The Serpents In The Home Nest

The lato terrible " tronk " fcragedy, folOwed elosely by other tragcriies well nigh as terrible, liave startled alid shocked the natifrm Tliis titile the serpent lias thru.st lis hissing tongue into our very faces; mt there is a wholo brood like unto liim nestling still in dark ccnccalmcnts. Ino two ov tnreo dens oí' oarth tho dayight OÍ detection has streaineii ; bul they aro only specimens of a chiss inoro numrous thun wi: have dreamed of. Thoy are fresh proofs of the fact that, in our great citiis, tlici'tí csists tí distiilct olaás of " institutions," OTganized ior tlie purjose of extinguisliing human life. Tlioy ire"run"by u body of infamous creauros, whoso only trade is to murder. Whil(í wu ore Sending our nioney and our nissionaries to convert heatben womrn, vho are flinging their bubes into tlie üangos, we have among os scores of dt:ns o wíiieli our women go voluntaiily foi he mttfdflt oi' the unborn. So prosperous ai-e these aboition dens, that their propri turs oau buy farms and drive fino ciriageí. 8uch prosperity bespeaka largo satronage. Who are the patrons? It is in undüiiiable f;ict that muny of hem are andel th) solenin vows of w.ilock. Somo of these, having bi-oken the Seventh Commandnient, aro driven to bivak tho Sixth Commadment to conceal huir transgression. Tliey conimit murder to hide adultcry. But auothor and arger class are thoae who regard the sweotost bleasings of nredlook as a burden üiid d bañe. Instead of feeling that "ehilIren an; a heritage of the Lord," tho most innatural "monsters" regard them as a )lague ;ml íiuisanoo - a heavy tax on ;íib nüi.1 itrength and purse,a hindrance ,0 theif gayeties, or a hateful intriuhiupon their ease and seK-indulgeneei So, ;i.tli.ir than become mothers, the willing to become inurderers ! Nor is it jnly in thoso hidoous slaughter-houses where tho modern Hefods slay the innooenta that these deeds of darknesa are dono. This crime is perpetrated in dreds of private dwollings. Tho " medicines " uud " reliëfs " so widely and wiokcdly advertised, are sent for and nsed for :ho prevontion of inatcrnity. Medical art has devisod a dozeu " sure and oagy " methods for destroying the geruis of infant lito. That thoy are used to an extctiit almost iaoredible is ivell known by family physicians, who arecallcd upon to repipi' tho ravages of thoso vilo potions. For these methods aro not so " oasy," after all. Thuy cost mnny a woman a ruined constitution. They cost the power of alter propagation. They sometimos cost the lite of the guilty wife who harOors this serpent in the home-nest. We lieard latoly of the death of a gay and boautiful wife in the pangs ot premature childbirth. The terrible secret came out at last that her eonstitution had been utterly ruined by a half-dozen previous crimes of aborüon. ïhe broken luw of God found her out üt last. Every v.-onian who prácticos any method to destroy au vmborn life does it at the peril of her own. The serpent stings the breast that harbors it. That secret crimes for the pre venti o. i of offepring are fearfully piwulent. and on the incivasc is an un.loubted tact. One proof is found in the relativo dsorease of the size of families. A fine, bouniinii progeny is often spoken of ag an " oldfashioned fainily" - i. e., such a tamil v as was oomiDOn before tho discovery of the '■ sure and ea y " arts of fix'ticide. Othera still are furnished by the family physicians. Is it not time that this dangeroas and diftbolioal crime was stopped ï Hhould not cvery pulpit thunder agaiust it 't Should nut physicians be plain and emphaüo in their warninga to the wedded pain wlioiu they may suspect of these secret sins 'i They aro not so secret as their porpetratora imagine. Murder will out! But it is not alone among the married that the dons of ohild mordet or the arts of abortion find their patrons. Thousanda of tin: umaarried, who have sinned agaiust God'g lawd of chastity, fles to these aooursed arta to hide their shame. The poor Paterson gh-1, who was stung to death by this serpent, was one of an increasing irmy of victims. Let us not stop with results, but go back to causes. Why is tho sin of liwntiouaneBS (in all its phasea) gprowing w rapidly? One oauM is the growth of a licentious literatufe. The unclean "frogs" are creeping up intotho " knaadimt troughs." The news stands and the newa rooms are stackcd up with piotorial journals that are cnough to inake a harlot blush. Ono of these tilthy slirrts is said to surpast. Harptr't Weetíy in extent of publication. And every sucii locherous paper that enters a family hoconi'-s a serpent in the nest. But the filthy journals do not stand alone. Some of tho fictitious literature that is read by tho rich and the culturcd is fairly rottod. through with immorality. I have seon scores of welldresscd pooplo in oars and and cabina who had in their hands a popular and poisonous book called " Tho Terrible Temptation." I only know of its contenta by a credible report ; but I shouM. think the volume was a tembló temptation to lash, somndly its author and its puulishers. Passion-oxciting books have pioneered more than one seduction. It is said that tho only books found in brothrels are novéis. A seeond souroS of dcmcralization haa boen the attractivo indoconcies of an indecent stage. Thousands of men and women havo gone togethor (are we 8ure there wore no church members among them i) to gazo on these lewd oxhibitions. Une thing these patrons of the licentious play-houso ought to know, and that is that in Gtod'a sight those in front of the stage aro j ust as guilty as tho half-nudo croatutvs wlio are on tho stage. Who can teil how ofton an evening at the theater lias pavod the way to such dens of death as llosenzweig's or Beetell'g 9 A third root of licentiousnoss is foxind in tho prevailing passion for display. The history of prostitution has proved how oftcn infatuatod women have bcea ready to (lefile thoir souls in order to decórate thoir bodies. A good man in Chicago, who took tho troublo latcly to answer some of the " Personal " advertisements, discovered that several of the fomale authors of them were intent on selling their honor to buy dresses ! Satan baits his hook for men with dollars, and tur women with dresses. A fourth source of sexual immorality is the growing rage for social dissipations. Theso weaken the conscience, inflame tho pas&iousi and sensualize tho vefy soul. Tho ball room, -rith its indelicate dress, and its promiscuous caresses, and its wine suppers, leads the giddy young man and maiden to tbe verge ! The next step is - over the pricipiee. And young poople ought to know that it tiikes but one step to go down Niágara ! The poor, pitiable girls whoso names havo lately been dragged before a horror-stricken public, teek bat that single step. Whcn and how they did it is known now only to 1 lim into whoso proserice their sad and fatal sins have suiumoncd thom. We aro tompted to add still other fruitful causes ot the sins against chastity that torminato in dilgiaoe (ffld solf-destruction. But wo have said enough to waru those who are most in daiigor. Wo have written tht;se plain wordsmainly for the eyos and conscinnces of paronts. Blessed be that housohold that has no serpoiits in the nest. " Blessed are tho pure in heart ; for they shall seo God." Xhis wholo subject is one of infinite moment to OUT wholo pooplo ; for no nation has yet survived wide spread nnchastity.