The Progress., 1897-08-21


into The contraction of uDEayable debts,
be knows not into what he goes. The
creditors get after the debtor, the pack OF
hounds in full cry, and, alas for the rein
deer! They Jingle his doorhell before be
gets up In tho morning; they jingle his
doorbeu after he has gone to bed at night.
They meet him as he comes off his front
steps. They send him postal card or a
letter in curtest style, telling him TO pay
NJ. They attach his goods. They want
cash or a note at 80 days CT q note on de-
Inand. They call him u kna7e. They say
he lies. They want him disciplined in the
church They want him turned ont Of
the bank. Ibe! come at him from this
side and from that side and from before
and from behind and from above and
from beneath, and he is insulUed and glib
heted and sued and dunncd and sworn at
until he gets the nervous dyspepsia, gets
neuralgia, gets liver complaint, gets heart
disease, gets convulsive disorder, gets CON
sumption. Now be is dead, and you say,
OF course they will let him alone" Oh,
no. Now they are watchful 10 see whether
there are any unnecessary expenses at the
ohseq ples, to see whether there is any use-
less handle on the casket, TO see whether
there is any surplus plait on the shroud,
to see whether the hearse is costly or
cheap, to see whether the flowers sent 10
the casket have been bought ny the family
to the grave is made out.
Then they ransack the bereft bousehald
the books, the pictures, the carpets the
chairs, the sofa, the piano, the mattresses,
the pillow CD which be died. Cursed he
debt. For the sake of your own happiness,
for the sake Of your good morals, for the
sake of your Immortal soul, for God s Ike,
young man, far possible keep out
of it,
But think more young men are slaugh-
tered through irreligion. Take away q
young mans religion and you make him
the prey of evil. We all know that the
Bible is the only perfect system of morals
Now, if you want to destroy the young
mans morals, take his Bible away. How
will you do that9 Well, you will caricature
his reverence for the Scriptures, you will
take all those incidents of the Bible which
can be made mirth of-JoDah's whale,
Samsop's foxes, Adams rib-then YOU
Will caricature eccentric Christians, or in
consistent Christians, then you will pa SIS
off as your own all those hackneyed argu-
ments against Christianity which are as
old as Tom Paine, as old as Voltaire as
old as sin. New, YOU have captured his
Bible, and yoG have taken his strongest
fortress Tie way Is comparatively clear,
and all the gates Of his soul are set open in
Invitation IL tire sins OF earth and the sor-
rows of deat b, that they may come in and
L.
without EuGder or Compass.
A steamer ] 800 miles from shore with
broken rudder and lost conIass and hulk
leaking 30 gallons the hour is better off
than young man when you have robbed
him of his Bible. Have you ever notioed
how Hospitality mean it is 10 take away
the world s Bible without proposing "a sub
stitutee 1t is IDeaner than TO come to n
sick man and steal his medicine 1ncaner
than TO come TO cripple and steal his
crutch, Ipeaner than to come to q pauper
and steal his crust, 1neaner than TO come
to poor man and burn his house down
1t is the worst of all larcenies TO steal the
Bible which has been cruJch and medicine
and food and eternal home TO so many.
What generous and maCnanimous bust
hess inhdelity has gone into! This split
ting up of lteboats and taking away of
fire escapes and extipguishing of light
houses. come out and say TO such PEG
pie, What are you doing all this for?"
4 IL