Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-10-18

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 q
great multitude have been saved We
want a few hundred Christian men and
women to come down from the highest
circles of society TO toll amid these
wandering and destitute ones and kin
die up a light In the dark alley, even
the gladness OF heaven. Do not &c
wrapped In your 1Ie furs and from
your well filed tables with the idea
that pious talk Is going TO stop the
gnawing OF an empty stomach or tc
warm stockingless feet. Take bread
take raiment, take medicine. as well
as take prayer. There is q great deal
OF common sense in what the poor wo
man said to the city missionary when
be was telling her how she ought tC
love God and serve him. "Oh," she
said, "if you Were as poor and cold as
am and as hungry you could think OF
nothing else!'
Power Of a Helpful Word.
A great deal OF what is called Chris
tian work goes for nothing. for the sim.
pie reason 1t is not practical AS after
the battle Of Antietam a man got out
OF an ambulance with n bag of tracts
and he went distributing the tracts
aud George Stuart, one of the bes,
Christian men Ia this country, said to
him: What are you distributing tracts
for now? There are 5000 men bleed
lug to death. Bind up their wounds
and then 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. No such inapi
work as that done by the Christian
man who. during our civil war, went
Into hospital with tracts and. com
ing TO the bed Of man whose legs had
been amputated, gave him a tract or
the sin OF danclngl I rejoice before
God that never are sympathetic words
| uttered, never a prayer offered, never
Christian almsgiving INDUCED In but
1t is blessed. There is place in
Switzerland. 1 have been told, where
the utteraEce OF one word will bring
back score OF echoes, and l have to
tell you that a sympathetic word, q
kind word. generous word, a helpful
word, uttered In the dark places OF the
town will bring back 10000 echoes
from heaven. Are there In this as
,emblage those who know by expert
ence the tragedies I'm the third watch
of the night7 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 aud Of Gods compass
sion.
1 could give you the history In a
minute OF one Of the best friends 1
ever bod. Outside of my own family 1
never had a better friend. He well
comed me TO my home at the west. He
was OF splendid personal appearance,
but he had IN ardor OF soul and a
warmth OF affection that made me love
him like a brother. l saw men coming
out of the saloons and gambling hells,
and they surrounded my friend, and
they took him at the weak point-his
social n0ture-and l saw him going
down. and had n fair talk with him.
FOR l never yet saw man you could
rot talk with on the subject of his hab-
Its If you talked with him in the right
way. / said to him, "Why don't you
give up your bad habits and become q
Christian" remember now just how
be looked, leaning over his counter, as
lie replied: 81 wish could oh, sir, I
should like TO be a Christian, but l
have gone so far astray / can't get
backw SO the time went on. After
awhile the day of sickness came. /
was summoned TO his sickbed / has
tened. 1t took me but a very few mo-
lncnts TO get there. I was surprised
as I went in. saw him in his ordi-
nary dress, fully dressed, lying on top
OF the bed. l gave him my hand, and
he seized 1t convulsively and said: "Oh,
how glad ] nm TO see you. Sit down
there" 1 sat down, and he said: "Mr.
Talmage, just where you sit now my
mother sat last night She has been
dead twenty years. Now, don't want
you TO think am out Of my mind or
that l am superstitlous, but, sir, she
sat there last night, and she said.
Roswell, ! wish you would do better.
wish you would do better 1 said:
Mother, wish could do better. try
to do better, but l can't. Mother, you
used to help me; why can't you help
me nowr And, sir. L got out OF bed,
for IL was reality. and / went to her
and threw my arms around her neck.
and / said: Mother, / will do better.
but you must help. can't do this
alone" knelt and prayed. That
night his soul went to the Lord who
made it
A Tragedy In Five Acts.
Arrangements were made for the OBJ
seQuies- The question was raised
whether they should bring him to the
church. Somebody sold. "You cannot
bring such dissolute man as that into
the church" l said: "You will bring
him In church. He stood by me when
he was alive. and I will stand by him
when he is dead. Bring him" As I
stood In the pulpit and saw them car
rying the body up the aisle felt as IL
l could weep tears Of blood On one
side OF the pulpit sat his little child of
eight years. sweet, beautiful little
girl. that l had seen him hug convul-
sively In his better moments. He put
on her all jewels and gave her all pic
lures and toys. and then he would go
away. as IL bounded by an evil spirit,
TO his cups and the house Of iniQuity, a
fool to the correction OF the stocks. She
looked up wonderingly; she knew not
what 1t 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 NORWOOD into
the orphans cup; they were the men
who had bound him hand and foot. L
knew them. How did they seem to
feeiY Did they weep? No. Did they
say. what a pity that so generous a
man should be destroyedT No. Did
they sigh repentingly over what they
had done? No; they sat there. looking
as vultures look at the carcass of a
lamb whose heart they have ripped out.
So they sat and looked ut the coffin lid.
md Il told fhapa fha 4.ndO