Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1875-02-26

appeals to selfishness and fear, often so
prominent in religious exercises, aud in
our selfish struggles for personal salvation,
Is there not danger We shall forget the sto-
ny of the Good Samaritan and other of the
pbilanthropic teachings of Jesus? Some
persons who offer prayers in public places,
and show much zeal in revivals OF relig-
ion and in "glittering generalities," when
approached on the subject of obtaining a
better location and better accommodations
for the towns poor than we now have, man
ifest more GOODNESS and Indifference TO this
subject than do some among us who, APP
parently, fear nothing but death and taxes.
"Good doctrinal or gospel sermons" that
alludo to many things in general but new
er strike nail on the head, are more salts
factory to many professedly Christian peo-
pie. They remind us of the old democrat
when he said, 81 want good gospel SER
mons, but damn this preaching all about
rum and niggors."
Highly respectable and pious was the
old-time Pharsee. In the minds ideal we
see him walking on Jerusalem's pavements
to the synagogue ola Sabbath morning. His
wife and children dressed in purple and
fine linen accompany him as in piOus med
itation his prayers 90 up for success in ex-
terminating his enemies and all those who
know not God. Judge Of his establishment
when he hears for the first time in the pub
lie streets those burning words spoken for
Immortality: "If thine enemy hunger,
feed him; If lie thirst, give him drink"
"Sell all thou hast and give to the poor"
Before the Pharisee has sufficiently collect
ed his thoughts to make any remarks, his
ing voice that young man has No music
| ever heard before was half so sweet and
do look at his hair, his face, his whole per-
son; surely he is the most beautiful of all
the sons of men," "Don't stop in the
crowd, dear" said the Pharisee. "This
must be the same fellow heard Zachariah
speak of as coming into the temple few
years since, when lie was boy. Rather
smart lie said, for lad Of his years, but
then you know he can't be much, for he
was born in a stable few miles out Of the
city, and his parents are low, poor peo-
PIE; therefore he ought not 10 be allowed
to preach such Presidential hercsy." Can
we wonder that this respectable gentleman
Indignantly denounced sentiments so OPP
posed to Judaism, so contrary to the holy
Bible? What a relief it must have been
to his disturbed mind TO receive an affirm
alive answer when he snceringly asked a
bystander, al, not this the carpenters
SOM"
Nearly nineteen centuries after, these
events we find man in Brattleboro who
received Christian baptism in church
in Windham county, Vermont, aud who
has expended about 500 the past year in
sustaining one of the churches in this viii
lage, but of whose progress in the school
Of philanthropy and AS to how far he has
moved from the moral stand point OF the
old-time Pharisee, we leave you to judge
after we give you his remedy for pauper-
ism in BrattebOro in his own words: at
is n needless expense and all wrong to have
any kind Of an asylum where public pro-
vision is made fer paupers, for If none ex-
listed the relatives of the needy would take
care Of them. But if we must have house
for the towns poor would locate it on the
top of Chesterfield mountain and merci-
fully treat all poor, aged, helpless paupers
as they do in Siam" Now reader, If you
do not know what is the character of the
Samese mercy, to which the aforesaid gem
man refers, ask yourself what action you
would deem policy and mercy if your
horse had both his hind legs broken.
"Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the
streets Of Askelon"-but is there in Brat
tcboro any dear friend OF this modern hea-
thenism? Much as we condemn the sent
iments OF the gentleman aforesaid, we adj
mire his candor, for, il action expresses
feeling, lac has spoken what many feel, but
feel dumbly and do not express. Sad, as
well as strange, it is to us how a man can
believe that in performing deeds OF chari-
ty and mercy the advantage is with the re-
cipient, when we know how unfavorable
is the effect upon the happiness, life and
character, Of misanthropy, avarice, unchar-
ilableneSs and selfshness. We are com
manded to practice the opposite &C all the
vices aforenamed for our own benefit, and
how could we do it if poverty, the import
ant actor in this great drama Of human life,
did not exist?
Our obligations to poverty who can esti-
mate? There would be no value to wealth
without il, and how to live Christian life
or practice the virtues that most highly
adorn the human character, without 1t
we cannot conceive. 4 greater misanthro-
pist than John Randolph probably new err
sat in our national Congress. lie originat-
ed no enterprise whatever, but he so dog
gedly and persisiontly opposed every move
ment of beneicence in Congress that he
WAS called 1.-THE watch dog Of the treasury"
Can you envy that man his happiness dur
ing his worse than wasted life or in the
closing hour? write the word Remorse"
said he rs the night was coming on. Now
look at him as his eye is glazing in death,
pointing his ould wasted iiugcr at the word
"REM )RsE"
Mrs. Lydia NJ. Childs in one OF her let
tiers from New York over 80 years ago, re-
lates being present at a concert given by
"Ole Bull" the great viollnist, where he
performed some of our national airs with
variations, so Disgusting hem, by his Won
derful genius, with additional beauty, that
it was exceedingly difficult in some cases
to discover their identity or penetrate their
disguise. However advisable may be va
riations and disguise in music no such
witchery ought TO be applied to important
truths needful for MS to clearly understand.
Let the nine churches in this town dis
pense with the variations. creeds and inno-
vations of designing men aud give their
attention to the plain, simple teachings of
the great originator of the iaith-being sure
to practice in accordand therewith-and we
feel sure that there would he created such