The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-02

than thosS etals Il Will never answer
Tor lettering morality 10 attempt the
reform OF fallen morality. They both
ianu In the ditch. The young man alter
business hours can find games, books,
friends, rides, amateur work, public
j gatherings, all pure and useful. And all
4 these can be impure and down-grade
evocations. The question Is: What does
ne wish 10 draw from these lhinRsY
Why. one can use every object in the
world wickedly. One can use the Bible
| itself as an instrument of disco-d deprav-
| ity ana death. The purest soul in the
world may afford another wicked soul
iood for wickedness We live in the
world 10 see what We can make OF
| thing. And il is startling fact that the
nohlest creations OF God have been made
the basest objects OF wickedness. When
You 90 out therefore at the end OF your
busincss day you Will not necessarily de-
| rive good from good things We must
know how to handle n gift to make IL
valuable. IL you wish to curse some men
| give them gold; give them perfect health;
give them association with the beautiful
| Tor possession OF these things would make
! the leisure hours OF some peope a very
! wicked hour. That, as i understand
| IL, is the meaning OF Jesus when lie told
| them 10 pray. Bring ms not into tempta-
tion. To be kept poor is the answer TO
! this prayer, in many cases. There are
not many people, apparently, who can
! bear 10 be wealthy. Al brings them into
| temptation, and wealth is sometimes a
| punishment,
WE HAVE no REASON TO DOUBT,
because God speaks OF giving men the
! desire OF their hearts, and sending lean
ness into their souls. Hence We may
| suspect it We have no leis sure that leisure
| Is not good for us. L cauDot doubt that
this has been my own case. 1t is a wise
man that knows how to divide his time,
but 1t is still wiser and rarer that will
keep to the division that he mas made.
DO not lead a double life. / say this
not because suppose any one here is in
danger OF stealing in the dark, and claim
ing 10 be respectable at other times. But
l say do not lead double life, because
II Is clear that multitudes of people SO
live as to show that they think a part of
their time is holy and the remainder
unholy, to say the least, whereas one
time is just as good as another for a good
deed, and one time Is just as bad as an
other for sn evil deed. There are some
animals like the alligator with peculiar
ly constructed heart, SO that part OF the
circulation, which tends downward, is
cold blood, while the other part, which
tends upward is warm blood. Dc not
have two sets of thoughts or two faces,
or two codes of manners. Treat the paper
boy ust as respectfully as the minister,
and do not swear at sinner any more
than You would at a prophet. Swearing
at the sinner is what keeps him a sinner.
Carry, then, the same fidelity into sport
that you carry into tbe..earnest thing;
and be as happy in your work as you are
ut your rest. Otherwise the fretfulness
at the work will extend into the rest
hours, and make the entire day fretfui.
DO not be deceived as to what consti.
tutes a good time. What is It that
makes you happy? That is the
TEST OF YOUR CHARACrER.
The desires make the conduct. the con-
duct reacts on the character, and the
character is the foundation of the desires
and so the circle is complete. Men are
tested by what they can be depended to
do in their worst moments. A harbor
mouth is measured at low water. Yet
many men live under the false notion
that they are recKoned by the best ex-
hibits OF their characters. This is not
safe for the world. A log Is measured
sold by the shorter side, and though
God is kinder to US than we are to our
selves, He does not, He cannot, take the
Sunday righteousness for the week day
Righteousness, and the work hour con-
science for the evening conscience.
The daughter OF prominent and very
"blue" clergyman, while visiting from
home, went into certain company and
certain resorts into which she had never
been permitted to go, and INDUCED in
practices that would have shocked her
father. Do you suppose he learned OF It?
keeps the records. The girls heart also
kept the records and it cheapened her lite
in her own eyes. She had chosen to con-
slider herself of duty for q while. But
Christianity is that ttitude OF the heart
which is more careful in the dark than in
the light. A dear friend OF mine has this
saying: "Do right in the dark, and fear
not the light. Do right in the light and
fear not the dark" 1t would perhaps be
OF some use to hide portion OF our lives
II we could hide them from the parties
who are most concerned. But the persons
we love most are they who will know
most about us People sometimes
KEEP THEIR SINS IN THE FAMILY.
but 1t is in the family that they cause
the most heartache. There is nothing,
absolutely nothing hidden that shall not
be brought to light. 1t Is the part OF
child-and q bad one, to act "a III our
action were separated from the world, and
its interests.
The question of the best means OF recre-
alton may be answered to your sstisfac-
tion by inquiring what the best people
do with their leisure. That to which
the purest make no objection is the most
pleasurabie thing you can do. The hest
people l know are the happiest people.
1t is constructive atheism TO think that
fun is not possible without sin as a relish.
The soul does not require an occasional
dive into Hades to recruit its spirits.
Such a slump as these make the upper
air OF purity too rare to breath with
comfort.
Many young people hear the phrase
'see life." This means see death-see
what is false and ephemeral in Affection;
what is fictitious in color and form; what
is a lie as TO property, as gambling; what
is fever instead of a natural glow. In
short the lower world, the death world
the down grade world-and this is called
life. 1t is the shortest kind of life, the
weakest while ii lasts; the meanest, the
falsest. Yet many young people do not
believe the universal testimony OF the
hospital, the insane aylum, the great
works of fiction and the masterpieces OF
the poets. They would still "see life,"
for they forget that whatever is good is al
lowable and attainable and that 1t is not
necessary to go about slyly to obtain the
greatest delights. This is TO be stamped
on the hrain. God has made men so that