St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-05-23

up IN inoptr1ng air; and NO sooner did
they strike the dir than the Highland.
were rallied, and helped to win tho day.
Oh. 70 who have been routed In the
eonhicts Of life. try BY the force Of mu-
SIC to rally your scattered battslions.
/ am glad to know that in our great
cities there il hardly . night in which
there aro not concerts; whore with
the best musical instruments and the
sweetest voices, people may ind en-
tertainment. Patroniss such enter
tainments when they arc Afforded you.
Buy season tickets, il you can, for tho
Philharmonic and the Handel and
Haydn societies. Feel that the el.50
or q that you spend for the purpose Of
hearing an artist play or sing is . prof
liable Investment. Let your acade-
mics Of music roar with the acclama-
ton of appreoiative audiences assem-
bled at the concert or tho oratorto.
Still further: commend, ~ worthy
Of their support. the gymnasium.
This institution is gaining in favor
every year, and know nothing moro
free from dissipation, or more calcu-
lated to recuperate tho physical and
mental energies. While there are .
good many people who have employed
this institution, there il q vast num-
Der who are ignorant of its ex-
cellencies. There are weak and
respondent spirits who through
the gymnasium might be reused up
to exuberancc and exhileration Of life.
There are many Christian people
Respondent from year to year, who
might, through such an institution. be
benefited in their spiritual relations.
There are Christian people who seem
to Think that it is q good sign to be
poorly; and because Richard Baxter
and Robert Hall were invalids, they
think that by the same sickness they
may come to the same grandeur Of
character. / want to tell the
Christian people of my congregation
that God will hold you responsible
for your invalidism If It is your
fault, and when, through right exer-
else and prudence, you might be athlet-
ic and WELL The effect of the body
upon the soul you acknowledge. Put
man Of mild disposition upon the ami
NAL diet of which tho Indian partakes.
and in little while his blood will
change its chemical proportions 1t
will become like unto the blood Of the
lion, or the tigar, or the bear. while his
disposition will change and become
fierce and unrelenting. The body has
. powerful effect upon the soul.
There are good people whose ideas Of
Heaven are all shut out with clouds Of
tobacco smoke. There are people who
dare to shatter the physical vase in
which God has put His jewel Of eter-
nifty. There are men with great hearts
and intellects, in bodies worn out by
their own neutrality-suspicious. ma
chinery, capable Of propelling Ma
jcstic across the Atlantic, yet fastened
in rickety North river propeller. Mar.
tin Luther was SO mighty for God. first,
because he had q noble soul, and sec
ondly, because he had q muscular de-
velopment which would have enabled
him to thrash any five of his perse-
cutors, if it had been Christian SO to
do. Physical development which
merely shows itself in fabulous lifting,
or in pcrilous rope-walking, or in pu-
gilistic encounter, excites only our
contempt; but we confess to great
admiration for the man who has q
great soul in an athletic body,
every nerve, muscle and bone of
Oh. its seems to me outrageous that
men, through neglect, should allow
their physical health to 20 down be-
yond repairr-a ship which ought. with
all sail set and every man at his post
to be carrying . rich cargo for eternity.
employing all its men in stopping up
lealragcs! When you may, through
the gymnasium, work OF your spleen
and your querulousness and one-half
Of your physical and mental ailments,
do not turn your back upon such .
grand medicament.
Still further: / commend to You q
large class Of parlor games and recrea-
tons. There il = way of making our
homes hundred-fold more attractive
than they are now. Those parents
can not OK pect to keep their children
away from outside designations unless
they make the domestic circle brighter
than anything they can find outside
of it. :Dom0t, then, sit in your home
surly and unsympathetic. and with
= half-condemnatory look because
Of the sportfulness of your chill
drcn. You were young once your
self; let your children be young. Be
cause your eyes are dim and your
ankles are stiff. do not denounce sport
fulness in those upon whose eyes there
is the first luster, and in whose foot
there is the bounding joy OF robust
health. thank God that in our draw
ing-rooms and In our parlors there arc
innumcrable games and sports which
have not upon them tho least faint Of
iniquity.
Light mp all your homes with inno-
cent hilaritics. Do not sit down with
the rheumatism. wondering how chill
dren can 60 on so. Rather thank God
that their hearts are SO light, and their
laughter is so free. and their cheeks
are 20 ruddy, and that their expecta-
tions are so radiant. The night will
come soon enough, and the heart
break. AMI the pang. and the desola-
tion-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. Carry,
then, into your homes not only the in
nocent sports and games which arc the
inventions of our own day, but the
games which came down with the
sportfulness Of all ages-chcss and
charades and tableaux and battledore
and calisthenics and lawn tennis and
all those amusements which the young
people of our homes know how well 70
contrive. Then there will be the par
Tor socials- groups Of people assembled
in your homes, with wit. and mimicry
and joviality, filing the room with Joy
from door to mantel, and from the car
pet to the ceiling. Oh, is there any
exhilaration like score of genial
souls in ono room, and each one add
ing q con tribution Of his own individ-
ual merriment to the aggregation Of
U~vr~vn1 hf1Dritv