Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-07-01
GATES TO PERDITION.
HOW THEY SWING IN TO GIVE EN-
TRANCE TO THE DOOMED.

the DissoIute Dance, Indiscreet Attire
and Alcoholic Beverage-Great Evils OF
Society-God's Infinite Mercy.
NEW YORK, June 3O.-In his sermon
for today DR.. Talmage chose a momen-
tous and awful topic, "The Gates of
He'll, - the text selected being the IA
miliar passage in Matthew xvi, IS, 1.-The
gates of hell shall not prevail against
it."
Entranced, until we could endure no
more of the splendor, we have often
gazed at the shining gates, the gates of
pearl, the gates of heaven. But we are
for awhile to look in the opposite direc-
ton and see, swinging open and shut, the
gates of hell
remember, when the Franco russian
war was going on, that 1 stood one day
in Paris looking at the gates of the TUT
1eries, and l was so absorbed in the
sculpturing at the top of the gates-the
masonry and the bronze-that / forgot
myself, and after awhile, looking down,
I saw that there were officers of the law
scrutinizing me, supposing no doubt I
was German and looking at those gates
for adverse purposes. But, my friends,
we shall not stand looking at the out
side of the gates of hell. In this sermon
I shall tell you of both sides, and I
shall. tell you what those gates are
made of. With the hammer of Gods
truth 1 shall pound on the brazen panels,
and with the lantern of Gods truth I
shall flash a light upon the shining
hinges.
A Mighty Gate For the Lost.
Gate the First.-Impure literature.
Anthony ComstOck seized 20 tons of
bad hooks, plates and letterpress, and
when our Professor Cochran of the Poly
technic institute poured the destructive
acids ON those plates they smoked in the
righteous humiliation, and yet a great
deal OF the bad literature of the day is
not gripped of the law. 1t is strewn in
your parlors. 1t is in your libraries.
Some of your children read it at night
after they have retired, the gas burner
swung as near as possible to their pill
low Much Of this literature is under
the title of scientific information. A
book agent with one of these Internal
books, CLOSED over with scientific no.
menclature, went into hotel and sold
in one day 100 copies and sold them all
to women! It is appalling that men
and women who can get through their
family physician all the useful infor-
nation they may need, and without any
contamination, should wade chin deep
through such accursed literature under
the plea of getting useful knowledge,
and that printing presses, hoping to be
called decent, lend themselves to this
infamy. Fathers and mothers, be not
deceived by the title, medical works. :"
Nine -tenths of those books come hot
from the lost world, though they may
have on them the names of the publish
ing houses of New York, Chicago and
Philadelphia. Then there is all the nov
elette literature of the day flung over
the land by the million. AS there are
good novels that are long, SO, I suppose,
there may be good novels that are short,
and so there may be q good novelette,,
but it is the exception. No one-mark
this-no one Systematically reads the
average novelette, Of this day and keeps
either integrity or virtue. The most of
these novelties are written by broken
down literary men for small compensa-
ton, on the principle that, having fail
ed in literature elevated and pure, they
hope to succeed in the tainted and nasty.
Oh, this is wide gate of hell Every
panel is made out of q bad book or
newspaper. Every hinge is the inter
Joined type of corrupt printing press
Every bolt or lock of that gate is made
out of the plate Of an unclean pictorial
In other words, there are a milsion men
and women in the United States today
reading themselves into hell
Wbar, in ono of ON. CITIES q DrOcDorOuS
family fell into ruins through the 11Iis-
deeds of one of its members, the amazed
mother said to the officer Of the law:
"Why, 1 never supposed there was any
thing wrong Inever thought there could
be ANYTHING wrong Then she sat weep
ing i'll silence for some time and said:
"Oh, l have got it now L know,
know I found in her bureau after she
went away a bad book. That's what
slew her P" These leprous booksellers
have gathered up the catalogues of all
the male and female seminaries in the
United States, catalogues containing the
names and residences of all the students,
and circulars of death are sent to every
one, without any exception. Can you
imagine anything more deathful? There
is not young person, male or female,
or an old person, who has not had offer
ed TO him or her bad book or bad
picture Scour your house to find out
whether there are any of these adders
coiled on your parlor center table, or
colled amid the toilet set on the dressing
case. I adjure you before the sun goes
down TO explore your family libraries
with an memorable scrutiny. Remember
that one bad book or bad picture may do
the work for eternity. want to arouse
all your suspicious about novelties. |
want to put YOU on the watch against