The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-12-09
BELlEVUE, La, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 9. 1880
MOI for he only tried in his own

No! for he only tried in his own
strength. q - ATTY ~ -
Il tell you, Molly" he continued
and the hard look came INTO his face
again, 8 have thought and thought,
and no way can | find to make up the
| needed sum'-and then, suddenly. as a
nasllfof lightning darts across the sum.
mer sky, the CLEAN of new thought
| shone in Farmer Newton's ewes. Bxt
he said no word of what it was to his
wife, as he left his seat and began to
walk restlessly up and down the room
MIS-. weston, thougha a farmers wife,
a country-reared girl. had an instructive
dellcacy and tact, which told her, how
ever much man might love his wife.
there were times when her silence was
dearer to him than her words. So she
sat Till the clock struck nine, then she
moved quietly about, preparing for the
night, saying, g think | will 90 up
now; you will come soon. Andrew?'
But he made no answer.
After she had gone. he continued his
restless walk for many minutes; then
he paused to trim the lamp, and then he
turned toward the sideboard and. with
only minutes irresolution, he opened
the drawer and took out the much-worn
account book. ''-
:. It's close on to Monday" he said,
half aloud, as though to still the quiet
reouke OF conscience, which came like
an echo of his wife's words: g Wait,
and do week days work on week davs:"
but he put it aside, and in it's place ad-
mitted the evil thought which had
flashed into his mind an hour before
and yet he was Christian man; he
thought he had been trying to follow
Christ for years. Had it been all the
time in his own strength? He had al
ways been honest; but had his honesty
never been really tried before? He had
always been truthful; but had he never
been really tempted before to deceit?
The Bible says: "Let him that think
eth he standeth take heed. lest he faA.','
T The devil" says a wise man of old,
does not tempt bad men, because he
has got them already; he tempts good
men. because he has not got them, but
wants to get them. In the darkness
OF that night, Farmer Newton forgot
for while these truths-forgot that
temptation met. and resisted or met
and yielded to, is the test Of what a man
really is.
mot for myself" he said to himself,
as he sat down to count and recount the
lines of figures in the book; .'not for
myself but for Molly and the children
1t could be done so easily by recording
profits-that--well!-co be done SO
easily If on the morrow he faced 'Suuire
Forbes with a promise to pay later ON,
giving that book as a pledge, with its
fiction, OF money coming to him, when
he knew there was none to come.
And a subtle voice seemed to whisper,
in, his heart: q You will onlyfbe doing
what hundreds of men in trade are
doing every day; you, will only be Civ
ing wrong impression. and, then,
there came to Andrew Newton temp
tation SO fierce, so powerful, that strong
man though he was, he bowed before It
as reed before the wind. But, as he
almost yielded, he heard another whis-
per in his heart saying: .sIf you do
it, you will be acting a lie, Andrew;
you will be losing what, is, worth
more than house or land dosing
honor and TRUTH and those II two,
voices kept up their strike in Andrew
Newton's heart, till the autumn night
gave place to morning; and nights end,
just as temptations do, either in a bright
sunrise of victory won, or d dreary
dawn, Sdark with clouds! How did
Farmer Newton's end? In sunrise; for
right conquered; God helped him to re-
sist, though he did not ask the Lords
help till the night had well nigh waned;
then, finding sliisa own. strength utter
weakness, he cried aloud at last: Lord,
help met and no sooner. did he ~cry
than help came. For, over. and over.
the experience of Gods children of old
is lived in the story of His children
nowadays. Do you remember And
the Lord said unto Moses: Make theea
fiery serpent and set it upon a pole and
it shall come te pass that every one That
is bitten. (surely that means tempted),
when he 1ooketh1 upon it, shall live; and I
it came to pass that if aserpeut had bit.
ten any one, when he beheld the SER
pent of brass he livedP' The only con-
dition of healing, the looking as the
Lord commanded; just as the only
strength to resist temptation is found in
asking the Lords help, with faith in his
promise: g Ask and ye shall receive.'"'
And so. the Newton family kept
Thanksgiving that year, after all though
only such brief time does it take fer
change to do its work, when the ap-
pointed day came, the rooms of the old
resounded with the voices
and laughter of children other than the
Newtons; another husband and wife sat
together in the cheerful sitting-room
and yet, spite of it all. the Newton
children said.s I'VE never had !
such good Thanksgiving before"
And atnightfall. when they hadlgone
to sleep, Farmer Newton and his wife
repeated the children's words; for it
was then that Andrew told Molly of the
night when temptation had assailed1
him, when, because he had at first tried
to resist in his own strength he had
almost yielded. g You see, if l had,
Molly" he said, I" the old farm house
might still have been our home, but it
would have been by the loss of my honor
and my truth, and as that voice in my
heart which sounded So like yourS