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THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING
“CROSSING THE BAR.”
THE beautiful hymn by Alfred
Tennyson which has touched
and thrilled the hearts of many
thousands of people all over the earth,
is said to have been called into being
by the request of a nurse.
During the last illness of the great
poet, the nurse was sitting one day at
his bedside, watching over him and
soothing his sufferings with tender so
licitude. She said to him suddenly:
“You have written a great many
poems, sir, but I have never heard any
body say that there is a hymn among
them all. I wish you would write a
hymn while you are lying on your
sick-bed. It might help and comfort
many a poor sufferer.”
The next morning, when the nurse
had taken her quiet place at his bed
side, the poet handed her a scrap of
paper, saying: “Here is the hymn you
wished me to write.”
She took it from his hands with ex
pressions of gratified thanks and read
with brimming eyes, these soulful, un
dying words, which were afterwards
sung at his funeral in Westminster
Abbey:
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the
bar,
When I put to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems
asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the
boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of fare
well,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of
Time and Place,
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Rev. W. W. Howard has been oblig
ed to give up his pastoral work in Ala
bama for a time on account of his
wife’s health. He is now in Tennessee
conducting evangelistic meetings.
Brother Howard is one of our strong
men in the Baptist denomination, and
any of the churches would be fortu
nate to secure him for a series of re
vival services while he is without a
regular pastorate. He is now residing
at 504 Alabama Avenue, St. Elmo,
Tenn.
n
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN CHINA.
Rev. Clayton S. Cooper, educational
secretary of the International Young
Men’s Christian Association during
his recent visit to China organized a
National Advisory Council of Bible
Study among Chinese students. This
council is composed of twelve promi
nent educators, both Chinese and for
eigners. The will prepare Bible
courses and literature in Chinese and
conduct Bible institutes. Such sys
tematic and practical work among the
student body will develop the religious
life of the Orient as nothing else could
do.
When you make liberty the same as
license you have strained its meaning
into anarchy and lawlessness.
•e
NEGROES ESTABLISH SAVINGS
BANK.
A step in the right direction is being
taken by the negroes of Anniston, Ala
bama. Some of the most substantial
citizens of that race have leased a
Building and purpose to establish a
savings bank for their people. Insti
tutions like this will tend to cultivate
thrift and economy, and will prove a
great blessing and impetus to the
race.
As Milady sips her cup of afternoon
tea. she might be interested to know
that she is perpetuating a custom that
has existed in England since the year
1657. Only the very wealthy could af
ford to indulge in the delightful past
time, however, as the price per pound
was approximately SSO in American
money. China was the first country
to use tea as a beverage, and the weed
was cultivated in that country 2700
years before the Christian era.
n
Even Russia is advancing in tem
pearance sentiment. The Duma has or
dered the removal of the royal eagle
from vodka bottles and the substitu
tion of the skull and cross bones and
the word “poison” in large letters.
Wish the Duma 'would run for governor
of Georgia. He w’ould probably have
stamina enough to shut up the shops
of flagrant Prohibition violators all
over the State.
Says the near-poet of the Chicago
News: “He proposed to her by mail
and by letter she replied. He read her
brief refusal, then committed suicide.
Alas! he’d be alive today and she a
happy bride had he but read the post
script on the other side.”
*
The fact that God took only one rib
from Adam and made one woman
would seem to show conclusively that
it was intended for man to have but
one wife. If God had wished man to
be a Mormon, he would have taken
away all his ribs and made him wives
out of all of them, and there would
have been about two dozen Eves in
stead of one. —William J. Burtscher,
in Epworth Era.
The following message received
from Brother Frank M. Wells will be of
interest to his fellow-students and
friends all over the South.
CHAPLAIN WELLS WORK WITH
MEN.
In my mass meetings for “men only”
I have given my lecture “Jerusalem
under the Turks” to 5344 men in the
last six weeks.
We have had 586 forward for prayer
at the close of the lecture, and 203
have accepted Christ, and confessed
Him before the audience, as their
Lord, Savior, and King. I am truly
grateful to God, and give Him all the
glory.
I write this to urge all my friends
and classmates, both in the University
and Seminary, to pray that God may
still greater bless my work as an evan
gelist.
Brethren don’t forget this request.
FRANK M. WELLS.
*
AT HIS POST AGAIN.
The many friends of Rev. J. T. Ed
mundson, pastor of the Temple church,
Atlanta, will be glad to learn that he
is able to fill his pulpit again. Brother
Edmundson was seriously injured some
months ago. A tent pole fell, struck
him in the side and broke several ribs.
In addition to his regular pastoral
work, Bro. Edmundson is doing some
evangelistic work. He was recently in
a meeting with Rev. J. S. Snyder, pas
tor at Chester, S. C. Large crowds at
tended every service and much inter
est was manifested.
Anyone desiring the assistance of
Brother Edmundson in conducting re
vival metings, can communicate with
him at 12 West End Ave., Atlanta, Ga.
Among the southern life Insurance
eompantes which have shown remark
The Golden Age for November 18, 1909-
able growth is the State Mutual Life
Insurance Company of Rome, Ga. It
has paid to policy holders in dividends
over $220,000, which is an increase of
217 per cent over the preceding year.
Besides this, it has during the same
period of time paid death claims and
other payments to policy holders $332,-
000, and at the same time gained a big
sum in surplus. The amount gained
in admitted assets is $771,206.42; in
legal reserve $627,898.65. And the net
surplus $121,550.36. The figures show
that the State Mutual leads ten other
companies in the payment of divi
dends.
