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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler, by 
+Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler
+       His Life and Work
+
+Author: Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+Commentator: Rev. Sam P. Jones
+
+Release Date: October 30, 2011 [EBook #37883]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STEVE P. HOLCOMBE, THE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Garcia, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Kentuckiana Digital Library)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Steve P. Holcombe.]
+
+
+
+
+  STEVE P. HOLCOMBE,
+
+  THE CONVERTED GAMBLER:
+
+  HIS LIFE AND WORK.
+
+  BY REV. GROSS ALEXANDER.
+
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY
+
+  _REV. SAM P. JONES._
+
+
+  LOUISVILLE:
+
+  PRESS OF THE COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING COMPANY.
+
+  1888.
+
+
+   COPYRIGHTED, 1888.
+
+
+  TO
+
+  Mrs. S. P. Holcombe,
+
+  THE PATIENT WIFE,
+
+  THE FAITHFUL MOTHER,
+
+  THE FRIEND OF PUBLICANS AND SINNERS,
+
+  THIS ACCOUNT OF
+
+  THE LIFE AND WORK OF HER HUSBAND
+
+  IS DEDICATED.
+
+
+
+
+  TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY SAM. P. JONES
+  LETTER FROM DR. J. A. BROADUS
+  LIFE AND WORK OF STEVE P. HOLCOMBE--
+    CHAPTER I
+    CHAPTER II
+    CHAPTER III
+    CHAPTER IV
+    CHAPTER V
+    CHAPTER VI
+  LETTERS TESTIMONIALS OF CONVERTS
+  SERMONS
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+It has been thought and suggested by some of those having knowledge of
+Mr. Holcombe's history, that an account of his life and work in
+book-form would multiply his usefulness and do good. And since the
+narration of his experiences by himself has been of such great benefit
+to those who have been privileged to hear him, why may not others also
+be benefited by reading some account of his uncommon career?
+
+It is hoped that it will be of interest to the general reader as a
+revelation and record of the workings and struggles of some human hearts
+and the wretchedness and blessedness of some human lives. It is a sort
+of luxury to read about and sympathize with wretchedness, as it is a joy
+to see that wretchedness turned to blessedness. It will show to those
+who are unwillingly the slaves of sin what God has done for such as
+they. It will possibly interest and encourage those who are engaged in
+Christian work. It may furnish suggestions as to practical methods to be
+pursued in working among poor and needy classes, whether in towns or
+cities. Even ministers of the Gospel may find encouragement and
+instruction in the experience of Mr. Holcombe's life and the methods and
+successes of his work.
+
+What few letters of Mr. Holcombe's could be found are put in as showing
+phases of this interesting character that could be shown as well no
+other way, and some letters written _to_ him are selected out of
+several hundred of like character to show how he touches all classes of
+people.
+
+The "Testimonies" are from men who have been rescued under Mr.
+Holcombe's ministry, and will give some idea of the work that is being
+done. These are only a few of the men who have been brought to a better
+and happier life through Mr. Holcombe's efforts. If any should feel that
+there is a sameness in these testimonies, which it is believed very few
+will do, perhaps others will feel the cumulative effect of line upon
+line, example upon example.
+
+The sermons or addresses are inserted because they have been the means
+of awakening and guiding many to salvation, and they may be of interest
+and possibly of benefit to some who have not heard Mr. Holcombe. They
+contain much of the history of his inner life in statements of
+experience introduced by way of illustration. They are given in outline
+only, as will be seen.
+
+The book lays no claim to literary excellence. The position and work of
+the man make his life worth writing and reading apart from the style of
+the book.
+
+The accounts here given of Mr. Holcombe's character and work are not
+written for the purpose of glorifying him. Many of these pages are
+profoundly painful and humiliating to him. But they are written that
+those who read them may know from what depths he has been brought, and
+to what blessedness he has been raised, through Jesus Christ, to whose
+name the glory is given and to whose blessing the book is commended.
+
+     AUGUST, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+BY REV. SAM P. JONES.
+
+
+The author of this volume, the Rev. Gross Alexander, Professor of
+Theology in Vanderbilt University, was surely the man to give to the
+world the Life of Steve Holcombe. The warm heart and clear head of the
+author, and the consecrated, self-denying life of the subject of the
+volume, assure the reader ample compensation for the time given to the
+book.
+
+Mr. Alexander has known Brother Holcombe from the beginning of his
+Christian life, and tells the story of his fidelity to Christ and
+loyalty to duty as no other could.
+
+I first met Brother Holcombe at Louisville, in the year 1882, when I was
+preaching in the church of his pastor, Rev. J. C. Morris. It was from
+Brother Morris that I learned of this consecrated layman. He often told
+me with joy of many incidents connected with the conversion and work of
+Brother Holcombe. My acquaintance with him soon grew into a warm
+friendship. It has always been an inspiration to me to talk with him,
+and a source of gratitude to me to know that I have his affection and
+prayers.
+
+The work he is doing now in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, is very
+much like Jerry Macauley's work in New York City years ago. No man has
+experienced more vividly the power of Christ to save, and no man has a
+stronger faith in Christ's ability to save. Brother Holcombe's humility
+and fidelity have made him a power in the work of rescuing the
+perishing and saving the fallen. I have been charmed by the purity of
+soul manifested by him on all occasions, and his continual efforts to
+bring back those who have been overtaken in a fault. Hundreds of men who
+have felt his sympathizing arms about them and listened to his brotherly
+words have grown strong, because they had a friend and brother in Steve
+Holcombe, who, in spite of their failures and faults, has clung to them
+with a love like that which Christ Himself manifested toward those who
+were as bruised reeds and smoking flax.
+
+Brother Holcombe, rescued himself by the loving hand of Christ, has
+extended the hand from a heart full of love for Christ and men, and has
+done his best to save all who have come under his influence.
+
+This volume will be especially instructive to those who are interested
+in the salvation of the non-churchgoers of the great cities. For surely
+Brother Holcombe's Mission is a place where the worst sinners hear of
+Christ's power to save, and where they see, in Brother Holcombe himself,
+with his rich experience, one of the greatest triumphs of the Gospel.
+
+I heartily commend this volume to all Christian people, because it tells
+of the life of a saved man. It tells also what a saved man can do for
+others, and it will inspire many hearts with sympathy for such work and
+prepare many hands to help in it. I heartily commend this book because
+it is the biography of one whom I love and whom all men would love, if
+they knew him in his devotion to God and duty. Brother Holcombe has
+frequently been with me in my meetings and in my private room; I have
+frequently been with him in his Mission, in his family circle, on the
+streets of the great cities, and he is one man of whom it may be said:
+"His conversation is in heaven." I frequently feel that my own life
+would have been more successful with such a fervent consecration to my
+work as Brother Steve Holcombe exemplifies.
+
+The sermons contained in this volume will be read with interest. They
+are his sermons. They come from his heart, and they have reached the
+hearts of hundreds and thousands who have heard him gladly.
+
+I bespeak for the book a circulation which will put it into the library
+of all pastors and into thousands of homes.
+
+     SAM P. JONES.
+
+     CARTERSVILLE, GA., October 18, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+
+I have read with very great interest the "Life of Steve Holcombe," and
+have carefully looked through the letters, testimonies and sermons to be
+included in the proposed volume, and I rejoice that it is to be
+published. Professor Alexander, who was Mr. Holcombe's first pastor, has
+written the life with the best use of his fine literary gifts, and with
+sound judgment and good taste. It is a wonderful story. I have long felt
+interest in Mr. Holcombe and his work, for after beginning his Mission
+he attended my seminary lessons in the New Testament through a session
+and more; but this record of his life warms my heart still more toward
+him and his remarkable labors of love. I think the book will be very
+widely read. It will stir Christians to more hopeful efforts to save the
+most wicked. It will encourage many a desperate wanderer to seek the
+grace of God in the Gospel. Such a book makes a real addition to the
+"evidences of Christianity." No one can read it without feeling that
+Christian piety is something real and powerful and delightful. Much may
+be learned from Mr. Holcombe's recorded methods and discourses, and from
+the testimonies of his converts, as to the best means of carrying on
+religious work of many kinds. The book will, doubtless, lead to the
+establishment of like Missions in other cities, and put new heart and
+hope into the pastors, missionaries and every class of Christian
+workers. It will show that zeal and love and faith must be supported by
+ample common sense and force of character, as in Mr. Holcombe's case,
+if great results are to hoped for. Many persons can be induced to read
+his brief outline sermons who would never look at more elaborate
+discourses. As to two or three slight touches of doctrinal statement,
+some of us might not agree with the speaker, but all must see that his
+sermons are very practical, pervaded by good sense and true feeling, and
+adapted to do much good.
+
+     JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., September 25, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE AND WORK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Steve P. Holcombe, known in former years as a gambler and doer of all
+evil, no less known in these latter days as a preacher of the Gospel and
+doer of all good, was born at Shippingsport, Kentucky, in 1835. The
+place, as well as the man, has an interesting history. An odd,
+straggling, tired, little old town, it looks as if it had been left
+behind and had long ago given up all hope of ever catching up. It is in
+this and other respects in striking contrast with its surroundings. The
+triangular island, upon which it is situated, lies lazily between the
+Ohio river, which flows like a torrent around two sides of it, and the
+Louisville canal, which stretches straight as an arrow along the third.
+On its northeast side it commands a view of the most picturesque part of
+La Belle Riviere. This part embraces the rapids, or "Falls," opposite
+the city of Louisville, which gets its surname of "Falls City" from this
+circumstance. In the midst of the rapids a lone, little island of bare
+rocks rises sheer out of the dashing waters to the height of several
+feet, and across the wide expanse, on the other side of the river, loom
+up the wooded banks of the Indiana side, indented with many a romantic
+cove, and sweeping around with a graceful curve, while the chimneys and
+towers and spires of Jeffersonville and New Albany rise in the
+distance, with the blue Indiana "Knobs" in the deep background beyond.
+From this same point on the island, and forming part of the same
+extensive view, one may see the two majestic bridges, each a mile in
+length, one of which spans the river directly over the Falls and
+connects the city of Louisville with Jeffersonville, Indiana, while the
+other joins the western portion of Louisville with the thriving city of
+New Albany. Across the canal from the island, on the south, lies the
+city of Louisville with its near 200,000 population, its broad avenues,
+its palatial buildings.
+
+In the very midst of all this profusion of beauty and all this hum and
+buzz and rush of commercial and social life, lies the dingy, sleepy old
+town of Shippingsport with its three hundred or four hundred people, all
+unheeded and unheeding, uncared for and uncaring. There are five or six
+fairly good houses, and all the rest are poor. There is a good brick
+school-house, built and kept up by the city of Louisville, of which,
+since 1842, Shippingsport is an incorporated part. There is one
+dilapidated, sad looking, little old brick church, which seldom suffers
+any sort of disturbance. On the northeast shore of the island directly
+over the rushing waters stands the picturesque old mill built by
+Tarascon in the early part of the century. It utilizes the fine
+water-power of the "Falls" in making the famous Louisville cement. Part
+of the inhabitants are employed as laborers in this mill, and part of
+them derive their support from fishing in the river, for which there are
+exceptional opportunities all the year around in the shallows, where
+the rushing waters dash, with eddying whirl, against the rocky shores of
+their island.
+
+There are, at this time, some excellent people in Shippingsport, who
+faithfully maintain spiritual life and good moral character amid
+surrounding apathy and immorality. "For except the Lord had left unto
+them a very small remnant, they should have been as Sodom, and they
+should have been like unto Gomorrah."
+
+And yet, Shippingsport was not always what it is now. Time was when it
+boasted the aristocracy of the Falls. "The house is still standing,"
+says a recent writer in Harper's Monthly Magazine, "where in the early
+part of the century the Frenchman, Tarascon, offered border hospitality
+to many distinguished guests, among whom were Aaron Burr and
+Blennerhasset, and General Wilkinson, then in command of the armies of
+the United States." He might have added that Shippingsport was once
+honored with a visit from LaFayette, and later also from President
+Jackson. But in other respects also Shippingsport was, in former years,
+far different from what it is to-day. In business importance it rivaled
+the city of Louisville itself. In that early day, before the building of
+the canal, steamboats could not, on account of the Falls, pass up the
+river except during high water, so that for about nine months in the
+year Shippingsport was the head of navigation. Naturally, it became a
+place of considerable commercial importance, as the shrewd Frenchman who
+first settled there saw it was bound to be. Very soon it attracted a
+population of some hundreds, and grew into a very busy little mart.
+"Every day," says one of the old citizens still living, "steamboats were
+landing with products and passengers from the South, or leaving with
+products and passengers from Kentucky and the upper country." The
+freight which was landed at Shippingsport was carried by wagons and
+drays to Louisville, Lexington and other places in Kentucky and Indiana.
+This same old citizen, Mr. Alex. Folwell, declares that he has seen as
+many as five hundred wagons in one day in and around the place. There
+were three large warehouses and several stores, and what seems hard to
+believe, land sold in some instances for $100 per foot.
+
+The canal was begun in 1824, the first spadeful of dirt being taken out
+by DeWitt Clinton, of New York. During the next six years from five
+hundred to a thousand men were employed on it. They were, as a general
+thing, a rough set. Sometimes, while steamboats were lying at the place,
+the unemployed hands would annoy the workmen on the canal so that
+gradually there grew up a feeling of enmity between the two classes
+which broke out occasionally in regular battles.
+
+In 1830, when the canal was finished, the days of Shippingsport's
+prosperity were numbered. Thenceforth steamboats, independent of
+obstructions in the river, passed on up through the canal, and
+Shippingsport found her occupation was gone. The better classes lost no
+time in removing to other places, and only the poorer and rougher
+classes remained. Many of the workmen who had been engaged in building
+the canal settled down there to live; unemployed and broken-down
+steamboatmen gravitated to the place where they always had such good
+times; shiftless and thriftless poor people from other places came
+flocking in as to a poor man's paradise. Within easy reach of
+Louisville, the place became a resort for the immoral young men, the
+gamblers and all the rough characters of that growing city.
+
+Such was the place to which Steve Holcombe's parents removed from
+Central Kentucky in 1835, the year of his birth; and, though coming into
+the midst of surroundings so full of moral perils, they did not bring
+that strength of moral character, that fixedness of moral habit and that
+steadfastness of moral purpose which were necessary to guard against the
+temptations of every sort which were awaiting them.
+
+The father, though an honest and well disposed sort of man and very kind
+to his family, was already a drunkard. His son says of him: "My poor
+father had gotten to be a confirmed drunkard before I was born, and
+after he had settled at Shippingsport, my mother would not let him stay
+about the house, so that most of his time was spent in lying around
+bar-rooms or out on the commons, where he usually slept all times of the
+year." It is not surprising that as a consequence of such dissipation
+and such exposure he died at the early age of thirty-three, when his son
+Steve was eleven years old. Dead, he sleeps in an unmarked grave on the
+commons where formerly he slept when drunk and shut out by his wife from
+his home.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe, the mother of Steve, a woman five feet ten inches in
+height and one hundred and ninety pounds in weight, was as strong in
+passion as in physical power. "When aroused," says her son, "she was as
+fierce as a tigress and fearless of God, man or devil, although she was
+a woman of quick sympathy and impulsive kindheartedness toward those who
+were in distress, and would go further to help such than almost any one
+I have ever known." She was a woman of more than ordinary mind, though
+entirely without education. In the government of her children she was
+extremely severe. "Though my father," says Mr. Holcombe, "never whipped
+me but once in my life, and that slightly, my mother has whipped me
+hundreds of times, I suppose, and with as great severity as frequency.
+She has, at times, almost beaten me to death. She would use a switch, a
+cane, a broom-stick or a club, whichever happened to be at hand when she
+became provoked. She whipped me oftener for going swimming than for
+anything else, I believe. If I told her a lie about it she would whip
+me, and if I told her the truth, she would whip me."
+
+From neglect and other causes little Steve was very sickly and puny in
+his babyhood, so that he did not walk till he was four years old; but
+from the beginning his temper was as violent as his body was weak, and
+from his earliest recollection, he says, he loved to fight. At the same
+time he had his mother's tenderheartedness for those who were in
+distress. Once a stranger stopped for a few days at the tavern in
+Shippingsport, and the roughs of the place caught him out on one
+occasion and beat him so severely that he was left for dead; but he
+crawled afterward into an old shed where little Holcombe, between five
+and six years old, found him and took him food every day for about two
+weeks.
+
+The boys with whom he associated in childhood were addicted to petty
+stealing, and he learned from them to practice the same. When about
+seven years old his mother, on account of their poverty, provided him
+with a supply of cakes, pies and fruits to peddle out on the steamers
+while they were detained in passing the locks of the canal. Instead of
+returning the money to his mother, however, he would often lose it in
+gambling with the bad boys of the place, and sometimes even with his
+half-brothers, so that he seldom got home with his money, but always got
+his beating.
+
+At eight years of age he played cards for money in bar-rooms with grown
+men. At ten he began to explore those parts of the river about the
+falls, in a skiff alone looking for articles of various kinds lost in
+wrecks, that he might get means for gambling. This, together with the
+fact that his hair was very light in color, gained for him the
+distinction of the "Little White-headed Pirate."
