Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-10-26

diary, and before morning there will
| he.a light in the sky and a cry oil
Fire, fre!" This is an assassin, and
| tomorrow morning there will be 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 foot feet to fly or pursue, they
| are ready. Many of these poor crea-
lures were brought up that way. They
were born in a thieves garret. Their
| childish toy was a burglars dark Ian
ten TIE first thing they remember
| was their mother bandaging the brow
of their father, struck by the police
| club. They began by robbing boys
pockets, and now they have come to
dig the underground passage to the
cellar of the bank and are preparing
| to blast the gold vault. Just so long
| as there are neglected children of the
street, just SO long We will have these
desperadces. Some one, wishing to
make a good Christian point and to
quote passage of Scripture, expecting
| to get a Scriptural passage in answer,
said to one of these poor lads, cast out
| and wretched, When your father and
mother forsake you, who will take you
up?" and the boy said, THE perlice,'
In the third watch of the night also
| drunkenness does it's worst The
| drinking will be respectable at 8
| O'Clock in the evening, a little flushed
at 9, talkative and garrulous at 10, at
IL blasphemous, at II the hat falls off,
fn11 IL,
for more drink. Strewn through the
drinking saloons of the city, fathers,
| husbands, sons as good as you are by
nature, perhaps better.
My friends, you see all around about
you the need that something radical be
done. You do not see the worst. In
| the midnight meetings in London a
great multitude have been saved We
want few hundred Christian men and
women to come down from the highest
circles of society to toll amid these
wandering and destitute ones and kim
| die up light in the dark alley, even
! the gladress of heaven. Do not go
| wrapped in your fine furs and from
| your we'll filed tables with the idea
that pious talk is going to stop the
| gnawing of an empty stomach or to
| warm stockingless feet. Take bread,
| take raiment, take medicine, as well as
/ take prayer. There is a great deal OF
| common sense in what the poor woman
| said to the city missionary when he
was telling her how she ought to love
| God and serve him. oh" she said, 'if
you were as poor and cold as 1 am and
| as hungry you could think of nothing
| else''
| great deal of what is called Chris
| tian work goes for nothing for the
simple reason that it was no. practical
as after the battle of Antietam man
| got out of an ambulance with bag OF
tracts, and he went distributing the
tracts, and George Stuart, one of the
| best Christian men in this country
said to him: What are you distribute
| ing tracts for now? There are three
thousand men bleeding to death Bint
up their wounds and them distribute
| the tracts We want more common
| sense in Christian work, taking the
bread of this life in one hand and the
bread of the next life in the Other
hand Nc such ipapt work as thai
| done by the Christian man who during
our civil war went to a hospital with
| tracts and, coming to the bed of man
whose legs had been amputateo, gave
| rejoice before God that never are sym
pathetic words uttered, never a prayer
| offered, never a Christian almsgivine
INDUCED in, but it is blessed. There is
place in Switzerland, L am told
| where the utterance of one word will
| bring back a score of echoes, and
have to tell you that a sympathetic
| word, kind word, generous word, 8
helpful word, uttered in the darH
| places of the town will bring back ter
| thousand echoes from heaven. Are
| there in this assemblage those who
| know by experience the tragedies in
the third watch of the night2 I am
not here to thrust you back with one
| hard word. Take the bandage from
| your bruised soul and put on it the
soothing salve of Christ's gospel and OF
Gods compassion. / tell you there is
| more delight in heaven over one mar
! that gets reformed by the grace of Goo
| than over ninety and nine that never
| got of tie track.