Sharp County record., 1888-09-27

straight into yours, tney VIII say oh
eve have come to take you holne' Oh
son of many anXteties" -L
At last that young man turns, through
the consecutive influence OF plouS par
entage, who out of prayers ana nuellttIS .35o
innumerable made a chain Inat Is INC
chain flat pulls nightly this morning Oh
five hundred of you. You may O7 'oo
proud to shed tear and you may, u
convince others ofyour imperturOaOllilN
smile TO your friend beside YOU out
there is not so much power in an Alpine
avalanche after 1t has slipped Tor one
thousand feet, and, after having stuck
a lower cliff is taking its second Oounu
for fifteen hundred feet mora OF d
rIunge, as there is power in the chaln
that pulls you this moment toward G%ou %
and Christ and Heaven. Oh, the aImlghVy
pull of the long chain OF early gracious
influences,
But all people between thirty and forty
wears of age, ves between forty and ntty
ave, between fifty and sixty years, ana
all septuagenarians as well, need sur
rounding conjunction of good Influences
In Sing Sing, Auburn, Moyamenslng anu
all other great prisons are men ana Wonl-
en- who went wrong in mld-alr ana GU
age. We need around us a Gordon OF goou
influences. We forget to apply the WELL
known rule that a chain is no stronger
than its weakest link. If the CHAIN DC
made up of a thousand links ana nine
hundred and ninety nine are strong, DuI
one is weak, the chain may be IN danger
of breaking at tnat one weak INK t
may be strong in thousand eXcelenceS
and vet have one weakness which enuau- :
GERS us. That is the reason that we some-
times see men distinguished for a whole
round of virtues collapse aud 60 down.
The weak link in the otherwise stout
chain gave way under the pressure
The first chain bridge was built in Scot
land. Walter Scott tells how the trencn
initiated it in q bridge across the River
Seine. But there was one weak point IN
that chain bridge. There was a middle
bolt of poor material, but they dlu not
know how much depended on that middle
bolt of the chain bridge. On the opening
dav q procession started, led by the
builder of the bridge, and, when the
mighty weight of the procession was
fairly on it, the bridge broke and preclp-
itated the multitudes The bridge was all
right except in that middle bolt. 50 the
bridge of character may be made up OF
mighty links, strong enough to hoId a
mountain; but if there be one weak spot
that one point unlocked after, may be
the destruction of every thing. And what
multitudes have gone down tor all time
and all eternity because in the chain
bridge of their character there was lack
ing a strong middle bolt. He had but one
fault and that was avarice; hence, for
gery He had but one fault and that was
a burning thirst for intoXicants; hence,
his fatal debauch. She had but one fault
and that was an inordinate fondness for
dress, and hence her own and her hus-
bands bankruptcy She had but one
fault and that was quick temper; hence,
the disgraceful outburst. What we all
want is to have put around us strong
chain of good influences. Christian asso-
citation is a link. Good literature is a
link. Church membership is link.
Habit of prayer is link. Faith in God
is a link Put together all these infu-
ences Make a chain.
Most excellent it is for us to get into
company better than ourselves, If we are
given to telling vile stories let us put
ourselves 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 If we are given to
tittle-tattle let us put ourselves among
those who speak no i'll Of their neighbOrs.
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. People 60 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 alti-
tudes of high moral association, Fol-
many of the circumstances of our life we
are not responsible; for the place Of our
nativity, not respOnsible; for our
features, our stature, our color, not re-
sponsible; for the family relations in
which we were born, for our natural tastes,
for our mental character, not response
BILE. But we are responsible for the as
sociates that we choose and the moral
influences under which we put ourselves.
Character seeks an equilibrium. A B is
a good man. Y z is a bad man. Let
them now voluntarily choose each others
society. A will lose a part Of his good.
ness and Y z a part Of his badness, and
they will gradually approach each other
in character, and will finally stand on the
same level. One of the old painters re.
fused to look at poor pictures because he
said it damaged his style. A musician
can not afford to dwell among disCords,
nor can a writer afford to pursue books
Of inferior STYLE nor an architect walk
out among diSprOportioned structures
And no man or woman was ever 50 good
as to be able to afford to choose evil as =
sociates, Therefore said, have it a rule
of your life to 90 among those better than
yourselves. Can not find them? Then
what pink Of perfection you must be
When was your character completed?
What misfortune for the sanity and
angelic Of Heaven that they are not en-
ioylng the improving Influence Of your
society. All, if you can not find those
better than yourself it is because you are
ignorant of yourself. Woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites
But as l remarked in the opening in
sacred and in all styles of literature, a
chain means not only adOrnment and
royalty Of nature, but sometimes captivi .
ty. And | suppose there are those in tha t
sense deliberately and persistently max
ing a chain. Now here is young man of