The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-11-12

had q stout chest and q robust develop |
ment- Splendid young man, Cultured
young man! Honored young man! Why
did he stop there while so many were To-
ing up and down? The fact is tina every
young man has a good angel and n bad
angel contending for the mastery OF his
spirit, and there We're a rood angel and a
bad angel struggling with that young
mans soul 1T the corner Of the street
Come with me-" said the good angel. Il
will take you home. 1 viii spread my
wings over your pillow. i viii lovingly
escort you all through life under super
natural protection. / will bless every cup
you drink out of, every couch you rest on,
every doorway o enter. / viii conse-
crate your tears when you weep, your
sweat when you toll. and at the last / will
hand over your grave into the hand of the
bright angel of a Christian resurrection.
/ have been sent Of the Lord TO be your
guardian spirit. Come with me-" said the
good angel III n voice OF unearthly sym
phony. 1t was music like that which
drops from a lutte of heaven when n
seraph breathes on it.
"Oh, no." said the bad angel. "Come
with me. L have something better TO Of
fer. The wines | pour are from chalices
Of bewitching arous The dance / lead
is over floors tessellated with unrestrained
indulgence. There is no God to frown on
the temples of sin where / worship. The
skies are Italian. The paths | tread are
through meadows daisied and primrosed.
Come with me-
Hesitation Is Ruin.
The young man hesitated at a time
when hesitation was ruin, and the bad
angel smote the good angel until it de-
parted, spreading wings through the star
light, upward and away, until a door
swung open in the sky, and forever the
wings vanished. That was the turning
point in that young mans history, for,
the good angel flown, he hesitated no
longer, but started on G pathway which
is beautiful at the opening, but blasted at
the last. The bad angel led tie way
through gate after gate, and at each gate
the road became rougher and the sky
more lurid, and, what was peculiar, as
the gate slammed shut it came to with q
jar that indicated it would never open.
Past each portal there were a grinding of
locks and a showing of the bolts, and the
scenery on each side the road changed
from gardens to deserts, and the June air
became a cutting December blast, and
the bright wings of the bad angel turned
10 saChciOlu, anu the lOuuldluS tudl aC
the start had tossed with wine poured
forth bubbling tears of foaming blood,
and on the right side of the road there
was a serpent, and the man said to the
bad angel, What is that s~erpent?" And
the answer was, ''That is the serpent of
singing remorse." On the left side Of
the road there was q lion. and the man
asked the bad angel, What is that lion?"
The answer was, THAT is the lion of all
devouring despair" A vulture flew
through the sky, and the man asked the
bad angel, What is that vulture?" The
answer was, THAT is the ~vulture waiting
for the carcasses of the slain"
And then the man said to the bad
angel: What does all this mean? 1
trusted in what you said at the street
corner; I trusted it all. Why nave you
thus deceived me?" Then the last decep-
ton fell off the charmer, and he said: Il
was sent from the pit to destroy your
soul. / watched my chance for many a
long year. When you hesitated that night
at the street corner, | gained my tri-
umph. Now you are here. Ha, ha! You
are herei Come, now, let US fill the
chalice and drink to darkness and woe
and death. Hail, hail."
Oh, young man, will the good angel
sent forth by Christ or the bad angel sent
forth by sin get the victory over your
soul? Their wings are interlocked this
moment above you, contending for your
soul, as above the Apennines eagle and
condor fight in midsky. This hour decides
eternal destinies.
copyright, 1901, Louis Klopsch, n. VI