Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1891-04-24
v. H. BISHOP, Island Pond, "

rhhI plh OF iare that raul wrote cut for
the Thessalonian loafers, "If any work NOT
neither should he at" Er what law Of
God or man is it right that You and shonId
toll day In and day out, until our hands ara
biisteret and our arms ache and our brain
gets numb, and then he called upon 10 SUD
port what in the United States are about
two million loafers. They are very danger
Gus class. Let the public authorities keep
their eyes on them.
Again, among the uprooLinZ classes placs
the oppressed poor. Poverty to a certain
extent Is Christening. but after that, when it
drives man to the wall, and he hears his
children cry in vain for bread, il sometimes
makes him desperate. think that there are
thousands of honest men lacerated into vaga-
bondism. There are men crushed under
burdens for which they are not half paid
While there is no excuse for criminality.
even in oppression, state it as a simple fact
that much Of the scoundrelism of the com.
munity Is consequent upon ill-treatment
There are many men and women battered
and bruised and stuug until the hour OF de
spair has come, and they stand with the
ferocity Of a wild beast which, pursued until
IL can run no longer, turns round. foaming
and bleeding, to fight the bounds
There is q vast underground New York
and Brooklyn life that is appalling and
shameful. 1t wallows and steams with putre-
faction. You go down the stairs, which are
wet and decayed with filth, and at the bot
tom you find the poor victims on the floor,
cold slcS, threefourths dead sinking into
still darker corner under the CLEAN Of the
lantern of the police. There has not been a
breath Of fresh air in that room for five
years literally. The broken sewer cmpties
ITS contents upon them, and they lie at night
in the swimming filth. There they are men,
women, children; black, whites; Mary Mag
dalen without her repentance and Lazarus
without his God. These are ''the dives" into
which the pickpockets and the thieves 60 as
well as great many who would like differ
ent life but cannot get it.
These places are the sores Of the CITY
which bleed perpetual corruption. they are
the underlying volcano that threatens Us
with Caracas earthquake. 1t rolls and
roars and surges and heaves and rocks and
blaSphemes and dies and there are only two
outlets for 1.-THE police court aud the Pot
ter's field. In other words, they must either
60 to prison or to hell. On. You never saw
It, you say. You never will see it until on
the day when those staggering wretches
shall come up III the light OF the iudg ment
throne, and while all hearts are being re-
vealed, God viii ask you what you did 10
help them.
There is another layer of poverty aud des-
titution not 80 squalid. but almost as help
less. You hear the inceSsant wailing for
bread and clothes and fire. Their eyes are
sunken. Their cheek bones stand out. Their
hands are damp with slow consumption.
Their flesh is puffe1 up with dropsies. Their
breath is like that of the charnel house.
They hear the roar of the wheels of fashion
overhead and the gay laughter of men and
maidens and wonder why God gave to others
so much and to them so little Some Of them
thrust into an infidelity like that of the poor
German girl who, when told in tho midst of
her wretcheduess that Col was god, said
NO; no good God. Just look at me. No
good God"
In this cluster OF cities whose cry Of want
interpret there are said TO be, as far as l
can figure it up from the reports, about
three hundred thousand honest poor who ara
dependent upon individual, city and State
charities. Ii all Their voices could come up
at once it would be agroan that would shake
the foundations of the city and bring all
earth and heaven to ths rescue. But for the
most part it suffers uneIpresSed. 1t sits in
silence guashing its teeth aud sucking .he
blood OF its own arteries waiting for the
Judgment day. oh, | should not wonder il
on that day 1t would be found out that some
OF us had some things that belonged to them,
some extra garment which might have made
them comfortable in cold DAYS; some bread
thrust into the ash barrel that might have ap-
peaSed their hunger for a little while; some
wasted candle or gas jet that might have kin
died up their darkness; some fresco on the
ceiling that would have given them a roof;
some jewel which, brought to that orphan
girl in time, might have kept her from being
crowded of the precipces to an unclean life;
some New Testament that would have told
them OF Him who came to seek that which
was losth
Oh, this wave Of vagrancY and hunger and
nakeduess that dashes against our front
door step! If the roofs OF all the houses OF
4 H. t~l Lot
down into them just as God looks, whose
nerves would be strong enough to stand itf
Aud yet there they are. The fifty thousand
sewing women in these three cities some OF
them in hunger and cold. working night
after night until sometimes the blood spurts
from nostril and lips.
How well their grief was voiced by that
iusoand and invaiid cnIid, ana said to TIE
city missionary; II am down heortf.
Everythings against us; and then thrre are
other things" What other thingsY' aid
the city missionary. "Oh," she replief. my
SIM What do you mean by thaty' "Well,n
she said, II never hear or see anything good.
It's work from Monday morning till Satur-
day night, and then when Sunday comes |
| can't go out and | walk the floor, aud 1t
makes me tremble to think that | have got
to meet God. oh, sir it's so hard for us.
We have to work so, and then we have SO
much trouble, and then we are getting along
so poorly; and see this wee little thing grow
ing weaker aud weaker and then to think
we are not gett og nearer to God, but float
ing away from Him. Oh, sir, / do wish
was ready TO die"
should not wonder if they had a good
| deal better time than we in the future, to-
make up for the fact that they had such
bad time here 1t would be just like Jesus
to say: Come up and take the highest seats.
-. V.th h. hn
glorifled with Ne in heaven" Oh, thou
weeping One OF Bethany oh, thou
dying One OF the cross! Have mercy on me
starving, freezing, homeless poor OF these
great cities!
have preached this sermon for four or
five practical reasons: Because want you
to know who are the uprootinS classes OF
society. Because | want YOU 10 be more
discriminating in your charities. Because
want your hearts open with generosity,
and your bands open with charity. Be
cause | want you to be ma le the sworn
friends of all city evangel2ation, and all
newsboyS' lodging houses, and all children
aid societies and DJrcas societies. under the
skillful manipulation OF wives aud mothers
and sisters aud daughters let the spare gar
ments of your wardrooeS be fitted 10 the
limbs of the wan and shiverng. | should
not wonder il that hat that you give should
come bac!; jewee coronet, or'f that gar
ment that you hand out from your WARDROBE
should mysterously be wnitened, and some
/ how wrought into the Saviour's own robe,
so in the last day He would run His hand
over it and say, II was naked and We clothed
Ma That would be putting your garments
to slorious uses.
But more than that, have preached tht
sermon because thought in the contrast
YOU would see how very kindly God haC
dealt with you, and thought that thou
} sands of you would go to your comtortaol
: homes and sit at your well-flled tables ant
} at the warm registers, aud look at the roun
faces OF your children, aud that then yo.
would burst into tears at thersvtew OF COD
5 goodness to you. and that you would go .
! your room and lock the door and kneei dow
1 and say:
Z | 40 Lord havn hann an in0rata. max