The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-10-28
truthfully say: "God is my refuge and

the head. As many inches OF brain as any
| other intelligent man. Let us measure
him around the heart. 1t is so large that
| it takes in all the earth and all the heav-
| ems. Measure him around the purse. He
has more resources than nine tenths Of
those who on that Monday, September 90.
came in on any of the railroads from
north, south, east and west.
But that Sabbath afternoon while in the
back room Nicholas and his father are
talking over any attempt at the reclama-
tion of Edward, there is a ringing of the
door bell and a man with the uniform of a
policeman stands there; and the man with
some embarrassment, and some hating,
and in roundabout way says that in a
fight in some low haunt of the city Ed
ward had been hurt. He says to Nicho-
las:
81 heard that he was some relation Of
yours. and thou hit you ought to know it,"
| "Hurt? Is he badly hurt"
ayes, very badly hurt:"
as the wound mortal?"
eyes; it is mortal. To tel you the
whole truth, sir" says the policeman,
"although can hardly bear to tell you,
he is dead"
"Dead" cried Nicholas; anil ly this
time the whols family are in the hallway.
The father says:
"Just as feared. 1t will kill his mother
when she hears of it. o., my son, my
Oh, my son, my son."
"Wash off the wounds" says Nicholas,
"and bring him ii ht here 10 my house,
and let there be all respect and gentleness
shown him."
Oh, what obsequies! The next door
neighbors hardly knew what was going
On; hut Nicholas and the father and
mother knew. Out of the Christian and
beautiful home of the one brother is car.
ried the dissolute brother No word OF
blame uttered. No harsh things said. Or
bank of camelias is spelled out "Bro.
ther." Had the prodigal been true and
pure and noble in lie and honorable
} in life and honorable in death
he could not have been carried forth witt
more tenderness or slept in a more beaui.
full casket, or been deposited in a more
beautiful garden of the dead. Amid the
loosened turf the brothers who left the
country for city life five years befop, nov
part forever. The last SC. ne of the fiftt
act of an awful tragedy of human life il
ended.
What made the difference between thes,
two young men? Relig ion. The one de
, pended upon himself, the other depended
on God. They started from the sam,
home, had the same opportunities of edu
cation, arrived in the city on the sam,
day, and if there was any difference, Ed
ward had the advantage, fer he wa
brighter and quicker, and all the neigh
bors prophesiel greater success for hin
. than for Nicholas. But behold and won
der at the tremendous secret. Voice
come up out of this audience and say:
"Did you know these brothers?"
Eyes; knew them well.'
"Did you know their parents?"
"Yes; intimately"
: Why this sermon? I have made up my
mind that our city life is destroying to,
many young men. There comes in ever,
Sept ember aud October large influx o
those between sixteen and twenty fou
years of age, and New York and Brook
lyn damn at least thousand of then
every year. They are shoveled on AM
: down with no more conjunction than tina
with which coal-heaver scoops the an
) thracite into dark cellar. What witt
: the wine-cup and the gamblers dice, an,
the scarlet enchantress no young man
without the grace of God, is safe ten min
, utes.
There is much discussion about which i
the worst city of the continent. Some sa,
New York, some say New Orleans, som
: say Chicago, some say st. Louis. What
have to say is, you can not make muc
comparison between the infnites, and i
all our cities the temp. alton seems infini
We keep a great many mills run
ming day and night. No rice
mills or cotton-mills. Not mills of corn Q
wheat, but mills for grin ding up mer
Such are all the grog-shops, licensed an
unlicens d. Such are all the gamblin
= saloons Such are all the houses CT in
fanny. Aud we do all the work accordin
to law, and we turn out new grist ever
hour, and grind up warm hearts and clea
! heads, and the earth about cider mill
not more satura ted with the bevera ge Thu
the ground about all these mind-destroy
ing institutions is saturated with th
blood of victims. We say to Long Islam
!, neighborhoods and villages:
"Send us more supply"
And to Westchester and Ulster and a.
the other counties OF New York.
"Send us more men and women TO III
u under the wheels"
Give US full chance and we would grin
u up in the municipal mill five hume bred
- day. We have enough machinery; "
: have enough men who can run then
Gives us more homes to crush; Civ
). more parental hearts to pulverize
Put into the hopper all the wardrobe
and the family Bibles, and the livelihood
s of wives and children. Give us more ma
), terial for these mighty mills, which al
h wet with tears and sulphurous with wo
n and trembling with the earthquakes of a
: incensed God, who will, unless our cite
n repent, cover us up as quick and as dee
), as in August of the year 70 Vesuvir
= avalanched Herculaneum.
d o, man and woman, ponder the path
a thy feet! See which way you are eoin;
b Will you have the destiny of Edward {
g Nicholas? On this sacramental day, whe
| L -,