The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1891-03-20
BALEFUL ADJUSTMENTS.
DR.. Talmage on the Fourth Plague
OF the Cities.
Judging 4Annussnents According to Their
szOraI EHsets-EuinOus Pleasures and
Destructive Indu1sences-PIeas
For the Home.

the plague OF the cities Rev t De
Witt Talmage took for his subject
+'Baleful Amusements-' The text was
II Samuel, IL II: Let the young men
now arise and play before rs" He
said:
There are two armies encamped by
the pool of Gideon. The time hangs
heavily on their hands One army pro
poses a game of sword fencing. Moth
ing could be more healthfGl and limo
cent The other army accepts the
challenge. Twelve men against twelve
men, the sport opens But something
went adversely Perhaps one OF the
swordsmen got an unlucky clip. or in
some way had his ire aroused, and that
which opened in sport ended in
violence, each one taking his contestant
by the hair, and then with the sword
thrusting him in the side, so that that
which opened in innocent fun ended in
the massacre of all the -twenty-fOur
spertsmen- Was there ever a better
illustration of what was true then, and
is now, that that which is innocent may
be made destructive?
What of worldly nature is more i'm
Fortant and strengthening and innocent
than amusement, and yet what has
counted more victims2 I have no sym
patty with a straight-jaclzet religion
This is very bright world to me, and
propose to do all can to make it
bright for others I never could step
to dead march A book years ago is
sued says that a Christian man has a
right to some amusements; for instance,
if he comes home at night weary from
his work, and, feeling the need OF recre-
alton, puts on his slippers and goes into
his garnet and walks lively around the
floor several times there can be no harm
in it
I believe the church of God has made
a tremendous mistake in trying to sup
press the spOrtfulness of youth and
drive out from men their love of amuse-
ment If God ever implanted anything
in US He implanted this desire. But in
stead of providing for this demand of
our nature the church of God has, for
the main part, ignored it. As in a riot,
the mayor plants battery at the end
of the street and has 1t fired off, so that
everything is eat down that happens to
stand in the range, the good as well as
the bad. so there are men in the church
who plant their batteries of cOndemna-
ton, and fire away indiscriminately.
Everything is condemned But my
Bible cOmmends those who use the
world without abusing 1t, and in the
natural world God has done every thing
to please and amuse us
And I am glad to know that in all our
cities there are plenty of places where
we may find elevated moral entertain
ment- But all honest men and good
women viii agree with me in the state
1nent that one of the worst plaques OF
these cities is currupt amusementS.
remark, in the first place. that you
can judge of the moral character OF
any amusement by its healthful result
or by its hateful reaction. There ART
people who seem made up of hare
facts They are combination of mul
duplication tables and statistics If you
show them an excellent picture they
viii begin to discuss the pigments in
volved in the colOring. If you show
them q beautiful rose they will submit
it to a botanical analysis, which is onl!
the post mOrtem examination OF
flower. They have no rebound in theil
nature. They never do anything NOR
than smile. There are no great tides o
feeling surging up from the depths o
their soul. in billow after billOw of re
verberating laughter, They seem a
If nature had built them by contract
and made a bungling job out of it. Blu
blessed be God, there are people in tn
world who have bright faces and who's
life is song, an anthem, paen of vic
tory.
Now it is these exhiIarant and syn
pathetic and warm hearted people tina
are most tempted to perniciOus amuss
ments- In proportion as a ship is svvii
1t wants a strong helmsman; in propOI
ton as z horse is gay, 1t wants q stron
driver; and these people OF eSuberar
nature viii do well to look at the rea,
rtion of all their amusements- If a
amusement sends you home at nigf
nervous so that you can not sleep, an
you rise mp in the morning, not becaus
you are slept out. but because you
duty drags you from your slumber
You have been where you ought not 1
have been
There is nothing more depraving tina
attendance upon anusements that al
full of innuendO and low suggestion
The yOung man enters At first
sits far back, with his hat on and b
coat collar mp. fearful that some OF
may know hizz- Several Nights pa
On He takes OF his hat earlier, an
puts his coat Cellar down The blus
that first came into his cheek vhe
anything indecent was enacted, com,
no more to his cheek Farewell. youn
man. You have probably started c