The Penn's Grove record., 1901-10-18
DIR, TALMAGES R NJ
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.


For the Unwary in the Great oi',eS
The Third Watch of the Night .
Drama in Five Acts.
tcopyright, Goyi.l
WASHINGTON, D. Gin this discourse
DIR. Talmage describes some of the scenes
to be witnessed late at night in the great
cities and warns the unwary OF many
p%erils; text, Isaiah xxi, II, "Watchman'
what of the night?'
When night came down on Babylon;
Nineveh and Jerusalem. they needed
careful watching. otherwise the lnceh,
diary's torch might have been thrust INTO
the very heart of the metropolitan spien-
dor, or enemies. marching from the hllIs,
might have forced the gates. All night
long, on ton of the wall and in front OF
The gates, might be heard the measured
step Of the Waterman on his solitary beat;
silence hung i'll air, save as some passert
by raised the question, "Watehman' what
Of the night"
It is to me a deeply suggestive and sol,
ann thing to see a man standing guard
by night. 1t thrilled through me as at
the gate of an arsenal in Charleston the
1~uesfion once smote me. "Nho comes
there?' followed by the sharp command;
advance and give the. corntersign.
Every moral teacher stands on picket or
patrols the wall as Waterman. His work
Is TO EOuDU lit dItIl IL dhtlb
in the first watch, in the second wate1'
in the third watch or ii the fourth W Itch
to be v~igilant until the daybreak filings its
morning %elories" of blooming cloud
across the trellis of the sky.
The a~ncients divided their night into
four parasitic first watch from q to y,
the second from Q to T.. the third from
II to 8 and the fourth from 3 to 6; l
speak now of the city in the third watch
or from II to 3 o'clock. go.
l never weary of looking upon the life
of the city in the first watch. That is the
hour when the stores are closing. Inc
aboring men. having quilted the scat
folding and the shop, are on their way
home. 1t r%ejoiees me to give them my,
seat in the city car. They have stood
and hammered away all day. Their feet
tug of work. They are mostly ,cheerfnl.
With appetites sharpened on the swift
turner's wheel and the carpenters whet-
stone they seek the evening meal. Inc
clerks, too, have broken AVA from the
counter and with brain weary of the long
line of figures, and the whims OF those
who 90 a-shopping seek the face OF moth
er or wife and child. The streets are
throneed with young men setting out
from the great centres of bargain max
ing. Let idlers clear the street and give
right of way to the hesweated artisans
and merchants! They have earned their
bread and are now on their way home
to get it. The lights in full jet hang
over 10000 evening repasts-the parents
at either end of the table, the children
between. Thank God, "who setteth the
solitary in families!" ,
A few hours later and all the places of
amusement, good and bad, are in full tide;
Lovers Of art, catalogue in hand. stroll
through the galleries and discuss the pic
lures. The ballroom is respondent with
the rich apparel of those who on either
side OF the white, glistening boards await
the signal from the orchestra. Concert
halls ace lifted into %enchantment with
the MARBLE of one songstress or swept out
on a sea Of tumultuous feeling by the
blast of brazen instruments. Drawing
rooms are filed with all eraeefulness OF
apparel. with all sweetness of sound,
with all splendor of manne Mirrors are
catching up and multiplying the scene I'M
til it seems as if in infinite corridors
there were g%arlanded troops advancing
and retreating. The outdoor air rings
with laughter and with the moving to
and fro of thousands IN the great prom
enades. The dashing span, adrip with
the foam of the long country ride, PUSHES
past as you halt at the curbstone. MIirth
revelry, beauty, fashion, magnifcence,
minale in the great metropolitan picture
until the thinking nan goes home to
think more seriously and the praying
and Overwhelming thing is the city in
the first and second watches of the night.
But the clock strikes p. and the third
watch has begun. The thunder of the
city has rolled out of the air. The slight
est sounds cut the night with such dis
tinctness as to attract your attention.
The tinkling Of the bell of the street car
=. A. 1s.tana - ~ ln,,,, or +1n lAr
The stamp of a horse in the next street,
The slamming of a saloon door. The hic,
cough of the drunkard. The shrieks OF
the steam whistle five miles away. Oh,
how suggestive. my friends, the third
watch OF the night!
What a s~tupendous thought-a whole
city at restl Weary arm preparing for
to.morrow's toll. Hot brain being cooled
off. Rigid muscles relaxed. Excited
o~ctogenarian in thin drifts across the
pillow, fresh fall of flakes on snow al
ready fallen. Childhood, with its dim.
pied hands thrown out OF the pillow and
with every breath taking in a new store
of fun and frolic. Third watch of the
night! Gods slumberless eve will look.
Let one great wave of refreshing slumber
merging care and anxiety and worriment
and pain. Let the city sleep.
But, my friends, be not deceived. There
will be tonight thousands who will not
sleep at all. Go up that dark alley, and
be cautious where you tread lest you fall
over the PROSTATE form of a drunkard
lying on his own doorstep. Look about
through the broken window pane and
see what you can see. You say, Moth,
ing" Then listen. What is it? Good
help us!' No footlights, but tragedy
ghastlier and mightier than Ristori or
Edwin Booth ever enacted. No light,
no fire, no bread, no hope, Shivering in
the cold, they have had no food for TWEEN
beg?" They do. but they get nothing.
You say, "NNhy don't they deliver them
selves over to the almshouseF' All, you
would not ask that if you ever heard the
bitter cry of a man or a child when told
he must go to the almshouse. "Oh," YOU
say, they are vicious poor, and therefore
they do not deserve our sympathy Are
they vicious? So much more need they
your pity. The Christian poor. God helps
them.
Pass on through the alley. Open the
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 1t back.
Go in. Strike a match, Now look. Beast
illness and rags. See those glaring eve
balls. 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 tho dark
ness and out from the straw in the corner,
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
baptism. This little one never smiled. 1t
never will smile. A flower flung on an
awfully barren beach. o Heavenly Shep-
herd, fold that little one in Thy armsl
Wrap around you your shawl OF your coat
tighter, for the cold wind sweeps through.
Strike another match, All, is it posi-
bic that the SCARED and bruised face Of
that young woman ever was looked into
by maternal tenderness? Utter no seorn
Utter no harsh word. No ray of hope
has dawned on that 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. Ii would be
a mockery to kindle another light in such