+
+In 1842 Shippingsport was taken into the city of Louisville, and a
+school was established, which he attended about three months during this
+period of his life, and he never attended school afterward. The
+brown-haired, black-eyed little girl who afterward became his wife,
+attended this school at the same time. Her parents had lately removed to
+Shippingsport from Jeffersonville, Indiana. They were people of
+excellent character and were so careful of their children that they
+would not allow them to associate with the children of Shippingsport any
+farther than was necessary and unavoidable. But, notwithstanding these
+restrictions, their little Mary saw just enough of Steve Holcombe in
+school to form a strange liking for him, as he did also for her--an
+attachment which has lasted through many and varying experiences up to
+the present. At that time he had grown to be "a heavy set little boy,"
+as Mrs. Holcombe describes him, and was "very good looking," indeed,
+"very handsome," as she goes on to say, "with his deep blue eyes and his
+golden hair." She did not know that she was in love with a boy who was
+to become one of the worst of men in all forms of wickedness, and as
+little did she know that she was in love with a boy who was to become
+one of the best of men in all forms of goodness and usefulness. Nor did
+he foresee that he was forming an attachment then and there for one who
+was to love him devotedly and serve him patiently through all phases of
+infidelity and wickedness, and through years of almost unexampled trials
+and sufferings, who was to cling to him amid numberless perils and
+scandals, who was to train and restrain his children so as to lead them
+in ways of purity and goodness in spite of the father's bad example, who
+was to endure for his sake forms of ill treatment that have killed many
+a woman, and who was in long distant years to be his most patient
+encourager and helper in a singularly blessed and successful work for
+God and the most abandoned and hopeless class of sinful men, and to
+develop, amid all and in spite of all and by means of all, one of the
+truest and strongest and most devoted of female characters. A singular
+thing it seems, indeed, that an attachment begun so early and tested so
+severely should have lasted so late. And yet it is perhaps at this
+moment stronger than ever it was before.
+
+[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF MR. HOLCOMBE. SHIPPINGSPORT.]
+
+Notwithstanding young Holcombe's lack of religious instruction and his
+extraordinary maturity in wickedness, he declares that at times he had,
+even before his tenth year, very serious thoughts. He says:
+
+"I always believed there was a God and that the Bible was from God, but
+for the most part my belief was very vague and took hold of nothing
+definite. Hence, nearly all my thoughts were evil, only evil and evil
+continually. I am sure, however, that I believed there was a hell. When
+a child, I used to dream, it seems to me, almost every night, that the
+devil had me, and sometimes my dreams were so real that I would say to
+myself while dreaming, 'Now this is no dream; he has got me this time,
+sure enough.' I remember that one text which I heard a preacher read
+troubled me more than anything else, when I thought about dying and
+going to judgment. It was this: 'And they hid themselves in the dens and
+rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us
+and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne.' I always
+had a fear of death and a dread of the future. The rattling of clods on
+a coffin filled me with awe and dread. When I thought about my soul, I
+would always say to myself, 'I am going to get good before I go into the
+presence of God; but now I want to keep these thoughts out of mind so I
+can do as I please and not have to suffer and struggle and fight against
+sin--till I get consumption. When I get consumption I will have plenty
+of warning as to death's approach and plenty of time to prepare for it.'
+But I had gotten such an admiration for gamblers and such a passion for
+gambling that I had a consuming ambition to become a regular blackleg,
+as gamblers were called in those days. I made up my mind that this was
+to be my business, and I began to look about for some way to get loose
+from everything else, so I could do nothing but gamble, with nobody to
+molest or make me afraid."
+
+It is hard enough for a boy to keep from doing wrong and to do right
+always, even when he has inherited a good disposition, enjoyed good
+advantages and had the best of training. But our little friend, Steve
+Holcombe, poor fellow, inherited from his father an appetite for drink
+and from his mother a savage temper. To balance these, he had none of
+the safeguards of a careful, moral or religious education, and none of
+those sweet and helpful home associations which follow a man through
+life and hold him back from wrong doing.
+
+Thus unprepared, unshielded, unguarded, at the tender age of eleven
+years he left home to work his own way in the world. No mother's prayers
+had hitherto helped him, and no mother's prayers from henceforth
+followed him. No hallowed home influences had blessed and sweetened his
+miserable childhood and no tender recollections of sanctified home life
+were to follow him into the great wicked world. On the contrary, he was
+fleeing from his home to find some refuge, he knew not what, he knew not
+where. He was going out, boy as he was, loaded down with the vices and
+hungry with the passions of a man. He did not seek employment among
+people that were good or in circumstances encouraging to goodness, but
+just where of all places he would find most vice and learn most
+wickedness--on a steamboat. One knowing his antecedents and looking out
+into his future could easily have foreseen his career in vice and
+crime, but would hardly have predicted for him that life of goodness and
+usefulness which now for eleven wonderful years he has been leading.
+
+He was employed on a steamboat which ran on the Tennessee river, and his
+first trip was to Florence, Alabama. His mother did not know what had
+become of him. He was employed in some service about the kitchen. He
+slept on deck with the hands and ate with the servants. Hungry as he was
+for some word or look of sympathy which, given him and followed up,
+might have made him a different character, nobody showed him any
+kindness. The steward of the boat on the contrary showed him some
+unkindness, and was in the act of kicking him on one occasion for
+something, when young Holcombe jumped at him like an enraged animal and
+frightened him so badly that he was glad to drop the matter for the
+present and to respect the boy for the future. On this trip he found
+five dollars in money on the boat, and was honest enough to take it to
+the steward for the owner.
+
+When he returned home from this trip, strange to say, his mother so far
+from giving him a severer beating than usual, as might have been
+expected, did not punish him at all. She was probably too glad to get
+him back and too afraid of driving him away again. But nothing could
+restrain him now that he had once seen the world and made the successful
+experiment of getting on in the world without anybody's help. So that he
+soon went on another trip and so continued, going on four or five long
+steamboat runs before he was fourteen years of age, and spending his
+unoccupied time in gambling with either white men or negroes, as he
+found opportunity.
+
+After he was fourteen years old he went on the upper Mississippi river
+and traveled to and from St. Louis. On the Mississippi steamers of those
+days gambling was common, not only among the servants and deck-hands, it
+was the pastime or the business of some of the first-class passengers
+also. Sometimes when a rich planter had lost all his ready money in
+gambling, he would put up a slave, male or female, that he might happen
+to have with him, and after losing, would borrow money to win or buy
+again the slave. Professional gamblers, luxuriously dressed and living
+like princes, frequented the steamers of those days for the purpose of
+entrapping and fleecing the passengers. All this only increased the
+fascination of gambling for young Holcombe, and he studied and practiced
+it with increasing zeal.
+
+About this time, when he was in the neighborhood of fourteen years of
+age, his mother, awaking all too late to his peril and to her duty, got
+him a situation as office-boy in the office of Dr. Mandeville Thum, of
+Louisville, hoping to keep him at home and rescue him from the perilous
+life he had entered upon. Dr. Thum was much pleased with him, took great
+interest in him, and treated him with unusual kindness. He even began
+himself to teach him algebra, with the intention of making a civil
+engineer of the boy. And he was making encouraging progress in his
+studies and would, doubtless, have done well, had he continued.
+
+During the time he spent in the service of Dr. Thum, he attended a
+revival meeting held by the Rev. Mr. Crenshaw, at Shippingsport, and was
+much impressed by what he heard. He became so awakened and interested
+that he responded to the appeals that were made by this devoted and
+zealous preacher and sought interviews with him. He tried his level
+best, as he expresses it, to work himself up to a point where he could
+feel that he was converted, a not rare, but very wrong, view of this
+solemn matter. But he could not _feel_ it. While, however, he could not
+get the feeling, he _determined_ to be a Christian, anyhow, a rarer and
+better, but not altogether correct, view of the subject either. For a
+week or ten days he succeeded in overcoming evil impulses, and in living
+right, but he was led away by evil companions. Soon after this he tried
+it again, and this time he succeeded for a longer time than before in
+resisting temptations and following his sense of right, but was one day
+persuaded to go on a Sunday steamboat-excursion to New Albany, with some
+young folks from Shippingsport, which proved the occasion of his fall.
+On returning home he and two other boys went part of the way on foot.
+They heard a man, not far away, crying for water, and Holcombe's quick
+impulse of sympathy led him to propose to go to the relief of the
+sufferer. When they found he was not so bad off as they thought, the two
+other boys began to abuse and mistreat the stranger. He was an unequal
+match for the two, however, and as he was about to get the best of them,
+young Holcombe knocked the poor man down, and they all kicked him so
+severely over the head and face that when they left him he was nearly
+dead. Holcombe went back the next day, and half a mile away he found the
+coroner holding an inquest over the man. He was preparing to flee to
+Indiana when he heard that the verdict of the jury was: "Death from
+exposure to the sun."
+
+This cowardly and wicked deed wrought in him such shame, such
+self-loathing and such discouragement that he abandoned all hope and
+purpose of living a better life. With a sort of feeling of desperation
+and of revenge against his better nature for allowing him to yield and
+stoop to such meanness, he left his position in Louisville and shipped
+on a steamboat again for St. Louis. While the boat was lying at the
+wharf at St. Louis he got into a difficulty with one of the deck-hands
+who applied to him a very disgraceful name. Instantly young Holcombe
+seized a heavy meat-cleaver and would have split the man's head in two
+if the cook had not caught his arm as he swung it back for the stroke.
+From St. Louis he went up the Missouri river to Omaha, engaging, as
+usual, in gambling and other nameless vices.
+
+On his second trip from Omaha to St. Louis he innocently provoked the
+anger of the steward of the boat, who abused him in such a way that
+Holcombe ran at him with an ice-pick, when the terrified man rushed into
+the office and took refuge behind the captain. It was decided that
+Holcombe should be discharged and put ashore. When the clerk called him
+up to pay him off, he volunteered some reproof and abuse of the
+seventeen-year-old boy. But, upon finding he was dealing with one who,
+when aroused, knew neither fear nor self-control, he was glad to quiet
+down and pay him his dues, as Holcombe remarked: "You may discharge me
+and put me ashore, but you shall not abuse me." And they put him ashore
+at Kansas City, then a small village. While waiting at Kansas City for
+the next boat to St. Louis (all traveling being done in those days and
+regions by water), he spent his time around bar-rooms and
+gambling-houses. There he saw a different and more extensive kind of
+gaming than he had ever seen before. Great quantities of money were on
+the tables before the players, greater than he had ever seen, and he saw
+it change hands and pass from one to another. Such a sight increased his
+desire to follow such a life. So he put up his money, the wages of his
+labor on the boat, and lost it--all. He spent the remainder of his stay
+in Kansas City wandering around, destitute, hungry, lonely, with various
+reflections on the fortunes and misfortunes of a gambler's life, till at
+last he got deck-passage on a boat to St. Louis, and paid his fare by
+sawing wood. During this trip his violent and revengeful temper led him
+to commit an act that nearly resulted in murder. One of the deck-hands
+threw down some wood which he had piled up, and Holcombe protested,
+whereupon the deck-hand cursed him and said: "You little rat, I will
+throw you overboard!" Mr. Holcombe replied: "I guess you won't," and
+said nothing more at the time. After the man had lain down and gone to
+sleep, Mr. Holcombe got a cord-stick, slipped upon him, and hit him on
+the skull with all his might, completely stunning the man. "Now," says
+Mr. Holcombe, speaking of this incident, "I can not understand how a man
+could do so cruel a thing, but _then_ I felt I must have revenge some
+way, and _I could not keep from it_."
+
+At St. Louis he got a position on a boat for New Orleans, and soon after
+arriving in that city he shipped on board a steamship for Galveston,
+Texas, but returned immediately to New Orleans. Here, however, he soon
+lost, in gambling, all the money he had made on the trip, and was so
+entirely without friends or acquaintances that he could find no place to
+sleep, and wandered about on the levee until one or two o'clock in the
+morning. To add to the loneliness and dismalness of his situation, it
+was during an epidemic of yellow fever in the city, and people were
+dying so fast they could not bury them, but had to plow trenches and
+throw the corpses in, as they bury soldiers on a battle-field. About one
+or two o'clock, a colored man, on a steamboat seeing him walking around
+alone, called him, and finding out his condition, took him on board the
+steamer and gave him a bed. But Holcombe was so afraid the negro had
+some design upon him, as there were no others on board, that he stole
+away from the boat and wandered around, alone, all the rest of the
+night.
+
+On that awful night the great deep of his heart was broken up and he
+felt a sense of loneliness that he had never felt before in his life. He
+was in a strange city among a strange people. He had no friends, he had
+no means. He had not where to lay his head. The darkness of the night
+shut off the sight of those objects which in the day would have diverted
+his mind and relieved his painful reflections; and the awful stillness,
+broken only by the rattling of wheels that bore away the dead, made it
+seem to him as if his thoughts were spoken to him by some audible voice.
+His past life came up before him, but there was in it nothing pleasant
+for him to remember. It had been from his earliest recollection one
+constant experience of pain and sin. He was uneasy about himself. He was
+frightened at the past, and the recollection of his hard, but vain,
+struggle to get his evil nature changed and bettered, cast a dark cloud
+over his future. What could he do? Where could he go? Who was there
+could help him? Who was there that loved him? At his own home, if home
+it could be called, there was nothing but strife and cruelty and sin.
+Father, he had none. He that was his father had lived a drunkard's life,
+had died a drunkard's death and was buried in a drunkard's grave. And
+his mother--she had no power to help him or even love him as most
+mothers love their children, and as on that lone dismal night he would
+have given the world to be loved. Of God's mercy and love he did not
+know, he thought only of his wrath, nor had he learned how to approach
+him in prayer. Alone, alone, he felt himself to be shut up between a
+past that was full of sin and crime and a future that promised nothing
+better. But he did think of one who had loved him and who had said she
+would always love him and he felt there was truth in her soul and in her
+words. It was the brown-haired, sweet-faced, strong-hearted little girl
+he had left in Shippingsport. He would go back to her. She alone of all
+people in the world seemed able to help him and this seemed his last,
+his only hope. If she had remained true to him, and if she would love
+him, the world would not seem so dreary and the future would not seem so
+dark, and maybe she could help him to be a better man. "On the next
+day," says Mr. Holcombe, "an acquaintance of mine from Louisville ran
+across me as I was strolling about the streets, took me aboard a steamer
+and made me go home with him."
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MILL AT SHIPPINGSPORT.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+As has already been said, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the parents of Mrs.
+Holcombe, were people of excellent moral character and were so careful
+of their children that as long as they could prevent it, they did not
+allow them to associate freely with the Shippingsport children. But of
+Steve Holcombe, the worst of them all, they had a special dread. Mr.
+Evans could not endure to see him or to hear his name called. And yet,
+this same Steve Holcombe was in love with their own precious child, and
+had now come home to ask her to marry him. Of course, he did not visit
+her at her own home but he managed to see her elsewhere. He found that
+she had not wavered during his absence, but that the bond of their
+childhood had grown with her womanhood. And yet she knew full well his
+past career and his present character. She went into it "with her eyes
+open," to quote her own words. Against the will of her parents and
+against the advice of her friends she adhered to her purpose to marry
+Steve Holcombe when the time should come. Even his own mother, moved
+with pity at the thought of the sufferings and wretchedness which this
+marriage would bring the poor girl, tried to dissuade her from it and
+warned her that she was going to marry "the very devil." She replied
+that she knew all about it, and when asked why she then did it, her
+simple answer was "because I love him."
+
+He promised her that he would try to be a better man and _she_, as well
+as _he, believed it_, though not because she expected he would some time
+become a Christian and not because she had the Christian's faith and
+hope. Her simple belief was that the outcome of her love would be his
+reformation and return to a better life. It was not thus definitely
+stated to herself by herself. It was an unconscious process of reasoning
+or rather it was the deep instinct of her strong and deeply-rooted love.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe was recently asked if, during all the years of her
+husband's recklessness and disgraceful dissipation, his sins and crimes,
+his cruel neglect and heartless mistreatment of herself, her love ever
+faltered? She answered: "No; never. There never was a time, even when
+Mr. Holcombe was at his worst, that I did not love him. It pained me, of
+course, that some things should come _through_ him, but I never loved
+_him_ any less." A rare and wonderful love it surely was. When she was
+asked if during those dark and bitter years she ever gave up her belief
+that her husband would change his life and become a good man, she
+answered, "No; I never gave it up." A woman of deep Insight, of large
+reading and wide observation, on hearing these replies of Mrs. Holcombe,
+said: "It is the most wonderful case of love and patience and faith I
+have ever known."
+
+He had come home then to marry Mary Evans. He met her at the house of a
+mutual friend and proposed an elopement. She was frightened and refused.
+But he pleaded and besought her, and, wounded and vexed at what seemed a
+disregard of his feelings and rights, he ended by saying, "It must be
+to-night or never." Whereupon she consented, though with great
+reluctance, and they went together to the house of his mother, in the
+city of Louisville. But his own mother would not consent to their
+marriage under such circumstances until she could first go and see if
+she could get the consent of the girl's parents. Accordingly, she went
+at once to Shippingsport, night as it was, and laid the case before
+them. They did not consent, but saw it would do no good to undertake to
+put a stop to it. So that, at the house of his mother in Louisville,
+they were married, Steve Holcombe and Mary Evans, the hardened gambler
+and the timid girl.
+
+After his marriage he quit running on the river, settled down at
+Shippingsport and went to fishing for a living. And it did seem for a
+time that his hope was to be realized and that through the helpful
+influences of his young wife he was to become a better man. He grew
+steadily toward better purposes and toward a higher standard of
+character, and within two or three months after their marriage they
+joined the church together. Mrs. Holcombe says, however, that she does
+not now believe that she was a Christian at the time. They thought in a
+general way that it was right to join the church, and that it would do
+them good and somehow help them to be good. If they had had some one,
+wise and patient and faithful, to teach them and advise them and
+sympathize with them at this time of awakening and of honest endeavor
+after a spiritual life, they would probably have gone on happily and
+helpfully together in it. But alas! as is true in so many, many cases
+to-day, nobody understood or seemed to understand them, nobody tried or
+cared to understand them; nobody cared for their souls. It was taken for
+granted, then as now, that when people are gotten into the church,
+nothing special is to be done for them any further, though, in fact, the
+most difficult and delicate part of training a soul and developing
+Christian character comes after conversion and after joining the church.
