The Brookhaven leader., 1891-04-02

I
Christianity;" but in the latter day of
the worlds prosperity / think that the
| Christian will be muscular We have
right to expect of those stalwart
men of toll the highest possible
| integrity. Many of them answer
all our expectations and stand at
the front of religious and philanthropio
enterprises. But this class, like the
others that | have named, has in il
those who lack in the element of
veracity, They can not all be trusted.
In times which the demand for labor is
great, it is impossible to meet the dc.
mands of the public, or do work with
that promptncss and perfection that
would at other times be possible. But
there are mechanics whose word can
not be trusted at any time. No man has
a right to promise more work than he
can do. There are mechanics who say
| that they will come on Monday, but
they do not come until Wednesday. You
put work in their hands that they
| tell you shall be completed in ten days,
| but it is thirty. There have been houses
built, of which it might be said that
every nail driven, every foot of plaster
! ing put on, every yard of pipe laid,
every shingle hammered, every brick
mortared, could tell of falsehood con-
nectcd Herewith. There are men at
! tempting to do ten or fifteen pieces of
work who have not the time or strength
| to do more than five or six pieces but
| by promises never fulfilled keep all the
undertakings within their own grasp
! This is what they call nursing" tho
! job.
How much wrong to his soul and in
suit to God mechanic would save if he
promised only so much as he expected
to be able to do. Society has no right
| to ask of you impossibilities. You can
not always calculate correctly, and you
may fail because you can not get the
help that you anticipate. But now |
am speaking of the willful making Oi
promises that you know that you can
not keep. Did you say that that shoe
should be mended, that coat repaired,
those bricks laid, that harness sewed,
| that door grained, that spout fixed, or that
| window glazed by Saturday, knowing
that you would neither be able to do it
v
| Then, before God and man you are a
| liar. You may say that it makes no
particular difference, and that if you
had told the truth You would have lost
the job, and that people expect t" be
disappointed But that excuse will not
answer. There is voice of thunder
rolling among the drill, and planes, and
shOc-laSts, and shears, which says:
"All liars shall have their part in II O
lake that burneth with fire and brim-
stone"
next notice ecclesiastical lies; that
is falSchoodS told for the purpose of
advancing churches and sects, or for
the purpose of depicting them. There
is no use in asking many a Calvinist
what an Arminian believes, for he will
be apt to tell you that the Arminian be-
lieveS that man can convert himself;
or to ask the Arminian what the Cal
whist believes for how'll tell you that
the Calvinist believes that God made
some men just to damn them. There is
no need of asking p9do-Baptist what
a Baptist believes for he will be apt to
say that the Baptist believes that i'm
mersion to be positively necessary for
salvation. 1t is almost impossible for
one denomination of Christians, with
out prejudicd or misrepresentation, to
state the sentiment of an imposing sect.
If man hates Presbyterians, and you
ask him what Prcsbyterians believe, he
will tell you that they believe that there
are infants in hell span long.
Next I speak of social lies. This evil
makes much of society insinccrc. You
know not what to believe. When peo-
pie ask you to come you do not know
| whether or not they want you to come.
When they send their regards you do
not know whether it is an expression
of their heart or an external civility.
We have learned to take almost every,
thing at a discount. Word is sent, Not
at home," when they are only too lazy
to dress themselves. They say: The
furnace has just gone out" when in
truth they have had no fire in it all win
ter. They apologize for the unusual bar
renness of their table when they never
live any better. They decry their most
luxurious entertainments to win
shower of approval. They apologize
for their appearance, as though it were
unusual, when always at home they
look just 50. They would make you
believe that some nice sketch on the
wall was the work of a master painter.
at was an heirloom, and once hung on
the walls of a castle, and duke gave
it to their grandmother" When the
fact is that painting was made by a man
down east" and baked so as to make
it look old, and sold with others for ten
dollars a dozen. People who will lie
about nothing else will lie about a pict-
ure On small income we must
make the world believe that we are
affiuent, and our life becomes cheat,
a counterfeit, and sham.
But to many through insincerity this
life is a masquerade ball. AS, at such
entertainments, gentlemen and ladies
| appear in the dress of kings and queens,
mountain bandits or clowns, and at the
close of the dance throw off their dis
guises. so, in this dissipated life, all
unclean passions move in mask. Across
the floor they trip merrily. The lights
sparkle along the wall or drop
from the ceiling-a cohort of fire.
The music charms. The dia-
diamonds glitter. The feet bound.
Gemmed hands stretched out, clasped
gemmed hands. Dancing feet respond
to dancing feet. Cleaning brow bends
to cleaning brow. On with the dance.
| Flash and rustic and laughter, and i'm