Volume 89.
RALEIGH, N. C, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1893.
Number 6.
The Biblical Recorder.
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Our Boards for 1892 '93.
BOARD OF MISSIONS AND SCNDAY-8CHOOLS
LOCATED AT RALEIGH.
J C Scarborough, Chairman; O Durham, Cor
Secretary; N B Broughton, W H Pace, G M Al
taL C T Bailey, T H Briges, J M Heck, J N Hold
tog, W N Jones, J D Boushall, O W Banderlin. R
R Overby, J II Broughton. J D Hufham, JC
JHrdsone, A L Ferralt L 0 Lougee,' W 0 Up
church, T W Blake, J H Alford, W U Holloway.
J W Carter, O B Edwards, T E Skinner, E McK
Goodwin, J J Hall, W R Owalteey, N B Cobb. M
T Norrls, J B Boone, J B Martin, J C Caddell, F
P Hobgood, J C Ellington, C J Hunter, C W Car
ter, J M Uolloman, Til Prltchard.
; Anson and Richmond Association, J W Wild
man and L Johnson; Ashe and Alleghany, James
Eller; Atlantic, J H Edwards and J C Whitly;
Alexander, D W Pool; Beulah, C A Rominger;
Brier Creek, W A Myers; Brushy Mountain, R A
Bpelnhour; Caldwell, J V McCall; Cedar Creek,
JO Fisher; Central, P A Dunn t Catawba River.
Samuel Huffman; Cape Fear and Columbus, E W
Wooten and Dr A W Kennon: Chowan, E F Ayd
lett; Eastern, L R Carroll and O P Meeks; Elkln,
JBKilby; Flat River, R H Marsh; Green River,
CB Justice; King's Mountain, H FSchenck; Lib
erty. James Smith: Little River, J A Campbell;
Mecklenburg acid Cabarrus, C Graham; Mt Zion,
O L Stringfleld ; Robeson, E K Proctor, Jr; Sandy
lTeex, u i jsawaras; eoutn fori, v linages
eouin vaaun, J is nounan; rtuniy, n r x.u
dings;-South Atlantic J-M Long; Tar River, C
M Cooke, R D Fleming and RT Vann; Three
Forks, E F Jones; Union, A C Davis; West
Chowan, J B Brewer; Yadkin, J G Burros; Mont
gomery, W M Bostlck ; Bladen, W S Meek In.
BOARD OF EDUCATION LOCATED AT WAKB
FOREST."
W L Poteat, President: W R Gw<ney, Cor
Secretary; W B Royal, D W Allen, E Brewer. J
M Brewer, J B Carlyle, L Chapell, P A Dunn, W
B Dunn, W H Edwards, P W Johnson, W C Lank
ford, L R Mills, J B Powers, F M Purefoy, Wm
Royal C E Taylor, J F Lanneau, Elder John
Mitchell, R E Royal. W J FerreU. Dr J C Fowler,
E W Sixes and J Q Maske.
I BOARD-OF MINISTERS' RELIEF LOCATED AT
W A Albright, President :jB A Woodson, Cor
Secretary; W O Tyre, II A Reams, T E Cheek, J
L Markham, T H Prltchard, F P Hobgood and W
N Jonrs.
TRUSTEES Of THOMASVILL ORPHAN AO-LO-
' CATED AT THOMAS VILLB.
John Mitchell, President: A G McManaway,
Secretary; J C Bear borough, C Durham. WR
Gwaltney, Thomas Carrick, F P Hobgood, Noah
Biggs, E Frost, R D Fleming. J L Markham, T H
PritcharcL W T Faircloth, J II LasBiter. A J Mon
tague, H F Schenck, John Brewer and J D Bre-
TRUSTEES OF WAKS FOREST COLLEGE LOCATED
' AT WAKE FOREST.
