The Penn's Grove record., 1894-10-05

AShtS a hAAhS "a w.
Of Deaths lips bubbles up In the champaign.
I am told that in some ofthe cities there are
parents who have actually given up HOUSE,
keeping and gone to boarding that they may
give their time illimitably to social dtssipa-
lions. / have known such cases.. l have
known family after family blasted In that
| way in n of the other cities Were l
preached. Father and mother turning their
backs upon all quiet culture and all the
amenities of home, leading forth
their entire family in tia wrong dires-
ton. Annihllated worse than annlhilatej,
for there are some things worse tEan ami.
n~ilation. l give you the history OF more
than one family when I say they went on in
the designations OF social life until the father
dropped into a lower style OF dissipation,
and after awhile the son was tossed out into
society n nonsntity, AMI after awhile the
daughter eloped with \ French dancing mis-.
ter, and after awhile the mother, getting on
further and further In years, tries TO hide
the wrinkles, but falls In the attempt, trying
al the arts OF the belle-an old htrt. a poor,
miserable butterfly without n wings.
II there Is anything on earth beautiful to
me, 1t is an aged woman, her white locks
lowing back over the wrinkled brow-locks
not white with frost, as the poets say, but
white with the blossoms Of the tree OF life,
In her voice the tenderness Of gracious
u6ulOEit5, ucE lhC6 u Dbu6ulCtiOu. AS REhuu-
mother passes through the room the grand
children pull at her dress, and she almost
falls In her weakness, but she has nothing
but candy or cake or q kind wori for the
little darlings. When she gets out OF the
wagon in front Of the house, the whole
family rush out and cry, "Grandma's
comet" And when she goes away from us.
never to return, there Is a shadow on tina
table, and a shadow on the hearth, and a
shadow on the heart.
There is no more touching scene on earth
han when grandmother sleeps the last slum-
Der and the little child is lifted up to the
casket to give the last kiss, and she says,
"Goodby, gran ma" Oh, there is beauty
in old age. Gol says so. "The hoary head
decline to get old? The bes. things, the
greatest things, 1 know of are aged-ol6
mountains, old seas. old stars and old eterni-
ty. But If there is ANYTHING distressfnl 1t Is
to see an Old wonsn ashamed OF the fact
that she is old. WHAT with all the artificial
appliances she is too mu,h for my gravity.
l laugh even in church when / see her COM
ing. The worst looking bird On earth is a
peacock when 1t has lost its feathers. I
would not give one lock of my old mothers
gray hair for SO, 900 such caricatures of hu-
manity. AMI If the life of a wording, II
the life OF a disciple given to the world, is
sad the close ofsuch a lifeis simply tragedy.
Let metell you that the designations ofsoc!al
life are despoiling the usefulness OF a vast
multitude OF people. What do those people
care about the fact that there are whole ma
tions in sorrow and suffering and agony
when they lave for consideration the more
important question about the size Of a glove
or the tie OF a cravate? Which one OF them
ever bound up the wounds of the hosplfalf
Which n OF them ever went out to care for
the poor? Which of them do you find in the
baunts OF sin distributing tracts2 They live
on themselves, and 1t is very poor pasture.
Sy3aris was a great city, and 1t once sent
out 800 horsemen in battle. They had a
minstrel who had taught the horses of the
army a great trick, and when the old min
strel played a certain tune the horses would
rear and with their front feet seemed to best
time to the music. Well, the Old minstrel
was offended with his country, AMI he went
over to the enemy, n he said to the enemy,
''You give me the mastership OF the army,
and I will destroy their troops when those
horsemen come from Sy5aris."
So they gave the old ministrelthe manage
ment, and he taught all the other Ilinstrels
a certain tune. Then when the cavalry
troop came up the old minstrel and all the
other minstrels played a certain tune, and
at the most critical moment In the battle,
when the horsemen wanted to rush to the
conflict, the horses reared n beat time to
the music with their fore feet. and in dis
grace and rout the enemy fed. Alb, my
friends, I have seen 1t again and again-the
minstrels of pleasure, the minstrels Of dissi-
patton, the minstrels Ct goddess association
have defeated people In the hard
est fight Of life! Frlvolity has
lost the battle for 10000 folk.
oh, what a belittling process to the:human
mind this everlasting question about dress.
this discussion of fashionable infinitesimals,
this group, looking askance at che glass,
wondering with an inflnity of earnestness
how that last geranium leaf does look, this
shriveling Of mans moral dignity until 1t is
not observable to tho naked eye, this Span
ish inquisition of a tight shoe. this binding
up OF an immortal soul In a rufle, this pitch
ing of o. an immortal nature over the rocks
when Goi created 1t for great and everlast-
ing upliitingi
With many life Is q masquerade ball, and
as at such entertainments gentlemen and
ladies put on the garb of kings and queens
! or mountebanks or clowns, and at the close
put of the disguise, SO q great many pass
their whole life in a mask, taking of the
mask at death. While the masquerade ball
of life goes on they trip merrily over the
floor, gsmmel hand Is stretched to the
gemmed hand, and cleaning brow bends to
cleaning brow. On with the dance Flush
and rustic AM laughter Of Unreasonable
merrymaking!
| But after awhile the languor OF death
comes on the limbs and blurs the eyesight.
Lights lower. Floor hollow with sepulchral
echo. Music saddened into a wall. Lights
lower. Now the maskers are only seen in
the dim light. Now the fragrance OF the
flowers is like the sickening odor that comes
from garlands that havs lain long In the
vaults Of cemeteries. Lights lower. Mlsts
gather In the room. Glasses shake as though
quaked by sullen thunder. Sigh caught in
the curtain. Scarf drops from the shoulder
Of beauty shroud! Lights lower. Over
the slippery boards In dance of death glides
jealousies, envies, revenges, lust, despair
and death. Stencil the lamp wlcks almost
e~xtinguished. Torn garments will not half
cover the liberated feet. Choking damps.
Chilliness. Feet still. Hands closed. Voices
hushed. Eyes shut. Lights out.
oh, how many ofyou have fioated far away
from God through social designations, and 1t
is time you turned, for / remember that
there weretwo vessels On the sea in a storm.
1t was very, very dark, and the two vessels
were going straight for each other, and the
captains knew it not. But after awhile the
man on the lookout saw the approaching
ship, and he shouted, lizard a-larboard +
aud from the other vessel the cry went up,
.'Hard a-larboardr T. and they turned Just
enough to glance by and passed In safety to
their harbors. Some of you are in the storm
of temptation, and you are driving IN and
coming toward fearful collisions unless you
change your course. Hard a~-larboardl Turn
We, turn We, for "why will ye die, o house
o. Israeli"
A dollars worth OF steel worked
up into watch springs is worth $50
mn