Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1881-02-10
THE DIFFERENCE IN TREES.
- Indianapolis Journal

| A Ten-Mlnute Sermon To Children.
THE Bible compares men to trees
good men to good trees and bad men t,
corrupt trees. David says that a gooC
man is like a fruit-tree, planted by tn,
channels of water. and yielding fruit il
les season. In the ninety-second Psalm
it is said that the righteous shall flour
ish like the palm tree, and shall grow
like q cedar in Lebanon. Isaiah speaks
of those whom the Lord has redeemed
as "trees of righteousness; the plant
ing of the Lord.' In the Sermon OF
the Mount Jesus likens bad men to cor
rupt trees that bear evil fruit. And
Jude compares the wicked to trees thai
have been plucked up by the roots, and
the fruit of which has withered. If you
have ever walked through large for.
est, you have discovered that there are
a great many different kinds of trees.
And these different kinds of trees sug-
gest the differences we see in men.
They may be said to represent charac-
ter.
There is the elder, for example. You
see it growing along the fences. 1t
looks like quite strong tree when it
grows large; but when you cut through
the trunk or stalk you find that it is
hollow. You would hardly want to
take it for cane and lean your weight
upon it if you were lame. 1t would be
very apt to break and give you a fall.
Now, men or boys who are not con-
trolled by principle are like these elder
trees. You can't depend upon them.
They are unreliable. They may look
well, but it will not do to trust them.
There is a hollow spot in their charac-
ter, like the hollow heart of the elder
tree.
Sometimes, when you 60 out for q
walks in the country, you come to a lit
tie stream of water; and along its banks
you find perhaps a great many bushes
or trees with slender yellow twigs. We
call them willows. II you take one of
theRR twigs in your hand, even quite a
large one, you find that yields to your
slightest touch. You can bend and
twist it with perfect ease. And some
boys are like these willow twigs. They
are plant. They are easily turned
aside from the right path. They yield
to very slight temptation. It is hard
for them to say No! when sinners ep-
tice them, and to stand up for the truth
in the face Of opposition. We say of
such boys that they have no moral
strength, no backbone, They are like
willow twigs.
One variety Of the trees that line the
sidewalks in some of our cities is called
The ailanthus. It's native of China,
| believe, but has been transplanted
from its far-oif Eastern home into En-
gland and Scotland and America. Some
people admire it; but if the blossoms Of
,he ailanthus are as disagreeable to you
IS they are to me, you would rather 90
)ut of your way block or two than to
get the strong, sickening odor. Let me
ell you who these ailanthus trees in the
ime Of blossoms remind me Of. They
make me think of boys who have
ormed filthy and disgusting habits; of |
hose who dehle their mouths and soil
heir lips with the juice of tobacco, or
With strong drink; or who smoke poor
igars or dirty pipes until they become
to people who are neat and
lean; or who use foul and profane
words, the unmistakable index of bad
cart hope that no lad who reads
his will consent to become moral
ilanthus.
Then, away off in that Eastern world
rom which the ailanthus comes, there
rows another tree of which you have
Il read, of which you may have read
Ome things that are not true. 1t does
OF grow in China, but to the south of
J, in the Sunda and Philippine Isl
nds 1t is called the upas-tree, Upas
the Malay word for poison, From
10 juice OF this tree the Malays pre-
are q poison in which they dip the
Oints OF their arrows. A wound inflict-
/ by one of these poisoned arrows is
enerally fatal,
The story of a poison valley in tho
land of Java, into which it is danger
rs to venture because Of the odor Of
10 upas-tree, is mere fable, There
narrow valley in Java in which
either animal nor vegetable life can
ibsist; but this is owing to great guam
ties of oarbonic acid gas constantly
eaping from the earth, the presence
which is as fatal to the upas-tree as
any other. The real upas, with its S
lisonous juice, may be said to repre- 1
mt evil men and bad boys, whose in S
ience is hurtful and poisonous, Sol 9
non warns us against them in the {
)ok of Proverbs. He says: "Walk {
IT thou in the way with them. Refrain t
y foot from their path" We ought /
avoid them as we would the upas- I
eos If they really gave out poisonous L
id deadly odor, 4
But there are other trees which rep. I
sent characters Of a nobler sort. / Q
ant to speak Of two or three Of these, s
Did you ever sail up the Hudson in b
G day timeP If so you may have no S
ed, at many points, a dark evergreen f
be with q handsome, oone-shaped top, t
is commonly called the cedar,
ough believe its right name is the
Now these fir trees often grow in d
listers, sometimes many acres in ex- p
ut, And one popularity that they n
We is that of growing on rough and \
cky ledges where there is very little t
i. One would think that the barren Il
ss of many Of these places would dis !,
urage any tree. But it is just here /