The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-06

have been for a long while Oh, II / HAD
only spared the innocent, ana the i'm
beetle, and the cripple" Rousseau de-
Clared In old age that a sin ne COM
mitted in his youth stili gave him sleep
less nights Charles ii. OF Spain could
not sleep unless he had In the room
cOnfessor and two friars. Cataline had
such bitter memories he was startled at
the least sound. Cardinal Beaufort hav-
ing slain the Duke Of Gloucester, often
in the night would say, Away Away.
why DO you look at me2" Richard III,
having slain his two nephews. would
sometimes in the night shout from his
couch and clutch mis- sword. fighting ap-
partitions. Dr. Webster, having slain
Parkman in Boston, and while waiting
for his doom. complained 10 the jaiier
that the prisoners on the other side Of
the wall all night long kept charging him
with his crime. when there We're no pris-
Oners on the other side Of the wall. II
was the voice OF his own conscience.
From what did Adam and Eve try TO
hide when they had all the world 10 them
selves? From their own conscience. What
made Gains puntshment greater than
he could bear? His conscience. What
made Ahab cry out 10 the prophet Hast
thou found me, % mine enemy What
made the great Felix tremble before the
little missionary Conscience. What
made Belshazzars teeth chatter with a
chill when he saw finger come out Of
the black sleeve Of the midnight and write
on the plastering2 Conscience, Conscience
Why is il that that man in this audi
ence with all the marks Of worldly pros
perity upon him, Is agitated while 1
speak, and is now flushed and Is now pale,
and then the breath is uneven, and then
beads of Precipitation on the forehead ana
then the look Of unrest comes 20 a look
OF horror and despair? / know not But
he knows. and God knows IL may be
that he despOied n fair young life ana
turned innocence into a waif, and the
smile Of hope into the brazen laughter
81 despair. Or 10 may be that he has in
his possession the property Of others, ana
by some stratagem he Keeps 81 accord
ing to law, and yet he knows it is not
hos d fn
stop beating this moment he would be
IN hell forever. or IL may be he is re-
sponsible for great mystery, the disap,
pearance ~ some one who was never
heard Of, and the detectives were bafiied.
and the tracks were all covered up. ana
the swift horse or the rail train took him
out Of reach, and there are only two per-
sons in the universe who know of ft-Ciod
and himself. God present at the time of
the tragedy and present at the RETROSPECT
uons ana cOnscience-cOnscience with
strings, conscience with pincers con
science with fails, conscience with fur
naces, Is upon him: and until "a mans
conscience rouses him he does not repent
What made that farmer converted TO
God go to his inndel neighbor and saw,
Nelghbor l have four OF your sheep.
Ihey came over into my fold six years
ago. They had your mark upon them, and
l changed IL to any mark ! want you
to have those sheep, and /
on the money, and / want you 10
have the increase Of the fold; If you want
H. / snail
complaint" The infidel heard of the mans
conversion, and he said: Now. now. If
you nave got them sheep you are wei
of those things at all. You Just 20 away
from me. Something has got hold of Won
that don't understand / heard YOU
were down at those religious meetings"
But the converted man would not allow
Things TO stand In that way, and so the
ni1del said; We'll, now, you can pay me
the value of the sheep, and 6 per cent.
interest from that time to this ana I
sha mt say anything more about it, .nlst
go away from me-" What was the matter
with the two farmers? In the one case
a convicted conscience leading him TO
honesty, and in the other case a convicted
conscience warning again infidelty
Thomas oliver was one of John Wes-
icy preachers. The early part of his life
had been full Of recklessness, and he had
made debts wherever he could borrow. He
was converted to God, and then he went
forth to preach and pay his debts He had
a small amount of property left him. and
Immediately set out to pay his debs and
everybody knew he was In earnest; and 10
consummate the last payment he had to
sell his horse and saddle and bridle. That
was conscience. That is converted CON
science. That Is religion. Frank Tiebout
converted rumseller, had large amount
OF liquor on hand at the time of his con-
version, and he put all the kegs and bar
rels, and demiiohns in a wagon and took
them down IN front of the old church
where he had been converted. and had
everything empued into the street That
Is religion. Why the thousands of dollars
sent every year TO the United States treas
ury at Washington as conscience
money!" Why, 1t simply means there are
postmasters, and there are attorneys, and
there are Ofncials who sometimes retain
that which does not belong to them: and
these men are converted, or under mower
ful pressure Of conscience. and make res
titution. If all the moneys out of which
the state and the United States treasures
have been defrauded should came hack
to their righttul .exchequers, there would
ha ffar NM all h.. a
and all the United States debt bv dav
after tomorrow.
Conversion amounts to nothing unless
the heart is converted, and the pocket
book Is converted, and the cash drawer IS
converted, and the ledger is converted
and the fire proof safe is converted and
the pigeon hole containing the cOrrespon-
dence is converted, and his Improvement
Is noticed even by the canary bird that
sings in the parlor and the cat that licks
the platters after the meal and the doc
that comes bounding from the kennel 10
greet him. man half converted or
quarter converted, or a thousandth part
will be the great book in the Day of Judg-
ment2 Conscience. Conscience RECALLING
misimproved opportunities Conscience
recalling unforgiVen sins Conscience
bringing up all the past Alas! for this
governor, Pontius PLATE. That night after
the court had adjourned and the Sanhed-
rlsts had gone home, and nothing was
heard outside the room but the step of
the sentinel, l see Pontius PLATE arise
from his tapestried and sleepless couch
and go to the laver and begin TO wash
his hands, crying out out, crimson
spot! Tellest thou to me, and to God
and to the night, my crime? Is there
no alkat to remove these dreadful stains?
Is there no chemistry to dissolve This
carnage? Must / to the day of my death
carry the blood of this innocent n,cn on
my heart and hand? out, thou crimson
spot! The worst thing a man can have
is an evil conscience, and the best thing a
man can rave is what Paul calls a good
conscience.
But Is there no such thing as moral puri-
ncatlon? If man is a sinner once must
ne always be sinner. and an unforgiven
sinner? We have all had conscience after
us. Or do you tell me that all the words
Of your life have been just right. and ali
the thoughts of your heart have been
just right, and all the actions of your life
just right2 Then you do not know vour-
self, and l take the responsibility of saw
ing you are a pharisee. you are a hvpo-
critic, you are Pontius Plate and do
not know it. You commit the very same
sin that PLATE committed. You have
crucihed the Lord of Glory. But il nine
tenths of this audience are made up Of
thoughtful and earnest people, then nine
tenths of this audience are saying within
themselves, rs there no such thing as
moral publication? Is there no laver in