The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-05-08

1--WE had better have some prayer. Mary
not q breath of that" he said. "The lightest
word Of prayer would roll back on me Like
rocks on drowning man. I have come to
the hour Of test. had q chance, but for
feited 1t. believed in liar, and he has lett
me in the lurch. Mary, bring me Tom Paine
that book that swore by and lived by
and pitch 1t into the fire, and let 1t burn and
burn as I myself shall soon burn" And then,
with the foam on his lip and his hands toss
ing wildly in the air, he cried out: "Blaok-
ness or darkness! Oh, my God, too Later
And the spirits Of darkness whistled up from
the depth and wheeled around and around
him, stripping the slain.
Sin is luxury now, it is eIhilaration now5
it Is victory now. But after awhile 1t is COZ
lision; it Is defeat; 1t Is determination; It II
jackalism; it is robbing the dead; 1t Is strip
ping the slain. Give 1t up to-dsy-gtve It
up! Oh, how you have been cheated on, myt
brother, from one thing to another! Az
these years you have been under an evil
mastery that YOU understood not. What
| have your companions done for you2 What
have they done for your health? Nearly
ruined it by carousal. What have they done
| for your fortune2 Almost scattered 1t BY
spendthrift behavior. What have they donet
| for your reputation? Almost ruined 1t with
good men. What have they done for your
immortal soul2 Almost insured Its over
throw. |.-.. -
You are fastening on toward the consunr
nation of all.that is sad. To-day you stop and
think, but 1t Is only for moment and them
you will tramp on, and at the close Of this
service you will 20 out. and the question:
| will be, "How did you like the sermon7t
And one man will say, 81 liked it very well, =,
and another man will say, ~ didn't like II
the tremendous fact that II impenitent yout
are going at thirty knots ea hour toward
shipwreck. Yea, you are In a battle where
you will fall, and while your surviving rel-
| atives will take your remaining estate and
the cemetery will take your body the messen-
gers of darkness will take your soul and
come and 60 about you, stripping the SLAIN.
Many are crying out, IT admit I am slain;
I admit it." On what battlefield, my broth
tion," says one man; "Intoxicating iquor,~
says another man; "My own hard heart,
says another man. Do you realize thfs2i
Then come to tell you that the omnipo-
tent Christ is ready to walk across this bat
| tlefeld and revive and resuscitate and resur-
rect your dead soul Let Him take your.
hand and rub away the numbness, your head
and bathe of the aching, your heart and
stop its wild throb. He brought Lazarus to
life, he brought Jairus's daughter to life, He
brought the young man OF Main to life, and
these are three proofs anyhow that BE can
bring you to life.
When the Philistines came down on tbs
field, they stepped between the corpsee, and
they rolled over the dead, and they took
away everything that was valuable. And so
It was with the people that followed after the,
armies at Charlottesville and at Pittsburg
Landing and at Stone River and at Atlantat
stripping the slain, but the Northern and
Southern women-God bless them!-came on
the field with basins and pads and towels
and lint and cordials and Christian en-
couragement, and the poor fellows that lay
there Lifted up their arms and said, "Oh,
how good that does feel since you dressed
iii" And others looked up and said, "oh,
how you make me think Of my motherr
And others said, "Tel the folks at home .
died thinking about them" And another
looked up and said, 'Miss, won't you sing
me verse of Home, Sweet, Home, before y
die2' And then the tattoo was sounded, and
the hats were OF, and the service was readd
pa ee EeSusErsioa .Es ana fIt the sesfa Mie s AaS
loaded and the command given, "PresentR <
fre!" And there was q shingfe set UP at the
head of the grave, with the epitaph Of
tLieutenant - in the Fourteenth Massar,
chusetts regulars" or "Captaln - In the
Fifteenth regiment Of South Carolina volun-
teers." And 80 now, across this great field
of moral and spiritual battle, the angels OF
God come walking among the slain, and
there was voices OF comfort and voices OF
hope and voices OF resurrection and voices OF
heaven.
One night saw tragedy on the corner
Of Broadway and Houston street. A young
man, evidently doubling as to which direc-
ton he had better take, his hat lifted high
enough 80 that you could see he had an In!
teligent forehead, stout chest; he had o
robust development. Splendid young man;
Cultured. young man. Honored young man.
Why did he stop there while 80 many were
going up and DOWN. The fact is that every
man has good angel and bad angel conf
tending for the mastery Of his spirit, andl
there were a good angel and bad angel
struggling with that young mans soul at
the corner Of Broadway and Houston street,
"Come with me-" said the good angel; II
will take you home; will spread my wings
over your pillow; will lovingly escort you
all through life under supernatural protee-
ton; will bless every cup you drink out OIL
every couch you rest on, every doorway you
enter; will consecrate your tears when YOU
weep. your sweat when you toll, and at the
last I will hand over your grave Into the.
hand of the bright angel Of Christian re-
surrection. In answer to your fathers petiT;
ton and your mothers prayer I have BEEN
sent of the Lord out OF heaven to DO your,
guardian spirit. Come with me-" said the
good angel in voice Of unearthly symphony.
It was music like that which drops from Q
lutte of heaven when seraph breathes on it.
"No, no." said the bad angel; "come with
me; have something better to offer. The
wines pour are from chalices OF bewitching
carousal; the dance lead Is over floor tes-;
sellated with unrestrained indulgences; there
Is no God to frown on the temples OF SIM
where worship. The skies are Italian The
paths tread are through meadows, daisief
and primrosed. Come with me-" |
The young man hesitated at a time when,
hesitation was ruin, and the bad angel
smote the good angel until It departed,
spreading wings through the starlight up
ward end away until door flashed open In
the sky and forever the wings vanished:+
That was the turning point in that young
mans history, for, the good angel foWp, be
hesitated no longer, but started ol 9 PATH.
way which Is beautiful at the opening, but
blasted !sst Ths Ra9 asgsl aea leading a9 ssses the
gate the f6ad became rougher and the SKY
: more lurid, and, what was peculiar, as tne
gate slammed shut it came to With jar that ,
Passed each portal there was q grinding,
OF locks and a showing OF bolts, and the seen.
cry Oh either side of the road changed from
gardens to deserts, and the June air becamef
q cutting December blast, and the bright
wings of the bad angel turned to sackcloth,
and the eyes Of light became hollow with
hopeless grief, and the fountains, that at tha
start had tossed with wine, poured forth
bubbling tears and foaming blood, and
on the right side OF the road there WIS
O. serpent and the man said 10th bad angel,
"What is that serpent" and the answer was,
"That is the serpent OF stingng remorse."
| III tba