The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-08-25

rule j that the young men SOW their wild
oats. II they debauch themselves a. all.
before they reach full maturity. The world
has forgiveness for the folly Or youth.
though natural laws avert 10 penalty.
The young fellow who eows Wild o. reap-
the crop which his seed are sure To bear.
Whatsoever Z man soweth that shall he
also reap" IS as true n The physical and
moral world as in agriculture. Too little
stress i lad upon the evil OF sowing
wild oats and the failure Of many younE
men can Be traced to the impurities and
the wildness OF youth, even after wees
have been abandoned. But many men. Wild
and reckless in their youth. reform and
become useful citizens. But how their
lives are marred by the memories of foul
odors and their bodies racke BY their d.
regard OF the laws OF health,
But the New Bern man speaks q parable
when he says. Any man who learns 10 be
che OF the boys after he i twenty-five
years old viii bear watching This i. 10,
because lie INDUCES il Waiting or il carl
playing per e, denoralzing a love q
them may become. It i not from any one
sinful or questionable pleasure that he IN
duIges in. Il Is because he has lost his
rudder. He i going through life Ike A
rudderless boat. He Is drifting. drifting.
drifting. II his environment is good AM
exerts a powerful influence upon him. H.
may not drift into the ocean OF gross sins
(which almost always follow step By step
the loss Of faith. when Dewey preferred
the pleasures Of sin, not c-ountenanced by
his church. to the faith in which he had
been religiously reared. he lost his ruddcr,
he lost his cable, he lost his hold upon the
only things that are realities. He driited
from one questionable amusement 10 an
other until his moral sense was bluntei
and dulled. and his gambling and specula-
tions and peculations were the logical
climax OF his lapse from his faith and
early religious training.
Il is a sad thing to see a man depart
from the teachings Of his youth. 1t is
almost a sure precursor OF moral lapse 10
see a man in middle lie lose his faith.
withdraw from his church, and go mo
the pleasures (even if innocent) that at
tract the youth Of eighteen. These things
show a lack of a true conception Of the
serious concerns Of life. 1t Is all the more
deplorable II such q man is the head o. a
family. and children look to him Tor guild,
ance-
There is no age in life free from tempra
ton. The late Judge Fuller, Of Raleigh,
one Of the first lawyers the State has
produced, said a few years before his
death: The saddest incidents that have
come under my observation in a long prac-
tise have been the moral lapSes Of oil
men. I have been called upon TO defend
several men advanced IN years who lived
perfectly correct and blameless lives for
fifty or sixty years and then yielded to
temptation, threw away the reputation Of
a life time, and soiled 4 character that
was hitherto unimpeached. believe that
men who have passed the hey-day Or
youth are more apt TO yield 10 temptation
UIlIteS lHtlI character Il wen formed IMAM
| young men who have all their lives before
them The observation OF every man in
old age or middle life viii agree with the
statement OF the eminent jurist quoted.
The exhortation TO every man, young
or old, j. this: Keep the rudder true.
Hold fast to the ancient landmarks
and the teachings OF your mother. If IS
sailed by skepticism or lack OF faith. seek
a safe place IN the shelter Of the Rock.
Faith in God, faith in man, honest work.
a right conception OF the duties OF life.
and love OF ones fellows are the only
sure passports TO an honorabt and useful
career. The first wrong step i when a
man, young or old. yields TO the tempta-
ton to depart from the teachings he learn
Cd from his mother. If he departs from
them-then he is like a ship at sea will
out a rudder. and nobody need be sur
prised that departure from faith blossoms
into crime
A LARGER CAPITOL. CAN VAT