The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-12-02

herself that she had had a bargain |
with her neighbor that when the long
protracted sickness was about to come |
to an end, she would appear at her |
bedside and take the secret that was to
be disclosed. And she had said she |
was Not at home"
Social life is struck through with in
sincerity. They apologize for the fact
that the furnace is out; they have not
had any fire n it all winter They
apologize for the fare on their table;
they never live any better. They de-
cry their most luxuriant entertainment
to win a shower of approval from you.
They point to a picture on the wall as
a work of one of the old masters. They
say it is an heirloom in the family. 1t
! hung on the wall of a castle. A duke
gave it to their grandfather! People
that will lie about nothing else will
| lie about q picture. On small in
come we want the world to
believe we are attiuent, and society to-
day is struck through with cheat and
counterfeit and sham. How few peo-
pie are natural. Frigidity sails around,
! iceberg grinding against iceberg. You
must not laugh outright; that is vul-
gar. You must smile. You must not
dash quickly across the room, that is
vulgar. You must glide. Much of
society is a round of bows and grins
and grimaces and obs and abs and he,
he, he's and simperings and MAINLY
pambyism, a whole world Of which is
not worth one good honest round of
laughter. From such Il hollow scene
the tortured guest retires at the close
of the evening, assuring the host that
he has enjoyed himself. Society is
become 50 contorted and deformed in
this respect that mountain cabin
where the rusticS gather at a quitting
or an apple pairing, has in it more good
cheer than all the frescoed refriger-
ators of the metropolis.
| pass on to speak of ecclesiastical
lies, those which are told of the add
vancement or retarding of a church or
sect. 1t is hardly worth your while to
ask an extreme Calvinist what an Ar
menean believes. He will tell you that
an Arminian believes that man can
save himself. An Arminian believes
no such thing. 1t is hardly worth
your while to ask an extreme Arminian
what a Calvinist believes. He will
tell you that a Calvinist believes that
God made some men ust to damn
them. A Calvinist believes no such
thing. 1t is hardly worth your while
to ask d PtdoBaptist what Baptist
believes. He will tell you a Baptist
believes that immersion is necessary
for salvation. A Ba ptist does not
believe any such thing. 1t is hard
ly worth your while to ask a man,
who very much hates Presbyterians
what Presbyterian believes. lie will
tell you that Il Presbyterian believes
that there are infants in hell a span
long, and that very phraseology has
come down from generation to gene
ration in the Christian church. There
never was q Presby terrain who believed
that. "Oh,' you say, Il heard some
t Presby terrain minister 20 years ago say
So" You did not. There never was a man
| who believed that There never will
be a man who will believe that. And
yet, from boyhood, | have heard that
|
: church going down through the com
munity.
But some one says: The deception
t that practice is SO small that it don't
I amount to anything.' All, my friends,
= 1t does amount to great deal. You
say: when | deceive, it is only about
l a case of needles, or box of buttons,
or row of pins But the article may
. be SO small you can put it in your vest
g pocket, but the sin is as big as the
; pyramids, and the echo of your his,
5 honor will reverberate through the
=. mountains ofeternity. There is no such
+ thing as a small sin. They are al
e vast and stupendous, because they
Y will all have to come under in
: spectlon in the day of judgment
y You may boast yourself of having
y made tine bargaln-a sharp bargain
a You may carry out what the Bible say!
o in regard to that man who went in t.
= make purchase and deprecated the
e value of the goods, and then after III
y had got away boosted of the splendit
/ bargain he had made. 1t is naught
: it is naught, saith the buyer; but whci
It he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
e | may seem to the world a sharp bar
e gain, but the recording angel wrot.
| down in the ponderous tones of eter
e nifty: Mr.. So-and-So, doing bushes
il on Pennsylvania avenue, Or Broadway
t or Chestnut street, OR State street, toIt
It one lie"
n May God extirpate from society al
1t the ecclesiastical lies, and all the socia
q lies, and all the mechanical lies, an(
p all the commercial lies, and all thu
IS agricultural lies. and to make ever,
o man to speak the truth of his neigh
II Dor. My friends, let us make our lif
e correspond to what we are. Let u
g Danish all deception from our be
havior. Let us remember that the time
n comes when God will demonstrate be
Y Fore an assembled universe just VIVA
h we are. The secret will come ont
y We may hide it while we live. but w
Y can not hide it when we die. To man,
, life is Il masquerade ball. AS at sucI