Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-06-15

right TO those of us who toll in the grand
industries Of church and state.
But the life business of pleasure seek
ing always makes in the end a criminal
or a sot. George Brummell was smiled
upon by all England, and his life was
given TO pleasure. He danced with
peeresses, n swung a round OF mirth,
and wealth, and applause, until exhausted
o. purse, and worn out OF body, ana
bankrupt of reputation, and ruined OF
soul, he begged a biscuit from a grocer
and declared that be thought a dogs life
was better than a mans.
Such men will crowd around your desk
or counter or work bench seek to decoy
you off. They will want you to break
out in the midst Of your busy day to take
a ride with them to Coney Island or to
Central park. They will tell you OF some
people you must see; of some excursion
that you must take; of some Sabbath day
that you ought to dishonor. They will
tell you Of exquisite wines that you must
take, Of costly operas that you must
hear; of wonderful dancers that you
must see; but before you accept their
convoy or their co~mpan;onship remember
that while at the end Of a useful life you
may be able to look back to kindnesses
done, to honorable work accomplished,
tn poverty helped, to a good name earned,
TO Christian influence exerted, to a Saw
| tours cause advanced-these pleasure
seekers on their death bed have nothing
! better to review than a torn playbill, a
ticket for the races, an empty tankard
and the cast out Kinds of a carousal; and
as in the delirium Of their awful death
they clutch the goblet and press 1t to
their lips, the dregs of the cup falling
upon their tongue will begin to hiss and
uncoil with the adders of an eternal poi
son.
Cast out these men from your com
pany. Do not be intimate with them.
Always be polite. There is no demand
that you ever sacrifice p%oliteness. A
young man accosted a Christian Quaker
with: "Old chap, how did you make
all our money!" The Quaker replied:
"By dealing in an article that thou may
est deal in If thou wilt-civility." Al.
ways be courteous, but at the same time
firm. Say no as if you meant it. Have
it understood in store, and shop, and
street, that you will not stand ia he com
p~anionship of the skeptic, the idle, the
pleasure seeker.
Rather than enter the companionehip
of such, accept the invitation TO q better
feast. The promises OF God are the
fruits. The harps of heaven are the
music. Clusters from the vineyards of
God have been pressed into the 'ankards.
The son and daughters Of the Lord AL
mighty are the guests. While, standing
at the banquet, to I'LL the cups and divide
the clusters and command the harps and
welcome the guests, is a daughter Of God
on whose brow are the blossoms Of para
disc, and in whose cheek is the flush of
celestial summer. Her name is Religion.
Her ways are ways Of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
Decide this soon, oh, young man, what
direction you will take. There comes
such a moment Of final decision why
not thisS One night | saw a young man
at the street corner evidently doubling as
I which direction he had better take,
his hat lifted high enough so you could
see he had an intelligent forehead, and
he had a stout chest and a robust devel-
opment. Splendid young man. Cultured
young man. Honored young a Why
did he stop there while 30 many were
going up and DOWN. The fact is, that
every man has a good angel and q bad
angel contending for the mastery OF his
spirit, and there was a good angel and a
bad angel struggling with that young
mans soul at the corner of the street.
Come with me-" said the good angel;
Il will take you home; / will spread my
wing over your pillow; ! will lovingly
escort you all through life under super
natural protection; 1 Will bless every
cup you dring out Of, every couch you
rest on, every doorway you enter; | will
consecrate your tears when you weep,
your sweat when you toll, and at the last
| will hand over your grave to the bright
angel of a Christian resurrection. In
answer TO your fathers petition and your
mother prayer, l have been sent OF the
Lord out of heaven to be your guardian
spirit. Come with me-" said the good
angel, in a voice Of unearthly symphony.
1t was music like that which drops from
q Lutte of heaven when a seraph breathes
On it. "No, no." said the bad angel,
come with me; 1 have something better
to offer; the wines ! pour are
from chalices Of bewitchipg Ca
rousal; the dance | lead is over floor
tessellated with unrestrained indulgences;
there is ne God to frown on the temples
of sin where l worship. The skies are
Italian. The paths ! tread are through
meadows, dajsied and primrosed. Come
with me-" The young man hesitated at
q time when hesitation was ruin, and the
bad angel smote the good angel until it
departed, spreading wings through the
starlight upward and away, until a door
flashed open in the sky and forever the
wings vanished. That was the turning
point in that young mans history; for,
the good angel flown. he hesitated no
longer, out started on a pathway which
is beautiful a., TIE opening, bat blasted st
the last. The bad angel, leading the way,
opened gate after gate, and at each gate
the road became rougber and the sky
more lurld, and what was peculiar, as
the gate slammed shut it came 10 with a
jar that indicated that it would never
open. Passed each portal, there was a
grinding Of locks and a showing Of bolts;
and the scenery on either side the road
changed from gardens to deserts, and the
June air became a cutting December
blast, and the bright wings Of the bad
angel turned to sack cloth, and the eyes
of light became hollow with hopeless
grief, and the fountains, that at the start
had tossed with wine, poured forth
bubbling tears and foamipg blood, and
on the right side the road there was
a serpent, and the man said to the bad
angel: "What is that serpent?' and
thn apsuar u,sa. oThat ia the eprDent