The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-02-01

Wheh ph baiiTA4lS uiiu WV WhNNA VI WV
centuries would have turned back to the
dark ages. A wrong impression is made
that because two men falsify their bank
accounts those two wrongdoers are bla'
xoned before tho world, while noths
Ing Is said in praise Of the hundreds Of
bank clerks who have stood at their
desks year in and year out until their
health is we'll nigh gone, taking not a
pins worth of that which belongs to
2thers for themselves, though with skill
full stroke of pen they might have en-
riched themselves and built their coun.
try seats ON the banks of the Hudson OF
the Rhine
Blame Rather Than Praise.
1t Is mean thing in human nature
that men and women are not praised for
doing we'll, but only eXcoriated when
they do wrong. BY divine arrangement
the most of the families Of the earth are
at peace, and the most of those united
In marriage have for each other affinity
and affection. They may have occasional
differences and here and there season
of pout, but the vast majority Of those
in the conjugal relation chose the most
appropriate companionship and are
happy In that relation. You hear moth
ing Of the duietuds and happiness of
such homes, though nothing but death
will them part. But one sound of mari
tai discord makes the ears of CONT
pent, and perhaps of hemisphere alert.
The one letter that ought never to
have been written printed in a ilewspa-
per makes moro talk than the millions
Of letters that crowd the postoffioes and
weigh down tho mail carriers with ex
pressions of honest love, Tolstoi, the
great Russian author, is wrong when he
prints book for the depreciation of
marriage If your observation has put
you in an attitude Of deportation for the
marriage state, one of two things is true
in regard to you. You have either been
unfortunate in your acquaintanceship,
or you yourself are morally rotten. The
world, not as rapid as we would like,
but still with long strides, is on the way
to the scenes of beatitude and felicity
which the Bible depicts. The man who
cannot see this is wrong, either in his
heart or liver or spleen. Look at the
great Bible picture gallery, where Isaiah
has set up the pictures of arborescence,
girdling the world with cedar and fir and
pine and lockwood and the lion led by
child, and st. Johns pictures of waters
and trees, and white horse cavalry, and
tears wiped away, and trumpets blown,
and harps struck, and nations redeemed.
While there are 10, 900 things do not
like have not seen any encouragement
for the cause of God for 25 years. The
kingdom is coming. The earth is prepar
ing to put on bridal array. We need to
be getting our anthems and grand
marches ready. In our hymnology we
shall have more use for Antioch" than
for "Windham, " for "Ariel''. than for
Naomi. " Let "Hark, From the Tombs
a Doleful Cryr' be submerged with
"Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come"
Really, if thought the human race were
as determined to be bad and getting
worse, as the pessimists represent, l
would think it was hardly worth saving.
If after hundreds of years of gospeliza-
ton no improvement has been made,
let US give it up and 60 at something
else besides praying and preaching.
Ny opinion is that if we had enough
faith in quick results and could 60 forth
rightly equipped with the gospel call
the battle for God and righteousness
would end with this nineteenth century,
and the twentieth century, only five or
six years off, would begin the millenni-
UNI, and Christ would reign either in
person on some throne set up between
the Allegbanies and the Rockies or in
the institutions Of mercy and grandeur
set up by his ransomed people Discour
aged work will meet with defeat. Ex
pectant and buoyant work will gain the
victory. Start out with the idea that all
men are liars and scoundrels, and that
everybody is as bad as he can be, and
that society, and the church, and the
world are on the way to demolition, and
the only use you will ever be to the
world will be to increase the value of
lots ib cemetery. We need more
CIlSETlul lIONb Ill al Jul ICllSiOuo WOl
People have enough trouble already and
Go not want to ship another cargo of
trouble in the shape of religiosity. If
religion has been to you peace, de-
fense,. an inspiration and joy. say SO.
Say it by word of mouth, by pen in your
right hand, by face illumined with a
divine satisfaction If this world is ever
to be taken for God, it will not be by
groans, but by halleluiahs. If we could
present the Christian religion as it real
~ is, in its true attractiveness, all the
people would accept it, and accept it
right away. The cities, the nations
would cry out: "Give us that Give it
to us in all it's holy magnetism and gra-
cious power! Put that salve on cur
wounds Throw back the shutters for
that morning light Knock off these
chains with that silver hammer Give
us Christ--his pardon, his peace, his
comfort, his heaven Give US Christ in
song, Christ in sermon, Christ in book,
Christ in living example,
Religion Exemplif1ed.
As system of didactics religion has
never gained one inch of progress AS
technicality it befogs more than it II
:adiates AS dogmatism it is an awful
failure But as fact, as REINFORCE
nent, as a TRANSPORTATION, it is the
michtiest thing that ever descended
from the heavens or touched the earth.
Exemplify it in the life of good man
or good woman, and no one can help
but like it. A city missionary visited a
house in London and found a sick and
dying boy There was an orange lying
on his bed, and the missionary said,
Where did GU get that Granger He
said: IA nar brought it to me. He
comes here often and reads the Bible to
me and prays with me and brings roe
nice things to eat. y what is his
name?' said the city missionary. Il
forget his name" said the sick boy,
but he makes great speeches over in
that great building" pointing to the
parliament house of London. The mis-