The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-10-10

the dust of her Sardanapalus as / stoop to
read her epitaph: Zephaniah 2:14, Now
is Nineveh desolation and dry like a will
derncSs; and flOckS lie down in the midst
OF her; all the beasts of the nations, both
the cormorant and the bittern, lodge in the
upper lintels of it" And while 1 read it
| near an owl boot, and Il hyena laugh.
The next entombed city / pass has u
MONUMENT of fifty PROSTATE columns OF
gray and red granite and it is Tyre. The
next sepulchre of II great capital is COW
cred with scattered columns, and defac-
ed sphlnNes, and the sands of the desert.
and it is Thebes. AS | pass on | find
the resting place of Myccnae, a city Of
which Homer sang. and Corinth which
rejected Paul, and depended upon her
fortress Acrocorinthus, which now lies
dismantled on the hill. and | move on i'll
tombs of Sardis, and Smyrna, and Per
sepolis and Memphis, and Baa,bek, and
Carthage, and here are the cities of the
plain, and Herculaneum, and Staba, and
Pompeii. Some of them have mighty sar-
cophagus and hieroglyphic entabature, but
they are dead and buried never to rise.
But the cemetery of dead cities is not yet
filled, and if the present cities of the world
forget God, and with their indeccncies
shock the heavens, let them know that the
God who, on the 24th of August, 70,
dropped on Il city of Italy Il superincum-
brance that stad there seventeen ccntu-
ries is Still alive and hates sin now as much
as he did then and has at his command AL
the armament of destruction with which
he whelmcd their iniquitous predecessors.
1t was only lew summers ago that Brook
lyn and New York felt an earthquake throb
that sent the people atfrighted into the
streets, and that suggested that there are
forces OF nature now suppressed or held
in check. which. easier than a child in
nursery knocks down Il row of block
houses, could PROSTATE city, or engulf
continent deeper than Pompeii was en-
quilted. Our hope is i'll the mercy Of the
Lord continued to our American cities.
1t amazes me that this city, which has the
quletcst Sabbaths on the continent and the
best order and the highest tone of morals
OF any city that ] know Of is now having
brought into as near ncighborhood as Co
ney island carnvalS of pugilsm as debasing
as any Of the gladi?torial contests of Pom
pcii What precious crew that "Coney
Island Athletic Club" is, under whose aus
pieces these orgies are enacted. What
degradation to the adjective athletic"
which ordinarily suggests health and mus
Gle developed for useful purposes. Instead
better style it "rhe Ruflian Climb for
Smashing the Human Visage' Vile men
are turning that Coney island, which is
one of the finest watering places on all the
Atlantic coast, into Il place for the off
securing of the earth TO congregate. the
low horse jockeys and gamblers and the
pu@IIstS and the pickpOckets and the boats
regurgtated from the DEPTHS of the worst
wards of these cities. They invite dele
gates from universal loaferdOm to come to
their carniya! of knuclllcs. But ] do not
believe that the pugilism contracted for
and advertised for next December will take
place in our neighborhood.
Evil sometimes defeats itself by going
one step too far. You may drive the hoop
of a barrel down so hard that it breaks
l will not believe that the international
prize fight will take place on Long Island
or in the state of New York, until I see
the rowdy rabblc rolling drunk off the cars
at tlatbuSh avenue and with faces banged
and cut and pleading from the imbriting
scene, Against this infraction of the laws
OF the state OF New York, | lift solemn pro-
test. The curse of the Almighty God will
rest upon any community that consents
to such an outrage. Does any one think
1t cannot be stopped and that the con
Stabulary would be overbOrne chen let
Governor Flower send down there rcgi-
ment OF state militia, and they viii clean
out the nuisance in one hour
Warned hY the doom Of other cities that
have persisted for the ruflianism. or their
cruelty, or their id0latry or their diSso-
lutcncSs, let all our American cities lead
the right way Our only Dependence in on
God and Christian influences. Politics will
do nothing but make things worse Send
politics to moralize and save a city and YOU
send smallpox to heal leproSv. or y carcass
to relieve the air of malodor For what
politics will do I refer you to the eight
weeks OF stutihcation enacted at Washing
ron by our American senate. American pol
ltlcS VIII become reformatOry power on
the same day that pandcmonum becomes
Il church. But there are | am glad
10 say benign and Sautary and
gracious influences organized in all
orr cities which will yet take them for
gospel machinery to its utmost speed
and power. City cyangelization is the
thought, Accustomed as are religious
peSSlmists to dwell upon statistics of evil
ana dolorouS facts we want some one with
Hanrufrd heart and good digestion 10 put
in long Inc the statistics of natures trans
formed and protligacies baked. and souls
ranSomed. and cities redeemed Give us
pictures of churches. of schools. of TO
iormltory associations. of asylums of mercy
Break in upon the AIisereres of complaint
and dependency with Tc DcumS and
jubilates of moral and religious victory
SHOW that the day is coming when a great
tidal wave Of salvation will roll over all
our cities. Show how P0mpcii buried will
become IOmpci rcsurrected. Demonstrate
the fact that there are millions of men and
women who will give themselves no rest
Of the type of the buried cities Of Italy shall
take type from the New Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven. ! hail the
advancing morn. | make the same procla-
nation today that Gideon made TO the
Shvcring towards Of his army, "WhoSoevcr
is fearful and afraid, let him return and
depart early from Mount Gilcad." Close
up the ranks. Lift the gospel standard
Forward into this Armageddon that is
now opening ami LET the word run all along
the line: Brooklyn for God. All our cities
for God; America for God. The world
for God The most of us