The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-04-03


dren can 20 on so. Rather thank Cad
that their hearts are so light, and their
laughter is SO free, and their cheeks uIe
SO ruddy, and that their expectations
are so radiant. The night Will come
soon enough and the heartbreak and
the pang and the desolation-it -will
come soon enough for the dear children.
But when the storm actually clouds the
sky it will be time enough for you to
haul out your reef tackles. Garry then,
into your homes not only the innocent
sports and games which are the inven
lions of our own day, but the games
which come down with the sportfulness
of all the past ages-chess and charades
and tableaux and battledoor and calls
themes and lawn tennis and all those
amusements which the young people of
our homes know so we'll how to con-
trive. Then there will be the parlor So
cialities-groups of people assembled i'll
your homes, with wit and mimicry and
joviality, filling the room with joy from
door to mantel and from the carpet to
the ceiling. Oh, is there any exhilara
ton like score Of genial souls in one
room, each one adding contribution Of
his own individual merriment to the
aggregation of general hilarity?
Suppose you want to go abroad in the
city; then you will find the panorama
and the art gallery and the exquisite col
lections of pictures. You will find the
museum and the historical society rooms
full of rare curiosities, and scores of
places which can stand plainly the test
of what is right and wrong in amuse
ments. You will find the lecturing hall,
which has been honored by the names
of Agassiz in natural history, Doremus
in chemistry, Boynton in geology, Mitch
ell in astronomy, John B. Cough i'll
moral reform, and scores and hundreds
of men who have poured their wit and
genius and ingenuity through that par
ticular channel upon the he rts and con-
sciences and imaginations of men, set
ting this country so years farther in ad-
vance than it would have been without
the lecture platform.
Outdoor Sports.
rejoice in the popularization of out
and the fisherman's rod and the sports
mans gun. In our cities life is SO I'M
healthy and unnatural that when the
census taker represents a city as having
100000 inhabitants there are only
200, 900, since it takes at least two men
to amount to one man, so depicting and
unnerving and exhausting is this met
fo frach air
more sunlight, more of the abandon of
field sports. 1 Cry out for it in behalf
of the church of God as well as in be-
half of secular interests. | wish that
our ponds and our rivers and our CAPT
toline grounds might be all aquake with
the heel and the shout of the swift
skater. wish that when the warm
weather comes the graceful oar might
dip the stream and the evening tide be
resonant with boatman's song, the
bright PROV splitting the crystalline bill
low.
We shall have the smooth and grassy
lawn, and we will call out people Of all
occupations and professions aud. ask
them to join in the ball players sport.
L
exercises and recreations with strength
in your arm and color in your cheek and
a fash in your eye and courage in your
heart. In this great battle that is open
ing against the kingdom of darkness
we want not only consecrated soul,
but strong arm and stout lungs and
mighty muscle. | bless God that there
that haUn mot
on them any faint of iniquity, recrea
tions in which we may engage for the
strengthening of the body, for the clear
ing of the intellect, for the illumination
of the soul.
There is still another form of recrea
ton which 1 commend to you, and that
is the pleasure of doing good l have
seen young men, weak and cross and
sour and repelling in their disposition,
who by one heavenly touch have waken-
ed up and become blessed and buoyant,
the ground under their feet and the sky
over their heads breaking forth into
music. "Oh, says some young man in
the house today, 81 should like that rec
reation above all others, but have not
Iu6 u6duS. III dCol bAoohOij tOo tD
take an account of stock. You have a
large estate if you only realize it. Two
hands, two feet. You will have per-
haps during the next year at least $40
for charitable contribution. You will
have 1850 cheerful looks if you want
to employ them. You will have 5000
pleasant words if you want to speak
them. Now, what an amount that is to
start with
You 60 out tomorrow morning, and
you see a case of real restitution by the
wayside You give him 2 cents. The
blind man hears the pennies rattle in
his hat, and he says, 'Thank you, sir;
God bless you! You pass down the
street, trying to look Indifferent, but
you feel from the very depth of your
soul a profound satisfaction that you
made that man happy. You 90 on still
farther and find poor boy with
trying to get 1t up on the
curbstone lie fails in the attempt You
say, "Stand back, my lad; let me try"
You push it up on the curbstone for
him and pass Oh. he wonders who that
well dressed man was that helped him.