Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-04-13
w hole Number 1923.

the old proverb, ga bad beginning
makes a good ending"
Many a young man has asked a
iady's hand, and been refused. He
sought a second, and was rejected.
But, undaunted, he tried again, and
in the third he found a wife worth
more than the two who discarded
him welded into one. You have
made failures in the past; but all
that is gone. 1t is not by regret
ting over it that you will accomplish
anything great in the future; but by
making the most of what and where
you now are and shall be. The me-
chanic does not perform a good days
work by complaining of his tools,
but by making the best use of them.
So with you. Look not at the past,
but use well the time, the opportu-
mites and the circumstances which
are yours, and victory may yet be
perehed upon your banner.
= =
It is not enough to come out; you
must keep out-"Evil eommuniea-
tions corrupt good manners" 1t is
as impossible for you to associate
with evil companions and not be
corrupted, as it would for ga man to
take fire in his bosom, and his clothes
be not burned"
This will require an effort on your
part. But duty and interest de-
mand it at your hands. Some of
your former compeers in vice viii
throw temptations in your way, try
to entIce and entrap you, as the
fowler does the bird in the snare.
Others of them will sneer and laugh,
and point at you the finger of scorn,
and endeaver to shame you out OF
your noble determination to lead a
sober, industrious life.
And right here is the most critI-
cal point of your existence. Having
broken faith with your old associ-
ates, you now stand, as it were,
alone in the world; for as yet you
have made but few, if any, new ac-
quaiptances. No man can live alone.
He must have society. Here is a
young man; he is boarding; he can
not spend the evening alone in bis
room. He remembers the loved
ones at home-father, mother, broth
ers, sisters and friends. He goes
out into the streets, they are all
ablaze with light. He, a stranger,
wanders hither and thither. The
freshness of youth is still upon him.
He is lonely and must find some
company. "All the homes are
closed and all the hells are open"
In he rushes to one of these hell
holes, and falls an easy prey to vice
and is again ruined. Such is the
condition and such is the result of
our civilized society.
Here you are on the threshold of
a new life. For you to stand alone
is impossible. You must be instruc-
ted, nursed, and cared for as babes.
The place only to find this care and
sympathy is in the church. Its
doors are wide open for your recep-
tion. Enter in. The only real
peace society, benevolent institu-
tion, and temperance organization
in the world is the church Christ
purchased with his own blood. All
others that bear these names are but
the reflection of the church, as the
light of the moon is but the rehec-
ton of the rays of light from the
sun.
There will come hours in your life
when you will not know which way
to turn, or where to look for aid.
Bitter experiences will cut your
heart. Loved ones will die. The
trusted will prove false. And you
will find Achans in the camp of God;
wolves in the sheep-fold of Christ;
Peters denying with oaths snd.curs-
es, ''The Lord who bought them;"
and Judases dipping their hands
with the Master in the dish. Then |
your soul, like ship at sea in a
storm, will be beaten by the wind !
and tossed. Then there will be an
awful temptation to turn back to
your old ways. But instead look
away up to Jesus, the mighty to
save. Far above the black clouds
shines the deep blue, the friend "who |
is ever near, ever dear" is Watching
you. He is by your side. When
the storm is at its worst, you will |
hear his voice through the midnight |
gloom, saying, cit is /, be. not |
afraidp When hemmed in by tow
ering rocks on either side, by dead
" foes behind, and by surging
waves in front, and you see no way
of escape, he will come with his an
gel bands, divide the deep waters,
take you by the hand, lead you
through the sea of afiiction and the
wilderness of sorrow, and bring you
into a land flowing with milk and
honey, and place you in green pas
lures and beside sill waters. What
a sympathizing friend we have in
Jesus, all our griefs and cares to
bear, ''Is there trouble anywhere, |
take it to the Lord in prayer!" Trust !
him, he will never fail you.
From the Toledo Blade.
NASRY DISGUSTED