The Forrest City times., 1891-08-14
"A POOR INVESTMENT"
THE SUBJECT OF TALMACE'S
 TOPEKA SERMON.
From the TexG "Ye Have Sold Yourselves for Naught and Nc Shall no Redeemed without Money" - Isaiah 52 5-A Large Gathering Listens to the Great Die vine.

VlmGs
 TOPEKA, Kan, Aug. 9.--Dr. Talmage reached thls city yesterday in the course of his Western trip. He was warmly welcomed by the citizens who came in large numbers to hear the famous Brooklyn divine. The subject of the sermon for this week is: "A Poor Investment" and the text Isaiah ( 52:3: ''Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money"
 The Lords people had gone headlong into sin, and as a punishment they had been carried captive to Babylon. They found that iniquity did not pay. Cyrus seized Babylon, and felt so sorry for these poor captiyes that, without 8 dollar of compensation. he let them go home. So that, literally, my text was fulfilled: "Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money"
 When a man passes himself over to the world he expects to get some ade- quate compensation. He has heard the great things that the world does for a man, and he believes it. He wants two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That will be horses and houses, and summer resort and jolly companionship. To get it he parts with his physical health by overwork. He parts with his conscience. He parts with much domestic enjoy ment. He parts with opportunities for literary culture. He parts with hls soul. And so he makes over his entire nature to the world. He does 1t in four installments. He pays down the frs installment, and onefourth of his nature is gone. He pays down the second installment, and one-half of his nature is gone. He pays down the third instaliment and three-quarters of his nature are gone; and after many years are gone by he pays down the fourth inssallment, and To, his entire nature is gone. Then he comes up to the world and says :: "Good morning. l have delivered to you the goods. have passed over to you my body, my mind, and my soul and l have come now to collect the Sa5o, o,oo0" Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" says the world, "What do you meau?' Well" you say, II come to collect the money you owe me. and expect you to fulfill your part of the contract" But" says the world 'I have failed. l am bankrupt. cannot possibly pay that debt. l have not for long while ex- pected to pay it." "Well," you then say, give me back the goods" "oh, no, says the world. they are all gone. l cannot give them back to you" And there you stand on the confines of eternity, your spiritual character gone, staggering under the consideration that you have sold your self for nought."
 tell you the world is n liar; it does not keep its promises. It is cheat, and it fieeces everything it can put its hands on. It is bogus world. It is Il six-thousand- -ycar-old swindle Even if it pays the s25o, 900 for which you con tracted. it pays them Tn bonds that will not be worth anything in n little while, Just as man may pay down slo,ooo in hard cash and get for it worthless script--so the world passes over to you the s2ao,ooo m that shape which will not bc worth farthing to you a thou sandth part of second after you arc dead. "oh," you say, Ut will help to bury me anyhow" Oh, my brother. you need not worry about that The world will bury you soon enough from sanitary considerations
 History tells us of one who resolved that he would have all his senses grati- fled at one and the same time, and he expended thousands of dollars on each sense. He entered room. and there were the first musicians of the land pleasing his ear, and there were fine pictures fascinating his eye, and there were costly aromatics regaling his nos tril, and there were the richest meats and wines, and fruits, and confections pleasing the appetite, and there was n soft couch of sinful indulgence on which he reclined: and the man de- clared afterward that he would give ten times what he had given if he could have one week of such enjoyment, even though he lost his soul by it. An! that was the rub. He did lose his soul by 1t. Cyrus the Conqueror thought for little while that he was making fine thing out of this world, and yet before he came to his grave he wrote out this pitiful epi- taph for his monument: II am Cyrus. occupied the Persian Empire. was king over Asia. Begrudge me not this monument" But the world in after years plowed up his 'sepulchre.
 AhS WotAu SiaPpVu Aes hAhuS oha stamped it's feet in honor of Charles Lamb; but what does he say? ''l walk up and down, thinking am happy but feeling am not" Call the roll, and be quick about it. Samuel Johnson, tine learned! Happy? "No. am afraid I shall some day get crazy William Hazlitt, the great essayist, Happy? No. have been for two hours and u half going up and down Paternoster Row with volcano in my breast. V Smollet, the witty author Happy? No. am sick of praise and blame, and wish to God that had such cir cumstances around me that could throw my pen into oblivion" Buchanan, the world-renowned writer, exiled from his own country, appealing to Henry VIII for protec- tion, Happy No. Over mountains covered with snow. and through valleys flooded with rain, come fugitive" Moliere, the popular dramatic author, Happy? No. That wretch of an ac- tor just now recited four of my lines without the proper accent and gesture. To have the children of my brain so hung, drawn and auartered, tortures me like condemned spirit"
 went to see worldling die. As went into the hal. saw its floor was tessellated, and it's wall was a picture gallery. found his death-chamber adorned with tapestry until it seemed as if the clouds of the setting sun had set tied in tine room The man had given forty years to the world--his wit, his