The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-31

compelled to believe that that man wants to be good and to live a pure life. On the other hand, when l see man conspicu- ous for his absence from all good affilia- tions his actions inform me as plainly as his words could do that his character Is just the opposite of what it ought to be.
 Character Judged by Associates.
 The father of great English preacher taught this lesson to his son. Some time after his son. then a young man, was married, his father visited him. After he had passed through and examined the different rooms of the house he said: My son, there is one mistake about your home. I see nothing in the furniture, in pictures upon the walls or books upon the table to lead me, if I was a stranger to this home, to judge whether you belonged to God or to the devil. In every room and upon every wall you should always have something to prove to your guests that you are a child of God. mans Chris tan life should be manifested in the fur niture of his house as well AS by his out side surroundings" What that Christian parent said in reference to a mans do- nestle life is essentially true in reference to his outside human affiliations. A wicked mans inner character can nearly always be judged by his conspicuous avoidance of noble associates By your intimate friends your Christian life Is to be judged as well as by the words that you speak.
 But wicked mans actions have a pos- itive as well as negative significance. If by the absence from all good asso- ciates a mans character rests under dark cloud, then by his bold and reckless defiance of all the great moral influences of the day his wicked life is to be judged also It is one act to sin in secret and to be ashamed of your sins. It is far more heinous act to publicly parade your sins and come to a depraved condition, in which you do not seem to care what peo- pie may say in reference to your life or how by your bold example they may be led astray through your evil conduct.
 Depravity Hidden.
 This indictment against the actions of an evil mans life is the more positive be- cause even in the lowest forms of out ward vice. by the Language of action the wicked man nearly always wants to appear a little better than he really is Theodore Roosevelt, who has been a stu dent of beasts and birds and flowers, says that this characteristic to appear better than they are Is not always true of all the inhabitants of the natural world as 1t IS of men. Once, when visiting Nashville Tenn, he heard a moclSing bird, whose reputation for the most part rests purely upon his ability for mimicry, fill whole night with sweetest music. Upon the tree lust outside the open window the Pres dent saw and heard him. Sometimes, wrote Mr. Roosevelt, 'he would perch motionless for many minutes. his body quivering and thrilling with the outpour of music. Then he would drop softly from twig to twig until the lowest limb was reached, when he would rise flutter- ing and leaping through the branches, his song never ceasing for an instant, until he reached the summit of the tree and launched into the warm, scent laden air. floating in spirals with outstretched wings until, as if spent. he sank gently back into the tree and down through the branches while his song rose into an ec- stacy of ardor and passion" That mid night song seems to have given the Pres jdent a higher appreciation of the powers of the mocking bird. The songster' warb- ling in the darkness and silence of the night, showed that it had more harmony and melody in it's being than It's hearers had previously supposed. But. unhappiiy the converse is generally true of human beings. It is their better nature that they show under observation. It Is when they think that their friends do not see or hear them that their worst charaeterics are displayed Many a man whose lire when under observation is irreproachable shows when the restraints of public opin- ion are remoevd, a capacity for heinous and bestial sin.
 The Wicked Worse Than They Seem.
 As a wicked person is nearly always worse than he seems, I put this blunt question to you: "Oh, sinner. with fro ward lips, how dare you desecrate God's holy Sabbath? How dare you, without blush upon your cheek, be seen entering the saloon or be known to pass your even ings in a disreputable haunt, where the name of Christ Is sneered at and ridi- culed? How dare you gleefully boast or those sins about which I dare not speak in public? Do you not know that by your Language of action you are not only de- stroying yourself. but others also?' Take the advice once given to Thomas Paine. After the noted infidel had written his book. Age of Reason." he took the manu- script to Benjamin Franklin to ask for his criticism After Franklin had read 1t he commended it's literary qualities. Then he said: "Thomas Paine. I would never print that book. l would throw that manuscript into the fire. If the human race is so sinful now, how greatly mag nified those sins will become If the bull warks of Christianity are taken away By that work you will not only destroy others. but yourself. He that splits against the wind spits in his own face.' Like Thomas Paine, by the Language or evil action,,' a man not only destroys himself but others In evitably the world sus- pects that mans inner life Is even worse than it's outward expression.
 Men sometimes have not the courage to commit the crimes they desire, but by their notions incite others to commit them; but God and man hold them ac- countabe for the acts of their agents. As Henry IT. of England, goaded by the arrogance of Thomas Beckett, connived at his murder and was punished and hu- initiated as severely as If he had com mitted 1t with his own hands, so those who use other men and profit by their crimes are responsible for them Like the usurper of Naboth's vineyard, he does not slay with his own hands the Jezree- lite: but like Ahab, he shuts his eyes and allows another to commit the crime he himself is too cowardly to do. 'I1e winked with his eyesn may mean "the wicked man shuts his eyes to a crime which Is being committed in his name"
 Mans Responsibility.
 .'Oh," says the candidate for office, "I am an honest man. I never let a dollar stick to my hands which did not honestly belong to me. I never spoke an untruth in my life" Are you honest, my brother? How about that s1O.000 subscription which you made for campaign purposes? How about that other s50,000 donated by your party friends? Are all those moneys in- tended for circulars and speakers and le- gitimate campaign expenses? If they are you are honest. If you expect to keep your lips sealed and have your leutenants bribe the voters at the polls you are dis