Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-26

from its moorings. It came on dowr
through the night and tossed over The
falls. 1t was said to have been q scene
brilliant beyond all description. Well
there are thousands of men on fire of evil
habit, coming down through the rapids
and through the awful night of temptation
toward the eternal plunge. On, how hard
it is to arrest them. G1d only can arrest
them. Suppose q man after five, or ten
or twenty years Of evil doing resolves to
do right. Why 1ll
TIE FORCES OF DARKNESS
are allied against MIN. He cannot sleer
nights. He gets down on his knees N
the midnight and cries: "God help me III
He bites his lip. He grinds his teeth
He clenches his is. IN determination to
keep his purpose. He dare not look at
the bottles in the windows Of a wine
store. IL is one long, bitter, exhaustive,
hAnd-to-hand fight with infamed, tantal-
iziDg and merciess habit. When he
thinks he is entirely free, the old inclina-
tons pouEce upon him like pack of
hounds With their muzzles tearing away at
the Fl .nks OF one poor rein1eer. In Paris
there is q sculp,ured representation Of
Bacchus, the god of revelry. He is riding
on panther st full leap. Oh! how sug-
| gestive. Let every one who is speeding
on bad wsys understand he is not riding
q doCile and well broken steed, but he is
riding monster wild and nloodthirsty,
| going at death leap. How many there
are who resolve on better life, ard say
"When shall awake ?" but, seized on by
| their old hs5its, cry: 81 will try it once
more; will seek 1t yet sgainl" Years
ago, there were some Princeton students
who were skstirg and the ice was very
| thin, and some one warned the company
back from the Air-hole, and finally warned
them entirely to leave the pIsce. But one
young man with brsvado, sitter all the
rest bad stopped, cried out: "Ole round
nore!" He swept around and went
down, and WAS brought ous
A CORPSE.
My friends, there are thousands and tens
Of thousands of men losing their souls In
that way. 1t is the one round more.
have also to say that IL man wants
to return from evil practices, society re-
pulses him. Desiring to rtform, he says:
"Now, l will shake f my old associates,
and Will find G ristian companionship."
And he appears st the church door some
Sabbath day, and the usher greets him
with lock as much to say: "Why, you
here? You are the last man 1 ever ex-
pected 10 see st church! Come, take this
seat right down by the door," Iostead
Of saying: "Good morning; 1 am glad
you are here. Come; l will give
you frst-rste seat right up by the pnl-
pi.." Well, the prodigaI, not yet dis
couraged, enters prayer meeting, and
some Christian man, with more zeal than
common sense, says: "Glsd to see you;
the dying thief was saved, and suppose
there Is mercy for you" The young man,
disguised, chilled, throws himself on his
dignity, resolved he will never enter into
the house OF cd again. Perhaps not
quite fully discouraged about reforma-
tloD, be sides up by some highly respec5-
able man ne used to know, going down
the street, and Immediately tne respecta-
bic m2n has ar errsnd down some other
street. Well, the prodigsI, wishing TO
return, takes some member of Christian
association by the hand or tries TO. The
Christian young man looks st him, looks
at the faded apparel and the marks of dis
sipation, instead Of giving him a warm
grip Of the hand. cffers him the tip ends
of the long fingers of the left hand, which
is equal to striking q man in the face
Oh! how fey Christian people under
stand how much force and gossel there is
in good, honest hand shaking. Some
times, when you have felt the need of
encouragement, end some Christian man
has taken you heartily by the hand, have
you rot felt thrilling through every fiber
of your BODY, mind and soul IN encour-
age ment that was just what yju needed?
You do not know anything al all about
this unless you know when sman tries
to return from evil courses of Eonduct be
runs against
REPULSIoNS INEUMBR4BLE.
We say of some man, he lives block
or two from the church, or half q mile
from the church. There are peo-
pie in our crowded cities who live thou
sand miles from church. Vast deserts
of indifference between them ard the
house Of God. The fact is we must keep
our responsibility, though thousands and |
tens Of thousands perish. Christ sat
With publicaps and sinners. But IL there |
came to the house Of God fSan with |
marks of dissipation upon hiT people |
almost threw up their hands Il horror, |
IS much as to say: "Isn't 1t s. Jcking7" |
How these dainty, fsstldious christians
in all our churches are going to get into |
heaven, don't know, unlRss 5hey have
an especial train of CARS, cushioned and
upholstered. each one car to himself |
They cannot go with the great horde of |
publicsns and sinners. Oh! ys who curl
your lip of scorn at the fallen :,sell you |
plainly, you had been surrollded by
the ssme Influences, instead of Citing to-
day among the cultured, and TIT refined, |
and the Christian, You would have been |
q crouching wretch in stable or ditch,
covered with hl.h and abomi- |
nation. 1t is not because
you are naturally any better, but be-
cause the mercy of God hiss rrotected |
you. Who are you thst, brought up in |
Christian circles and watched by Chris
tian pArentsge, you should be SO hard on !
the fsllen7
thick men are also often hindered |
from return by the fact that churches are |
too anxious about their membership and |
too anxious about their den animation,
and they rush out when they see a man
about to give up his sin and and return to
God, and ask him how he is going to be bap-
tized, whether By sprinkling or Immersion,
and Whist kind OF church he is going to |
join. o.! ny friends, it Is a poor time |
to talk about Presbyterian catechisme,
and Episcopal liturgies, and Methodist |