NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
MANCHESTER, MASS., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1909. 
RANDOM THOUGHTS. 
BY D. F. LAMSON. 
No. XXXII. 
Some people get credit as optimists by 
simply shutting their eyes to the facts 
when they chance to be disagreeable or 
discouraging; there were such people 
long ago, who cried, ‘“ peace, peace, 
when there was no peace,’’ and they 
were the most popular people in Jeru- 
salem. ) 
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To read the past in the light of the 
present, and to apply the lessons which 
the past teaches to our own times, is the 
‘most profitable method of studying his- 
tory; but this is not the way in which 
most of us were taught to study it, it was 
once but a little more than a list of 
names, of battles and sieges, of revo- 
lutions, of change of dynasties and fall 
of empires, without any meaning or phil- 
osophy, and almost without recognition 
of the people at all; 
had to find out how to study history and 
some other things—in fact, how to study 
at all—for ourselves. 
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To set up a man of straw, a narrow- 
ness, a bigotry, a hard and fast theology, 
a council-made creed, or sectarianism, 
or some defunct issue, and fire away at 
it with much noise and little execution, 
instead of making war against present- 
day and concrete evils, entrenced in cus- 
tom and fashion and patronage, with 
ball as well as powder, seems to be the 
work of some pulpit orators. 
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The misplacing of emphasis often ex- 
plains the failure of movements that in 
themselves contain many important 
truths; it is not enough that a thing be 
good, it must not overbalance other 
things that may be of equal and even 
greater value. 
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Is the civilized world to revert to the 
barbarities of mediaeval warfare, with the 
threatened destruction of great cities by 
air-ships and dirigibles? It would seem 
that here might be something for the 
consideration of Hague Conferences in 
the way of safeguarding the rights of 
non-combatants, of women and_ chil- 
dren especially. 
Or, must nations, impatient of the 
slow action of earthquakes, volcanoes, 
and such like natural agencies of de- 
struction, conspire to wipe each other 
off the face of the earth? 
One is almost inclined to ask, Is this 
the beginning of the reign of the 
some of us have. 
** Prince of the power of the air?’’ were 
it not that he has been voted out, and 
so must have gone, whoever it is that is 
carrying on his work. 
It is one of the strange contradictions 
of human nature and history that the 
time when humanitarian ideas are in 
many ways so largely influencing men 
and nations is the very time when the 
most deadly ornaments and most fatal 
methods and instruments of warfare are 
being devised, and glorified in as mark- 
ing the astonishing progress of science 
and art. Is our greatly boasted civil- 
ization much to be boasted of after all. 
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Extremes meet; two of the greatest 
educators of the middle of the last cen- 
tury were the Broad-churchman Arnold 
of Rugby, and the Baptist Wayland of 
Brown; both were loyal to their own 
convictions, firm as a rock, faithful to 
simple duty, and intensely religious; and 
withal tolerant in spirit, sympathetic to 
young manhood, and generously devoted 
to the best interests of humanity. 
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Great religious movements have from 
time to time swept through the land like 
a flood, and have left more or less of 
debris in their track; but we say, wel- 
come the flood, rather than the stream 
should dry up in its channel, leaving the 
country to perish for lack of water. 
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And let the spring come though it 
bring weeds; life, in its most extravagant 
forms, is better than death. If we wait 
till God’s work is unmarred by human 
imperfection or till it is always done in 
our way, we shall wait a long time. 
Business Changes. 
The dry goods business conducted by 
Harry S. Tappan, in the Postoffice block 
on Union street, Manchester, was sold 
the first of the week to Miss Bessie Leth- 
bridge, who has been clerking at the 
store for the past year or over. Miss 
Lethbridge buys the stock, fixtures and 
good will. 
The Clark & Mills Electric Co. of 
Boston and Cambridge, who have main- 
tained a branch at Manchester the past 
four or five years, have sold their busi- 
ness here, including stock and good-will, 
to Harry J. Gay, who has been their 
local manager here for the past year. 
Mr. Gay wili continue the business in 
the Postofice block, on Beach street, 
and is prepared to handle any kind of an 
electrical job. “The business will be 
known as H. J. Gay Electric Co. 
AFTER DEATH WHAT? 
I Is There a Second Chance? 
At the Baptist Church, Manchester, 
last Sunday evening, Rev. Theodore L. 
Frost delivered the first sermon in the 
series, ‘‘After Death What.’’ Mr. 
Frost took for his text Hebrews 9:27,— 
‘‘Tt is appointed unto men once to die, 
and after this cometh judgment;’’ Fol- 
lowing are a few excerpts from the ser- 
mon: 
‘“‘Death is so common that we often 
fail to observe the phenomena of it. 
God’s word has a great deal to say about 
the life to come. ‘Is there a second 
chance?’ To answer, there are two 
arguments—frst, from reason; second, 
from Scripture. 
‘* Considering the first, if there is a 
second chance, why not a_ dozen 
chances? ‘The early years of life are 
for forming good habits and character. 
As a man grows older, his character 
hardens, and we could not convince him 
to become a Christian if it was not the 
power ofthe Holy Spirit. The power 
of God’s Holy Spirit can work miracles. 
‘The argument of habit shows us that 
there is no second chance beyond the 
grave. After this life, the Godless man 
or woman is subjected to punishment 
and pain. [The argument from suffer- 
ers show us that there is no second 
chance. 
““ Tt is easy to be good with good peo- 
ple, and to be bad with bad people. 
According to God’s word, after this life, 
the soul is not associated with godly 
souls, but is associated with souls in the 
same stages of degradation and sin. If 
it were not for the presence of God and 
the good, we could not live inthis world. 
If Christianity is blotted out, how long 
would our country be a safe place to live 
in? Isit likely that God is going to give 
us a second chance when he is trying to 
influence you into his kingdom now? 
The word of God is the final voice. 
Between death and judgment there is no 
chance for repentance. 
*“-You may ask, how about the heath- 
en? Is God going to send all those 
millions who have never heard of him to 
punishment? No; if the heathen live 
up to their highest ideal in life, they will 
be received by God. 
““Those who reject God, must be 
lost. From all these arguments we can 
see that there is no second chance, ac- 
cording to reason, and according to 
scriptute. 
““ May we never be able to say when 
we come to the river of death, “I have 
missed it.’ ”’ 
