Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-01-30

collation. Is served o., cicI again into
the parlor to resume the weather, and
then at the close going at a very late
hour to the host and hostess and assur-
ing them that you have had most de-
lightfu1 evening, and then passing down
off the front steps, the Slam OF the door
| the only satisfaction of the evening.
CHOOSE THE BEST SOCIETY.
Oh, young man, come from the coun-
try to spend your days in city life, where
are you going to spend your evenings!
| Let me tell you, while there are many
| places of innocent worldly amusement,
| it is most wise for you to throw your
body, mind and soul into Christian socl-
ETY.. Come to me at the close of five
years and tell me what has been the re-
suit of this advice. Bring with you the
young man who refused to take the ad-
vice and who went into sinful amuse-
,ment. He will come dissipated, shabby
| in apparel, indisposed to look any one III
| the eyes, moral character 50 per cent.
off. You will come with principle set
| tied, countenance frank, habits good, soul
saved and all the. inhabitants of heaven,
| from the lowest angel up to the arch
| angel and clear past him to the Lord
| God Almighty your coadJutors.
This is not the advice of a misanthrope.
| There is 10 man in the house to whom
| the world is brighter than it is to me. It
| is not the advice Of a dyspeptic-my di-
| gestion is perfect; it is not the advice of
| a man who cannot understand q joke OF
who prefers a funeral; it is not the ad-
vice of a wornout man, but the advice
| of a man who can see this world in all
| its brightness, and, considering myself
| competent in Judging what is good
| cheer, l toll the mu1titudes of young men
| in this house this morning that there is
| nothing liz worldly association so grand
and. SO beautiful and so eXhilarant as in
| Christian society.
| I know there is a great deal of talk
| about the self denials of the Christian.
| have to tell you that where the Chris
| tan has one self denial the man Of the
| world has g. thousand self denials. Tie
| Christian is not commanded to surrender
| anything that is worth keeping. But
what does man deny himself who de-
MES himself the religion Of Christ. He
denies himself pardon of sin; he denies
| himself peace Of conscience; he denies
| himself the joy Of the Holy Ghost; he
| denies himself comfortable death pill
| low: he denies himself the glories of
| heaven. Do not talk to me about the
| self denials of the Christian life! Where
| there is one in the Christian life there
| are q thousand in the life Of the world.
Her ways are ways Of pleasantness.
Again, I find a great deal of religious
sunshine in Christian and divine expla-
nation. To a great many people life IS
an inexplicable tangle. Things turn out
| differently from what was supposed.
| There is q useless woman in perfect
| health. There is an industrious and
| consecrated woman complete invalid.
Explain that. There is bad man with
| $50. 900 of income. There is good man
| with $500 of income, Why is that?
There is a foe of society who lives on,
doing all the damage he can, to seventy
five years Of age, and here is q Christian
| father, faithful in every department Of
| life. at thirty-fve years taken away by
| DEATH his family left helpless. Explain
| that. Oh, there is no sentence that Of
tener drops from your lips than this: Il
cannot understand it. l cannot under
stand it.
THE JOYS OF RELIGION.
Well. now. religion comes in just at
that point with it's illumination and it's
explanation There is a business man
who has lost his entire fortune. The
| week before he lost his fortune there
were twenty carriages that stopped at
the door OF is mansion. The week after
he lost his fortune all the carriages you
could count Oh one finger. The week bc-
fore financial trouble began people al
took off their hats to him as he passed
down the street. The week his financial
prospects Were under discussion people
just touched their hats without anywise
bending the rim. The week that he was
pronounced insolvent people just jolted
their heads as they passed. not tipping
their hats at all, and the week the she II
sold Kim out all his friends were looking
in tie store windows as they went down
past him.
Now, while the world goes away from
| q man when he is in financial distress,
the religion of Christ comes to him and
says: You are sick and your sickness
is to be moral publication; you are be-
rcaved: God wanted in some way to
take your,famlly to heaven, and he must
begin somewhere, and SO he took the one
that was most beautiful and was most
ready to CO. l do not say that religion
explains everything in this life, but do
| say it lays down certain principles which
are grandly consolatory. You know
business men often telegraph in ciphers.
The merchant in San Francisco tele-
graphs to the merchant in New York
certain information in ciphers which no
other man in that line of business can
understand, but the merchant in San
Francisco has the key to the cipher, and
the merchant in New York has the key
to the cipher. and on that information
transmitted there are enterprises involv-
ing hundreds of thousands Of dollars.