Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-14
fALMAGE AT ANN ARBOR
AN ELOQUENT SERMON PREACHED
BY TIE BROOKLYN DIVINE.

the Bibles Truths.
ANN ARBoR, Mich, Dec. I3.-Our citizens
in large numbers have awaited themselves
OF the opportunity Of hearing DR.. Talmage,
who is visiting the city by invitation Of the
students Of the university. Last night a
vast audience greeted the famous Brooklyn
preacher at his lecture, and this evening,
when he was announced to preach "A special
sermon TO young mon, there was no build
ing in the city that would accommodate all
who wanted to hear him His text was
Proverbs l, II, surely in vain the net is
spread in the sight OF any bird"
Early in the morning went out with a
fowler to catch wild pigeons We has.
tened through the mountain gorge and into
the forest. We spread out the net, and
covered up the edges Of it as well as we
could. We arranged the call bird, It's feet
fast and its wings Tapping, in invitation
to all fowls of heaven TO settle down there.
We retired into booth Of branches and
leaves and waited. After awhile, looking
out OF the door Of the booth, VIC saw a
flock OF birds in the sky They came near
er and nearer, and after awhile were about
to swoop into the net, when suddenly they
darted away. Again we waited. After a
while we saw another flock of birds They
came nearer and nearer until just at the
moment when they were about to swoop
they darted away,
The fowler was very much disappointed
as well as myself We said TO each other,
what is the matter" and "Why were not
these birds caughtW We went out and
examined the net and by a hutter of a
branch of tree part Of the net had been
conspicuously exposed, and the birds com
ing very near had seen their peril and
darted away. When saw that | said to
the old fowler, "That reminds me of pas
sage of Scriptures Surely in vain is the
net spread in the sight of any bird" Now
the net in my text stands for temptation.
The call bird of sin tempts men on from
point to point and from branch to branch
until they are about to drop into the net
If man finds out in time that it is he
temptation of the devil, or that evil men
are attempting to capture his soul for
time and for eternity, the man steps back
He says, II am not to he caught in that
way; see what you are about; surely in
vain is the net spread in the sight of any
bird"
VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS.
There are two classes of temptations
the superficial and the subterraneous-
those above ground, those under ground
If a man could see sin rs it is, he would no
more embrace it than he would embrace u
leper. Sin is daughter Of hell yet she is
garlanded and robed and trinketed. Her
voice Is a MARBLE. Her cheek is the setting
sun. Her forehead is an aurora. She says
to men, "Come, walk this path with me. 1t
is thymed and primrosed and the air is be
witched with the odors Of the hanging gar
dens of heaven. The rivers are rivers of
wine, and all you have to do is to drink
them up in chalices that sparkle with dia
mond and amethyst and chrysoprasus.
Seel 1t is all bloom and roseate cloud and
heaven"
oh, my friends, if for one moment the
choiring of all these concerted voices Of
sin could be hushed, we should see the
orch estra of the pit with hot breath blow
ing through fiery flute, and the skeleton
arms on drums of thunder and darkness
beating the chorus, "1he end thereof is
death"
/ want to point out the insidious temp
tations that are assailing more especially
our young men. The only kind of nature
comparatively free from temptation, so
far as can judge, is the cold, hard, stingy,
mean temperament. What would Satan
do with such a man if he got him? Satan
is not anxious to get man who after
awhile may dispute with him the realm
of everlasting meanness
1t is the generous young man, the ardent
young man, the warm hearted young man,
the social young man that is in especial
peril. A pirate goes out on the sea, and
his eve and looks Off and sees an empty
vessel floating from port to port, He says,
"Never mind; that's no prize for us" But
the same morning he puts the glass to his
eye, and he sees "A vessel coming from
Australia laden with gold or vessel
from the Indies laden with spices He
says, "That's our prize; bear down on itp
Across that unfortunate ship the graphing
hooks are thrown. The crew are blind
folded and are compelled to walk the
plank.
1t is not the empty vessel, but the laden
merchantmen that is the temptation Of the
pirate And n young man empty of head,
empty of heart, empty of lite-you want
no Young Mems Christian association to
keep him safe; he is safe He will not
gamble unless it is with somebody else's
stakes. He will not break the Sabbath
unless somebody else pays the horse hire,
He will not drink unless some one else
treats him. He will hang around the bar
hour after hour waiting for some generous
young man to come in. The generous
young man comes in and accosts him and
says, "Well, will you have drink with
me todayW The man, rs though it were n
sudden thing for him, says, "Well-well,
il you insist on it, will will"
WAR on BAD INFLUENCES.
Too mean to go to perditiun unless some
body else pays his expenses? For such
Young men we will not fight. We would
no more contend for them than Tartary
and Ethiopia would fight rs TO who should
have the great Sahara desert; but for those
young men who are buoyant and enthu-
siastic, those who are determined to do
something for time and for eternity-for
them we will fight aud we now declare
everlasting war against all the influences
that assail them, and we ask all good men
and philanthropsts TO wheel into line, and
all the armies of heaven TO bear down upon
the foe, and we pray Almighty God that
with the thunderbolts OF his wrath he will
strike down and consume all these iunu-
ences that are attempting to destroy the
young men for whom Christ died.
The first class OF temptations that rs
saults young man is led on by the skep-
tic lie will not admit that he is an iaddel
or atheist. oh, moi he is Gree thinker
he is one of your "liberal' men; he is free
and easy in religion. Oh, how liberal he
is. he is so "hberal" that he will give away
his Bible; he is so "libcral" that he will
give away the throne Of eternal justice; he is
80 Liberal" that he would be willing to give
God out of the universe; he is so liberal
that he would give mp his own soul and the
u IL l. E-.nt-l. N-..- a.LaL tln-.A