Connecticut western news., 1899-12-21

A great complaint comes from the theaters about the ladies' high hats because they obstruct the view of the stage, and a lady reporter asked me what I thought about it, and 1 told her that If the indecent pictures of ac- tresses in the show windows were ac- curate pictures of what goes on in many of the theaters night by night then it would be well if the ladies' hats were a mile high, so as to completely obstruct the vision. If professed Chris tians go to such places during the week, no one will ever prosecute them for their religion, for they have none, and they are the joke of hell. But let them live a consecrated and Christian life and they will soon run against sneering opposition.
 Band Together.
 For a compromise Christian charac- ter an easy time now, but for conse- crated behavior, grimace and carica- ture. For the body, thanks to the God of free America, there are now no swords or fiery stakes, but for the souls of thousands of the good, in figuratiye sense, rack and gibbet and Torquemada. The symbol of the do- mestic and social and private and pub lie suffering of a great multitude of Gods dear children, pillars of smoke. What an exciting scene in India when, during the sepoy rebellion, regiment of highlanders came up and found the dead body of one of General Wheeler's daughters, who had been insulted and la6 lai in hu great was the wrath against these mur- derers that the Scotch regiment sat down, and, cutting off the hair of this dead daughter of General Wheeler, they divided it among them, and each one counted the number of hairs given him, and each took an oath, which was executed, that for each hair of the murdered daughter they would dash out the life of bestial sepoy. But as we look over the story of those who in all ages have suffered for the truth, while we leave vengeance to the Lord, let us band together in one solemn VOW, one tremendous oath, after hay ing counted the host of the martyrs, that for each one of those glorious men and women who died for the truth
 
 and live forever.
 But, as I already hinted in the first sentence of this sermon, nothing can be more beautiful than the figures of smoke on a clear sky. You can see what you will in the contour of this volatile vapor, now enchanted castles, now troops of horsemen, now banner ed procession, now winged couriers, now a black angel of wrath under a spear of the sunshine turned to an an gel of light, and now from horizon to horizon the air is a picture gallery filled with masterpieces of which God is the artist, burning clouds of smoke born in the sunrise and evening clouds of smoke laid in the furnished sep ulchers of the sunset.
 The beauty of the transfgured smoke is divine symbol of the beauty of the church. The fairest of all the fair is she. Do not call those prosecutors of whom I spoke the church. They are the parasites of the church, not the church itself. Her mission is to cover the earth with supernatural glad ness, to open all the prison doors, to balsam all the wounds, to moss all the graves, to burn up the night in the fireplace of a great morning, to change iron handcuffs into diamonded wrist lets, to turn the whole race around and whereas 1t faced death, commanding 1t, 'rRight about face for heavenw Ac- cording to the number of the spires of the churches in all our cities, towns and neighborhoods are the good homes, the worldly prosperities and the pure morals and the happy souls.
 Crime and Churches.
 Meet me at any depot the world over, and with my eyes closed take me by the hand and lead me so that my feet will not stumble, and without my once looking down or looking on the level take me to some high roof or tower and let me see the tops of the churches, and will tell you the proportion of suicides, of arsons, of murders, of thefts. According as the churches are numerous are the crimes few. Ac cording as the churches are few the crimes are numerous. The most beau tiful organization the world ever saw or ever will see is the much maligned
 
 of all evil, flair as the moon and clear as the sum-" Beautiful in her Author, beautiful in her mission, the heroine of the centuries, the bride of Christ, the queen of the nations!
 Men may desecrate it, as Cromwell, when he stabled his cavalry horses in St. PauPs cathedral; or break off the image Of Christ, as did the iconoclasts in York minister; or hurl against 1t au- gust literary antiquities, as did Gib- bon; or plot its overthrow, as do some in every community whose pride and hate and debauchery are reproved by the Ten Commandments which 1t thun- ders and the sermon on the mount which it breathes. But it will stand as long as the earth stands, the same unique and wonder working and beatifc and miraculous thing for which God decreed 1t. Small wits tax their brain to say things that will put her at disadvantage, but many of them will send for it's condolence when dy- ing, and their children will be gathered up under its benedictions after the pa rental curse has been removed. Through her gates will march all the influences for good that shall ever reach our world. Take her membership as a mass, not speaking of the acknowl- edged exceptions, they are the noblest, grandest, kindest, best men and wo- men of the ages. But for them the earth would long ago have been a burned out volcano. They have been the salt that has kept the human race from putrefaction insufferable either to human or angelic olfactories.
 You lying and hypocritical world, shut up those islanders about the church of Christ, an institution which, far from being what 1t ought to be and never pretending to be perfect, Is 800 times better than any other institution that the world ever saw or ever dream