Connecticut western news., 1901-05-23

the mountain or nSn Ill tie brook, with
no time to pray or work or read, Is
not so well off as the greyhound that
runs by his side or the fly bait with
which he whips the stream. A man
who does not work does not know how
to play If God had intended us to do
nothing but laugh, he would not have
given us shoulders with which to lift
and hands with which to work and
brains with which to think. The
amusements of life are merely the
orchestra playing while the great trag-
edy of life plunges through Its five
acts-infancy, childhood, manhood, old
age and death. Then exit the last
earthly opportunity. Enter the over
whelming realities of an eternal world!
1 go further and say that all those
amusements are wrong which lead into
bad company. II you go to any place
where you have to associate with the
Incorporate, with the unclean, with the
abandoned, however well they may be
dressed in the name of God quit 1t.
They will despoil your nature. They
will undermine your moral character,
They will drop you when you are de
stroyed. They will give not one cent to
support your children when you are
dead.
had n friend in the west-a rare
friend. He was one of the first to wei
come me to my new home. To fine per-
sonal appearance he added a generos-
ity, frankness and ardor of nature that
made me love him like brother. But
saw evil people gathering around him.
They came up from the saloons, from
the gambling bells. They piled him
with a thousand arts. They seized
upon his social nature, and he could
not stand the charm. They drove him
on the rocks, like a ship, full winged,
shivering on the breakers. / used to
admonish him. 1 would say, Nov, l
wish you would quit those bad habits
and become q Christian" "Oh," h.
would reply, II would like to, would
like to, but l have gone so far / don't
think there is any way back" In his
moments of repentance he would go
home and take his little girl of 8 years
and embrace her convulsively, and COW
er her with adornments, and strew
around her pictures and toys and ev-
erything that could make her happy,
and then, as though bounded by an evil
spirit, he would go out to the inflaming
cup and the house of shame like fool
to the correction of the stocks.
The DeIiIah of Sin.
/ was summoned to his deathbed; i
ho OF n. Il
him, to my surprise. lying In full ev-
eryday dress ON the top of the couch.
put out my hand. He grasped it ex-
citedly and said, "Sit down, Mr.. Tai
mage; right there" l sat down. He
said: Last night / saw my mother,
who has been dead 20 years, and she
sat just where you sit now. 1t was no
dream. 1 was wide awake. There was
no delusion in the matter. / saw her
| wish you would take these strings off
me. There are strings spun all around
| my body. 1 wish you would take them
| off me-" l saw 1t was delirium. "Oh,"
| replied his wife, my dear, there Is
| nothing there; there is nothing therew
| He went on and said: "Just where you
| sit, Mr.. Talmage, my mother sat. She
| said to me, Henry, do wish you would
| do better | got out of bed, put my
arms around her and said: Mother,
| want to do better. l have been trying
to do better. Won't you help me to do
better? You used to help me- No mis-
take about 1t; no delusion. l saw her
the cap and the apron and the specta-
| cles-just as she used to look 20 years
| ago. But / do wish you would take
these strings away. They annoy me
80 I can hardly talk. Won't you take
them awayw l knelt down and pray
| ed, conscious of the fact that he did not
realize what l was saying. l got up.
said: "Goodby hope you will be bet
ter soon." He said, "Goodby, GOODBYE
| That night his soul went up to the
| God who gave 1t. Arrangements were
made for the obsequies. Some said
Don't bring him In the church. He
| was too dissolute." oh" l said
"bring him. He was a good friend OF
mine while he was alive, and | shall
stand by him now that he is dead
Bring him to the church"
AS l sat In the pulpit and saw his
| body coming up through the aisle felt
as If 1 could weep tears of blood.
told the people that day: This man
had his virtues and a good many OF
them. He had his faults and a good
| many of them. But If there Is any
man in this audience who is without
sin let him cast the first stone at this
coffin lid" On one side the pulpit sal
that little child, rosy, sweet faced, as
( beautiful as any little child that sal
at your table this morning, 1 warrant
you. She looked up wistfully, not
knowing the full sorrows of an orphan
child.
Oh, her countenance haunts me today
like some sweet face looking upon us
through horrid dream! On the Other
side Of the pulpit were the men who
had destroyed him. There they sat
hard visaged, some of them pale from
exhausting disease, some of them flush
ed until 1t seemed as If the fires of In
iquity famed through the cheek and
cracked the lips. They were the mer
who had done the work. They were the
men who had bound him hand anC
foot. They had kindled the fires. They
had poured the NORWOOD and gal
into that orphans cup. Did they weep
No. Did they sigh repentingly? No
Did they say, what pity that such 6
brave man should be slain?' No, no
Not one bloated hand was lifted t.
wipe tear from bloated cheek. They
sat and looked at the coffin like vul
lures gazing at the carcass of a lamt
whose heart they had ripped out!
cried in their ears as plainly as could
"There is God and a judgment day.
Did they tremble? Oh, no, no. They
went back from the house Of God, anG
that night, though their victim lay II
lakewood cemetery, l was told tina
they blasphemed, and they drank. ant
they gambled, and there was not one
less customer in all the houses of in