+Mr. Holcombe attributes his present success in the helping and guidance
+of inquiring and struggling souls to his lack on the one hand of careful
+and sympathetic training in his earlier efforts to be a Christian and on
+the other hand to the great benefit of such training in his later
+efforts. In such a nature as his, especially, no mere form of religion
+and no external bond of union with the church was sufficient. The
+strength of his will, the tenacity of his old habits, the intensity of
+his nature and the violence of his passions were such that only an
+extraordinary power would suffice to bring him under control. It was not
+long, therefore, before he was overcome by his evil nature, and he soon
+gave over the ineffectual struggle and fell back into his old ways. His
+poor wife soon found to her sorrow that reforming a bad man was a
+greater undertaking than she had dreamed of, and was often reminded of
+her mother-in-law's remark that she had married "the very devil." And
+Mr. Holcombe found out, too, that his wife, good as she was, could not
+make him good. Some men there are so hungry-hearted and so dependent,
+that they can not endure life without the supreme and faithful and
+submissive affection of a wife, but who know not how to appreciate or
+treat a wife and soon lose that consideration and love for her which
+are her due. Then marriage becomes tyranny on the one side and slavery
+on the other.
+
+Perhaps the reader will conclude later that this description applies all
+too well to the married life of Steve Holcombe and his faithful and
+brave-hearted young wife; for it was not long before he returned, in
+spite of all his solemn vows and his earnest resolutions, to his old
+habit of gambling and to all his evil ways. On a certain occasion not
+long after he married, in company with a friend, who is at this moment
+lying in the jail in Louisville for the violation of the law against
+gambling, he went on a fishing excursion to Mound City, Illinois. Having
+returned to the landing one night about midnight they found a
+fierce-looking man sitting on the wharf-boat who said to them on
+entering, "I understand there are some gamblers here and I have come to
+play them, and I can whip any two men on the Ohio river," at the same
+time exposing a large knife which he carried in his boot. He was
+evidently a bully who thought he could intimidate these strangers and in
+some underhanded way get from them their money. Mr. Holcombe did not
+reply but waited till the next morning when he "sized up the man" and
+determined to play against him. After they had been playing some time
+Mr. Holcombe discovered that the man was "holding cards out of the pack"
+on him. He said nothing, however, till the man had gotten out all the
+cards he wanted, when Mr. Holcombe made a bet. The other man "raised
+him," that is, offered to increase the amount. Mr. Holcombe raised him
+back and so on till each one had put up all the money he had. Then the
+man "showed down his hand" as the saying is, and he had the four aces.
+Mr. Holcombe replied "That is a good hand, but here is a better one;"
+and with that struck him a quick heavy blow that sent the man to the
+floor, Mr. Holcombe took all the money and the other man began to cry
+like a child and beg for it. Mr. Holcombe was instantly touched with
+pity and wanted to give him back his money but his partner objected. He
+did, however, give the man enough for his immediate wants and left him
+some the wiser for his loss of the rest.
+
+At the same place the owner of the storeboat left a young man in charge,
+who, during the absence of his proprietor, offered to play against Mr.
+Holcombe and lost all the money he had. Then he insisted on Mr.
+Holcombe's playing for the clothing which he had in the store and Mr.
+Holcombe won all that from him, leaving him a sadder, but it is to be
+hoped a wiser, man.
+
+Having thus once again felt the fascination of gambling and the
+intoxication of success, Mr. Holcombe was impelled by these and by his
+naturally restless disposition to give up altogether his legitimate
+business and to return to the old life. So without returning to visit
+his wife and child or even informing them of his whereabouts, he shipped
+on a steamer for Memphis and thence to New Orleans.
+
+On his return trip from New Orleans he played poker and won several
+hundred dollars. On landing in Louisville, his half-brother, Mr. Wm.
+Sowders, the largest fish and oyster dealer in Louisville, gave him a
+partnership in his business, but they soon fell out and he quit the
+firm.
+
+He removed to Nashville, Tennessee, and opened a business of the same
+kind there in connection with his brother's house in Louisville, Mr.
+Holcombe shipping his vegetables and produce in return for fish and
+oysters. This was early in 1860. It was a great trial for his young wife
+to be taken from among her relatives and friends and put down among
+people who were entire strangers, especially that she had found out in
+four or five years of married life that her husband had grown away from
+her, that his heart and life were in other people than his family, in
+other places than his home and in others pleasures than his duty. She
+knew that she could not now count on having his companionship day or
+night, in sickness or in health, in poverty or in wealth. And to make
+the outlook all the more gloomy for her, she had just passed through one
+of the severest trials that had come into her life.
+
+When an intense woman finds that she is deceived and disappointed in her
+husband, and the hopes of married bliss are brought to naught, she finds
+some compensation and relief in the love of her children. So it was with
+Mrs. Holcombe. But just before the time came for them to remove to
+Nashville, death came and took from her arms her second-born child. This
+made it all the harder to leave her home to go among strangers. But
+already, as a wife, she had learned that charity which suffereth long
+and is kind, which seeketh not her own and which endureth all things.
+
+Mr. Holcombe's business in Nashville was very profitable and he made
+sometimes as much as fifty dollars a day, so that in a short time he had
+accumulated a considerable amount of money. But his passion for
+gambling remained. His wife had hoped that the sufferings and death of
+their little child might soften his heart and lead him to a better life.
+But it seemed to have no effect on him whatever. Though he did not
+follow gambling as a profession, he engaged in it at night and in a
+private way with business men.
+
+When the active hostilities of the war came on, his communication with
+Louisville was cut off and so his business was at an end. Leaving his
+wife and only remaining child alone in Nashville he went to Clarksville
+and engaged in the ice business. While he was there, the Kentucky
+troops, who were encamped near that place, moved up to Bowling Green,
+Kentucky. The sound of fife and drum and the sight of moving columns of
+soldiers stirred either his patriotism or his enthusiasm so that he got
+rid of his business and followed them on up to Green river in Kentucky,
+and went into camp with them where he spent some time, without, however,
+being sworn into service. But this short time sufficed for him and he
+became satisfied that "lugging knap-sack, box and gun was harder work
+than" gambling.
+
+He quit the camp, settled down at Bowling Green, and opened a grocery
+and restaurant, doing a very prosperous business. While there, he had a
+severe spell of sickness and came near dying, but did not send for his
+wife and child, who were still alone in Nashville. Just before the
+Federal troops took possession of Bowling Green, he sold his grocery for
+a large claim on the Confederate Government which a party held for some
+guns sold to the Confederacy. He then rode horseback from Bowling Green
+to Nashville, where he rejoined his wife and child. After another
+severe spell of sickness through which his wife nursed him, he left his
+family again in those trying and fearful times and went South to collect
+his claim on the Confederate Government. Having succeeded in getting it
+he returned to Nashville with a large sum of money.
+
+As he had no legitimate business to occupy his time and his mind, he
+returned to gambling and this is his own account of it: "Then I began
+playing poker with business men in private rooms; and one of those
+business men being familiar with faro banks, roped us around to a faro
+room to play poker; and while we were playing, the faro dealer, who had
+cappers around, opened up a brace game, and the game of poker broke up,
+and I drifted over to the faro table, and did not look on long until I
+began to bet, and soon lost two or three hundred dollars which I had in
+my pockets, and lost a little on credit, which I paid the next morning.
+I lost what I had the next day, and kept up that same racket until I was
+broke. During this time I had been very liberal with the gamblers,
+treated them to oyster stews and other good things; and when I got broke
+I got to sitting around the gambling-house, and heard them say to each
+other, 'We will have to make Steve one of the boys,' and thus it was I
+became familiar with faro."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The initiation of Mr. Holcombe into the game of faro was an epoch in his
+life. He was so fascinated with it, and saw so much money in it, that he
+now finally and deliberately gave up all attempts at any other business
+or occupation, and, removing again to Louisville, in partnership with a
+gambling friend he "opened up a game" or established a house of his own
+for playing faro in that city. He sent for his family thinking he was
+settled for life. Alas! how little he knew of that heart of his that
+knew so little of God. He found out later what St. Augustine has so
+beautifully said for all humanity: "Thou hast made us for Thyself and
+our hearts find no repose till they repose in Thee." It was not long
+before he had lost all his money and was "dead broke" again. It was
+about this time and during this residence at Louisville, that,
+uncontrolled by the grace and power of God, and untouched by the love
+that can forgive as it hopes to be forgiven, he committed the greatest
+crime of his life.
+
+A young man was visiting and courting a half-sister of his at
+Shippingsport, and, under promise of marriage, had deceived her. When
+Mr. Holcombe found it out, he felt enraged, and thought it his duty to
+compel him to marry her. But knowing himself so well, and being afraid
+to trust himself to speak to the young man about it, he asked his two
+older half-brothers to see him and get the affair settled. They refused
+to do so. Mr. Holcombe then got a pistol and looked the man up with the
+deliberate intention of having the affair settled according to his
+notion of what was right, or killing him. He met him at Shippingsport,
+near the bank of the canal, and told him who he was--for they scarcely
+knew each other. Then he reminded him of what had occurred, and said
+that the only thing to be done was to marry the girl. This the man
+declined to do, saying: "We are as good as married now." He had scarcely
+uttered the words when Mr. Holcombe drew his derringer and shot him.
+When he fell, Mr. Holcombe put his hand under the poor man's neck,
+raised him up and held him until a doctor could be called. He was
+touched with a great feeling of pity for his victim, and would have done
+anything in his power for him. But all his pity and repentance could not
+bring back the dying man. He went into a neighboring house and washed
+the blood from his hands, but he could not wash the blood from his
+conscience. In after years the cry of another murderer, "Deliver me from
+blood-guiltiness, O, God!" was to burst from his lips, and faith in the
+blood of a murdered Christ was to bring the answer of peace to his long
+troubled soul. But alas! alas! he was to add crime to crime and multiply
+guilt manifold before that time should come.
+
+He was soon arrested and taken to jail, where, after some hours, he was
+informed that the man was dead. Some time afterward he was tried by a
+jury and acquitted, though the Commonwealth's Attorney, assisted by
+paid counsel, did all he could to procure his conviction. But no human
+sentence or approval of public opinion can quiet a guilty human
+conscience when awakened by the God whose sole prerogative of executing
+justice is guarded by His own solemn and awful words, "Vengeance is
+mine; I will repay," saith the Lord. When the conscience is pressed with
+a great sense of guilt, it seeks relief by the way of contrition and
+repentance, or it seeks relief by a deeper plunge into sin and guilt, as
+if the antidote to a poison were a larger dose of poison. There is no
+middle ground unless it be insanity. Nor did Mr. Holcombe find any
+middle ground, though he declares that he never allowed himself to think
+about the killing of Martin Mohler, and could not bear to hear his name.
+He had to _keep very busy_ in a career of sin, however, to _keep from_
+thinking about it, and that is exactly the second alternative of the two
+described above.
+
+"After this," says Mr. Holcombe, "I continued gambling, traveling around
+from place to place, and at last I settled down at Nashville and dealt
+faro there. I took my family with me to Nashville. I gambled there for
+awhile, and then came back to Louisville, where I opened a game for
+working men. But when I looked at their hard hands and thought of their
+suffering families, I could not bear to take their money. Then I turned
+my steps toward the South and landed in Augusta, Georgia. I went to
+Augusta in 1869 in connection with a man named Dennis McCarty. We opened
+there a big game of faro, where I did some of the biggest gambling I
+ever did in my life. On one occasion I played seven-up with a man and
+beat him out of five thousand dollars, which broke him up entirely."
+
+Let us now take a peep into his home-life: Mrs. Holcombe says that in
+Augusta he was in the habit of staying out for several days and nights
+at a time, a thing which he had never done before. They lived in Augusta
+something over two years, and during all that time she had not one day
+of peace. He was more reckless than he had ever been before. She
+suffered most from his drunkenness and his ungovernable temper.
+Sometimes he would come into the house in a bad humor and proceed to
+vent his wrath on her and the furniture; for he was never harsh to his
+children, but on the contrary, excessively indulgent, especially to his
+sons. During his outbursts of anger, Mrs. Holcombe always sat perfectly
+still, not in fear, but in grief; for she knew as little of fear as he.
+Many a time he has come into the house in a bad humor and proceeded to
+upset the dining-table, emptying all the food onto the floor and
+breaking all the dishes. On one occasion he came home angry and found
+his wife sitting on a sofa in the parlor. He began to complain of her
+and to find fault with her, and as her silence seemed to provoke him, he
+began to curse her; and as she sat and wept in silence, he grew worse
+and worse, using the most dreadful oaths she ever heard. When he had
+fully vented his passion, he walked out and stood awhile at the front
+gate as if in a study. Then he walked back into the house where she sat,
+still weeping, and said, in a mild and gentle tone: "Well, Mary, I was
+pretty mad awhile ago, wasn't I?" Then he began to apologize and to
+tell her how sorry he was for having talked to her so harshly, and wound
+up by petting her. He was at times almost insanely jealous of his wife,
+and if he saw her even talking with a man, no matter whom, it put him in
+a rage which ended only when he had vented it in the most abusive
+language to her.
+
+On another occasion, while they were living in Augusta, an incident
+occurred which illustrates at once her unexampled devotion and his
+unexampled depravity. On the night in question she had gone to bed, but
+not to sleep. About midnight he came staggering in and fell full length
+on the floor at the foot of the stairway. She tried to help him up, but
+he was so dead drunk she could not lift him. She left him lying at the
+foot of the stairway and went back to bed. But, though she was very
+tired, she could not endure the thought of lying in a comfortable bed
+while her husband was on the floor. She got up, therefore, and went down
+stairs again and sat on the floor beside him in her night-dress till
+morning. Then she left him and went up stairs to dress, that she might
+be prepared for the duties of the day. When, some time afterward, she
+came back to where he was lying, he abused and cursed her for leaving
+him alone, and, before his tirade was ended he was sorry, and tried to
+smooth it over by saying: "I did not think _you_ would leave me."
+
+Mrs. Holcombe says concerning her life at this period: "I usually walked
+the floor, after the children were in bed, till past midnight waiting
+for him to come home. One night in particular, between eleven and
+twelve o'clock, I heard a shot fired and I heard a man cry out not far
+from the house. I thought it was Mr. Holcombe, and my agony was almost
+more than I could bear while waiting for day to come, for I was sure
+somebody had shot him. But between three and four o'clock In the morning
+he came in, and his coming brought me great relief." "Then another
+time," she goes on to say, "I was sitting by the window when an express
+wagon drove up with a coffin in it. The driver said to me, 'Does this
+coffin belong here?' I understood him to say, 'Does Mr. Holcombe live
+here?' I thought it was Mr. Holcombe and that he had been killed and
+sent home to me in his coffin. The driver repeated his question twice,
+but I was so paralyzed I could not answer him a word."
+
+From Augusta Mr. Holcombe removed with his family to Atlanta, where he
+made a good deal of money. Mrs. Holcombe says concerning their stay in
+Atlanta, "My life at Atlanta was no better than it had been at Augusta.
+Much of my time was spent in walking the floor and grieving. Often in my
+loneliness and sorrow my lips would cry out, 'How can I endure this life
+any longer?' I had not then become a Christian and did not know what I
+do now about taking troubles and burdens to God. And yet I believe that
+it was God who comforted my heart more than once when my sorrow was more
+than I could bear. I cried to Him without knowing Him. All these years I
+tried to raise my children right, and I taught them to respect their
+father. I hid his sins from them when I could, and when I could not, I
+always excused him to them the best I could." But Mr. Holcombe instead
+of aiding his wife's efforts to bring up their children in the right
+path, often perversely put obstacles in her way and increased her
+difficulties, though he did try to conceal his drinking from them, and
+would never allow his boys to have or handle cards. So in many things he
+was a combination of contradictions. He could not endure, however, for
+his wife to punish the children, and especially the boys. On one
+occasion he came home and the younger son was still crying from the
+punishment inflicted by his mother for wading in a pond of water with
+his shoes on. Mr. Holcombe asked him what was the matter, and when he
+found out, he was so angry he made the boy go and wade in the pond again
+with his shoes on. And yet Mrs. Holcombe's love for her husband "never
+wavered," and she loved him "when he was at his worst."
+
+While Mr. Holcombe was living in Atlanta he attended the races in
+Nashville, and while there, two men came along that had a new thing on
+cards, and they beat him out of five or six thousand dollars--broke him,
+in fact. After he was broke, he went to one of the men by the name of
+Buchanan and said, "I see that you have got a new trick on cards, and as
+I am well acquainted through the South, if you will give it away to me,
+we can go together and make money." The man, after some hesitation,
+agreed to do so. They went in partnership and traveled through the South
+as far as Key West, Florida, stopping at the principal cities and making
+money everywhere. At Key West he and his partner had a split and
+separated. From Key West Mr. Holcombe crossed over to Cuba, and spent
+some time in Havana. In seeking adventures in that strange city he made
+some very narrow escapes, and was glad to get away. On landing at New
+Orleans, though he had a good deal of money, the accumulations of his
+winnings on his late tour through the South, he got to playing against
+faro bank and lost all he had. But he fell in with a young man about
+twenty years of age, from Georgia, on his way to Texas, and became very
+intimate with him. Finding that this young man had a draft for $1,050,
+by the most adroit piece of maneuvering he got another man, a third
+party, to win it from him for himself, and gave this third party $50 for
+doing it. Then he took charge of the young man in his destitution and
+distress, paid his bill for a day or two at a hotel in New Orleans, and
+gave him enough to pay his way on to Texas. The young man departed
+thinking Mr. Holcombe was one of the kindest men he had ever met. The
+gentle reader, if he be a young man who thinks himself wise enough to be
+intimate with strangers, might learn a useful little lesson from this
+young Georgian's experience as herein detailed.
