The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-07-01
Belisious dflistellanp.
Faith and FOOlishness.

selves exceedingly wise, and who look
upon Christians as very credulous and
foolish. 1t would take very credulous
saint to be match for some business
men. We heard, the other day, of
man who, through long life of labor,
and care, and money-getting, had
bought, and built, and accumulated,
until he owned property of various
kinds amounting to more than hun
dred thousand dollars. One day he
heard of certain mine, which prom
ised great returns. He went to see the
managers, and desired to purchase an
interest in the mine. They told him
that there was but very little stock to
be had, it was in such great demand,
but they could furnish him few shares
if he desired. He bought it and went
his way. Not long after he came
around for his dividend, and received a
dividend of fifty per cent-half his
money back again. This awakened
fresh interest in his mind. He said
If there is stock which will pay
such dividends as that, want more of
it." The managers told him that it
was difficult to obtain, but just at that
particular time some one, who needed
to realize on his stock, had placed some
of it in the New York Office for sale,
and they could probably get him what
he wanted. He Immediately went
home, mortgaged all his property as
high as it would bear, raised about a
hundred thousand dollars, and put it
all into his wonderful mining stock.
OF course he was interested in his prop
erty; and so one time he took it in his
head that he would 90 and see the
mine for himself. He made inquiries
at the office, and the officials discour-
journey for an elderly man, and it was
hardly judicious to undertake it. But
he was bound to go, so they gave him
directions, and he started. He reached
the office of the company in the mining
regions, and made inquiries for the To-
cation of the mine. The agent there
laid before him the difficulties of the
way: it was long, tedious route, away
from railroads, and through the wilder
ness-a dangerous journey for man of
his age: but the man was willful and
declared that as he had come so far he
proposed to see the mine. Accordingly,
they managed to find him mule and a
guide and he started. He had rough
and somewhat tedious Journey. At
last they reached the place and found a
sort of hole in the ground; and that,
the guide said, was all the mine he
knew anything about. There was moth
ing to show for the money, there had
been no dividends, and there was moth
ing to declare dividends with, save the
money which had been gathered in
from credulous stock-buyers. The man
he wanted to see the men who had got
his money. He returned to the office
from which he set out and found it
closed; he returned to Boston and
found the office there closed he found
that the New York Office was closed
and every office of the company was
closed, and every scoundrel connected
with them had skipped: nobody knew
who they were, where they came from,
or whittier they had gone; and the only
thing the man was sure of was that
about hundred and twenty thousand
dollars of his hard-earned money had
gone to the DEVILS children, and he, in
his old age, was poor man. And he
was only one of many victims. Men who
professed to be Christians and follow
ers of One who charged them to lay up
their treasures in heaven, and who babe
them lend to the poor, promising to re-
pay them in due time such men had
invested money in amounts almost as
large as in the case described, putting
their money into the hands of pack of
thieves and scoundrels-men of whom
n tn unt.ly
which they had never seen, and so
were swindled out of their wealth and
left to mourn their folly when it was
too late for remedy. If any man had
gone to these men and asked them for
ten thousand dollars to scatter truth
publish the gospel, and proclaim sal.
walton to dying world, they would
probably have been amazed at such a
request, and he would perhaps have re-
ceived five dollars, or perhaps returned
as empty-handed as he came. Possibly
they might have been willing to give
some small amounts to persons who
agreed with them in their opinions and
measures; but as for going about to
look over the work and see where they
could invest ten, twenty, or thirty thou
sand dollars in preaching the gospel
and saving souls, they would have nc
more thought of doing such a thing
than of making world But let gang
of miserable, palavering scoundrels
come around them making promises
which nobody could fulfill, and telling
absurd stories which only credulity
could swallow, and straightway down
goes the name for ten, twenty, or fifty
thousand dollars, and away goes the
money to be spent in riotous living by
the villains who have managed to cap
ture it. And so while rich men waste
their tens of thousands, the work of God
is pushed forward by the widows mites
by shillings earned by old ladies with
their knitting-needles, and by the self
sacrificing toll of those who 60 forth
taking nothing of the Gentiles and pro-
claiming the gospel to dying world.
Thus it has ever been, thus it doubt
less ever will be, and so, when the final
reckoning is made up, it will be seen
that {" God has chosen the poor of this
world, rich in faith and heirs of the
kingdom" and that his work is mostly
carried on through their instrument
tality.-The Christian.
Conditions OF Successful Prayer.