The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1893-06-15
The Wages of Sin.

The Wages of Sim
The Apostle Paul never penned a
paragraph that, in the light of science
and philosophy, contains more inspired
truth than when he wrote: "The wages
of sin is DEATH"
All along the line of life, in high and
low estate. in youth and in old age,
there is no creditor so relentless as vio-
lated law. Whether the sin be against
his fellows or himself, the sinner must
pay the penalty. The child who unwit-
tingly, perhaps, gets into warped and
crooked ways, is but laying up wrath
against the day of wrath. The conse-
quences of violated law can never be
evaded. Although one may not imme-
diately pay the penalty, it is accumu-
lating and with compound interest, and
some day the account will be presented
and the bill must be paid. Every crime
and every folly is mortgage on the
personality of the individual. 1t may
not be for long time that one realizes
their existence, but they are there,
steadily at work, never resting, never
ceasing. They never lose time, never
observe holidays and grant no rebate.
The record has gone into the past and
is craven on the eternal tables of ex-
listing facts. A nights dissipation,
bit of indiscretiOn, an act of injustice
to neighbOr, some crime committed
when no one knows it, are all there.
Some day the man applies for mem
bership at club or runs for office, and
something which he may have alto
gether forgotten is flung in his face,
and his hopes are defeated. But the
temporal is not all. Retributive justice
has less of physical than moral effect.
1t was once the misfortune of youth
whose childhood had been passed in an
atmosphere of the utmost refinement
to be thrown for year or so into the
company of men, respectable men as
was supposed, but men VINO were init
mately acquainted with almost every
thing vile and disreputable that existed
on the face of the earth. After he had
grown to manhood, this man many
time bewailed that year of his life as
the most unfortunate period of his
entire career. Many a time, he said,
had he Weakened up from sound sleep
startled by dreams of the Outbursts of
profanity and horrible language in
which these people sometimes INDUCED.
His experience recalled bit Of his
old reading in Pilgrims Progress, where
it is related that the pilgrim found his
mind numbered with all sorts of evil
thoughts and words which the arch-en-
envy had whispered in his ear as they
passed at times through darkness. He
never forgot, try as he would, those aw
full expressions. During an attack of
fever, his mind was filled with terror
lest he should repeat some of them,
and he begged his physician to give him
a soothing medicine, if possible, in case
he became delirious. Having grown
up sons and daughters, he feared that
they should hear such things and pos
sibly fancy that he had learned them of
his own accord And thus it is that,
whether by accident or intent, if there
is evil in the mind or the life. it may
at some future time rise up to trouble
it's victim.
The necessity of training children
with the greatest care and guarding
them against contact with evil should
ever be present in the minds of parents
and guardians. If evil must exist, if,
as some people claim, there is no way
to get rid of it, let the young be kept
as far away from it as possible. -NeaO
York Ledger.