Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-06-14

kindnesseS done, W
accomplished, to pover!y. neipe s.o ~ q
sssartad "a Sayiour's cause advanced
these pleasure seekers on their death
he'd have nothing better to review than
Tom nlavbill. a ticket for the races, an
an,,tv tankard and the cast out rinds of
n cpronsal: and as in the delirium of
tho;r owfnl death they clutch the goblet
and nress It to their lips, the dregs of
the cnn FILLING upon their tongue will
begin to hiss and uncoil with the adders
of an eternal poison.
Cast out these men from your COM
PAW. Do not be intimate with them.
Always be polite. There is no demand
that you ever sacrifice politeness. A
young man accosted Christian Quaker
with: cold chap, how did you make all
your money!" The Quaker replied: BY
deal in if thou wilt-civility. Always
be courteous, but at the same time firm.
| Saw no as if YOU meant it. Have it I'M
defstood in store, and shop, and street,
that you will not stand in the compan-
ionship of the skeptic, the idle, the
pleasure seeker.
Rather than enter the compaionship
of such, accept the invitation to bet
ter feast. The promises of God are the
fruits. The harps of Heaven are the
music. Clusters from the vineyards of
God have been pressed into the tank
ards. The sons and daughters of the
Lord Almighty are the guests. While
standing at the banquet, to fill the cups
and divide the clusters and command
the harps and welcome the guests, is
daughter of God on whose brow are the
blossoms of paradise, and in whose
cheek is the flush of celestial summer.
Her name is Religion.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
what direction you will take. There
comes such moment of final decision
why not this? One night l saw q
young man at the street corner evidently
doubling as to which direction he had
better take, his hat lifted high enough
SO you could see he had an intelligent
forehead, and he had stout chest and
a robust development. Splendid young
man. Cultured young man. Honored
young man. Why did he stop there
while SO many were going up and down?
The fact is. that every man has a good
angel and q bad angel contending for
the mastery of his spirit, and there was
q good angel and bad angel struggling
with that young mans soul at the corner
of the street. Come with me" said the
good angel; Il will take you home; l
will spread my wing over your pillow; I
under supernatural protection; l will
bless every cup you drink out of, every
couch you rest on, every doorway you
enter; will consecrate your tears when
you weep, your sweat when you toll, and
at the last l will hand over your grave to
the bright angel of Christian resurrec-
ton. In answer to your fathers petit
ton and your mothers prayer, l have
been sent of the Lord out of Heaven to
be your guardian spirit. Come with
me-, said the good angel, in voice of
unearthly symphony. 1t was music like
that which drops frc n lutte of Heaven
when seraph breathes on it. No, no,
said the bad angel, come with me;
| [ pour are from chalices of bewitching
carousal; the dance l lead is over floor
tessellated with unrestained indul-
| gences; there is no God to frown on the
temples of sin where I worship. The
skies are Italian. The paths tread are
through meadows, daisied and primrosed.
Come with me-" The young man hest
tated at time when hest
tation was ruin and the bad angel smote
the good angel until it departed, spread
ing wings through the starlight upward
and away, until a door flashed open in
the sky and forever the wings vanished.
That was the turning point in that
young mans history: for, the good angel
| on pathway which is beautiful at the
opening, but blasted at the last The
bad angel, leading the way, opened gate
after gate, and at each gate the road
became rougher and the sky more
| lurld, and what was peculiar, as
the gate slammed shut it came to with
a jar that indicated that it would never
open. Passed each portal, there was
grinding of locks and La showing of bolts;
and the scenery on either side the road
changed from gardens to deserts, and
June air became cutting December
blast. and the bright wings of the bad
angel turned to sack cloth, and the ewes
of light became hollow with hopeless
grief, and the fountains, that at the
start had tossed with wine. poured
forth bubbling tears and foaming blood.
and on the right side of the road there
was serpent, and the man said to the
bad angel: What is that serpent?" and
the answer was: That is the serpent of
singing remorse." On the left side the
road there was lion, and the man
asked the bad angel: What is that lion?"
and the answer was: That is the lion of
all devouring despair" vulture few
through the sky, and the man asked the
bad angel: What is that vulture?" and
answer was: That is the vulture wait
ing for the carcasses of the slain"
And then the man began to try to pull
off of him the folds of something that
had wound him round and round, and
he said to the bad angel: What is it
that twists me in this awful convolu-
tion?" and the answer was: That is the
worm that never dies!" And then the
man said to the bad angel: What does
| all this mean? I trusted in what YOU
said at the corner of the street that
| night: trusted it all, and why have Won
thus deceived me?" Then the last de-
ception fell off the charmer, and it said:
was sent forth from the pitt DESTROY
your soul; watched my chance for
many long year; when you hesitated
that night on the street, I gained INV
triumph: now you are here Ha! ha!
You are here. Come now, let us IN
these two chalices of fire, and drink to-
gether to darkn ess and woe and death.
Hail! HALL" Oh! young man, will the