New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-09-26
almighty pull Of the long chain of early gra.

But all people between 30 and 40 years Of
age, yes, between 40 and 5o-aye, between SO
and 6O years, and all septuagenarians as
Il Wen, need a surrounding conjunction of good
influences. In Sing Sing, Auburn, Moyamens-
ing, and all the other great prisons, are men
ana women who went wrong in midIife and
Old age. We need around us Gordon oil
good influences. We forgot to apply the
Well-knoWn rule that a chain is no stronger
| than Its weakest link. If the chain be made
up OF 1000 links and 900 are strong but
one IS weak, the chain will be in danger OF
breaking at that weak link We may be
strong in / 900 excellences and vet have one
weakness which endangers us. That is the
reason that we sometimes see men distin-
gulshed Tor whole round OF virtues collapse
and go down. The weak link in the otherwise
stout s11 chain gave way under the pressure.
The first chain bridge was built in Scot
Land. Walter Scott tells how the French
lImltated it in bridge across the River
SEINE. But there was one weak point in that
chain bridge. There was middle bolt that
was OF poor material, but they did not know
1 how much depended on the middle
bolt of the chain bridge On the
opening day a procession started,
led on by the builder of the
bridge; and, when the mighty weight of the
procession was fairly on it the bridge broke
and precipitated the multitudes. The bridge
was all right except in that middle bolt So
the bridge OF characteramay be made up of
mighty links strong enough to hold noun
tain; but if there be one weak spot, that one
point unlocked after may be the destruction
OF everything. And what multitudes have
gone down for all time and all eternity be-
cause in the chain of their character there
was lacking a strong middle bolt. He had
but one fault and that was avarice hence,
forgery. He had but one fault and that was
burning thirst for intoxicants; hence, his
| fatal debauch She had but one fault and
| that an inordinate fondness for DRESS and
hence her own and her husband S bankruptcy.
She had but one fault and that quick tenn
per- hence the disgraceful outburst. What
we all want is to have put around us strong
| chain OF good influences. Christian associa-
tion is a link. Good literature is a link.
Church membership is a link Habit of pray
er is link. Scripture research is a link.
! Faith in God is link Put together all
these influences. Make chain!
Most excellent is it for us to get into COM
pany bitter than ourselves. If we are given
to telling vile stories, let us put ourselves
among those who will not abide by such ut
| terance. If we are stingy, letus put ourselves
among the good-natured. If we are given to
tittle-tattle, let us put ourselves among
those who speak no i'll of their neigh
bors. If we are respondent, let us
put ourselves among those who make the
best of things. If evil is contagious, am
| glad to say that good is also catching. Peo-
pie go UP into the hill country for physical
health; SO if you would be strong in your soul
| get yourself up off the lowlands into the al
| tltudes OF high moral association. For many
| OF the circumstances OF our life we are not
| responsible For our parentage we are not
| responsible For the place of our nativity,
| not responsible for our features, our stature,
| our color, not responsible; for the family re-
| lation in which we were born, for our natural
tastes, for our mental character, not respon-
slble. But we are responsible for the asso-
ciates that we choose and the moral infuen-
ces under which we put ourselves. Character
seeks an equilibrium. A. B., is a good
man. w. is a bad man. Let them
now voluntarily choose each others
society. A. B. will lose part of his good
ness, and Y. q. part of his bad
ness, and they, will gradually APP
proach each other in character and
will finally stand on the same level. One of
the old painters refused to look at poor pict-
ures because he said it damaged his style. A
musician cannot afford to dwell among dis
cords nor can writer afford to persue books
OF inferior style, nor an architect walk out
among disproportioned structures. And no
man or woman was ever SO good as to be
able to afford to choose evil associations.
Therefore ] said, have it rule of your life to
go among those better than yourselves. Can
not find them? Then what a pink of perfec-
ton you must be! When was your charac-
ter completed? What misfortune for the
SANITY and angelic of heaven that they are
not enjoying the improving influences of
your society! All, ifyou cannot find those
better than yourself it is because you are
ignorant ofsyoursef. Woeun you, Scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites.
But, as | remarked in the opening, in sacred
and in all styles ofliterature chain means
not only adornment and royalty of allure,
but sometimes captivity. And I suppose
there are those in that sense deliberately and
persistently making a chain. Now here is a
young man of good physical health, good
manners and q, good education. How shall
he put together enough links to make a. chain
for the doWn-hill road? / will give him some
directions. First, let him smoke If he can
not stand cigars, let him try cigarettes. l
think cigarettes will help him on this road a
little more rapidly, because the doctors say
there is more poison in them, and so he will
be helped along faster, and have the more
confidence in proposing this because about
so of the first young men of Brooklyn DUR
ing the last year were, according to the
doctors reports, killed by cigarettes Let
him drink light wines frst or ale or lager,
and gradually he will be able to take some
thing stronger, and as all styles of strong
drink are more and more adulterated,
his progress will befacilitated With the old
time drinks man seldom got delerium
tremens before 80 or 40 years of age; now
he can get the madness by the time he is IS.
Let him play cards. enough money put up
always to add interest to the game. If the
father and mother will play with him that
will help by way of countenancing the habit.
And it will be such a pleasant thing to think
over in the day of Judgment when the pa
rents give account for the elevated manner
in which they have raised their children.
Every pleasant Sunday afternoon take.
carriage ride and stop at the hotels on either
side of the road for Sabbath refreshments.
Do not let the old foggy prejudices against,
Sabbath breaking dominate you. Have O
mem bership in some club where libertines go
and tell about their victorious sins, and
laugh as loud as any of them in derision of
those who belong to the same sex as your
sister and mother. Pitch your Bible over
board as old-fashioned and fit only for
women and children. Read all the maya
zine articles that put Christianity at
disadvantage and go to hear all lectures
that malign Christ, who, they say, instead of
being the Mighty One he pretended to be-,
was an imposter and the implanter ola great
delusion. Go, at first out of curiosity, to see
all the houses of dissipation and then go be-
cause you have felt the thrall of their fasci-
nation Getting along splendidly now!
mo 500 wi at fI1rthar oan T rrrroct IT,