Year: 1872




and superstitious, or that the only que
,, tion of the young is to seek for pleasure
Only let there be a just view of the tas


that is before us in this life, bring tn
young to accept its responsibilities, lie


there be something to live for, worl


to accomplish, and the question o


amusements will not trouble the church


nor will it cause the yoang man or wo


man to hesitate on the threshold of o


religious life. That is the proper point


to emphasize, that morality aud religion


gives us more serious view of the is


sues of life, it's duties are emphasized


we look deeper into its mysteries and have
a higher view of its capacities, and the


conduct is regulated by moral earnest.
ness and the young man aud yuong wo-
man undertake to fill their place in the
family, in business, in society, in the
church or in public life, and this is the
object we should seek to obtain. Il is a
very low view in church membership
when the first consideration is that now
they will stop going to this place OF
amusement and exclude themselves from
their old companions and refrain from
certain games and exercises. AS long
as we treat our church members like
boys in the grammer school, so long we
shall find them very troublesome; for
my part [ have no desire to combine
the office of pastor with that of spy and
! policeman.


Let this then be the first principle
"play when your work is DONE" re,
member that amusement is only second
airy. The head and the hand indicate
too plainly that man was made to work.
Pleasure like desert is an after dish,
very good in its place, but alone by no
means healthful diet. That word
recreation, implies that the man is worn
out and needs to be built up again, and
any pleasure that is not recreation
from toll is not legitimate. You are
never entitled to pleasure until you
have earned it by honest labor, and if
the present disposition of your time will
permit an unceasing round of amuse-
ment then rectify it at once, for you are
in just the fix morally aud mentally
that the man is physically who has moth
ing to do but satisfy his stomach. 1
connot conceive more contracted state
than that of him who IS cloyed with
pleasure.


There is no person in the world whom
it is more unpleasant to meet socially
than miserable, jaded out hack 'of a
pleasure seeker. 1t is the curse of such
a career that it units one for all the
simpler joys of life, and makes a person
constantly miserable except when fired
by excitement The simpler joys of the
family are rendered insipid. 1t is with
social recreation as with our daily food,
it is hard work which makes them rel.
ished. How many men of puny forms
and pampered appetltes vho at home
must be fed with oil the delacacies Of
the cupboard, went into the army and
found "a hard days march and camping
out nights 10 give them u wondrous
liking for hard-tack and bacon. That
simple bill of fare made them feel
strong, and so we shall find Il hearty
relish for the simplest joys when we
come to them from good honest hard
work


What have already said will ndi.
cate what | think of the pursuit of
pleasure" as an occupation, but can
net pass over so important part of
this subject without word of special
warming. You can scarcely find more
wretched throng than the votaries of
pleasure, those who have given up to it
their lives. The pleasure seeker is the
curse of society and the ruin of himself.
This is an evil which increases with
wealth, and as a country becomes richer
and the class that can live without labor
more numerous, the danger increases,
and those who find time to lay heavily
upon their hands are very apt to devise
means by which to dis,ipate it, and they
themselves become dissipated thereby in
the worst sense of the term. For pleas.
ure is the wine Of life, and sometimes it
ntoxicates, and hibitual indulgence is
ruiuous alike to the nervous and to the
moral system. There is no course of
indulgence against which | would utter
a more earnest protest than the pursuit
of pleasure The victims of pleasure
are cursed with all the oils that flesh is
heir to-" Imagine that assembled
throng OF prolcssona! pleasure seekers
(and we arc sorry to say it is no fancy
picture) arrayed in costly robes aud
adorned with the richest gems OF oar,h,
behold the glitterlng pageant, tao dis
play OF wealth and luxury, and every
nears Of self qualification, but after ali,
what a "Vanily Fair" it is, what an
array Of consumptivo forms and wan
checks, and victims of nervous debility.
How has every element of honest pleas
urc been eliminated, all cheerfuluess
gone, and in its place listless lifeless
ness except when fred by excitement,
and how does the outward show mock
Al II