Connecticut western news., 1890-09-03
doctors, young artists, young farmers, how is it nowl The greatest crime that you can commit is the crime of success
 nLCISION OIN GIT AIl lvEEI4

you can commit Is the crime or success
 DECISION OF CHARACTER.
 Again, my subject impresses me with the value of decision of character in any department. Daniel knew that if he continued his adherence to the re- ligion of the Lord he would be hurled to tho lions, but having set his compass well he sailed right on,
 For the lack of that element of de- cision of character so eminent in Dan iel many men are ruined for this world, and ruined for the world to come A great many at forty years of age are not settled in any respect, because they have not been able to make up their mind. Perhaps they will go west Perhaps they will go east. Perhaps they will not Perhaps they will go north. Perhaps they may go south Perhaps they will not. Perhaps they may make that investment in real es- tate or in railroads. Perhaps they will not. They are like a steamer that should go out of New York harbor starting for Glasgow, and the next day should change for Havre de Grace, and the next for Charleston, and the next for Boston, and the next for Liverpool these men on the sea of life, everlast- ingly tacking ship and making no head way. Or they are like man who starts to build a house in the Corinth- ian style and changes it to Doric, and then completes it in the Ionic, and is cursed by all styles of architecture.
 START RIGHT AND KEEP ON.
 Young man, start right and keep on Have decision of character Charac- ter is like the goldfnch of Tonquin; it is magnificent while standing firm, but loses all it's beauty in flight. How much decision of character in order that these young men may be Christians! Their old associates make sarcastic filings at them. They go on excursions and they do not invite them. They prophecy that he will give out. They wonder if he is not getting wings. As he passes they grimace and wink and chuckle, and say, 'There goes saint"
 Oh, young man, have decision of char acter. You can afford in this matter of religion to be laughed at. What do you care for the scoffs of these men who are affronted because you will not go to ruin with them2 When the grave cracks open under their feet, and grim push them into it, and eter- nifty comes down hard upon their spirit, and conscience stings, and hope less ruin lifts them up to hurl them down, will they laugh then2
 learn also from my subject that men may take religion into thefr worldly business. Daniel had enough work to do to occupy six men. All tho affairs of state were in his hands questions of finance, questions of war, of peace, all international questions were for his settlement or adjustment. He must have had correspondence vast beyond all computation. There was not man in all the earth who had more to do than Daniel, the secre- tary of state and yet we find him three times Q day lowing before God in
  who have not a hundredth part of Daniels engagements who say they are too busy to be religious. They have an idea somehow that religion will spoil their worldly occupation, that it will trip the accountants pen, or dull the carpenters saw, or confuse the lawyers brief, or disarrange the merchants store shelf.
 EXPERIMENT RELIGION.
 They think religion is impertinent. They would like to have it very well seated beside them in church on the Sabbath, to find the place in the psalm book, or to nudge them awake when they get sleepy under the didactic dis course; or they would like to leave it in the pew on Sabbath evening, as they go out closing the door, saying, "Good night, religion; I'll be back next Sun- dayw But to have religion go right along by them all through life, to have religion looking over their shoulder when they are making a bargain, to have religion take up bag of dishonest gold and shake. it and say, "Ha! ha! where did you get thatW-they think that is an impertinent religion. They would like to have religion to help them when they are sick, and when the shadow of death comes over them they would like to have religion as 8 sort of night key with which to open the door of heaven; but religion under other cir cumstances they take to be an imperti- hence. Now, my friends, religion never robbed a man of a dollar Other things being equal, a mason will build bet ter wall, cabinet maker will make a better chair, plumber will make a better pipe, a lawyer will make better plea, @ merchant will sell better bill of goods.
 I say other things being equal. Of course when religion gives a man a new heart it does not propose to give him a new head, or to intellectuaize him, or to change mans condition when his ordinary state is an overthrow of the philosophical theory that total vacu- um is impossible; but the more letters you have to write, the more burdens you have to carry, the more miles you have to travel, the more burdens you have to lift, the more engagements you have to meet, the more disputes you have to settle, the more opportunity you have of being Christian.
 THE BUSIEST MEN THE BEST MEN.
 If you havea thousand irons in the fire, you have thousand more oppor- tunities of serving God than if you had only one iron in the fire. Who so busy as Christi And yet who mill ionth part as holya The busiest men the best men. All the persons convert ed in Scripture busy at the time o1 their baino oonuortod Nfoftho1u o&,