Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-06-13
BAD COMPANY.
Or. Talmage on the Evils of I'M
proper Associations.
Bad Results Sure to Follow Contact With
Sinful Persons-Dangers of Too Much
IdIeness and Pleasure-Compan-
ions to BE Avoided.


subject of Evil Associations DIR. Talmage
,ook his text from Proverbs xiii 20: "A
companion of fools shall be destroy ed"
Following is the sermon:
MAY it please the court" said a con-
victed criminal, when asked if he had any
hing to say before sentence of death was
passed upon him; may it please the
court, bad company has been my ruin.
received the blessings of good parents and
n return promised to avoid all evil asso-
Citations. Had l kept my promise l should
nave been saved this shame and been free
rom the load Of guilt that hangs about
ne like vulture. threatening to drag me
o justice for crimes yet unrevealed. j,
Who once moved in the first circles of
'ociety and have been the guest of dis
inguished public men, am lost and all
| through bad company"
| This is but one of the thousand proofs
that the companion Of fools shall be de-
| stroved. 1t is the invariable rule. There
IS well man in the wards of a hospital
where there are hundred people sick
With ship fever and he will not be so apt
20 take the disease as good man would
De apt to be smitten with moral distemper
shut up with iniquitous companions.
In olden times prisoners were herded to-
yether in the same cell, but each one
learned the vices of all the culprits, so
F.! hat instead of being refoi med by incar-
! ,eration, the day of liberation turned
hem out upon society beasts, not men.
| We may in our places of business be
compelled to talk and to mingle with bad
men, but he who deliberately chooses to
associate himself with vicious people is
engaged in carrying on a courtship with
Delilah whose shears will clip off all the
ocks Of his strength and he will be tripped
nto perdtion. Sin is catching, is in
:ectious, is epidemic. will let you look
over the millions of people now inhabiting
he earth and 1 challenge you to show me
4 good man who, after one year, has made
choice and consorted with the wicked. A
thousand dollars reward for one such in
stance. l care not how strong your char
acter may be. Associate with gamblers,
You will be a gambler. Clan with the
burglars and you will become a burglar.
| Go among the unclean and you will be-
come unclean. Not approaching the truth
| Of my t. xt, many young man has been
| destroyed. He wakes up some morning
in the great city and knows no one
except the persons into whose employ he
| The clerks mark him, measure him and
discuss him. The upright young men of
! The store wish him well, but perhaps wait
| for a formal Introduction, and even then
have some delicacy about inviting him into
| their associations. But the bad young
| men of the sore at the first opportunity
approach and offe their services. They
oatronize him. They profess to know all
r. ~ ,oI-o
where he wishes to go-if he will pay the
expenses. For if a good young man and
| a bad young man go to some place where
| they ought not the good young man has
invariably to pay the charges. At the
moment the ticket is to be paid for or the
| champagne settled for the bad young man
feels around in his pockets and says: Il
have forgotten my pocketb Dok." In forty
eight hours after the young man has en-
Tered the store the bad fellows of the es-
Enlistment slap him Oh the shoulder ia
miliarly, and, at his stup dlty in taking
certain illu 'ions say: My young friend,
GU will have to be broken in," and they
Immediately proceed to break him in.
Young man, in the name of God, warn
you to beware how you let bad man talk
Familiarity with you. If such an one slap
you on the shoulder Familiarity turn
around and give him a whitening look IN
til the wretch crouches in your presence.
There is no monstrosity of wickednesS
that can stand unabashed under the
glance of purity and honor. God keeps
The lightnings of Heaven in his own scab-
bard and no human arm can WELD them;
but God gives to every young man a light
ming that he may use and that is the light
ming Of an honest eye. Those who have
been close observers will not wonder why
| give warning to young men. and say,
Beware of bad company"
First, warn you to shun the skeptic-
the young man who puts his fingers in his
vest and laughs at your old fashioned re-
ligion and turns over to some mystery of
The Bible and says: Explain that, my
pious friend; explain that" And who
says: Nobody shall scare me; I am not
afraid of the fu ure; / used 10 believe in
such things, and so did my father and
mother, but have got over it" Yes, he
has got over it; and if you sit in his
company little longer you will get over
it too. Without presenting one argu-
ment against the Christian religion such
men will, by their jeers and SCOTS
and caricatures, destroy your respect for
that religion which was the strength of
your father in his declining years and the
pillow of your old mother when she lay
dying. Alas a time will come when that
clustering young infidel will have to die,
and then his diamond ring will fash no
splendor in the eyes of Death, as he stands
over the couch waiting for his SOUL Those
beautiful locks will be uncombed upon the
pillow, and the dying man will say: II
can not die-I can not die" Death, stand
ing ready, beside the couch, says: You
must die; you have only half minute to
live; let, me have it right away-your
SOUL" NO" says the young infidel,
''here are my gold rings, and these pict-
ures; take them all" No" says Death.
what do l care for pictures-your soul"
Stand back" SAYS the dying infidel. 81
will not stand ba ck," says Death" 'for
fou have only ten seconds now TO live;
want y our soul" The dying man says:
Don't breathe that cold air into my face.
You crowd me too hard. Ii is getting
dark in the room. o God" 'Hush," says
Death. ''you said there was no God"
pray for me-" excaims the expiring in
fideL TOO late 10 pray" says Death;
but three more seconds to live, and will
count them off-one-:wo-three He
has gone! Where? Where? Carry him
out-out and bury him beside his father
and mother, who died while holding fast
to the Christian religion. They died sing
ing; hut the young infidel only said:
DON'T breathe that cold air into my face.
You crowd me too hard. 1t is getting
dark in the room"
Again. urge you to shun the compan-
ionship of idlers. There are men hanging
around every store. and office and shop
who have nothing 70 do, or act as II they
had not. They are apt to come In when
6 sx,iah tn