The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-07-10


New YORK, June 30.-1n his sermon
for today DR.. Talmage chose mo
mentous and awful topic, The Gate:
of Hell, the text selected being the
familiar passage in Matthew xvi, IS
The gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
Entraced, until we could endure nc
more Of the splendor. we often gazel
at the shining gates, the gates Of pearl
the the gatesof heaven. But we are
for awhile tolook in the opposite direc
ton and see, swinging open and shut
the gates of hell.
| remember, when the Franco-Prus
sian war was going on, that I stood
one day in paris looking at the gate:
of the Tuileries, and I was so absorbed
in the sculpturing at the top of the
gates-the masonry and the bronze
that l forgot myself, and after awhile
looking down, | saw that there were
officers Of the law scrutinzing me, sup
posing no doubt | was German anc
looking at those gates for adverse pur
poses. But, my friends, we shall moi
stand looking at the outside OF the
gates of hell. In this sermon shall.
tell you of both sides, and shall tel
you what those gates are made Of
With the hammer Of Gods truth
shall pound on the bazen panels, anc
with the lantern of Gods truth shall
flash a light upon the shining hinges
Gate the Frst.-Impure literature.
Anthony Comstock seized 20 tons ot
bad books, plates and letterpress, ant
when our Professor Cochran of the
Polytechnic institute poured the des
tructive acids on those plates they
smoked in the righteous annihilation
and geta great deal of the bad liteeat
ure of the day is not gripped of the
law. It's strewn in your parlors. Il
is in your librarsies. Some of you,
children read it at night after they
have retired, the gas burner swung as
near as possible their pillow. Much
Of this literature is under the title o.
scientific information. \ book agen1
with one OF these internal books, gloss
ed over with scientific nomenclature
went into a hotel and sold in one day
100 copies and sold them all to womel
It is oppallinG that men and womer
VINO can get through their family ply
scian all the useful information they
NAV need, and without any contamin
alton, should wade chin deep through
such accursed literature under the pie;
of getting useful knowledge, aud tha
printing presses. hoping to be called
decent. lend themselves to this imfamy
Fathers and mothers, be not deceived
by the title. medical works" Nine
tenths of those books come hot from
the lost world, thought they may
have on them the names of the pub
fishing houses of New York, Chicags
and Philadelphia. Then there is al
the novelette, literature of the day
flung over the land by the million. \:
there are good novels that are long
so, I suppose, there may be gooc
novels that are short, and so there
may be a good novelette,, butit is the
exception. No one-mark this no one
Systematically reades the average nov
elette OF this day and keeps either in
tegrity or virtue. The most Of these
novelties are written by broker
down literary men for small compen
sation, on the principle that, having
failed in literature elevated and pure
they hope to succeed in the tainted
and hasty. Oh, this is a wide gate O
hell. Every panel is made out Of bac
bad book Or newspaper. Every thinG
is the interjoined type of a corrup
printing press. Every bolt or lock O
that gate is made out the plate Of al
undlean pictorial. In other words
there are million men and womer
in the United States today reading
themselves into hell.
When in one of our cities a prosper
Gus family fell into ruins through the
misceeds of one Of its members, thu
amazed mother said to the officer O.
the law: why, I never supposed
was anything wrong. Inever though
there could be anything wrong" Ther
she sat weeping in silent for some time
and SAID: "Oh, I have got it now.
know, l know. found in her bureau
after she went away a bad book
That's what slew her. These leprou'
booksellers have gathered up the cat
alogues of all the male and female
seminaries in the United State. catalo
cues containing the names and resid
ences of all the students, and circulars
of death are sent to every one, withou
any exception. Can you imagine any
thing more dreadful. There is not ;
young person, male or female, or ar
old person, who has not had Offered
to him or her a bad book or a bat
picture. Scour your house 10 find ou
whether there are any of these adder
coilee on your parlor center table, o.
coiled amid the toilet set on the dress
ing case. I adjure you before the sur
goes d ywn to explore your family lib
raries with an inexorable scrutiny
Rememberthat one bad picture may
may do the work for eternity. | want
to arose all your suspicious about nov
eletts. want to put YOU on the watch
against everything that may seen
like surreptitious correspondence
through the postotfice. | want YOU tc
understands that impure literature is
one OF the broadest, highest, mighties
gates Of the lost.
Gate the Second.-The dissolutt
dance. You shall not divert to the
general subject of dancing. Whatevel
you may think of the parlor dance Oh
The methodic motion Of the body tc
sounds of music in the family or the
social circle, am not now discussing
that question. want you unite with
me this hour in recognizing the fact
there IS a diSsolute dance. You know
of what I speak. It is seen not only IN
the low haunts Of death, but in eleg,
aut mansions. It's the first step tc
eternal rnin for great multitude Of
both sexes. You know, my friends,
what postureS and attitudes and
figures are suggested OF the devil.
4.