The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-03-14
CHOICE OF FRIENDS.
Dr.. Talmage on the Evils OF Bad
Company.
a KINDLY WARNING TO ALL.
Old and Young Must shun e''
associates. as "a Companion
Of Fools Shall be
Destroyed"

In this discourse Dr.. Talmage speaks
on theme which all men, young and
old. will be glad to see discussed, aud
the kindly warning will no doubt IN
many cases be taken; text, Proverbs
xii, 20, "a companion Of fools shall DC
destroyed"
May it please the court, SAID con,
yicted criminal when asked BY the Ju0sc
what he had TO say why sentence O.
death should not be pronounced upon
him. may it please the court. oao com
nsoy has been ny destruction. re.
ceived the blessing Of good parents ana
in return therefor promised to aVolc al
eyi! associates. Had kept my promise
I sborld have ayolGcd this shame and
the burden Of guilt which, Ike vrl,
tDre threatens to drag me TO justice
for nv many crimes Although once
moved in high circles and was enter
tanned by distinguished men, am lost;
Bad company did the work for me.
Only one out of thousand illustrations
was that of the fact that "a companion
of fools shall be destroyed" 1t IS an
,nvariable rule.
Here is a hospital with hundred
men down with the ship fever. Here
is q healthy man who goes into it. He
does not so certainly catch the disease
as 8 good man will catch moral distem
per il he consents 10 be shut up with
the vicious and the abandoned. In the
prisons of the olden time 1t was the
custom to put the prisoners ln cell to
gether, and am sorry to say 1t IS the
custom still in some of our prisons; so
that when the day of liberation comes,
the men, instead of being reformed, are
turned out brutes, not men, each one
having learned the vices Of all the rest.
We may in our worldly occupation
be obliged to talk to and cummlng le
With bad people, but be who voluntali-
ly chooses that kind Of association Is
carrying on a courtship with Delllah
which will shear the locks Of his
strength, and he will be tEipped into
perdilion. Look o7er all the millions
Of the race, aud you cannot show LIE a
single instance where man soluntarl-
" associated with the bad for one year
and maintained his integrity. Sin is
catching; it is infectious; 1t IS epi-
demic.
A young man wakes up in one of our
great cities knowing only the gentlemen
of the firm into whose service he has
entered. In the morning he enters the
store, and all the clerks mark him,
measure him, discuss him. The bad
clerks Of that establishment, the good
clerks Of that establishment, stand IN
some relation to him. The good clerks
will wish him we'll, but they will wait
for formal introduction, and even af-
ter they have had the Introduction they
are very cautious as to whether they
shall call him into their association be-
fore they know him very well.
But the bad young men in that estsb-
lishment all gather around him. They
patronize him, they offer to show him
everything that there is in the city on
one condition-that he will pay the ez-
penses, for it always happens so when
good young man and bad young man
90 together to place of evil entertain
mentAthe good young man always has
TO pay the charges. Just at the time
the ticket is to be paid for or the cham
pague bill is to be settled the bad young
man will affect embarrassment and feel
around in his pockets and say, We'll.
we'll, really have forgotten my pocket
book.
In4Shours after this innocent young
nan has entered the store the bad
young men will gather around him,
slap him on the shoulder with familiar
ity, and, if he is stupid in not being
sble to take certain illusions, will say,
"Ah, my young friend, you will have
to be broken H." And forthwith they
90 to work to break him 10.
Oh, young man. let no fallen young
nan slap you on the shoulder familiar
'y. Turn around and give witheclDg
glance that will mAAe tue wretch cover
in your presence. There is ID mon
strosity of wickedness that cnr stand
before the glance of purity aul honor.
God keeps the lightuings Of heaven in
his own scabbard, and no human may
reach them, brt God gives to every
young man lightning which he may
use, and that is the lightning Of an
honest eye. Anybody that understands
the temptations Of our great cities
knows the use Of one sermon like this,
in which l try to enforce the thought
that "a companion CT fools shall be de-
stroyed."
And, first, /. charge you, avoid the
skeptic-that is, the young man who
puts his thumb in his vest and swag-
gers about, scofing at your old fash
ioned religion, then taking out the
Bible and turning overto some mysteri
Gus passage and saying: Explain
that, my friend, explain that. l used
TO think just as you do. Ny father
and mother used to think just as you
do. But you cant scare ME about the
future. I used to believe in those
things, but I've got over it. :" Yes, he
has got over it, aud you will get over it
if you stay in his panionship much
longer. For awhile he may not bring
one argument against our holy Chris
tianity. He Will By SCOTS and jeerS
and caricatures destroy your faith IN
that religion which was the comfort Of
your father in his declining years aud
the pillow on which your old mother
lay a,dying.
That brilliant young skeptic will sf-
ter awhile have to die, and his diamond |
will fash no splendor into the eye OF
death. His hair will lie uncombed on |
the pillow. Death will come up, and |
this skeptic will say to him: i can
NOT die. cannot die Death Will