Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-11-16

ali nations. 1t has gathered from all mu-
sic. Ii has strcwn, from Its wealth, the
tables and floors and arches And yet how
often is that banquet broken up, and how
horrible is its end! Ever and anon there
Is "A handwriting on the wall. A king
falls A great culprit Is arrested. The
knees of wickcdncss knock together
Gods Judgment, like an armed host.
breaks in upon the banquet. and that
night is Bclshazzar. the king of tho Chal-
deans, slain
Here is young man who says: 81 can
no: see why they make such n fuss about
the Intoxicating cup. Why, it Is cxhilarat-
Ing! IL makes me feel well. can talk
better, think better, feel better. cannot
see why people have such prejudice
against IT," 4 few years pass on. and no
wakes up and finds himself In the clutches
Of an evil habit which he tries To break,
but cannot, and he cries out, 80 Lord
God, help mel" II seems as though God
would not hcar his prayer, and in an agony
Of body and soul he cries out, sit bitcth
like serpent, and II stingcth like an adj
der" How bright it was at the start
How black IL was mt the last
Here is a man who begins to read loose
novels They are so charming" no says.
81 will go out and see for myself whether
all these things are So" He opens the gate
Of sinful life. He goes In. a sinful
spritc meets him with her wand. She
waves her wand, and 1t Is all enchant-
mcnt. Why, 1t seems as II the angels OF
God had poured out walls OF perfume in
the atmosphere. As he walks on he finds
the hills becoming more radiant with foil
age and the rnvincs more resonant with
the falling water. Oh, what a charming
landscape he sees! But that sinful sprite,
with her wand. meets him again. But
now she rcverses the wand, and all the en-
chantmcnt Is gone. The cup Is full OF
poison. The fruit turns TO ashes. All the
leaves Of the bower are forked tongues OF
kissing serpcnts. The flowing fountains
fall back In a dead pool stcnchful with
corruption. The Turing songs become
curses and screams Of demoniac laughter.
Lost spirits gather about him and feel for
his heart and beckon him ON with Hail,
brother! Hail, blasted spirit, hailv' He
tries to get out. He comes TO the front
door where he entered and tries to push II
back but the door turns against him, and
In the jar of that shutting door he hears
these words, This night Is Belshazzar,
the king Of the Chaldcans, slain" Sin
may open bright as the morning. II ends
dark rs the night!
Death at the Banquet.
learn further from this subject that
death sometimes breaks in upon ban
quot. Why did he not go down to the pris-
ons in Babylon! There were people there
that would like to have died. / suppose
there were men and women in torture In
that city who would have welcomed death,
but he comes 10 the palace, and just mt the
time when the mirth Is dashing to the tip
top pitch, death breaks I'm mt the banquet.
We have often seen the same thing Illus.
trated. Here Is IA young man Just come
from college. He Is kind He Is loving
He is enthusiastic. lie Is eloquent. BY
one spring he may bound TO heights to
ward which many men have been strug
Cling for years. 4 profession opens before
him. He Is established in the law. HI.
friends cheer him. Eminent men encour
age him. After awhile you may see him
standing In the American senate, or NOV
ing popular asscmblagc by his cloqucncc
as trees are moved In n whirlwind. Some
night he rctiros early. \ fever Is on him
Delirium, like a reckless chariotccr, seizes
the reins of his intellect. Father and
mother stand by and SEQ the tides Of hi:
life going out TO the great ocean. The
banquet is coming TO an end. Tho light.
of thought and mirth and eloqucncc arr
being extinguishcd. Tho garlands art
snatchcd from the brow. The vision Ii
gone Death az the banquet
We saw the same thing, on a larger scale
illustrated in our civil war. Our whole
nation had been sitting at national ban
| quet-nurth, south, east and west. What
grain was there but we grew IL on oul
hills: What invention was there but oul
rivers must turn the new wheel and rattle
the strange shuttle: What warm furs but
our traders must bring them from the arc
ticg What fish but our nets must sweeT
them for the market? What music but
IL must sing in our halls? What eloqucncs
but Il must speak in our senatcsf Ho. L
the national banquet, reaching from noun
tain 10 mountain and from sea to seal tt
prepare that banquet the shcepfolds and
the dyiarics Of the country sent their best
treasures The orchards piled up on tho
table their sweet fruits. The presses burst
out with new wines To sit at that table
came the yeomanry of New Hampshire
and the lumbcrmcn of Maine, and the
Carolinian from the rico plantation, and
the western emigrant from the pines Of
Oregon, and we were all brothers-brother.
at "A banquet. suddenly the feast ended
What meant those mounds thrown up q,
Chickamauea. Shiloh, Atlanta. Gettys.
burg, South Mountain! What meant those
golden grainfelds, turned into pastur.
ing ground for cavalry horses? What
lneant tho cornnclds quilted with the
wheels OF the heavy supply train? Why
those rivers Of tears-thOsc lakes Of blood
God was angry Justice must come. 4
handwriting on the WALL The nation had
been weighed and found wanting. Dark
nessl Darkncssl Woe to the north Wo,
to the south. Woe to the east Woe TO the
west Death at the banquet.
Sudden Judgment
! have also to learn from the subject
that the destruction Of the vicious, and o.
those who despisc God, will be very sud
den. The wave of mirth had dashed TO tn,
highest point when the invading army
broke through Ii was unexpected. Sud
denly, almost always, comes the doom o.
those who despisc God and defy tho law.
Of men. How was IL Mt the deluge? d.
you suppose IL came through n long north
east storm, so that people for days befor,
were sure 1t was coming? No. suppos,
the morning was bright: that calmnes.
broOded on the waters; that beauty sat en-
throned on the hills. when suddenly tn,
heavens burst, and the mountains sanh
like anchors into the sea that dashed clcal
over the Andes and tho Himalayas.
The Red sen was divided. Tho Egyp
| tians tried to cross IL. There could be nc
danger. The Israelitcs had just gone
through. Where they had gone, why moi
the Egyptiansy oh, 1t was such bcauti
full walking place! A pavement OF Hinged
shells and pearls, and on either side two
great walls of watcr-solid. There can bC
no danger Forward. great host OF the
Eeyptiansl Clap tho cymbals and blow
tho trumpcts Of victoryl After thcml We
will catch them yet. and they shall be de
stroycd. But the walls begin 10 trcmble
They rock They fall! The rushing wa.
tcrsl The shrek Of drowning mcnl The
swimming Of the warehouses; In vain for
the shorcl The sircwing Of the great host
on the bottom Of the sea or pitched by the
angry wave on the bcach--a battered,
bruised and loathsomc wreck Suddenly
destruction came. One half hour before
they could not have believed It, Destroyed,
and without remedy.
] am just setting forth fact which you
have noticed rs well as l. Ananias comes
10 the apostle Tho apostle says, Ibid you
sell the land for So much?" Hc says,
Yes" II was lie. Dead, rs quick as
that Sapphirn, his wife, comes in. "Did
you sell the land for so much?' "Ycs"