Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-03

Judges salary in a sinrIe~ chandelier? Are you
not racing with yourself, and with everyday
else. to keep up appearances? Does not tDis
endeayor spoil your temper, deplete your purse
and kill your eniOyment7 Could anything "
more ridiculous? Was it more fatal 60 moras
and mannersf In the hurry and preoccupS
ton Of a great city, who cares whether you
Keep up Appearances? Why not live according
10 your condition and means? Is It r12nbo0
exhaust your time and money IN THIS soclAa
rivalry OF lace and brocade and g1ldlng anu
fresco. so that you cannot spare an hour ora
dollar for benevolence? Can you JUSTIFY tnls
hitting the pinnacles of your exuberant seinsn,
despair which surges around your L. easy
sei1-lndulgence the ''chief end" on
the modern man and woman?, was
Imy brothers keeper" Madam, does not the
social pace you are travelling at keep you hus-
pand chained like a galley slave to the oars OF
opportunity for the cultivation of his social
~nature-scarcely knows his own children-has
become almost a stranger to his own wife? Sir.
does not the condition of things in your homs
the extravagance-the meretricious at
mosphere-the apoplectic superhuity-the
theatrical glitter-fnd its warrant in your suf-
feranceI would II not conduce TO your COM
fort today, and your prosperity tomorrow, to
cry a halt along the tumultuous march3
Sir and madam, when you have answered
these questions, we will return to the social
catschism.
In America, everybody says that all men
are equal, and everybody is afraid they
will be.
True democracy is the social synonym Of
Christianity.
1t Is easy to find reasons why other folks
should be patient.
Heaven only knows what would become Of
speak i'll of; we should live, ike Egyptian
hermits, in crowded solitude.-George Eliot
How is it," asks Thackeray, on one of his
most characteristic pages, that the evil which
mon sav spraads co Ui6olu and 1aaf 81 long
while our good, kline words don't seem some
how to take root and bear blossoms? Certain
1t is that scandal is good brisk talk, whereas
praise of ones neighbor is by no means lively
hearing An acquaintance grilled, scored,
deviled, and served with mustard and cayenne
pepper. excites the appetite; whereas a slice Of
cold friend, with currant jelly, Is but a sickly,
unrelishing meat"
Truth is stranger than fction"-and it takes
some people a long time to feel athome with il
Your pastor is subject to frequent fits of
dependency. Of course he is. So much to
do-so few to dc it. So many who need as
sistance-the supplies so hard to come at,
and so difficult to dispense with equity. He
finds human nature in himself and in other
people so stubborn, so ~innately, so slvly selfish,
that he is driven to his knees a dozen times a
day. A team of archangels is insufficient to
the slough
There is no man who 81 much needs the
kindly consideration, the cordial cooperation,
the mistaken confidence of the parish. Love
your pastor. SympathiZe with him. Pray for
hin. Work at his side. And remember he is
but q man. If he were perfect, he would not
be the minister of your church,
1t is the wise remark of a popular writer,
who keeps his ears and eyes open, that this
is to be permanently a nation of cities. The
Atlantic slope is already urban. The day
is not far distant when the shores of the great
lakes and the valley of the Mississippi will
rival in the number and magnidcence Of their
cities the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates
when the civilization Of the East dazzled at the
zenith.
The SAINT author reminds us that already the
cities dictate to the towns and villages.
Through their pulpits, benevolent organiza-
tions and religious newspapers they originate
and express the convictions of the churches
Through their great dailies they dominate in
politics. Through their markets, importers,
banks, exchanges they dictate financially.
Through architecture they shape the farmers
house. Through horticulture and landscape
gardening they improve the appearance Of
every hamlet, and increase the value of
every farm. City views, customs, influence are
predominant.
Now, since this is so. it becomes essential to
school and guard morals and manners in the
great centers. If Christian civilization is to be
saved or lost there, the churches should initiate
Napoleon, Moltke, Grant, and concentrate
their choicest and heaviest batallions at the ex-
posed point and at the critical instant. Why,
the dDOSLleS aCIeu on LQlS JTuLQ-SQOWeQL lelE
superb ecclesiastical generalship. Peter and
Paul singled out the cities of their age and
sought to evangeliZe them. knowing that this
was the surest and speediest way to capture
the country.
Every honest dollar contributed and spent,
every gracious deed wrought in the name and
spirit Of the Nazarene, every sanity example
bequeathed, every wise plan matured and put
in operation in our cities, becomes a mis-
sionary, and journeys north, SOUTH, east, west,
on tireless errands of instruction and good
Ill H. ~
here to arouse the enthusiasm and inspire the
enterprise of Christiae people in the city.
Writing to the Ephesians, st. Paul ex-
horts them to 'give thanks always for all
things unto God" He should seem one or
the least likely Of men to say such a thing.
For he had it hard. He lived under the
frown Of his epoch, and died a martyr. Yet
this was no exceptional outburst, no thanks
Listen to him: Being reviled, we bless; being
prosecuted, we suffer it; being DETAINED, we en-
treat. We are troubled on every side, yet not
we are perplexed, yet not in de-
spaIr."
1t was not for a spirit of contentment with
the existing state of things that the apostle
He was not an optimist. He was a
revolutionist. No man ever more heartily
recognized the necessity of constant and palms.
taking effort. But ne cultivated the habit Of
looking on the hopeful side of life.
There are two sides to everything worse
side and a better side; a side of discipline and q
side of mercy. Neither should be ignored
But the chronic tendency of the race is to look
on the untowards side of human ex-
p~erience and to complain rather than give
thanks. Get out of the shadow. Get into the
sunshine. Live on a Southern exposure.
Sweeten toll with hope. Recognize your mer-
cies. Things are seldom so bad that they could
not be worse. Initiate the woman who, when
she fell down stairs and broke her arm, thanked
God il was not her neck.