+
+From New Orleans, Mr. Holcombe went by river to Shreveport, Louisiana,
+where he met again with his former partner, Buchanan. They made up their
+differences and went into partnership again, and were successful in
+winning a good deal of money together. But afterward their fortunes
+changed and they both lost all they had. This soured Buchanan, who had
+never cordially liked Holcombe since their quarrel and separation at Key
+West. Mr. Holcombe himself shall narrate what took place afterward:
+"During this time we had been sleeping in a room together. Buchanan knew
+that I had two derringer pistols. He got Phil Spangler to borrow one,
+and I feel satisfied he had snaked the other. A friend of mine, John
+Norton, asked me to deal faro bank, and I got broke, and the night that
+I did, I put the box in the drawer pretty roughly, and made some pretty
+rough remarks. Buchanan was present, but took no exception to what I
+said that night. The next morning, however, in the bar-room he began to
+abuse me, and we abused each other backward and forward until I had
+backed clear across the street. During this time I had my derringer
+pistol out in my hand. He had a big stick in his hand and a knife in his
+bosom. When we got across the street I made this remark, 'Mr. Buchanan,
+I do not want to kill you,' He was then about ten feet from me, and made
+a step toward me. I took deliberate aim at his heart and pulled the
+trigger, but the pistol snapped. He walked away from me then. I ran up
+to the hotel where Aleck Doran was, knowing that his six-shooter was
+always in good condition. I borrowed it and started to hunt Buchanan up,
+and when I found him, he came up to me with his hand out. We made up and
+have been good friends ever since. After we left there, these parties
+with whom we had been playing, got to quarreling among themselves about
+the different games, and the result was that John Norton killed Phil
+Spangler and another one of the men. And such is the life of the
+gambler." And such is too often, alas! the death of the gambler.
+
+From Shreveport he went back to Atlanta where his family, consisting now
+of his wife, two sons and two daughters, had remained. But he could not
+be contented at any one place. It seemed impossible for him to be
+quiet, no matter how much money he was making. Indeed, the more he got
+the more disquieted he seemed, and yet it was his passion to win money.
+Sometimes he would go to his home with his pockets full of it and would
+pour it out on the floor and tell the children to take what they wanted.
+He was so restless when he had won largely that he could not sleep; and
+his wife says she has known him to get up after having retired late and
+walk back to the city to his gambling house to find somebody to play
+with. He seemed to want to lose his money again. In fact, he seemed
+happier when he was entirely without money than when he had a great
+deal.
+
+Not contented, then, at Atlanta, he went from there to Beaufort, South
+Carolina, to gamble with the officers of the navy. He got into a game of
+poker with some of them and won all the money. Then he was ready to quit
+and leave the place, but he got into a difficulty with a man there whose
+diamond pin he had in pawn for money lent him, and though it be at the
+risk of taxing the reader's patience with these details, yet, in order
+to show vividly what a gambler's life is, we shall let Mr. Holcombe give
+his own account of the affair:
+
+"This man was the bully of the place. I had his diamond pin in pawn for
+seventy-five dollars, and another little fellow owed me eighteen
+dollars, or something like that, and I wanted him to pay me. Instead of
+paying me, however, he began to curse and abuse me; and I hit him on the
+nose, knocked him over and bloodied it, and he was bleeding like
+everything. He got over into the crowd; and under the excitement of the
+moment, I drew my pistol and started toward him. This big bully caught
+me gently by the vest, and asked me quietly to put up my pistol. I did
+so. Then he said, 'You can't shoot anybody here,' I said 'I do not want
+to shoot anybody.' I then asked him to turn me loose. He again said 'You
+can't shoot anybody here.' I then said, 'What is the matter with you?
+Are we not friends?' And he said 'No,' and made the remark, 'I will take
+your pistol away from you and beat your brains out.' I struck him and
+knocked him over on a lounge, but he rose up and came at me, and we had
+quite a tussle around the room. The others all ran and left the house,
+and the barkeeper hid.
+
+"When we separated, the big fellow had quite a head on him; was all
+beaten up. He then went into the other room and sat down, and the
+barkeeper came in where I was. I was willing to do or say anything to
+reconcile this man, and I said to the barkeeper that I was sorry of the
+difficulty, as I liked the man, which was a lie, and a square one, for I
+hated him from the moment I saw him. When he heard what I said, he came
+sauntering into the room, and I said to him, 'I am sorry this occurred,
+but you called me such a name that I was compelled to do as I did. You
+know that you are a brave man; and if any man had called you such a
+name, you would have done just as I did.' He called me a liar, and at it
+we went again. We separated ourselves every time. I got the best of the
+round. After that he stepped up to the sideboard and got a tumbler; but
+I looked him in the eye so closely that he could not throw it at me, and
+he put it down. After a little more conversation, he started to lift up
+a heavy spittoon of iron. I stepped back a foot or two, drew my pistol,
+and told him if he did not put that down, I would kill him. He put it
+down. I then told the barkeeper he must come in there and witness this
+thing, because I expected to have to kill him. After the barkeeper came
+in, the man went out, saying, 'You had a gun on me to-night, and I will
+have one on you to-morrow.' Feeling satisfied if I remained, one of us
+would have to be killed; and feeling that I did not want to kill him,
+neither did I want to get killed on a cold collar, I concluded to walk
+out of the place. I got the barkeeper to promise to ship my trunk to
+Atlanta, and walked through the swamps to a station fourteen miles away,
+arriving there some time next day." Other such experiences Mr. Holcombe
+had enough to fill a volume perhaps, but these are sufficient to give an
+impression of what a gambler's life is and to show what _was_ the life
+of that same Steve Holcombe who now for eleven years has been a pattern
+of Christian usefulness and zeal.
+
+After spending a short time at Atlanta, he went to Hot Springs,
+Arkansas, and then again to Louisville, where he opened a faro bank and
+once more settled down for life, as he thought. _At any rate for the
+first time in his life he thought of saving a little money_, and he did
+so, investing it in some houses in the West End. Poor man! he had
+wandered _nearly_ enough. He had almost found that rest can not be
+found, at least in the way he was seeking it, and the time was
+approaching when he would be _prepared_ to hear of another sort and
+source of rest. Until he should be prepared, it would be vain to send
+him the message. To give the truth to some people to-day would be to
+cast pearls before swine, to give it to them to-morrow may be
+re-clothing banished princes with due tokens of welcome and of royalty.
+To have told Steve Holcombe of Christ yet awhile would probably have
+excited his wonder and disgust; to tell him a little later will be to
+welcome a long-lost, long-enslaved and perishing child to his Father's
+house and to all the liberty of the sons of God.
+
+So _he thought_ of saving a little money and of investing in some
+cottages in the west end of Louisville. And God was thinking, too, and
+He was thinking thoughts of kindness and of love for the poor wicked
+outcast. He was _more_ than thinking, He was getting things ready. But
+the time was not yet. A few more wanderings and the sinning one,
+foot-sore, heart-sore and weary will be willing to come to the Father's
+house and rest. Truth and God are always ready, but man is not always
+ready. "I have many things to say to you, but you can not bear them
+now."
+
+His income at Louisville at this time was between five and seven
+thousand dollars a year. He had a large interest in the bank and some
+nights he would take in hundreds of dollars. But he could not be
+contented. The roving passion seized him again, and in company with a
+young man of fine family in Louisville, who had just inherited five
+thousand dollars, he set out on a circuit of the races. But in
+Lexington, the very first place they visited, they lost all they had,
+including the young man's jewelry, watch and diamond pin. They got more
+money and other partners and started again on the circuit and they made
+money. At Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Holcombe withdrew from the party,
+just for the sake of change, just because he was tired of them; and in
+playing against the faro banks at Kalamazoo he lost all he had again.
+Then he traveled around to different places playing against faro banks
+and "catching on" when he could. He visited Fort Wayne, Cleveland,
+Utica, Saratoga and New York. At New York he was broke and he had become
+so disgusted with traveling around and so weary of the world that he
+determined he _would_ go back to Louisville and settle down for life. He
+did return to Louisville and got an interest in two gambling houses,
+making for him an income again of five thousand dollars a year.
+
+During all these years his faithful wife, though not professing to be a
+Christian herself, endeavored in all possible ways to lead her children
+to become Christians. She taught them to pray the best she could, and
+sent them to Sunday-school. After her first child was born she gave up
+those worldly amusements which before she had, to please her husband,
+participated in with him--a good example for Christian mothers. She was
+in continual dread lest the children should grow up to follow the
+father's example. She always tried to conceal from them the fact of his
+being a gambler. The two daughters, Mamie and Irene, did not, when
+good-sized girls and going to school, know their father's business. They
+were asked at school what his occupation was, and could not tell. More
+than once they asked their mother, but she evaded the question by
+saying, "He isn't engaged in any work just now," or in some such way.
+Mrs. Holcombe begged her husband again and again not to continue
+gambling. She says, "I told him I was willing to live on bread and
+water, if he would quit it." And she would not lay up any of the money
+he would give her, nor use any more of it than was necessary for herself
+and the children, for she felt that it was not rightly gotten. And
+because she would neither lay it up nor use it lavishly, she had nothing
+to do but let the children take it to play with and to give away. Under
+the training of such a mother with such patience, love and faith, it is
+no great marvel, and yet perhaps it is a great marvel, that Willie, the
+eldest child, notwithstanding the father's example, grew up to discern
+good, to desire good and to be good. While he was still a child, when
+his father came home drunk, the wounded and wondering child would beg
+him not to drink any more. Mrs. Holcombe says of him further, "When
+Willie would see his father on the street drinking, I have seen him,
+when twelve years old, jump off the car, go to his father and beg him
+with tears to go home with him. And I never saw Mr. Holcombe refuse to
+go."
+
+In this way the boy grew up with a disgust and horror of drunkenness and
+drinking, and when in the year 1877 the great temperance movement was
+rolling over the country and meetings were held everywhere, and in
+Louisville also, though the boy had never drunk any intoxicating liquor
+in his life, he signed the pledge. He took his card home with his name
+signed to it, and when his father saw it, he was very angry about it.
+And yet, strange to say, on that very evening the father himself
+attended the meeting; and on the next evening he went again, in company
+with his wife. During the progress of the meeting he turned to his wife
+and said, "Mary, shall I go up and sign the pledge?" Concealing her
+emotions as best she could, lest the show of it might disgust and repel
+him, she replied, "Yes, Steve, Willie and I would be very glad if you
+would," and he did so.
+
+Some time after that, Willie asked his father and mother if they would
+accompany him to the Broadway Baptist church in the city to see him
+baptized. While witnessing the baptism of his son, Mr. Holcombe made up
+his mind that he would quit gambling, and as he went out of the church,
+he said to his wife, "_I will never play another card_."
+
+Some friend of his who overhead the remark said to him, "Steve, you had
+better study about that." He answered, "No, I have made up my mind. I
+wish you would tell the boys for me that they may count me out. They may
+stop my interest in the banks. I am done."
+
+His wife, who was hanging on his arm, could no longer now conceal her
+emotions, nor did she try. She laughed and cried for joy. God was saying
+to her, "Mary, thy toils and tears, thy sufferings and patience have
+come up for a memorial before me, and I will send a man who will tell
+thee what thou oughtest to do, and speak to thee words whereby thou and
+all thy house shall be saved."
+
+Mr. Holcombe was as good as his word. He did give up gambling from that
+time. But he had had so little experience in business that he was at a
+great loss what to do. Finally, however, he decided to go into the
+produce and commission business as he had had some experience in that
+line years before in Nashville, and as that required no great outlay of
+money for a beginning. All the money he had was tied up in the houses
+which he had bought in Portland, the western suburb of Louisville. He
+was living in one of these himself, but he now determined to rent it out
+and to remove to the city that he might be nearer his business.
+
+One day in October, 1877, a stranger entered his place of business, on
+Main street, and, calling for Mr. Holcombe, said: "I see you have a
+house for rent in Portland."
+
+"Yes," said he, "I have."
+
+"Well," said the stranger, "I like your house; but as my income is not
+large, I should be glad to get it at as low a rent as you can allow."
+
+Mr. Holcombe replied: "I am rather pressed for money now myself, but
+maybe we can make a trade. What is your business?"
+
+"I am a Methodist minister, and am just sent to the church in Portland,
+and you know it can not pay very much of a salary."
+
+"That settles it then, sir," said Mr. Holcombe, with that abruptness and
+positiveness which are so characteristic of him, "I am a notorious
+gambler, and, of course, you would not want to live in a house of mine."
+
+He expected that would be the end of the matter, and he looked to see
+the minister shrink from him and leave at once his presence and his
+house. On the contrary, the minister, though knowing nothing of Mr.
+Holcombe's recent reformation, yet seeing his sensitiveness, admiring
+his candor and hoping to be able to do him some good, laid his hand
+kindly on his shoulder and said:
+
+"Oh no, my brother; I do not object to living in your house; and who
+knows but that this interview will result in good to us both, in more
+ways than one?"
+
+Mr. Holcombe's impression was that ministers of the Gospel were, in
+their own estimation, and in fact, too good for gamblers to touch the
+hem of their garments, and that ministers had, for this reason, as
+little use and as great contempt for gamblers as the average gambler
+has, on the very same account, for ministers. But he found, to his
+amazement, that he was mistaken, and when the minister invited him to
+come to his church he said, not to the minister, yet he said:
+
+"Yes, I will go, I never had a good man to call me 'brother' before. And
+he knows what I am, for I told him. I am so tired; I am so spent. Maybe
+he can tell me what to do and how to go. If Sunday ever comes, I will go
+to that man's church."
+
+And when Sunday came the minister and the gambler faced each other
+again. With a great sense of his responsibility and insufficiency the
+preacher declared the message of his Lord, not as he wished, but as he
+could. To the usual invitation to join the church nobody responded.
+After the benediction, however, Mr. Holcombe walked down the aisle to
+the pulpit and said to the minister: "How does a man join the church?"
+He had not attended church for twenty-three years, and had been engaged
+in such a life that he had forgotten what little he knew. The minister
+informed him.
+
+"Then," said he, "may I join your church?"
+
+"You are welcome, and more than welcome," replied the minister, and the
+people wondered.
+
+"From the day I joined his church," says Mr. Holcombe, "that minister
+seemed to understand me better than I understood myself. He seemed to
+know and did tell me my own secrets. He led me into an understanding of
+myself and my situation. I saw now what had been the cause of my
+restlessness, my wanderings, my weariness and my woe. I saw what it was
+I needed, and I prayed as earnestly as I knew how from that time. I
+attended all the services--preaching, Sunday-school, prayer-meeting,
+class-meeting in any and all kinds of weather, walking frequently all
+the way from Second street to Portland, a distance of three miles,
+because I was making too little to allow me to ride on the street-cars.
+But with all this, I felt something was yet wanting. I began to see that
+I could not make any advance in goodness and happiness so long as I was
+burdened with the unforgiven guilt of forty years of sin and crime. It
+grew worse and heavier until I felt I must have relief, if relief could
+be had. One day I went in the back office of my business house, after
+the others had all gone home, and shut myself up and determined to stay
+there and pray until I should find relief. The room was dark, and I had
+prayed, I know not how long, when such a great sense of relief and
+gladness and joy came to me that it seemed to me as if a light had
+flooded the room, and the only words I could utter or think of were
+these three: 'Jesus of Nazareth.' It seemed to me they were the sweetest
+words I had ever heard. Never, till then, did the feeling of
+blood-guiltiness leave me. It was only the blood of Christ that could
+wash from my conscience the blood of my fellowman."
+
+As in his case, so always, in proportion as a man is in earnest about
+forsaking sin, will he desire the assurance of the forgiveness of past
+sins, and _vice versa_. But Mr. Holcombe did not find this an end of
+difficulty and trial and conflict--far from it. Indeed, it was the
+preparation for conflict, and the entrance upon it. Hitherto, in his old
+life, he had made no resistance to his evil nature, and there was no
+conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. But such a nature as
+his was not to be conquered and subjected to entire and easy control in
+a day. His passions would revive, his old habits would re-assert
+themselves, poverty pinched him, people misunderstood him, failure after
+failure in business discouraged him. Hence, he needed constant and
+careful guidance and an unfailing sympathy. And he thus refers to the
+help he received from his pastor in those trying days:
+
+"Seeing the great necessity of giving me much attention and making me
+feel at home in his presence and in the presence of his wife, he spent
+much time in my company, and with loving patience bore with my
+ignorance, dullness and slowness. In this way I became so much attached
+to him that I had no need or desire for my old associations. He led me
+along till I was entirely weaned from all desire for my old sinful life
+and habits. I think he gave me this close attention for about two years,
+when he felt that it was best for me to lean more upon God and less upon
+him."
