Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-08-07
The Insidiousness of Evil Habits--Their
Control Of Human Action.
Less Scolding and More Prayer Recon-.
mended as a Remedy.

AsHEvILLE, N. c., July 25.-The
Rev. Il. Dewitt Talmage. ID. d., is here
at this great summer watering place
spending II few days. Vast throngs
from all the surrounding regions came
in to attend the religious service to-day.
After singing and prayer and Scripture
exhortation. DIR. Talmagc preached a
sermon on the subject,
''MEAspRED BY Y0UR w YARD
STICK"
The text was from Mathew vii, 2:
with what measurc We mete, it shall
be measured TO you again" DR.. Tai
mage SAID:
In the greatest sermon ever preached
"A sermon about fifteen minutes long
according to the ordinary rate of
speech sermon on the Mount OF
Olives, the preacher, sitting while he
SPOKE, according to the ancient mode
of o%ratory, the people were given to
understand that the same yard-stick
shat they employed upon others would
BE emplcnd upon themselves. Meas
We Others by = harsh rule. and you will
be measured b. = harsh rule. Measure
others by a charitable rule, and you
will be measured by a charitable rule.
Give no mercy to others, and no mercy
will be given to you. "With what
measure we mete, it shall be measured
10 you again"
There is "A great deal of unfairness
in the criticism of human conduct. 1t
was to smite chat un~fairness that Christ
uttered the words of tho text. and my
sermon will be a re-echo of tie divine
sentiment. In estimating the ilisbc-
hayior of others we must take
into consideration the pressure of
circumstances. 1t is never right to do
wrong, but there are degrees of culpa-
bility. When men m%isbehave or COM
NIT SONS atrocious wickedness we are
disposed indiscriminately to tumble
them all over the hank of condemnation.
Suffer they ought, and suffer they must,
but in difference Of degree.
In the first place IN estimating the
misdoing Of others we must take into
calculation the hereditary tendency.
Their is such = thing as good blood,
.aero Is such a thing as bad blood.
are families that have had a
- rsttsai twist in them for = hundred
yass" )ack. They have not been care
full ,o keep the family record in that re-
gard. There have been escapades and
xxaraudii.gs and scoundrelisms and
MORAL DEFICITS
all the way back, whether you call il
kleptomamia or pyromania or dipso-
mania, or whether it be in a milder
form and amount to no mania ut all.
The strong probability is that the
prevent criminal started life with nerve,
muscle and bone contaminated. As
some start life with a natural tendency
to nobility and generosity, and kind
ness and truthfulness, there are others
who start life with just the opposite
tendency, and they are born liars, or
born ~malcontents, or born outlaws, or
Born swinalers.
There is in Eroland q school that is
called the Princess Mar school. All
tie children IA that school are the
children of convicts. The school is
supported by high patronage. l had
the pleasure os being present at one of
their anniversaries, in 1879, presided
over by the Earl OF Kinstore. By a
wise law in England, after parents
have committed a certain number of
crimes and thereby shown themselves
incompetent rightly to bring up their
children, the little ones are
taken from under pernicious in
~fiuences and put in reformatory
schools, where all ,ious and
kindly influences shall be brought upon
them. Of course the experiment is
young and it has got to be demonstrate
ed how large a per centage of the chill
dren of %convicts may be brought up to
responsibility and usefulness. But we
all know that it is more difficult for
children OF bad parentage to do r'ghs
than for children of good percentage.
In this country we arc tauaht by the
declaration OF American independence
that all people arc born equal. There
never WAS
GREATER MISREPRESENTATION
put in = sentence than in that SEN
tence which implies that we are all