Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-01-12

AN EAsAY delivered before the Giant County Good
Templa,s' Convention" NJ Platteviie Dec. 81 1858,
b. Mrs. LaUEA A. WILsos, Of Platsoyile


Post Can you realize for an in
stant the dread desolating feeline
which il capable of creating Aye.
the despair even which it sometime.
brings.
But what ia lost? momen' swift
" fleeing on its sixty golden wings,
or an hour laden with opportunities
such az which another can never
bring? l. il day spent in idleness
and sin, or youth fraught with rare
opportunities but wasted IN folly
and no good accomplished I? Oris il
a Lite, God given and free. crowned
with such rich blessings as only God
can give \ wasted Life. A lost
Life. How many such. Never can
be known how many TIL that great
d., cometh which shall reveal all the
secrets of the heart A wise and
good man once said be counted that
day lost in which he did no good deed
or no kind act. Should we do like>
wise fear we should count many
lost days.
The bankrupt business man ex-
claims all is lost when the few
thousands for which be has toiled. go
INCREASINGLY, is by ore stroke of for,
tunes wheel sweep from his grasp,
meanwhile forgetting thatlite, health
and fair reputation are still his,
and his family spared to him, and
without these, how much joy would
even his millions give him. We pity
indeed any one whose all consists in
the few paltry dollars they may pos
sess.
Two lovely girls were playing on
the verge Of a forest, picking the
bright hued leaves which every
where lay around them. So engag,
ed were they in seeking them. now
one of peculiar shade, aud now one
of rarer beauty that they needed not
the iJiest before them till plunged
within its depth. WiGh brave hearts
they stroGe TO find the homeward
path but more bewildered with their
search and the gathering darkness,
they gave up in despair aud the
heartrendlng cry OF lost lost rever
berated through the echoing forest.
Witness the agony Of their parents,
when they realize their darlings are
lost and may perish 10 he woods /;
must perish if no help is rendered
them, But picture arises before
our vision of one more tearfally lost.
A fair haired merry boy kneels AT
his mothers side He is offering up
his evening prayer. No fairer brow
than his will you see. No sweeter
tones than his viii you hear. lis a
iair picture. non, f4irer. Years pass
and we gaze upon him again. A tall
far youth, he weeping bends above
his mothers coffin. HIS mother WAS
his all and now she is lost to him -
No sweet voice whispers Of Joyful
reunion, and the desolato heart rein
SOS TO be comiorted Repentanl
ears he is shedding. Thinking how
oft he has grieyed that patient low
ing heart. lie resolves III the future
to act as though his mother was ey,
or present with him, On weak re-
solve made in thine own strength
A dark shadow hovers over him
What meaneth it? Five years later
we s him again aud say, : how
changed" The beaming eye is no,
1 yet dim. The fair face is still fair,
but the dashing, reckless manner crlIs
all, Tho shadow has darker
grown. Alter another lapse OF years
a longer period than before he 4gai,
crosses our vision Did we say, how
changed, before? We now exclaim,
his is not the innocent child we be-
held at bis mothers knee. This is
not the handsome youth we saw
weeping above that mothers coffin.
Sadly we assert it is, the same The
shadow is there STILL The bIoodshot
eye, the haggard countenance the
bloated form and the tattered gar
ments bespeak its presence. He is
socially and morally lost. Who calls
the drunkard, friend Who wishes
to be his associate None but those
as debased as himself, And whose
words are these: The drunkard shall
not inherit the kingdom of God.
Is not this picture every day pre-,
scnted to us What drunkard was
not once an innocent, merry child
and how many of them have oftimes
knelt at a mothers side. Let Us
hope that the remembrance of thai
| time may yet save them. Must it al
ways be the best, the most generous
hearted who yeiid TO temptation and
fall. God help them. Brothers and
Sisters there is wolk for US to do
Shall we stand idly by and see our
fellow creatures perishing around us
and offer no hand to help them
Shall We grow weary and count our
labor lost? No ! so long as there re-
mains one human being to be rescued
from that disgrace which surpasses
all other degreiations. drunkard' :,
grave. So long as there remains one
youth to be saved from temptation
and strengthened in the path OF
right aud virtue, so long shall our
hearts be ever ready TO rescue The
one and succor the other. We arc
here met in convention let not it's
glorious privileges be lost upon US
Let us SO improve them, that we
shall go forth herefrom better men
and women. SO strengthened thai
we shall be better prepared 10 carry
forward the good work We have be
gun. [ feel that this convention
shall WELD an influence which shall
be feIt throughout al time Let u
strive TO carry out more fully the no-
bic principles contained in our motto
" Faith Hope and Charity" and with
greater earnestnesa than ever before
seek to reclaim lost men and women.
We must be diigent and faithful il
We would accomplish any good.
Let Us guard carefully our own con
duct and cast no reproach on the
name OF Good Templar which we
bear. 4s
Uonnr and shame f-,re ~, -ons;s;an Rae