+
+Mr. Holcombe received continual kindness and encouragement from the
+minister's wife also, who not only had for him always a cordial greeting
+and a kindly word of cheer, but who took great pleasure in entertaining
+him frequently in their home. It was a perpetual benediction to him to
+know her, to see the daily beauty of her faithful life, to feel the
+influence of her heavenly spirit. With quick intuition she recognized
+the sincerity and intensity of Mr. Holcombe's desires and efforts to be
+a Christian man; with ready insight she comprehended the situation and
+saw his difficulties and needs, and with a very Christlike
+self-forgetfulness and joy she ministered to this struggling soul. Not
+only Mr. Holcombe, but all who ever knew her, whether in adversity or
+prosperity, whether in sickness or in health, admired the beauty and
+felt the quiet unconscious power of her character. As for Mr. Holcombe
+himself, his mingled feeling of reverence for her saintliness and of
+gratitude for her sisterliness led him always to speak of her in terms
+that he did not apply to any other person whom he knew. He could never
+cease to marvel that one of her education, position and tender
+womanliness should take such pains and have such pleasure in helping,
+entertaining and serving such as he. A few years only was he blessed
+with the helpfulness of her friendship. In 1885, when she was just past
+the age of thirty-one, her tender feet grew so tired that she could go
+no further in this rough world, and Christ took her away. Few were more
+deeply bereaved than the poor converted gambler, and when he was asked
+if he would serve as one of the pallbearers on the occasion of her
+funeral, he burst into tears and replied, "I am not worthy, I am not
+worthy." If those who knew her--little children of tender years, young
+men and women, perplexed on life's threshold and desiring to enter in
+at the strait gate, people of rank and wealth, people in poverty and
+ignorance, worldly-minded people whom she had unconsciously attracted,
+experienced Christians whom she unconsciously helped, and, most of all,
+her husband and children who knew her best--if all these should be
+asked, all these would agree that St. Paul has written her fitting
+epitaph:
+
+    "Well reported of for good works;
+    If she have brought up children,
+    If she have lodged strangers,
+    If she have washed the saints' feet,
+    If she have relieved the afflicted,
+    If she have diligently followed every good work."
+
+It was not long after Mr. Holcombe's conversion before his entire family
+became members of the church. Though this was to him cause of
+unspeakable joy and gratitude, it did not mark the limit of his love and
+zeal. From the time of his conversion he had a deep and brotherly
+sympathy for all who were without the knowledge and joy he had come into
+the possession of, but he felt a special interest in the salvation of
+the wretched and the outcast, and of the men of his own class and former
+occupation who were as ignorant as he was of these higher things and as
+shut out from opportunities of knowing them. So that from the very
+beginning of his Christian life he undertook to help others, and when
+they were in need, not stopping to think of any other way, he took them
+to his own house. This, with the support of his own family, increased
+the cost of his living to such an extent that he was soon surprised and
+pained to find that he could not carry on his business. He had taken to
+his home, also, the father of his wife, whom he cared for till his
+death. And in a short time he was so pressed for means that he had to
+mortgage his property for money to go into another kind of business.
+
+When it was first reported that Steve Holcombe, one of the most
+successful, daring and famous gamblers in the South, had been converted
+and had joined the church, the usual predictions were made that in less
+than three months, etc., he would see his mistake or yield to
+discouragements and return to his old life of self-indulgence and ease.
+But when men passed and repassed the corner where this man had a little
+fruit store and was trying to make an honest living for his family,
+their thoughts became more serious and their questions deepen Steve had
+got something or something had got him. He was not the man of former
+times. And most of his friends, the gamblers included, when they saw
+this, were glad, and while they wondered wished him well. But there was
+one man engaged in business just across the street from the little fruit
+store, who with a patronizing air bought little fruits from Mr.
+Holcombe, and then spent his leisure in discussions and arguments to
+prove not only that he had made a big blunder in becoming a Christian,
+but that religion was all a sham, the Bible a not very cunningly devised
+fable and that Mr. Ingersoll was the greatest man of the day, because he
+had shattered these delusions. Mr. Holcombe patiently heard it all, and
+perhaps did not frame as cogent or logical an answer to this man's
+sophistries as he could do now, but he felt in his own heart and he saw
+in his own life that he was a new man. He felt a profound pity for his
+friend who knew not nor cared for any of these things, and he lived on
+his humble, patient, uncomplaining Christian life. It may not be out of
+place to add as the sequel of this little episode that the testimony of
+this man across the way, who was such an unbeliever and scoffer, is
+given elsewhere in this volume, and doubtless will be recognized by the
+reader. Mr. Holcombe's life was too much for his logic.
+
+When Mr. Holcombe had failed in every kind of business that he
+undertook, his property was forced on the market and nothing was left
+him from the sale of it. Christian men of means might have helped him
+and ought to have helped him, but for reasons known to themselves they
+did not. Perhaps they were afraid to take hold of so tough a case as
+Steve Holcombe was known to have been, perhaps they saw he was not an
+experienced business man, perhaps they felt indisposed to help a man who
+was so incapable of economy and so generous in entertaining his friends
+and helping the needy. Greatly pressed, he went at last to his
+half-brother with whom in former years he had been associated as partner
+in business, and putting his case and condition before him asked for
+employment. But his half-brother declined on the spot, giving as his
+short and sole reason that he believed Mr. Holcombe was a hypocrite and
+was making believe that he was a Christian for some sinister purpose.
+
+This was "the most unkindest cut" of all and for days the poor wounded
+man felt the iron in his soul. During his former life he would have
+cared nothing for such treatment. A ruined character is benumbed like a
+paralyzed limb, but a revived and repentant soul is full of sensitive
+nerves and feels the slightest slight or the smallest wound. He found
+out months afterward, however, that his half-brother was already losing
+his mind and was not responsible for this extraordinary behavior. He
+tried and his friends tried everywhere and every way to find employment
+for him, but he could get nothing to do. His money was all gone, his
+property was all gone, he sold his piano, he sold his Brussels carpets,
+he removed from place to place, following cheaper rent till at last he
+took his family to a garret. It was now two years since his conversion.
+During these two years he had done nothing to bring reproach on his
+profession or to give ground for a doubt of his sincerity. He had not
+only lived a consistent life himself, he had striven earnestly to help
+others to do so. He assisted in holding meetings in Shippingsport, and
+the people marveled and magnified the grace of God in him. But he was
+with his family on the point of starvation. When at last everything had
+been tried and no relief was found, in his desperation he thought of the
+improbable possibility of finding something, at least something to do,
+in the West, and he decided to go to Colorado.
+
+In Louisville, where he was suffering and where his family was
+suffering, he could have returned to gambling and have been independent
+in a month. He could have been living in a comfortable house; he could
+have had, as he was wont, the best the market afforded for his table, he
+could have decked himself with jewelry and diamonds, he could soon have
+been once more in position to spend, as he had regularly done, from two
+to ten dollars a day for the mere luxuries of life. He could have done
+all this and he could do all this even yet; for even yet he is in the
+prime of life and power. But he did not, and he does not. He did not
+turn Christian because he had played out as a gambler. He did not turn
+to Christianity because fortune had turned away from him. But he turned
+away himself from fortune when he was fortune's pet, in order to turn to
+a better and worthier life.
+
+When he had decided to go to Colorado, he went to his pastor and told
+him. The pastor was astonished, alarmed. After two years and more of
+faithful and self-denying service was his friend and brother about to
+give away? Was this a plan to get away into a "far country" where he
+might turn again to sin? He reasoned with him, he appealed to him, he
+besought him. He tried to picture the perils of the journey and the
+perils of the place. He reminded Mr. Holcombe of the condition, as far
+as he knew it, of his family. But all to no purpose. He committed his
+friend trustfully to God and gave it up.
+
+"But," said the pastor, "how are you going to get there?"
+
+"I am going to walk from place to place and work my way out. I can not
+stay here, I can get nothing to do and I must try elsewhere. I am
+desperate."
+
+"Then," said the pastor, "if your mind is made up and you are going, I
+can let you have some money. I have about sixty-one dollars in bank
+which I laid aside when a single man, to use for Christ, and if that
+will pay your way out, you can have it. Christ has called for his own."
+
+He accepted it with tears, left a few dollars of it with his wife and,
+with the rest, started for Leadville.
+
+When he first landed at Denver, he met an old friend, John Chisholm,
+with whom he had gambled in Atlanta. This man had left Atlanta on
+account of having killed somebody there, and had made a considerable
+amount of money in California. He had now come to Denver and opened a
+game of faro. When he saw Mr. Holcombe on the street, he said: "You are
+just the man I want. I have opened a game of faro here, and I am afraid
+I can not protect myself. I will give you a good interest if you will go
+in with me."
+
+Mr. Holcombe replied: "Yes, John; but I am a Christian now, and can not
+deal faro."
+
+"I know," said the man, "you were a Christian in Louisville, but you are
+a long ways from there."
+
+"Yes," Mr. Holcombe said, "but a true Christian is a Christian
+everywhere."
+
+Notwithstanding, he insisted on Mr. Holcombe's going to his room to see
+another old Atlanta friend. He did so, but felt so much out of place
+there that he did not remain ten minutes.
+
+From Denver he concluded to go to Silver Cliff instead of Leadville.
+When he arrived in that strange village, his money was all gone and he
+lacked fifteen cents of having enough to pay the stage-driver. "It was
+about sundown," says he, "when I got there. I did not know a living
+soul. I had not a cent of money. My courage failed me. I broke down and
+wept like a child."
+
+Having a good trunk he knew he would not be asked to pay in advance, and
+he went to a hotel and spent the night. In the morning he walked out
+after breakfast to see what sort of a place he had gotten into. As he
+stood at the post-office, he saw across the street what he recognized as
+a gambling-house, "everything wide open," no attempt at concealment or
+privacy. He asked some one out of curiosity who was the proprietor, and
+found that two of his old acquaintances were running the house. He could
+easily, and at once, have gotten a situation with them, and could soon
+have had money to relieve his own wants and the wants of his family. But
+he had already stood severe tests, and had now arrived at a point where
+he had no inclination whatever to gamble and felt no temptation to
+procure money in that way or from that source. He did not even look for
+the proprietors of the establishment or let them know he was in the
+village. But while he was standing there, thinking of his condition and
+wondering what he should do, he overheard a man say that a dining-room
+waiter was wanted at the Carbonate hotel, the one at which he had spent
+the night. He went at once to the hotel, made application for the place,
+and was accepted at a salary of twenty-five dollars a month and board.
+
+He was filled with thankfulness and joy, and he has declared since, that
+though, on one night during his gambling life, he had won three thousand
+dollars in money, the satisfaction which he felt then could not be
+compared with that which he felt now when the hotel-proprietor gave him
+this position of dining-room waiter _at a salary of twenty-five dollars
+a month_. He entered at once upon his duties. To his great surprise he
+found several Louisville gentlemen stopping at the hotel, some of whom
+had known him in other days and circumstances, and whom he had boarded
+with at hotels where he paid five dollars a day, with two to four
+dollars a day, extra, for wine and cigars. But, notwithstanding that, he
+was not ashamed of his present position. On the contrary, he was very
+thankful for it and happy in it. He did such faithful service there that
+the proprietor became interested in him and showed him much kindness.
+
+During his stay at Silver Cliff he did not neglect any opportunity of
+doing good to others.
+
+One day, when he was standing in the door of the post-office, a man,
+whose name he afterward found to be James Lewis, came in, got a letter
+and sat down on the step right under Mr. Holcombe to read it. As he read
+it, he was much affected and tears were running down his hardened face.
+Mr. Holcombe became so interested that he read the man's letter over his
+shoulder. It was from his wife, who, with her three children, had left
+her husband on account of his drunkenness. Mr. Holcombe made up his mind
+he would see if he could do something for the poor man to better his
+condition, and, if possible, bring about the reunion of the family. He
+did not like to approach him then and there. He watched him till he got
+up and moved away and started down through an alley. As he emerged from
+the alley, at the farther end, Mr. Holcombe, who had gone around another
+way, met him. Little did the man suspect that the stranger who accosted
+him knew his trouble and his family secrets. Mr. Holcombe, with that
+tact which his knowledge of men had given him, spoke to him kindly, but
+in a way that would not arouse his suspicions. He told him, after a
+little while, his own condition in that far-off land away from his
+family and friends. He found out from the man where he stayed. He went
+to see him, found that he slept in a stable, provided him with some
+things he needed, and then got down on his knees there in the stable and
+prayed for him.
+
+Finally, when the proper time had come, Mr. Holcombe showed him a Murphy
+pledge and asked him if he would not sign it. He told him what he
+himself had been before, and what he had become, since signing that
+pledge. The man gave Mr. Holcombe his confidence, unbosomed himself to
+him and eagerly sought counsel. He signed the pledge also and said he
+would, by God's help, give up his sins that had separated him from a
+loving wife, and would try to live a better life. Mr. Holcombe wrote to
+the man's wife informing her of the change in her husband and the effort
+he was making to do right. She came at once to Silver Cliff and Mr.
+Holcombe had the pleasure of seeing them reunited and ate with them in
+their humble cabin.
+
+When he had been some time at the Carbonate hotel, he found a position
+where he could make more money and worked there till he had saved enough
+to buy an outfit for "prospecting" in the mountains. This outfit
+consisted of a little donkey, several "agricultural implements for
+subverting _terra firma_" such as spade, pick, etc., and provisions for
+two or three weeks. Having procured these and packed his burro, as the
+donkey is called out West, he and his partner started for the
+mountains. Mr. Holcombe kept a sort of diary of this part of his Western
+trip, and we give it here, including the time from his leaving Silver
+Cliff to his return to Denver.
+
+
+DIARY.
+
+Tuesday, May 27, 1879.--I entered into partnership with a man by the
+name of J. E. White from Wisconsin for prospecting in the mountains. He
+had some blankets at Oak Creek, a distance of thirty miles from Silver
+Cliff. We walked out there one day and returned the next. The road was
+very full of dust and gravel. My shoes would get full of it. Every
+little mountain stream we came to I would stop and wash my feet, which
+was very refreshing. This made me think of the blessed Son of God and
+why, when he was a guest at different places, they brought him water for
+his feet,
+
+    "Those blessed feet
+    Which, eighteen hundred years ago, were nailed
+    For our advantage on the bitter cross."
+
+Wednesday, May 28.--After having bought a burro and a two weeks'
+grub-stake, J. E. White and myself started for the Sangre de Christo
+mountain, a wild, high range of the Rockies. We paid for our burro
+twenty-one dollars, and for our grub seven dollars. It consisted of
+flour, coffee, sugar, bacon, salt, pepper, potatoes and baking powder.
+We had a coffee-pot, frying-pan, tin cups. We used our pocket-knives
+instead of table-knives. We had a butcher-knife and some teaspoons. With
+these and some other things we packed our burro and started. It was a
+funny sight. It all looked like a house on top of the poor little
+animal which was not much larger than a good sized Newfoundland dog. But
+it was strong, faithful and sure-footed and could go anywhere in the
+mountains that a man could. We traveled this first day about ten miles
+and camped in a gulch at night. Had a hard storm. Our only shelter was a
+hut made of boughs of trees, Indian fashion.
+
+Thursday, May 29.--We moved up the gulch as far as we could for the
+snow. Did some little prospecting of which neither of us knew very much,
+and, of course, we found nothing. Every once in awhile, White would pick
+up a rock, look at it wisely and say "This is good float. I think there
+is a paying lode up on this mountain somewhere." Up the mountain we go
+about 9,000 feet above the sea level. We turned over all the stones and
+dug up the earth every now and then and toward night we went to work to
+make our hut which we got about half finished. During the night snow
+fell about three inches. We were on the side of the mountain. Could
+hardly keep the fire from rolling down the side of the mountain. Could
+hardly keep our victuals from upsetting. This and the snow made me
+weaken considerably, and I did say in my heart I wished I was back home.
+
+Friday, May 30.--We prospected the second ridge, south of Horn's Peak,
+going up about 300 feet above timber line, or about 12,000 feet above
+the sea-level. There were no indications of minerals. About five miles
+off we could see a beautiful lake. I was very anxious to go to it, but
+White objected. Said it would be dangerous, might be caught in a
+snow-storm. The sun was shining brightly. Weather was very pleasant. I
+could not conceive of a snow-storm on the 30th of May. So I persuaded
+him to go. After we had gone some distance, all of a sudden it began to
+blow up cold and in a little while to snow. We turned our faces toward
+camp. Just then we saw one of those beautiful Rocky mountain spotted
+grouse. We were so hungry for something fresh to eat, we took several
+shots at it with White's pistol. But the blinding snow made it
+impossible for us to hit it. We had no grouse for supper.
+
+It grew cold very rapidly and in a very short time it seemed to me as
+cold as I ever felt it in my life. My moustache froze stiff. At last the
+storm got so heavy, and, the evening coming on, we could hardly see our
+way. The side of the mountain was full of dead timber, which was slick
+like glass and, as everything was covered with snow, we could not always
+see where to put our feet down, and to have slipped would have been
+almost certain death. Once White did slip and but for having the pick
+and sticking it in a soft place, he would have been killed. We got lost
+and wandered about over the mountain side till late in the evening when
+we providentially struck on our camp. We were hungry, tired and wet. Our
+bedding was covered with snow. Before going to bed I read the first
+chapter of Romans.
+
+Saturday, May 31.--Cloudy morning. Four inches of snow. No wind. Felt
+very well. We moved our camp. Stopped at a deserted cabin. Found a
+grindstone and ground our hatchet. We pitched camp about three miles
+South-east. Built a hut of boughs. We got wet. I had but one pair of
+pants and one pair of socks. My feet were soaking wet. At bedtime I
+read Romans, second chapter.
+
+Sunday, June 1, 1879.--Snowed Saturday night. When I awoke our blankets
+were wet. I had symptoms of rheumatism in knees and wrists. I read
+Romans, third chapter, and we had prayer together. White sang "Tell Me
+the Old, Old Story" and "Safe in the Arms of Jesus." It made me think of
+my family so far away, of my dear pastor, Brother----, and the dear old
+Portland church, and the tears streamed down my face. Spent the day in
+camp.
+
+Monday, June 2.--Woke up very cold. Our hut of pine boughs was not
+sufficient to keep us warm. So much snow on the mountains that we
+prospected the foot-hills and found what we thought were indications of
+mineral. At night read Romans, fourth chapter. Much encouraged by
+Abraham's faith. So cold I had to get my hat in the night and put it on
+my head to keep warm. Dreamed that I was at home with my precious wife.
+Tried to wake her up, but she was dead. What awful feelings!
+
+Tuesday, June 3.--A beautiful bright morning. Read Romans v. Partner
+wanted to go deer hunting with a pistol. Seemed to me so foolish I would
+not go. I stayed at camp and was very lonesome.
