Democratic messenger., 1889-04-13

the goods, you should also have the
trouble Of being dunnedi And let me
say that if you lind that this pictures
your own photograph. instead Of being
ia church you ought To be in the pen.
itcntiaryi No wonder that SO many
Of our merchants fail in business
They are swindled into bankruptcy
by these wandering Arabs, these no
MAIDS Of city life. They cheat tho
grccr out of the green apples which
make them sick, the physician who
attends their distress. and the under.
takcr who Tits them out for departure
from the ncighborhQod where they
owe everybody " hen they pay the
debt Of nature. the only debt they
.vcr do pay!
"NEITilER BORROWER NOR LEN.
DER BE."
Now our young men are coming up
n this dcpr,vcd state Of commercial
ethics. and | am solicitous about
them. want Ia warn them against
being slaughtered on the sharp edges
Of debt. You want many things you
have not. my young friends. You
shall have them il you have patience
and honesty and industry. Certain
lines of conduct always lead out to
certain successes.
There is "a law which controls even
those things that seem haphazard. l
have been told by those who have OBJ
served that il is possible To calculate
just how many letters will bc sent TO
the Dead Letter Office every year
through misdircction; that il is possi-
Bile to calculate just how many letters
will he detained for lack Of postage
stamps through the forgctfulncss Of
the sendcrs, and that it is possible TO
tell just how many people will fall in
the streets by slipping on an orange
peel. In other words, there are no
accidents. The most insignificant
tween two ctcrnitics eternity Of
the past and the eternity Of the future.
Head the right way, young man, and
yon will come out at the right goal.
Bring me young man and tell me
what his physical health is. and what
his mental calibcr. and what his habits,
and will tell you what will be his
destiny for this world and his destiny
for the world to come. and will not
make five inaccurate prophecies out Of
tho five hundred. All this makes me
solicitous in regard to young men.
and ] want to make them nervous in
rcgarl to the contraction Of unpayablc
debts. give you II paragraph from
my own experience.
DR. TALMAGE HAS BEEN THERE IIIMsEi.F.
My first settlement as pastor was in
village. Ny salary was $500 and Il
Tits. "a. 40 S.nV.anI
nous Ia me- said To myself, What.
all this for one year," | was afraid
of getting worldly under SO much
prosperity! resolved io invite all
tho congregation Ia my housc in
groups of twenty-five each. We be.
gan, and us they were the best con.
grcgation in all the world, and we
felt nothing was too good for them.
we piled all the luxurics on the table.
never completed the undertaking.
At the end Of six months was in
financial despair. found what every
young man learns in time To save
himself. ar too late. that you must
measure the size of man : body be.
fore you begin 10 cut the cloth for his
coat
When young man wilCN,llyand of
choice. having the comfoh of life,
goes into the contraction Of ulpyablc
debts he knows not into what he goes.
Tho creditors get after the debtor. the
pack OF hounds in full cry. and alas.
for the reindeer. They jingle his door
bell before he gets up in the morning,
they jingle his doorbcll after he has
gone Ia bed at night They meet him
as he comes oif his front steps They
send linn II postal card, or n letter, in
They attach his gIod% They want
cash, ar II note at thirty days. or note
on demand They call him knavc
They say he lies. They want him dis.
ciplincd at the church. They want
him turned out of the bank. They
come III him from this side, and from
that side, and from before. and from
behind, and from above. and from be-
meath. and he is insuicd and gibbctcd,
and sued. aud dunncd, and sworn at,
until he gets the nervous dyspepsia.
gets neuralgia. gets liver complaint.
gets heart disease. gets convulsivc dis.
order. gets consumption.
Now he is dead. and you say: "Of
course they will let him alone" Oh,
no! Now they are watchful to see
whether there arc any unnecessary en-
pensrS at the obsequies, to SEQ whether
there is any useless handle on the cas-
ket. Ia SEQ whether there is any sur.
plus plat on the shroud. Ia see whcih.
er the lIcarse is costly or cheap, 10 SEQ
whether the flowers sent Ia the caskct
have been bought by the family or
donated. To See in whose name the
deed Ia tho grave is made out. Then
they r,nsack the bcrcft household. the
books. the pictures, the carpets, the
chairs tho sofa, the piano. the mat
trcsscs. the pillow on which hc dies.
Cursed be debt! For the sake of your
own happiness. for the sake of your
good morals. for the sake of your i'm.
mortal soul. for Gods sake. young
man. as far rs possible. keep out Of il.
ii. But | think more young men
are slaughtered through irr'lIgiom.
Take away a young man is religion and
you make him the prey of evil. We
all know that the Bible is the only
perfect system Of morals Now il you
want To destroy the young man NOR
ais take his Bible away. How will
you doihatf Well. you will caricaturc
his reverence for the Scriptur-,, you
will take all those incidents of the
Bible which can bc made nirti of
Jonah whale, Samson's foxes. Adams
rib then you will caricaturc eccentric
Christians ar inconsistent Christians.
then you will pass OIL us your own all
those hackneycd arguments against
Christianity which are as old as Tom
Paine. as old rs Noltairc, as old rs sin.
Now you have captured his Bible. and
you have taken his strongest fortress;
the way is comparatively clear. and
all the gates of his soul are set open in
invitation Ia the sins Of earth and the
sorrows of death. that they may come
"A ease is reporlrd from Wilmington,