Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-09

nOyS- the IS que the nOnDeT
 holding offices instead of ably filling them.
 have heard many a man say
 Don't be clam!' who was ignorant
 of the fact that the clam meets every
 requirement of his life squarely while
 very few men do. The clam should not
 be held in derision because in propor-
 tion to his size he has a bigger mouth
 than man; for the clam has never been known to talk about his neigh
 bors. The fact that the clam never
 invented flying machine might be
 used against him if he did not move
 from pond to pond by catching upon
 swimnine fowls foot and getting free
 transportation in a flying machine
 ready-made for him. The man who
 first gave currency to the expression
 Don't be a clam!" would not have
 done so had he known the clam lives
 right up to the laws of his being,
 which no human being has been quite
 able to do. The one weakness of a
 clam is that he will spout whenever a human foot invades his domain and
 this Is one reason he is so often in the soup.
 There are a good many real pious
 people who do not approve of the way
 the Rev. Billy Sunday bats the pre-
 cepts of divine truth to his great au-
 dienceS, and as the result of his work
 is shown up Satan must feel that he ought to be thrown from the pulpit
 back to the pitchers plate. Through
 his mlnistrations 1t is said 25,000 con verts have been made and these would form 50 churches of 500 members each Judged by his works, the Rev. William Sunday is not misf1t on the diamond or i'll the pulpit. There is no reason
 why religious truth should be made as
 uninviting and flat as cold mutton broth. Doesn't most everything
 good taste better served hot? Billy Sunday does not believe in smokeless powder or noiseless guns, for he real izes that the evidences there is something doin" have magnetic ef- feet. He shoots at the enemy straight and knocks him out and has a warm heart and hand for all his purblind fol- lowers.
 1t is a real fault when a preacher or lecturer is able to exhaust his hearers before he exllausts his slfb- Ject. There was a day when the per cent. of clergymen capable of doing ] this was far in excess of what it is today. Who is most to blame for such condition of things is not so clear. When a congregation demands
 a great deal for its money the preach l CT in his ardor to meet the commer- cla1 expectation may be forced to so dilute the spiritual tonic that it loses l its stimulating and inspiring energy 4ACAC Welo O. OGy WI1Sh ct preacher was great who reached his 'nineteenthly" 1 reason for his position; but in these days that would be evidence he was totally without reason. Thus the times change, The lecturer or preacher who is today guilty of ex- hausting his audience before he ex- hausts his subject has no such ex- cuse for his offense; but it may be he likes to hear himself talk better than his auditors like to hear him. At all events this is a fault which should be corrested.
 suppose there are many people who feel thankful in the holidays if they find themselves getting a few crumbs of comfort. There are those among us who make little blessings l count big; but they are not those who have much. Being able to have all 1 the heart desires doesn't seem to inn press the heart. Nothing seems to be precious which is to be easily procur- ed. Want stimulates the spirit and work brings a realization of our am b1tionS. So neither to be in danger ! of want, nor to be obliged to work l Is to become the victim of two neg atives. Not being called upon to do 1 or to dare one has increased chances 1 to die. This is doubtless one of the ] most prof1tless and unavoidable po- sitfons to hold in life, and yet not a few are so blind to the benefits of 1 activity that they yearn for this idle ] ness. It is better to be where you can appreciate a few crumbs of com 1 fort than to be where you can't ap-
 preciate the having of plenty.
 1t was when a man becomes conscious l that his own bFunders have been | baneful to him that he sits down in l a state of agitation and feels compe- 1 tent to tell himself how many diff | ferent kinds of a fool he looks like in
 the mirror of his own mind. The man who does not have these little sessions with himself isn't keyed up rlght, or IS in a degree abnormal. Man 1 IS fonder Cf experimenting than conforming himself, and we should catch him batting himself upon the back II 1t were possible for him to do so in the true rather than in a | dguratiVe sense; but God created him 1 so it Is easier to pat some one else on l the back. That man is wise who can 1 recognize his faults as well as his capable for achievements. It is pleasanter to call ourselves down than l to have some one else call us down | It does us good when in spirit of ourselves. There is hope for the man who can call himself and pronptIv l respond to the call as if called bv a l better man.
 It is strange how we differ in o,,r ideas of 8 good time. Having a good
 time has little relation to being good ! in the general acceptance of the i phrase. 1t means the breaking away | from regular habits-a loaf a picnic.
 an excursion. a hurral1. or many other | things. Such times are pleasureabfe l and usually without evil intent but l through excesses evil results are l wrought. It cannot be truti1fully said
 no good comes from them for any ! thing which adds merriment or joy | to life without harmful results to our selves or others are beneficial Seek | ing orderly pleasure cannot be re- garded as a waste of time. Evil of l ten results from taking life too se- | riously and rigidly holding to depres-
 sing thoughts. life of industry, bus- | mess of any kind or even of piety. ! needs diversity to maintain the stiraa- l ulating effect. It was not intended life should become prosy, hence the great number of good times to which man turns for relief.
 There is saying that ''heaven l hides the book of fate,.' but a great 1 many people do net believe heaven has anything to dc with it. We pro- l fess not to believe in fate, although the expression is common: 'he met |