The growth in the assets of the com
pany has been correspondingly rapid,
as will be seen from the following fig
ures :
January 1, 1906, $402,082.58; January
1, 1907, $577,445.49; January 1, 1908,
$1,273,126.59; January 1, 1909, $1,981,-
841.68; July 1, 1909, $2,374,781.34.
Nell? Theology and Prayer.
(Continued from Page 2.)
terrible day when God moves. God
moved in the elements and seized
this world as it were, in the hollow
of His hand. The answer to their
prayer came in the form of an
earthquake, and the jail was thrown
open and the stocks fell off their
feet. Somebody says, in criticising
this, that it would be a very pe
culiar earthquake that would shake
a chain off a man’s wrist. Yes, but
you must remember that God was us
ing that earthquake for that specific
purpose. An earthquake, an ordinary
earthquake, while it may scare a fel
low nearly to death, would not shake
the shackles off his hands. This was
God’s method of loosing His men in
answer to their prayers.
MODERN ANSWERS TO PRAYER.
But, my brethren, every man knows
that the Bible literally pulsates with
prayer and the answers to prayer.
What I want to do as I close is to add
to these Scripture incidents a few
things concerning prayer as found in
present times. Did God ever answer
prayer? Yes, if the Bible is true. Does
God answer prayer today? Yes, if he
ever did, He does now. Most of you
have heard me speak of the greatest
prayer of modern times, George Muel
ler. He is a man whose prayer life
is as worthy of exposition as any man
in Scripture. I know of the history
of no man in Scripture that is more
capable of stimulating the prayer life
than he. During his lifetime he dis
pensed for the benefit of suffering hu
manity four million and a half dollars,
and carried on an enterprise in the
name of God that cares for two hun
dred and fifty orphans a year and was
never known to ask any man living
for a penny. Oftentimes he and his
workers would spend a whole day and
night in prayer for the next day’s meal
that they did not have. There isn’t
a man today living that can read the
life of George Mueller that will not be
lieve that there is somehow and some
where a supernatural power available
if man will only resort to it. The
great trouble with those people who
are constantly criticising these things
is that they never heard such things.
I need not say to those who have
followed us in our work at my church
that there have been circumstances
in connection with the work that have
been as inexplicable from any philo
sophic standpoint as any circum
stances recorded in Scripture. When
the piece of ground was to be purchas
ed on which the Sunday school room
stands we had not a penny and were
even in debt for this corner. But we
had to have more room. We got an
option that provided that if on a cer
tain day we had five hundred dollars*
in the bank, we could secure it, the re
mainder to be carried. We were a
poor enough crowd, hardly had enough
people to own five hundred dollars.
There were just three of us who car
ried that matter to God in prayer. We
never gave it out to a living soul. The
option was to expire Monday morning
at twelve o’clock. On Friday some
body came and knocked on our door
at the boarding house where we were
staying, and said: “There is a lady
down stairs that wants to see you.” I
said, “Well, I will go down.” I went
down and found a woman whom I had
never seen in my life before. I have
seen her a good many times since,
still she has never been intimately
connected with our work. I do not
suppose she has ever been inside this
building in her life. She said, “Excuse
me, but I have to take a train in a few
minutes and I have something here
that I want to leave with you. My fa
ther has given me a little money and
I promised God to use every bit of it
for the building up of the Kingdom
of Christ where I think it will do the
most good, and I was in prayer this
morning asking God what to do with
it and you came to my mind. I did
not know how you could use it but
thought that I would let you have it
and use it as you like.” Well, she
gave me an envelope and hurried on
to catch her train. I was not sorry
that she got out because I wanted to
know how much she had given me. I
found that it was a New York draft
for $250. That kept on, but we three
continued to pray; nothing was said
about it to any member of the church.
Sunday passed; Monday was the last
day. Monday morning while at break
fast I got a note from another woman:
“Please come to my hotel; I want to
see you. Please come this morning,
as I leave town at twelve o’clock.” I
went. When I got there she said al
most the same words the other woman
had said. She said: “I am going
abroad. My father has given me a
bit of money to spend for my pleas
ure and I do not need it and I want
to place it where it will do the most
good. I have enough to take care
of myself.” I began to wonder
how much it was. At twelve o’clock
our option went to the wall. She said:
“Excuse' me now, because I have
to get ready,” and she gave me an
envelope. When I got out I opend it.
That envelope contained a New York
draft for $250. Do you know how much
$250 plus $250 makes? I came straight
from that hotel and sent the owner
of the property a telegram: “Your op
tion accepted. Money in Bank.”
Does God answer prayer? How did it
come about? Unless God answers pray
er how do you account for that? And
there are scores of things just as inex
plicable that I might tell you in sup
port of my proposition that God does
answer prayer.
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
I have got one other thing to tell.
Three years ago this occurred and I
told it in this place to a Sunday morn
ing congregation. I was coming from
Europe. I was on a steamer and we
were caught in a dense fog just at
the mouth of St. George’s channel
just off Liverpool, and there we had
to stay for twelve hours on account
of the density of the fog. Up until
that time I had not drawn a single
solitary breath that could be called
at all deep, that had not cost me phys
ical pain. Every month during those
seven years so far as I can remember,
I was forced to spend from one to
three days in doors, oftentimes in bed;
sometimes as long as a week, with a
sub-acute attack of pleurisy in my left
side. During my whole time in Eng
land the two months I was there I was
in constant suffering and was often
times forced to be in bed, missing en
gagements and the like. Out there
on that ship in that dense fog in the
