The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-04-21


ind cold as | am. and as hungry, you
could think of nothing else"
A great deal of what is called Chris
tian work goes for nothing for the sim.
pie reason it Is not practical, as after
the battle of Antietam a Inau got out
OF an ambulance with bag of tracts,
and he went distributing the tracts
and George Stuart, one of the best
Christian men in this country, said to
hint what are you distributing tracts
| for now2 There are three thousand
men bleeding TO death. Bind up their
wounds and then distribute the tracts"
We want more common sense in
Christian work, taking the bread OF
this life in one hand, and the bread OF
the next life in the other hand. No
such inapt work as that done by the
Christian man who, during the !ast
war, went into hospital with tracts,
and coming to the bed of man whose
legs had been amputated, gave him a
tract on the sin of dancing! / rejoice
before God that never are sympathetic
words uttered, never a prayer offered,
never a Christian almsgiving INDUCED
in but it is blessed.
There is a place in Switzerland, L
have been told, where the utterance of
on e word will bring back a score OF
echoes; and l have to tell you this
morning that a sympathetic word, a
kind word, generous word, a helpful
word, uttered in the dark places of the
town will bring back ten thousand
echoes from all the thrones of Heaven.
Are there in this blage thi
morning those who know by expert
ence the tragedies of midnightin town?
1 am not here to thrust you back with
one hard word. Take the bandage
from your bruised soul. and put on it
the soothing salve of Christ's gospel
and of Gods compassion. Many have
come. see others coming to God this
morning tired of the sinful life. Cry
up the news to Heaven. Set all the
bells ringing. Spread the banquet
under the arches. Let the crowned
heads come down and sit at the jubilee.
/ tell you there is more delight in
Heaven over one man that gets re-
formed by the grace of God than over
ninety and nine that never got off the
track. l could give you the history in
minute of one of the best friends
ever had. Outside of my own family
never had a better friend. He well
coined me to my home at the west. He
was of splendid personal appearance,
and he had an ardor of soul and a
warmth of affection that made me love
him as brother. / saw men coming out
of the saloons and gambling bells, and
they surrounded my FRIEND and they
took him at the weak point, his social
nature, and 1 saw him going down, and
had fair talk with him-for l never
yet saw n man you could not talk with
on the subject of his habits, if you
talked with him in the right way.
said to him: why don't you give up
your bad habits and become Chris
tian?" l remember now just how he
looked, leaning over his counter, as he
replied: 81 wish I could. Oh. sir,
should like to be a Christian, but have
gone so far astray 1 can't get back"
So the time went on. After awhile
the day of sickness came. l was sum-
moned to his sick-bed. / fastened. It
took me but few moments to get
there. / was surprised as l went in.
saw him in his ordinary 'clothes, fully
dressed. lying on the top of the bed.
gave him my hand, and he seized it con-
vulsiveIy and said ''Oh how glad
am to see you. Sit down
there" I sat down and he said:
"Mr. Talmage, just where you sit
now my mother sat last night. She
has been dead twenty years. Now,
don't want you to think l am out of
my mind, or that l am superstitious;
but sir, she sat there last night just as
certainly as you sit there now-the
same cap, and apron, and spec
tacles. 1t was my old mother
she sat there" Then he turned
to his wife and said: 81 wish you
would take these strings off the bed;
somebody is wrapping strings around
me all the time. l wish you would
stop that annoyance" She said:
There is nothing here" Then I saw
it was delirium. He said: Just where
you sit now my mother sat, and she
said. Roswell, I wish you would
do better-I wish you would
do better said, Mother,
wish / could do better. l try to do
better, but / can't. Mother, you used
to help me, why can't you help me
now?' And, sir, / got out of bed, for it
was reality, and 1 went to her, and
threw my arms around her neck, and 1
said: Mother, I will do better, but
you must help me; l can't do this
aloner" / knelt down and prayed.
That night his soul went to the Lord
that made it.
Arrangements were made for the
obsequies. The question was raised
whether they should bring him to
church. Somebody said: "You can't
bring such dissolute man as that in to
the church." / said: "You bring him
in the church; he stood by me when he
was alive, and 1 will stand by him
when he is dead. Bring him" AS 1
stood In the pulpit, and saw them
carrying the body up the aisle, felt as
if could weep tears of blood.
On one side of the pulpit sat his little
child of eight years, sweet, beautiful
little girl that had seen him hug con-
vulsively in his better moments. He
put on her all Jewels, all diamonds, and
gave her all pictures and toys, and then
he would go away as if bounded by an
evil spirit, to his cups and house of
shame a fool to the correction OF the
stocks. She looked up wonderingly.
She knew not what it all meant She
was not old enough to understand the
sorrow of an orphan child.
On the Other side the pulpit sat the
men who had ruined him; they were
the men who had poured wormwood
into the orphans cup; they were the
men who had bound him hand and
foot / knew them. How did they