Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-03-09

You may think IL old fogy advice. but
l give IL 20 YOU now: Remember the
sabbath day, to keep II holy. Six
days shalt thou labor and do all thy
work, but the seventh is the Sabbath
OF the Lord thy God: I'm II thou shalt
not do any work" A man said that
he would prove that all this was a
fallacy, and SO he said. 81 shall raise a
Sunday crop" And he plowed the field
on the sabbath. aud then he put I'm the
seed on the sabbath and cultivated the
ground on the Sabbath. When the
harvest was ripe, he reaped IL on the
Sabbath, and he carried IL into the
NOW on the Sabbath, and then he
stood out defiant to his Christian
neighbors and said. There, that is my
Sunday crop, and Il is all garnered."
After awhile storm came up and n
great darkness, and the lightnings of
heaven struck the barn, and away
went his Sunday crop. Beware, young
man. of all Sabbath breakers.
shun Dissipation.
Again, l charge you. beware of asso-
citation with the dissipated Go with
them aud you viii In time adopt their
habits Who is that man fallen against
the curbstone, covered with bruises
and beastlinesS? He was as bright n
lad as ever looked up from your nurs-
cry. His mother rocked him, prayed
for him, fondled him, would not let
the night air touch his cheek and held
him up and looked down into his low
ing eyes and wondered for what high
position lie was being fitted. lie en-
tered life with bright hopes. The
world beckoned him, friends cheered
him, hut the archers shot at him; vile
men set traps-for him, bad habits hook
ed fast TO him with their iron grap-
pies; his feet slipped on the way, and
there he lies. Who would think that
that uncombed hair was once toyed
with by n fathers fingers? Would you
think that those bloated cheeks We're
ever kissed by mothers lips? Would
you guess that that thick tongue once
made n household glad with its inno-
cent prattle? Utter no harsh words in
his ear. Help him up. Put the hat
over that once manly brow. Brush the
dust from that coat that once covered
n generous heart. Show him the way
to the home that once rejoiced at the
sound of his footstep and with gentle
words tell his children to stand back
Us you help him through the hall.
That was a kind husband once and
an indulgent father. He will kneel
with them no more as once he did at
family prayers-the little ones with
clasped hands looking up into the
heavens with thanksgiving for their
happy home. But now ut midnight he
will drive them from their pillows and
curse them down the steps and howl
after them as, unclad. they fly down
the street in night garments under the
calm starlight. Who slew that man?
Who blasted that home? Who plunged
those children into worse than orphan
age-until the hands are blue with
cold, and the checks are blanched with
fear, and the brow is Scared with
bruises, and the eyes are hollow with
grief? Who made that life a wreck
and filled eternity with the uproar of n
doomed spirit?
oh. IL I had some art by which I
could break the charm of the tempter's
bowl and with mailed hand lift out the
long serpent of eternal despair and
shake out Its coils and cast 1t down
and crush II TO death,
Shake of the Sabbath breaker. Oh.
turn your back upon these men. Shake
or the skeptic. Shake off the idIer.
Shake Off the plcasurist. You may do
this work OF election in politeness. but
you may do IL firmly. You arc not un-
der any circumstances to lose all the
remembrance of the fact that you are
n gentleman and must always act the
gentleman. a young man said TO n
Christian Quaker. "old chap, how did
You get your money!
WELL" said the Quaker, 81 got IL by
dealing In an article In which thou
mayest deal II thou wilt-civility."
BE courteous, be polite, but be firm.
Say mo" as If you meant 1t. II you say
mo" in feeble way, they will keep
on with their imploration and their
temptation, and after awhile you will
stand In silence, and then you will
say after they have gone on little
longer "Yes," and then you are lost.
Oh, turn your back upon the ban
quet OF SIM i call you to n better feast
today. The promises OF God are the
fruits. The harps OF heaven are the
music. The clusters OF Eschol are
pressed into the tankards. The sons
and daughters OF the Lord Almighty
are the guests, while standing at the
banquet 10 pour the wine and divide
the clusters and command the music
and welcome the guests is daughter
of God. on her brow the blossoms OF
paradise and In her check the flush of
celestial summer. And her name is
Religion. Her ways are ways OF
pleasantness. and all her paths are
Deace"