The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-06-16
TRAPS IN THE PATH
Rev. DR.. Talmage Warns Busi-
ness Men Against Dangers.
fndiscriminRte Recommendations
Hesh Indorsenent of Notes
Entrsp Many Would lie
Honest Men.

U
many dangers in business and morals
OF reckless Endorsement and the evils
Of indlscriminate recommendation
The text is Proverbs vi. ., Thou art
SHARED with the words Of thy mouth
There are many ways OF killing game
The one is to 20 after it with gun, ar
row or spear; TO slay il, as "Scotty'
McDOugall slew Krag. the Kootenay
ram of Mountain Sheep range; or to
lie in wait for it, as did Roualeyn
George Gordon Cumming the mighty
"liOn hunter In African jungle: or TO
relentlessly follow it through American
| forests, as did Pathfinder i'm the old
Leather Stocking Tales or TO course
for IL. ss the old English sportsman
with hounds used 10 chase the foxes
over the Lancashire flats: or TO pursue
il with hawks. as the knights of old i'm
| falconry would hunt the birds Of the
mir As the eyes of the jungle mon
archs or the kings Of the air look into
the fearless and unhinching eyes Of
man, the hunter knows that an I'M
steady hand or a bullet miscarrying
its mark one inch may mean his own
death. Then the elves Of the hunted
might become the Elves Of the hunt
ers"
Mighty must be the eXhilaration Of a
brave man when killing big game. Al
most intoxicated with excitement must
be- that modern Esau. Chanler who, in
the solitude Of an African forest hun
dreds Of miles inland, hears the wild
roar Of man eating monster coming
nearer and nearer TO the deer licks.
Lying there, he knows that If he can
only slay yOnder mountain Of muscle
lie will save scores and perhaps hun
dreds Of human lives. for a man eating
lion or tiger has been known to live
for years upon human flesh So fear
ful do the natives become Of such hu-
man destroyers that they have depopu-
lated whole villages and towns. fleeing
from their ravages.
Next to the actual experience Of per
sonally hunting the wild beasts OF the
forest is the fascination Of reading
about the marvellous deeds Of the
stortsmen who destroy them. Hunting
such animals single handed ana alone
always has had and always Will have
an attraction for brave men. The
hunters life is a dramatic and an ex-
citing one. But there is a more ef-
fectual means Of depopulating the for
ests Of their game than the gun, the
arrow or the spear. The trapper's work
has always been more fatal to game
than the aimed rifle Of a Kit Carson.
Where a modern American Nimrod has
been able to shoot one mountain lion
in a night the trapper OF the Hudson
Bay Fur company was able to come
into camp staggering under the pelts
of ten, twenty, fifty wild beasts killed
IN the same night. Yes, the trapper's
work is the most widespread and dan
gerous and deadly 10 the wild beasts
Of a forest. As the Rocky mountain
bear might put his great shaggy paw
into a merciless trap, whose iron jaws
snap shut and whose teeth probe their
way through his flesh to the bone, this
Bible scene Of my text describes the
predlcament OF the indorser who fool
ishly becomes the guarantor Of a friends
or an acquaintances honor As old
bruin tugs and pulls to get his leg loose
and keeps on tugging and pulling until
at last he pulls on his leg or I'm des
peration eats ii of to get free and then
goes hobbling away TO his den, so
King Solomon describes the somewhat
similar predlcament Of the unfortunate
man who has become a surety for his
friend. "My son." said he, III thou
be a security for thy friend,
thou art shared with the words Of thy
mouth, thou art taken with the words
Of thy mouth" 1t is manning or de-
struction by an unseen trap. The in
dorser's dangers are great. 1 preach
this sermon to warn my hearers and
readers against these ensnarements
which are set for many Of us. And
when warn you against the indOrser's
peris / also warn you against the sins
Of an unjust recommendation Of in
competent friends or mere acquaint-
ances for positions which you do not
positively know they are able TO hll.
These two evils come in the same cate
CORY.
Why is the indorser's predicament
like that OF wild beast caught in
trapG First, because be is enticed into
its dangers unawares. He does not
seek them out Of a silly curiosity or
from mere idle desire, like the ante
lopes that come nearer and nearer TO
the white flag waved by the hunters
lying hidden in the grass. He does not
charge them, as q wounded stag might
turn upon the hounds or an angry
boar. caring not what happens. might
rush against the fatal spear held out
for his destruction. But the indorser
goes into his trap as unsuspectingly
and innocently as the wild turkeys are
caught. The trappers build a cage
with a small opening. Then they scat
ter corn along the path leading TO the
cage. and the wild turkeys, with their
heads down picking up the corn. walk
into the trap. and when they lift their
heads they cannot see the exit and are
easily slain. He goes into II and Is
captured as the mighty Bengal tiger is
caught IN cage. The agile beast |
makes one spring upon the bleating
sheep tied to the stake I'm the middle !
Of the cage. and Immediately the trap !
door slams shut So the indorsers are |
caught aud are Ike the victims that |
jeremiah describes as good men being /
sntanged unawares In the meshes Of /
sin For among my people are found |
wicked men, They lay wait, as he /
that setteth snares. They set a trap |
They catch M ~"
lndorSers a,t innocently caught in /
trap Howy The merchant is sitting /
/.