Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-09
MANY LESSONS FOR
 US FROM WINTER
Rev. C. H. Ricketts Indicated Season able Suggestions in Shop Talk.

Winter was the topic upon which Rev Charles H. Ricketts, pastor of the Greeneville Congregational church, spoke at the shop talk under Y. M. c. A. auspices at the Richmond Radi- ator plant on Wednesday at noon. The weather. growing colder, reminds us that winter is here, said Rev. MT. Ricketts. An unusually glorious au- tumn has been driven back until we find ourselves in the grip of General North, whose sway is more ruthless than the Cossacks. Ice and snow, mud and slush, will hold high carnival for several months to come. Winter is here and has 1t any instruction to give us?
 This is the time for external nature to retire. Not to sleep solidly through till spring, for she turns over a good many times and dreams and occasion ally has a bad nightmare-yet she gets her rest preparatory to the great de- mand that will be made upon her when the genial spring warmth routs her out of bed and sets her to work. Now the fact is that nature goes to bed when she is tired-and that is in the winter seaSon-whether the farmer, the contractor or the teamster is ready or not.
 Winter acts as a schoolmaster in 1 this respect. By example it teaches ' | is a lesson that all workmen must 1 heed if they are to keep up their eff | ciency. The work you do here is hard ! hence you need much rest. Going to | bed at the proper time is an act of l religion just as much as saying your prayers tor better praying) before re- | tiring. Probably most men would be | better if they ate a third less, but no person in health gets more sleep than | he needs.
 | Winter denrives 1s of many of the usual enjoyments: the outdoor games, | the birds gone to the southern cline,
 the flowers and foliage perished, no enjoyable walks over fields and | through forests that gave us such de-
 light in October. All this touches us | with sense of personal loss. | The deprivations of winter enter into | every life in some shape. The rich | may not be called upon to curtail their | living expenses, but in other ways they
 feel the keen edge of loss. The Pale | Horse stops before the marble palace
 as certainly as before the mud hoveI.
 It is father, mother, husband, wife, | brother. sister. son or daughter who l leaves the aching void' everywhere. | To be deprived of this worlds goods up to a certain extent, brings with 1t a discipline of fife that vastly out
 weighs any benefits that come from
 unlimited indulgence. Not to have
 everything we want may be our sal vation.
 Rev. Mir. Ricketts gave the follow ing as winters picture: Trees bare, fields barren, the landscape dreary.
 Human life has just such periods of non- -productiVeness. There are times
 when our minds are blank-and these
 times are more frequent perhaps than
 is desirable. There are times when
 our consciences hibernate like bears living on their own fat.
 When General North swoops down
 on us nature is not caught mapping
 She digs her trenches and protects
 herself from destruction. Do you
 When the rainy day" comes do you
 provide for 1t? Are you looking ahead
 for old age and beyond? If not the ] little squirrel in the Waldorf-Astoria
 of hollow tree, munching away his
 nut bread, is teaching you a lesson. Vocal selections were rendered dur
 ing the meeting by Mrs. L. O. Potter
 who was accompanied by Miss Letitia
 Kramer.