The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-04-03

| christianity; but in the latter day Of
the worlds prosperity I think that the
Christian will be muscular. We have
a 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
I enterprises. But this class, like the
others that l have named, has in it
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 de-
mands of the public, or do work with
that promptness 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
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 single hammered, every brick
mortared, could tell of falsehood con.
nected 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 tho
undertakings within their own grasp.
| This is what they call nursing" the
| job.
How much wrong to his soul and in.
suit to God a 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 car
not always calculate correctly, and yor
may fail because you can not get tho
help that you anticipate. But now l
am speaking of the willful making oil
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 sps1ld neither be able to do it
yourself nor get ,s2y $ne else to do it?
| Then, before God and man you are a
| liar. You may say that it makes nc
particular difference, and that if you
| had told the truth you would have lost
the job, and that people expect to- be
disappointed. But that excuse will not
answer There is a voice of thunder
rolling among the drill, and planes, and
shoe-lasts, and shears, which says:
''All liars shall have their part in the
| lake that burneth with fire and brin4
stone"
next notice ecclesiastical lies; that
is, falsehoods 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 Cali
whist believes, for he will tell you that
the Calvinist believes that God made
some men just to damn them. There is
no need of asking pedo-Baptist what
a Baptist believes, for he will be apt t.
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 preiudicd or misrepresentation, to
state the sentiment of an imposing sect.
If man hates Presbyterians, and you
ask him what Presbyterians believe, he
will tell you that they believe that there
are infants in hell span long.
! Next 1 speak of social lies. This evil
makes much of society insincere. 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 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 a
shower of approval. They apologize
for their appearance, as though it were
unusual, when always at home they
| look Just so. They would make you
believe that some nice sketch on the
wall was the work of master painter.
| the walls of 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 a small income we must
make the world believe that we are
affiuent, and our life becomes a cheat,
a counterfeit. and a sham.
But to many through insincerity this
life is 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. Dancing feet respond
to dancing feet. Cleaning brow bends
to cleaning brow. On with the dance!
Flash and rustic and laughter, and inn
measurable merrymaking! But the Ian
guor of death comes over the limbs,
and blurs the sight. Lights lower!
| Floor hollow with sepulchral echo.
Music saddens into a wall. Lights
| lower! The maskers can hardly now be
IL Z