The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-10-05

dance, the medlatorial dance, tho BAG
chanalian dance, and queens and lords
nwayed to and fro in the gardens, and
the rough backwoodsman with this ex,
orcise awakened the echo of the forest,
There is something in the sound of live,
y music to evoke the movement Of the
hand and foot, whether cultured or un-
cultured. Passing down the street VIC
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 wardances, In ancient
times the exercise was SO utterly and
completely depraved that the church
f. mathematical it. The old Christian
fathers expressed themselves most vehe-
, mently against it, st. Chysostom says,
| 1.-THE feet were not given for dancing,
but to walk modestly; not to leap inn
| pudently, like camels. Ono 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 a
man makes in dancing, so many PAGES
| docs 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 beholGers 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-
/ gether, 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
indiscriminate and universal denuncia-
ton of the exercise came from the fact
that it was utterly and completely de-
PRAYED.
The Evil of 1t To-day.
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,
enlightened by the word of God, is to
be the standard Oh, bring no harsh
criticism tpon the youngl I would not
! drive out FROM their soul the hilarities
of life. do not believe that the inhab-
itants of ancient Wales when they
stepped to the sound of the rustic harp,
went down to ruin. l believe God in
tended the young people TO laugh and
ro,np and play. l do not believe God
would have put exuberance in the soul
and exuberance in the body if he had
not intended they shoull IN folle wise
hxefcisB If and demnlstfat5 it. If a
mother join hands witt her children
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
harm. If a company, all Of whom are
known to host and hostess as reputable,
cross and recross the room to the sound
Of musical instrument, see no harm.
tried for long while to see harm IN it.
l could not see any harm in it. never
shall see any harm in that. Our men
need to be kept young-youug for many
years longer than they are kept Young.
Never since my boyhood days have
had more sympathy with the innocent
hilarities of life than have now. What
though we have felt heavy burdens!
What though we nave had to endure
hard knocks! Is that any reason why
we should stand in the way of those
who unstung of life's rnisforthIes, are
full of exhilaration and glee? God bless
the youngl They will have to wait
many 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. 1t is not. | tell them, judg
ing from my own experience, that they
will be treated great deal better than
they deserve. We have no right to
grudge the innocent hilarities to the
young.
Death In Dissipation.
What are the designations of social life
today, and what are the designations Of
the ballroom? In some cities and in some
places reaching all the year round; in
other places only in the summer time and
at the watering places. There are dissi-
pations Of social life that are cutting a
very wide swath with the sickle of
death, and hundreds and thousands are
going down under these influences, and
my subject in application is as wide as
Christendom. The whirlpool Of social
dissipation is drawing down some of
the brightest craft that ever sailed the
sea- thousands and tens Of thousands
Of the bodies and souls annually con-
stunned in the confagration of ribbons.
Social dissipation is the abetter Of
pride. 1t is the instigator of jealousy.
1t is the sacrifcial altar of health 1t is
the defiler of the soul 1t is the avenue
of lust. and it is the curse of every
town on both sides of the sea. Social
dissipation! 1t may be hard to draw the
line and say that this is right on the
one side and that is wrong ON the ether
side. 1t is not necessary that we do
that, for God has put throne in every
mans soul, and l appeal to that throne
today. When a man does wrong, he
knows he does wrong, and when be docs
right he Knows he does right, and 10
that throne, which Almighty God lifted
in the heart of every man and woman,
l appeal
As to the physical ruin wrought by
the dissipatitns of social life there can
be no doubt. What may we expect of
people who work all day and dance all
night? After awhile they will be thrown
on society nervous, exhausted imbeciles
These people who indulge in the sup
pers and the midnight revels and then
go home in the cold unwrapped of
limbs will after awhile be found to
have been written down III Gods eter-
nal records as suicides-as much suicides
as il they had taken their life with Il
pistol or knife or strychEine.
Danger to Health.
How many people have stepped from
the ballroom into the graveyard? Con
sumptions and swift nearalgias are close
on their track. Amid many of The gilt
tering scenes of social life diseases stand