The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-02-17
REV. MR.. CONWAY ON "PRor1rUr1oN."

After reading from the eighth chapter
of John the story Of the woman who WA:
brought before Christ, after he camo down
from the Mount of Olives, and whom he
did not condemn, but told to "go, and sin
no more,' the reverend gentleman remark.
cd that in carly times, n black line was
drawn around the portion of the Scripture,
and the priest forbidden to read in public.
1t would no; do, they thought, to recon,
mend 4 woman under such circumstances
1t Is not still surrounded by the same
" black iinc!' stand here tonight, sail
he, almost overwhelmed with sense of
loneliness and terror No sermon, no bool;
that have been able TO find looks kindly
on the crlng me. Priest have stood in
magnificent cathclrals, paid for by the
wages OF sin" but not even Il prayer for
the fallen one has escaped their lips. La
dies pass her ly and name her not. They
stand aside lest they shoul:l be polluted by
her touch.
In this lesson Of Christ is found the hope
OF this fallen class. God pity the heart
that would Ike TO see it set aside. The
wor! . outca>i" still blasts the dictionary
OF every ma,ion. While it exists, there is
no medium ground on which woman can
stand. She must be either white or black
II ti!e foul breath OF suspicion once faint
her, vino would treat her well, though she
iaig!l; be q Madonna. We take from her
even tle hope Of something better iii after
life, and treat her us one lost forever. 1t is
frightfu to think how willing we are to let
our own flesh and blood go-to tear loose
tho last tic that binds them to us, and drive
them on, with terrific speed, in the down
ward road to pcrdition.
This evil prevails to such an alarming cx.
tent that large cities have been forced to
compile statistics on the subject. A thou
sand are officially known to walk our own
streets pul icIy. There is no telling how
many more, for the sin, more than all
others, clothes itself in the garb Of secresy.
The causes Of its prevalence are love Of
dress,ln woman, illassortcd marriages, bad
treatment, but, moro than all, destitution.
Women love dress to such an extent, that
young men, filled with all those passions
which God had implated in man, hesitatcd
to take on themselves the duties of the
marriage relation. Poor women, who have
never had the opportunity to dress, are gen
orally their victims. Destitution lashes
many one into the street, and makes of
her All easy conquest. And yet women
do not take the step in sin willingly. They
"bhor it, but with them it is the lifes body
or the souls. Animal passion never RACES
In her breast. French writers state that
if houses of prostitution depended upon
the animalsm Of women for thoir support,
there "ould not be one in the world.,-
Short wages drive them to it. Provident
habits with many, are useless; for If they
lose but the scanty pttance of days wa
gcs, they are stepped in poverty to the lips
Many poor woman has died this moral
death from the want Of fifty cents week
The progress Of society would seem to be
her banc. She soon finds that prostitution
in her only sure protection in all cases.
from absolute want
bring them forward tonight, to show
that they are not beyond our hopes. If
there were single hand outstretchcd, how
often would they rush forward and say,
brother, sisters, help nc to return -
10 believe in their absolute guilt is worse
than atheism. How often is it for some mo
ther or sorrowing sisters, that this horrible
road i'"m poverty is taken. Misery--they
are miserable indccd--wouId seem to have
aoitencd down their natures to somc extent,
at least, for they are proverbialIy kind to
one another III sickness, and many find in
them that sympathy and attention thcv
would seek for in vain in the higher walks
of life. Abandoned woman WHO calls
her abandoned Let no man saw it
again
AS this question now stands il can never
be rcac''cd by law. Licensing such cstt,b
hshments would, doubtless, be productive
OF much good, yet this is only way OF
patching up The matter. / would rather
there should not be thrown around It anv
such protection. We have lost our RIGHTS
when law sanctions wrong. Dut let us
have founding hospital, where their wretch
cd otfsprIngs can be properly taken care of
and we shall have done away with the hor.
rlblc crime of inlapticide. No city is chri:
tain, or even semicivilized, without institu
tions where the frail one may be welcome
Who shall say she cannot he redeemed
Christ is the Rcdeemer; and lie has prom
ised to be with US until the end Of III,
world. Surely this is the end with them
Let us deal with the "poor unfortunate" II
fha ay,Irif of Cl,rsek 81, L.