The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-08-22
arrr,rro nm hIs hand fo hidethe cent he puts

His Bible belong to Him. Is not God liberal
according to His tithing system laid down
in the Old Testament2 Is not God liberal in
giving US ninety cents out OF dollar when
| He takes but ten? We do not like that. We
want to have ninety-nine cents for ourselves
| and one for God.
Now, would a great deal rather steal ten
cents from you than from God. think one
reason why great many people do not get
along in worldly accumulation faster Is be-
| cause they do not observe this divine rule.
| God says, "Wel. If that man is not satisfied
| with ninety cents Of a dollar. then I will
| take the whole dollar, and I will give 1t to
| the man or woman who Is honest with Me.
| The greatest obstacle to charity in the Chris.
| tian church to-day Is the fact that men e1-
pend so much money on their table, and wo-
men so much on their dress, they have got
| nothing left for the work of God and the
| worlds betterment. In my first settlement
at Belleyllle, n. j., the cause OF missions
was being presented one Sabbath, and plea
for the charity of the people was being made,
when an old Christian man in the audience
lost his balance and said right out in the
midst Of the sermon, 'Mr. Talmage, how are
we to give literally to those grand and glori-
Gus causes when our families dress as they
do2" 7 did not answer that question. 1t
was the only time in my life when I had
nothing to say.
Acain. inordinate fashion is distraction to
public worship. You know very we'll there
are q good many people WHO come to church
lust as they 60 to the races-to see who will
come OUT first. What fiutter 1t makes in
church when some woman with extraordi-
nary display OF fashion comes in. "What
love OF q bonnet - says one. "What per-
feet fright - says 500. For the most paerci-
less critics in the world are fashion critics.
Men and women with souls to be saved pass
ing the hour in wondering where that man
oot mis- cravat or what store that woman
patronizes.
In many of our churches the preliminary
exercises are taken up with the discussion
OF wardrobes. It is pitiable. Is 1t not Won
derfuI that the Lord does not strike the
meeting houses with lightningP What dis
traction OF public worship! Dying men and
and women. whose bodies are soon to be
turned into dust. vet before three worlds
struttins like peacocks, the awful question
Of the souls destiny submerged BY the ques-
ton of navy blue velvet and long fan train
skirt, long enoug to drag up the cnurcn
aisle the husbands store, office. shop, fac
tory. fortune and the admiration Of half the
people in the building! Men and women
come late to church to show their clothes.
People sitting down in pew or taking up
hvmnbook, all absorbed at the same time IL
personal array. to sing:
Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings;
Thy better portion trace.
Rise from trausrory things
Toward heaven, thy native place.
Iadopt the Episcopalian prayer and say,
"Good Lord, deliver Us y
Insatiate fashion also belittles the intel
lect. Our minds are enlarged or they dwin-
die lust in proportion to the importance Of
| the subject on which We constantly dwell.
!. Can YOU imagine anything more dwarflng to
! the human intellect than the study or fash
| ion? see men on the street who. judging
| from their elaboration. must have taken two
hours to arrange their apparel. After few
wears Of that kind OF absorption, which one
| Of McAllister's magnifying glasses will be
| powerful enough to make the mans charac-
ter visible? They all land in idiocy.
have seen men at the summer watering
places. through fashion, the mere wreck of
what they once were. Sallow OF cheek.
Meacre OF limb. Hollow at the chest. Show
ing no animation save in rushing across
room to pick up lady's fan. Simpsring
| along the corridors the same compliments
they simpsrsd twenty years ago. A New
| York lawyer at United States Hotel, Sara
toga, within our hearing, rushed across a
room to say to sensible woman, You ara
as sweet as peaches ~ The fools OF fashion
| BODY, but It makes idiotic the intellect.
Yet, my friends, have given YOU only the
milder phase Of this evil. 1t shuts great
multitude out Of heaven. The first peal Of
| thunder that shook Sinai declared, "Thou
| shalt have no other God before Me-" and
you will have to choose between the goddess
| OF fashion and the Christian God. There
are great many seats In heaven, and they
are all easy seats, but not one seat for the
| 10 1nr ual- nd
quiet spirits. Heaven is for those who think
more Of their souls than of their bodies.
Heaven is for those who have more JOY in
| Christian charity than In dry goods religion.
Why, il YOU, with your idolatry OF fashion,
should somehow get into heaven, you would
| be for putting French roof on the "house
of many mansions" Give up this idolatry
OF fashion or give up heaven. What would
YOU do standing beside the Countess Of
Huntington, whose Joy it was to build
chapels for the poor, or with that Christian
woman OF Boston who fed 1900 children of
the street at Faneuil Hall on New Years
day. giving cut as sort OF do1ology at the
end Of the meeting pair of shoes to each
one of them, or those Decreases OF modern
society who have consecrated their needles
to the Lord, and who will get eternalrew
for every stitch they take?
Oh, men and women, give up the idolatry
of fashion The rlyalries anu the competi-
tions OF such a life are stupendous wretch
edness. You will always find some one with
brighter array and with more palatial resi-
dence. and With lavender kid gloves that
make tighter fit. And il you buy this thing
and wear it you will wish you had bought
something else and worn it. And the frets
OF such life will bring the crows teet to
yocr temples before they are due, and when
you come to die you will have miserable
time. have seen men and women OF fash
ion die. and I never saw one OF them die
we'll. Tho trappings Off, there they lay on
the tumbled pillow, and there were just two
thingsthat bothered them-a wasted life and
a coming eternity. could not pacify them,
for their body, mind and soul had been ex-
hsusted in tine worship OF fashion, and they
could not appreciate the gospel. When /
knelt by their bedside, they were mumhling
out their regrets and saying: 20 God! o
J God" Their garments hung up in the
wardrobe, never again TO be seen By them.
Without any exception, so far az my mem
ory serves me. they died without hope and
went into eternity unprepared.
The most ghastly deathbeds on earth are
theone where man dies of delirium tremens
and the other where woman dies after hav-
ing sacrificed all her faculties Of body, mind
and soul in the worship OF fashion. Ny
friends, we must appear in judgment to an
swer for what we have worn on our bodies az
we'll rs for what repentences we hsve eSer-
cised with our souls.
On that day I SEQ coming in Beau Brum-
mel of the last century, without his cloak,
like which all England got cloak. and with
out his cane, like which all England got a
cane, without his snufrbox. like which all
England got q snufrbox-he, the fop OF the
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