+
+Wednesday, June 4.--Bright, clear morning. Read Romans vi. Had our
+breakfast, bread, bacon, coffee and potatoes, early, so as to prospect
+on third mountain south of Horn's Peak. Started for the mountains. Went
+up above timber line. Ate lunch up there. Too much snow to go any
+higher. Found what we thought were indications of mineral. Saw a gray
+eagle sailing around. It looked very grand away up above that lonely
+mountain. Suppose its nest was near. In evening returned to camp very
+tired. Read Romans vii., and it did me a great deal of good.
+
+Thursday, June 5.--Clear morning. Prospected some around the foot-hills.
+Found nothing. Began to get disgusted with prospecting. Struck camp
+about ten or eleven o'clock A. M. Packed our burro and crossed valley
+about fifteen miles. Very hot crossing. Pack slipped out of place
+several times. Very troublesome. White got out of humor. Was inclined to
+quarrel, but I would not quarrel with him. After getting across the
+valley we had trouble finding a place to camp convenient to water, but
+found it at last. While we were unpacking a big rabbit jumped up. White
+fired three or four shots at him with his revolver. Followed him up the
+side of the mountain. At last he killed him. He came down the mountain
+swinging old Brer Rabbit, and I think he was as happy looking a man as I
+ever saw. No doubt a smile of satisfaction might have been seen on your
+Uncle Remus' face, too, when I saw that rabbit. That was the first thing
+in shape of fresh meat we had had for about ten days.
+
+    SUPPER--BILL OF FARE.
+
+    _Fried Rabbit,              Fried Bread,
+             Potatoes,    Coffee._
+
+After supper we raised a few poles and threw our blankets over them for
+shelter. Read Romans viii., and went to sleep, feeling satisfied that if
+I died before morning, I would wake up in heaven.
+
+Friday, June 6.--Bright morning. Fine appetite. Good breakfast. Read
+Romans ix. We moved from the foot-hills and went up into the mountain.
+White went prospecting while I built us a hut for the night. When he
+came back he said he had found some very good float. Very cold night.
+Our burro got loose in the night and made considerable noise moving
+around. We were sure it was a mountain lion, but, of course, we were not
+afraid. I had my hatchet under my head and he had his pistols. Of
+course, we were not afraid.
+
+Saturday, June 7.--Very cold morning. Prospected. Found a lode of black
+rock. Felt sure we had struck it rich. Dug a whole in the ground and
+staked a claim. Read Romans x, at night. Slept cold. Got to thinking.
+Thought it was easier to find a needle in a haystack than a paying mine
+in the Rocky mountains.
+
+Sunday, June 8.--Morning clear and bright. Owing to the disagreeable
+place in which we were camped, we thought our health justified us in
+moving even on the Lord's day. Found an old cabin. It was worse than any
+horse stable, but we cleaned it out. Made a bed of poles, which we cut
+and carried some distance. This was on the Pueblo and Rosita road.
+
+Monday, June 9.--Bright, cold morning. Ice on the spring branch. After
+breakfast we started prospecting. Found nothing, except another old
+deserted cabin of the Arkansaw Traveler's style. Returned to camp in the
+evening. Read Romans xii. and xiii. and slept like a prince.
+
+Tuesday, June 10--Another bright, clear, cold morning. We prospected
+some. Staked off a claim, more in fun than anything else, for we knew it
+was worth nothing. The locality is called Hardscrabble. And it was the
+right name. Our provisions had about given out, and it was a hard
+scrabble for us to get along. Concluded to return to Silver Cliff, go to
+work, get another grub stake, and take another fresh start. In the
+afternoon we rested. Read Romans xiv., xv. and xvi.
+
+Wednesday, June 11.--Another beautiful Colorado morning. Read 1 Cor., i.
+Started for Silver Cliff about 7:00 A. M. I carried White's pistol. On
+the way I killed two doves. Had them for dinner about 3:00 P. M. How
+sweet they did taste! Arrived at Silver Cliff about dark.
+
+Thursday, June 12.--Concluded the best thing I could do was to get home
+as soon as possible. We sold our burro for $15.00, and with my part
+($7.50) I started with a friend by the name of Hall for home. We got a
+cheap ride in a freight wagon from Silver Cliff to Pueblo. The country
+through which we passed is the wildest and grandest I ever saw anywhere
+in my life. Hardscrabble canon is one of the most picturesque in the
+world, and then the beautiful mountain stream all the way, winding like
+a serpent down the valley. We crossed and re-crossed it several times.
+That night we slept in the wagon. I never neglected praying any day
+while I was on the prospecting tour.
+
+Friday, June 13.--Arrived at Pueblo about 2:00 P. M. Had a little money.
+Got a bite to eat. At that time there was a railroad war. Men were
+killing each other for three dollars a day for corporations. The
+excitement about this, and the moving bodies of men all anxious for
+news, kept me from thinking of my condition till night. At night I went
+out to the commons, on the edge of the city, and, with other tramps,
+went to sleep on the cold ground.
+
+Saturday, June 14.--Had a little money. Some others of the tramps had a
+little. We pooled it, bought a little grub, and at 12:00 o'clock started
+on a tramp to Denver, a distance of about one hundred and twenty-five
+miles. I felt fresh and strong. We walked about six miles and slept on
+the ground at night.
+
+Sunday, June 15.--Got up early. Had a little breakfast. Started about
+6:00 A. M. Walked about three miles when, two of our party having such
+sore feet, we stopped. I had a voracious appetite. Went to cooking. We
+had some canned tomatoes and canned syrup. I cooked some tomatoes and
+ate them. Then I went to a ranch, bought a nickel's worth of milk, fried
+some cakes, ate them with the syrup, drank the milk and was--sick. Did
+not feel strong again all the time. I had had no experience in tramping
+and tried to carry too much luggage. My feet got sore. Every day's tramp
+after that was a drag. One of the party left us and went on ahead by
+himself. We never saw him again. Another was so broken down we had to
+leave him. Hall and I went on sick and tired. About dark we went up to
+the house of a ranchman, and I told him my story. He took us in. I found
+out he was a professing Christian. I read Romans vii., and prayed with
+the family. His name is John Irvine, El Paso, Colorado.
+
+Monday, June 16.--Left John Irvine's soon after breakfast. Walked five
+miles to a water-tank where the train had to stop for water. We waited
+till the train came along, and boarded her. The conductor did not see
+us till we had passed Colorado Springs some distance. When he did see
+us, I made the appeal of my life on account of myself and my friend,
+whose feet were so sore he could, with difficulty, hobble along. I told
+the conductor my own condition, and of my anxiety to get home to a
+suffering family. When I saw he would not believe what I said, I offered
+him my pocket-knife, a very fine and costly one, to let us ride a short
+distance further, but he was like a stone. At the next stop he put us
+off without a cent of money or a bite to eat. We walked about six miles,
+lay down on the ground, with the sky for a covering, and slept like
+logs.
+
+Tuesday, June 17.--We started about daybreak, without anything to eat.
+Walked about eight miles to a little place called Sedalia. Saw a German
+boarding house. Sent Hall in to see if we could get anything to eat. Had
+no money, but told him to tell her I would give her a butcher-knife and
+a silver teaspoon, which I had brought from home, for something to eat.
+
+She said to him so I could hear her: "Breakfast is over, but I will give
+you what I have." That was enough for me. In I went. Sat down to a real
+German lunch, and never did a breakfast taste sweeter to me than that.
+God bless that good old German woman, not only for her good breakfast,
+but for her kind, motherly words to two strangers in want. It taught me
+a lesson which I have not forgotten yet, and I pray God I never may.
+
+I left Sedalia feeling comfortable. Walked about four miles. Hall was
+about done. He could go no further. While we were sitting there, a
+Christian man by the name of Jennings came along, took pity on us, took
+us in his wagon, gave us something to eat and brought us to Denver. We
+arrived there about 6:00 P. M., without one cent, nothing to eat, no
+place to go. Slept that night in a stable-yard under Jennings' wagon.
+
+Wednesday, June 18.--Got up next morning about daybreak. Had a little
+cold breakfast with Jennings. Knocked about town a little. Had a baker's
+blackberry pie and a cup of water for dinner.
+
+Here the diary of the prospecting tour and the tramp to Denver ends.
+
+Mr. Holcombe continued the next day to knock about town, not knowing
+what to do, when his old friend, Frank Jones, by nature one of the
+kindest-hearted men in the world, chanced to meet him and insisted on
+sharing his room with him. As his friend Jones, however, was himself
+broke, he could render Mr. Holcombe no further assistance and it was
+necessary for Mr. Holcombe to look about for something to do. He spent a
+week in this occupation, or want of occupation, and at the end of that
+time found employment in a brickyard. But the work was so hard, at the
+end of three weeks, he had to give it up. After some time what little
+money he had was expended and again he was destitute. And at one time he
+was so pressed that he went into a grocery store and offered his fine
+pocket-knife again for something to eat, but it was refused. Several
+times he passed the Young Men's Christian Association rooms. Each time
+he stopped, looked wistfully in and debated with himself whether they
+would probably believe him and help him if he ventured to go in and
+make his condition known. But he had never been used to asking favors,
+and he did not know how to approach Christian people, and so his heart
+failed him.
+
+At that time and in that condition he was assailed by a sore temptation.
+The devil, he says, suggested these thoughts to him: "This is a fine
+condition for Steve Holcombe to be in. Before you heard of God and this
+religion, you could stop at first-class hotels, wear fine clothes, live
+like a gentleman, have a good home and all that money could buy for your
+family. Now, you say you are serving God. You say He is your father and
+that He owns everything in the world. Yet here you are without food and
+clothing and your family is at home in want. You have not enough to buy
+a meal for them or for yourself. Can you afford to trust and serve such
+a master as that?"
+
+But he had not been serving God two years and more for naught. He had
+learned some things in that time. One of them was that trials and
+privations are a part of the Christian's heritage, and that if any man
+will live godly in this present world, he must expect to suffer. So his
+reply was ready and he met the temptation with decision. "Yea, and
+though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." And the sequel will show
+whether he made a mistake in trusting Him.
+
+When he saw it was useless for him to remain longer away from home, he
+informed his friend, Mr. Jones, of his purpose to leave at once for
+Louisville. Mr. Jones got him money enough to buy a ticket to Kansas
+City, and there the great temperance lecturer, Francis Murphy, having
+found out his character and condition, gave him enough to get home.
+
+Whether God can or not, at any rate He does not pour wisdom into a man
+as we pour water into a bottle. He does not so favor even His own
+children, if favor it could be called. But He gives a man opportunities
+of self-discipline, and if, aided by His divine help and grace, the man
+is willing to go through the process, he comes out with larger knowledge
+and better equipment for life and service and usefulness.
+
+Without the experiences and lessons of this Colorado trip, Mr. Holcombe
+could not have been the efficient man he is to-day. That season of
+loneliness and self-searching and severe testing and humiliation was to
+him, though a painful, yet a helpful, and perhaps necessary, stage in
+his Christian life.
+
+Indeed, all the trying experiences that had come to him since his
+conversion were helpful to him in one way or another. He needed to learn
+patience, he needed to learn economy, he needed to learn self-control.
+The disposition to practice all these was given him at the time of his
+conversion, he needed now to be put to the test and to "learn obedience,
+practically, by the things which he suffered." Moreover, if he was to
+serve efficiently the poor and the tempted, he needed to become
+acquainted with their condition, their sorrows, their conflicts, by
+passing through them himself.
+
+The endurance of the evils which give occasion for the exercise of
+self-denial and for the acquisition of self-control is a far less evil
+than the want of self-denial and of self-control. So Mr. Holcombe was
+willing to suffer all these things rather than to decline them and be
+without the blessing which comes through them. This reflection justified
+his past sufferings and prepared him for any that might come in the
+future. He knew what he had been and he had learned that he was to be
+purified by fire. So he felt that if God would be patient with him, he
+would be patient with God's dealings. When he arrived at home he found
+his family in a very needy condition. Shortly after his departure for
+Colorado, his wife had to remove from the house she was occupying,
+because she could not pay the rent. She had never taken care of herself
+before or done any sort of work, for he always provided well for his
+family; but now she saw it was necessary for her to support the family.
+Accordingly, she took in sewing, and in that way did support them till
+Mr. Holcombe's return. For six weeks after his return he could find
+nothing to do, and Mrs. Holcombe, brave, noble woman, continued to
+support the family with her needle. The time of her full deliverance was
+coming, but it was not yet. Nor did she know when it would come, or that
+it would ever come. But all the same she waited, and while she waited,
+she served, and with a glad heart, too, for had not her husband turned
+his face heavenward? And poverty seemed now a small thing.
+
+Some time after Mr. Holcombe's return, his friend, Major Ed Hughes, was
+elected Chief of the Fire Department in Louisville, and he made
+application to him at once for a position. Major Hughes gave it to him
+unhesitatingly; but, as Mr. Holcombe was entirely without experience, it
+had to be a subordinate one, in which the salary was not large, being
+only a dollar and a half per day. It was impossible for him to support
+his family on so little, and though Mrs. Holcombe undertook to help him
+out by keeping boarders and doing all the work herself, they got
+behind all the time he was in the fire department. Finding that keeping
+boarders after Mrs. Holcombe's liberal fashion was entirely
+unprofitable, she gave that up and commenced taking in sewing again. She
+even learned to make coats for clothing stores in Louisville, and
+continued that for some time.
+
+[Illustration: ENGINE HOUSE.]
+
+Meanwhile, he was having a hard time in his subordinate position in the
+fire department. In the first place he was required to be at the
+engine-house night and day and Sundays, with the bare exception of a
+half hour or such a matter at meal time. For a man of his nature and
+habits this confinement was almost intolerable, and would have been
+quite so, if he had not been radically changed. In the second place he
+was subject to the orders of his superiors, though he had never been
+obliged to obey anybody, and as a matter of fact never had obeyed
+anybody since he was a mere infant. In the third place, notwithstanding
+his experience, his knowledge of the world and his capacity for higher
+work, he was required to do work which a well-trained idiot might have
+done just as well. One of his duties was to rub the engine and keep it
+polished. In order to clean some parts of it, he would have to lie down
+on the floor under it flat on his back; and in order to clean other more
+delicate parts of the machinery, he had to work in such places that he
+was always bruising and skinning his hands.
+
+If repeated failure in business in Louisville was hard, if starving in
+Colorado was harder, the confinement and drudgery of his position at the
+engine-house were hardest. It would require some effort to think of a
+position more thoroughly disagreeable and trying than this one which Mr.
+Holcombe filled to the satisfaction of his superiors for two mortal
+years. But he was learning some things he needed to know. He was passing
+through a necessary apprenticeship, though he did not know it, for
+something vastly higher. It perhaps should be added that Mr. Holcombe
+was practically isolated and alone at the engine-house, for none of the
+men there employed were congenial companions. However, to their credit,
+be it said, they showed great respect for him and for his Christian
+profession; they quit gambling, they refrained from using obscene or
+profane language in his presence, and, in general, were very kind to
+him.
+
+Nothing could lessen Mr. Holcombe's sympathy for the outcast and the
+lost, and nothing destroy his zeal for their salvation. Though he was
+not allowed to leave his post even on Sunday, without hiring, at his own
+expense, a substitute, yet he frequently went to Shippingsport and other
+places to hold services among the poor "with the hope," as he says, "of
+helping and blessing them." He incurred the expense of a substitute that
+he might, once in awhile, go out bearing light and blessing to others,
+and he even took to his own home men who were trying to reform and live
+better lives. In view of the condition of his family, this was doubtless
+more than he ought to have done, and in after years he saw it was a
+mistake, but such was his insatiable longing to help and bless others,
+he let his zeal, perhaps, go beyond his prudence in that single
+particular. Most of us err very far on the other side. He did not
+hesitate to take to his home in some instances men who had gone in
+their dissipation to the extent of delirium tremens. One such case was
+that of a fine young fellow who belonged to an excellent family in
+Louisville, but who through drink had gone down, down, down, until he
+had struck bottom. During his drinking sprees he was the most forlorn
+and wretched looking man in Louisville. He was at this time, by Mr.
+Holcombe's invitation, staying at his house. He ate there, he slept
+there; it was his home. But on one occasion, some time after midnight,
+he was attacked with a frightful spell of delirium tremens, or, as he
+said, the devils got after him. They told him, he said, that if he did
+not kill Mr. and Mrs. Holcombe and their baby, they would kill him. He
+heard them. They told him to go and get his razor, and he did it. Then
+they advanced on him and he backed from them, his razor in hand. As they
+advanced he retreated. He opened Mr. Holcombe's door (for he had hired a
+substitute and remained at home on the night in question in order to
+help his man through his spell). He backed to the bed in which Mr. and
+Mrs. Holcombe were sleeping. He struck the bed as he retreated from the
+devils, and Mrs. Holcombe awoke to find a demonized man standing over
+them with a drawn razor. She woke her husband. He jumped out of bed,
+caught the man's arm and took the razor from him. After that Mr.
+Holcombe sat up with him the remainder of the night, and during most of
+the time the man was talking to imaginary devils. About daylight he
+snatched up a brickbat out of the hearth and rushed toward the door
+saying there were three big men out there who had come to kill him. Mr.
+Holcombe kept him with himself all next day. The next night while they
+were walking together in the open air, the man imagined that a woman
+whom he knew to be dead was choking him to death, and he was on the
+point of dying with suffocation when Mr. Holcombe called a physician to
+his aid.
+
+Such was the kind of men Mr. Holcombe, even in those days of poverty and
+discouragement, was trying to help and rescue, and such were his efforts
+and trials and perils in rescuing them.
