The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-10-15

A0o LIZ D1OACA NlA4o pau
and see what you can see. You say,
Nothing" Then listen. What liz it?
"God help u.s." No footlights, but trag-
edy ghastlier and mightier than Ristor. or
Edwin Booth ever enactes. No light, no
fire, no bread, no hope. Shivering in the
cold, they have had no food for twenty
four hours. You say, "Why don't they
beg!" They do, but they get nothing.
You say, why don't they deliver them
selves over to the almshouse?' All, you
would not ask that if you ever heard the
bitter cry Of a man or child when told he
must go to the almshouse, "Oh," you
say, they are vicious poor, and there
fore they do not deserve our sympathy"
Are they vicious? So much more need they
your pity. The Christian poor, God helps
them. Through their night there twin
kles the round, merry star OF hope and
through the broker window they see the
crystals OF heaven, but the vicious poor,
they are more to be pitied. Their last
light has gone out. You excuse yourself
from helping them by saying they are so
bad they brought this trouble on them
selves. 1 reply, Where 1 give ten pray
ers for the innocent who are suffering I
will give twenty for the guilty who are
suffering.
AHC opch DooE
Pass on through the alley. Open the
door. oh" you say, cit is locked" No,
it is not locked. 1t has never been locked.
No burglar would be tempted to go in
there to steal anything. The door is never
locked. Only a broken chair stands
against the door. Shove it back. Go in.
Strike a match. Now, look. Beastliness
and rags. See those glazing eyeballs.
Be careful now what you say. Do not
utter any insult, do not utter any sus-
picion, if you value your life. What is
that red mark on the wall? 1t is the
mark of a murderer's hand! Look at
those two eyes rising up out of the dark
ness and out from the straw in the cor
ner, coming toward you, and as they come
near you your light goes out. Strike an
other match. All, this is a babe, not like
those beautiful children presented in bap-
tism. This little one never smiled; it never
will smile. y flower flung on an awful
ly barren beach. o Heavenly Shepherd,
fold that little one in thy armsi Wrap
around you your shawl or your coat tight
er, for the cold wind sweeps through.
Strike another match. All, is it posi-
BILE that the SCARED and bruised face of
that young woman was ever locke into
by maternal tenderness? Utter no scorn.
Utter no harsh word. No ray of hope
has dawned on hat brow for many a
year. No ray of hope ever will dawn on
that brow. But the light has gone out. Do
not strike another light. 1t would be q
mockery to kindle another light in such a
place as that. Pass out and pass down
the street. Our cities are full Of such
homes, and the worst time the third
watch of the night.
Do you know it is in this third watch
of the night that criminals do their worst
work? 1t is the criminals watch. At
half past s o'clock you will find them in
the drinking saloon, but toward u o'clock
they go to their garrets, they get out their
tools, then they start on the street.
Watching on either side for the police,
they go to their work of darkness. This
is a burglar, and the false key will soon
touch the store lock. This is an incen-
diary, and before morning there will be a
light On the sky am 4 cry of Fire, fire."
This is an assassin, and tomorrow morn
ing there will be a dead body in one OF
the vacant lots. During the daytime
these villains in our cities lounge about,
some asleep and some awake, but when
the third watch of the night arrives their
eye is keen, their brain cool, their arm
strong, their foet fleet to fly or pursue,
they are ready. Many of these poor
creatures were brought up that way.
They were born in a thieves potret.
Their childish toy was a burglar dark
lanterll The first thing they remember
was their mother bandaging the brow of
their rather, struck by the police club.
They began by robbing boys pockets, and
now they have come to dig the under
ground passage to the cellar of the bank
and are preparing to blast the gold vault.
Just SO long as there are neglected chill
dren of the street, just so long we will
have these desperadoes. Some one, wish
ing to make a good Christian point and
to quote a passage of Scripture, expecting
to get a Scriptural passage in answer,
said to one of these poor lads, cast out
and w%retched, when your father and
mother forsake you, who will take you
up?" and the boy said, The perlice"
Hour of Great Temptation.
In the third watch of the night gam
bling does it's worst work. What though
the hours be slipping away and though
the wife be waiting in the cherries
home? Stir up the fire. Bring on more
drinks. Put up more stakes. That com
mercial house that only a little while ago
put out a sign Of copattnership 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 will hear the click of the dice
and the sharp, keen stroke of the balls
on the billiard table. At these places
merchant princes dismount and legisla-
tors, tired of making laws, take a respite
in breaking 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 a hand after the shut
tiers are put up, and the officers of the
court while away their time while the
jury is out.
In Baden-Baden, when that city was
the greatest of all gambling places on
earth. 1t was no unusual thing the next
morning, in the woods around about the
city, to find the suspended bodies of sui
cides. Whatever be the splendor Of sur
roundings, there is no excuse for this
crime Tho fhundorS IF afarDal IaSfrua-