Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-08-11
Mr.. Beecher on "The Crime
Chickens Coming Home to
RO0Sf

Mr.. Beecher on "The Crime
Chickens Coming Home to
ROOst.
A resident of Minneapolis picked
up and old scrap book created in his
hours of boyish leisure fifteen or
twenty years ago, and found therein
sermon on 1.-THE Seducer and His
Victim,'' which was delivered by
Henry Ward Beecher in Brooklyn in
the year 1856. The Minneapolis
gentleman copied the sermon and
sent it to the St, Paul Pioneer. We
extract the following significant
indictment of the seducer;
The seducer! p aging upon the
most scored passions he be.rays in
Docence. How? By its tenderest
faculties. by it's trust. by its un-
suspecting faith. by its honor. The
victim often and often is not the
accomplice SO rnuch as the suffer. be-
trayed by an exorcism which be-
witched her noblest affections and
became the suicide of her virtue
The betrayer, for the most intense
selfishness, without one noble motive,
without one pretence of hohor-by
lies; by a devilish jugglery of fraud;
by binding the eye, confusing the
conscience. misleading the judgment,
and instilling the dew of sorcery upon
every flower of sweet affection
deliberately, heartlessly damHs the
confding victiml Is there one shade
of good intention, one glimmering
trace of light? Not one. There
vas not the most sbadowy, tremulous
intention of honor, 1t was sheer.
premeditated, wholesale ruin from
beginning to end. The accursed
scrcerer opens the door of the world
to push her forth. She looks cut all
shuddering; for there is shame and
sharp-toothed hatred, and chattering
SANDER. and malignant envy. and
triumphing jealousy, and murderous
revenge these are seen rising before
her; clouds full of fire, that burn but
will not kill, And there Is for her
want and poverty and gaunt famine.
There is the world spread out, She
sees father and mother heartlessly
abandoning her; brothers shame.
a sisters anguish. It is vision of
desolation, a plundered home, an
altar where homer and purity and
virtue and peace have been insidu-
ously sacrificed to the foul Moloch.
All is cheerleSsneSs to the eye, and
ear catches the sound of signing and
mourning, walls and laments; and
far down, at the horizon the vision,
the murky cloud for moment lifts.
and she sees the very bottom of
infamy, the ghastliness of death, the
last spdsm Of horrible departure the
awful thunder of final doom. All
this the trembling betrayed creature
sees through the open door of the
future, and, with a voice that might
move the dead, she turns and clasps
his knees in awful agony. "Leave
me not! Oh ! spare me-Save me
cast me not away?'' Poor thing
she is dealing with a demon! Spare
her? save her? The polished scoun-
drel betrayed her to abandon her,
and walks the street to boast his
hellish deed. It becomes him as q
reputation Surely society will crush
him They will smite the wolf and
see out the bleeding lamb. Oh. my
soul, believe it not! What sight is
that? The dropping victim is wor
used than the Internal destroyer! He
is fondled, conrted, passed from
honor to honor, and she is crushed
and mangled under the infuriate
tramp of public indignation. On
her mangIed corpse they stand to put
the laurels on her murderer's brow |!
When [ see such things as these l
thank God that there is judgment
and that there is hell