"LESSONS FROM A BICYCLE."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 88, 10 May 1909, Page 3

"LESSONS FROM A BICYCLE."

The Rev. J. G. Chapman, of the Whiteley Memorial Church, preached the first of a series' of monthly sermons to young men last evening on the subject: "Lessons from a Bicycle." A very large number of young people was present. Mr. Chapman showed that the Bible made frequent reference to the wheel—the ''wheel 0 i providence," the "wheel of fortune," the "wheel of nature," and the "potter's wheel." The

wheel of to-day in the form of a bicycle was a very serviceable thing. It afforded recreation, saved labor, and was an economiser of time. The first lesson to learn in riding a bike was to know how to balance, it. The human body was a machine full of amazing works and complexities. 1 To balance and adjust these was the lesson they had to learn. Man's passions were likened to steeds. The question to settle was. who is going to ride? "W e don't want to exterminate our passions, to drive out appetite, hunger or the instincts of our nature," said Mr. Chapman; "we don't want to destroy, but to break them in; keep them under. We want the nobler instincts to sit in the saddle upon the back of 'the animal passions and ride to' higher things. \o\v to control the human machine we must first know it. 'Know thyself,' said the ancient Creek philosopher. And of all the knowledges we are the most ignorant in thi?. An engineer .was' called in to advise as to the toppage of a great spinning mill. The engine was new. cost thousands of pounds, but wouldn't move. He went at once to a certain part of the'machinery and took out one small piece of iron. Tile machinery started. His charge was ,£4 7s fld. The owner asked liiiu to dissect bis account as the time occupied seemed altogether disproportionate to the amount charged. Ho handed in the following items: For starting machine, 7s Oil: for knowing how, ,t:4; total, C 4 7s Cd. The knowing how is very essential. We need to know where we are weak, whe.'e the human machine is likely to break down. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. The same force's that lead men to destruction, if rightly controlled and directed lead men to salvation." Another lesson was to know how and I when to use the brake. They had hills to descend and in large cities' a perfect network of traffic to thread through, and a perfect cyclist could stop his machine instantly. ''ln life," continued the speaker, "we meet with influences both bad and good. We jostle men of all shades of character. Doors are open to us where danger lurks within. We shall hear of royal roads to fortune. We shall receive invitations to places good and bad. We shall need to know how to us'e a brake. Recreations are good. But there are sports that kill. The mania of all-night dancing is one. There is the heart-straining effort to lower a record, and the bulldog cult of pugilism. There is the disgusting and idiotic practice of swearing. I sat n front of two commercial travellers in a train the other day. To hear them talk you would imagine that everything that belong to them was made of 'blood.' It was filthy, gory language. These ave some things' to guard against, to • se the brake. Then sometimes cyclists see a board on the top of a hill with these words: 'This hill is dangerous.' That is a call to see that the brake is in order. You will meet with these hills in your experience. Intemperance is a most dangerous bill, at the foot oi which thousand n have found a premature death. Gambling is another whose slopes are reddened with the blood of many victims. Xo respectable firm would employ a gambler to fill a position of trust. The gambling hill is dangerous, and needs the apnlicatiou of the brake. ''Then a lamp is a necessary adjunct to a bike. It serves two purposes. It gives light on the road and warns 1 others against colliding with him. You will need a light as you journey along. There is the night of doubt, the night of failure, when life wears its sombre hues. The niglu of sorrow, when the chair is vacant and the c-rih empty. Then there is the 'dark river i„ f-.(> crossed at last.' May T recommend a lamp Hint will serve well in all these experiences? It is this; "n u . Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to mv path.' The world has never possessed a sun r guide. a wiser counsellor, than the Bible. You may criticise, but you cannot improve it. "Yon mav find discrepancies in it. but tbev do not Invalidate the old Book, incarnate its teachings in your conduct and life an.l you will have nothing to fear iu time and in elermtv." 1 :