Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-04
LET THEM WHISTLE.
Dr. Talmege DiscOurses on Famil-
 jar and Homely Themes.

It is a prevalent notion that propensity to whistle indicates an indOlent or trivial nature writes Rev. Dr. Talmage in the Chi cago Times. When we are indulgingin it by soliloQuy and some one meets we stop short, snapping the whistle in two, as though we had been doing something disreputable. There is nothing moro heaIthful than this exercise The fac ulty has been granted to those Of us who can not sing much. Though we might lose our way in a tune if we attempted the customary soprano or bass. we revel in the sounds which, without any skill, rush with the breath through the contracted lips. Grumblers seldom, if ever, whistle. The art is left only for the blithe and cheerful. Whether it is the whistle that makes the good cheer, or the good cheer that makes the whistle, we have now no time to analyZe. This kind of music is an inspiring accompaniment of work Let two masons be busy on the scaffolding, their strength alike, their hods and troWels alike, the one who whistles will better set the bricks and rear the truest wall. Do not rob us of any of our helps. What tho world wants is an augmentation of diver siOns and entertainments; not less skip and romp and curveting, but more. God has no objections to it or He would not fill the kitten with play and the lamb with frisk and the dog with facetiOus bark, and send the night wind around the gable with mouth full of whistle
 We know not why women with all their cares should be denied the exercise, and vet an ungallant rhyme has for ages for bidden it. Do tell us something that women may do! You do not want them to skate or lecture or preach or walk too fast or laugh very loud, and you finish your long list of prohibitions by saying:
 't tWhlstiing girls and growing hens
 Always come to some bad end"
 There are times in a WOman'S life when ! a psalm-tu tune does not seem particularly ap- propriate and a carol seems too formidable | to attack-the former is too grave and the latter too jubiIant-and nothing on earth is consonant with the circumstances but whistle That privilege shall not be denied if we have any thing to say about it.
 Soon after going on board steamer we noticed a little pewter instrument that hung to the boatsWains jacket On such sim pie thing you would not suppose man could make more than one or two sounds, but that little instrument can play hun dred tunes, and at it's call cables, cordage, rigging, sails, colors, boats and anchor re- spond, and the crew fly swiftly from hammock to capstan and from capstan to ratlin. After eight days of head wind we heard the boatswain's long, keen resounding whistle. It meant that the wind had changed and the sails must Go up. There was in that pewter whistle more music than in any harpWe have since heard and when it fell down again from the boatsWain's lips we rc-eXamined it to see where all that chirrup and glee of, sound and shrillness of blast could hide themselves. Thus we sail on in life, and sometimes in the teeth of a head wind, and it is tough navigation. Our whistle, dangling to our neck. seems of no use. Every thing is against us, but after awhile there is change in the moon, and the wind that was adverse wheels around and into our favor. Then we take up our whistle and, all hands on deck, the sails arise and the port looms up in the distance. If at such time we make more noise with our mouth than we ought to charge it to the boatswains whistle.
 So, also we would be less hard on all kinds of froliesomeness. For instance, haz- ing at college is to be reprehended, but it is no worse now than it has always been
 It seems that some time ago the students of college disarranged the store signs, in jured street lamps, sang discordant songs, and disturbed the village until a commit tee of the citizens waited upon the mayor, and large group of the young men were arrested taken before the authorities, threatened with the penitentiary, and their names telegraphed throughout the land. People say: ''What are our colleges coming toF' and "What generation of wayward young men are marching on to take possession of our institutions! If staid, orthodox, solid colleges do so, what may we expect of insti- tutions reckless and antiCalvinistic?" My friends, there is no cause of alarm; |; the boys arc doing just what their fathers and grandfathers did before them.
 As long as I can remember 1 was shown the place on the roof of the college building where one bright morning there were found load of wood and a mule attached to the load, all raised to that bad eminence by the sophomore class during the night-some of the men engaged in the achievement afterward Senators of the United States and doctors of divinity. I reprehend the
 young men who in Princeton put an under
 takers sign on an apothecary store, and l
 chide them to be more careful, while at the
 same time give it as my opinion that they t sometimes have overheard the recital in
 some minister's study, or lawyers office, of
 the college pranks in which their fathers
 and grandfathers participated. Boys will be
 boys-that is, boys that turn out good for
 any thing. While set myself against all
 youthful mischief, as every one must, and
 suggest that when these young men sing al ,s night as far as possible they confine them Q selves to church tunes and retire at ter