St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-02-09
Burdeue TO Young Men.

much good, if once i'll IA while you will
90 away by yourself for an hour or
two and get real well acquainted with
Yourself. Gas man tliinketh, so is
he" And YOU will never 'knOw thy
SELF thoroughly unless now and then
YOU get alone and sit down and talk
to Yourself, cross-eXamine yourself;
learn what YOU know what are your
ambitions, your aims, your hopes
what is your real character, because,
my dear boy, your reputation may be
one thing and your character quite
another. Sometimes 1T does happen,
in this faulty old world, that really
good man, "A man whose character Is
above reproach, may bear the reputa-
ton of a rascal, and once i'll while,
two or three times in while, III fact,
a rascal wears a stolen reputation OF
an honest man. Go away now and
then. my boy, and sit down all by
Yourself and think. Think of nothing
under the sun only yourself. Yes, |
know. my son, there are men who new
er think of any thing else, and God
never made more useless men but
that is because they do all their think
ing about themselves publicly and
aloud. They never think alone.
You will he honest with yourself
when Won are alone. my boy. \ man
is apt to be honest with himself in the
dark. He does not pose IN heroic
postures when he has no audience.
| When he stands face to face with him
| self. with no human eye to watch him,
and no human ear to listen to his con
| fession, and only his Maker, who
knows every secret motive and thought
of his life, to see and to listen, il man
has to be honest. How could he be Il
hypocrite then Why. my boy, |
sometimes think when the 1.-TWO men
went up into the temple to pray" the
Pharisee was partly led to pray as he
did because he prayed for Ln audience !;
to the congregation rather than to
God. He had his position in society
and in the synagogue to maintain, and
he wanted every man who heard that
PRAYER to know Just what kind OF il
man he was and how good he was
and so he told all the good things about
himself that he knew. 81 am not as
other men are-eXtOrtioncrS. unjust,
adultcrers, or even as this publican.
But the poor publican, standing afar
Otf''-ah, that was what made him hon
est he was away from the crowd ;
nobody could hear him he was alone
with God the Omnipotent and omnlS-
cient, who knew the secret heart of
the publican better than the poor man
knew it himself, and knowing this,
standing face to face with himself, he
had to be honest he saw aud he knew
how weak and faulty he was how
marred was all his life with bright
promises and poor, broken, incomplete
fulfillment, and as he faced himself
and realized how weak and faulty all
his life had been and was, he could
not and ''would not so much as lift up
his eyes unto heaven, but SmOte upon
his breast and from his penitent heart
and quivering lips broke the old pray
err: the cry for mercy that has welled
up from human hearts ever since, echo
ing the wailing cry of the poor man
who stood afar off: "GOd be merciful
to me, Il sinner"
Get away from the crowd Il little
while every day, my boy. Stand one
side and let the world run by, while
YOU get acquainted with yourself, and
see what kind of fellow you are.
Ask yourself hard questions about
yourself; find ont all you can about
yourself Ascertain from original
sources if you are really the manner
of man people say you are. Find out
! if you are always honest; if you al
} ways tell the square, perfect truth il
business deals if your life is as good
5 and upright at II o'clock at night as
it is at noon; if you are as sound {
| temperance man on Il fishing eXpedi'
ton as you are at IA Sunday-schoo
picnic if you are as good boy wher
= you 90 to Chicago as you are at home
if, in short, you really are the sort o
I young man your father hopes you are
, and your sweetheart believes you are
E Get on intimate terms with yourself
, my boy, and, believe me, every time
t you come out from one of those private
t interviews you will be a better, strong
4 er, purer, man. Don't forgot this
Telemachus, and it will do yOu good
a Il Burlington Hawkeye.