The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-08-13
AHaersat gutelttgeHter,
a ROARING LION.
A Story For Boys.

A Story For Boys.
Some of the boys who have read the
New Testament will remember the figure
ST.. Peter uses in his First Epistle Of "the
devil going about as roaring lion seek.
ing whom he may devour." Unless We
study the habits of lions and know some
of the ways in which they seek to catch
and destroy their psoy, We will fail to un.
deratand the full force of the apostles
figure of speech.
The s'going about" Of lions is not that
of great beast roaming over the fields
and through the woods, making a great
noise and soaring everybody out of their
wits, and being SO alarming generally
that every timid animal that is in danger
creeps into its hole or cave and lies
trembling until the fearful noise goes by.
Lions are far more clever and smart than
that. Did you ever see a cat steal up on
a bird or q mouse? How she creeps,
creeps stealthily, and avoiding any noise
until she is near enough to make a
spring, when, with swift bound, she
springs on the poor doomed creature and
1t is captured. Just SO lion does; for
he is nothing but a great big cat. he
even goes to the leeward side-that is
the side on which the wind blows totuard
the lion-so that no smell from his body
can be waited tovard the prey. In a
word, he takes every precaution he can to.
avoid giving an alarm and 80 putting the
prey on its guard.
It is said that one of the methods lions
rse to catch oxen is to wait until after
dark to make an attack. The oxen are
all tied for the night and the travellers all
asleep By the camp fire when theilions
arrange their plans. One big old, lion,
too old to do much fighting and running,
with shaggy name and o hoarse and
terrible voice, goes into the busheson the
windward side Of the camp and stands
still. He never makes au attack, but
only does the acting. Then number of
young, strong lions go on the opposite
side-on that side where the wind blows
to,uard them and away from the oxen
and hide in the bushes and keep as quiet
as mice. Then when all is ready the big
old lion shakes his name in the wind and
the smell. floats down on thewind toward
the camp of.the oxen; And the oxen sniff
the.smell in the air-for: they are keen to
scent danger-and :sSthey tare terribly
frightened, indeed, and try to break
away. Poor stupid thingsl They don't
know that theis only safety is in being
tied close to the camp and by the fire ;
and they tug and pull atitheir halter.
Now presently the old lion shakes his
name again and lifts up his voice with a
terrible roar, which 80 ytartles the poor
oxen that in their frantic struggles to es.
cape that danger they tug at their halters
until they break them,S and rush away
from theedanger, as they suppose, right
into the;jaws Of death. For there stand
the half dozen young strong lions, silent,
but hungry and cruel, and the oxen are
lost.
Poor oxenl The lions played trick
on them.
And just 80 this roaring lion devil'
plays tricks on people. He is not apt to
let you know what traps he sets for. you,
but he will try very hard, indeed, to
either frighten or persuade you to break
away from your halters.
What are these halters? The good
habits, the good lessons, the good every
thing which ties us to the right and true.
If he can only get us to break these he
thinks we will be an easy prey.
You remember how the lion shook his
name and roared, and yet he wasn't the
dangerous one? Well, sometimes I
think the lion devil does something like
that, too. He raises great uproar, and
tells people that they are having too
much preaching and too much Bible and
too much Sunday that their liberties
are being taken away by such things.
And he transposes himself into public
speaker-reformer he calls himself-and
goes roaming about and saying, "Don't
you all see you are getting tied hand and
foot by these preachers and Sunday
schools and Bibles and all that? You
are making slaves of yourselves"
All it is only to get the cattle scared,
SO that they will break the cords which
tie them to God and to religion and
truth. If he can only get them fright
ened and make them break away, they
will be meat for him very soon.
Cunning old lion devil! He knows
full we'll that the Sabbath and the Church
and the Bible are halters, SO to speak,
and that he can do little or nothing so
long as they are strong. So that when
you hear any one talking about liberty to
take away the Sabbath or the Bible from
the people, or loudly attacking the
Church, you may very we'll suspect that
this is that same old devil lion shaking
his name and roaring; and you may be
sure that the one you should most be in
dread of is hidden down out of sight,
quiet enough, but hungry for your soul.
Don't be afraid of the roaring lion so
much, and when you hear him roar look
out that he hasn't partner who is clay
ing low" for you.-Southern Murchn,an.