Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-04-23

Trap lying unCOnCPNItu Ill tHc Optucu
pathway. He shambles along, shifts It,
pushes 1t aside with his paw, moves
round il or leaps over it, but when that
trap Is concealed under the green grass
a short distance from the tempting
meat then the mountain bear has need
for fear. No sooner is the great paw
placed upon that harmless looking COW
cring than the steel teeth of that trap
spring shut The massive limb Is held
in wise. and the great beast is as help
less as the murderer about to be exc
cuted in the prison yard. The wild
turkey will not stoop down OF his own
accord and enter the small aperture Of
the fatal trap, but after the hunter has
scattered along the forest path the
many grains of corn this wild fowl will
lower his head and eat and eat until
he is confined within the wire screens
from which he will be taken out to his
death. My brother and sister, are you
among those whom King Solomon des-
ignates as fools? DO you mock Mt sin
merely because It comes around in
harmless way? The mere fact that the
highwayman crouches behind the rock
makes his sudden attack the more dan
gerous: the mere fact that the quick
sands look to the Impractical eye as
strong as the rock under your feet
makes their invitations to step upon
them the more fatal.
Evil temptations should not be de-
ridcd. They assail n man at his weak
est points of character. They do not
try to assault his impregnable citadel
or attack him at those points of his ma
ture that arc protected by massive
walls. SO high and thick that the heav-
lest Of battering rams can only make
the slightest indcntations, but they
try to destroy their victims by strategy
by throwing them off their guard;
wounding Achilles not through the
breastplatc, but in the heel; conquerins
Alexander the Great not with the
sword. but with the wine cup; destroy
ing Charles Stewart Parnell not with q
mans gruff voice. but with a woman's
gentle arm; making Thomas Cranmer
sign his rccantation not by the power
of argument. but by the power Of fear.
1t only needs a comparatively light
blow between the eyes to stun the most
powerful animal which was ever driv-
Ell into the Chicago slaughter houses.
1t only needs one small sinful tempta-
ton TO appeal to us in the right way
to destroy any man unless he is upheld
by divine panoply.
Sin strikes the Weakest Point.
Evil temptations always assail their
victims at their weakest points. Is
there any man foolish enough to think
that his character is so perfectly form
ed that there is no weak point in his
moral armor: A constructor who
would not try to strengthen his sag
ging girder is criminal Awful was
the catastrophe when few years ago
a great bridge across the river Seine
broke under the feet of the mutitudes
merely because one of the iron links
snapped. Poor is the general who
would not be vigilant about the weak
est part of his Notifications. 1t was
after the famous mine was cxplod-
ed under the earthworks of Peters
burg that the Federal troops were able
TO drive back Robert T.. Lees forces
into Richmond. And can it be that
with all your brain and force and past
experience you do not realize there is
some helplessness. some weakness in
your nature: Have you never been
tempted in the past and overthrown?
Can you not realize that you may be
tempted again in the future and over
thrown in the same way?
BY being aware of and trying TO
strengthen our weaknesses we are able
to supplement our strength. \ we'll
known and thrilling story is told that
the engineer of the Holland bikes was
one night invited to party. That aft
crnoon an awful storm arose. As the
hour drew near for the festival the
engineer wavcred. but at last he said:
mo; will go to the bikes. where my
duty calls. My services may be need
cd there" When he arrived upon the
bikes, he found that under the cease
less bOmbardmcnt of the seas some of
the stones in one place had become
looscned and little water was begin
ming 10 trickle through. That little
stream was gradually growing larger.
Over the walls the engineer went He
tried to stop that hole first with stones.
Then he took off his coat and damned
it into the loosened rocks. More
clothes" he shouted. "More clothcs,''
And he made his men take off their
garments, and at last the bikes were
saved. Had that water been allowed
10 trickle on and had not the weak
part of the wall been strengthened all
the dikes would have been swept away,
and thousands of men. women and
children would have been drowned.
Solomon well said that when a man
with his moral weaknesses SCOTS at sin
he is fool. ] heard the reformed
John Cough. after he had been forty
years a tcetotaler. say: Rather than
eat piece of mince pie favored with
brandy ! would cut off my right arm.
| would no more touch IL, knowing my
physical and moral weakness for drink,
than | would be willing TO touch a
lighted match To n kcg of gllnpowder.'
1t is sometimes more manly to run
from sin than it is to fight sin. God
gave us two feet as we'll as two fists.
That means there are certain times
when we should fee from temptation
that we should never allow ourselves
to be placed in a position where we
may be tempted. Temptation always
hendishly strikes it's victim at his weak