Connecticut western news., 1899-07-20

of humor as they are of saving truth, and there Is not an aged man here who has ever read "Pilgrim's Progress" who does not remember that while reading 1t he smiled as often as he wept. Chrysostom, George Herbert, Robert South, George Whitefield, Jere- my Taylor, Rowland Hill, Ashael Net tleton, Charles c. Finney and all the men of the past who greatly advanced the kingdom of God consecrated their wit and their humor to the cause of Christ. So it has been in all the ages, and I say to all our young theological students, sharpen your wits until they are as keen as scimiters and then take them into this holy war. It Is very short bridge between a smile and a tear, a suspension bridge from eye to lip, and 1t is soon crossed over, and a smile Is sometimes just as sacred as a tear. There Is as much religion, and think a little more, In spring morn ing than in a starless midnight Re ligious work without any humor or wit in 1t is a banquet with a side of beef and that raw and no condiments and no dessert succeeding People will not sit down to such a banquet. By all means remove all frivolity and all bathos and all lightness and vulgarity; strain them out through the sieve of holy discrimination; but, on the other hand, beware of that monster which overshadows the Christian church to- day. conventionality, coming up from the Great Sahara desert of ecclesi asticism, having on its back a hump of sanctimonious gloom, and vehement ly refuse to swallow that camel
 Particular About Small Things.
 Oh, how particular great many peo- pie are about the infinitesimals, while they are quite reckless about the mag nitudes! What did Christ say? Did he not excoriate the people in his time who were so careful to wash their hands before meal, but did not wash their hearts? It Is bad thing to have unclean hands: it is a worse thing to have an unclean heart. How many people there are in our time who are very anxious that after their death they shall be buried with their face toward the east and not at all anxious that during their whole life they should come up in the resurrection of the just whichever way they are buried. How many there are chiefly anxious that minister of the gospel shall come in the line of apostolic sue cession, not caring so much whether he comes from Apostle Paul or Apos- tie Judas. They have a way of meas uring gnat until 1t Is larger than camel.
 Again. my subject photographs all those who are abhorrent of small sins, while they are reckless in regard to magnificent thefts. You will find many a merchant who, while he Is so careful that he would not take a yard of cloth or spool of cotton from the counter without paying for 1t, and who, If a bank cashier should make a mistake and send in roll of bills $5 too much, would dispatch a messenger in hot haste to return the surplus, yet who will go into stock company, in which after awhile he gets control or the stock and then waters the stock and makes $10O,0OO appear like $200.000. He only stole $10O,0O0 by the opera ton. Many of the men of fortune made their wealth In that way.
 One of those men engaged In such unrighteous acts that evening. the evening of the very day when he wa tered the stock, will find wharf rat stealing daily paper from the base ment doorway and will go out and catch the urchin by the collar and twist the collar so tightly the poor fel- low has no power to say that 1t was thirst for knowledge that led him to the dishonest act, but grip the collar tighter and tighter. saying: "l have been looking for you a long while. You stole my paper four or five times, haven't you, you miserable wretch?" And then the old stock gambler. with a voice they can hear three blocks, will cry out, Police, policew That same man the evening of the day Tn which he watered the stock will kneel with his family In prayers and thank God for the prosperity of the day, then kiss his children good night with an air which seems to say, 'T hope you all will grow up to be as good as your father" Prisons for sins insectile In size. but palaces for crimes drome- darian. No mercy for sins animalcule in proportion, but great leniency for mastodon iniquity. A poor boy slyly takes from the basket of a market wo- man a choke pear, saving some one else from the cholera, and you smoth- CT him in the horrible atmosphere of Raymond street jail or New York Tombs. while his cousin. who has been skillful enough to steal $50,OOO from the city, you make a candidate for the state legislature.
 Omnipotent Indignation.
 There Is a good deal of uneasiness and nervousness now among some peo- pie in our time who have got un- righteous fortunes, great deal of un- easiness about dynamite. I tell them that God will put under their un- righteous fortunes something more ex- plosive than dynamite, the earthquake of his omnlpotent indignation. It Is time that we learn'in America that sin
 Is not excusable in proportion as it de clares large dividends and has outrid-
 CTS in equipage. Many man Is rid ing to perdition postilion ahead and lackey behind. To steal one copy of newspaper is gnat; to steal many thousands of dollars Is a camel. There is many a fruit dealer who would not consent to steal a basket of peaches from a neighbours stall, but who would not scruple to depress the fruit mar ket, and as long as I can remember we have heard every summer the peach crop of Maryland Is failure,
 and by the time the crop comes in the misrepresentation makes a difference of millions of dollars. A man who would not steal one basket of peaches steals 5O,O0O baskets of peaches.
 L Go down into the public library, in the reading rooms, and see the news paper reports of the crops from all parts of the country, and their phrase ology is very much the same, and the same men wrote them, methodically
 and infamously carrying out the huge ix,ir, olNO tl,o ofy, F,1Y,