The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-03-29
STREETS OF A CITY.
Or. TaImage Contrasts Their
SpIendor and Woe.
SHAMS AND PRETENSlONS.
Unlike the Democratic Principle
ofthe Gospel ofChrist. Temp
tations for the sUnwary.
Work FOR Christians.

Work FOR Christians.
In this discourse at Washington Sun
day DR.. Talmage, who has lived the
most Of his life in cities, draws practl-
cal lessons from his own observation;
text, Proverbs i, 20: Wisdom crieth
without. She utteretb her voice II the
streets
We are all ready to listen to the
voices of nature-the voices OF the
mountain. the voices Of the sea, the
voices of the storm, the voices OF the
star. As in some of the cathedraIs IN
Europe there is an organ at either END
Of the building, and the one lnstru-
ment responds musically to the other,
- in the great cathedral OF nature day
responds to day. and night to night,
aud flower to flower, and star to star IN
the great harmonies of the universe.
Tie springtime is an evangelist IN bios
SONS preaching Of Gods love, and the
.sinter is a prophet-whise bearded
deuouncing woe against our sins. " e
are all ready 10 listen TO the voices OF
nature. But how few of US learn any,
thing from the voices Of the noisy and
dusty street. You 60 to your meehan-
ism, and to your work, and to your
merchandise, and you come back again
and often with how different healt
you pass through the streets. Are
there no things for US to learn from
those pavements over which we pass!
Are there no tufts of truth growing up
between these cobblestones, beaten
With the feet of toll and pain and pleas,
ure. the slow tread of old age and the
quick step of childhood? Aye, there
:sre great harvests to be reaped, ana
now I thrust in the sickle because the
harvest is ripe. Wisdom crieth with
out. She uttereth her voice IN the
streets"
In the first place the street impresses
me with the fact that this life is scene
of toll and struggle. By 10 O'Clock
every day the city is jarring with wheels
and shutting with feet and humnlng
with voices and covered with the breath
Of smoke-stacks and a-rush with trat-
tickers. Once in while you IND
iaan going along with folded arms and
with leisurely step, as though he had
nothing to do, but, for the most part,
as you find men going down these
streets on the way to business, there
) anxiety in their faces, as though
lhey bad some errand which must be
executed at the first possible moment.
You are iostled by those who have bar
Gains to make and notes to sell. Up
this ladder with hod Of bricks, ont OF
tins bank with roll Of bills, on this
draw with load of goods, digging
cellar, or shingling roof, or shoelpg
horse, or building wall, or mendlng
watch, or binding a book. Industry,
with her thousand arms and thousand
eyes and thousand feet, goes on slnglDg
her song Of work, work, work, while the
mills drum it and the steam whistles
f:e it. All this is rot because men
1--we toll. Some one remarked, Every,
man is as lazy as he can afford to De.
isat is it because necessity with stern
brow and with uplifted whip stands
over you ready whenever you relax your
toll to make your shoulders stlng with
the lash.
Can it be that passing up and down
these streets GU your way to work ana
business you do not learn anything OF
tie worlds toll and anxiety and strug-
jc? Oh, how many dropping hearts,
how many eyes on the watch. how many
niles travelled, how many burdens car
ried, how many losses suffered, how
many victories gained, how many de-
eats suffered, how many exasperatlons
injured What losses, what hunger,
y hat wretehedness, what pallor, what
disease, what agony. what despair
Sometimes I stopped at the corner OF
the street as the multitudes went hlther
and you, and it has seemed to be great
pantonime, and as looked upon II my
heart broke. This great tide Of human
life that goes down the street is RAPID
tossed and turned aside and dashed
ahead and driven back-beauti-
frl in its confusion and confused IN It's
beauty. In the carpeted aiSles OF the
forest, in the woods from which the
eternal shadow is never lifted, on the
shore of the sea ever whose iron coast
tosses the tangled foam sprinkiing the
cracked cliffs with baptism OF whlri
wind and tempest, is the best place 10
study God, but in the rushing, swarm
ing, raving street is the best place to
study man.
Going down to your place of business
and coming home again | charge you to
look about-sce these signs OF poverty,
of vretchedness, Of hunger, Of sin, OF
bereavement-and as you go through
the streets and come back through the
streets, gather up in the arms OF your
prayer ali the sorrow, all the losses, al!
the suferings, all the bereavements OF
those whom you pass and present them
in prayer before an al sympathetic
God. In the great day Of eternity
there will be thousands Of persons with
whom you in this world never exchang
ed one word who will rise up and cal
you blessed, and there will be a thou
sand fingers pointed at you in heaven
saying, That is the man, that IS the
woman, who helped me when Twas hun
CRY and sick and wandering and los
and heartbroken. That is the man
that is the woman. And the blessing
will come down upon you as Chris
shall say: Il was hungry, and sc fec
me; was naked, and ye clothed me
| was sick and in prison, and evisitet
me. Inasmuch IS ye did it to these
poor waits Of the streets, ye did 1t tt
me.
Again, the street impresses me Will
the fact that all classes and conditions
Of society must commingle. We some