Prof. Hildner's Address

The address of Dr. J. A. C. Hildner at the Young Men's Christian Association Sunday afternoon was listened to by the men with great interest.
He gave word pictures of five types of men
Four were of men whom one would hesitate to pattern after.
The fifth was such a character as all admire and respect.

The first picture was that of a rich man. once poor, but now enormously wealthy. His home was a veritable scene of enchantment and the envy of every passer-by.
His brow was low, face pinched, skin wrinkled, eyes small and piercing, shoulders stooped. His heart was said to have changed from flesh to gold.
The hand he extended to greet you was but a yellow claw. Hardness, avarice and selfishness made up his inventory. God had buried his soul long before his body was carried to the graveyard. He might have been a man of great beneficence, but he would not.

The second picture was that of a young man who had enlisted in the army. Epaulets, embroidered collars and strains of martial music lured him into the turmoil of war. Brave, faithful, gallant, he was advanced step by step from private to general. He was a dashing leader.
The lines about his face spoke of firmness, determination, daring and fearlessness, but all signs of tenderness or sympathy.
He always answered the question, Am I my brother's keeper? in the negative. He was unmoved to see the noble son of fond parents fall a sacrifice upon his country's altar.
He was even unconcerned to see his brave followers succumb to vice, and was even known to say that these things were necessary. He, too, was hard and selfish.

The third picture was that of a statesman, brilliant, eloquent; his voice now like the rolling of the thunder and now like the warbling of birds. He moved his hearers at his will, and to hear him speak, one might have bought there was heart in his words.
But he forgot the interests of his people in the effort to gratify his own ambitions. He had within his reach great opportunities for bringing blessings to his state and nation, but he did not.

The fourth picture was that of a poet, who saw in the oak tree not lumber, but a temple of God, where the birds congregated to sing his praises.
To him all nature was sublime and grand and beautiful, but he lacked faith in what he saw, and while his mind was in the clouds, his feet were in the mire. His own life was a sad contrast to the beauty he saw around him.

The last picture presented was that of a man of no great natural ability and of only moderate attainments. He had been a slow plodder.
But occasionally he drew apart from men to meditate, and upon his return there was a refreshing gentleness and sweetness in his looks and words.
He turned aside from the examples of defaced manhood just exhibited. His eye bad caught sight of high deals and his will persistently followed them. He saw in Christ all that could be desired in any man.
In continuing to look at Him, to think about Him and to admire Him, he be became unconsciously more and more like Him. His life became one of unselfishness, of tender sympathy and of loving helpfulness.
The rich man, the general, the statesman, the poet might have attained the same type of strong, noble manhood. He did attain, and so may we, for "we all with unveiled face beholding as in a minor the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same likeness."