The Washington times., 1901-10-28
SLAVERY OF EVIL HABITS.
A Stirring Temperance Sermon De-
Iivered by DR.. Talmage.

A Discourse Delivered to Meeting at
the Columbia Theatre Under the
Auspices of the Y. VI. {. A.-Urges
Reform Upon Younger Men.
Seldom before in the history of the Co
I mmbia Theatre have SO many people
/ gathered there as were present yesterday
afternoon when the Rev. T De Witt Tai
mage. the renowned Presbyterian divine
delivered an eloquent address upon the
subject of temperance and personal purity
at meeting held under the auspices of
I the Young Mems Christian Association of
Washington. The immense audience, COM
posed entirely of men, filed every seat
! in the PLAYHOUSE while rows of listeners,
/ five deep stood patiently in the aisles. and
/ in the corridors at the rear of the tiers.
/ throughout the service. DR.. Talmage
| spoke earnestly Of the curse arising from
! lintemperance. and urged upon those pres
! ont the necessity of throwing of the
yoke of this sin, borne about the necks
of so many slaves Of habit.
The meeting was the most largely at
tended Of those which are being conduct
( ed each Sunday afternoon at the Column
I bla Theatre. and was particularly note
worthy from the character Of the audi
!
siderable attention in the Capital. While
younger men, the class which the asso-
citation is most anxious to meet, predom-
mated. there were many grey heads in
the audience. testifying to the general in
terest in the meetings, from which so
much good is anticipated \ large num-
Der Of men were unable to gain admit
tance a few minutes after O'clock and
hundreds were turned away.
L. L. Pierce, General Secretary Of the
Young Mems Christian Association. pre-
sided at the meeting, which was opened
by d song service, lead by f. o. Sellers
and the Association orchestra. The Rev.
Thomas Chalmers Easton, pastor of the
Eastern Presbyterian Church. offered the
invocation.
DR. Talmage was then introduced. He
pointed out the danger in the delay of
the man who is going onward along the
paths of sin, and he called upon all pres
ent to desist from their evil ways imme-
diately. urging that it is much easier 10
break bad habit when young than after
age has come.
The fallen soul may be lifted up said
DIR. Talmage. although the struggle is
a mighty one and cannot be accomplished
without the divine benedictiOn Of Al
mighty God. The soul may be lifted up
through the gospel of Jesus Christ, while
the force of moral gravitation is at work
strongly in the opposite direction. The
man who says that he can stop habit
speaks of that of which he is ignorant.
The man who says that it is easy for him
to give up evil associates and practices
has never tried. The man who has, ear
nestly and in the fun endeavor of
man anxious to do better. made this at
tempt, knows the difficulties which be-
set his pathway.
Don't hesitate. young man, but make
up your mind TO do right at once; now.
For in this is the only road to safety, de-
cisiveness. l knew man once who
smoked tobacco. He was an inveterate
user of the narcotic, and was one of those
who felt sure he could stop when he
wanted to He was taken i'll, and the
physician told him that he could become
well if he would give up cigars for three
months. oh, that's easy" said the man,
that viii not be hard for me to do.
He stopped. and Immediately the man
who had been a cheerful and lovable
companion grew cross and disagreeable.
Children ran from him in the street, for
his face showed the state Of his mind. He
Immediately began TO think that his
friends had forsaken him: he felt sure
future looked dark. Then he continued
to grow worse. He moped. He grew more
disagreeable. Nobody suited him he stood
it as long as he could; then he said TO
himself. oh, the doctor hasn't diagnosed
my case correctly; he's all wrong. III
smoke again.
He took to his cjgars again. he he
came cheerful, and the happy father his
children had known They were no longer
afraid His face was bright. the sun
seemed to shine more brightly, his friends
fiocked around him. What made the
azure Of the heavens seem more blue;
" hat made the grass more green, and the
sun TO shine more brightly He had re-
sumed tobacco He was slave. and he
couldn't get away.
.-Thc struggle is not an easy one. 1t
is a hand-t0-hand conflict with merciless
habit and there are many obstacles in
the way. 4 poor man sees a professed
Christian on the street, and he thinks
he'll 90 up and speak to him, and per
haps be bettered. The profCssed Chris
tian looks down upon the man, sees that
his clothes are shabby, and hands him the
tip ends of the long fingers OF the left
hand. 1t is just the same as striking
man in the face. We want more hearty
clasps of the hand In this world Who
is il who has not. at least once in his
life, felt the blood leap through his veins
at strong handclasp2 The man who
has. remembers il throughout eternity.
] is a thing which cannot be forgotten.
There are those who talk about hard
ships in going to church, saying that the
nearest church Is three miles away. l
want to tell you that there are people in
this city who live one thousand miles
away from the nearest church. Christ
sat with the publicans and sinners But
there are not many people nowadays who
want to go to Heaven in a croWd-the
vulgar crowd. They want to go to
heaven in a palace car, all cushioned,
and they don't fancy the society unless
il is exclusive.
MY friends, It is not that we are bet
ter than others by nature. but by the
grace of God. / want tc tell you today
how Hannibal may scale the Alps. how
Throw yourself upon God. You needn't
make a long prayer; Just a short one
will do. And you needn't say anything;
lust wish for strength. The long prayers,
fuIl Of Abs" and Obs" and 'Amens"
are not always the best.
The great thing to do to lead better
life Is to get out Of evil associations.
How many men does ii take 10 destroy
"a MANI Ten Five2 oh, no, il takes
stance when a man reformed and was
able 10 keep one evil associate without
falling back Gather up your energies
for one mighty resolution, walk upright
Is. and try TO lead pure, clean, whole
some lives
An earnest prayer vas delivered by
Henry T.. f. Macfarland. President of
the Board Of Commissioners, after which
the benodiction was pronounced. short
meeting for the benefit of those desiring
to lead better lives was held after the
main service. and several converts were
made by the earnest workers nf the
Young Mems Christian Association.
REDEEMED FROM EDEN'S SIN.