Connecticut western news., 1900-08-23
no possible ..:saitavt:.
 TrOubteaOmc prpperty

Ieu-kAt1 WthS oh hhN. hSh thS1 Sot ashen, showing they were burned down. Then they disappeared, show ing that even the ashes were scattered. And, if the geologist be right In his prophecy, then our world Is to go in the same way. And yet you want me to exchange my soul for 1t. An, no; 1t Is a world that Is burning now. Suppose you brought an insurance agent to look at your property for the purpose of giving you policy upon 1t and while he stood In front of the house he should say, "That house Is on fire now in the basement" you could not get any insurance upon 1t. Yet you talk about this world as though 1t were a safe investment, as though you could get some insurance upon 1t, when down In the basement 1t Is on fire.
 remark, also, that this world Is a property, with which everybody who trouble. Now, between my house aud my church in Brooklyn there was a reach of land which was not built on. I asked what was the matter, and they replied that everybody who had any thing to do with that property got Into trouble about 1t. It issjust so with this world-everybody that has had any, thing to do with 1t as possession has been in perplexity. How was it with Lord Byron? Did he not sell his im- mortal soul for the purpose of getting the world? Was he satisfied with the possession? Alas! alas! the poem graphically describes his case when it says:
 Drank every cup of joy,
 Heard every trump of fame;
 Drank early, deeply drank,
 Drank drafts which common millions might have
 quenched,
 TAen died of thir,t, because there was no more to
 drink
 Oh, yes, he had trouble with 1t, and so did Napoleon. After conQuering na- tions by the force of the sword, the victor lies down to die, his entire pos session the military boots that he in- sisted on having upon his feet while he was dying. So 1t has been with men who had better ambition. Thackeray, one of the most genial and lovable souls, after he had won the applause of all intelligent lands through his won- derful genius, sits down in a restau- rant in Paris, looks to the other end of the room and wonders whose Is that forlorn and wretched face. Rising up after awhile, he finds that 1t Is Thack- cray in the mirror. On, yes, this world is cheat. Talk about man gaining the world! Who ever gained half of the world? Who ever owned a hemis- phere? Who ever gained continent7 Who ever owned Asia2 Who ever gained a city? Talk about gaining the world! No man ever gained it, or the thousandth part of it. You are de- manding that sell my soul, not for the world, but for a fragment of 1t. &
 Easy to Measure.
 Here is a man who has had a large estate for 40 or 50 years. He lies down to die. You say: That man is worth millions and millions of dollars" Is hef You call up surveyor, with his compass and chains, and you say: "There Is property extending three miles in one direction and three miles in another direction" Is that the way to measure that mans property? No! You do not want any surveyor, with compass and chains. That Is not the way to measure that mans property now. It Is an undertaken you need, who will come and put his finger in his vest pocket and take out a tapeline, and he will measure five feet nine inches one way and two feet and a half the other way. That Is the mans property. Oh, no. forgot. Not so much as that, for he does not own even the place in which he lies in the cemetery. The deed to that belongs to the exec utors and heirs. Oh, what a property
 you propose to give me for my soul. If you sell e bill of goods, you go into the counting room and say to your
 partner: Do you think that man Is good for this bill? Can he give proper
 security? Win he meet this pay
 mentY Now, when you are offered this world as a possession I want you
 to test the matter. I do not want you
 to go into this bargain blindly. I want
 you to ask about the title, about the
 insurance. about whether men have ever had any trouble with it, about
 whether you can keep 1t, about whether you can get all or the ten thousandth
 or one hundred thousandth part of 1t
 There Is the world now. I shah say no more about 1t. Make up your mind for yourself. as I shall. before God
 have to make up my mind for myself, about the value of this world l can- aot afford to make mistake for my soul, and you cannot afford to make . mistake for your soul
 Beyond Estimation.
 Now, let us look at the other proper ty-the soul. We cannot make a bar gain without seeing the comparative value. The soul! How shall estimate
 the value of 1t? We'll, by its exquisite organization. It Is the most wonderful piece of mechanism ever put together. Machinery is of value in proportion as 1t Is mighty and silent at the same time. You look at the engine and the machinery in the Philadelphia mint and as you see 1t performing its won derful work you will be surprised to find how silently 1t goes. Machinery that roars and tears soon destroys It. self, but silent machinery Is often most effective. Now, so 1t is with the soul of man, with all its tremendous facul. ties; 1t moves in silence. Judgment without any racket, lifting its scales memory, without any noise, bringing down all its treasures; conscience, talk. ing Its judgment seat without any ex- citement; the understanding and the will, all doing their work. Velocity, majesty, might, but silence - silence You listen at the door of your heart You can hear no sound. The soul Is all quiet. It is so delicate an instrument that no human hand can touch 1t. You break bone, and with splinters and bandages the surgeon sets 1t; the eye becomes infiamed, and the apotheca. ry's wash cools 1t, but a soul off the track. unbalanced-no human power can readjust 1t. With one sweep of Its