The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-11-14
NO. 6
An Elegant Tribute 10 the Church
M Means OF Reform and DIatr. be
upon Wine.

4
draws great multitudes to his temple
by his extraordinary denunciations of
the vices of New York society. Last
Sunday he said:
The chietest gate of hell is thrown
wide open by whisky and on the night
when l explored the hiding places and
depths of infamy found that every
thing was done under the encAantment
of the wine cup. That was what the
mattresses carried on the platter; that
was what giowed on the tables; that
was one of the chief attractions of the
illuminated gardens; that flushed the
cheeks of the patrons who came in /;
that staggered the steps of the pa
irons as they went out. The wine cup
is the instigator of all impuriIy and
the patron of all uncleanliness. So
far as God may help me, l shall he its
unending foe. II was the testimony
of the officials on the night of our ex-
ploratinn that nearly all those who fire.
quent the houses of death 60 In intox
icated. The mental and spiritual
abolished, the brute was in the as
cendant. Tell me young man drinks
and know all the rest. Let him be-
come a csytive Of the wine cup aud he
is the captive of all other vices. No
man ever runs drunkenness alone.
That is one of the carrion crows
that goes IN o q 'ck, II that beak is
ahead you may know that other beaks
follow. In other words, strong drink
vnbalances and dethrones and makes
him the prey OF all the sppetites that
choose to alight upon his soul. There
is not place Of sin on this continent
but finds its chief abettor in places of
inebriacy. There is drinking bar be-
fore it or a bar behind it or bar over
| it or bar under it. The officer said
to me that night, "You see how they
escape le gal penalty; they are licensed
to sell liquor" Then thought with
in myself, the court which licenses the
sale of intoxicating liquors licenses
gaming houses, licenses libertinism,
licenses diseases, licenses death, Ii
censes all crime, all suffer
Rgs, all disasters, all woes,
1t is the legislatures and courts who
swing wide open this grinding, roar
ing, stupendous gate of the lost.
"But," you say, ''youhave shown us
how these gates swing in to allow en-
trance for the doomed. Please tell us
how the gates swing out for the es-
cape of the penitent." Let me answer,
1t is the exception when any come out.
| think that 900 out Of 1000 perish.
Let that poor soul, penitent for her
wandering, knock at your door, will
you let her come ing Will you invite
her to sit at your tablet viii you let
her be the goyerness of your children2
Will you introduce her to your ac-
quaintances9 Will you take the re-
sponsibility of pulling on the outside
of the gate of hell while she pushes
against the iuside that sle mey come
forth2 No, you will not. You weep
oyer her fate and write poetry about
her doom, but help her you never will.
Perhaps there are three or four ways of
escape for her. One is the sewing girls
garret, dingy, dark, cold,- hunger
blasted. Another way of escape may
be out toward the East river at mid
night, the end of the city wharf, the
moon on the river, looking 30 smooth
she wonders il it is deep enough. 1t
is. No boatman near by to hear the
plunge, or watchman to pick her out
before she sink the third time. Another
way OF escape may be by the curve OF
the railroad, where the conductor OF
the express train can't see for more
than q hundred rods an obstacle lying
across the track. He may blow the
whistle down brakes, but it is too late
to dIsappeint the poor child of sorrow.
a. khAa <lN
escape9 viii not God forgiveG Yes,
but man will not. Woman will not.
Society will not. The church says it
will, but will not. Ny object in this
sermon is prevention, not cure. Stand
ing on these cliffs of deaA0 il. is not so
much that I may induce the one that
has fallen q thousand feet down to
crawl up over the rocks as to warn
those who dance too near the edge.
Listen to the voice that comes up from
the far depths:
Once was pure as the snow. but fei',
Fell like snowflake from heaven 10 hell;
Fell to be trampled as fllh In the street,
Fell to be scoffed at, be spit on and beat;
Pleading, cursing, desiring 70 die,
Selling my soul 10 whoever would buy,
Dealing In shame for q morsel Of bread.
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
But what Is the use of these ser
mons2 The iniquIties are 80 stalwart
they cannot be wrestled down. Stu
pid man, what does my text say2
1.-THE gates of hell shall not prevail
against the church." Frustrated they
will be, as certain as that God and the
Bible are true. But it will not be done
until Christian men and women, quit
ing all prudery and squeamishness in
this matter, shall assault, with the
force of the combined energy of the
church, these mighty evils. The Bible
is full OF denunciation leyelled in this
direction, yet the piety of the day has
become such namby-pamby thing
that it dare not quote the Scripture on
this subject. So long as this holy i'm
becility reigns, sin will laugh US to
scorn. It may be that before the
church awakes to its duty, matters will
get far worse, and lamb will have TO
be sacrlfced from each Of the most
carefully guarded folds, and the wave
of uncleanness rise TO the spire
of the village church and the
top of the cathedral tower.
Against this sin the patriarchs and
prophets and evangelists and apostles,
and Christ himself, thdndered more
than against any other. But now al
lusion to the theme must be sentiment
al and spoiogetic. put my foot on
all the conventional rhetoric ON this |
subject, and tell you plainly that, un-
less you give up your sin, your CON-
plete ruin is settled, and you will be |
chased without end with the anathemas
Of an incensed God. Ia the good cheer
Of my text / rally you TO the besiege- |
ment Of the gates Of hell. We want |
no soft sentimentalists In the host, but |
only those who can take hard knocks. |
The gates Of Gazs were carried siI, the |
gates Of Thebes fell. the gates OF Baby |
Ion were prostrated, and the gates Of |
he'll shall be unhinged. A Christian
lied printing press shall be rolled up
a. the most powerful bstterjng ram; n |
long line Of awakened pulpits shall be- |
come Asssulting fortresses; the red-hot |
truth Of God shall beEome the n lying |
ammunition Of the contest; and the |
sappers and the ipIners shall lay their
train under these foundations Of sin,
and Of just the right time the Lord Of
Hosts, who/1eads the fray, shall give
the commAnd, "Down with the gates"
aDd the Explosion beneath will be an
swere1 by all the trumpets Of God on
high Celebrating the universal victory.