National Republican., 1886-12-06

feels his business Is going TO ruin. Whore he
was kind and obliRipS he is scolding and fret
has given way to iretful restlessness, and he |
has become complete fidget. What power Is |
II that has rolled n wave of woe over the earth |
and shaken poTtent In the heayens2 He has |
tried TO stop smoking After. while |
he says; II am going TO do as please. The |
doctor doesn't understand my case. I'm going |
thing assumes It's usual cOmposure, His busi- |
ness seems TO brighten. The world becomes
an attractive place to live in. His children,
seeing the difference, hail the return OF their
fathers genial disposition. What wave of
color has dashed blue into the sky, and green.
ness into the mountain foliage, md the glow Of
ment has lifted world of beauty and Joy on
his soul? He has gone back to smoking.
Oh the fact Is, as we all know in our own
experience, that habit Is taskmaster; as long
as we obey II, II does not ChRstise US; but let
us resist and we find we are TO be lashed with
scorpion whips and bound with ship cable.
and thrown into the track OF bone.breaking
JuggeTnauts. During the war of 1872 there was
ship set on fire just above Niagara Falls, and
then cut loose from It's moorings, II came on
down through the night and tossed over the
falls. II was said to have been q scene bril-
liant beyond all description. Well, there are
thousands of men on fire of evil habit, coming
down through the rapids and through the
plunge oh how hard 1t Is TO arrest them.
God only can arrest them. Suppose a man
after aye or ten o. twenty years Of tSU sUliLdoing
darkness are allied against him, He cannot
sleep nights; He gets down down on M bis knees In IN
hs %iSd,nsht S,a and SIss s,nG Gsd help s
clenches his fist in a determination to keep his
purpose. he dare. not look at the bottles
in inc window. of wine store. 1t was
hand fight with .eniam:d, tantalizing
ard meTciless habit. When he thinks
he is entirely free the old incllnatlons. .ponnce
upon him like pack of hounds with their
muzzles tearing at the ilanks of one poor roin-
deer. In Paris there Is sculptured repre-
senta!ion of Bacchus, the god OF revelry. lie
suggestive Let every one who IS speeding on
bad ways understand he Is not riding docle
and well.broken steed, but he is riding
death leap. How many there ore who resolve
Oh better life and say;"When shall awake"
but, seized on by their old habits, cry, "I Will
try II once more; | will seek 1t yet again !"
Years ago there were some Princeton students
who We're skating, ana the ice was very thin,
and some one warned the company back from
the air.hole, and finally warned them entirely
to leave the place. But one young man, with
brayado, after all the rest had stopped cried
out: zone, more round !, He swept around
and went down, and was brought out q corpse.
My friends, there are thousands and tens of
thousands of men losing their souls In that
way. II is the one round more.
have also TO say that If a man wants to
return from evil practices society repulses him.
Desiring TO reform, he says: "Now, | will shake
off my old associates, aud will find Christian
companionship." And he appears ut the church
door some sabbath day, and the usher greets
him with look, as much as TO say: "Why, you
here? Youare the last man ever expected to
see at church, Come, take this seat right down
by the doOrg' instead OF saying: Good morn.
ing; am glad YOU are here, Come; will give
you iirst-rate seat right up by the pulpit"
Well, the prodigal, not yet discouraged, enters
| prayer meeting, and some Christian man,
| with.more zeal than common
| sense, says GLAD to see you. The dying thief
was saved, and suppose there Is mercy, for
nigpIIgTnn
| throws himself back on his dignity resolved
| he never will enter the house OF God again.
| Perhaps not quite fully discouraged about
speCtable man he used 10 know, going down
| the street, and Immediately the respectable
man has an errand down some other street
tskts some member OF Christian association
| by the hand, or tries TO- The. Christian young
man looks at him, looks at the faded apparel
and the marks of dissipation, and instead of
| giving him warm grip. by the hand, offers
| him the tip end OF the long fingers of the left
| band, which is equal TO striking man In the
| fnCe.
oh, how few Christian people understand
| bow much force and gospel there Is IN good,
| honest handshakingl Sometimes, when you
have isit ihe & need OF % %enGourSgesmenti @ ana h
| the hand, have you not felt that thrilling
through every fiber of your body, mind, and
soul, an encouragement that was Just what you
Ieedtd? You do not know anything at all
| about this unless yon know when man tries
| to return from evil courses of conduct he runs
against Tepulsions iunumerable. We say of
some man, he lives block or two from the
| church or half mile from tho church. There
| are people in our crowded cities who live a
thousand miles nom church. Vast deserts Of
indifference between them and the house of
God The fact is, We must keep our resDect.
| ability, though thousands and tens OF thou.
sands perish, Christ sat with publicans and
sinners But II there came to the house OF
God man with marks of dissipation upon
him people almost threw up their hands in