The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-08
toria Regia. There are so,re people who take

vanish. They are morning-g cries that can.
not stand the glare Of the hot noon sun OF
trial. You have all known such little chill
dren. They were pale: they were ethereal;
there was something very wonderfully deer
in the eve: they had gentle foot and soft
hand, and something almost supernatural in
their behavior-ready to be waited away.
You had such q one in your household. Zone
now, It was too delicate plant for this
rough world. The heavenly gardener saw 1t
and took it in. We make splendid Sun
day.school books out of such children,
but they almost always die. l have
noticed that for tho most part, the ch: idren
that live sometimes get cross, and PICK up
bad words in the street, and quarrel with
brother and sister, and prove nnmistakably
that they are wicked-as the Bible says. 60
ing astray from the womb, speaking lies.
See the little ones in the Sabbath class, 50
sunshiny and beautiful, you woul1 think
they were always so, but mother, seated
little way off, looks over at these children
and thinks of the awful time she had to get
them ready. =,
After the boy and girl come little further
on in lie. the mark Of sin upon them is still
more e:iient The son comes in from q
pugilistic encounter in the streets, bearing
the marks of defeat. The daughter prac'
tices positive deceotion, and the parent says:
"What shall I do? I can't always. be
correcting and scolding. and yet these
things must be stoprel" 1t is espe-
cially sad if the parent sees his own faults
copied by th. child. 1t is very hard
work to pull up nettle that we our
selves planted. We remember that the
greatest fraud that ever shooi the banking
houses of the country, started from boys
deception good many years ago; and the
cleaning blade OF the murderer is only
" A. "a xxhin ho
boy struck at his comrade. The cedar OF
Lebanon, that wrestles with the blast, started
from seed lodged in the side Of the mountain,
and the most tremendous diSbonesties of the
world once toddled ont from the cradle. All
these things make parents anxious.
ANXIETY on tho part of parents also arises
from the consciousness that there are so
many temptations thrown all around our
young people. 1t may bealmost impossible
to take q castle by siege straightforward
siege-but suppose in tn, night there Is
traitor within, and he goes down and draws
the bolt and swings open the great door, and
then the castle falls Immediately. That is the
trouble with the hearts of the young: they
have foes without AMI foes within. There
are q great many who try to make our
young people believe that It is sign OF
weakness to be pure. The man will
toss his head and take dramatic attitudes,
and tell of his own indiscretio1s, and ask the
young man if he would not Ike to do the
same And they call him verdant, and they
say he is green and unsophisticated, and won
der how he can bear the Puritanical strait
Jacket. Tn tell him he ought to break
from his mothers apron strings, and they
saw: II will show you all about town.
Come with me. You ought to see the world:
1t won't hurt you. Do as you please: it will
be the making of you" After awhile the
Young man says: II don't want to be odd,
nor can afford to sacrifice these friends, and
I'll 90 aud see for myself" From the gates
of hell there goes shout Of victory. Fare
we'll to all innocence-farewellt to all early
restraints favorable to that innocence which
once gone, never comes back. heard one
of the best men ever knew, seventy-five
years of age, say: "Sir, God has forgiven me
for all the sins Of my lifetime, know that;
but there is one sin committed at twenty
wears of age that never will forgive myself
for. 1t sometimes comes over me over
whelminglv, and it absolutely blots out my
hope of heaven. .
there are set for our young people! That is
what makes parents so anxious. Here are
temptations for every form OF dissipation
and every stage of it. The young man, when
he first goes into dissipation, is very part'cu.
lar where he goes. 1t must be fashionable
hotel He could not be tempted into these
corner nuisances, with red-stained glass
ard O mug of beer painted on the sign
board. You ask the young man to GO
into that pla q and he would say !:
"Do YOU mean to insult mel" No; it must be
a marblefoorel barroom. There must be
no lustful pictures behind the counter: there
must lie no drunkard hiccoughing while he
takes his glass 1t must be place where ele-
CANT gentlemen come in aud click their cut
glass and drink to the announcement OF
fattering sentiment Eut the young
man cannot always find thai kind CT a
place; yet he has thirst and it must
be gratif1ed. The down-grade is sleeper
now, and he is almost at the bottom. Here
they sit in an oyster cellar around card
table, wheeling, bloated and bloodshot, with
cards so greasy you can hardly tell who has
the best hand. But never mind; thay are
only playing for drink. Shuttle away! shuf-
fe away! Toe landlord stands in his shirt
sleeves with hands on his hips, watching watching
call to fill up the glasses. 1t is
the hot breath OF eternal woe that
flushes that Young mans cheek. In he jets
of gaslight see the shooting out OF the fiery
tongue of the worm that never dies. The
clock strikes p; it is the tolling of the bell of
eternity at the burial Of soul. Two
hours pass on, and they are all sound
asleep in their chairs Landlord says;
They look up and say: "Whatl" cts time
to Shut up." Push them out into the air
They are going home. Let the wife crouch
in the corner, and the children hide under
the bed. They are going home! What IS
the history Of that young man! He beTa
his dissipation at the FIFTH Avenue W
sna Completed his damnatlon in the worst
grog-shop in Navy street
But sin even does not stop here. 1t comes
10 the door of the drawiug-room. There are
men of leprous hearts that go into the very
best classes of society. They are so fascinat.
have such bewitching way OF
offering their arm Yet the poison Of asps is
under the tongue, and their heart is hell. At
first their sinful devices are hidden, but after
O while they begin to put forth their talons
of death. Now they begin to show
really what they are. Suddenly-al,
though you could not have expected
it. they were so charming in their man
ner, and so fascinating iu their address sud
denly cloud, hlacker than was ever woven
of midnight or hurricane, drops upon some
domestic circle There is agony in the pa
rental bosom that none but the Lord God
Almighty can measure-an agony that
wishes that the children of the household
had been swallowed by the grave, when it
would be only loss Of body instead OF a
loss Of soul. What is the matter with that
household! They have not had the front
windows open in six months or year. The
mothers hair suddenly turned white; father,
hollow-cheeked and bent over prematurely,
goes down the street. There has been no
death in that family-no loss Of property.
Has madness ssizei upon the n! No! no! A
villain, kid-gloved, patent-leathered, with
gold chain and graceful manner took that
cup of domestic bliss, elevated it high in
the air until the Sunlight struck it, aud
all the rainbows danced about the
brim, and then dashed it down in desola-
tion and woe, until all the harpies Of darkness
clapped their hands with gee, aud all the
voices of hell uttered loud bal hal Oh.
there are scores and hundreds of homes that