The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-01-04

brokers' Shop. Oh, beware or your IN
6uence.
The winter season is especially full
of temptation, because of the long
evenings allowing sleh full swing for
evil indulgence. You can scarcely ex-
pect a young man to go into his room
and sit there from 2 to IL o'clock in the
evening, reading Motley's Dutch Re-
public,'' or John Fosters essays. 1t
would be a very beautiful thing for
him to do, but he will not it. The
most of our young men are busy in
offices, in factories, in banking houses,
in stores, in shops, and when evening
comes they want the fresh air, and they
want sightseeing, and they must have
it, they will have it, and they ought
to have it. Most of the men here as
sembled will have three or four w
inCs of leisure on the winter nights.
After tea the man puts Of his hat
and coat and he goes out. One
form of illurement says, Come in
here" Satan says, ut is the best for
you to go in; you ought not to be SO
greens; by this time you ought to nave
seen everything" And the tempta-
tions shall be mighty in dull times
such as we nave had, but which 1 be-
lieve are gone for l hear all over the
land the prophecy of great prosperity,
and the railroad men aud the mer-
chants, they all tell me of the days of
prosperity they think are coming, and
in many departments they have al
ready come, and they are going to
come in all departments; but these
dull times through which we have
passed have destroyed a great many
men. The question of q livelihood is,
with q vast multitude, the great ques-
ton. There are young men h ex-
pected before this to set up their house
hold, but they have been disappointed
in the gains they have made.
They cannot support themselves;
how can they support othersP
And to the curse of modern
society, the theory is abroad that a
man must not marry until he has
achieved a fortune, when the twain
ought to start at the foot of the hill
and together climb to the top. That
is the old-fashioned way, and that will
be the new fashioned way if society is
ever redeemed. But during the har
times, the dull times, SO many men
were discouraged, so many men had
nothing to do-they could get nothing
{ % do-a pirate bore down on the ship
when the sails were down and the yes
sci was making no headway. These
long winter evenings, be careful where
you spend them. This winter will de-
eide the temporal and eternal destiny
of hundreds If men in this audience.
Then, the winter has especial temp
tations in the fact that many homes
are peculiarly unattractive at this sea.
son. In the summer months the young
man can sit out on the steps, or he can
have a bouquet in thevase on the man
tel, or, the evenings being so short,
o after gaslight he wants to retire
anyhow. But there are many parents
who do not understand how to make
the long winter evenings attractive to
their children. 1t is amazing to me
that SO many people do not I'M
derstand young people. To hear some
of these parents talk you would think
they had never themselves been young,
oh, it is dolorous for young people to
sit In the house from 2 to II
o'clock at night, and to hear parents
groan about their ailments and the
ncsningness of this world The moth
luRucnS Va bAiS WOEidi AAOW a6NC you
talk such blasphemy? II took God six
days to make this world, and he has al
lowed it six thousand years to hang
upon His holy heart, and this world
has shone on you and blessed you for
these fifty OF seventy years. and yet
you dare to talk about the no~thingness
of this world. Why, it is a magnif-
cent world. / do not believe in the
whole universe there is q world equal
to 1t, except it be Heaven. You cam
not expect your children to stay in
the house these long winter evenings
to hear you denounce this star-lighted,
sun-warmed, shower-baptized, flower
strewn, angel-watched, God-inhabited
planet.
oh! make your home bright. Bring
in the violin or the picture. 1t does
not require a great salary or a big
house, or chased silver, or gorgeous
upholstery to make a happy home.
All that is wanted is a fathers heart,
a mothers heart. in sympathy with
young folks. 1 nave known q man
with seven hundred dollars salary. and
he had no othef Income. but he mad a
home SO happyand bright, that. though
the sons nave gone ont and won large
fortunes, and the daughters have gone
out into splendid spheres, and be-
~princesses of society, they can
never think of that early home with
out tears of emotion. 1t was to
them the vestibule of Heaven, and
all their mansions now, and all their
palaces now, cannot make them forget
that early place. Make your homes
happy. You GO around your house
growing about your rheumatism and
acting the lugubrious, IND your son
will go into the world and plunge into
dissipation. They will have their w
rheumatisms after awhile. Donot fore
stall their misfortunes. You were
young once, and You had your bright
and joyous times. Now let the young
folks have a good time. I stood in
front of a house and l said to the owner
of the. houset eThis is a splendid
He said. In a whining tone:
ssYes, but it will fade" | walked
around his garden, and said: This is
a glorious garden you have" Yes"
he said. but it will perish" Then
he said to my little child, whom I was
leading along: Come and kiss me-"
The child protested and turned away.
lie SaluF NOu, inc pcENcTSiLy Oi huihdh
naturep' Who would want to kiss
him? l was not surprised to find out
that his only son had become q yagar
bond. You may groan people out of
decepcy. but you can never groan
them into it, and l declare in the pres
ence of these men and women of COM
sense that it is o most important
for you to make your homes
bright If you want your sons and
to turn out well.
Alas! that old people so much misun.
young folks! There was a
great Sunday school anniversary, ana
there were thousands of children pres
emit; indeed. all the Sunday schools of
the town were in the building, and it
was very uproarous and full of dis
turbance and the presiding officer on
the occasion came forward and In a
very QUO tone shouted: '~Silencei' and
the more noise the presiding officer
made, the more noise the children made.
Some one else rose on the platform and
came forward, and with more stentorian
voice, shouted, 'SilenceT" and the up
roar rose to greater height. and 1t did
seem as if there would be almost a riot