The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-06-27
BAD COMPANY.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses Upon
q Fruitful Theme.
The Folly of Conserving with Question
able Companions Forcibly 1liustra-
ted--some of Those to Steer.
Clear Of

Clear OF. 4.
The following discourse upon bad
Company" was delivered by Rev. T..
De Witt Talmage before his Washing
ton coDgreg alton, being based on the
text:
Walk not thou in the way with them.-Pro-
verbs t.. Is
Hardly any young man goes to
place of dissipation alone. Each one
Is accompanied. No man goes to ruin
alone. He always takes some one else
with him. MAY it please the court,
said convicted criminal, when asked
If he had anything to say before sem
tence of death was passed upon him
''may it please the court, bad company
has been my ruin. / received the
blessing of good parents, and, in re-
turn, promised to avoid all evil asso-
Citations. Had l kept my promise,
should have been saved this shame,
and been free from the load of guilt
that hangs around me like vulture,
threatening to drag me to justice for
crimes yet unrevealed. !, who once
moved in the first circles of society,
have been the guest of distinguished
public men, am lost, and all through
bad company.
This is but one of the thousand
p. offs that evil associations blast and
destroy. 1t is the invariable rule.
There is well man in the wards of a
hospital, where there are 100 people
sick with ship fever, and he will not be
SO apt to take the disease as good
man would be apt to be smitten with
moral distemper if shut up with in
iquitous companions. In olden times
prisoners were herded together in the
same cell, but each learned the vices
of all the culprits, so that, instead OF
being reformed by incarceration, the
day of liberation turned them out
upon society, beasts, not men.
We may, in our places of business,
be compelled to talk to and mingle
with bad men; but he who deliberately
chooses to associate himself with
vicious people is engaged in carrying
on courtship with Delilah whose
shears will clip off all the locks of his
strength, and he will be trippe1 into
perdition. Sin is catching, is infec-
tious, is epidemic. will let you look
over the millions of people now inhab-
iting the earth. and / challenge you to
show me a good man who, after one
year, has made choice and consorted
with the wicked. A thousand dollars
reward for one such instance. l care
not how strong your character may be.
Go with the corrupt and you will be-
come corrupt. Clan with burglars.
and you will become a burglar. Go
among the unclean, and you will be-
come unclean. Many a young man
has been destroyed by not appreciat-
ing this. He wakes up some morning
in the great city, and knows no one
except the persons into whose employ
he has entered. As he goes into the
store all the clerks mark him, measure
him and discuss him. The upright
young men of the store wish him well,
but perhaps wait for formal intro
duction, and even then have some deli
cacy about inviting him into their
associations. But the bad young men
of the store at the first oppor-
tunity approach and offer their serv-
ices. They patronize him. They pro-
fess to know all about the town.
They will take him anywhere he
wishes to go-if he will pay the ex-
penses. For if good young man
and a bad young man go to
some place where they ought not, the
good young man has invariably to pay
the charge. At the moment the ticket
is paid for, or the champagne settled
for, the bad young man feels around
in his pockets and says: II have for
gotten my pocket-book. In As hours
after the young man has entered the
store the bad fellows of the esta blish
ment slap him on the shoulder famili-
arly and, at his stupidity in taking
certain illusions, say, my young
friend, you will have to be broken I'M"
and they Immediately proceed to
break him in. Young man, in the
name of God, warn you to beware
how you let bad man talk famil-
iarly with you. If such an one slap
you on the shoulder Familiarity, turn
around and give him a whitening look,
until the wretch crouch in your pres
ence. There is no monstrocity of
wickedness that can stand abashed
under the glance of purity and honor.
God keeps the lightnings of Heaven in
His own seal bard, and no human arm
can WELD them; but God gives to
every young man lightning that he
may use, and that is the lightning of
an honest eye. Those who have been
close observers of city life will not
wonder why l give warning to young
men, and say: Beware of evil COM
panions."
l warn you to shun the skeptic-the
young man who puts his fingers in his
vest and laughs at your old-fashioned
religion, and turns over to some mys-
terry of the Bible and says: Explain
that. my pious friend; explain that"
And who says: Nobody shall scare
me; am not afraid of the future; /
used to believe in such things, and so
did my father and mother, but l have
got over it." Yes, he has got over it:
and if you sit in his company little
longer you will get over it, too. With
our presenting one argument against
the Christian religion, such men will,
by their jeers and SCOTS and carica-