Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-16

| mere are lHlNi w iU VIII never ItIRlNt
you if you have more emoluments or hon
or or ease than they have. To taxi you
down is the dominant wish of most of
those who are not rs high as you are.
They will spend hours and days and years
to entrap yo,. They will hover around
newspaper Offices to get one mean line
printed depreciating you. Your heaven
is their hell.
Warning Against Politics.
a dying president OF the United States
said many years ago in regard to his
lifetime OF experience, 1T doesn't pay"
The leading statesmen Of America in
letters of advice warn young men to
keep out of politics. Many of the most
successful; have tried in vain to drown
their trouble in strong drink. On the
Other hand. there are millions of people
who on departing this life will have
nothing to leave but a good name and a
life insurance whose illumined faces are
indices of illumined souls. They wish
everybody well. When the fire bell rings,
they do not go to the window at midnight
to see if it is their store that is on fire,
for they never owned a store, and when
the September equinox is abroad they do
not worry lest their ships founder in a
gale, for they never owned a ship. and
when the nominations are made for high
political office they are not fearful that
their name will be overlooked, for they
never applied for office. There is so
much hcartiness and freedom from care
in their laughter that when you hear il
you are compelled to laugh in sympathy.
although you know not what they are
laughing about.
When the children of that family as.
semble in the sitting room of the old
homestead to hear the fathers will read,
they are not fearful of being cut off with
Il million and a half dollars, for the old
man never owned anything more than the
farm of 70 acres, which yielded only
enough plainly to support the household.
They have more happiness in one month
than many have in a whole lifetime.
Would TO God | had the capacity to ex-
plain to you on how little a man can be
happy and on how much he may be
wretchcd. Get your heart right and all
Is right. Keep your heart wrong, and all
is wrong. That is a principle settled in
heaven.
Another thing decided in that high
place is that this world is a schoolhouse
or college for splendid or disgraceful
graduation. We begin in the freshman
class Of good or evil and then pass into
the sophomore and then into the junior
and then into the senior, and from that
we graduate angels or devils. In many
colleges there is an elective course
whore the student selects what he will
study-mathematics or the languages OF
chemistry or philosophy-and it is an
elective course we all take in the school
house or university of this world.
We may study sin until we are satu
rated with it or righteousness until we are
cXcmplitications of it. Graduate we al
must, but we decide for ourselves the styl,
Of graduation. 1t is an elective course
We can study generosity until our every
word and every act and every contribu
ton of money or time will make thu
world better, or we may study meannes'
until our soul shall shrink up to a small
ness ~unimaginable. We may, under God
educate ourselves into n self control tina
nothing can anger or into an irascibilit'
that will ever and anon keep our face
flushed with wrath and every nerv'
a-quivcr. Great old schoolhouse of
world in which we are all being educate'
for glory or perdition!
Beginning Active Life.
Some have wondered why graduation
udl III tOll'Et IL 'dllti 'pulii'i'NiiNh
day" when K is the last day of cOllog
exercises, but graduation days are prop
crly called commencement day. To a
the graduated it is the commencement o
active life, and our graduation day fror
earth will be to us commencement of on
chief life, our larger life, our more tire
mendous life, our eternal life. But wha
n day commencement day on earth il
The student never sees any day like II
p At any rate, | never did. Old Niblo'
theater in New York comes back to mt
!, The gowned and tassel hated professor
l behind us, and our kindred and friend
before us and above us, and the air redo
lent with garlands to be thrown to Us
! What a commencement day it was for n
Of us about to graduate! But mightie
day will il be when we graduate fror
this world. Will it be Kisses of conden
: nation or ha~ndclapping Of approval? Wi
= there be flung to us nettles or wreaths
. Will it be a resembling "Come!" or n r.
] verberating departs"
In the real college, before graduatio