The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-12-24

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pent that it had to crawl, it crawled be-
fore it was cursed just as well as it
crawled afterward; you can tell from it's
organization that it crawled. Then all
that story about the whale swallowing
Jonah, or Jonah swallowing the whale.
watch was il? 1t don't make any diff
ference, the thing Is absurd it is ridicu.
lous to suppose that man could have
gone down through the Jaws of a sea
monster and yet kept Lis lie; why, his
respiration would have been hindered;
he would have been digested; the gas
trio juice would have dissolved tho f.
brine and coagulatad albumen. and
Jonah would have been changed from
prophet into chyle. Then all that story
about the miraculous conception-why,
1t is perfectly disgracelul. Oh, sir! be-
lieve in the light of nature. This is the
Nineteenth century. Progress, sir; pro-
grcss. [ don't blame you, but after you
have been in town as longas | have you
will think just as do"
Thousands of young men are going
down under that process day by day,
and there IS only here and there a young
man who can endure this artillery Of
scorn. They are giving up their Bibles.
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light Of nature in China; they have it in
Hlndostan; they lave it in Ceylon.
Flowers there, stars there, waters there,
winds there. but no civilization, no
homes, no happiness. Lancets to cut and
| jugsernauts to fall under and hooks to
swing on, but no happiness
tell you, my young brother, we have
TO take religion OF some kind. We
have to choose between four or five.
Shall it be the Koran OF the Mohamme-
dan, or the ShasLer " the Hlndoo, or
the Zendavesta Of the Persian, or the
Conlucius writings of the Chinese, or the
Holy Scriptures? Take what you will;
God helping me, will take the Bible.
Light Tor all darkness; rock for all foun-
dation; balm for all wounds. II glory
that lifts its plllares Of fire over the will
derness march. Do not give up your
Bibles.
Ask them what inidelity has ever
done to lift the fourteen hundred millions
OF the race out OF Barbarism. Ask them
when infidelity ever instituted a sanitary
commission, and before you leave their
society once and forever tell them that
they have insulte1 the memory of your
Christian father, and spit upon the DEATH
bed Of your mother and with swine's
snout rooted up the grave ofyour sister,
who died believing in the Lord Jesus.
Il these people scoff at you as though
religion and the Bible were fit only for
weakminded people, you just tell them
you are not ashamed to be in the COM
pany of Burke the stateman, and Ra-
phael the painter, andss ssThorwaldsen the
sculptor, and Mozart the musician, and
Blackstone the lawyer, and Bacon the
philosopher, and Harvey the physician,
and John Milton the poet.
Young man, hold on to your Bible.
1t is the best book you ever owned. 1t
will tell you how to bargain, how to
act, how to live, how to die, how to dress.
how to walk. Glorious Bible! Whether ON
parchment or paper, In octave or duo
decmo, on the center table of the
drawing room or in the counting room
of the banker. Glorious Bib.e! Light
to our feet and lamp to our path.
Hold on to it!
The second class OF lnsidious tempta-
items that comes upon our young men is
led Oh by the dishonest employer. Every
commercial establishment is a school.
In nine cases out Of ten the principles of
the employer become the principles OF
the employees. l ask the older merchants
to bear me out in these statements. If,
when you were just starting in life-in
commercial life-you were told that hon.
esty was not marketable; that, though
you might sell all the goods in the shop,
you must not sell your conscience; that,
while you were to exercise all industry
and tact, you were not to sell your con
science; it you were taught that gains
gotten by sin were cOmbust BILE, and at
the moment Of ignition would be blown
on by the breath of God until all the
splendid estate would vanish into white
ashes scattered in the whirlwlnd, then
that instruction has been to you precau-
ton and a help ever since.
There are hundreds of commercial
establishments in our great cities which
are educating a class of young men who
will be the honor Of the land. and there
are other establishments which are edu.
eating young men to be nothing but
sharpers. What chance is there for a
young man who was taught in an csta-
blishment that it is right to lie, if it is
smart, and that French label is all
that is necessary to make thing French,
and that you ought always to be honest
when it pays, and that it is worng to
steal unless you do it well?
Suppose, now, young man just
starting in life enters place OF that kind
where there are ten young men, all
drilled il the Infamous practices of the
establishment. He 10 ready to be
taught. The young man has no theory
Of commercial ethics. Where is he to
get his theory? He will get the theory
from his employers. One day he pushes
his wit a little beyond what the establish.
mcnt demands of him, and he lleeccs a
customer until the clerk is on the verge
Of being seized Ivy the law. What is
done In the establishment? He is not
arraigned. The head Of the establish.
ment says to him, "Now, be careful; be
careful, young man, you might be
caught; but really tlat was splendidly
done; you will get along in the world, 1
warrant yOu." Then that youpg man
gees up until he becomes head clerk.
He has found there is promium on in-
iQultY.