J M Heck, Preeident;-R E Royall, Secretary:
C T Bailey, Noah Biggs, G W Blount, John B
Brewer, HA Brown, BB Cobb, C M Cooke, WE
Daniel, H C Dockery, P A Dunn, C Durham, W
T Fail cloth, A R Foushee, N Y Gulley,W R
Gwaltnev. V P Hnbinw. J N Holdlnff. J D Huf-
ham, C J Hunter. R H Marsh, W J McLendon,
. John MitcheU, W H Mitchell, K S Moore, R R
j Overby T H Prltchard, E K Proctor, Jr, J B
xucnaroson, J VV F Kogers, Ut w BanaerunjU v
Scarborougn, T E Skinner, J H Tucker, W G
Upchurchrw W Vass..
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On tqk 7th inst. Congress convened in
extraordinary session, ' which will most
probably b extended into the regular term,
and not adjourn for ten months. The two
momentous questions which will engage its
nliv tt ' m . ' x ' a a' 1 A.t A ilAMA $
oncuuuo ior most oi ine. wiuo iw iuuso u
finance and the tariff. Its immediate object
is the relief of the present financial strin
gency. What will be' the outcome of its
legislation could easily be predicted were
.our political parties more compact in their
. organization, and the representatives -of
these parties more-faithful to their pledges.
The Democratic ; party has control of the
two necessary departments pf our govern
ment, legislative 1 and executive, and , it
is only natural to expect that this party
will enact legislation as promised in the
Chicago platform of June, 1893, which
the- people - so- overwhelmingly endorsed
in November following. That is no more
And no less than the people should ask.
Whether it will fulfill its promises is not
our part to say, but we can . state that
if iV proves false tq,the people in this trying
crisis, it has commanded their support for
the last time. We would not attempt to
solve the problem for the legislatorstoo
many are thus engaged already but we have
simply taken this occasion to remind them
that the people fere watching them, and that
the people desire relief, and must have it
sooner or later; and whether by means of
the Democratic party, must be determined
by that party within the next few months.
It Is an opportunity which is Beldom pre
sented to a political organization which
improved will perpetuate the party, and
which disregarded cannot but result in com-
Dlete and dPRArved annihllAtinn rf t.hn nurtv
This much : We must have legislation for a
more substantial object than confidence.
The universal law of the survival of the
fittest was never more strikingly exempli
fled than in the very recent action between
France and Siam. For no other reason than
that she was the more powerful, and wanted
certain districts of-Siam, France has de
manded and secured by threats of war
100,000 acres of Siam's most fertile soil, re
ducing the revenue of that nation one half.
The question of right received no considera
tion ; it was altogether one of greed and
might. And so it was when the Roman le
gions drove the barbarians from Europe and
effected that grand civilization; and so it
was when the white man drove the Indian
from his home and made our powerful
Union possible. So it has always been.
' Might makes right; the fittest survive'
is the universal law of nations as well as of
the lower animals. There is no doubt but
that this property recently acquired by
France will be far more valuable in the
French government's charge, and it does
seem that barbarians should not own the
earth when by so doing they hinder its
progress; we know that the savage mind
must give way before the superior light of
intelligence and civilization, but there is a
difference in this last case. Siam has a
ruler that bids fair to increase his nation's
power and his people's position they are
not savages, bat on the other band are well
governed, and there is something manly,
honest, and straight forward in the King's
last appeal to France, in which he recognizes
his .own weakness, and resolves to endure
injustice and hardship rather than involve
his people in hopeless war, -that tells us
that he knows as much of the ethics of
nations as does the French ministry. Our
sympathy is with the weak, and we yet hope
that a jealousy may arise among the other
nations that will enable Siam to take care
of itself while those great "fabrics of civili
zation" are disputing as to which shall
make the next steal from the weak or friend
less nation.
While "our country is engaged in an all
pervading wrangle over the money question,
England is having a contest no less severe
in the Home Rule for Ireland discussion,
lead by Gladstone for, and Chamberlain
against. It has passed the committee of the
whole after a three months' straggle, and will
reach and pass the commons in the course
of a few days. But this doesn't make it a
law; it must pass -a third ordeal of the
Lords, which is practically impossible, and
Ireland will be without home rule for many
more' months, possibly forever; for before
the bill can become a law it must go before
the people again, another general election
must be held, and so many commoners, who
favor its passage, must be elected, that the
Lords will fear to fly in the face of so strong
a popular verdict. So it must go through
the process of the last year over again be
fore Ireland can enjoy its benefits, and that
it can live through such a test is extremely
doubtful, in view of the fact that the Irish
representatives are already sorely divided,
and Gladstone's majority is threatened.
