Connecticut western news., 1899-06-15

 ly and gay and thoughtless, puts her life on the altar of conservation and as the sunlight of that Sabbath streams through the church window and falls upon her brow and cheek, she looks like their other daughter, whose face was illumined with the brightness of an other world on the day when the Lord ! took her into his heavenly keeping years ago.
 Joy In the House of God. I should not wonder, if, after all, these parents pass the evening of their life in the same church, all differences of church preference overcome by the joy of being in the house of God where their children were prepared for useful ness and heaven. But can give you recipe for running your children. Angrily contend in the household that your church is right and the church of your companion is wrong. Bring sheer and caricature to emphasize your opin- ions, and your children will make up their minds that religion is sham, and they will have none of it. In the north east storm of domestic controversy the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley will not grow. Fight about apostolic succession. fight about election and free agency, fight about baptism, fight about the bishopric, fight about gown and surplice, and the religious prospects of your children will be left dead on the field. You will be as unfortunate as Charles, Duke of Burgundy, who in battle lost diamond the value of kingdom, for in your fight you will lose the jewel of salvation for your entire household. This is nothing against the advocacy of your own religious theories. Use all forcible argument, bring all telling illustration, array all demon strative facts, but let there be no acer- pity, no stinging retort, no mean in- situation, no superciliousness as though all others were wrong and you infallibly right.
 Take hint from astronomy. The Ptolemaic system made the earth the center of the solar system, and every thing was thought to turn round the earth. But the Copernican system came and made the sun the center around which the planets revolved. The bigot makes his little belief the center of ev- erything, but the large souled Christian makes the Sun of Righteousness the center and all denominations, without any clashing and each in its own sphere, revolving around it. Over the tomb of Dean Stanley in Westminster abbey is the passage of Scripture, "Thy com mandments are exceeding broad" Let no man crowd us on to path like the bridge Al Sirat, which the Mohamme- dan thinks leads from this world over the abyss of he'll into paradise, the breadth of the bridge less than the web of starved spider or the edge of sword or razor, off the edges of which many fall. No. While the way is not wide enough to take with us any of our sins, it is wide enough for all Christian believers to pass without peril into everlasting safety. But do not any of you depend upon what you call "a sound creed for salvation. A man may own all the statutes of the state of New York and yet not be a lawyer, and man may own all the best medical treatises and not be physician, and a man may own all the best works on painting and architecture and not be either painter or architect, and a man may own all the sound creeds in the world and yet not be Christian. Not what you have in your head and on your tongue, but in your heart and in your life, will decide everything.
 "Hang Out Your Lights,"
 In olden times in England before the modern street lamps were invented ev- cry householder was expected to have a lantern suspended in front of his house, and the cry of the watchmen in London as they went along at eventide was. Hang out your lightsl" Instead of disputing in your home about the diff ferent kinds of lantern, as watchman on the walls of Zion cry, 'Let your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heavenp' Hang out your lights You may have thou and ideas about religion and yet not the great idea of pardoning mercy. It is not the number of your ideas, but the greatness of them. A mouse hath ten offsprings in her nest, while the ioness hath one in her lair. All ideas about forms and ceremonies and church government put together are not worth the one idea of getting to heaven your self and taking your family with you.
 But do not reject Christianity, as many do, because there are so many sects. Standing in Westminster hotel, London. I looked out of the window and saw three clocks, as near as can remember, oneon the parliament house. another on St. Margaret's chapel, an other on Westminster abbey, and they were all different. One said 12 o'clock at noon, another said five minutes be- fore 12, another said five minutes after 12. might as well have concluded that there is no such thing as time. be. cause the three timepfeces were differ ent, as for you to conclude that there Is no such thing as pure Christianity. because the churches differ in their statement of it.
 But let us all rejoice that, although part of our family may worship on earth in one church and part in an- other church, or, bowed at the same altar in a compromise of preferences, we are, if redeemed, on the way to a perfect church, where all our prefer ences will be fully gratified. Great cathedral of eternity, with arches of amethysts and pillars of sapphire, with floors of emerald and windows aglow with the sunrise of heaven What stupendous towers, with chimes angel hoisted and angel rungl What myriads of worshipers, white robed and coronetedl What an officiator at the altar, even "the great High Priest of our professionp' What walls. hung with the captured shields and flags, by the church militant passed up to be church triumphant What doxologies of all nationsl Coronet to coronet, cymbal to cymbal, harp to harp, organ to organl Pull out the tremulant stop to recall the sufferings past Pull out the trumpet stop to celebrate the vic toryl