privilege to know this excellent man, but I am informed by his pastor,
Preacher Bonds here, of his manifold excellencies. When a great man
dies, the people mourn. I am informed that our departed brother was a
great man. First, he was a great man in business. When I behold this
beautiful well-kept farm, I see its wide, extending fields, its running
brooks, its whitewashed fences, its excellent buildings, in the burning
of one of which our brother met his death--when I behold these things, I
say, I am made to exclaim that God hath blessed him in basket and store.
Yes, a great man in business.

"Secondly, he was a great man in his home, and by the way, there is
where the true greatness of a man is tested. In the death of our
esteemed brother the home is the loser. It loses a loving husband. It
loses a considerate father and an efficient bread-winner.

"Thirdly, our brother was a great man in the community. I am told that
he was a public-spirited man. He believed in schools, in good roads, and
in all other things that make for the welfare of a community. In his
death the community is a heavy loser.

"Fourthly, he was a great man in the church. (Preacher Bonds, "Amen".) I
am told that for upwards of thirty years our brother has been a
consistent member of Mount Olivet Church and a regular attendant at its
service and a heavy contributor to its funds. I understand that he was a
mighty defender of the church's faith. He fought bravely on. He stood
like a rock. He weathered the storm. He finished the course. He
conquered.

"But, my friends, our finite minds cannot fathom the profound mysteries
of the infinite. We cannot understand. Why would a just God permit such