More than this, Gladstone is very old. and
liable to die at any time, and there is no
man living who can pass the bill except the
"grand old man." Ireland's sky is sua
dark.--
Thb acitation of the question of theim-
nrovement of our country roads has at last
reached the people, and .is fast becoming of
vital interest throughout the country. In
the next few weeks the National League for
Good Roads will hold a congress in Chicago,
where it is intended that tne ways ana
means of improving onr roads shall be-dis-
cussed by the ablest engineers. Our coun
try roads are of as much importance to our
commerce as the great rail way and steam
ship lines, and we shall rejoice to see tpe
day when they are paid the attention by our
government that they deserve. ; For years
anA vnara wiAnnv haft been annronrlated to
widen and dredge our water ways, and we
. d . - 1 .11 Al
can see no reason wny, equai auemum
AmiU visit ha noH fr tiiA milntflnanrA of
our more Important publio roads, which are
of far greater commercial worth. We were
nlaA tst boa a nn n ran hf instruction in road-
making ; established at Wake Forest last
June. Such practical moves cannot but re
dound to the credit and success of the Col
lege and in the end are of far more worth
to humanity tnan many oi me nigner auu
much sought-after branches.
The Young Man Absalom, or, perils Imminent
to Young Men.' - , , ( !, '
PEEACHSD BY THE LATE BEvV A. W. PKICE IN
' THE BAPTIST CHUBCH IS WADE8BOB.O
; . THE LAST SERMON OF HIS LIFE.
Text "And they took Absalom and cast him
into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great
heap of stones upon him ; and all Israel flea every
one to his tent Now Absalom in his life-time bad
taken and reared up for himself a pillar which is
in the king's dale : for he said, I- have no son to
keep my name in remembrance; and he called the
pillar after his own name : and it is called onto
this day, Absalom's place."' 2 Samuel 18: 17, 18.
When a child is born Into this world, who
c in prophecy its .history or declare its des
tiny! Every infant is a prophecy, but a
prophecy as obscure and undecipherable as
an ancient oracle. It is either an embryo
angel or an embryo devil ; but which it is
time only, and in some instances eternity
only, will disclose. :Sy ;:iyC?,j'
How frequently parental expectation en
tertained so fondly at the birth and during
the infancy and early years of a child are
blighted by the subsequent career of that
child I Thousand of years ago the glad ti
dings echoed through the royal palace inJe
rusalem that a man child was oorn. : Who
can tell the fond hopes and expectations
that thrilled the hearts of the parents when
the event occurred? We only have an inti
mation of what their hopes were by the
name they gave him. They called him "Ab
salom," which means "father of peace."
They expected in him to have a prince of
peace, but alas I how bitterly they were dis
appointed. He proved to be the father of
discord, the author of strife and insurrec
tion. My dear young friend, your name may
not indicate the parental hopes so fondly en
tertained in your infancy, and yet you can
imagine what those expectations were. How
they expected that you would grow up an
honest, thrifty, pious boy; that you would
be the charm of their home and the pride of
their life; that you would be successful and
useful through life, and at last die in the
triumphs of an holy faith. Young men, have
you thus far met thosa expectations t O,
blight not your parents' fond hopes 1 , Bring
not their gray hairs in sorrow to the gravel
But if Absalom in his career and destiny
disappointed parental expectations, how
much more so did he disappoint his own!
"Now Absalom in his life time had taken
and reared up for himself a pillar in the
king's dale ; for he said, I have no son to
keep my name in remembrance: and he
called the pillar after his own name, and it
is called unto this day, Absalom's place."
This is what he expected, this what he laid
out for himself to be laid away with great
honors and ceremonies beneath a magnifi
cent monument which would tell to future
generations of his achievements . and fame,
what did he realize? Let the record an
swer: "And they took Absalom and cast
him into a grett pit in the wood, and laid a
very great heap of stones upon him."
