The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-03-12
TALMAGFs SERMON.
Third Discourse Of the Series on
aThe Marriage Ring"
Clandestine Marriage. Elopements and
Other Matrimonial Escapades Con-
sidered BY the Light of Script
ure and Common Sense.

sidcred BY the Light of Script
ure and Common Sense.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage delivered the
third of his series Of discourses before a
large congregation at the Brooklyn Taber-
nacle, the interest in the series having be-
come quite marked. In presenting the
division Of his subject under the heading
of Clandestine Marriages and Is
capades.n Mr.. Talmage took the following
text:
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread taken
In secret Is pleasant. But he knoweth not
that the dead are there.-Proverbs TX, H. ls
The preacher said:
The garden of Eden was a great orchard
of fruit-bearing trees, bushels and bushels
OF round, ripe, glorious fruit, but the horti-
culturist and his wife having it in charge,
hankered for one special tree, simply be-
cause 1t was forbidden, starting a bad
streak in human nature, so that children
will now sometimes do something simply
because they are forbidden to do it. This
kink in the human race is not easily I'M
snarled. Tell a company that they may
look into any twenty rooms of a large house
except one, and their chief desire is to see
that one, though all the others were pict-
ure galleries and that garnet. II there
were in region of mineral springs twenty
fountains, but the proprietor had fenced in
one well against the public, the one fenced
in would be the chief temptation to the
visitors, and they would rather taste of
that than Of the other nineteen. Solomon
recognized this principle in the text. and
also the disaster that follows forbidden
conduct, when he said: /" Stolen waters
are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is
pleasant. But he knoweth not that the
dead are there"
In this course Of sermons on 1.-THE Mar
rage Ring" I, this morning, aim point
blank shot at "Clandestine Marriages and
Escapades.n Yonder comes up through
the narrows Of New York harbor q ship
having all the evidence of tempestuous
passage: Salt water mark reaching to the
top Of the smoke-stack. Mainmast. FORE
mast, mizxenmast twisted of. Bulwarks
Knocked in. Lifeboats of the davits. Jib-
sheets and lee-bowlines missing. Captains
bridge demolished. Mainshaft broken. All
the pumps working to keep from sinking
before they can get to wharfage. That ship
IL the institution OF Christian marriage,
launched by the Lord grandly from the
bank Of the Euphrates, and floating out on
the seas for the admiration and happiness
Of all nations. But free-loveism struck it
from one side, and Mormonism struck it
from another side, and hurricanes Of lib
ertinism have struck it from all sides, until
the old ship needs repairs in every plank,
and beam, and sail. and bolt, and clamp,
and transom, and stanchion.
In other words, the notions of modern
society must be reconstructed on the SUBJ
jet Of the marriage institution. And when
we have got it back somewhere near what
It was when God built It in Paradise, the
earth win be far on toward resump-
tion Of Paradisaical conditions. Do
you ask what Is the need of q
course Of sermons on this subjectf The
man or woman who asks thisr question Il
either ignorant or guilty. In New En-
gland, which has been considered by many
the most moral part Of the United States,
there are 1000 divorces per year. And in
Massachusetts,, the headquarters Of steady
habits, there is one divorce to every four
teen marriages. The State Of Maine, con-
sidered by many almost frigid in proprie-
ties, has in one year 47s divorces. In YER
mont swapping wives is not . rare trans
action. In Connecticut there are women.
who boast that they have four or five
times been divorced. Moreover, our boast
ed Professionalism is, on this subject, more
lax than Roman Catholicism. Roman
admits OF no divorce except
The reason that Christ admitted as law
kul reason. But Professionalism Is admit
ling anything and everything, and the
larger the proportion of Protestants in any
part Of the country, the larger the ratio of
divorce. Do you not then think that
Protestantism needs some toning up ON
his subjecti"
We admit that clandestinity and esca-
pade are sometimes authorized and made
right by parental tyranny or domestic
Ierfdom: There have been exceptional
pases where parents have had mono-
mania in regard to their sons and daugh-
bers, demanding their celibacy or forbid
ling relations every way right.
Through absurd family ambition parents
have sometimes demanded qualifications
md equipment of fortune unreasonable
o expect or simply impossible. Chill
1ren are not expected to marry to please
heir parents. but to please themselves.
Given good morals, means of livelihood,
age and quality Of social posi-
hon, and no parent has right to pro-
Aibit . union that seems deliberate and q
matter Of the heart.
Rev. Philip Henry, eminent for piety |
md good sense, used to say to his chill |
Iron: "Please God and please yourselves,
md you shall never displease me-"
During our civil war . marriage was
about to be celebrated In Charleston, 8. c.,
between Lieutenant de Rochelle and Mis-
Anna, the daughter Of ex-Governor Pick
ms. As the ceremony was about 70 be |
. shell broke through the roof |
IND wounded nine Of the guests, and the |
'ride fell dying, and, wrapped in her
White wedding robe. her betrothed meel-
ng at her sidss in two hours she expired. |
And there has been many ~ bright I |
'nion Of hearts - that proposed, that the |
'omb-shell Of outrageous parental indiR-
laston has wounded and scattered and |
lain