Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1891-03-20
REV. DR.. TAlMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN bDIvINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT, "THE PLAGUE or BAD
Books"

cred the land OF Egypt. Aud the md0icidus
did so nth their enehdntmentS, and
brought up frogs upon the land of Eoypt."
-Ex. viii, g. 7.
There is almost a universal aversion TO
frogs and yet with the Egyptian they were
honored, they were sacred, and they were
objects OF worship while alive, and after
death they we're embalmed. and to-day their
remains may be found among the sepulchres
OF Thebes. These creatures, so attractive
once to the Egyptians, at divine behest be-
came obnoxtUds aud loathsome and they
went croaking and hopping and leaping into
the palace OF the king, and into the bread
trays and the cOuches of the people, and even
the ovens which now are uPlifted above the
cart b and on the side of chimneys, but then
were small holes in tho earth, with sunken
pottery, were filed with frogs when the
bousekeepers came to look at them. IL man
sat down TO eat n frog alighted on his plate.
III he attempted TO put on a shoe it was pre-
occupied by a frog. IL he attempted to put
his head upon pillow it had been taken pos
session OF by n frog
Frogs high and low aud everywhere; loath-
some frogs, shiny frogs, besieging frogs, in
Vulnerable frogs, great plague OF frogs.
what made the matter worse the magicians
said there was no miracle in this and they
could by sleight of hand produce the same
thing, and they seemed t0 succeed, for by
sleight of hand wonders may bo wrought.
After Moses had thrown down his staff and
by miracle 1t became q yerpent and then he
took hold Of it and by miracle 1t again be-
came stan, the serpent charmers initiated
the same thing, and knowing that there were
serpents IN Egypt which by peculiar pres
sure on tho neck would become as rigid as n
STICK OF wood, they seemed to change the SER
pent into the staff, and then, throwing il
down. the staff became the serpent.
30 likewise these magicians tried to imi.
tate the plague OF frogs, and perhaps by
smell OF food attracting a great number OF
them to certain point, or by shaking them
out from hidden place. the magciaus some
times seemed 10 accomplish the same mira
Gle. While these magicians made the plague
worse, none Of them tried to make it better
Frogs came up and covered tho land OF
Egypt AMI the magicians did so with their
enchantment and brought up frogs upon the
land OF Egypt
Now that plague OF frogs has come back
upon the earth 1t is abroad to-day. 1t IS
smitting this nation. II comes in the shape
OF corrupt literature. These frogs hop into
the store, the shop. the Office, the banking
house, the factory-into the home, into the
cellar, into the garret, on the drawing room
table, on the shelf of the library. While the
lad is reading the bad book the teachers face
is turned the other way. One Of these frogs
Is reading the forbidden novelette, after re-
hring at night, reading by gaslight, one OF
these frogs leaps upon the page. Indeed
they have hopped upon the news stands of
the country and the mails at the poStofiice
shake out in the letter trough hundreds OF
them. The plague has taken ut different
times Possession of this country. IL is one OF
the most loathsome, one of the M ost fright
tul, one of the most ghastiy o; the ten plaques
Of our modern cities.
There is vast number of books and news
papers printed and published which ought
never to see the light. They are filled with a
pestience that makes the land sweltsr with
moral epidemic. The greatest blessing that
ever came &c this nation is that OF an ele.
waited literature, and the greatest scourge
has been that of unclesn literature. This
last has it's victims in all occupations and
departments. 1t has helped 10 flll insane
ssylums and peniteutiaries and almshousss
and dens Of shamo. The bodies OF this infec-
ton lie in tho hospitals and in the graves
while their souls are being tossed over into
lost eternity, an avalanche Of horror and
despair.
The London plague was nothing TO it.
That counted its victims by thousands, but
this modern pest has already shovelei its
millions into the chafnel house OF the morally
dead. The longest rail train that ever ran
over the Erie Oh Hudson tracks vas not long
enough nor large enough to carry the beast
illness and tho putretaction which have been
gathered up in bad books and newspapers of
this land in the last twenty years. Tho
literature Of n nation decides the fate OF
nation. Good books, good morals. Bad
books, bad morals.
l begin with the lowest Of oil tho litera-
ture that which does not even pretend TO
be respectable-fromc cover TO cover blctch
pf leprosy. There are many whose entire
business it is to dispose of that kind Of lit
erature. They display it before the school
boy on his way home. They get the cata-
logues of schools and colleges, take the
names and postoGce addresses, ami send
their advertisements, and their circulars
and their pamphlets and their books to every
one of them.
In tho possess. on OF these dealers in bad
literature were found nine hundred thou
sand names and postofiice addresses to
whom 1t was thought it might be profitable
to send these corrupt things. In the year
1873 there were one hundred and sixty-five
establishments engaged in publishing cheap,
corrupt literature. From one publishing
bouse there went out twenty different styles
Of corrupt books. Although over thirty
tons Of vile literature have been destroyed
by the Society for the Suppression OF Vice
still there is enough OF it left in this country
to bring down upon us the just anger OF an
aroused God.
In the year 1865 the evil had become so
great in this country thnt the Congress OF
the United States passed n law forbidding
the Transmission OF bad literature through
the United States mails, but there were
large loops in that law through which
criminals might crawl out, and the law was
a dead failurc--that law Of 1868. But in
1873 another law was passed by the Congress
of the United States against the transmission
of corrupt literature through the mailS-a
grand law, q potent law, Christian law
and under that law multitudes OF these
scouudrels have been arrested, their property
confiscated aud they themselves thrown into
the penitentiaries, where they belonged.
Now, my friends, how are wa to war
against this corrupt literature, and how are
the frogs of this Egyptian plague to be
slain2 First OF all by the prompt and mex
orable execution of the law. Let oil good
postmasters, and United States district at.
toTneys, and detectives and reformers con-
cert in their action to stop this plague.
When Sir Rowland Hill spent his life in try
ing TO secure cheap postage not only for
England, but for all the world, and to open
the blessing OF the postofllce TO all honest
business, and to oil messages Of charity,
and kindness, and affection, for all health
full ntercommunication, he did not mean to
make vice easy or to Oil the mail bags of the
United States with the scabs Of such q
leprosy.
It ought not to be In tho power of every
bad man who can raise one-cent stamp for
| a circular or q No-cent stamp for a letter to
blast a man or destroy homo. The postal
service Of this country must be clean, must
| be kept clean, and we must all understand
that the swift retributions Of the United
States Government hover over every viola
ton of the letter box.
There are thousands of men and women In
this country, some for personal gain, some
through innate depravity, some through Q
spirit Of revenge, who wish to use this great
avenue Of convenience and Intelligence for
purposes revengeful, salaclous and diabolic
Wake up the law. Wake up the penalties
Sinai thunderous and ahame. Let the con
victed offenders be sent for the full term Il