Now, the question is, why this disparity
between what this young man planned and
what he realized t What was the secret of
his failure t What forces conspired to work
his temporal and eternal ruin. These are -practical
questions. These are appropriate
questions. The same perils that confronted
Absolom, the 6ame forces that wrought his
ruin, are the perils and forces which are
confronting our young men to day. Human
nature is the same in. all ages. The forms
of temptation may vary, the essence remains
the same. And the forces which wrought
the destruction of King David's handsome
and gifted son are the same moral elements
that are conspiring against our young men
of the present generation. And allow me
further to premise this : that while sur
roundings had a great deal to do with Ab
salom's unfortunate career and destiny, the
essential forces that wrought his ruin were
internal and self-evolved. And to-day, as
much as we deplore the unwholesome sur
roundings of our young men, as much as we
lament the impure moral atmosphere which
they breathe, the real and most to-be-dreaded
dangers which threaten them are internal
not circumstantial. What were the causes
that wrought Absalom's ruin ? ;
I. The first element in his destruction was
vanity in and misuse of his personal endow
ments. "But in all Israel there were none
to be so much praised for his beauty as Ab
salom; from the sole of his foot even to the
crown of his head there was no blemish in
him. And when he polled his head (for it
was every year's end that he polled it, be
cause the hair was heavy on him, therefore
he' polled it), he weighed the hair of his
head at two hundred shekels after the king's
weight" This is but another way of saying
"that Absalom was a young man of rare per
sonal endowments. This is but another way
of saying that he was a fine specimen of
physical young manhood.- He had a sound
body, a graceful form, a handsome face, and
winsome manner. And these are no mean
endowments. Theyare not to be despised
nor denreciated. When Drooerlv directed.
they are elements of successes, r They made
Absalom popular with the people, and that
popularity he might have used as a lever to
lift them up to higher lines. The power of
these attractions may be seen in the way
that he insinuated himself ' into the good
Saces of the people and stole their hearts
m their rightful sovereign. Had these
endowments been exerted to nobler ends,
they might have lifted Absalom to the high
est pinnacle of honorable success. But alas 1
they were prostituted to the base arts of the
demagogue, became the instruments of trea- j
son, and the agents of impiety, so that whk h
was his glory proved to be his -everlasting
shame. ,
Thus it is, young friends, that our noblest
endowments may prove our greatest snares.
This is true both of endowments of body
and endowments of mini Bodily strength
is a gionous endowment, witnout it, How
ever brilliant and vigorous may be our men
tal power, we are to a great extent hampered
all through life. The man with strong mind
and frail body is like having a strong wagon
with a weak horse to draw it. The Bible
says ; " The glory of a young man is his
strength.": And vet bow easy it Is for that
which is his chief glory to become his chief
snare. His strength may but: famish the
fuel that feeds the fires of his carnal pas
sions. J His manhood may be prostituted to
the lowest sensuality. And though, like Ab
salom, from the sole of his foot to the crown
of his head, there is na blemish in him, yet
that unblemished physique may ba the me-'
dium of moral rottenness.
Even physical beauty which Absalom pos
sessed in so marked a degree is an element
of po wer. A well proportioned body , a grace
ful carriage, a captivating voice, give us in
fluence over our fellows,, and for that reason
should be appreciated and cultivated. At
the same time they are tusceptible to abuse
and may prove a snare instead of a blefsing.
The winsome face and captivating voice may
be used to , sugar coat the demagogue's
schemes and the libertine's designs as well
as commend the reforms of the patriot and
the entreaties of the Christian. - ; i
Our mental endowments constitute bur
chief distinction, yet perhaps also our chief
snares. The; old saying that " Knowledge
is power" is tiua. Bui it may be a power
for evil as well as for good. Fire ia power.
.When rightly controlled, it cooks our food
and heat) onr homes, and generates the
steam which propels our locomotives and
whirld our machinery. But when let loose
on a prairie, it is a grim monster, the terror
of man and beast. And so whether knowl
edge is power for good or evil depends en
tirely upon the principle that lies behind it.
