Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-05-20

text, II Samuel ii, IA, Let the young
men now arise and play before U.s."
There are two armies encamped by
the pool of Gideon. The time hangs
heavily on their hands. One army pro-
poses q game of sword fencing Moth
ing could be more beautiful and limo
cent. The other army accepts the chal-
ienge. Twelve men against y men,
the sport opens. But something went
adversely. Perhaps one of the swords
men got an unlucky clip or ia some
way had his ire aroused and that
which opened in spOrtfulness ended in
violence, each one taking his contestant
by the hair and then with the sword
thrusting him in the side. so that that
which opened in innocent fun ended in
the massacre of all the "a sportsmen.
Was there ever better Illustration of
what was true then and is true now
that that which is innocent may be
made deStructive2
What of q worldly nature is more i'm
portant and Strengthening and innO-
cent than amusement. and yet what
has counted more Yictims2 l have no
sympathy with a strait1acket religion.
This is q very bright world to me. and
I propose to do all | can TO make it
bright for others. | meyer could keep
step to a dead march. A book years
ago issued says that q Christian man
has right to some amusemeDts. For
instance, if he comes home al night
weary from his work and, feeling the
need of recreation, puts on his slip
,pers and goes into his garnet and walks
lively round the floor several times
there can be no harm in it. l believe
the church of God has made a great
mistake in trying to suppress the sport
fulneSS of youth and drive out from
men their love of amusement. If God
ever implanted anything in us. he i'm
planted this desire. But instead of pro
Yiding for this demand Of our nature
the church of God has for the main
part ignored it. As in q riot the mayor
plants a battery at the end of the
street and has it fired off so that ey-
ierything is cut down that happens to
stand in the range, the good as we'll as
the bad, so there are men in the church
who plant their batteries of condemna- |
ton and fire away indiscriminately. |
Everything is condemned. But Paul !
the apostle cOmmendS those who use
the world without abusing it, and in |
the natural world God has done every
thing to please and amuse US,
n Evils of Corrupt A=scse1aents.
And l am glad to know that in al
our cities there are plenty of places
where we may find elevated moral eli
tertainment. But all honest men and |
good women will agree with me in the |
statement that one Of the worst things |
in these cities is corrupt amusement |
Multitudes have gone down under the |
blasting influence, never to rise. If we |
may judge Of what is going on in many |
of the places of amusement by the pic |
lures on board fences and liz many of |
the show windows, there is not a much /
lower depth of profigacy to reach. At |
Naples, Italy they keep such pictures |
locked up frcm indiscriminate inspec- |
ton Those pictures were eXhumed |
from Pompeii and are not fit for public ,
gaze. If the effroDtery of bad places
of amusement in hanging out improper
advertisements of what they are doing |
night by night grows worse in the same !
proportion. in 80 years some of our
modern cities will beat Pompeii.
L project cert2x1 principles by which
you may judge yes regard to any amuSe-
ment or recreation. finding out for
yourself whether it is right or wrong.
i remark. in the first place, that you
can judge Of the moral character of
any amusement by it's healthful result
or by it's baleful reaction. There are
people who seem made up Of hard
facts. They are a combination of null
duplication tables and statistics. If you
show them an exquisite picture, they
will begin to discuss the pigments in
yolyed in the coloring. If you show
them a beautiful rose. they will sub
init it to q botanical analysis. which is
only the post norton examination of
flower. They have no rebound in their
nature. They never do anything more
than smile. There are no great tides of
feeling surging up from the depths Of
their soul in billow after billow of re-
JFerberating laughter. They seem as if
nature had built them by contract and
made bungling job of it. But blessed
be God, there are people in the world
who have bright faces and whose life
70 song, an anthem. a pecan of vic
tory,
Now, it is these eXhilarant and SYM
pathetic and warm hearted people that
are most tempted to pernicious amuse-
ments. In proportion as ship is swift
It wants strong helmsman. in proper
ton as horse is gay it wants stout
driver, and these people of eXuberant
nature will do we'll to look at the reac-
ton of all their amusements. If an
amusement sends you home at night
nervous, so that you cannot sleep. and
you rise up in the morning not because
you are slept out. but because your
duty drags you from your slumbers,