The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-25
A WASTE OF GOOD GAME.
TALMAGB MAKES HUNTING THE
BASIS OF HIS SERMON.

Some of the Causes Which Lead
to 1t.
BROOKLYN. N. Y. April PA visitor to
the Brooklyn Tabernacle this morning
would have no difficulty in understanding
the secret Of the attraction which fills the
vast building Sunday after Sunday with
throngs Of eager listeners. Avoiding ab-
struse theological subjects, DR.. Talmage
preached a sermon on a practical topic
giving shrewd common sense lessons of in@
estimable value to his hearers especially to
the young people. His text was Prov.
xiii, 81: "The slothful man roasteth noe
that which he took in hunting"
David, and jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and
Micah, and Solomon of the text showed
that at some time they had been out on a
hunting expedition. Spears, lances swords,
and nets were employed in this service. A
deep pitfall would be digged. In the center
OF 1t there was some raised ground with
pole on which lamb would be fastened,
and the wild beast not seeing the pitfall,
but only seeingithe lamb, would plunge for
its prey and dash down, itself captured.
Birds were caught in gins. or pierced with
arrows. The hunters In olden time had two
missions; one to clear the land OF ferocious
beasts, and the other to obtain meat for
ton and habit Of hunters are favorite
Bible simile. David said he was handled by
his enemy like partridge upon the
mountain My text is hunting scene.
A sportsman arrayed in a garb appro~
PIRATE to the Wild chase lets slip the blood-
thirsty hounds from their kennels, and
mounting his fleet horse with a halloo and
the yell OF the greyhound pack, they are of
and away, through brake and dell, over
marsh and moor, across chasms whore a
misstep would hurl horse and rider TO death,
plunging into mire up to the haunohes or
into swift streams up to the bit, till the
game is tracked by dripping foam and
blood, and the antlers crack on the rocks.
and the hunter has just time TO be in at the
death. Yet, after all the haste and peril OF
the chase, my text represents this sportsman
as being too tndolent to dress the game and
prepare II for food. He lets It lie in the
dooryard Of his home and become a portion
for vermin and beaks Of prey. Thus by one
master-stroke, Solomon gives picture OF
laziness, when he says: "The slothful man
roasteth not that which he took in hunting"
The most OF hunters have the game they
shot or entrapped cooked the same evening
or the next day, but not 30 with this lag
gard of the text. Too lazy TO rip Off the
hide. Too lazy to kiudle the fire, aud put
the gridtron on the Goals.
The first picture / ever bought was an
The clusters Of grapes are ripe on the vine
OF the homestead. and the returned hounds,
painting from the chase, are lying on the
door sill, and the hunter Is unshouldering
the game, while the housewife is about to
take portion oft and prepare 1t for the
evening meal. Unlike the person of the
text, she was enough industrious 70 roast
that which had been taken in hunting. But
the world has had many q specimen since
Solomon's time Of those whose lassitude and
improvidence and absurdity were depicted
in my text. The most of those who have
made dead failure OF life can look back
and see time when great opportunity
opened but they did not know it, They
were not as wise as George Stephenson,
"the father of railways VINO, when at SIX
teen years OF age he received an appointment
to work ut pumping engine for twelve
shillings a week, cried out: "Now, am
made man for life." God gives 20 most
men at least one good opportunity.
A great Grecian general was met by
IF you want beasts to plow your
land, l will lend you some. IL
you want land, I will give you some. IL
you want seed TO SOW your land will SEQ
that you get it. But l will encourage none
in idleness.n so, God gives to most people
an opportunity Of extrication from de-
pressed circumstances As If TO create in
those animals which are sluggish to appear
loathsome in our eyes, while --those which
are fleet and active he has clothed with at-
tractiveness. The tor.oise, the sloth, the
snail, the crocodile repel US, while the deer
and RaZelle are as pleasing as they are fleet,
and from the swift wings OF innumerable
birds God has spared no purple or gold or
jet or crimson or snowy whiteness. Beside
all this the Bible is constantly assaulting
the vice OF laziness. Solomon seems to or
der the idler out of bis sight as being be-.
yond all human instruction when he sayss
go to the ant, thou eluggard; consider
her ways and be wise" And Paul seems to
drive him up from bis dining table before
he gets through with the first course Of
food with the assertion: "If any will not
work, neither shall he eat.n
Now, what are the causes Of iaziness and
what are its evil results9 knew a man who
was never up 70 time. IL seemed impossi-
bic for him 70 meet an engagement. When
he was TO be married he missed the train. His
watch seemed to take on the habits OF its
owner and was always too slow. He had a
constitutional lethargy, for which he did
not seem responsible. SO Incidence often
arises from the natural temperament. / do
not know but that there is a constitutional
tendency to this vice in every man. How-
ever active you may generally he, have you
not on some warm spring day felt touch
OF this feeling on you, although you may
have shaken 1t off as you would reptilea
But some are so powerfully tempted to this
by their bodily constitution that all the
work of their life has been accomplished
with this lsthargy hanging on their back or
treading on their heels. You sometimes be-.
hold 1t in childhood. The child moping and
lounging within doors while his brothers
and sisters are at play, or IL he join them be
is behind in every race and beaten in every
game. His nerves, his muscles, his bones
are smitten with this palsy. He vegetables
rather than lives. creeps rather than walks,
yawns rather than breathes. The animal
in his nature is stronger than the intel
lectuaL He is generally great eater and
active only when he cannot digest that
which he has eaten It requires
as much effort for him to walk
as for others TO run. Lauguor aud
drowsiness are the natural Inheritance. He
is built for slow-sailing vessel, heavy
bulk and an insufficient cut-waser. Place
an active man in such a bodily structure
and the latter would be shaken to pieces in
one day. Every law OF physiology demands
that be be supine. Such a one is not respon-
sible for this powerful tendency Of his nat
ure. His great duty lis resistance. When
see a man fighting an unfortunate tenn
permanent. all my sympathies are aroused.
and / think OF Victor Hugo's account or a
scene on a warship. where, in the midst ofa
storm at sea, a great cannon got loose, and
it was crashing this way and that and would