Connecticut western news., 1900-10-18
AN EXILE FROM HOME
pERIls THAT eesET THE YOUNG MAN
 SEEKING FORTUNE.

Hfm-kdvantages of Exfly oA,as- tian 1fkfainx.
 WAsHINGToN, Oct. 1A-Dr. Talmage htaid in London to occupy the famous Wesley pulpit in the City Road chapel, where he preached several times be- fore, always receiving hearty welcome. Thence he went to Ireland, preaching in Belfast and Dublin. The discourse he has sent this week describes the be- havior of young man away from home and suggests practical lessons for people of every age and class. The text Is Daniel 1. 5, And the king ap- pointed them daily provision of the kings meat and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king"
 My text opens the door of a college in Babylon and introduces you to a young student IT years of age, Daniel by name. Be not surprised If In the col lege you find many hilarities. Put a hundred young men together, and they are sure to have good time. There Is no harm in that. God does not write out the trees, and the grass, and the blossoms, In dull prose. The old robin does not sit moping in the nest because of the chirpings and the lively adven- lures of the fedgelings that have just begun to fly. Do not come into an or chard looking for winter apples on May morning.
 But Daniel of our text is far from be- ing gay. What oppressive thoughts must have come over him as he remem- bered that he was captive in strange land! The music that came Into his study window was not the song of Zi- on, but the sound of flute, sackbut and dulcimer in the worship of the heather god. Moreover, he had no hope of ever getting back home again and meeting those who had missed him long and missed him bitterly, wondering if he were still alive and finding many lux ury tasteless because they did not know but Daniel might be lacking bread.
 When you and were In school or college and the vacation approached, we were full of bright anticipation, and we could not study the last day, and we could not study the last night. The lexicon and the philosophical ap- paratus were transparent, so we could see right through them into the mead ows and the orchards. Not so with poor Daniel. He did not know that he should ever escape from captivity, or, escaping, he did not know but when he got home the loved ones would be dead nndhe would go, wandering and weep ing, among the sepulohers of his fa- thers. Besides that. the king tried to make him forget his home and forget his country and for that purpose ac- tually changed his name. The king wanted him to be prodigy in personal appearance, and so he ordered meat and wine sent from his own table to Daniel, but Daniel refuses all this and puts himself upon the humblest diet, the poorest of all herbs, called pulse, and plain water. His attendants cry out against this and tell him he will perish under such diet. "No," he says; you try us for ten days, and If at the end of that time we are not full checked and robust as any 1t will be surprising" Ten days pass along, and the students come up for examination. and all declare that none are so ruddy and robust as Daniel and his fellow captives. The days of industrious pu- pilage and the years pass by. and the day of graduation has come, and Dan- 2al fc h dfvln cin hv hn king and reading as follows: "In all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm" And so Daniel took the first honor, and here the story ends. for Daniel, the student, hereafter will be Daniel. the prime minister.
 Dangers of Evil Habits.
 The next thought suggested to me by this subject Is that young men may be carried into captivity by their enemies. There Is a captivity more galling than the one in which Daniel was trans ported. It is the captivity of evil hab- 1t. Men do not go into that willingly Slyly and imperceptibly are the chains forged upon them, and one day they wake up to find themselves away down in Babylon. Cyrus afterward consent ed that some of his captives should re turn. and 5000 of them accepted the opportunity. But tell me what evil habit ever consented to let a man go Ten plaques made Pharaoh consent to the departure of Gods people, but tell me what Pharaoh of evil habit evel cheerfully consented to let any of Its victims go. Men talk of evil habits as though they were light and trivial, but they are scorpion whips that tear tho flesh; they are spikes more bloody thar the path of Brahman; they make thu poisonous robe of Nessus; they are tho Repulchers In which millions are burn ed alive. The young are In more peri because they are unsuspecting. Tn, lions are asleep In their soul, and thei
 power Is not suspected. The time wheI ships company makes mutiny Ii
 when the watchman Is off his guard When spider meets fly, 1t does no
 say, "Go down with me to the plac'
 where I murder insects" No; 1t says Come and take a bright morning wall
 with me on this suspension bridge o glittering gossamer." Oh, there Is
 difference between the sparkle of a ser
 pent's eye and the crush of it's slim.
 foldsi There Is a difference between the bears paw toying with a kid an
 the cracking of the bones in the terri
 ble hug. Pike's peak looks beautiful fl
 the distance, but ask the starved tray
 eiers by the roadside what they thin
 of Pike's peak. Are there those aroun
 whom suspicious companions are gatt ering? Do their jests and their enter tainments make the hours go blithel
 by when you are with them? Hay
 you taken a sip from their cup of si
 or gone with them in one path of UT righteousness? Turn back. From Bal
 ylon they came. and to Babylon the