The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-08-03


internal fires generations unborn. You
find these books in the desk OF the school
miss, in the trunk OF the young man. IN the
steamboat cabin, on the table Oi the hotel
reception room. You see a light IN your
child's room late at night. You suddenly
90 IN and say, what are you dOinRE
| am reading" what are you readlnRW
"A book" Where did you get ltE' 81
borrowed it," Alas, there are always those
abroad who would like 10 loan your son or
daughter a bad book Everywhere, every
where all unclean literature! charge
upon IL the destruction OF 10000 immortal
souls and bid you wake up TO the maRnl-
tude OF the evil.
/ charge you, in the first place, 10
stand alooi from all books that give false
pictures OF life. Life IL neither a tragedy
nor a farce. Men are not all either knavcs
or heroes Women are neither angels nor
iurics. And yet, if you depended upoh
much OF the literature OF the day, you
would get the idea that life, instead of be
ing something earnest, something practl-
cal, is a litiul and ilntastic and eXtrava-
CANT thing. How poorly prepared are
that young man and woman Tor the du-
ties of to-day who spent last night wadlng
through brilliant passages descriptive OF
magnificent kndvcry aud wlckCdncss! The
man will bc looking all day long for his
heroine, in the office 10y the forge in the
not find her, and he will be dissatisfied.
\ man who gives himself up 10 the lnds-
Crlmlnatc reading Oi novels VIII hc nerve.
less, lnanc and a nuisance. He Will be fat
nclthCr'ior the store nor the shop, nor the
field \ woman who gives herself up to
the lndiscrlmnatc reading OF novels will
bc untitled for the duties OF wife, mother,
sister, daughter. There she rs, hair dis
hevelcd, countcnancc vacant, cnccks pale,
hands trembling, bursting into tears at
midnight over the fate of some uniortu-
nate lover; IN the daytime, when she
ought 10 busy, staring 10y the halt hour at
nothing; biting her finger nails INTO the
quick. The carpet that was plain before
will be palmer after having wandered
| through a romance all night long IN tcssel
! lated halls of castles. And your indus
| trious companion will be more unattrac-
tive than ever, now that you have walked
i'm the romance through parks with
pmmcd prncesses, or loungcd IN che arbor
with polished desperate. Oh these con
iirmcd no. | readcrsl They are untitled
for this life, which is a tremendous dis
Cipline. They know not how TO 90
through the furnaces of trial through
which they must pass, and they are un-
fitted for a world where everything we
gain we aclicyc 10y hard and long continu.
ing work.
Again, abstain from all those books
which while they have some good things,
have also an admiXturc of evil. You have
read books that had two elements in
thcm-thc good and the bad. Which
struck youy The bad. The heart OF most
people is like sieve which let's the small
particles of gold fall through, but keeps
the great Clndcrs. Once IN awhile there -
mind like a loadstonc which, plunged
amid steel and brass Filings, gathers up
the steel and rcpcs the brass But II ~
generally exactly the opposite. II you
attempt TO plunge through a hedge of
burs TO get one blackberry, ,nu Will get
more hurs than blackborrics. You cannot
afford To read bad book. however good
YOU are. You say, The influence is insig.
nidcant.' | tell you that the scratch of
a pin has sometimes produced lock-Jaw.
| Alas, IT through curiosity, rs many do,
YOU pry into an evil book your curiosity
Is as dangerous rs that pt the man who
| would takc torch into a gunpowdCr mdl
to see whether 1t would really blow up
or not!
In a menagcric in New York man
put his arm through the bars ot black
| lcopards cage. The animals hide looked
so sleek and bright and beautiful. lie just
strokCd Il once. The monster seized him,
and he drew forth hand torn and man
glcd and bleeding. Oh, touch not evil
with the laintest stroke, Though Il may
he glossy and beautiful, touch It not lest
YOU pull forth your soul torn and bleed.
ing under the clutch of the leopard.
But" YOU say. how can | find out
whether a book is good or bad without
reading itY There is always something
suspicious about a bad book. never
knew an cXception-somcthlng suspicious
IN the index or style OF illustration. This
venomous reptile always carries warning
rattle.
Again | charge YOU to stand of from
all those books which corrupt the magma
tion and iniame the passions. | do not
refer now TO that kind of book which the
villain has under his coat waiting tor the
school to get out aud then, looking both
WAYS to see that there - no policeman
around the block. offers the book TO your
son on his way home. | do not speak OF
that kind OF literature, but that which
evadcs the law and comes out In polished
style and with acute plot sounds the tocsin
that rousCs up all the hascr passions OF
the soul. To-day under the nostrils of
the people there is teud, rocking. un.
washed literature enough TO poison all
the fountains of public virtue and smite
your sons and daughters with the wing
ot destroying angel, and II Is time that
the ministers OF the gospel blew the
trumpet and rallied the forces ot righteous
ness, all armed against depraVCd htcra-
ture.
Again, ABSTAIN from those books winch
are apologize OF crime. II is a sad thing
that some OF the best and most beautiful
hookbindery and some of the finest rhct.
oric have been brought to make sin at.
tTactivc. Vice n a horrible thing any.
how. IL is born m shame. and it dies
bowling in the darkness In this world
II is scourgcd with a whip of scorpions
bat aiterward the thunders of Gods wrath
pursue Il across a boundless descrt. beat
ing IT with ruin and woe When YOU come
| 10 paint Carnality. do not uaint u as look.
ing from behind embroidered curtains or
| through lattice of royal seragho. but a.
writing in the ggouies ot a city hospital.
/ Cursed be the books that try 20 make
\ lmpurity decent and crime attractive aud
/ hypocrisy noble Cursed be the books
/ that swarm with h0ertincs and despera-
does. who make the brain ot the Young
people whirl with villainy, We authors
| who write them, We Publishers who print
them. ye booksellers who distribute them
shall be cut To pieces. II not 10y an aroused
community, then at last by the hail OF
J divine vengeance. which shall sweep 10 the