dur ing the last fifteen days. We will continue selling at Big Sale Prices For Spot Cash for we think it better for us and our patrons that we make prices as low as possible and move goods quickly. We have new goods coming in and will give prices next week. Good goods at low prices. Come to see us before buying. : : : : : J. R. Tolleson & Company. I Extend a Cordial Invitation To The Ladies of Gaffney and Cherokee County To call and examine my line of Dress and Waist Goods. I have a beautiful line of Scotch mixtures, Shark Skin Brilliantines, Etc., at 40 to 75 cents per yard. Black Broad cloth, fine quality, at $1.25 per yard. Waist Goods in latest styles at 10c yard and up. Big lot A. F. C. Ginghams, Percales, Common Cloth, dale Sheeting, Etc., to be sold cheap. Just received 50 dozen Malaga Hats for Men, Youths and Children at 10c and up. See us for anything in Clothing from the wee tot’s Suit to the most expensive tailor-made Suits for Men. MlnlFit(‘rlfil I'l-fFicrfFiNlnii. It now appears tbr;t to be Oslerlzed Is only one of tbe ordinary experiences of life which come with other tilings pleasant and unpleasant. A minister discussing the tendency of churches t * call young men summed It up this way during tin* past week: At twenty, Idolized; at forty, ostra- H»ed; at sixty. Oslerlzed; ut eighty, canonized. Lons- ^3 My Prices Are Right Too 8^ I still handle everything needed on the farm. If in need of farming implements this is the place to get them. I handle Hay, Corn, Oats, Flour, Meat, in fact everything in supplies. Bliss’ Triumph Potatoes for planting. All grades Fertilizers for all crops. St various lines. I o- t crops. See me for anything in my , Respectfully, J. I. © A-R.R A. TT