+
+When Mr. Holcombe's pastor saw the grace of God that abounded in him, it
+was plain to him that he might, in future, when a suitable opening
+should come, make a very useful helper in the work of the church. In
+order, therefore, that Mr. Holcombe might be prepared for an enlarged
+sphere, if it should ever come, the pastor proposed to teach him in
+certain lines and did so, visiting him regularly at the engine house for
+that purpose. Mr. Holcombe studied very industriously, but it was with
+extreme difficulty that he could apply himself to books at that time.
+Later, however, he overcame to a great extent this difficulty and has
+gotten now to be quite a student. He has attended also, for two years,
+with great profit, the lectures of Dr. Broadus in the Baptist Seminary
+in Louisville.
+
+As has been said elsewhere, Mr. Holcombe remained in the fire department
+for two years, enduring the confinement, performing the drudgery and
+trying, as best he could, to help and bless others. Four years and more
+had now elapsed since his conversion. It was a long stretch and at times
+a heavy strain. But he endured it, and grew strong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+The time had now come for such an extraordinary career and such an
+extraordinary man to be recognized, and he was. He had made an
+impression and his work, humble as it was, had made an impression.
+Moreover, Mr. Holcombe himself was now growing impatient to get into a
+position more favorable to his usefulness. It was not the selfish
+impatience that could not longer endure the humiliation and manifold
+disagreeablenesses of his position at the engine house. He had overcome
+all that. It was the noble impatience of love and zeal. Oh, how he did
+long to get into a place where he could help somebody and serve somebody
+and love somebody.
+
+He had been very kindly treated by his old friends, the gamblers, during
+all this time; and though he was loath to allow it and at first declined
+it, yet fearing lest his refusal might alienate them, he had, more than
+once, accepted substantial help from one or two particular friends among
+them. Encouraged by assurances from some of these and by the promise of
+all the help his pastor could possibly give him, financially and
+otherwise, he had made up his mind to rent a room in the central part of
+the city and to open a meeting for the outcast classes. But on the very
+day when he was engaged in making these arrangements, his remarkable
+conversion and character and career were the subject of discussion at
+the Methodist Ministers' meeting. The result was that before the week
+had passed, the Rev. Jas. C. Morris, pastor of the Walnut-street
+Methodist church, visited him at the engine-house and informed him that
+the Official Board of his church had authorized him to take measures for
+the establishment of a mission in the central part of the city and to
+employ Mr. Holcombe to take charge of it at an assured salary sufficient
+to meet the wants of his family. He at once accepted it as a call from
+God and gave up his position in the fire department, with no great
+degree of reluctance.
+
+A vacant store in the Tyler Block, on Jefferson street between Third and
+Fourth, was offered free of rent. Regular noon-day meetings were held
+there in charge of Rev. Mr. Morris and Mr. Holcombe. It was a
+phenomenon. Within two blocks of the two faro banks which Steve Holcombe
+used to own and run, he was now every day at high noon declaring the
+Gospel of the grace of God. The people came to see and hear. They found
+it was no mushroom fanatic, but a man who for forty years was a leader
+in wickedness and for four years had been almost a pattern of
+righteousness. He spoke no hot words of excitement, but narrated facts
+with truth and soberness. Many of his old time friends, the gamblers,
+their timidity overcome by their curiosity, joined the crowd and heard
+the man. Poor drunkards, too far gone for timidity or curiosity, dragged
+themselves to the place where the famous gambler was telling about his
+conversion and his new life. And the power of God was present to heal,
+and great grace was upon them all. Among those who were saved at that
+time and place were Mr. Ben Harney, son of the distinguished editor of
+the old _Louisville Democrat_, who lives again in happiness and
+prosperity with his beloved family, and Mr. D. C. Chaudoin, at one time
+a Main-street merchant, who remained faithful until death.
+
+When the supporters of the movement saw that it promised so much, they
+took steps at once to make larger provision for it and to secure its
+permanence. They sought a suitable house in a convenient place, and
+finally decided to take the room at No. 436 Jefferson street, between
+Fourth and Fifth streets, which had formerly been used as a
+gambling-house. Mr. Holcombe took possession of it, and found some of
+the gambling implements still there. A Board of Managers was elected,
+consisting of John L. Wheat, James G. Carter, P. H. Tapp, C. P. Atmore
+and George W. Wicks. Some friends from the Walnut-street church and
+others volunteered as singers; the room was supplied with hymn-books, an
+organ was secured, and the meetings commenced under the most promising
+circumstances. At first, meetings were held three nights in the week,
+and the attendance was large. Soon after, meetings were held every night
+and on Sundays. People of all classes came. The services consisted of
+singing, prayers, reading of Scripture, a short, earnest address from
+Mr. Holcombe, and sometimes testimonies from the men who had been helped
+and saved--among whom were drunkards, gamblers, pick-pockets, thieves,
+burglars, tramps, men who had fallen from high positions in business and
+social circles, and in short, men of all classes and kinds. Many of
+these gave unquestionable proofs of conversion, "of whom the greater
+part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep," faithful
+unto death. Among those who were converted during that period were
+Robert Denny, Fred Ropke, Captain B. F. Davidson and Charles Wilson,
+whose testimonies will be found elsewhere in this book--besides others,
+some of whom are residents of Louisville and some of other places.
+
+By request, the Rev. James C. Morris, D. D., now of Kansas City, Mo.,
+has written a brief account of Mr. Holcombe's work from the beginning to
+the point which we have now reached in this narrative. And, as no part
+of it can well be omitted or changed for the better, it is here
+introduced entire, with a part of the genial letter which accompanied
+it:
+
+    "KANSAS CITY, MO., August 14, 1888.
+
+    "_My Dear Brother_:
+
+    "I inclose the notes for which you ask. You see they are in a
+    crude state. But do not judge from that that I have no interest
+    in the work you have in hand. My Father in heaven knows I keep
+    it very near my heart. I felt it would be sufficient for me to
+    furnish you the matter in a crude state, and let you work it
+    into your plan rather than give it any literary shape myself.
+    Besides, I am pressed, pressed to my utmost, and I therefore
+    send you this imperfect sketch with an apology. I am glad you
+    are doing the work. It will surely do good. Brother Holcombe's
+    work ought to be known. I wish in my heart of hearts that every
+    city and town had such a man in it to work for God and souls.
+    Praying God to bless you and your work, I am,
+
+    "Yours affectionately,
+
+    "JAMES C. MORRIS."
+
+"In the year 1881, while I was pastor of the Walnut-street Methodist
+church, in Louisville, Ky., I heard of Steve Holcombe, the converted
+gambler; of his remarkable career; of his remarkable conversion, and of
+his unusual devotion and zeal in the cause of religion. I heard also of
+his efforts in the line of Christian work and of his desire for better
+opportunities. I mentioned his case to the Official Board of the
+Walnut-street church, and suggested that he might be usefully employed
+by our churches in the city in doing missionary work. The matter was
+kindly received, but the suggestion took no practical shape. As I walked
+home from the meeting one of the stewards said to me: 'Why could not we,
+of the Walnut-street church, employ Brother Holcombe ourselves?' This
+question put me upon a course of thought about the work we might be able
+to do, and at the next meeting of the Board I made the suggestion that
+we organize some work of the kind and employ Brother Holcombe to take
+charge of it. They unanimously accepted the suggestion and directed me
+to investigate the case. If anything could be done, they were ready to
+enter upon the work and support it. I lost no time in seeing Brother
+Holcombe. He was then employed at the engine-house, on Portland avenue.
+I found him rubbing the engine. It took but a moment to introduce
+myself, and in a short time we were up-stairs, alone, talking about
+religion and work for Christ. He told me how his heart was drawn out in
+solicitude for the classes who never attended church--the gamblers,
+drunkards and the like. It was easy to see that the movement
+contemplated was of God. We talked and rejoiced together; we knelt down
+and prayed together for God's guidance in all our plans and
+undertakings. I then told him how I came to call on him, and laid before
+him our plan. His eyes filled with tears--tears of joy--at the thought
+of having an opportunity to do the work that was on his heart.
+
+"At once I reported to the Board, and recommended that Brother Holcombe
+be at once employed and the work set on foot without delay. God breathed
+on them the same spirit that he had breathed on us together at the
+engine-house. With unanimity and enthusiasm they entered into the plan
+and pledged their support. They fixed his salary at nine hundred dollars
+a year and authorized me to do all that was necessary to carry the plan
+into effect.
+
+"Early the next morning Brother Holcombe gave up his place at the
+engine-house, and we went out to look for a house in which to domicile
+our work. I can never forget that day. What joy there was in that heart
+that had waited so long and prayed so fervently for an open door of
+opportunity. Now the door was opened wide, and a song was put in his
+heart and in his mouth. We walked miles to find a suitable place, while
+we talked much by the way as our hearts burned within us.
+
+"At length we found a vacant storeroom on Jefferson street, between
+Third and Fourth, and as we looked in the window, we said: 'This
+would make a grand place to begin in.' We went to see Mr. Isaac Tyler,
+the owner, and he gave us a favorable answer and the key. The next day
+we began a meeting which continued through three months. And who can
+write the history of that work? Only the All-seeing God; and He has the
+record of it in His book. We had a noon-day service every day, except
+Sunday, and a Saturday evening service every week.
+
+"The services were advertised and men stationed at the door invited the
+passer-by to come in. At the meetings all classes of men were
+represented. There were strong, wise, honorable business-men and there
+were tramps and drunkards with all the classes that lie between these
+two. No man was slighted. Many a man was brought in who was too drunk to
+sit alone in his seat. Many were there who had not slept in a bed for
+months. There were gamblers and drunkards and outcast men from every
+quarter of the city. The gathering looked more like that in the police
+courts of a great city on Monday morning than like a religious meeting.
+The workers did literally go out into the highways and into the lowways
+and compel them to come in. And marvelous things took place there.
+
+"Steve Holcombe was known all over the city, and such a work done by
+such a man who had lately been a noted gambler in the community drew men
+who, for years, had had no thought of attending church. The old
+companions of his worldly life came, the worst elements of the city
+came, good men from all the churches came. Brother Holcombe was in his
+element. His soul was as free to the work as that of an Apostle. Daily
+he trod the streets inviting people to come, and daily, as they came, he
+spoke words of deep feeling to them, urging them to be saved. No man
+ever had a more respectful hearing than he had. No man ever devoted
+himself more fully in the spirit of the Master to doing men good than
+did he. His devotion to the poor outcast who showed any willingness to
+listen or any wish to be saved was as marvelous as his own conversion. I
+never saw such in any other worker for Christ.
+
+"In the progress of the work we often spoke of keeping a record of those
+who professed conversion there. I am sorry it was not done. Hardly a day
+passed without some case of exceptional interest. Men were saved who had
+been for years in the very lowest stages of dissipation and vagrancy.
+Not a few of those who were thus saved were men who had belonged to the
+very best social, and business circles of the city. Many of them are
+bright and blessed lights in Christian circles to-day. Many homes were
+built up out of wrecks where only ashes and tears remained. Many
+scattered families were brought together after long separation. God only
+knows the results of that three months' work. I remember some
+conversions that were as marvelous as that of Saul of Tarsus. I could
+tell of some of them but perhaps this is not the place.
+
+"This meeting in the Tyler block was a feature of a meeting which was in
+progress at the Walnut-street church and to this it was tributary. In
+the evening those who had been reached by the services at the mission
+were invited to the church. They were largely of a class not often seen
+in the church but they came, and when they came the church welcomed
+them.
+
+"Then there was rejoicing in the presence of the angels, for many
+sinners were repenting and returning. I saw the Gospel net dragged to
+the shore enclosing fish that no one would have been willing to take out
+of the net except Steve Holcombe. But it is far different with them
+to-day. Changed by the power of God, these repulsive creatures are
+honored members of the various churches, heads of happy families and
+respected and useful citizens of the community.
+
+"At the end of three months the meetings in the storeroom were
+discontinued. Mr. Holcombe had won thousands of friends, hundreds had
+been put in the way of a new life and the whole city was in sympathy
+with the work.
+
+"We were now to select and secure a suitable place for the permanent
+home of the mission. Another search brought us to the room on the south
+side of Jefferson between Fourth and Fifth streets, No. 436. It had been
+occupied as a gambling room, and the gambling apparatus was still there
+when we took possession of it. In a few days the house was fitted up and
+the 'Gospel-Mission' was opened.
+
+"The work was now thoroughly organized. There was, in addition to the
+regular services, a Sunday-school for the children whose parents never
+went to church. Colonel C. P. Atmore was superintendent. The 'Industrial
+School' also was organized, where Christian women taught the girls to
+sew, furnishing them the materials and giving them the finished
+garments. It is especially worthy of remark that the old associates of
+Mr. Holcombe, the gamblers, contributed more than $500 toward the
+expenses of this work.
+
+"This house became an open home for any weary, foot-sore wanderer who
+was willing to come in, and through the years many were the hearts made
+happy in a new life.
+
+"The year following the organization of the work, Rev. Sam P. Jones
+conducted a meeting at the Walnut-street church, and his heart was
+strangely drawn to that mission. He himself conducted many services
+there and he was more impressed with the character of the work and of
+the man who was in charge of it than with any Christian work he had ever
+seen. During this meeting of Mr. Jones a programme of street-preaching
+was carried out by Mr. Holcombe and his fellow-workers. Mr. Holcombe
+himself preached several times on the courthouse steps, and, even in the
+midst of the tumult, souls were converted to God."
+
+This is the end of Dr. Morris' account of the beginnings of Mr.
+Holcombe's work, though the reader will probably wish it were longer,
+and even more circumstantial.
+
+Mr. Holcombe's family lived in the same building, over the mission room,
+and whenever men in need or distress applied, he gave them board and
+lodging. Mrs. Holcombe says that for three months they had never less
+than twenty men eating two meals a day. Of course, among so many there
+were, doubtless, some imposters, but it took a pretty keen man to play
+imposter without being spotted by the keen man who was in charge of the
+enterprise. Mr. Holcombe had mixed with men long enough to know them. He
+had spent most of his life among bad men. He had studied their ways and
+he knew their tricks. And it is not necessary to say to the reader who
+has perused the foregoing pages, that Mr. Holcombe was not afraid of any
+man. His former experience in sin and his former association with
+sinners of every sort led him to see that it was necessary for him
+rigidly to protect the work he was now engaged in and he determined to
+do so. Men would come into the meetings, sometimes, in a state of
+intoxication; sometimes lewd fellows of the baser sort would come in for
+the purpose of interrupting the service and still others for other
+purposes; but when Mr. Holcombe had put a few of them out, they saw that
+this man in getting religion had lost neither common sense nor courage,
+and that Steve Holcombe, the converted gambler, was not a man to be
+fooled with any more than Steve Holcombe, the unconverted gambler; so
+that all such interruptions soon ceased. But nobody should get the
+impression that Mr. Holcombe was harsh or unsympathetic. On the
+contrary, he is one of the most tenderhearted of men, and few men living
+would go farther, do more or make greater sacrifices to save a drunkard
+or a gambler or an outcast of any sort, than Steve Holcombe. For days he
+has gone without meat for himself and his family that he might have
+something to help a poor drunkard who was trying to reform. Indeed, his
+pitying love for wretched men and women of every class and degree,
+manifested in his efforts to look them up and to do them good in any
+possible way, is the chief secret of his wonderful success in dealing
+with hardened and apparently inaccessible cases. The following account
+of his last and perhaps most desperate case is taken from one of the
+Louisville daily papers and will illustrate what has been said:
+
+[Illustration: JAMES WILLIAMS AS HE WAS.]
+
+
+    DRUNK TWENTY-THREE YEARS.
+
+    REMARKABLE STORY OF "WHISKY JIM'S" WASTED LIFE AND FINAL
+    CONVERSION. HOW THE WORK WAS EFFECTED.
+
+The work that Steve Holcombe is doing is well known, in a general way,
+but the public understand but little of the wonderful good that man is
+doing. The reformations he has brought about may be numbered by the
+hundred, and the drunkards he has reclaimed would make a regiment.
+
+But of all the wonderful and truly startling examples of what Mr.
+Holcombe is doing, the case of James Williams is the climax. Williams
+has been known for years as "Whisky Jim" and "Old Hoss," and there is
+not a more familiar character in the city. Until the last two or three
+weeks no man in Louisville ever remembers to have seen Jim free from the
+influence of liquor. He was always drunk, and was looked upon as an
+absolutely hopeless case, that would be able to stand the terrible life
+he was leading but a year or two longer.
+
+The story of his life and reformation as related to a _Times_ reporter
+is very interesting. He had asked Mr. Holcombe when his prot�g� could be
+seen, and was told at nine o'clock at the mission. Williams was seen
+coming up the steps, his face clean shaven, his eyes bright and his gait
+steady. Mr. Holcombe said: "There he is now, God bless him; I could just
+kiss him. I knew he'd be here. One thing I've learned about Jim is, that
+he is an honest man, and another is that he will not tell a lie. I feel
+that I can trust him. He has had the hardest struggle to overcome the
+drinking habit I ever saw, and I feel sure that he has gained the
+victory. I began on him quietly about one month ago and got him to
+attend our meetings. But here he is." The reporter was introduced, and
+Mr. Williams readily consented to tell anything concerning himself that
+would be of interest to the public and calculated to do good in the
+cause of temperance. He said: "I was born in Paducah, Ky., and am
+forty-eight years old. My father's name was Rufus A. Williams. While a
+boy I was sent to school, and picked up a little education. I was put at
+work in a tobacco manufactory, and am a tobacco-twister by trade. My
+father died when I was nine years old, after which our family consisted
+of my mother, now seventy-five years of age, my sister and myself. We
+now live on the east side of Floyd street, near Market. Shortly after I
+grew up I found work on the river and have been employed on nearly every
+boat between Louisville and New Orleans. That is what downed me. I began
+to drink little by little, and the appetite and habit began to grow on
+me until I gave up all idea of resistance. Up to yesterday a week ago, I
+can truthfully say that I have been drunk twenty-three years, day and
+night.
