The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1903-12-17

ny soAhA8 you' "A phOiuihcut eubteEk
newspaper man who for years was de
tailed as the Albany correspondent ol
a great New York daily told me thai
every year the lobbyists divided the
New York Legislation into three distinc,
classes. First. there were those who
like Caesars wife, were above suspi
cion. They were honest through and
through. No man would dare approach
them with the idea Of Offering them q
bribe. They would not dare to ap
proach them with a dishonorable pro
posal any more than they would dare tc
ask the president Of the United States
to appoint minister plenipotentiary &c
England for the consideration Of q
$1,000 check or they would dare ask
King Edward to create William Wal
dorf Astor member Of the house OF
lords for a bribe Of S1.OOO,0OO. The
second class at Albany were the
doubtful legislators" They might be
bribed II the money offered was big
enough and they thought they would
not be found out The third class were
the men who were there to sell their
votes to the highest bidders, no matter
who those bribers might be or how
much the iniQuitous railroad corpora
ton might desire to dcfraud the com.
mon people. whose interests those leg
islators had taken a solemn oath to
protect. Likewise In everyday life
each man comes In contact with three
distinct classes of associates. First
there are those men and women who.
like Caesars wife, are above suspicion.
They are true men: true TO themselves
and true to their God. You would no
more dare tell a vile story before them
than you would dare tell such filthy
story to your Christian mother. Next,
there are the doubtful friends" They
might or might not be open to wrong
proposition. Then there is the third
class of men-those whom you know to
he what they ought not to be and who
make boast of their sins.
Practical advice for this classifca-
ton: From the bad men turn away
your face with firm resolve. You can
not associate with scoundrels without
you yourself becoming party TO their
infamies. With the doubtful class" of
associates be very chary of your friend
ship. Never allow any one 10 enter the
inner chambers of your heart until he
has proved his virtue and nobility be-
yond all doubt.
The man who halls YOU Tom or Jack
And proves by thumps upon your back
His sense OF your great merit.
That man must be friend indeed,
a treasured friend YOU must believe.
To pardon or TO bear II.
The third class of your acquaintances
represents Gods noblemen. These can
be numbered among the blessed few
who are spiritually trying to make the
most ont of their lives. These seek.
these trust. these bind TO you by the
unbreakable ties of affection. These
cherish all through life, up TO the brink
of the grave. These are the kind of
Biblical friends 10 whom the apostle
John sent his gospel salutation. The
true friend corrects his brothers faults
as well as commends his virtues. He
warns him of moral danger ms he
would warn his friend of IA physical
danger if on Il winters day he saw him
skating too near an airhole in the ice
or if while boating upon the river he
saw him rowing too near The danger
Gus dam or if he saw him bathing too
near the sea puSs." toward which the
treacherous undertow was trying to
drag him. The Ten Commandments Of
Mount Sinai which God, with his fin
ger for pen. wrote upon leaves of
stone, are filled with thou shalt
nots." Therefore one of the great mis-
sions of true friendship is, as Paul de-
sCribed il, to "reprove rebuke." as well
as TO 'exhort, with all long suffering
and doctrine"
NO, no. says some one; Il do not
agree with you at all. believe il is an
enemy whose mission is 10 point out
faults. The true mission Of friend is
TO encourage and commend virtues.
Alas, by bitter experience ! have found
out the truth of this statement. Some
years ago three Of my friends and
entered into an agreement They were
at that time my dearest friends. We
decided that we would meet at least
once week, and for mutual benefit we
would tell each other all the criticisable
things we had seen or heard about each
other. We entered into this agreement
purely for the purpose of correcting
each others faults. We had Just two
such proposed meetings and then broke
up in big row. We have never been
the same to each other since. No talk
ing TO me about friends faults. II
my friends have faults they must be
told about them by some one else" o
my brother, you are wrong; you are en-
tirely wrong. A friend, true friend,
should be able TO come to q brother as
a loving mother could 10 her wayward
child and tell him Of the moral mis-
takes he is making. This does not
mean, as some people suppose, that the
true mission Of friendship is TO gather
up all the mean and contemplate say
ings which have been spoken about one
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