The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-08-29

and then the Doy answered, with tSdr
FLASHING on the back of his hand. he
said in defiance: "No, sir; I cant read
nor write neither. God, sir, don't want
away my father so long ago I never re.
member to have seen him? And haven't
l had to go along the streets to get some,
thing to fetch home to eat for the folks?
And didn't |, as soon as could carry.
basket, have to 60 out ard pick up Gin.
ders, and never have nc schooling, sir:
God don't. want me to read, sir. l can't
read nor write neither"
Oh! these poor wanderers. They have
no chance. Born in degradation. as they
get up from their hands and knees to
road to despair. Let us 90 forth.,in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to rescue
them. Let us ministers not be afraid of
soiling our black clothes while we 80
down on that mission. While we are tie
ing an elaborate knot in our cravat, OF
while we are in. the study rounding oil
some period rhetorically, we might be say.
ing soul from death, and hiding multi
tude of sins.
In all cities, east, west, north, south, !
notice great temptations to commercial
fraud: He:e is man who starts in busi::
ness. He says, "I'm going to be honest"
block in the same business are Shylocks.
Those men, to get the patronage OF any
one, will break all understandings with
other merchants and will sell at ruinous
cost, putting their neighbors at great dis.
advantage. expecting to make up the de-
ticit in something else. If an honest prin.
ciple could creep into that mans soul it
would die of sheer loneliness! The man
twists about, trying to escape the penalty
of the law, and despises God, while he Is
just a little anxious about the sheriff.
| The honest man looks about him and
says: "Well, this rivafr. is awful Per-
haps am more scrupuous than I need be.
This little bargain am about to enter is
little doubtful, but then | shall only do
as the rest" And so had friend who
started in commercial life. and as book
merchant, with high resolve. He said,
"In my store there shall be no books that
I would not have my family read" Time
passed on. and one day went into his
store and found some iniquiitouss, books on
the shelf, and said to him, How is it
books as these?" "Oh,U he replied, Il
have got over tLose Puritanieal notions!
A man cannot do business in this day
unless he does it IN the other people
do it, Ito make IA long story short. he
lost biz hope of heaven, and in a little
while he lost his morality, and then he
went Siufo bnadhouse In other words,
when hit casts off God God casts him
off. n 81 -
| One of The mig itemptations. in
commercial life 81 AZ tieg day is in
the fact that rnany 4rcfessed Christian
men are not square I'm their bargains.
Such men are i'm and Methodist
and Congregat tionai Tehes; and our own
denomination y g iaresly Teprssented as
say s1Esna,t OF them n tSss ssy
are patronizsrsf Of ssrts pEiilanthropic and
I5patrioti otic. God will ttand to them in
1.-the day gof His coronation. am not
speaking of them, but Of those in CONNER.
cial life who are setting a ruinous exam.
pie to our young merchants Go through
all the stores aand Offices in our cities and
tell me in how many Of those stores and
offices are the principles of Christs reli.
gion dominant ?, IN three-fourths of them!
No. In one!tenth Of them? No. Decide
for Yourself. The impression is abroad
somehow that charity can consecrate ini'
quitous gains, and that if man give to
God q portion of an unrighteous bargain
then the Lord will forgive him the rest.
| The secretary of a benevolent society
came to me and said, 'Mr. So-and SO has
given a large amount OF money to the mis-
siouary cause" mentioning the sum. l
said, Il can't believe it." He said, 1T is
So" Well, went home, staggered and
confounded. I never knew the man to
give anything. But after while found
out that he mad been engaged in most
Infamous kind of swindle, and then he
promised to compromise the matter with
the Lord, saying: Now, here is so much
for Thee, Lord. Please to let me off,
| Hundreds Of men going down in our
cities every year through the pressure OF
politics.
| goes into politics with that idea and with
the resolution that he will come out un.
contaminated and as good as when he
went in, but generally the case IS, when
man steps into politics, many of the news
papers try to blacken his character and to
distort all his past history, and after
little while has gone by, instead of con-
sidering himself an honorable citizen, he
is lost in contemplation and in admiration
of the fact that he has so long been kept
out of jail! -. -.
form politics. and with the right spirit,
he can come out with the right spirit and
unhurt. That was, Theodore Frelinghuy-
sen, of New Jersey. That was George
Briggs, of Massachusetts. That was
| Judge Mclean, OF ONO.
Then look around and see the allure.
ments to dissipated life. Bad books, I'M
known to father and mother, vile rs the
reptiles OF Egypt. crawling into some Of
the best of families of the community,
who may read them while the teacher is
looking the other way or at recess or on
| the corner of the street when the groups
are gathered. These books are read late
at night Satan finds them a smooth
plank on which he can slide down into
peridition some OF your sons and daugh'
| tcrs.
Reading bad books, one never gets over
it. The books may be burned, but there
10 not enough power in all the apothe'
cary's preparations to wash out the stain
fro!a the soul Fathers hands, mothers
hands, siste.s' hands will not wash it out
None but the hand Of the Lord can wash
it out.
And what is more perilous in regard to
mention them. While God in His Bible
from chapter to chapter thundered His
denunciations against these crimes, people
expect the pulpit and the printing press
to be silent on the subject, and just in
proportion as people are impure are they
fastidious on this theme. They are SC
full of decay and death they do not want
their sepulchers opened. God will turn
into destruction all the unciean, and nc
splendors of surrounding can make de-
cent that which He has smitten. God
will not excuse sin merely because it has
costly array and beautiful tapestry and
palatial residence any more than He. will
excuse that which erawls, a blotch, oi
sores, through the lowest cellar. Evei
and anon, through some lawsuit, there
flashes upon the people of our great cities
what is transpiring in seemingly respecta
BILE circles. You call it high life" you
call it EAST living" you call it peoples
| nnnantrinituO and while we kick eff thk