The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-02-26

| his soft hand would become the clammy
hand OF q wasted skeleton; while sud
| denly from his heart would burst in crack.
| ling and all-devouring fury the unquench.
| able flame, and in the affected lisp of his
| tongue would come the hiss of the worm
| that never dies. But, until disenchanted
| nothing but myrrh and balm and ringlet
and diamond and fute-like voice and con-
versation aromatic, facile and Frenchy.
o, tits beautiful to see young man living
alife ofpurity standing upright where thou,
sands of other young men fall! You will
move in honorable circles all your days
and some old friend of your father will
meet you and say: "My son, how glad I
am to see you looks so well. Just like your
father, for all the world. / thought you
would turn out well when I used to hold
you on my knee.n
But here is young man who takes the
other route. The voices of sin charm him
away. He reads bad books, lives in vi
cious circles, loses the glow from his cheek,
from his soul. The good shun him.
Down he goes, little by little.
They who knew him when he came
to town, while yet lingering on his
head was pure mothers blessing, and on
his lip the dew of pure sisters kiss, now
pass him and say: "What an awful
wreck" His eyes bleared with frequent
carousals, his cheek bruised in the grog-
shop fight, his lip swollen with evil indul-
gences.
Look out what you say to him; for a
trifle he will take your life. Lower down
and lower down until, outcast of God and
man, he lies in the alms-house blotch of
loathsomeness and pain. Sometimes he
calls ont for God, and then for more drink.
Now he prays, now curses, now laughs as
fiends laugh. Then bites his nails
to the quick. Then runs both
hands through the shock of hair that hangs
about his head like the name of wild
beast. Then shivers until the cot shakes
with unutterable terror. Then, with up
lifted fists, fights back the devils or clutches
the serpents that seem winding him in
their coils. Then asks for water which is
instantly consumed by his cracked lips.
Going his round some morning the sur
geon finds him dead. Straighten the
limbs. You need not try to comb out
out or shove back the matted locks
Wrap him in sheet. Put him in a box.
Two men will carry it down to the wagon
at the door. With chalk write on the top
Of the box the name Of the destroyed.
Do you know who it is.
That is you. Oh, man, il, yielding to
the temptations to dissipated life, you go
but and perish.
There is . way that seemeth bright and |
lair and beautiful, but the end thereof is |
Heath.
Devote these December, January and |
February evenings to high pursuits, in |
locent amusement, intelligent, sociali- |
les and Christian attainments. Do not |
waste this winter. We shall soon have /
'een the last snow-shower, and passed
Up into the companionship Of him whose
aiment is white as snow-as no fuller on
'arth can whiten it. To the right-hearted
he winter nights of earth viii soon end in
he June morning OF heaven.
The river Of God from under the throne
lever freezes over. The foliage Of life's
air tree Is never frost-bitten. The festi-
ais and hilarities and family gatherings
I Christmas times on earth win give way
o the larger reunions, and the brighter
lghts, and the gladder scenes, and the
weeter garlands and the richer feastfngs
{ the great holiday of heaven.