The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-03-26
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER,

they cry out who cares!" and to the
counsel of some Christian friend, "who
are your
Passing along the street some night,
you hear shrek In grog shop, the
rattle of the watchman's club, the rush
of the police What is the matter now
oh, this reckless young man has been
killed in grog shop fight, Garry him
home to his fathers house, Parents
will come down and wash his wounds
and close his eyes in death. They for
give him all he ever did, although he
cannot in his silence ask it. The prod.
igal has got home at last. Mother will
go to her little garden and get the
sweetest flowers and twist them into a
chaplet for the silent heart of the way
ward boy, and push back from the
bloated brow the long locks that were
once her pride. And the air will be
rent with the agony, The great drain.
atist says, Chow sharper than a ser
pent's tooth IL is to have thankless
child
LIFE is Reimbursement BUT RESI-.
1 go further, and say those are I'M
christian amusements which become
the chief business of mans life. Life
Is an earnest thing. Whether we were
born in palace or hovel, whether we
are affluent OF pinched, we have to
work. If you do not sweat with toll
you will sweat with disease. You have
soul that is to be TRANSPORTED amid
the pomp of Judgment day; and after
the sea has sung its last chant and the
mountain shall have come down in an
avalanche of rock, you will live and
think and act high on throne where
seraphs sing or deep in a dungeon
where demons howl. In q world where
there is so much to do for yourselves
and so much to do for Others, God pity
that man who has nothing to do.
Your sports are merely means to an
end. They are alterations and helps.
The arm of toll is the only arm strong
enough to bring up the bucket out of
the deep well of pleasure. Amusement
is only the bower where business and
philanthropy rest while on their way to
stirring achievements. Amusements
are merely the vines that grow about
the anvil of toll and the blossoming of
the hammers. Alas for the man who
spends his life in laboriously doing
nothing, his days in hunting up loung-
ing places and 1oungers, bis nights in
seeking out some gas lighted foolery
The man who always has on his sport
ing jacket, ready to hunt for game in
the mountain or fish in the brook, with
no time to pray or work or read, is not
SO well off as the greyhound that runs
by his side, or the fly bait with which
he whips the stream.
A man who does not work does not
know how to play If God had in
tended us to do nothing but laugh he
would not have given us shoulders with
which to lift, and hands with which to
work, and brains with which to think
The amusements of life are merely the
orchestra playing while the great trag
edy of life plunges through its five act
infancy, childhood, manhood, ole
age and death Then exit the las
earthly opportunity. Enter the over
whel1ning realities of an eternal world
go further, and say that all thos
amusements are wrong which lead int
bad company. If you go to any plac
where you have to associate with tn
incorporate, with the unciean, wit
the abandoned, however well they ma
be dressed, in the name of God quit
Tlrey VIII despon your nature. The
will undermine your moral characte ..
They will drop you when you are d.
stroyed. They will give not one CEN
to support your children when you al
dead. They will weep not one tear a.
your burial. They Will chuckIe ow,
YOUR damnation.
THE SOCIAL NATURE ATTACKED.
had friend at the west-a ra
friend. He was one of the first to w
come me to my new home. To fl
personal appearance he added a gem
osity, frankness and ardor of nature tt
made me love him like brother. But
saw evil people gathering around him.
They came up from the saloons, from
the gambling hells. They piled him
with a thousand arts. They seized upon
his social nature, and he could not
stand the charm. They drove him on
the rocks, like ship full winged shiv-
ering on the breakers. / used to ad-
monish him. l would say, Now
wish you would quit these bad habits
and become a Christian" ooh" he
would reply, 81 would like to, I would
like to; but l have gone so far / don't
think there is any way back" In his
moments of repentance he would go
home and take his little girl of years
and embrace her convulsively, and
cover her with adornments, and strew
around her pictures and toys, and
everything that could make her happy
and then, as though bounded by an
evil spirit, he would go out to the en-
flaming cup and the house of shame
like a fool to the correction of the
stocks.
| was summoned to his deathbed
fastened entered the room. found
him, to my surprise, lying in full every
day dress on the top of the couch.
put out my band. He grasped it ex
citedly and said, "Sit down, Mr.. Tai
mage, right there" sat down. He
said: Last night l saw my mother,
who has been dead twenty years, and
she sat just where you sit now. 1t was
no dream. | was wide awake There
was no delusion in the matter saw
her just as plainly as see you. Wife,
/ wish you would take these strings off
of me. There are strings spun al
around my body. | wish you would
take them off of me-" / saw it was
delirium. ''Oh," replied his wife
my dear, there is nothing there, there
is nothing there" He won't on and