The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1877-12-19
From the Temp rance Advance.
TO THE BOYS.
BY j. W. HIGBEE.

ANo" bplS, Il ntNt COHCluutu 10 nave
a little talk with you this time. / am
very fond of boys, for | was once a
boy myself. Some poet has said:
me, are only boys grown tall.
Hearts don't change much after ALL"
Maybe if can get little seed of
truth to lodge in the mellow soil ofyOur
tender hearts, and then if you will
let your own warm nature protect it,
it may sprOut and some day bear pre-
cious fruit.
You know it is a very short time till
Christmas will be here with all its joys.
But then boys, along with the joys
comes the little temptations. And
now for that and | AN done.
l expect the most of you have
heard it said that this life is not the
only life we will live. Or as the
preachers say, "death does not end
ALL" Now if this be true, then the
dullest boy | am talking to can see
that this life is given us to prepare us
for the longer and brighter one TO
come. Now don't be alarmed. / am
not going to put on a long face, and
say anything that sounds dead and
musty, for you could not appreciate
anything like this, and | do not blame
you. Boys were never made to go
about the world with their heads hung
down as if they had stolen somebody's
sheep. They were made to enjoy
themselves, and by this enjoyment
feed their souls till they grow large
and healthy enough to enjoy the
ocean of life in store for us lover the
river"
Now go back and read again what |
have written and see if you agree
with me in all l have said. Now l
want to ask you a question. Why is
it some boys grow up to be such I'M
happy worthless kind of men? As l
can't hear any of you say anything, l
will have to answer for you. 1t is be-
cause they were not the right kind of
boys. There new, who agrees with
me' l hope all Of you do, and l am
quite certain that the boy that disa-
grees with me will some day change
his opinion. That's it. Not the
right kind of boys. As a rule, the
right kind of boys grow up to be the
right kind of men.
expect your curiosity is excited,
and imagine can hear some one
say, "How came the boys to be of the
wrong kind?" That's the question.
Will they let the influence of little
sins and temptations get down into
their hearts, and this poisans, blights
and twists their natures till they are
spiritually all out of shape' Some of
us men try to think that these little
sins are after all of no consequence.
But this is a great mistake. A per-
sons character is no stronger than at
its weakest point. Let me seek an il
lustration. Take a chain of an hun
dred links. Nineey-nine of them are
just perfect. But one, only one, has
flaw in it, and when the chain breaks
it is sure to be that faulty LUX. Now
boys how would you remedy the mat
ter? Why by getting a new, strong
perfect link, then the chain is all right.
Now maybe this Christmas will prove
where the weak link is in your natures.
Maybe you love whisky and egg-nOg
and some of these days you will feel
so sorry you did not strengthen the
chain of your character just at that
point. Boys, boys, watch out. Guard
the weak places. Well, l thank you
for reading what | have written. May
God watch over you, and may you be
as ready to do your part as He is to
do His.