Norwich bulletin., 1914-03-14
THE MAN WHO TALKS

In the early conceptions of life the kid usually manifests an adventurous spirit. The boy usually wants to be what his parents do not intend he shall be. If he fancies a loud noise he is determined to be a boiler maker; if he likes to see the wheels go round he declares he will be a, locomotive engineer; if he is attracted by a pret- ty uniform he desires to be a soldier;
 and if he gets interested In uncanny stories he gives notice he means to be cowboy, a soldier or a pirate; but these are the aspirations excited by his eerIy dreams and the boy who
 thought he would become pirate makes a preacher: the boy who would be a robber becomes jaiIer; the boy
 who would be a COW boy becomes a trolley car conductor: the boy who was going to be a soldier becomes letter carrier; and the boy who ex- pected to drive a locomotive Tn the end drives an express wagon. These make good citizens, regardless of the ambitions excited by Juvenile dreams.
 When a young fellow essays to make 8 fool of someone who do you think he is doing up The young man who indulges in secret habits fooling his mother, his sweetheart or his wife, rather enjoys his trlckery until he has awakened to the fact that habit has enslaved him and that the person fooled is himself. In our daily conduct we are character builders and if we do not become conscious of this fact we eventually get surprised by the char acter we have made: and if the char acter doesn't please us. it fits us exact ly. We blame those who advised HIS well instead of recognizing that our own disloyalty to the principles of righteousness is the cause of all our woes. The victim of every sly fooler is himself A spirit of deception never yet helped man. To be true is to build character alright for the best manhood.
 How common it is for us to measure a speaker by what we do not know instead of by what he does know The law of mentality doesn't make 1t pos sible for Us to accept or applaud any thing beyond our own mental expioi- tation. It is quite common if one does not comprehend what a. speaker is say ing, or understand him, to mentally regard him as being either a fanatic or a. fool when he is neither. 4 great many of us might confess to having discovered that the fool was in the seats, not on the platform after hay ing followed a new and doubtful sub ject to a conclusion. We are not any of us half as eager for the truth as we think we are unless it is something which harmonizes with our precon- ceived ideas. for 1t takes a, good while for us to realize that our preconceived ideas are the most serious stumbling blocks to be found in this life.
 Did you ever hear anyone say: What 1 would do were in his or her placer This Is one common point at which foolishness begins to express it. self We do not know what we would do were we in the other persons place only think ixnn TxrIo would do. ou cannot be in the other fellows place; but the experience of the other fellow may fall to your lot and then you will not do what you thought you would if the opportunity was only offered you We are queer mortals. Most things we feel sure we would do in moments of excitement we as quickly repudiate in cooler mo- ments. Were we permitted to act in the other fellows place, the proba- bilfty is that we should not do as well as the persons we feel so ready to ad- versely Criticise. What I would do" is the stereotyped preface of foolish remarks. The world sets no value on what We. would do. Only what we do counts.
 The present winter has been excep- tional in it's bird life, since the Acadian chickadee and the red poll. which have hitherto come no further south than northern Massachusetts, have extended their southern flight through Connecticut to southern Rhode Island. There has been some question as to the identity of this chickadee, but Bird Lore has determined the fact of it's identity. The starlings, which have been located in Norwich for several years, are represented by sizeable flocks in most Connecticut cities, and also by large f1ocks in the vicinity of Boston: and they appeared last fall as far north as Bennington, Vt The win ter grOsbeak has been seen at various points, and seems inclined to make a permanent residence hereabouts.
 1 wonder if boy ever forgets his mother? Some boys are wild and run away from home and become absolute and degenerate and neglectful of their duty to the mother who bore them: and often the mother dies waiting for the letter that never comes. It is a hard experience; and yet this very boy may be saved by the little remembered prayer taught him at that devoted mothers knee. These little treasures of memory are. powerful factors for good in cases which seem to be almost hopeless. l wonder if such a. boy when he awakes to the anguish of the weary days and nights he has caused at home can ever forgive himself. It is worth the while of every boy to try to make the heart of his mother glad, and to forever cherish the good words freight ed win divine principles which came direct from her heart to his-to look in confidence to the God she looked to and commended him as the author of every good gift. Every wayward boy should write to mother when he feels the spirit prompting him.
 The minister in the pulpit who has dictators in the pews is not in the right relation to Gods people to do good work. The man in the pew who be- cause of his material goods and world ly power assumes to censor the pulpit lacks the tolerant spirit which is the finest element of true piety. There cannot be harmony where there are breeders of discord-there cannot be brothCrly love where petty tyranny es- tabIishes itself. The pulpit should be ansWerable to no one in the pews for an honest interpretation of the truth or a vigorous presentation of it. The clergyman who is aware he has q die kator in front of him must either ignore the dictator or fail in his work. Con- forming to the opinions of men in the utteranCe of truth is not in good form Divine truth is both inspiration and poWer-modified truth lacks sincerity and force. The spirit which demands