Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-07-04


Hammers the Brazen Panels with the
Anvil Of Gods Truth-swInging Out and
Swinging In.
NKw YORK, Juno 30.-In his sermon for
todny DR.. Talmage chose n momenuous
and awful topic, "The Gates Of Hell, /" the
text selected being the familiar passage in
Matthew xvi, IS, "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 direction and see
swinging open and shr5 the gates of hell
1 remember, when the Franco-German
war was going on, that stood one day in
Paris looking at the gates of the Tuileries,
and 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, saw that there
were officers of the law scrutinizing me,
supposing no doubt. was a German and
looking at those gates for adverse purposes.
But, my friends we shall not stand look
ing at the outside of the gates of hell. In
this sermon 1 shall tell you Of both sides,
and I shall tell you what those gates are
made Of. With the hammer of Gods truth
I shall pound on ths brazen panels, and
with thelantern of Gods truth l shall
fash light upon the shininghingesl
Impure Literature.
Gate the First.-Impure literature. An
thony Comstock seized 90 tons Of bad
books, plates and letter press, and when
our Professor Cochran of the Polytechnic
institute poured the destructive acids on
those plates they smoked in the righteous
annihilation. And yet great deal of the
bad literature of tho day is not gripped of
the law. 1t is strewn in your parlors; it
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 pillow Much Of this literature is
under the title of scientific information. A
book agent with one of these internal
books, CLOSED over with scientific nomen-
clature, went into hotel and sold in one
day hundred copies and sold them all to
womenl 1t is appalling that men and
women who can get through their family
physician all the useful information they
may nced, and without any contamination,
should wade chin deep through such ac-
cursed 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 y
Nine-tenths of those books come hot from
the lost world, though they may have on
them the names of the publishing houses
of New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
| Then there is all the novelette, literature OF
| the day flung over the land by the million.
| AS there arc good novels that are long, SC
/ suppose there may be good novels that
are short, and SO there may be a good nov
elettc, 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 o1
| these novelettes are written by broken
| down literary men for small compensa
tion, on the principle that, having failed
| in literature elevated and pure, they hopt
to succeed in the tainted and the nasty
| Oh this is wide gate of hell Every
panel is made out of a bad book or news
paper. Every hinge is the interjoined typ'
Of corrupt printing press. Every bolt o.
lock of that gate is made out of the plat
of an unclean pictorial In other words
there are million men and women in th
United States today reading themselve
into hell
When in one Of our cities prosperou
family fell into ruins through the misdeed
Of one Of its members, the amazed mothe
said to tho officer Of the law: "Why,
never supposed there was anything wrong
I never thought there could be anythini
wrong" Then she sat weeping in silenc
for some time and said: ooh, have go
it nowl I know, knowl l found in he
bureau after she went away a bad book
That's what slew her, These leprou
booksellers have gathered up the catalogue
of all the male and female seminaries il
the United States, catalogues containing
the names and residences of all the stu
DENTS and circulars of death are sent t
every one, without any exception. Ca
you imagine anything more deathful
There Is not q young person, male or fe
male, or an old person, who has not ha
offered to him or her bad book or ba
picture. Scour your house to find on
whether there are any Of these adders collie
on your parlor center table or coiled ami
the toilet set on the dressing case. adjur
you before the sun goes down to explor
your family libraries with an inexorabl
scrutiny. Remember that one bad boo
or bad picture may do the work for etel
nifty. I want to arouse all your suspicio
about novelettes want to put you o
the watch against everything that ma
seem like surreptitious correspondent
through the postoffice. want you to III
derstand that impure literature is one {
the broadcast, highest, mightiest gates
the lost.
The Dissolute Dance.
Gate the Second. 1.-The dissolute dane
You shall not divert me to the geners
subject of dancing. Whatever you ma
think Of the parlor dance or the method
motion of the body to sounds of music
the family or the social circle, ann nj
now discussing that question. want yo
to unite with me this hour in recognizin
the fact that there is dissolute dane
You know Of what speak. 1t is seen nj
J only In the low haunts of death, but
elegant mansions. 1t Is the first step
eternal ruin for great multitude of bot
sexes. You know, my friends what po
lures and attitudes and figures are sui
gested of the devil.
They who glide into the dissolute dan'
glide over an inclined plane, and the dan'
: Is swifter and swifter, wilder and wilde
/ until with the speed of lightning the
whirl off the edges of decent life into
fiery future. This gate of hell swing
across the administer Of many fine pa
lor, and across the ballroom of the sun
mer watering place. You have no righ
my brother, my sister-you have no rigl
to take an attitude to the sound of mus
q which would be unbecoming in the absen
Of music. No Chickering grand of oil
parlor or fiddle of mountain picnic CO
consecrate that which God hath cursed.
Indiscreet Apparel
Gate the Third. appare
The attire of woman for the last few yea
j L. sG,.I EEL