The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-02-27
Titoomb's I.ettors 10 Young
Men,



b Young men, hate cant, and do not know
+ exactly huw 10 suy what / wish TO my ip this
letter. but desire 10 talk 10 you nationally
upon the subject ofreligIon. Now don't stop
reading 90 the mention Of this word hut read
this lotlor through, The fact b., itis the most
Important letter I have undertaken 90 write
you. know YOU, Ike boob, Life looks
sp good 10 you, aud sou are anticipating so
much from it, thal religion comes 10 YOU and
comes over you like shadow You nssoc-
Ate it gitls- leHR Faces utt'i t'rHyrr urrtiuF-
aud psalm singing and dull sermons and grave
reprooir and stupidity Your companions
are gay and. so,aro YOU. Perhaps you make
ujcst ofrelgiat bat deep down uyour heart
Of hcPrls YOU k6pg that you are not treating
religion fairly, A6uAnow pcrlectyWcll that
there is something IN Il for YOU, and that you
must have H. You know that the hour will
como Whom you viii specially need t.. But
you wish 10 put II OIL and "cnjoy lifc" first
This results very much from tho hind Of
preaching YOU have always listened Co.. You
have been taught that humsu life isa humhug,
that these things which so greatly delight you
are vain and sinful, that your great business
in this world IL to be saved, md that you are
only 10 be saved boy learning to dcsp,c things
thfl you love and TO love things which YOU de-
spse, You feel that this is unnatural and ir.
rational think il b myself Now let me
talk % you,
Go with me, il you please, TO the next sta
tior house, and look off upon that line orrail.
road, It is straight as an arrow. Out run
The iron lines glitlcriug in the sun,-out, as
Ear as We can Sec until couycrging almost To
q single thread, they pierce the sky What
were those rails laid in that way 6r' Iiisa
road is it2 Try Your car, or coach there.
The 0Nlcrccs are 100 narrow, and you go
humping ulonE apon the slccpcrs Tr, q
whcclblrrow, You cannot keep it on the rail
But that road was made for something Now
20 with me- to the locomotive shop, Whats
this We are told il is o locomotive. What
is q locomotNe2 Why it /, carriage mo.
we'd 10y steam. But it is yer, heavy. The
wheels would sink into % common road 90 tho
axle, That locomotive can never run on
common road, and ihc man is a fool who built
II. Strngc that men will waste time and
money in that way. But stop mohcn,.
Why wouldn't those wheels just fl those
railS9 We measure them and then go 90 the
track and measure it, gauge. That solves the
difficulty. Those rails were intended for the
locomotive, and the locomotive for the rails.
They are good iar nothing apart The lurue
motive !, not even safe anywhere else. Fit
should get OIL, after il !, ON, il would run I'M
to rocks and stumps, and bury itself in sands
or swamps beyond recovery.
Young man YOU are a locomotive. You
are thing that goes by power placed inside
of you. You are made to go. In fact con
sidcred as a machine YOU are very far superb
or 10 locomotive .ti5rm#iysT- ~ q it7T7TH0=
tive is man your maker is mans maker. You
arc as different from horse or an OK, or
camel. as locomotive is different from o
whcclharrow, cart, or coach Now do
you suppose that the being who made YOU
manufactured your machine, and put into it
the motive powcr--did not make special
road for you to run upon2 My idea of re-
ligion is that il is a railroad for a human lo-
comotiyc, and that just as sure as-it under.
takes to run upon a road adapted only t0 an
imal power will bury its wheels in the sand
dash itself among the rocks, and como to in
e,tablc wreck. If you don't believe this, try
the other thing. Here are forty roads, sup
pose you choose one Of them, and see where
YOU come out Here is the dram.shop road.
Try it, Follow it and sec how long il will be
before YOU come to stump and'a smash-up
Here is the road of sensual pleasure. You
are just as sure TO bury your wheels in the
dirt as YOU try it. Your machine is too hcav
for that track altogether. Here is the un-
rrrtrtit, f,-t4. Of ffipeltY ,,,e,aAees
on each side of it, and, with the hcadway that
you are under YOU will be sure sooner or la
ter to pitch into one of them. Here is the
road of philosophy, but it runs through a
country from which the light of heaven is shut
out and while you may be able to keep right
side up, it will only be by feeling your way
along in a clumsy, comfortlcss kind of style,
and with no certainty of ever arriving at the
heavenly station house. Here is the road of
skcpticism. That is covered with fog, aud a
fence runs across it within ten reds. Don't
yon see that your machine was never intend
ed to run on those roads? Don't you k7,or
that it never was, and don't you know that
the only track under heaven upon which it
can run safely is the religious trackP Don't
you know that just rs long you keep your
wheels on that track, wreck is impossible (?
I Don't you know that il is the only track on
which wreck is not certain l know il ifyou
dont and tell YOU that ON thnt track which
( God has laid down expressly for your soui to
run upon, your soul will find free play for all
/ its wheels, and an unobstructed aud happy
progress. 1t is straight and narrow, but it is
safe and solid, and furnishes the only direct
route TO tho heavenly oitSe-~ Now If God made