The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-04-26

this crime, the importer or forelgn slihS auu
the dealer IN Chatham street pocket nano-
kerchiefs. The clerks OF the store take
hand after the shutters are put up. aud the
officers Of the court while away tneir tihe
while the jury is out.
In Baden-Baden. when thet city was the
Greatest Of all gambling places on eartn, IL
was no unusual thing ths next morning IN
the woods around that city to find the sus-
pended bodies of suicides. Whatever be the
splendor Of the surroundings, there Is no ex-
cuse for this crime. The thuuders of eter:
nal destruction roll in the deep rumble OF
that gambling tenpin alley, and as men
come out to join the long procession OF SIN
all the drums Of woe beat the dead march
of a thousand souls. In one year IN tne
.ity of New York there were 81, 0O0, 600 sac.
rifced at the gaming table.
Perhaps some Of your friends have been
smitten Of this sin. Perhaps some OF you
have been smitten by it. Perhaps there may
be a stranger in the house this morning
come from some Of the hotels. Look out Tor
those agents Of iniquity who ',, sarry mUTha 1ila
to see the cityY' Yes "Have you ever seen
that splendid building uptown No. Then
the villain will undertake to show you "nss
be calls the 'iions" and the "elephants"
and after a young man, through morolo
curiosity or through badness OF soul, has
seem the 'lions" ami the elephants he Will
be on enchanted ground. LOOK out !or
these men who move around the hotels Wlsn
sleek bats-always sleek hats-and patron-
izing air and unaccountable lnteress aoous
your welfare aud entertainment. You are
fool II you cannot see through IT. They
want your money.
was living In that city, an incident occurred
Hax 70 Chest
nut street. young man went INTO gam
bling saloon, lost ali his property, then blew
his braius out, aud before the blood was
washed from the floor by the maid the COM
rades were shufhinS cards again. You see
there is more mercy in the highway man Tor
the belated traveller on whose body he heaps
the stones; there is more mercy in the frost
for the flower that it kills; there Is more
mercy in the hurricane that shlvers the
steamer on the Long Island coast than there
is mercy in the heart of gambler Tor MS
victim.
In the midnight hour also. drunkenness
does its worst. The drinking. Will De re-
spectacle at o'clock in the evening, little
flushed at 8, talkative and garrulous at lo'
at II blssphemous, at 10 the hat falls of and
the man falls to the floor asking for more
drink. Strewn through the drinking
saloons OF the clty-fathers, brothers
husbands, sons as good as you are by nature
perhaps better.
In the high circles o, society it is hushed
an uncomfortable. Is taken by his Fellow
revelers, who try to get him to bed, oz take
him home, where he falls fat in theientry. Do
not wake up the children. They have had
disgrace enough. Do not let them know it.
Hush 1t up. But sometimes 1t cannot be
hushed up-when ths rum touches the brain
and the man becomes thoroughly frsnzied.
Oh, If the rum touches the brain, you can.
not hush it up. You do not see the worst.
In the midnight meetings great multitude
have been saved. We want a few hundred
Christian men and women to come down
from the highest circles Of society to toi!
kindle up a light in the dark alley, even the
gladness Of heaven.
Do not 20 from your we'll filled tables with
the idea that pious talk is going to stop the
ppawing Of an empty stomach or to warm
stockingless feet. Take bread, take raiulent,
take medicine as well as take prayer. There
is great deal Of common sense in what the
poor woman said to the city missionary
when he was telling her how she ought to
love God and serve Him. "Ohp said she.
'.f you were as poor and cold as am, and
as hungry, you could think OF nothing else"
A great deal of what Is called Christian
work goes for nothing for the simple reason
it Is not practical, as after the battle OF
Antietan man got out OF an ambulance
with q bag Of tracts, aud he went distribut.
ing the tracts, and George Stuart, one Of
the best Christian men in this country, said
to him: "What are you distributing tracts
tor now? There are 5000 men bleeding to
death. Bind up their wounds, and then dis
tribute the tracts" -.
We want more common sense IN Cnrls-
tian 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 war. went into hospital with tracts.
and coming to the bed Of man whose legs
had been amputated, gave him tract on
the sin Of dancingi l rejoice before God
that never are s;mpathetlc words uttered,
never a prayer offered, never Christian
almsgiving indulged in but 1t Is blessed.
There is q place in Switz .rland, have
been told, where the utterancs OF one word
will bring back score Of echoes, and have
to tell you this morning that sympathetic
word, kind word, generous word, a help
ful word uttered in the dark place of the
town win bring back ten thousand echoes
from all the thrones OF heaven.
Are there in this assamblage this morning
those who know by experience the tragedies
Of midnight in town? am not hero to
thrust YOU back with one hard word. Take
the bandage from your bruised soul and put
on il the soothing salve Of Christ's gospel
and of Gods compassion. Many have come.
I see others coming to God this morning,
tired Of sinful life. Cry up the news TO
heaven. Set all the bells ringing. Spread
the banquet under toe arches. Let tho
crowned heads come down and sit at the
Jubilee.
tell you thers Is more delight 10 heaven
over one man that gets reformed by the
grace Of God than over ninety and nine that
never got off the track I could give you
the history in q minute of one OF the best
friends I ever had. Outside Of my own
family never had a better friend. He
welcomed me to my home at the west BE
was Of splendid personal appearance, and
he had an ardor OF soul and warmth OF at
fection that made me love him like a
brother.
I 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 saw him going down.
and had fair talk with him, for I never
vet saw a man you could not talk with on
the subject of his habits IL you talked with
him in the right way. said to hum, why
don't you give up your bad habits and be.
come a Christian?' remember now just
how he looked, leaning over his counter, as
he replied:' "I wish could. Oh, sir, 1
should like to be Christian, but l have
gone so far astray can't get back"
So the time went on. After awhile the
day Of sickness came. was summoned to
his sickbsd. hastened. It took me but a
very few moments to get there. was sur
prised as went in. I saw him in his
ordinary clothes, fully dressed, lying on the
top of the bed. ! gave him my hand, and
10 eo;,a5 10 <opupIoivoiu and said. sfO0