Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-03-06

Character ana reputation are rcltleu 10
one another as the brittle type Of lead in
fine compositor's hands to the black letter
on the printed page. There must needs be
a correspondence between the two. Every |
mans life is an unfinished book. Some of
the chapters have been concluded, others
are not written or imposed upon the press
Of providence, none have yet their COM
plete and bound form. There is room and
opportunitv for contradiction in every life,
A good beginning may make a bad ending.
If there is to be unity in the testimony of
u life, great care must be taken in its
composition and in the process, by which
it is published in the world and to the gem
creations, that are to succeed. However
faint the outline upon each printed page,
still from the letter may be inferred the
tyne. Its legibility depends much upon
the pressure, which imprints it. Those
who, through affections and trials, are
brought under the provdental hand of
God, leave deeper lines of record and clear
err manifestations Of character in theI
world than those, whose days glide smooth
ly down life's stream unruilled by tide Or
adverse winds. Character is in every
mans power. Reputation is in Gods
hands. There are abundant promises to
encourage the Christian to expect that the
Lord will defend his good name. When
a mans ways please the Lord" says Solo
mon. He maketh even his enemies to be
ut peace with HIM" Commit thy ways
unto the Lord" says David, and &" lie
shall make thy righteousness as u light
and thy judgment rs the MONDAY" No
man is able, all through his life, to appear
either better or worse than he really is
Our one great concern is with character.
Reputation we may leave with God. We
are compositors to set up the type; God in
His own way will do the press work and
bring out the book in its completeness.
The delicacy and difficulty Of maintain
ing good and true character beggars all
comparison. A single leak in the ship
may be the precursor of its wreck. A lit
tie crack in the dyke prophesies the inva-
sion of the sea. The lamp must be held on
your doorstep with great care lest the
wind extinguish the light. All horsemen
will tell US that there are more falls ut the
foot of the hill, where the road is just
commencing to be level, than at any other
part of the progress. A momentaly loss
Of balance in the life may prove like the
stumble upon Mohamet's bridge to para
disc. One lie, one act of dishonesty, one
sinful deed, may be u fatal stab to let out
the life-blood of the character. God in
His mercy may heal the wound, but there
shall be ccatrice left. All this intcnsiies
the plea OF the apostle, " Take heed.' We
walk in slippery places. He, who will
walk securely, must steady himself ut
each step. He who would walk success.
fully, must keep in mind all the dlliCutie.
which beset him in his bath. No mans
character is perfect yet, but he may have
made great progress in the edification o
which we spoke last Sunday evening AnC
yet, SO long as9sin remains in any of rs,
there are not only enemies around, bu
f traitors within the fortress, that we are
appointed to keep. Entomologists tell II,
r that in the caterpillar there is the image o
the butterfly; the worm hides itself in tn,
chrysalis and, after cue time of waiting
is past, the new manifestation of life i.
perfected by the divine hand. But tn,
ichneumon fly has treacherouS way o
piercing the chrysalis and dcposiling hi
egg in the butterfly that is to be. The egs
is Matched. The worm destroys this germ
of future and more glorious life and, whe1
the time Of demonstration comes, insteat
of the beauty which seeks to busk and son,
in Gods sunshine, there is naueht but
worm to grovel on the ground SO it is ii
very many lives. The sin, which does 81
easily beset us, may destroy the higher
, life principle and leave us but the shell o
character.-S. II. Iyng, Jr.