Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-03-09
EVIL COMPANIONS.
DR.. TALmAeE GIVES KINDLY ADVICE
TO YOUNG MEN.
Charges Them tn Avoid Bad Com
pnny, Particularly the skeptfc and
the IdIer = Shun Those Who Seek
Only Pleasure.

pnny- fnrDcuturty the SkSptic nnd
the IdIer shun Those Who seek
Only Pleasure.
tCopyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
WASHINGTON, March Ain this dis
course DIR. Talmage speaks on a theme
which all men, young and old, viii De
glad TO see discussed, and the kindly
warning viii no doubt in many cases
be taken; text. Proverbs xiii, 20. "a
companion OF fools shall be destroyed"
"May it please the court" said a con-
. victed criminal when asked 10y the
Judge what he had TO say why sentence
of death should not he pronounced up
on him, 'may il please the court, bad
company has been my destruction. l
received the blessing of good parents
and in return therefor promised to
avoid all evil associates. Had l kept
my promise | should have avoided this
shame and the burden of guilt which,
like a vulturc, threatens TO drag me to
Justice for my many crimes. Although
l once moved in high circles and was
entertained 10y distinguished men, am
lost. Bad company did the work for
me-" Only one out of a thousand IL
Illustrations was that of the fact that
"a companion of fools shall be destroy
ed" Ii is an invariable rule.
Here IL hospital with n hundred
men down with the ship fever. Here
is a healthy man who goes into It. He
does not so certainly catch the disease
as a good man will catch moral dis
temper If he consents to be shut up
with the vicious and the abandoned.
y H., - 4ba
the custom to put the prisoners i'm a cell
together, and am sorry to say ii 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 commingle with
bad people, but he who voluntarily
chooses that kind of association is car
rying on courtship with n Delilah
which will shear the locks of his
strength, and he will be tripped into
perdition. Look over all the millions
OF the race, and you cannot show me Il
single instance where n man voluntari-
ly associated with the bad for one year
and maintained his integrity. Sin is
catching; it is Infectious; it Is cpl
demic.
EVIL Companions.
a young man wakes UP in one of our
great cities knowing only the gentle
men 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 well, but they will wait
for n formal Introduction. and even
after they have had the introduction
they are very cautious as TO whether
they shall call him into their asSocia-
ton before they know him very we'll
But the bad young men in that es-
Establishment ali gather around him.
They patronize him, they offer to show
him everything that there is i'm the city
on one condition-that he will pay the
expenses, for it always happens so
when a good young man and n bad
young man 20 together to n place of
evil entertainment-the good young
man always has to pay the charges.
Just ut the time the ticket is TO be paid
for or the champagne bill is to be set
tied the bad young man will affect en-
barrassment and feel around I'm his
pockets and say, '.'Well, well. really i
have forgotten my pocketboolx"
In rs hours after this innocent young
man has entered the store the bad
young men will gather around him.
slap him on the shoulder with IA
miiiarity, and, II he is stupid I'm not
being able TO take certain illusions,
viii say, "Ah, my young friend, you
will have TO be broken in" And forth
with they go TO work to break him
in"
oh, young man, let no fallen young
man slap you on the shoulder familiar
iy! Turn around and give whitening
glance that will make the wretch cow
er In your presence. There is no mon
strosity of wickedness that can stand
before the glance OF purity and honor.
God Keeps the lightnings of heaven In
his own scabbard, and no human may
reach them, but God gives TO every
young man n 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 try TO enforce the thought
that "A companion OF fools shall be
destroyed"
And, first, l charge you, avoid the
skeptlc-that is, the young man who
puts his thumb In his vest and swag-
gers about, scoffing at your old fash
Toned religion, then taking out the BIZ
Die and turning over to some mysteri-
GUS passage and saying: Explain that.
my friend, explain that. used to
think Just as you do. My father and
mother used TO think just rs You do.
but you can't scare me about the fu-
lure i used TO believe in those things.
out I've got ever it, Yes, he has got
over IL. anc you will get over il if you
stay In his companionship much longer.
For awhile he may not bring one argu-
ment against our holy Christianity.
He VIII by SCOTS and jeers and carica-
lures destroy your faith in that re-
igion which was the comfort of your
father in his declining years and the
pillow on which your old mother lay
A-dying.
beware of the SlxeptIc
That brilliant young skeptic will aft
or awhile have to die, and his diamond
VIII flash no splendor into the eve of
death. His hair will lie uncombed on
the pillow. Death will come ND. and
this skeptic will say to him: 'T cannot
Ole. 1 cannot die" Death will say:
you must die. You have but ten sec
onds more to live. Your seul-give il TO
me right away. Your soulp' ooh.
no! says the skeptic. do not brea the
mat cold air into my face. You crowd
me too hard. 1t is getting dark in the
room. Here-take my rings and take
all the pictures in the room, but let me
on. No" says Death. your SOUL
Your soul?' Then the dying skeptic
begins to say, 20 Godr' Death SAYS,