Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-11-01

eternal, for those who go into the dis
sipations of social life, designations
which have already spoiled thousands
OF young men and young women of all
that is noble in character and useful in
life.
Dancing is the graceful motion of
the body adjusted by art to the sound
and measures of musical instruments or
of the human voice. All nations have
danced. The ancients thought that
Castor and Pollux taught the art to the
Lacedemonians. But whoever started
it, all chimes have adopted it. In an
cient times they had the festal dance,
the military dance, the mediatorial
dance, the bacchanalian dance and
/ queens and lords swayed to and iro in
the gardens, and the rough bacbwoods-
man with his exercise awakened the
echo Of the forest. There is something
IN the sound of lively music to evoke
the movement OF the hand and foot,
whether cultured or uncultured Pass
ing down the street we unconsciously
keep step to the sound of the brass
band, while the Christian in church
with his foot beats time while his soul
rises upon some great harmony. While
/ this IS so in civilized lands, the red men
/ OF the forest have their scalp dances.
/ their green-corn dances, their war
/ dances. In ancient times the exer-
/ else was so utterly and completely
/ depraved that the church anathe-
matized it, The old Christian
| fathers expressed themselves most
vehemently against ii. St. Chrysostom
says: THE feet were not given for
dancing but to walk modestly, not to
leap imprudently like camels." One of
the dogmas of the ancient church reads:
"A dance is the devils possession, and
he that entereth into dance entereth
into his possession. As many PAGES as
man makes in dancing, so many PAGES
does he make to hell" Elsewhere the
old dogmas declared this; THE woman
that singeth in the dance is the princess
of the devil, and those that answer are
her clerks, and the beholders are his
friends, and the music is his bellows,
and the fiddlers are the ministers OF
the devil. For as when hogs are
strayed, if the hogsherd call one all as
semble together, so when the devil
calleth one woman tossing in the dance.
or to play on some musical instruments.
presently all the dancers gather to-
gether.7 This indiscriminate and uni
versal denunciation of the exercise
came from the fact that it was utterly
and completely depraved.
But we are not to discuss the Gus
toms of the olden times, but customs
now. We are not to take the evidence
of the ancient fathers, but our own
conscience. enlightened by the word of
God, is to be standard. o, bring no
harsh criticism upon the young ]
would not drive out from their soul the
hilarities of ife. | do not believe that
the inhabitants Of ancient Wales when
they stepped To the sound OF the rustic |
harp went down to ruin. / believe |
God intended the young people to laugh |
and romp ana play. / do not believe |
God would have put exuberanee in the
soul and exuberance in the body If He |
had not intended they should in some /
wise exercise it and demonstrate It. |
If a mother join hands with her chill /
dren and cross the floor to the sound of /
music. see no harm. If group OF /
friends cross and recross the room to
the sound Of piano well played. l see
no har.n II company, all of whom
are known to host and hostess as rep
utable, cross and recross the room TO
the sound of musical instrument, | see
no harm. | tried for long while TO see
harm in it. could not see any harm
in it. never shall see any harm
in that. Our men need to be kept
young, young for many years longer
than they are kept young. Never since
my boyhood days have had more SYM
pathy with the innocent hilarities of
life than have now. What though we
have felt heavy burdens! What though
we have had to endure hard knocks.
Is that any reason why we should stand
in the way of those who, unstung of
LIES misfortunes, are full of exhilara-
ton and glee? God bless the young!
They will have to wait many a long
year before they hear me say anything
that would depress their ardor or clip
their wings or make them believe that
life is hard and cold and repulsive. II
is not tell them. judging from my
own experience. that they will be
treated a great deal better than they
deserve. We have no right to grudge
the innocent hilarities to the young.
As we go on in years let us remember
that we had our gleeful times; let us
be able to say: 1--WE had our good
times. let others have their good times
Let us willingly resign our place to
those who are coming after US. l will
give them everything-my
house, my books, my position in soci-
ETY., my heritage. After twenty, forty.
fifty years we have been drinking out
IF the cup OF this life, do not let rs be-
yrudge the passing of it that Others
nay take drink But while all this
IS so, we can have no sympathy with
sinful indulgences, and / am going to
speak in regard to some of them.
.hough l should tread on the long train
IF some popular vanities.