The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-29

year And suddenly, as If during the
year il counted for nothing, some OF us
become conscious of an unpleasant little
sensation. provoked by conscience. Some
how. it doesn't seem as if in the year We
had done all we might; as if the soft an
swer had not been offered often enough
and as if the year itself had been one IN
which there were few good works Inc
book of the year looks blotted and dur
red. Here a sorrow, there a sin; here a
weakness. there a worry, but only rev.
a very few of the pages are White anu
fair. and worthy Of being offered 10 IHe
King of Kings. Take a hand glass ana
look at yourself GU are like most other
neople. so YOU think; neither better nor
worse, and, Struggling your shoulders you
hatter yourself that You haven
committed murder, or been guilty OF THEFT
or done any Of those dreadful things that
all the world calls sins. No, you are not
a murderess, nor thief ferhaps'
though, you are just as guilty. Perhaps
that one who killed his brother suceuAo-
ed TO a momentary temptation, ana COM
mitted the one awful act. But there are
many WAYS Of killing besides numbering
the flesh. Have you, by word or mouth
murdered the faith in any human soul!
Killed in any young soul its belief, either
IN Cod or man? That is worse than ma
terial murder.
Fancy having to live all of ones Ire
without hope and without belietF Fancy
having to think that no one does kfld
act without hoping to gain somethlhs
from it-that must be awful. A living
unbelief seems to me the worst state into
which a human soul can get. No WICK
edness is comparable with 1t. LOOK IN
the glass again, and watch as your eye
fash how they seem TO say we az
honest; we have stolen nothing. -,
hans not but you never were huhsIy,
YOU never needed the money 10 buy LOU
and warmth for those you rove, Dut 49,
have stolen lust the same. Eerhaps not
in the material way, but surely MIeh sou
are bitterly enviOus and mallclous, YOU
are a thousand times worse thah me poot
wretch who steals to satisfy ms munger.
Because you know better, ana ne II X
norant of so much. You go 70 ciuISn'
bend your pretty mead IN ueNOut Wy
make YOUR PRAYER after each command
ment and thank God that you are ny
like other people. That your soul Is
clear and you havn't on your Gay pooh
the king of any one of these COM
msndments. Ten of them None of them
very long. But all you trouble y0urss55
about is the exact words OF each, anu
though at other times you are cleVef
enough, you willfully blind yourself ana
refuse to read between the lines.
You smile and feel perfectly certain thaI
you can live up to it. In an oid DOCK l
ind some little suggestions ABOUT the
commandments that may help you. II u
a queer little old book, with its cover
worn, with fly leaves written upon, thoush
the ink is pale, and with a bit OF plue nd
bon, a lock of blonde mar, anu one 81
two religious pictures for book marks. II
says you may sin against the nrsl Solh-
mandment by giving your nrst Waklhs
thought to anybody but the good Goa VINO
80 mn DIV
10 any body but Him, and forgetting 70
confess your sins to Him ana 10 give
thanks to Him because he has cared Tor
you all the long day through; Inc qudttIlt
old salt that wrOte the book says that
you break the first commandments When
you are impatient of what humples YOU
When YOU allow your mind TO dWell on
your troubles rather than our blessings,
and when you depend on your own cleNer-
ness or your own ability for success IN
stead of realizing that 1t is as nothlns uh-
less the great Father Of all guides you.
When you went to church last Suhuay
YOU command, according TO my SAINT,
many sins. Sins against the SECOND COM n
mandment. You We're more interested III
the flowers, in the preacher, IN the CON
gregauon, than in paying earnest ana ue-
Yout attention to saying your prayers,
You were deVoting more of your time TO
some human being, and thinking or the
love and goodness in that person than or
you broke the second commandment.
am afraid you have broken the third one
very often. You never refrain from a jest
because it isn't quite refined; you never
dropped a book because the ideas of the
author were not quite respectful to GOO,
and to save yourself a little trouble, you
did not make it a point to tell the truth.
And how much did you do simply that it
might be praised by men?
And about the next. Did you observe
that day as a festival, as a day when you
gave joy at least to one soul? Or did you
behave as if that first day of the week
were like all the others, and needed no
special attention paid to it2 And haV-
ing one great talent, did you wrap it up
and put it out of sight? And then, my
saint is very particular about this, did
you show not only honor and respect, but
dove, to those who are bound to you by
ties of blood, or who are in authority over
you? Don't you think if we looked for
the best, even among the politicians we
might find something to respect? Though
the saint doesn't mention the politician
AS to the sixth commandment. He is
very positive that you have committed a
sin if you do hot give the love you should
TO your husband, brothers or sisters. If
you do not bear with their faults, and
make allowances for them, while you your
self must not be sullen, nor malicious nor
impatient, nor jealous. nor mean enough
to encourage a personal dislike. And, by
the bye, he considers 1t a particular sin for
YOU not to take good care of your health
This saint is a sensible one. OF the sew
enth commandment he says beware Of
Rreediness. extravaganza in dress, of
wicked talk, and of caring altogether too
much for the luxuries of this world and
not enough for the world to come. Then
he warns you, when he comes to the
eighth commandment, to be careful about
your money, 10 spend it honestly, to be
glad and willing TO give to those who
need, and he emphasizes, as a mean sin,
the desire to pry into other peoples af-
fairs. 1 told you he was a sensible saint.
In with the ninth commandment may be
read the order forbidding the telling of a
secret the saying OF malicious things. the
being glad TO hear in of others, and the
giving TO bad servant good character
Isn't my saint practical2 Then with
the tenth commandment, we are warned
against being discontinued with what we
have and we are advised against being
annoyed at the sight of beauty or gold
possessed by others OF course he said
q great many other things, but these are
the ones that / specially remember
And while the bells are tolling, ] am
tryins 10 think how best 10 keep the book
Of the new year free from the black marks
that mean mistakes. And the law and the
prophets are summed up in this. Thou
shalt love thy neighbOr as thyself DO
WEI fs II love that induces you 10 tell
me witty and malicious story about my
neighbort Us n love that induces YOU rs
hurt me 20 the heart as you tell me OF "a
fault in some one that ! lover Us II love
that linpeis me 10 answer YOU ln an ugly
fafcastle way And 90 attempt 10 lessen
lhat which seems ~ you 90 be very great ?
ID "a miserable. poor love, II you can IL
mat wonder when we an are ID ~
judged whether much VIII De- forgiven ba-
taAff % real loEe-lf seems 10 rle III via