Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-10-03

mad the festal dance. the military
dance, the mediatorial donca tha -
cnahallan dance, and queens and lord,
s"ayed to and fro in the gardens. and
Vne rough backwoodsman with this ex.
ercise awakened the echo of the forest
lhere Is something in the sound of live
~ music to evoke the movement of the
hand and foot, whether cultured or mn.
cultured, Passing down the street we
uiconsclously keep step to the sound of
the brass band, while the Christjan
III church with his foot beats tine
Whlle 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 wardances. In ancient
times the exercise was so utterly and
completely depraved that the church
mathematical it. The old Christian
fathers expressed themselves most vehe.
montly against it. St Chrysostom saws.
The feet were not given for dancing,
but to walk modestly; not to leap i'm
pudcntly, like camels" One of the
dogmas OF the ancient church reads:
a dance is the oevil's possession, and
he that entereth into dance eutereth
into his possession. AS many PAGES as a
man makes in dancing, so many PAGES
docs he make to hell " Elsewhere the
old dogmas declared this: "The woman
that singeth i'll 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 assemble to-
Bether, so when the devil calleth one
woman to sing in the dance, or to play
on some musical instruments, presently
all the dancers gather together. " This
and universal denuncia-
tion Of the exercise came from the fact
that 1t was utterly and completely de-
PRAYED.
The EVIL of 1t Today.
But we are not to discuss the customs
Of the olden times, but customs now.
We are not to take the evidence of the
ancient fathers, but our own conscience,
" the word of God, is to
be the standard. Oh, bring no harsh
upon the young! would not
1rive out from their soul the hilarities
If life. l do not believe that the inhab-
tants of ancient Wales, when they
stepped to the sound of the rustic harp,
vent down to ruin. believe God in
'ended the young people to laugh and
'omp and play. l do not believe God |
would have put exuberance in the soul |
md exuberance in the body if he had |
lot intended they should in some wise |
exercise it and demonstrate it. If
mother join hands with her children
md cross the floor to the sound of |
music, l see no harm. If q group of |
friends cross and recross the room to the |
ound of piano well played, l see no
,arm. If company, all of whom are
nown to host and hostess as reputable,
ross and recross the room to the sound
If musical instrument, see no harm. l
ried for long while to see harm in it.
could not see any harm in it. / never
shall see any harm in that. Our men
iced to be kept young-young for many
years longer than they are kept young.
Never since my boyhood days have /
lad more sympathy with the innocent
lilarities of life than I have now. What
hough we have felt heavy burdensl
What though we have had to endure
lard knocks! Is that any reason why
ve should stand in the way Of those
Who, unstung of life's misfortunes, are
ull of exhilaration and glee? God bless
he youngl They will have to wait
many long year before they hear me
ay anything that would depress their
rdor or clip their wings or make them
elieve that life is hard and cold and
epulsive. 1t is not. / tell them, judg.
lg from my own experience, that they
ill be treated great deal better than
hey deserve. We have no right to
rudge the innocent hilarities to the
Oung.
Death In Dissipation.
What are the dissipations OF social life
,day, and what are the designations Of
10 ballroom? In some cities and in some
aces reaching all the year rounds in
her places only in the summer time and
J the watering places. There are dissi- ,
atoms of social life that are cutting
cry wide swath with the sickle of
cath, and hundreds and thousands are
Ding down under these influences, and
~ subject in application is as wide as
The whirlpool Of social
is drawing down some of
ne brightest craft that ever sailed the
ea-thousands and tens Of thousands ,
( the bodies and souls annually con-
lmed in the confagration Of ribbons {
Social dissipation is the abetter of ,
ride. 1t is the instigator Of jealousy
/ is the sacrifcial altar of health. 1t is
he defiler of tho soul 1t is the avenue ,
{ lust. and it is the curse Of every ;
own on both sides of the sea Social ,
issipationl 1t may be hard to draw the ,
inc and say that this is right on the ,
ne side and that is wrong on the other
ide 1t is not necessary that we do /
hat, for God has put throne in every
mans soul, and appeal to that throne
oday. When a man does wrong, he
.,,o,po lao doae xUroug and when he does / ,