Hence it is that some men's greatest snares
lie in their extraordinary mental capacity.
They sometimes tempt to indolence upon
the presumption that the man will succeed
any how on the ground of their great ca
pacity. And sometimes as in the case of
Absalom, they tempt their possessor to cbi
canery and bold enterprises in guilt ; " t
But personal endowments, whether phys
ical or mental, become a snare whenever
they lead to vanity in them or abuse of them.
JTMs was the case with Absalom. He was
so much praised for his beauty and flittered
of his endowments that it turned his head
and made him giddy. They tempted him
to a bold and godless enterprise which he
dare Dot have undertaken but for the infat
uation which they threw over him. He
prided himself in his personal charms and
especially in his luxuriant head of hair which
he took so much pains to poll and to weigh,
yet remarkable that by a retributive Provi
dence that which was his greatest pride be
came the source of his greatest humiliation
and the immediate occasion of his ignomin
ious death. For on the day of battle when
he fled for his life, these very locks which
had been his charm, proved a halter which
hanged him. How sad that strength and
beauty should be turned to such bad ao
count ! " How deplorable that God's gracious
gifts should be prostituted to the purposes
of godk8i ambition I As some one has put
it, "No wonder that his hair turned traitor
to him who turned traitor to his own fa
ther." That part which man uses" to sin,
God uses to revenge. " The solemn warning
in this history for young men is against van
ity in and tne misuse of the endowments
which God has given you.
x II. Another secret- of Absalom's failure
and destruction was the temptation to short
cuts to success in life, to which he yielded..
His ambition was to be king of Israel. Tnia
was a legitimate ambition. Had he waited
the due course of time and nature, he would
have succeeded to the throne in the honora
ble line of succession. If instead of for im
mediate kingship, his ambition had been for
wise administration when he did ascend the
throne, and had it, instead of prompting to
usurpation j , lead him to a conscientious
preparation for the high and ; sacred func
tions to which he aspired, the results would,
not have been so disastrous. Ambition,
when yoked to principle, is the lever by
which we raise ourselves from the dead
level of our , fellowmen. And .the danger,
young man, is not that your ambition will
be too strong, but, like Absalom's, it may
be divorced from principle. 5
4 These short cuts to success are the Devil's
pet schemes lor destroying souls. He made
lhi8appeal to the only perfect young man
that ever walked this earth. He took him
up into an exceeding high mountain and
showed him all the kingdoms of this world
and the glory of them, and said, "All these
things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down
and worship me." Now that was an exceed
ing short cut to success. ' It would dispense
with all those long years of toil and suffer
ing ; : it would do away with Calvary and
Gethsemane and the sepulchre, : But the
young man resisted the appeal and plodded
all ; along through the years of suffering,
went through Gethsemane's dark solitude,
went over Calvary's agonies and ignominies,
went through the tomb and came out the
other side with the kingdoms of the world
at his feet, and standing on another mount
in Galilee, he said, "All power is given to
me in heaven and earth," and then ascended
to the throne of universal dominion.. The
success was longer comingbut it was surer
and more glorious. Something akin to this
was what the Devil put before Absalom.
The prospects were favorable to his being
king at the decease of his father. But the
time was too long, the process was too slow,
the issues too uncertain for his restless am
bition, -v And so be must take a short cut to
his father's kingdom. He felt aggrieved at
his father's treatment of him in reference to
the assassination of his brother Amnon. He
persuaded himself that he had been badly
treated, v The people were discontented with
David's administration and were ripe for re
volt, and he flattered himself that all he had
to do was to take this tide at its flood and
float to fortune and glory. ; So the short-cut "
method be pursues, but instead of success,
he meets defeat; instead of honor he reaps
disgrace; and instead of at last being buried
under the pretentious monument, he had
erected for himself in the king's dale, he is
cast into a great pit in the wood and a very
great heap of stones was laid upon him.
