The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1897-10-29
WELLMATCHED PAIR.
a Moral Drawn From the Story Of
Ananias and sapphlra.


- 80 800
A we'll matched pair. alike in ambi-
tion and IN falschood. Ananias and
Sapphira. They wanted a.reputation
for great beneficence. and they sold
all their property, pretending TO put
the entire proceeds IN the charity
fund, while they put much Of 1t in
their own pocket There was no neces-
sity that they gave all their property
away, but they wanted the reputation
of so doing. Ananias first lied about
it and dropped down dead. Then
Sapphire lied about it, and she drop
ped dead. The two fatalities warning
70 all ages OF sacrificing the truth
There are thousands Of ways Of tell
ing a lie a mans whole life may be
falsehood and yet never with his lips
may he falsify once. THERE'S way of
uttering falsehood by look, by manner,
as well as by lip. Thore are persons
who are guilty of dishonesty Of speech
and then afterward say "may be, call
ing it white lie, when no lie is that
color. The whitest lie ever told was as
black as perdition. There are those so
given to dishonesty OF speech that they
do not know when they are lying.
With some IL is an acquired sin, aud
with others it is natural infirmity.
There are those whom You viii recog-
nize as born liars Their whole life,
from cradle 10 grave. is filed up with
vice of speech. Misrepresentation and
prcrarieation are as natural to them as
the infantile diseases, and are sort Of
moral Group or spiritual scarlatina.
Then there are those who in after
life have opportunities Of developing
this evil and they go from deception to
deception. and from class to class, until
they are regularly graduated liars. At
times the air in our cities is filed with
falsehood, and lies cluster around the
mechanics hammer. blossom on the
merchants yardsticlI and sonnet mes
sit in the door of churches. They are
called by soIne fabrication aud they
are called by some, fiction. You might
call them subterfugc. or deceit, or ro-
nance, or fable. or misrepresentation,
or delusion, but as ! know nothing to
be gained by covering mp a God-defying
sin with photographers blanket,
shall call them in Plainest vcrnacular.
lies. They may be divided into agri-
cultural. commercial, mechanical, So
cial and ecclesiastical.
First Of all speak of agricultural
falsehoods- There is something in the
presence OF natural objects that has
tendency TO make one pure The trees
never issue false stock. The wheat
fields are always honest. Rye and oats
never move out in the night, not pay
ing for the place they occupy. Corn
shuclSs never make false assignment.
Mountain brooks are always current
The gold of the wheat fields is never
counterfeit But while the tendency of
agricultural life is TO make one honest,
honesty is not the Characteristic OF all
who come 10 the city markets
from the country districts.
You hear the creaking of
the dishonest farm wagon in almost
every street, of our great cities-a farm
wagon in which there is not one honest
spoke or one truthful rivet, from tongue
10 tail board. Again and again has do
mestic economy in our great cities
foundered on the farmers firlxin
When New York and Washington sit
down and weep over their sins, let
Westchester county and the neighbor-
hoods around this capital sit down and
weep over theirs
The tendency in all rural districts is
TO suppose that sins and transgressions
cluster in our great cities; but citizens
and merchants long ago learned
that it is not safe to calcu-
late from the character of the apples
oaDthe top of the farmers barrel what
is the character of the apples all the
way down toward the bottom. Many
of our citizens and merchants have
learned that it is always safe to'see the
farmer measure the barrel Of bects.
Milk cans are not always honest
There are those who, in country
life. seem TO think they have
a right TO overreach grain deal.
ers and merchants Of all styles.
They think it is more honorable
10 raise corn than TO deal in corn. The
producer sometimes practically says to
the merchant: 'You get your money
easily, anyhow Does he get it easily9
While the farmer sleeps, and he may &c
TO sleep conscious OF the fact that his
corn and rye are al the time-progress-
ing and adding TO his fortune or his
live lihoOd, the merchant tries to sleep
while conscious of the fact that at that
moment the ship may be driving on
the ROCK, or a wave sweeping over the
hurricane deck spelling his goods, OF
the spectators may be plotting q
monetary revolution. or the burglars
may be at that moment at his money
safe. or the fire may have kindled on
the very block where his store stands.
Easy, is it? Let those who get Their
living in the quiet farm and barn take
the place Of one of our city merchants
and see whether il is so easy. II Il
hard enough TO have the hands blist
erred with outdoor work. but it is hard
err with mental anxietiesf TO have thu
brain consumed. God help the mer
chants And do not1et those who liv,
in country life come to the copelusioI
that all the dishoDesties belong to citl
life.
= .pass ON 70 consider commercial
lies There are those who apologize
for deviations from the right and TO
practical deception by saying II iscom
mercial custom. In other words.
lie by multiplication become virtue
There are large fortunes gathered IL
which there is not one drop of tn
sweat OF unreqnited toll. and not on
spark OF bad temper flashes from tn,
bronze bracket. and there is not on
drop of needlewoman's heart bloo'
on the crimson plush; while Their
are other fortunes about whicl
4 may be said that on every dOor-kno
and on every figure Of the carpet an
on every wall there is the mark OF dis
honor. What II the hand wrung b
toll and blistered until the skin come
off should be placed ON the exquisit
wall paper, leaving its mark OF blood
four fingers and thumb2 or, II in tn
night the man should be aroused iron
his slumber again and again by hi
own conscience, getting limsel
up ON elbow and crying out Il
fhe darkness, "vho is there2"
There are large fortunes upon whic