Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-06-24

chrI i u III I'M
You q ~ MI ~ abose 81
ing g tken for allv3ce ana asllsfanees
! for many Ia this world have besn we'll
nigh snipwreeked upon 1T. simply be-
cause they have been too confident IN
their own strength Giving yourselves
and the dew Of your youth to Christ,
let these maxims be your rule:
Touch Not. Taste Not. Handle Not.
When sinners entice thee, consent not
to them; but, recalling tender memories
of home, 4 fathers authority, moth.
er's love, the affection and solicitude of
your school teachers and playmates.. fol-
low the advice OF Solomon: MY son,
keep thy fathers commandment, and
forsake not the law OF thy mother: bind
them continually about thine heart, and
tie them about thy neck"
There is no time SO precious, so rich
and promising as the morning of life,
when flushed with health, and encourag-
ed with all the bright prospects OF the
future, we begin to urge our way up the
steep of our existence. 1t is then our
characters receive the stamp of virtue or
OF vice, of honor or of dishonor. And
you may depend upon it, my young
friends, that the way you spend these
days OF youth, will very largely deter
mine the conditions OF after lie.
Sweet is the breath of spring, diNnely
sweet.
With charm of earliest birds"
This is the sweetest season Of the
whole year; there is joyful elasticity
about it which cheers and invigorates
the mind. But spring is not 70 last al
ways; summers glories will soon blaze
upon the earth, to be succeeded by the
soberness OF autumn, and the desola-
lions OF winter.
So it is with the life Of man. Youth
is the spring season of our days; it is
then we should cultivate and improve
the mind, or we shall be sadly left in
maturer age to lament our folly with
bitter tears of sorrow and repentance;
and also without any prospect of MAX
ing up our immense loss. This is the
warning note l would utter to our
young people to-day, and in after years
you will appreciate its truth, for you
Will then see how many there are who
are led away into error, and imbibe
false notions of the things of life. thus
weakening their energies, and blight
ing every bud of virtue in their souls,
because in earlier life they turned
deaf ear to the words of those who by
bitter experience, have known better.
1 fully appreciate the independents of
youth, and the fact that they love to
think for themselves, forgetting that
they are without any knowledge of the
ways of mankind. This results often
times in downfall One departure from
the strict road of right doing leads on
to another, until they become finally
covered with ignominy and shame. Now,
it is this very condition which We de-
sire to avoid by timely advice to our
young men and women. Where shall
we look for aid in maintaining the
proper standards Of society, in uphold
ing the places of sacred trust and honor,
except to the young men and women
of to-day, who are to take their firm
stand in the professional, business and
domestic life of our country. Let us
then, l say, with fearless voice. warn
our young people Of their danger. Let
us stir up their pure young minds, by
continually reminding them of their In
valuable privileges, and the great work
they are starting out to accomplish.
Let every parent, and every guardian
of youth and every friend to the cause
of religion and virtue, come to the help
of the Lord and his ministers against
the destroyers of the young and mex
perienced, and wherever they see them
given over to the tormentors, and con-
sumed with ennui and dissipation, lift
up warning voice like trumpet, and
cry aloud and spare not.
We glory, and rightly so, in the priv
ileges we enjoy in living under the
Christian civilization of this blessed
country. We boast of our great wealth;
that our commerce extends to every re-
gion OF the earth; that our manufac-
tories are the workshops of the world;
that our army and navy have planted
the flag of freedom on both sides OF the
globe: how, beneath the aegis Of Lib
erty, Peace sits crowned, while Plenty
pours a full horn into her lap; and,
best of all, how the Bible is open, and
its preaching free; and that religion,