Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1894-04-13
"a Presbyterian Colonel Now a
Target"


Pollard breach Of promise suit and dis
cussed it from moral standpoint. The /
most notable of the sermons preached on
the subject was thut Of D B Gregg,
of Washington CITY, Of the Presby'e-
riaa Faith, the church, i is alleged to
which Breckenridge belongs
The Reverend geuteuau began his
sermon thus aud s4id The attention oil
our country haI recently been called to
criminal trial in the District Of Column
bia. Because of the social standing OF
the plaintiff and defenlan the case has
gained wide notoriety The plaintiff by
testimony has been proved to be 4 wo-
man of rare mind aud brilliant parts,
ambitious. courageous, lover OF nature,
and no doub, lover Of God; but to-day
she stands before the world as bird with |
broken wing.
Nov the question is what treatment
does christianity prescribe for the plain
tiff in this case? five follow the exam
pie of those Pharisees who brought the
sinful woman TO Christ We will advocate
the stoning of her todeath, but if we fol.
low the example ofour Master there shall
be no stones thrownather who has STUN
bled and fallen 10 the race of life. but
rather CO npassion and pity IN the spirit
Of sympathy and helpfulness Christian
ity does moi apologize for her offenses
aud does not seek to shield the trans
gressor from punishment. The author
Of Christianity is God Of law and order,
and has decreed that all stu must be pun
ished in the sinner or the divine Substi-
tute; vet, nevertheless, the charity pre-
seribed in the gospel Of Christ forbids
society aud the church branding this
young woman as an outcast with every
door closed against her
"She is still woman-a child of the
same God to whom we look up and say,
Our Fathe- who art in Heaven The
same Christ who died for us shed His
blood on Calvary for her; the same mer-
cy through which we look for salvation
is hers by inheritance; the same Christ
who said to the sinful woman, go and
sin no more, can say to this plaintiff,
Arise and 60 hence to newness of life ,
Gods declaration is Though your sins
De is scarlet they shall he as white as
snow, though they be red like crimson
they shall become as wool
Il ask by what right can the nineteenth
century society say to this young woman,
You are hopelesslY Infamous aud shall
not return to US Is society absolutely
innocent of the sins confessed by the
plaintiff? Has it strenously opposed the
the agencies and influences which would
make bird with broken wing pos
sibility? If not, Why should it throw
stones from glass houses?
The defendant in this case is man
of mature years, born of honored auces
tors, reared in an atmosphere of piely,
kin to the most famous preacher of his
day, representative of district III
State whose gallant defense of woman
hood is known everywhere, child Of
Presbyterianism, an honored citizen Of
this land; but to-day fallen idol, an I'M
crowned hero, 8 ruined man, suffering,
! EbY hisSN~- sop, qehell on earth
IT,. ~ -4ered for his
felonious aled. -. as crime against
moral Law. deeency and moral fidelity.
Let no man offer an excuse for this blight
on the American home, American wo-
manhood, manhood and the law of God
1t was wrong, and no amount Of Edenic
confessions the woman beguiled me -
can make i. right
"What sentence will Christendom pass
upon this fallen man? Shall it Danish
him in exile, brand him as colossal
hypocrte aud spew him out of her ,ourts,
discharge him ike the gally slave in Vic
tor Hugo's Miserables? | emphati-
eally answer no, if we axe Christ as our
model. Though fallen, he may yet
rise. He is a man of dual nature, and,
in ny judgment. by far the most of him
is Dr. Jekyl, aud much grander and
whole-souled DR.. Jckyll then Robert
/. Lewis Stevenson ever conceived
This scandal is but the Mr. Hyde
side in public print Is there any rea-
son, then, why this defendant may not
by Gods grace, penitence and prayer,
rise up in Samsonian strength and drive
Mr.. Hyde to the wall? This is great
gospel intended for great sinners. There
is no hope for the chief Of prodigals, and
yet .his man tried by Gods standard
may not be more criminal than thou
sands to-day who pass in so ;iety with
unblemished limitations. !"