The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-10-18

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:
"We have come to take you home, oh
son Of many anxietiesw
At last that young man turns, through
the consecutive influence Of pious par
entage, who out of prayers and facilities
innumerable made chain. That is the
chain that pulls nightly this morning on
five hundred of you. You may be too
proud to shed tear, and you may, to
convince others of your imperturbability,
smile to your friend beside you, but
there is not so much power in an Alpine
avalanche after 1t has slipped for one
thousand feet, and, after having stuck
lower cliff is taking its second bound
for fifteen hundred feet more of q
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 fifty
AYE, between fifty and sixty years, and
all septuagenarians as we'll, need a sur
rounding conjunction of good influences.
In Sing Sing, Auburn. Moyamensing and
all other great prisons are men and wom-
en- who went wrong in mid air and old
age. We need around US Gordon Of good
influences. We forget to apply the WE'LL
known rule that q chain is no stronger
than Its weakest link. If the chain be
made up of a thousand links and nine
hundred and ninety mine are strong, but
one is weak, the chain may be in danger
OF breaking at that one weak link. We
may be strong in thousand excelences
and yet have one weakness which endan-
gers US. That is the reason that we some
times see men distinguished for 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 Scot
land. Walter Scott tells how the French
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 did not
know how much depended on that middle
bolt of the chain bridge. On the opening
day 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 precip-
itated the multitudes. The bridge was all
right except in that middle bolt So the
bridge of character may be made up of
mighty links, strong enough to hold
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 for all time
and all eternity because in the chain
bridge Of their character there was lack
ing strong middle bolt He had but one
fault and that was avarice; hence, for
gerry. He had but one fault and that was
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 o strong
chain OF good influences. Christian assoc
citation is a link. Good literature is 6.
link. Church membership is link.
Habit OF prayer is a link. Faith in God
is link. Put together all these infiu-
ences. Make q chat n.
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. 1t we are stingy let us
put ourselves among the charitable. If
we are morose let us put ourselves among
the good-natured. If we are given to
little -tattle let us put ourselves among
those who speak no i'll of their neighbors.
Ii we are Respondent 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 60 up into
the hill country for physical health; so,
II you would be strong in your soul, get
yourself up off the lowlands into the alti-
tudes of high moral association. For
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
bic. But we are responsible for the as
soc1ates that we choose and the moral
influences under which we put ourselves,
Character seeks an equilibrium. Abs
a good man. Y q is a bad man. Let
them now voluntarily choose each others
society. A B will lose part of his good
ness and 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 writer afford to pursue books
OF inferior style, nor an architect walk
out among proportioned structures.
And no man or woman was ever SO good
as to be able to afford to choose evil as
sociates. Therefore said, have it a rule
OF your life to go 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-.
Joylng the improving influence of your
society. An, 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 remarked in the opening. in
sacred and in all styles of literature. a
chain means not only adornment and
royalty OF nature, but sometimes captiyi-
ty And ! suppose there are those in that
sense deliberately and persistently max
ing chain. Now here is a young man of
good physical health, good manners and
good education How shall ba 800 -