The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1889-04-13
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Discourss on the Pitfalls and Dan.
gers that Beset Young Men.
The Influences OF Society and Their Ten
dency to Beget E1travagance-Deots
and Dishonesty the sequel-Re-
Iigion the Only Anchor.

The following sermon by Rev. T. De-
Witt Talmage is directed particularly to |
tue young men Of our great cities. IL was
predicated on the text:
As an OK 10 the slaughter.-Probe cribs VIZ II.
There is nothing in the voice or manner
OF the butcher to indicate to the OK mat
there is death ahead. The OK thinks he Is
going on TO a rich pasture field OF clover,
where all day long he will revel in the
herbaceous luxuriance; but after awhile
the men and the boys close IL upon him
with sticks and stones and shouting, ana
drive him through bars and into door
way. where he is fastened, and. with
we'll -aimed stroke, the axe fells him; and
So the anticipation OF the redolent pasture
field is completely disappointed. 30
many a young man has been driven on
by temptation to what he thought would
be paradi siacal enjoyment; but after
awhile influences with darker hue and
swarthier arm close In upon him, and he
ENDS that instead OF making an incursion
into garden he has been driven ''as an
OK to the slaughter"
!. We are apt to blame young men for
being destroyed when we ought to blame
The influences that destroy them. Society
Blaughtcrs a great many young men by
the behest: You must keep up appear
ances;" whatever be your salary, you
must dress as we'll as others, you must
wine and brandy as many friends, you
must smoke as costly cigars, you must
give as expensive entertainments and you
must live in as fashionable boarding
house. IL you haven't the money, bor-
row. II you can't borrow make false
entry, or subtract here and there bill
from a bundle Of bank bills, you will only
have to make the deception a little while;
in few months, or in q year or two, you
ran make all right. Nobody will be hurt
by It; nobody will be the wiser. You
yourself will no: be damaged" By that
awful process a hundred thousand men
have been slaughtered for time and
slaughtered for eternity.
Suppose you borrow. There is nothing
wrong about borrowing money. There is
hardly a man in the house but has some
times borrowed money. Vast estates
have been built on borrowed dollar.
But there are two kinds of borrowed
money. Money borrowed for the pur-
pose OF starting or keeping up legitimate
enterprise and expense, and money bor-
rowed to get that which you can do with
out. The first is right, the other is wrong.
lf you have money enough OF your own to
buy a coat, however plain, and then you
borrow money for q dandy's outfit, you
have taken the first revolution Ofthe wheel
aown grade. Borrow for the necessities;
that may be well. Borrow for the lux
aries; that tips your prospects over in the
wrong direction.
The Bible distinctly says the borrower
is servant of the lender. 1t Is bad state
,f things when you have to go down some
other street to escaTe meeting some one
whom you owe. II young men knew what
Is the despotism OF being In debt. more OF
hem would keep out of it. What did debt
30 for Lord Bacon. with a mind towering
shove the centuriesS 1t induced him to
lake bribes and convict himself as a GRIM
nal before all ages. What did debt do
.or Walter Scotts Broken hearted at
Abbottsford! Kept him writing until his
hand gave out in paralysis, to keep the
Iheriff away from his pictures and statu-
sry. Better for him IL he had minded the
maxim which he had chiseled over the fire.
place at Abbottsford: "Waste not, want
not"
The trouble is, my friends, the people
10 not understand the ethics OF going In
tebt. and that IL you purchase goods with
10 cAUtCtdtiou VI puglub AOi 'hCui, VI b
INTO debts which you can not meet YOU
just steal so much money. IL l so into &
grocer's store, and buy sugars and cot
lees and meats, with no capacity to pay
'or them and no intention of paying FOL
them, am more dishonest than If l e
into the store, and when the grocer's fac,
IS turned the other way I fill my pockets
with articles of merchandise and carry
of ham. In the one case l take tn,
merchants time, and l take the time o.
ais messenger to transfer the goods Il
my house, while in the other case TAX,
none OF the time of the merchant, and
wait upon myself, aud l transfer tn,
goods without any trouble to him. Ii
other words, q sneak thief is not SO bat
As man who contracts for debts he neve
expects to pay.
Yet in all our cities there are familie,
that move every May day to get into prox
unity to other grocers, and meat shops
and apOthecaries. They owe every bod
within half q mile Of where they now live
and next May they will move into a dis
tant part of the city, finding a new lot o
victims. Meanwhile you, the honest fam
lily In tho new house, are bothered day b!
day by the knocking at the door OF disap
pointed bakers, aud butchers, and dry
goods dealers, and newspaper carriers
and you are asked where your prcdecesso
is. You do not know. 1t was arrange
you should not know. Meanwhile you
predecessor has gone to some distant par
Of the city. and the people who have an
thing to sell have sent their wagons an
stopped there to solicit the valuable
custom OF the new Reighbor, and he, tn
new neighbour, with great complacenc
and with an air OF affiuence, orders tn
finest steaks, and the highest-price
sugars, and the best Of the canned fruits
aud, perhaps, all the newspapers. An
the debts will keep on accumulating unit
he gets his goods on tbs 30th of next Apr
on the furniture cart.
Now let me say, il there are any sue
persons in the house, IL you have any re
gard for your own convenience you ha
better remove to some greatly distar
part OF the city. 1t is too bad that, hav
ing had all the trouble in consuming tn
goods, you should also have the troubl
of being dunned. And let me say that
you find this picture your own photo
graph, instead of being in church 20
ought to be in the penitentiary. No wor
der that 50 many Of our merchants fail
business. They are swiadled into banl
ruptcy by these wandering Arabs, the,
nomads Of city life. They cheat the grt
Ger out of the green apples which mac
them sick, the physician who atten,
their distress, and the undertaken wi
fit. them out for departure from Il
neighborhood where they owe every boz
when they pay the debt Of nature, Il
only debt they ever do pay.
Now our young men are coming up
this depraved state Of commercial ethic