News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-11-12
THoa EVIL INFLUENCES.
How Bad empany Stay. II. rbo..,nd
=. frouths Youths comp.Hioa.i

=. - we ioutns Compat1ion.J
Baa eomAny Stays its thousands: nos.
siory vs. mst confess that bad literature
sias grn .es OF thousands, as the more
~ s"IIt sTet and easiest means. but
. .no ~ e mss story of young mans I'm,
lin ena dates back quarter of q
e eenud Il wen very few bad books had
lo I'll arr nv way to the quiet town in
L hoi 'hiI wv England where the victim
Ia ns Ill .S, but where the influences
60, uos aghts, in more primitive
ioim' "eiethe same.
IN Tohn hbshom for the present we will
% CO.. 800 pasls, grew up in good habits,
,laraats i llanlly, cheerfuliy aiding his
P 81 GA ~ scoring for an honest liveli-
$500 IN ~ amending school ct least one
o. ronIS year, and church regularly.
III 49,, s mink there could have been
No. bo9e = ne surroundings of his coun-
Wy 90 ~ nislead his imagination, but
% ~ ~ - usy other ''safe and sheltered
Piaoe, .ne evils that breed discomfort
LIVING alficiently near to be almost
oaliy acqslntances were several men
ana po.sof loose morals, who were
ready to prrupt him with evil stories,
ana Pue iwless desires into his mind.
FROM neang their stories of sin, at
tirst wlthdislike, he became, before
ne 1airly ew to mans stature, an eager
listener.
These sociates poisoned his mind,
made hlndissatisfed with his home,
and filled m with useless ambitions.
Every Lie disappointment or priva-
ton or uneasant incident at home was
taken adhtage of by those pretended
friends toeaken his loyalty and natu-
raj affectas, and make him unhappy
and ungRful. Every occasion was
seized to fatuate him with notions of
his own sptness, and the possibilities
OF toShS ~ sSSsS..,
the res was what too commonly
follows wn boys listen to bad advisers
"a desirer adventure became ruling
passion. t the age of seventeen John
Davis railway.
1t mustve been a sort of insanity that
possessed m. What plan or plans the
youth haq his mind, no one can know.
1t was in lie dead of winter when he
secretly pked bundle of clothes, and
stole awaJne cold afternoon on snow
shoes. Tveling across the fields, he
escaped deviation, and fresh snow,
that was READY falling, covered his
tracks.
That ewing, at the supper-table, his
absence cited concern, and when it
was foundhat he had taken away his
clothes, Il concern deepened into real
alarm. 1ssengers were sent in every
direction make inquiries, and parties
searched e surrounding country, but
the wintepassed, and no hint came of
the younFman's whereabouts, or his
fate. WI he should have left, and in
such WI, a pleasant home, was the
wonder othe town-until it was fully
known wbtwicked influences had been
at work ipcn him.
Six motifs after his disappearance,
some huHers in piece of woods not
four mile from his fathers house, found
the disiohted bones of human skele-
ton. Sescling further, they picked
up snoy-shoe, a boot, jack-knife,
and someshfeds of clothing. The relics
were easily Identified. John Davis had
met his death there alone.
Pity tried in vain to hide the tragic
particulars from the stricken father and
mother. The cry of their hearts went
up like the vail of old; their son was
without doubt torn in pieces"
'He that valketh with wise men shall
De wise, butts companion of fools shall
De destroyed" Little foxes spoil the
lines" and i. is not great crimes alone,
'ut often the results of evil influences,
hat mislead the Imagination and ruin
he soul, and the ways of such in
luences ere often dark and mysterious.