The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-03-28

no have gone closr over Into ali forms 81
6iquity and plunged in4o utter abandsn-
mont who before they yielded 10 tho first
temptation resisted morv evil than many
q man who has bean moral and upright
all his life.
The Best Man Before God.
But supposing now that In this age,
when there are so many good people. that
come down Into this audience and select
the very best man in 1t. do not mean
the man who would style himself the best,
for probably he is hypoorite, but mean
the man who before God is really the best.
will take you out from all your Chris
tian surroundings. will take you back
to boyhood. Twill put you In depraved
home. will put you in cradle Of in
iquity. Who is bending over that cradles
An intoxicated mother. Who is that swear
Ing in the next roolnp Your father. The
neighbors come in to talk, and their jokes
are unclean. There is not in the house
Bible or moral treatise, but only few
scraps Of an old pictorial.
After awhile you are old enough to get
out of the cradle, and you are struck
across the head for naughtiness, but never
In any kindly manner reprinanded Aft
or awhile you are old enough to go abroad,
and you are sent out with a basket to steal.
, II you come home without any spoil, you
are whipped until the blood comes. At is
years Of age you go out to fight your own
battles In this world, which seems to care
no more for you than the dog that has
died of a fit under the fence. You are
kicked and ouffed and buffeted. Some
day, rallying your courage, you resent
some wrong. A man says: "Who are your
know who you are. Your father had free
lodgings at Sing Sing. Your mother, she
was up for drunkenness at the criminal
court. Get out of my way, you low lived
wretch" My brother, suppose that had
been the history Of your advent and the
history Of your earlier surroundings.
Would you have been the Christian man
you are today, seated in this Christian as
been vagabond, an outlaw, murderer
on the soaffold atoning for your crime.
All these considerations ought to make US
merciful in our dealings with the wander
ing and the lost.
swsyed by Circumstances.
Again, have to remark that In our es-
timation the misdoing of people who have
fallen from high respectability and useful
ness we must take into consideration the
conjunction Of circumstances. In nine
cases out of ton man who goes astray
does not intend any positive wrong. He
has trust funds. He risks part of these
funds In investment. He says: Nov, il
should lose that investment have of my
own property five times as much, and If this
investment should go wrong ! could easily
make it up. could five times make it
up" With that wrong reasoning he goes
on and makes the investment, and 1t does
not turn out quite as well rs he expected,
and he makes another investment, and
strange to say at the same time all his 9TH
or affairs get ontangled, and all his other
resources fail, and his hands are tied.
Now he wants to extricate himself. He
goes little further on in the wrong In
vestment He takes q plunge further ahead,
for he wants to save his wife and children,
no wants to save his home, he wants to
save his membership In the church. He
takes one more plunge, and all is lost.
Some morning ut 10 o'clock the bank
door is not opened, and there is card on
the door signed by an officer Of the bank,
indicating there is trouble, and the name
of the tlefaulter or tho defrauder heads the
newspaper column, and hundreds of men
say, "Good for him!" Hundreds Of other
mon say, "I'm glad he's found out at
last" Hundreds of other men say, "Just
as told you" Hundreds of other men
say, "Wo couldn't possibly have been
tempted to do that-no conjunction of cir
ct, oD,,lI bor
me- And there Is superabundanoe of
Indignation, but no pity. The heavens
full of lightning, but not one drop of dew.
II God treated us as society treats that
man, we would all have been in hell long
ago.
Temper Wrath With Mercy.
Wait for the alleviating circumstances.
Perhaps he may have been the dupe Of
others. Before you let all the hounds out
from their kennel to maui and tear that
man find out II he has not been brought
up in a commercial establishment where
there was wrong system Of ethics taught;
find out whether that man has not an OK
trayagant wife who is not satisfied with
his honest earnings and in the temptation
to please her he has gone into that ruin
into which enough men have fallen, and
by the same temptation, to mako process
SIGN of many miles. Perhaps some sud-
den sickness may have touched his brain,
and his Judgment may be unbalanced. He
is wrong, he is awfully wrong, and he
must be condemned, but there may be
mitigating circumstances. Perhaps under
tho same temptation you might have fall
en-. The reason some men do not steal
$780, 900 is because they do not get a
chance. Have righteous indignation you
must about that man IS conduct, but tenn
por it with mercy.
But, you say, II am sorry that the in
nooent should suffer" Yes, I am, too
sorry for the widows and orphans who lost
their all by that defalcation. l am sorry
also for the business men, tho honest bust
ness men, who have had their affairs all
crippled by that defalcation. / am sorry
for tho venerable bank president, to whom
the credit Of that bank was a matter of
pride. Yes am sorry also for that man
who brought all the distress-sorry that
10 sacrificed body, mind, soul, reputation,
.z-..4...zzs<,1ss-.--..s,,
heaven, and went into the blackness Of
darkness fol hor.
You defsS.Cly say, II could not DO
tempted in that way" Perhaps you may
be tested after awhile. God has a very
good memory, and be sometimes seems to
say: "This man feels so strong in his in
nate power and goodness he shall be test
cd. He il so full Of bitter invective against