The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1886-02-26

DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON ON
HOME AND MARRIAGE.

oH ufUAcH uOWH tue ina
Adam str0ked with his hand tina
morning when they came up to ge
their names have since shot fOrtl
tusk aud sting, and grOwled pan.
ther at panther; and mid-air, iron
beaks plunge, till with clOtted wins
ind eyeless sockets tue twain came
#hiriiHE down. fiUm under the SUI
in blood and fire. Eden has gone.
bnt there is just one little frag
ineut left. 1t tinated down on the
river Hiddckel ont Of Paradise. II
IL marriage aud home. This is moi
a mere question of residence OF
wardrobe. 1t is a question charged
with gigantic joy or sorrow, with
heaven or hell. Alas for this new
dispensation George Sandsl Alas
fer the mingling of the nightshade
with the marriage gaIldnds! Alas
for the u OF ladders spit into
the tankardsi Alas for the white
trosts OF eternal death that kill the
orange blossoms! The gospel OF
Jesus Christ is to assert what is
right and to assert what is wrong.
Attempt his been made to take thu
marriage institution, which was In
tended for the happiness and ele-
walton OF the race, and make 1t a
mere commercial enterprise; an ex-
chango of houses and lands and
equlpage; a business partnership
OF two stuffed up with the stories
of romance and knight-errantry,
and unfaithfulness and feminine
angelhOod. The two after awhile
have reused up to find that, instead
of the paradise they dreamed of,
they have got nothing but IA Van.
amburgh's menagerie. Oh, We who
promised to love each other at the
altar, how dare you commit per.
juIyf Let no shadow of suspicion
rest on your affections. 1t is easier
TO kill that flower than it is to make
it live again. The blast from hell
pats out that light, leaves you in
the blackness of darkness forever.
Here are "a man aud wife; they
agree in nothing else, but they agree
they will have n home. They will
have "a splendid house, and they
think that if they have u house they
will have "a home.
1t is done. The carpets are
spread, tights are hoisted; cur
tains are hung; cards of invitation
sent. OUT The horses in gold-plated
harness prance at the gate guests
come In and take their places; the
flute SQUADS the dancers go mp and
down, and with One grand whirl the
wealth and the fashion and the
n,irth of the great town wheel
amidst the pictured walls. Hs
this is happiness.
Float it on the smoking viands
sound il in the music; whirl 1t in
the dance cast it on the snow OF
; sound it up the brilliant
stairway, flash 1t in the chandeliers! ]
Happiness, indeed!
But the guests depart, the flutes
are b~reathless, the last clash of the
impatient hOofs is heard in the dis +,
and the twain of the house
hold come back to see the Queen OF
on the throne amidst the P
floor. ?
But alasl as they come back,
he flowers have faded, the sweet /,
doors have become the smell of a =,
,harnel house, and instead of the e
Queen of Happiness there sits there
.aunt form of anguish, with bitten f
ip and suuken eye, aud ashes in Il
lPr hair. The romp of the dancers
Who have left seems rumbling yet, 4.
ike iarring thunders that quake 4
he floor aud rattle the glasses of
he feast, rim to rim. The spilled 7
vine on the floor turns into blood. \
The wreaths of plush have become S
reptiles. TerrOrs catch
in the canopy that over. q
the couch. a gust of wind il
zones through the ball and the c
lrawiug room and the bed cham
YER, in which all the lights go out. G
And from the lips of the wine peak S
rs coInes.the words, "Happiness is I
rot in usT And the arches re- I
pond, at not in usp And the ST. o
enced Instrumental music, thrCm. tt
ned off by invisible fingers, an Z
Iwer: "Happiness is not with usH s
and the frozen lips of anguish IA
Freak open, and, seated on the
.hrOne of wilted flowers, she strikes a
Ter bODy hands together aud S
yroans: sit is not in me.' :
That very night a clerk with q A
Ialary of a thousand dollars a year {
Dnly one thOusand-gOes to his 9
lome, set up months ago, inst after :
he marriage day. Love meets him L
It the door: love sits With him at
he table ; love talks over the work I
II the day-tlie angels OF God
a throne, not out of flowers .
hat perish aud fade away, but out
II Garlands of heavon, wreath on !
op of wreath, amaranth GU top of
Imarantb, until the throne is done.
Then the harps of God sounded, 9
md suddenly there appeared one
Who mounted the throne, with eyes
% bright and brow so fair that the
Iwain knew it was Christian love. q
And they knelt at the throne, aud
putting one baud on each head.
she blessed them and said "Hap :
Is With map Aud that
Of celestial bloom withered
not with the passing years ; aud
the qHeeu left not the throEe till
enc day the married pairfelt strick