The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-30

awake, but when the thlrd Watcn o! Ine
night arrives, their eye keen, their BRAIN
cool, their arm strong. their. foot Heet 60
fly or pursue, they are ready. Many OF
that way. They were born in thieves
garret. Their childish toy was pur-
glars dark lantern. The first thing; they
remember was their mother bandagine
the brow of their father, struck by the
police club. They began, by robbing, BOYS.
pockets. and now they have come to olE
the underground passage to the cellar OF
the bank and are preparing to blast tne
gold vault. .L,
Just so long as there are neglected chill; Il;
dren of the street. just SO long we WI
have these desperadoes: Some one, WISH,
inc to make a good Christian point ana
to quote a passage of Scripture, expecting :
to get ScriDtural passage in answer, sala
wretched, "When your father and your
mother forsake you, who, then, will take
YOU ,lp?" And the boy said, 'The per-
lice!"
In the third watch of the night, gam
bl;no does its worst work. What though
the hours be slipping away and though the e
wife be waiting in the cheerless home
Stir up the fire; bring on more drinks; /;
nut up more stakes! That commercial
house that only little while ago put out
a sign of co-partnership will this winter
be wrecked on a gamblers table. There
will be many a money till that will spring
a leak. In the third watch of the night
pass down the streets of these cities: and
you hear the click of the dice and the
sharp, keen stroke of the balls on the
billiard table At these places mercnantT
princes dismount. and legislators, tired
of making laws. take a respite IN breaE,
ing them. All classes of people are robbed
BY this crime-,the importer OF foreign
silks and the dealer in Chatham street
pocket handkerchiefs. The clerks of the
store take hand after the shutters are
put up. and the officers of the court while
ay,av their time while the jury is out.
In the third watch of the night also
drunkenness does it's worst. The drink
inr will be respectable at O'Clock in the
evening, little flushed at 8. talkative and
earrulous at 10, at il biasphemous. at II
the hat falls off, at l the man falls to
the floor, asking sor more drink. StreWn
through the drinking saloons of the city,
fathers. husbands, sons as good as you are
bv nature, perhaps better. In the high
circles of societv it is hushed up. A mer'
chant prince, if he gets noisy and un'
controllab bic, is taken by his fellow rev
him home, where he falls fat in the
entry. Do not wake up the children.
I rejoice before God that never are
sympathetic words uttered, never PRAYER
offered, never a Christian almsgiving. in
dulged in but it is blessed. There IS a
place in Switzerland, I have been, told;
where the utterance. of one word will
bring back a score of echoes, and l have
to tell Won that a sympathetic word. a
kind word, a generous word, helpful
word. uttered in the dark places of the
town will bring back 10000 echoes from
heaven.
T could give you the history in minute
of one Of the best friends ever. had.
Outside of my own family I never had a
better friend. He welcomed me to my
home at the West. He was Of splendid
personal appearance, but he had an ardor
of soul and warmth of affection that
made me love him ike a brother, l saw
men coming out of the saloons and .gamh,-
ling hells, and they surrounded my. friend,
and they took him at the. weak pointt-his
social nature-and saw him going down.
never vet saw man YOU could not. talk
with on the subject of his habits If you
talked with him in the right way.
said to him. 'rWhy don't Won give up your
bad habits and become Christian" ]
remember now Just how he looked. leaning
over his counter, as he replied, "I wish
T could. Oh. sir. I should like to be a
Christian, but I have gone so far astray
I can't get back" So the time went on:
After awhile the dav of sickness came. !
was summoned to his sickbed. fastened.
It took me but a very few moments to
get there. I was surprised as | went in.
I saw him in his ordinary dress: fully
dressed. lying on top of the bed. gave
him my hand. and he seized it convnlsive.
ly and said: "Oh. how glad I am to see
he said: "Mr. Talmage, just where YOU
sit now my mother sat last night: She
has been dead twentv years. Now, don't
want you to think 1 am out of my mind
CT that I am superstitious. but, sir. she
sat there last night, and she said. 'Ros.
we'll, T wish you would do better. I wish
YOU would do better I said: Mother,
I wish I could do better. I try to do
better, but I can't. Mother, you used tc
help me; why can't YOU help me now%
And. sir, cot out of bed, for it was a
reality, and I went to her and threw my
arms around her neck, and said: Moth.
er, I will do better. but You must help
me. I can't do this alone I knelt
and prayed. That night his soul went
to the Lord who made it.
Arrangements were made for the obse.
ouies. The question was raised whether
Somebody said, "You cannot bring such
a dissoiute man, "a that into the church."
7 said: "You will bring him in church.
He stood bv me when he was alive, and ]
will stand hv him when he is dead. Bring
him." As stood in the pulpit and saw
them carrying the body up the aisle
felt as if I could weep tears OF blood. On
one side of the pulpit sat his little child
of eight years. a sweet, beautiful little
girl. that I had seen him hug convulsively
in his better moments. He put on her
all jewels and gave her all pictures and
toys, and then he would go away, as il
the house of iniqnity, a fool to the cor.
rection of the stocks. She looked up won.
teringly; she knew not what it all meant:
she was not old enough to understand
the sorrow of an orphan, On the other
side sat the men who ruined him. They
were the men who had poured the worm
wood into the orohan's cup; they were
the men who had bound him hand and
foot. I knew them. How did they seem
to feel? Did thev weep? No. Did they
say, 'What pity that so generous a
man should be destroyed?" No. Did they
sigh repentingly over what they had done?
No: they sat there. looking as vuitures
s,,ok at the carcass of lamb whose heart
they have ripped out. So they sat and
looked at the coffin lid, and I told them
the judgment of God upon those who
had destroyed their fellows. Did they
reform' ] was told they were in the
piaces Of iniuuity that night after nv
friend was laid in Oakwood cemetery, and
they b!asphemed and they drank. Oh,
how merciless men are. especially after
they have destroyed you Do not look
to men for comfort or help.
But there is a man who will not re-
form. He says. "I won't reform" Well,
then, how many acts are there in
tragedy? believe there are five acts in
tragedy.
Act the first Of the tragedy: A young