The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-12-02
Selected Miscellany.
THE WAY OF ESCAPE.
BYT. 8. ARTHUR.

BIE. g. ARTHUR.
Ny heart ached for the wretched man
His debauch was over, his nerves unstrunQ
the normal sensibilities Of a fine moral na
ture. quickened, after brief torpor, int
most acute perceptions. Such q haggarr
face! Such hopeless eyesl Isee the pic
ture now as haunting spectre.
'Iet the memory Of this hour, 80 bur
dened by pain and repentance, be as q wal
OF defense around ycz in all the future,
said.
he looked at me drearily. Slowly shak
ing his head, he repliedi
Such memories are no defence.-MJ
soul is full of them. When temptation as
sails. they fall away, and am at the mer.
cy OF mine enemy, who rushes in, like q
hungry wolf, to kill and to DESTROY"
'.Is there no help for you then?" ask
ed
He shut his eyes and was very-still. II
an artist could have sesn his face then.
and faithfully caught its expression, those
who looked upon the image must have felt
such pity in their hearts as makes the ewes
grow dim with tears.
81 fear not, he answered, after a little
while, in hopeless kind of way.
cit cannot be. ]" spoke confidently
and sssuringly 'tNo man is given over to
such utter ruin. There must be. and there
Is way of escape from evil"
'E1cept the evil of bad and degrading
habit-thRt vile second nature, he answer.
ed, tfhe steady current of which Is forever
bearing him downward, toward a Storm
wrecked ocean. He may seize the oars in
alarm, as have done scores of times, and
pull against the current, making for little
while. But human strength avails not
there. The arms grow weary, the spirit
fags-it is easier to drift than 70 row, and
down the current bears him sgain 1T is
the history Of thousands and tens of thou
sands. and am no exception"
'tlt cannot be-" answered. There is
help for every man, no matter how weak
nor how beset by enemies; else Gods word
must fail"
at does fail, think" he answered, in
q gloomy, despsiring kind of way.
'tNol mol mol" Quickly and emphatical-
II did reject his conclusion.
''Haye it as you will l shall not argue
the point" He spoke almost listlessly,
Then, say, there is help for every
man, no matter where he is or what he is.
We cannot fall 80 low that the Everlasting
arms are not still beneath us, ready to
bear rs upward TO mountain heights of
safety" Es
''Oh, that those arms would bssr me
upwsrdP almost groaned nv poor friend.
81 have no strength In myself l cannot
climb. Unless lifted by another, must
perish"
$50 bad as that2" said.
"Just SO bad" he answered, slowly and
bitterly. HThis second nature have made
for myself, is my ruler. Because consci.
ence. the love of my wife and children. my
good reputation, pride, manliness-all hu-
man powers and virtues are its slave. And
such bondsgei"
There was not ray of hope in his dreary
eyes.
"You must try again." 1 said, eheerily.
'tNo man need be slave"
easily saidr' was his impatient answer;
''whiie yet all men are slaves to some hsb-
it from which they cannot break"
Say, rather, from which they viii not
break sear stee
"You mock me with idle words"
'tNo; I speak only the words Of truth and
soberness. There is human strength, and
there is divine strength. The everlasting
arms are always beneath and ready to bear
us up, if We viii but lean upon and trust
them. Human strength is but as broken
reed; divine strength is sure as God him
self It never fails
There came into his heavy eyes feeble
play of light. The stern rejection that sat
upon his lips faded of.
'tIn our own strength. nothing" and I
said; SIN Gods strength, all
saw his hands moving IN an uncertain
way. Then they rested cne against the
G-I1o~l-z tl,axr Al
er in kind of spasm, while his eyes few
upward in a Wild. half despairing appeal
In God, his lips groaning out the words
si itSave me, or am lostF
Even now, memory gives back the thrill
that swept along my nerves as hiscry pene-
trated my ears.
Never from any human soul went up, un-
heard, q prayer-like that. He who once
and forever took upon himself our nature,
and who was in all points tempted as We
are, yet without sin, and whois touch.
ed always with the feeling of cur infrmity,
stands close beside us, knocking at the
door of our hearts, that he may come In
and help and save us. All hell is power
less before him. Impure desiles flee from
his presence like night birds when the sun
arises; and the cords of evil habits are
broken, as the withes that bound the arms
of Sampson. at his lightest touch.
waited for little while without speak
ing, watching him closely, to see If be
would rise into anything like confidence
Gradually, the hard, desponding look fad
ed from his countenance, and saw calm
resolve begin to show itself about his
mouth.
"One effort more, " he said, at last, speak
ing slowly, but very frmiy.-'One effort
more, but not in my own strength 1 have
tried that too often, and shall never try it
again Igive up the struggle as hopeless.
Ii God fails me, am lost.
What fearful crisisi IF God fail2 BE
never fAlls-is never nearer to us, nor
stronger to help Us, than at the moment
when despairing of our own strength. we
turn to him. The only danger lies in orr
not trusting him fully. a1-f
ssBut how shall trust him? How shall
I get transfer of his strength to nv wiII9
How is it that his power can supplement
my weakness? / am away down in the val
ley of sin and shame; how am I to get
upon the mountains of purity, peace and
safety2 VIII he bear me up as on the
wings of an eagle? or must I climb and
climb from day to day, until l reach the
summit"
You must climb, said.
81 cannot l have no strength. / have
tried 1t hundred times, and failed" He
answered with returning doubt