Connecticut western news., 1899-02-23


 eternity, and 1 will tell you what will be his worldly prospects. There is an abundance of choice There is your room with the books There are the Young Mems Christian association rooms. There are the week night serv- ices of the Christian churches There is the gambling saloon. There is the thea ter. There is the house of infamy Plenty of places to go to. But which. O immortal man. which O God, which7 "Well, you say, "I guess I will guess l will go to the theater." Do you think the tarrying in that place until l 1 o'clock at night will improve your bodily health, or your financial pros poets, or your eternal fortune? No man ever found the path to usefulness, or honor, or happiness. or commercial sue cess, or heaven, through the American theater. Well" you say, 'I guess, then, I will go to-I guess l will go to the gambling saloon" You will first go to look. Then you will go to play. You will make $100, you will make $500. you will make $1.000, you will make 1.500. Then you will lose all Then you will borrow some money so as to start anew. You will make $50, you will make $100, you will make $500. Then you will lose all These wretches of the gambling saloon know how to tempt you. But mark this: All gam blers die poor. They may make fortunes great fortunes-but they lose them
 Well" you say. ''if l cant go to the theater. and if 1 can't go to the gambling saloon. then 1 guess-1 guess will go to the house of infamy." Commercial travellers have told me that in the letter box at the hotel, within one hour after their arrival, they have had letters of evil solicitation in that direction. It is far away from home. Nobody will know it. Commercial trav- elers have sometimes gone in that evil path. Why not you2 Haiti There are other gates of ruin through which a man may go and yet come out, but that gate has spring lock which snaps him in forever He who goes there is damned already He may seem to be comparatively free for a little while. satanic police have their eyes upon him to bring him in at any moment The hot curse of God is on that crime, and because of it there are men whose heav- en was plotted out ten years ago. There is no danger that they be lost; they are lost now l look through their glaring eyeballs down into the lowest cav ern of hell O destroyed spirit. why comest thou in here todayf Dost think I have the power to break open the barred gateway of the penitentiary of the damnedf There is a passage in Proverbs l somewhat hesitate to read. but do not hesitate Slong: "At the window of my house looked through my easement and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths young map. void of under standing, passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. He goeth after her straightway, as en OK goeth to the slaughter or as fool to the correction of the stocks, till dart strikes through his liver.
 How to Spend Evenings.
 But now the question is still open Where will you spend your evening" O commercial travellers, how much will you give me to put you on the right trackf Without charging you far thing I will prescribe for you plan which will save you for this world and the next. if you will take it. Go. before you leave home, to the Young Mems Christian association of the city where you live. Get from them letters of in- troduction. Carry them out to the towns and cities where you go. If there be no such association in the place you visit then present them at the door of Chris tian churches, and hand them over to the pastors Be not slow to arise in the devotional meeting and say: ''I am commercial traveller. 1 am far away from home. and I come in here tonight to seek Christian society. The best houses and the highest style of amuse- ment will open before you. and instead of your being dependent upon the lep- rous crew who hang around the hotels, wanting. to show you all the slums of the city, on the one condition that you will pay their expenses. you will get the benediction of God in every town you VlSlb. neIDeHlUeT lHlS, tudt WndIeNeT place you visit bad influences will seek you out. Good influences you must seek out.
 While I stand here I bethink my self of commercial traveller who was a member of my church in Philadel- phia. He was splendid young man. the pride of his widowed mother and of his sisters It was his joy to support them. and for that purpose he postponed his own marriage day. He thrived in business, and after awhile set up his own household. Leaving that city for another city, I had no oppor- tunity for three or four years of making inquiry in regard to him. When made such inquiry, was told that he was dead The story was, he was largely generous and kind hearted and genial and social, and he got into the habit of "treating" customers and of showing them all the sights of the town, and he began rapidly to go down, and he lost his position in the church of which he was member, and he lost his posi- tion in the commercial house of which he was the best agent, and his beauti- ful young wife and his sick old mother and his sisters went into Restitution. and he. as a result of his dissipation. died in Kirkbride Insane asylum.
 o commercial travellers. I pray for you the all sustaining grace of God There are two kinds of days when you are especially in need of divine grace. The one, the day when you have no success-when you fail to make sale and you are very much disappointed. and you go back to your hotel discom- ited. That night you will be tempted to go to strong drink and rush into bad surroundings The other day. when you will especially need divine grace. will be when you have had a day of great success and the devil tells you you must go and celebrate that success Then you