The Forrest City times., 1891-03-20
BALRFUL ADJUSTMENTS.
DR. TALMAGE TALKS ABOUT THE
 PLEASURES THAT DESTROY.

| NEW YoRK, March 15-The series of
 ssrmons Dr. Talmsgc is preaching in this city and Brooklyn, on '"rhc Plagues of the
 Cities" is attracting general sttenton.
 At tho morning service in Brooklyn, and I at tho evening service held in this city,
 the number of persons who como to hear
 the sermons is far larger than either of
 the buildings can accommodate. Tho
 series, Is on ''Baleful Amusements. Tho
 text was Samuel 3 IA: 'Lst the young
 mon now arise and play before us"
 There ara two armies encampsd by tho | pool of Gibeon. Tho time hangs heavily
 on their hands One army proposes game of sword-fencing. Nothing could be
 moro healthful and innocent The other | army accepts the challenge Twelve men
 against twelve men, the sport opens. But | something went adversely. Perhaps ono | of the swor rdsmen got an unlucky clip, or | in some way had his fro aroused, and that which opened in sportfulness endod In
 violence, each ono 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 sportsmen. Was there ever better illustration of
 what was true then, and is true now. that
 that which is innocent may be destructive? What of a worldly nature is more important and strengthening and innocent
 than amusement, and yet what has counted
 moro victims? 1 have no sympathy with
 a straight-jackot religion. This is . very bright world to me- and propose to do
 all can to mako it bright for others. mover could keep step to dee d-march.
 A book years ago issued says that a Chris
 tian man has right to some amusements; for instance, if be comes home at night
 weary from his work. and, feeling tho need
 of recreation, puts on his slippers and goes
 into his garret, and walks lively around the floor several times there can be no harm
 in it l believe the Church of God has made a tremendous mistake in trying to suppress 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 instead 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 a battery at tho end of the street, and has it fired of, so that every thing is cut down that happens to stand In the range, ths good as well as the bad so there arc men in tho Church who plant their batteries of
 condemnation. and fire away indscrimi-
 nately. Everything Is condemned. But my Bible commends those who use tho
 world without abusing 1t, and in the natural
 world God has done everything to please and amuse us In poetic figure we some- times speak of natural objects as being in
 pain, but 1t is mere fancy. Poets say the clouds weep, out they never yet shed a
 tear; and that the winds sigh, but they ! never did have any trouble; and that tho storm howls. but it never lost its temper. Tho world is roso, and the universe . garland.
 And am glad to know that In all our cities there arc plenty of places where we
 may find elevated moral entertainment.
 But all honest men and good women will
 agree with mo in the statement that one of
 the worst plaques of these cities Is corrupt amusement Multitudes have gone down under the blasting influence never to rise. If we may judge of what is going op ill
 many of the places of amusement by ths Sodomio pictures on board fences, and in
 many of the show windows, there is not
 a much lower depth of protligacy to reach. At Naples Italy, they keep such pictures locked up from indiscrimiuate inspection. Those pictures wcre exhumed from Pom- peii, and are not fit for public gaze. If tho effroutery of bad places of amusement in hanging out improper advertisements of
 what they arc doing night by night grows
 worse iu the same proportion, in fifty years New York and Brooklyn will beat not only Pompeii. but Sodom.
 To help stay the plague now raging, project certain principles by which you
 may judge in regard to any amusement or
 recreation, finding out for yourself whether 1t is right, or whether il IS wrong.
 remark. in the first place, that yon can judge of the moral character of any amusc-
 ment by its healthful result, or by its bale fu reaction.
 If an amusement sends you home .t
 night nervous so that you cannot sleep, and you rse up in the morning. not because you arc slept out but because your duty drags you from your slumbers you have been where you ought not to have been.
 There arc amusements that send man
 next day to his work blooishot, yawning.
 stupid, nauseatea; and they arc wrong
 kinds of amusement They are entertain
 merts that give man disgust with the
 druigery of life, with tools because they
 are not swords, with working aprons be-
 cause they arc not robes. with cattle be-
 cause they arb not inguriated bulls of the
 arena If any amusement sends you
 home longing for life Of romance and
 thrilling adventure, love that takes poison
 aud shoots itself, moonlight adventures
 and hair-breadth escapes, you may depend
 upon it that you are tho saarihced victim
 of uusanct, fed pleasure. Our recraatiops
 are intended to build us up; and if they
 pull us down as to our moral or as to our
 physical strength, you may como to tho
 conclusion that they are obnoxious.
 There is nothing moro depraying than
 attendance upon smusements that arc full
 of innuondo and low suggestion. Tho
 young man enters At first he sits far back with his hat on and his coat collar
 up, fearful that somebody there may know him. Several nights pass on. He takes of his hat earlier. and pulls his ccat-collsr
 oown. The Uiusn that nrst came into nls check when anything indecent was enacted cemes no moro to his check. Farewell young man! You have probably starusi
 on the long road which ends in consummate destruction. The stars Of hope will go out ono by one, until you will be left ir utter darkness. Hear you not tho rush Of the | maeistrom, in whose outer circle your boat
 now dances. making merry W th the whiri- | ing waters? But you arc being drawn in. and the gentle motion will become terrific agitation. You cry for help. In vainl l You pull at tho our to put back. but the struggle will not avail You will be tossed
 and dashed and shipwrccked. and swallow
 cd in the wh rlpool that has already crush 1 cd in it's wrath ten thousand hulks
 Still further; those amusemcnts arc | t,t s,.tn l,,