The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-06

year 1896 has come. January, February.
March, April-a fourth of the year gone.
Where IS your broken vow? oh" says
some man, IN attend to that when l get
my character fixed up, when 1 can get
over my evil habits; l am now giving to
strong drink or, says the man, Il am
Il am given to dishonesty. When ] get
over my present habits, then Ill be
thorough Christian" My brother, YOU
VIII get worse and worse, until Christ
takes you in hand. mot the righteous,
sinners Jesus came to call" Oh, but you
say, Il agree with you in all that but l
must put IL off a little longer" Do you
know there were many who came just as
near as you are to the kingdom of God
and never entered 1t? l was at Easthamp-
ton, ana L Went into the cemetery there
to look around, and in that cemetery there
are twelve graves side by side-the graves
of sailors. This crew. some years ago. in
a ship went into the breakers at Amagan-
sett, about three miles away. My brother,
then preaching at EaSthamptOn, had been
at the burial. THESE men OF the crew came
very near beng saved. Inc people from
Amagansett saw the vessel, and they shot
rockets, and they sent ropes from the
shore, and these poor fellows got into the
shore, but just before they got to the shore
the rope snapped and the boat capsized,
and they were lost, their bodies afterward
washed upon the beach. OH what sol
emn day il was-I have been told of it by
my brother-when these twelve men lay
at the foot of the pulpit, and he read over
them the funeral service. They came very
near shore-within shouting distance of the
shore, yet did not arrive on solid land.
There are some men who come almost TO
the shore of Gods mercy, but not quite,
not quite. To be almost saved is to be lost
will tell you of two prodigals-the one
that got back and the other that did not
get back. In Richmond Va, there is a
very prosperous and beautiful home in
many respects A young man wandered
off from that home. He wandered very
far into sin. They heard of him after, but
he was always on the wrong track. He
would not go home At the door of that
beautiful home one night there was great
cutlery. The young man of the house ran
down to open the door to see what was
the matter 1t was midnight. The rest
of the family were asleep. There were the
wife and children of this prodigal young
man The fact was he had come home and
driven them out. He said. out Of this
house. Away with these children; 1 will
dash their brains out. Out into the
Storm The mother gathered them up
and fled. The next morning the brother
the young man who had staid at home
went out to find this prodigal brother and
son, and he came where he was, and saw
the young man wandering up and down
in front of the place where he had been
staying, and the young man who had kept
his integrity said to the older brother:
Here, what does all this mean? What is
the matter with you? Why do you act in
this way| The prodigal looked at him
and said: who am /? Who do you take
me to be?" He said: You are my broth
err No, l am not. l am a brute. Have
you seen anything of my wife and chill
dren? Are they dead? l drove them out
last night in the storm. l am a brute
John, do you think there is any help for
me?. Do you think l will ever get over
this life of dissipation" He said: John,
there is one thing that will stop this'i
The prodigal ran his fingers across his
throat and said: THAT will stop it, and
will stop it before night. Oh, my brain;
l can stand it no longer" That prodigai
never got home. But 1 will tell you of a
prodigal that did get home. In England
two young men started from their fathers
house and went down to Portsmouth,
have been there-a beautiful seaport
Some of you have been there. The father
could not pursue his children-for some
reason he could not leave homeland so
he wrote letter down to Mr.. Griffin,
saying:
Mr.. Griffin. I wish you would go and
see my two sons. They have arrived in
Portsmouth, and they are going to take
ship, and going away from home. 1 wish
you would persuade them back"
Mr.. Griffin went and tried to persuade
them back. He persuaded one to 60 He
went with very easy persuasion, because