Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-08-02

they entered the society been going
down since In commercial standing?
Then look out. You and I every day
know OF commercial establishments GO
Ing to ruin through the social excuses
OF one or two members. their fortune
beaten to death with hall players bat
or cut amidships with the front prov
OF the regatta or going down under the
swift boots OF the fast horses or drown
ed In the large rotations of cognac or
Monongahela. That secret society was
the Loeb Earn. Their business was
the Vile de Havre. They struck, aud
the Vile de Havre went underl
The third test by which you may
know whether the society to which you
belong Is good or bad is this: What is
Its effect on your sense OF moral and
religious obligation? Now, IL should
take the names OF all the people I'm this
audience and put them on a roll, and
then should lay that roll back of this
organ, and a hundred years from now
sonre one should take that roll and call
Ii from A to u, there would not one of
you answer. say that any society
that makes me forget that fact is a bad
society.
When l go to Chicago, I am some
times perplexed at Buffalo, as l sup
pose many travellers are, as to whether
IL is better to take the Lake Shore
route or the Michigan Central. equally
expeditions and equally safe. getting
TO their destination at the same time.
But suppose that l hear that on one
hn fro oh to 4. 4.
are down and the switches are I'M
locked. 1t will not take me a great
while to decide which road to take
Now. here are two roads In the future
the Christian and the un-Christian, the
safe and the unsafe. Any institution
or any association that confuses my
Ideas In regard TO that fact is a bad In.
stitution and bad association. / had
prayers before l joined that society.
Did have them afterward? l attend.
ed the house Of God before I connected
myself with that union. Do !, absent
myself from religious influences?
saIvntIon's Cable.
Which would you rather have in your
hand when you come to die-a pack of
cards or a Bible? Which would YOU
rather have pressed to your lips in the
closing moment--the cup of Belshazza
rean wasSail or the chalice of Christian
communion? Whom would you rather
have for your pallbearers-the elders
of Christian church or the compan-
ions whose conversation was fun of
slang and innuendo? Whom would
you rather have for your eternal com.
panions-those men who spend their
evenings betting, gambling, swearing,
carousing and telling vile stories or.
your little child, that bright girl whom
the Lord took? Oh, you would not
nave been away so much nights, would
you, IL you had known she was going
away so soon? Dear me, your house
has never been the same place since.
Your wife has never frightened up:
she has never got over II; she never
will get over it. How long the even
ings are with no one to put to bed and
no one TO whom TO tell the beautiful
Bible stories, What n pity it Is that
you cannot spend more evenings at
home in trying TO help her bear that
sorrow. You can never drown that
grief In the wine cup You can never
break away from the little arms that
used to be flung around your neck
when she used TO say. Papa, do stay
with me tonight-do stay with me To-
night" You will never be able TO wine
away from your lips the dying kiss OF
your little girl. The fascination pf a
bad secret society Is so great that some
times man has turned his back on his
home when his child was dying of scar.
let FEVER. He went away. Before he
got back at midnight the eyes had been
closed. tue undertaken had done his
work. and the wife. worn out with
three weeks watching, lay unconscious
IN the next room. Then the returned
iather comes up stairs. and ne sees the
cradle gone. and he says. "what is tho
matterr On the Judgment day he will
ma out what was the matter.
On. man astray. God help you, am
going to make n very stout rope. You
know that sometimes n ropemaker will
take very small threads and wind them
together until after awhile they no.
come a ship cable. And | am going to
take some very small. delicate threads
ana wind them together until they
make very stout rope. will take
all the memories OF the marriage day-
a thread OF laughter. thread OF light.
o thread OF music n thread of han.
quoting, thread of congratulation-
ana twist them together, and have
one strand. Then take n thread of
the hour OF the FIRST advent in your
house, thread OF the darkness that
preceded. and thread OF the light that
followed, and a thread OF the beautiful
scarf that little child used TO wear
when she bounded out at eventide 10
greet you, and then a thread of the
beautiful dress In which you laid her
away FOR the resurrection, and then |
twist all these threads together, and I
nave another strand. Then take a
thread OF the scarlet robe of a suffering
CHRIST, aud thread OF the white raj
ment or your loved ones before the
throne, and a string of the harp cheru-
Die, and a string OF the harp seraphic.
and l twist them all together. and | !
nave third strand. ooh" you say.
either strand is enough to hold fast
world" No; will take these strands.
and VIII twist them together.and one
END or that rope will fasten not to the |
communion table, for it shall be remov- |
ed; not to pillar OF the organ, for that |
VIII crumble in the ages. but / wind |
it round and round the cross of SYM |
pathizing Christ and, having fastened
one end OF the rope TO the cross, throw |
the other end to you. Lay hold of 1t!
Pull for your lifei Pull for heaven,
copyright. 1901. Louis Klopsch, N. VI
Misplaced Pins.