Page:Cyclopedia of illustrations for public speakers, containing facts, incidents, stories, experiences, anecdotes, selections, etc., for illustrative purposes, with cross-references; (IA cyclopediaofillu00scotrich).pdf/104



drumming and fifing as soon as the year for the nomination comes on? If most of these people would poke their noses a little into the political history of this country, they would find that for a generation or more we have had no President whose reputation and "boom" was two years older than the hour of his election. When the Democrats nominated James K. Polk as their candidate, the politicians, surprized and disillusioned, inquired, "Who is James K. Polk?" The name of the Whig President, Zachary Taylor, was famous scarcely one year before the election. Pierce and Buchanan were absolutely less known than their rivals, Marcy and Cass, and before Lincoln's nomination there was nowhere any talk about him; every one was thinking of Seward. Who, in 1862, would have prophesied that U. S. Grant would one day become General-in-chief and President of the Republic? Such an individual would have been regarded as fit subject of a lunatic asylum. Hayes owed his nomination to his hard-won victory of the year previous over the Democrat, Allen, in the gubernatorial campaign in Ohio; and no one had thought of Garfield two days before his nomination.—Der Deutsche Correspondent.
 * man for several years. Others get up a

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Choices—See. CHOIR, THE Church choirs are often a source of trouble to a pastor. A colored minister down South takes hold of the situation thus:  De choir will now sing dat beautiful piece, "We ain't got long to stay heah," after which dey will consider demselves discha'ged and will file out quietly, one by one. We'se gwine to hab con'gational singin' heahaftah in dis yere chu'ch. (384)  CHOKED   It is a dreadful thing to be choked. Those who have either by accident or design suffered partial strangulation tell us that it is one of the most dreadful experiences. It must, to the all-seeing eye of God, be a dreadful thing to behold so many of His children gasping for a breath of life, being choked by the evil weeds, thorns, and tares indigenous to the flesh or diligently planted there by the enemy of souls while they sleep. It is a sad thing to see the corners of a cornfield left unreaped during the harvest (because the grain growing there among the thorns is not worth reaping), afterward reaped down and bound in bundles and burned, the thorns and choked product of a good seed together. It is a sadder thing to behold the lives of not a few Christians all overgrown and choked with thorns and weeds just ripening for the fire of destruction, because they are shriveled and choked and not fit to be gathered into our Lord's garner. (Text.)—The Independent.

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CHRIST A GUIDE TO THE FATHER

Mr. Robert E. Speer met a poor blind Christian in Korea whose only knowledge of the word of God had come through the kindnesses of his friends, when they would read, translating out of a Chinese Bible and giving chapter and verse as they read. His knowledge of the life of Christ was wonderful, and when Mr. Speer asked him what incident he liked best of all in the gospel, he said, "I like best the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John, that tells the story of the blind man to whom the Lord restored his sight." Mr. Speer asked the man what he looked forward to most, and he replied, "I look forward most to Christ's meeting me at the gate of heaven. I wouldn't dare to go up to see the Father alone, a poor blind man from Korea, but I shall wait at the gate, and He will find me out just as he did that poor blind man in the ninth of John, and He will lead me up to his Father and mine."

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CHRIST APPROVED

In London City Temple, Dr. Joseph Parker was troubled by the absence of workingmen from church, and invited hundreds to lunch there. He said: "Bring your dinner buckets, and your pipes if you want to; I want to have a good talk with you." Stepping out in front of them, he said:

"Men, why don't you come to church?"

A leader among them said: "The Church is not for the likes of us, the Church is for the rich, and the Church is for the prosperous. You don't want us there; that is what is the matter with the Church."

Dr. Parker then said, "Men, what is the matter with Jesus of Nazareth?"

Instantly a working man swung his cap and said: "He is all right." And a thousand or more working men kept swinging their caps and saying, "He is all right, He is all right." (Text.)

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