American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1863-12-09
THE BUBBLE BURST.


A celebratcd and highly popular com.
edian once waited upon physician with
a request to be cured of overpowing
melancholy. CO. advised the medical
gentleman, go to the theatre and witness
the comic performances of -"
|. Alas" replied his patient, Il am
that comedian. make others merry, but
while they are laughing at the sallies Of
wit, my own heart is as unmoved as a
stone, Amid the laughter Of delighted
multitudes | remain the most sad and mis-
cradle of beings myself
How true to the experience of allworld-
lings is this picture of the comedian S
heart, He was hypocrite in his pleas
antries: So are all gay sinners. Their
eyes fash their lips smile, their tongues
utter sparkling je-ts, but their hearts ST
lently sigh over conscious vacuity which
they yainly implore the world to lilI.-
Their conscienccs sting them for degra-
ding spiritual capacities, capable ofgrasp-
ing the Infinite, to the Dead Sea Of SEN
suality, and for casting away eternal life
at the bidding Of bodily appotites and pas
sions. But in vain docs the soul sigh and
conscience sting. The sinner will have
his delights. He hides his misery. He
dances, sings jests; his merry laugh rings
through the air, and his companions in
sin, wondering, think him happy. They
will not believe his laugh, like theirs, is
sepulchral, and therefore they envy him
his felicity lie too, in his turn, is de-
coiyed by the merriment of his compan-
ions, and cnyies them. Thus, all envy, all
laugh, all are deceived; all are hypocrites
in their sinful pleasantries Start not,
dear reader from this image of your heart!
The fault is not in my mirror, but in your
character The mostili-fcaturcd person is
willing to gaze upon his own face in the
glass, and surely yA will be equally ready
to behold your moral features; especially
as the hand of friend holds the mirror,
and the motive which prompts him to
hold it is the high regard he has for your
best interests. If he reveals the strange
defealures sin has wrought upon you, it is
only to lead you to One who has power to
obliterate them and to cover you with di-
vine beauty; to Him who can fill the va
cium in your heart, silence It's sighings,
heal its wounds, and who can create
calm, sweet smile upon your lips which
shall be the true index of your feelings.
Give me, therefore, your hand, your heart,
your serious attention, and viii reason
with You concerning the things arhich
make tor yooT Peacc. You have chosen
the world. The things of this life arc
your glory, your delight, your supreme
good. Your pleasures, your hopes, your
thoughts, all centre on the things ,rhich
are seen. You are devoted to the world;
yea chained to it, as the corpse of Hocter
was bound to the chariot of Achilles in
the plain of Troy. You are at once its
admirer and its captive, for 10 ,rdom ye
gieH .yoarsclges servants to obey, his SER
rants ye are" Permit me to show you
your chosen deity in his true character
Yonder on bank of a stream is a little
child. He is intently watching The splash
ing waters as they playfully rush over the
pebbles and the rocks. Now he dashes
at something in the stream. Now heruns
along the bank eagerly watching an object
which is floating there. How earnest he
is How weary with his long pursuit,
Yet onward onwqrd still he descends the
brook now running, now grasping after
something which as often cludes his touch.
But the day wanes. Night mantles the
earth with gloom. The child stops, looks
round, and weeps bitterly. The scene is
strange to his eyes. He has, in the ardor
Of his pursuit, wandered far from home
Now that night has come he is weary, faint.
lost! Behold in this child an image of
yourself! See in his misfortune a figure
of your own ruin! For worthless and false
as that bubble is, the world you seek
Your enthusiasm in its pursuit is madns4A
Every step you take leads you further
away from God, the souls. true home, and
hurries you toward the region of desola-
ton, sorrow, aad death. F" The rorld
passeth array and The Inst thereof" is an
inscription written with the pencil of the
Almighty over the archway Of the world.
The poet has sung that
aThis world Is all fleeting SHOW,
For mans illusion given;
The sies ofjuy, the Tears r woe,
Deeeitfni shine. deccfi flow;
There's neti<iug tr1e but heaven