Norwich bulletin., 1912-06-15
SUNDAY MORNING TALK
THE PRICE OF WHISTLES.

When Benjamin Franklin was lad
 he became enamored of a whistle pos
 sessed by one of his playmates and emptied his pockets of coppers to ob-
 tain It. He whistled all over the house
 until his brothers and sisters, tired of the noise, began to disparage his bar gain. They kept telling him he had paid too much for his whistle, till the future philosopher cried from chagrin. There are many things in this world besides whistles that cost too much. In lots of ways we are paying prices out 1 of all proportion to the value of what we get. Men and women will liter ally Ego broke" for prizes that aren't | worth a fraction of the sacrifice they 1 require.
 For instance, there is the matter of our pleasures. People are bound to | have what they call a good time" l am not referring now to such whole some recreation and sport as are nec- essary for us all. These are rewards | in themselves. But pleasure of the 1 highly seasoned variety that involves ! late hours, faded nerves and dark 1 brown taste on the lips or in the spiriA, l is a. terribly expensive and unreward- | ing business. A night of revelry may 1 roll up a bill that one will be all his l life in paying.
 l The rogue may sometimes seem to
 steady folk to live life with much l freedom, color, profit and pleasure in | it. In reality he is fool who makes
 a dismally extravagant bargain. To
 mortgage body and soul to the devil may seem a clever guarantee of end less delights. It is well to remem-
 Der that the devil always forecloses in
 the end and insists on the last farthing. Paths that begin with roses and mu- | sic and hilarity have a disagreeable
 way of ending up on the ash heap A great many people pay too much
 to satisfy their greed for money. The ] frenzy to be rich often leads to sacr-
 fees that are wholly extravagant and
 irrational. In social life infinite suf- ] fering is wrought by greed. Men will surrender almost everything that IS
 worth having to accumulate dollars.
 Of one of the most aggressive mon
 ey getters that America has ever
 known. his biographer writes, speak ing of his last days, He was wholly
 miserable, wracked in body and spirit For all his s75,000,00o, a thousand
 times over existence had defeated l him" To have gained a fortune a, , the expense of the cordial hatred o ones fellows and of acrid disgust witt
 oneself is surely 2 sorry enough resul
 of a life of striving
 Fashion likewise, presents a big bil
 to her Votaries. IL costs heavily to sta, , ! in the social swim. Among the hard est worked of our citizens we mus reckon the ultra gilded set who keel up the inanities of so-called society. :, l It must require no small effort to d ! every accepted society stunt at the ex
 act time and in the exact way, tha all the rest of the benton are doing il T T regardless of one's personal taste o l talent.
 :. At the dictates of fashion lovely wo man must be willing to don the ugli
 est attire devised by the human minC
 She must put on garments that mak x her look like a fright and whethe she can afford them or not. She mus y run all the silly rounds. join all tn . useless clubs, follow all the foolis s fads-in order to be in the fashion. n Is big price to pay for a very sma n whistle.
 = A proper sense of values is surely a 9, desirable in the large concerns of lii # ss at the toy counter. It is often tn s part of wisdom to pay big price, bJ y only for what is really worth havinI n For health. happiness, a clear con l. science, the esteem of one's fellow 6 one may we'll pay without stint, bI e not for most of those noisy ittl ," whistles that people seem to thin 't they want to blow, THE PARSON,