Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1866-06-07

OF believing me, were to tell them what tobacc,
ha. been to me. the drudging service which hav,
paid, the slavery which havc vowod 20 il.
How from Illuminating it camo 20 darken. from ;
quick solice it turned TO anegstive relief. theme,
to a restleSsness and dissatisfaction, thence d
positive misery. How, even now, when the Who'll,
secret stands confessed in all lis dreadful truth be
fore me, feel myself linked to it hey ond the pow
er Of revocation. Bone of my BONE
AN EVIL IMAGINATION
/ Finally, would mention the creates, of al
enemies TO character, an evil Imagination.
This aggravated the condemnation OF the peopl,
before the hood "And God saw that the wick
edness of man was great in the earth. and thai
erery imagination Of the h0nqlts OF his heart ras on
ly eril continually" One Of the seven things il
the Proverbs of Solomon named as abominatioI
10 the Lord is "an heart that devseth wicked i'm
aginations." And Paul said of the heather: 1.-THE,
became vain in their imaginations. AMI their fool
ish heart was darkcned." An eril Imagination i:
the source OF evil conduct-the hotbei Of mora
corruption Ii IS the more dangerous because oil
its secrecy. An open enemy is not half so much
TO be feared as a secret one. Evil imagnatons
poluting thoughts, more apt 10 be cherished
and INDUCED because hidden from outward obser
vaton. Growing into habits of mind aud increas-
ing i'll strength and aucacty they come, by and -bv
to lay their foul hands upon every lineamcnt OF
the divine mige and put out overy gleam Of its
holy light. The holy Of holies itsel fbecomes as a
"cage of unclcan birds" AS an army with ban.
ners do secret thoughts and practices of impurity
destroy character For time NIL may be fair with
out-thc mothers ever watchful and anxious eye,
the friend, in all the intimacy Of sacred nearness,
NAV not detect the ruin going on within
You have seen q favorite fruit tree growing lux
uriantly under the special care bcstowed-with the
carly spring uDfolds its rich foliage and abundant
bloom. The growing fruit begins to weigh down
\ - hrQn Hnf nr fhn
come, the leaves turn pale, the fruit withers and
drops. and at the first blast storm the tree it.
self falls to the earth. You seek the cause of so
disastrous failure. "An enemy hath done this. :"
worm, making its way to the sap of the tree, ha
girded, then bored into the body, leaving no out
ward trace of all his deadly work. So do secret
imagina':ons accomplish the ruin of the fsirest
manhood. Often the crash of the fall i. the frs. hint
of the reality.
The prophet Ezekiel, frs, led in vi-ion of the
Lord TO see all the outward iniquities of Israel
was told. thou shalt sec greater abomnati0ns. I"
He was led ga hole in the wall" by the door OF
the cour; of the Temple. Here he was directed TO
dig: and doing so. he found door and went into q
chamber and bcheld "the wicked denominations"
the house OF Israel did there. "Then said he unto
me, son of man, ha st thou seen what the ancients
of the house Of Israel do in tn. dark every man in
the chambers of IN. i'm Igery7 for they say. The
Lord seeth Us not" For all this the Lord declared
that he would "deal in fury: mine eye shall not
spare. neither will have pity; and though they
cry in mine ear. with loul voice. yet will | not
hear them" Terrible indeed is the ruin that such
vice brings. Oh. then. apply the laws Of temper
ance m lst vigorously TO the secrets = the heart
Yes. says the inspired Proverb. "keep thy heart
with all diligence, for out Of it arc tho issues OF
life"
Let me urge upon you. Good Templars, this sort
OF Temperance. Adopting it you will not alone be
safe from the calamIties Of drunkennesss but from
those of other vices as baneful TO real worth and
future happiness. In other words. you will secure
that nobest OF all possessions Character. Your
time well spent. your heart guarded and cultivated,
your habits rightly formed. you will find yourselves
respected. beloved and hopeful life Of solf-re-
s.raint and self fdiscipline, crowned with noble
dignity, serene peace. Make such destiny
your leading aim Labor for il openly and in Sc
cret--wait for it long and patiently. BE not dis
cOuraged an! irreso!u'e If the rewards Of virtue
delay their coming. By-and-by they will come
In this life ron may reap richly Of them; but ifnot
you still aft ,rd TO wait IL il should be your
lot 20 pass through lie in obscuri,y and dscsteem,
what was before ssd character has
eternity before il. Many ofthc purest and best
OF earth have gone through life unprized and un-
sung But n time approaches when these mistakes
vii! be correctcd--when hidden things shall be
brought to gh,-when the last shall be fr-t and
holy angels and in the glory Of his power to Didge
us all, "Thcn shall the righteous shine forth
the sun in the kingdom Of their Father"