And Jewish writers tell ns that for centuries
afterwards, every paf ser-by was accustomed
to throw a stone on the heap which covered
Absalom's remains, and, as he threw it, to
say, "Cursed be the memory of rebellious
Absalom, and cursed be forever all wicked L
children that rise up in rebellion against .
their parents.".
Young men, the temptation to kingship
does not confront you, because in this land
monarchy is impracticable; but the one great
temptation before young men to day. is to
plutocracy, which means money power. The
Bible emphatically warns against being in
hasteto get rich. And yet money counts
for so much in this land where rank and ti
tles count for so little, that one temptation
before our young men is haste to get rich.
Haste to be rich is at the bottom of all the
defalcations and embezzlements which star
tle our country and consign to disgrace fam
ilies which hitherto were noted for integrity
and honor. Haste to be rich is at the bot
tom of all the corners, combines and trusts
which oppress our country and wring from
the poor to increase the coffers cf the al
ready rich, or the would be rich Short cuts
to success abound in almost every depart- -ment
of life. There are short cuts to busi
ness .success, by which a man is raised al
most in an hour from comparative poverty
and obscurity to a position of commarding
affluence and influence. ? And the fact that
the methods of success are so soon forgotten
in the flash and glory of success itself only
intensifies the temptation to these-short-cut
methods. Riches attained by rum atd red
ruin in a few years become as respectable as
riches attained by the most respectable pursuits.-;
When a few years have passed away
and the original proprietors have died or
gone into more respectable, avocations, the
gewgaws of rum bought and fraud bought
wealth are feted and toasted and worshipped
as much as the most honorable minions cf
fortune. . .
: Not only are there short cuts to business
success, but there are short cuts to profes-,
sional success. Plodding is no longer re
sectable success. The scintillating meteor
.that flashes and vanishes is appreciated be- .
fore tne settled orb which slowly but turely
climbs the heavens. There ? are institu
tions calling themselves literary institutions
which thrive by retailing bogus diplomas and
palm off on the world as proficients in sci
ence those who are ignorant of the first prin
ciples of science. And the sad thing is that
their patronage is sufficient to make them
permanent ' institutions -standing cankers .
upon our body politic And the wonderful
success of some of these adepts in the short
cut methods is calculated to tempt our young
men to follow their course. .,,v; ;'
The short-cut method may succeed for a
time, but it is doomed to defeat at last
And, dear young men, let me warn you to
listen to no siren's song, be it sung never so
sweetly, that would tempt you to anything
Which is not honest; honorable and Chrlstly. '
Remember the fate of Absalom. lie at
tempted the short cut method to the throne,
but he found his throne to be a prickly oak,
and his mausoleum a dishonored grave,
f III. Finally now, ' The last factor in Ab
salom's temporal and eternal destruction
was the fact that he entirely Ifft God out of
his aims and plans. There is not a charac
ter' in the whole Bible in which God is so
completely ignored as in Absalom. God
was not In all his thoughts. In all his aims
and plans, there was a complete ignoring of
the being and claims of Jehovah. But it he
ignored God. one thing is certain God did
not Ignore him, but allowed him to go on in
his infatuation until ultimate success seemed
within his very grasp, and then put a prickly
oak in his way that checked him. As a his
torian has said of the downfall of Cardinal
Wolsey, so may be said of Absalpm, "There
was-long delay, but the hour offreckoning
at length arrived. Slowly the hand had
crawled along the dial plate-slowly as if
the event would never come, and wrong was
heaped upon wrong, and oppression cried,
and it seemed as it no ear heard its voice,
till the measure of wickedness was at kcth
fulfilled. The finger touched the hour, an 1
as the strokes of the ponderous Lara r.:r
pealed above the din of the nation, in ra i i
stant the whole fabric Of iniquity vrci f' " -ered
to ruins." So with Absalorj, 1 1
often been reproved, but fcnJ 1 :
heart,' and now he was sudJenlj c
and that without remedy. Acd in t
of decisive battle when Davil in r
and despair asked the cifr r-T, "
young man Absalom safe ?"
CONTINUED TO VIZ TCVZTJ 7