The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1908-11-05

feel our hearts strangely warmed ~ the
presence u n helpless infanls Because
We realize tina, the baby is pure, Not
yet have dark thoughts. unholy emo
tions. unbridIed passions left their foul
stains upon his soal. Aud even sin Ia
is worst form bows il the presence Of
purity. Jesus told Has disciples thai Il
they wanted 10 make sure o. a place in
Heaven tney must become as pure As
little child.
However ms the boy grows mp, and
il IL equally true Of girls, be is in dan
ger OF losing his pearl. Other boys
and girls. who have lost their pearls,
Try TO steal yonrs. They call you into
a corner where your parents cannot
see or hear, aud tell you some secret
which you have no business TO know;
or they tell you some impure story, or
they make some nasty alluslon. That
story. that Joke, that allusion work |
their way into your hearts. You think |
of them when you ought the be play
ing or studyingi you reyolve those inn
pure things IN your mind at night when
you ought to be sleeping, getting new
strength for the morrow. Let me tell
you, those bad companions, those wick
ed thoughts are thieves trying TO break
into your safes, into your hearts to
steal your precious treasure, purity.
There are bad men who make il
their business TO break open the safes
of banks, gold smiths, business houses.
They 90 in the night, when everybody
is sound asleep. With sharp steel
tools they bore holes around the lock.
then they force the doors open either
with crowbars, or wthdymamite. Aud
when the banker or business man
comes around the next morning he
finds his strong box broken down, and
his treasure gone.
Every wicked secret, or joke, or story
that you hear is a sharp steel tool in
the hands of "A thief who is trying TO
.
get into your heart TO steal your pearl,
Be sure TO call for help, be sure to
scare him away.
And sometimes the people who seem
to be our very best friends in reality
are our very worst enemies. Ii you
happen to have the wrong kind of a
chum he will do you a great deal of
harm.
These bad thoughts and these bad :
friends are not always easily recogniz
ed. They come disguised, in moments S
when you are off your guard. They Q
lie in wait for you. they come insid- '
eously, AS thief in the night. You $
know how water filters through most G
everything. If there is hole any I
where in bucket, water unfaiingly e
finds its way through it, if there is a t
crack in any pipe or tank in the house, 8
the water is sure to find it. And so it '
is with SIM If there is any way at all $
to get into your heart the Devil will d
surely send through it some one of his &
agents, for he wants to steal your b
pearls. O
How may know whether this thought a
or that friend is thief trying to break Il
into my safeg Conscience tells us. o
God has so made our conscience that
they instinciively recognize the thief, G
and are able to ring the alarm. Once t
upon "A time there lived very good j
man. He had an only sou, very dear >
TO his heart. But one day this good $
father fell i'll; instead of getting better b
he grew worse, and worse and at last S
died. But before passing away he b
called his son and said TO him; my n
son, am about to leave you; wish t,
that might stay with YOU to shield n
you from evil and guide you in the way b
you ought TO go. But that can not be, a
Therefore give you this gold ring. b
Place it on your finger, and yon will G
find that whenever you start to do or tl
think anything bad the ring will pinch b
you hard Then my boy as you love (,
your soul and your dead father, stop a
doing that thing, and think or do some 81
thing else. ri
You say, How fine il would be if ] h
had such ring, | would be sure al o
ways to do the right thing" Well, my ii
friend, you have that ring, it is called c,
conscience. Whenever we do anything II
which violates our conscience, con b
science pinehes us, hurts US. Then we
ought to stop and try something else. OF
But that il the trouble, we do not stop, tc
some times we get put out with our x
for hurting US. We say: q
II wish this conscience OF mine would I'll
not hurt me so when ! do the things "
and think the thoughts like" Why, al
that pain is our salvation. Have you pl
ever thought of pain as great bless e
ng9 One day when was boy came hi
home from school with severe pain e.
IN my side. Ii hurt very much all day SC
and all night so that could not sleep q
any. Then my mother sent for the q
ioctor, who after making careful ex. in
said that ! bad pneumonia. b,
Now If II were possible 10 have pnen ly
nonia without pain Of any kind, IT il d.
sere possible 10 break ones lex, or hi
shoulder without any pain, how would 81
We ever find ont that there II anything pi
he matter with us' All Of sudden ru
without moments warning our fe
bodies wonld go 10 pieces. Then II bt
would be TOO late 10 send for the doe va
or or take medicine. Pain, then is a sa
,sfiy valve 10 warm us that there ii or
90 much pressure aud that the engine gi
i in danger Of exploding. SO il il with po
,ur eonscienees when they hurt us. kl
That pain means thai we are doing the on
srong thing. that We are on the wrong
rack. BE careful " heed your con. sa
:. A. A.. -.