Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-01-30

and still the throbbings OF our pulses
and stop the steady action Of our beat.
Ing hearts. And yet, alas. how much
Of the conversation Of our associates
is devoted to trying to analyze the sup
posed lmperfections Of our neighbors!
And when our friends begin to talk
slanderously about our neighbors how
easy It is for us to join forces with
them and become a sanderer among
slanderers!
We are ready to grant that the first
part Of the verse OF my text. HE that
walketh with wise men shall be wise"
Is true We know that the influence
of good men lifts us up and helps us
to be good Why should we not be
willing to admit that the evil CONVEX
sation of slanderers and of bad men
will drag us DOWN. Can we grant the
first fact and deny the second? There
Is a story told by noted speaker that
one day a father was walking through
the country with his two boys. The
wind was blowing over fine field OF
corn and making the silken, golden
ears bend like the waves Of the sea.
is it not surprising" said one Of the
children, that the wind does not break
the slender stalks7" "My son." an.
swered the father, that would be true
II one Of those stalks was to stand
alone. But you must remember that
each Of those slender stalks stands in
the midst Of many other stalks. and
they all help to support each other. So
with our companions in life. They
make us what we are. They help US
to bear up against the strong winds
Of adversely and temptation. There
fore. my boy, you must be careful that
you have good friends by your side
who will help you TO bear the strug
gle of life bravely." That is good adj
vice. HE that walketh with wise men
shall be wise" But as stand upon
the hillside and watch a great field of
wheat bending and swaying under the
pushing. driving winds | see that here
and there is stalk bending before the
blast and. after giving way itself, bear
Ing another stalk down. Therefore II
we 60 with slanderers they will de-
stroy us as surely as wise men will
lift us up and make us wise.
Crimes as Classified
Now. in Gods sight this sin OF SIAN
der is an awful sin. As I take up the
penal code Of our state or national gov
eminent | find the different crimes
classified in the order Of their henous-
ness. For instance, II steal loaf Of
bread I could not be hanged for the
crime. If should go down the street
tonight and get drunk. could not he
sent to the penitentiary for life. In
all probability should be sent out on
neanor by working on the roads for
twenty or thirty or sixty days. But If
/ you should shoot a man or poison your
companion or derail railroad train
for plumber or if, as an incendiary, you
should burn up a hotel. then you could
be hanged by the neck until you are
dead or you could be sent to the pen
itentiary to serve out all the days God
/ has given you to live upon earth.
Crimes in the criminal code of the
United States are classified in refer
ence to their culpability, as they are
also classified in the divine code. Now,
where do we find this crime OF SLAM
der in Gods code? Is it q petty mis-
demeanor? Is it a little sin that God
will in time overlook? Nay. Among
the worst of all spiritual criminals in
Gods sight Is the slanderer. David tells
us in his Hundred and First Psalm
the awful doom which is 70 be metcd
out to the slanderer Whose privily
slandereth his neighbor, him will cut
off" Beware, o man, how you allow
your friends to SANDER their ncighbors
in your presence. Beware how you
poison your own life by recounting the
evil reports of your friends. The
companion of fools shall he destroyed.
The sanderer is fool
But we are not to find the compan-
ions whom we are to shun entirely
among the atheists and the scandal
mongers. We are not to find them only
in the quiet corners. where friend talks
to friend, but We can also find these
evil companions at the banquet table,
and In the ballroom, and at the card
parties and in the billiard halls. and at
the baseball games. and on the fishing
and boating trips, and at the race
tracks. We can And them in every
place where pleasure seekers congre
gate We can find them at the theater
and in the concert hall as we'll rs by
the family Preside THE heart Of fool,
If in the house OF mirth." What doe.
that mean? Why. 1t means, interpreted
in the broad sense. that the man and
the woman who give their whole lives
up to never ending round Of per
petual pleasure seeking are fools. Life
has another object than that OF fun
A great ocean steamer was not built
for the purpose of taking a few fisher
men down the bay on sunshiny day
to catch a few founders. Its keel was
laid that It might carry heavy cargoes
from harbor to harbor. 1t was built tc
defy the storms and to withstand the
poundings Of the heavy pillows and moi
to turn its decks into n ballroom floor
where the moving feet Of the young
people can keep step TO the strains OF
music.
Work and Pleasure.
l make no war upon recreation OIL
pleasure trips or vacation outings wher
they come in their proper places. Pau
says, For when we were with you
this We commanded you-that IL an,
would not work neither should he eat.