Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1888-09-23

=
we rocked you, by the grass grown
graves in the old country churchyard,
by the heaven where we hope yet to
meet you. go homel Go home, my boy,
go home" And some Sunday you will
be surprised TO find that young man sud,
denly asking for the prayers of the
church. Some Ennday you will see him
at the sacramess and perhaps drinking
from tho same kind of chalice that the
old folks drank out Of years ago
when they commemorated the suf-
ferings Of the Lord. Yes. my lad, you
do not have such fun in sin as YOU seem
TO have. know what spoils your fun.
You cannot shake off the influences of
those prayers long ago offered, or of
those kind admonitions. You cannot
make them go away, and you feel like
saying: Father, what are you doing
hereI Mother, why do you bother me
with suggestions Of those olden times."
But they will not go away. They will
push you back from your evil paths,
though they have TO come down from
their shining homes in heaven and stand
in the very gates Of he'll, and their backs
scorched Of the fiery blast, and with their
hand on your shoulder, and their breath
on your brow, and their eyes looking
straight into yours, they will say: 1--WE
have come TO take you home, o,
son Of many anXieties!' At last
that young man turns through
the consecutive influences Of q pious
parentage, who out of prayers and tidel-
tiles innumerable, made a chain. That
is the chain that pulls nightly this
morning On five hundred of you. You
may be too proud TO shed a tear, and
you may. 10 convince Others of your i'm
perturbability, smile To your friend be-
side you, but there is not so much power
in an Alpine avalanche after il has
slipped for a thousand feet and having
struck lower cliff is taking its second
bound for fifteen hundred feet more of
plunge, as there is power in the chain
that pulls you this moment toward God
and Christ and heaven. OH the
almighty pull of the long chain Of early
gracious influences!
But all people between thirty and forty
years Of age, yes, between forty and
tifty-aye, between fifty and sixty years,
and all septuagenarians as well, need a
surrounding conjunction of good infu-
ences. In Sing Sing. Auburn, Moya-
mensing, and all the other great prisons,
are men and women who went wrong in
middle life and old age. We need around
US Gordon of good influence. We for
get to apply the well known rule that a
chain is no stronger than its weakest
link. II 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 one weak link. We
may be strons in thousand excellences
and yet have one weakness which en-
dangers us. That is the reason that we
sometimes see men distinguished for a
whole round of virtues. collapse and go
down. The weak link in the otherwise
stout chain gave way under the pressure.
The first chain bridge was built in
Scotland. Walter Scott tells how the
French initiated it in a bridge across the
river Seine. Bnt there was one weak
point in that chain bridge. There was a
middle bolt that was Of poor material,
but they did not know how much de-
pended on that middle bolt Of the chain
bridge. On the opening day a process
sion started, led on 10y the builder Of the
bridge: and when the mighty weight oi
the procession was fairly on il the bridge
broke and precipitated the nlultitudes.
The bridge was all right except III that
middle holt. So the bridge of character
may bc made up Of mighty links strong
enough 10 hold a mountain; but if there
be one weak SPOT, that one point uH-
looked after may he the dCstruc-
ton Of everything. And what multi
tudes have gone down for all time and al
eternity because in the chain bridge Of
their character there was lacking Z strong
middle bolt. He had but one fault and
that was avarice: hence. forgery. He
had but ore fault and that was a burning
thirst for intoxicants; hence, his fatal
debauch. She had but one fault and
that an inordinate fondness Cor dress,
| and hence her own and her husband s
bankruptcy. She had but one fault aud
that quick temper; hence the disgrace
| full outburst. What we all want is TO
have put around US a strong chain Of
good influences. Christian association is
a link. Good literature is link. Church
membership is link. Habit Of prayer
is a 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
company better than ourselves. II we are
given to telling vile stories let us put our
selves among those who will not abide
such utterance. II we are stingy let us
put ourselves among the charitable. II
we are morose let us put ourselves among
| the good nntured. III we are given 70
tittle-tattle lei us put ourselves among
those who speak no i'll Of their neighbors.
II we are despondent let us put ourselves
among those who make the best Of things.
II evil is contagious, am glad to say that
good is also catching. People go up into
the hill country for physical health SC
If you would be strong In your
soul get yourself up of the low.
lands into the attitudes Of high mora
association. For many Of the, circum'
stances Of our life we are not responsible
For our parentage we are not responsible
For the place Of our nativity, not re
sponsible. for om features. our stature
our color. not responsible; for the famil,
relation in which we were horn, for ou