+
+"In 1862 I got a job on the 'Science,' Number 2, a little Government
+boat running the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. Coming down the Cumberland
+on one trip I was too sick to work, and the boat put me ashore about
+twenty miles above Clarksville. The woods where I was dumped out were
+full of guerrillas, but I managed to secure a little canoe in which I
+paddled down to Clarksville. There I sold it for three dollars and with
+the small sum I had already I came to this city, where we were then
+living. I then drank up every cent I could rake and scrape. I could get
+all sorts of work, but could keep no job because I couldn't keep sober.
+I finally depended on getting odd jobs along the river front, such as
+loading and unloading freight, etc. But the work was so hard I could
+scarcely do it, and finally I had to give that up, especially after
+falling and breaking my leg while at work on the old 'United States'
+several years ago. That accident laid me up in the Marine Hospital for
+several months, and just as I felt able to get out I broke the same leg
+again at the same place. After recovering I yielded entirely to the
+appetite for strong drink and cared for nothing else. As I say, for
+twenty-three years I have not known what it is to be sober until a few
+days ago.
+
+"For the past six years I have earned my drinks and some free lunch by
+picking up old boxes and barrel staves which I would dispose of to the
+saloon-keepers along the river front who knew me. I did not often ask
+any one for money with which to buy whisky, for I could always earn it
+in this manner. I usually slept at my mother's house. As to eating I did
+not eat much and was getting so I could scarcely eat at all. I am
+getting over that now, and have a good appetite, as Mr. Holcombe can
+testify.
+
+"Well, about one month ago Mr. Holcombe came to me and gave me a little
+talk. He did not say much, but he set me to thinking as far as I was
+capable of thinking. He saw me the second time, and then several times.
+Of course, I was always drunk but I understood him. Finally he said
+to me 'Jim, if you're bound to have whisky, come around to the Mission
+and let me give it to you.' I promised him I'd come around, and I did
+so, for I wanted some o' the liquor. After I had gone around several
+times and he had given me a few drinks, not to make me drunk, of course,
+but to help me get sober, if possible; he invited me to go in and attend
+the religious services. I did so and he invited me to come again, which
+I did. At last he insisted that I should take my meals at the mission,
+and I have been doing so for some days. Finally I made up my mind to
+quit drinking altogether, and I intend to stick to the pledge I have
+taken. I was full last Sunday week for the last time. I was trying to
+taper off then, but a saloon-keeper on Market, just below Jackson,
+knowing my condition and knowing that I was trying to quit, gave me a
+bucket of bock beer. I knew he meant no good to me, but I couldn't help
+drinking it. Other saloon-keepers have been trying to get me to drink
+again, and I think they are trying to get me to do a great wrong.
+
+"I went to church yesterday for the first time since I was a boy. Heard
+Dr. Eaton preach.
+
+"My poor old mother is greatly rejoiced at the change in me, for I have
+given her a great deal of torment and misery. As soon as the Murphy
+meetings are over Mr. Holcombe and I will spend a couple of weeks at
+French Lick Springs."
+
+[Illustration: JAMES WILLIAMS, AS HE IS]
+
+During this period, when the mission occupied rooms at No. 436 Jefferson
+street, the meetings were not confined to that single place, but
+services were held in other parts of the city, on the streets and even
+on the courthouse steps. Many strangers, as well as citizens of
+Louisville, attended these, and some were so powerfully impressed that
+after going away to their distant homes they wrote back to Mr. Holcombe
+acknowledging the good they had received, and in some instances giving
+an account of their conviction, repentance and conversion. The Holcombe
+Mission became one of the "sights" of the city, so that strangers
+visiting the city would look it up and attend services there.
+
+In 1884 a new feature was added which, in turn, added much to the
+efficiency and usefulness of the mission. It was suggested by the sight
+of the poorly clad children who attended the mission with their parents,
+and who seemed willing and anxious themselves to do better and be
+better. This new feature was the Industrial School, an account of the
+origin, history and methods of which is furnished by Mrs. Clark, the
+Superintendent. A Sunday-school was organized also, with C. P. Atmore,
+Esq., as Superintendent, and some of the most earnest Christian people
+of the city as teachers and helpers. A little later the Kindergarten was
+also organized and is now in successful operation.
+
+[Illustration: THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 1. CUTTING GARMENTS. 2. BOYS
+MAKING CARPETS. 3. GIRLS SEWING.]
+
+
+THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND THE KINDERGARTEN.
+
+In order to enlarge the mission work and better reach the homes of the
+needy, both spiritually and temporally, the Union Gospel Industrial
+School was opened in April, 1884, with six little girls and three
+teachers in attendance. In May following it was formally organized as
+The Union Gospel Mission Industrial School with
+
+    Mrs. J. R. Clark, Superintendent;
+    Mrs. L. G. Herndon, Assistant Superintendent;
+    Miss Ella Downing, Secretary;
+    Miss Ella Harding, Treasurer.
+
+In June, 1884, it closed for the summer with twenty-two pupils and five
+teachers. In September following it opened for the fall and winter term
+with the same teachers and a small increase in the number of pupils, all
+from the neglected classes. The school was organized in the old mission
+room, at No. 436 Jefferson street, between Fourth and Fifth, and
+continued there for three winters. The children came, however, from all
+parts of the city, some of them from garrets and cellars. Their ages
+ranged from five to eighteen years.
+
+In May, 1886, the school was removed to its present spacious rooms in
+the Union Gospel Mission building on Jefferson street, above First. The
+work has steadily increased, each year bringing in a larger number of
+the neglected children. Those who come are so interested and benefited,
+they become missionaries, so to speak, to other poor and neglected
+children. There is one class of girls, however, who are not
+charity-scholars, but come for the purpose of learning to sew. Their
+work is done, not for themselves, but for the younger children of the
+poorer class who are not yet old enough to sew. For this reason, the
+class just mentioned is called The Missionary Class, and it is one of
+which the school is justly proud. They not only do their work for
+others, they do good in other ways and in general exert a good influence
+over the other children who are less fortunate.
+
+The children are first taught all the different stitches that are used
+in sewing. Then work is cut out for them by a committee of ladies who
+attend for that purpose, and the children are taught to make all kinds
+of garments. When the garment is completed and passes examination, it is
+given to the child who made it.
+
+There is a class of boys, sixty in number, ranging from five to twelve
+years of age. These are first taught to sew on buttons and to mend rents
+in their own clothes and then other things follow. They are at present
+engaged in making a carpet for Mr. Holcombe's office. The teachers in
+charge of them endeavor to train them to habits of industry,
+self-reliance, cleanliness, truthfulness, etc. Some of the boys are very
+bright and promising and some of them seem hopelessly cowed and broken.
+Their histories would, doubtless, be full of pathos and of pain, if they
+were known.
+
+The school meets every Saturday morning at 9:15. The opening services
+consist of--
+
+1. Singing (Gospel Hymns).
+
+2. Responsive recitation of a Psalm, or the Beatitudes or the Ten
+Commandments.
+
+3. Prayer.
+
+4. Distribution of work-baskets.
+
+The sewing continues for one hour and a half, then, at the tap of the
+bell, the work is folded nicely, replaced in the basket and taken to
+another room. The children then return to the large room and join in the
+closing exercises, which consist of--
+
+5. Singing.
+
+6. Repeating of Scripture texts, each teacher and child repeating a
+verse; or this is sometimes replaced with a chalk-talk, sometimes with a
+short address on the Sunday-school lesson for the following Sunday,
+sometimes with a short earnest appeal to the children by some visitor
+who is known to be an effective speaker for such occasions.
+
+7. The Lord's Prayer is recited in concert.
+
+8. Dismissal.
+
+The teachers, besides instructing the children in the art of sewing,
+converse with them on pleasant and profitable topics and upon the
+subject of religion in seasonable times and ways.
+
+Quite a number of families have been brought under Christian influence
+through the pupils of the Industrial School. Several parents as well as
+children have been converted. Mr. Robert Denny, the account of whose
+conversion is given by himself in another part of this volume, was
+induced to attend the meetings of the Holcombe Mission by what his
+children told him of the things they learned at the Industrial School.
+One of the members of the first class of six and her mother are now
+acceptable members of the First Presbyterian church. The daughter has
+become an artist and is employed in retouching pictures in one of the
+city photograph galleries. Three or four of the girls connected with the
+school have died. Two of them, one aged twelve and the other fourteen,
+gave every evidence of being Christians. One of these when asked when
+she learned to love God and to pray, answered, "At the sewing school;
+Jesus is always there."
+
+Many when they began to attend did not even know the little prayer
+beginning:
+
+    "Now I lay me down to sleep."
+
+The ignorance of these poor children led the superintendent to open a
+"Mothers' Meeting," for the mothers of these children and any others who
+might wish to attend. The results have been wonderful. So many homes
+have become changed, and are now neat, clean, orderly and happy. In the
+rounds of the superintendent's visits she found a very sick woman who
+said to her:
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad you have come, Mrs. Clark. I want you to pray with me."
+
+Mrs. Clark said, "Can't you pray yourself?"
+
+She replied, "I don't know what to say. I did not know 'Now I lay me
+down to sleep,' till my little Jennie learned it at the sewing school,
+and I learned it from her."
+
+"But can't you say 'Our Father who art in heaven?'" asked Mrs. Clark.
+
+"No; not all of it, I know only a little of it."
+
+Mrs. Clark was much moved at the ignorance, helplessness and need of the
+poor woman, and was praying with her when the husband came in. She
+talked with him and he was deeply impressed, and before she left
+promised he would try to live a better life. A position as street car
+driver was gotten for him, and for a while he did well, but after a time
+he fell into his old ways and was dismissed. But, through the
+intervention of the friends who had helped him before, he was restored
+to his place, and to-day he is a sober industrious man and a member of
+the First Christian church in the city.
+
+[Illustration: KINDERGARTEN, THANKSGIVING DAY]
+
+Perhaps a score of similar instances could be cited.
+
+The sewing school closed May 12, 1888, with the annual picnic. The
+following is the report for the year just past:
+
+Average weekly attendance of girls, 162; average weekly attendance of
+boys, 21; total average attendance of pupils, 183; average attendance of
+officers and teachers, 32; average attendance of visitors, 4; total
+average attendance, 219; total number of garments made by, and given to,
+the children, 848.
+
+The officers for the past year were as follows: Mrs. J. R. Clark,
+superintendent; Miss Mary L. Graham, assistant superintendent; Mrs. L.
+G. Herndon, superintendent of work; Miss Lithgow, treasurer; Miss Ella
+Gardiner, secretary.
+
+
+THE KINDERGARTEN.
+
+In January, 1885, there were so many little boys and girls between the
+ages of three and five years that the teachers did not know what to do
+with them. The superintendent, who had some knowledge of the
+kindergarten system, believed that its introduction here was what was
+needed. She could not see her way clear, however, to incur any more
+expense. But in answer to prayer the way was opened. Money was given for
+the appliances and Miss Graham, an excellent teacher, offered her
+services freely. The class at first averaged twenty-four pupils, met
+each Saturday morning in connection with the sewing school, and was
+called the Kindergarten class.
+
+The interest increased till February, 1886, when the board of directors
+of the Holcombe Mission consented that the superintendent should open a
+regular kindergarten for every day in the week except Saturday. More
+money was raised and a trained kindergarten teacher from Cincinnati was
+employed. In June, 1886, the school closed with sixty little children in
+attendance and four young ladies training for kindergarten teachers.
+Arrangements were made for the following year and several hundred
+dollars pledged. In September, 1887, the kindergarten was re-opened with
+Miss Bryan, of Chicago, as teacher of training class and superintendent
+of the school. In the following October a large and enthusiastic meeting
+was held in the Warren Memorial church and the Free Kindergarten
+Association was formally organized. In February, 1888, a second free
+kindergarten was opened in another part of the city. The year's work
+closed in June, 1888, five young ladies graduating as kindergarten
+teachers. The number of children enrolled for the year was one hundred.
+The kindergarten, it will be noticed, is thus distinct from the
+industrial school.
+
+In 1885, another department still was added to meet a want which had
+been developed in the progress of the work. The great number of
+broken-down men and tramps that came to Mr. Holcombe for food and help
+of one sort or another made it impossible for him to give them lodging
+in the mission rooms or board in his own family. And it encouraged
+indolence in unworthy men to feed and lodge them as a mere charity. And
+yet, if anything was to be done for their souls, they had for a time to
+be cared for. Mr. Holcombe conceived the idea, therefore, of
+establishing some sort of a place in connection with his work, where
+these men might earn their food and lodging by the sweat of their brows
+and at the same time be brought under the powerful religious influences
+of the Mission.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. J. M. CLARK.]
+
+The result was the establishment of the "Wayfarers' Rest." Mayor Reed
+and Chief of Police Whallen gave Mr. Holcombe a police station building
+free of rent and Mr. J. T. Burghard gave the money to furnish it with
+bunks, stove, cooking utensils, facilities for bathing, etc., and it
+became at once an established feature, and a very admirable one, of the
+Union Gospel Mission.
+
+When Mayor Jacob came into office he gladly continued the use of the
+building free of rent, and the institution has continued in successful
+operation up to the present time--a space of three years.
+
+The rooms are arranged for the accommodation of sixty men. All who come
+are required to do some sort of work for whatever they receive, whether
+it be food or lodging. The men do various kinds of work, according to
+their several ability, but the chief employment is sawing kindling wood
+out of material provided by the superintendent. Each man is required to
+work an hour for one night's lodging or for a meal. The kindling wood is
+sold all over the city, and under the excellent management of Mr. W. H.
+Black, the present superintendent, the enterprise has become more than
+self-supporting, bringing in enough to pay the salary of the
+superintendent and the book-keeper, and leaving a surplus. It should,
+perhaps, in justice be added, that donations of food are made daily and
+have been from the beginning, by the Alexander Hotel Company.
+
+During the winter of 1887 Mr. Black fed and lodged an average of fifty
+men a day. He has never turned one away. The average income per day from
+the sale of kindling wood is, in winter, ten dollars. The rules for the
+government of the inmates requiring registration, cleanliness, bathing,
+etc., are wisely conceived and strictly carried out.
+
+This institution has proved in Louisville the solution of the vexed
+question as to the proper treatment of tramps and beggars. The citizens,
+instead of encouraging indolence and pauperism by feeding tramps at
+their houses, some of whom are burglars in disguise, can now send them
+to the Wayfarers' Rest, where they are always sure of finding food and
+lodging, and, what is better, the opportunity of earning what they get
+by honest work. And Mr. Holcombe's experience as a tramp in Colorado
+leads him to take a brotherly interest in all these unfortunate men.
+
+In 1886, the work had expanded beyond its quarters and beyond all
+expectations. It was predicted that Steve Holcombe would hold out three
+months. He had now held out three times three years, and that through
+unprecedented trials and discouragements. During these nine years he had
+helped many and many a man, almost as bad as he, into the blessed life
+that he was living. He had established a unique institution in the city
+of Louisville which had been the means of helping and uplifting and
+blessing men and women and whole families. But the end was not yet. The
+man and his work had so won the confidence of the people of the city
+that in 1886, a formal request was made by the Evangelical churches of
+the city that they be allowed to share with the Walnut-street Methodist
+church in the expense and the care and the usefulness of the Mission. It
+was changed then into a Union Mission, and representatives from the
+Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal, Christian and Lutheran churches were
+added to the board of directors.
+
+In the same year, when Mr. Holcombe was feeling the need of more
+spacious quarters for his expanding work, the large and elegant house on
+Jefferson street above First, known as the "Smith Property," was
+advertised for sale. Mr. Holcombe saw it and liked it. It was the very
+sort of a building he needed for his work and all its various
+departments.
+
+He procured the keys and went through the building alone, from cellar to
+garret, stopping in every room to pray that, in some way, God would put
+it into his hands, with a firm persuasion, moreover, that his prayer
+would be answered. An interesting letter written by Mr. Holcombe in
+February, 1886, contains a reference to the project of purchasing the
+new house. It is addressed to one of the converts of the Mission, Mr. S.
+P. Dalton, of Cleveland, Ohio, and, as it shows also Mr. Holcombe's
+interest in his spiritual children, it is given entire:
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., February 3, 1886.
+
+     _Dear Brother Dalton_:
+
+     Your welcome and encouraging letter is just received. I
+     acknowledge your claim, so gently urged, to something better
+     than a hasty postal in reply. When I write you briefly, it is
+     because my work compels it. My soul delights to commune with
+     spirits like yours, consecrated to God, and with brothers who
+     live in my memory as associates in our humble work here. Our
+     mission is being abundantly blessed of God, although meeting,
+     from time to time, with those drawbacks which remind us of our
+     dependence and the need of constant prayer. We are having good
+     meetings and conversions are numerous, and, as a rule, of such
+     a character as to make us believe they are genuine and
+     permanent. As I write, our friends are canvassing the city for
+     the collection of means to purchase the old Smith mansion on
+     Jefferson street, for our use, and believing all our work to be
+     of God I have no doubt that it will be ours within a week. Then
+     shall we do a great work for Louisville and for souls. Our
+     sewing-school and our Sunday-school, having outgrown our
+     present quarters, will be greatly enlarged, and every
+     department of our work also.
+
+     I am truly glad you are having such opportunities of doing
+     good in Cleveland. May God bless you and your dear wife, my
+     dear brother, and in His own time bring you back to us and to
+     the work which always needs such help, is the prayer of
+
+     Your brother,
+     S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+
+An incident that occurred in connection with the purchase of this
+elegant property will show how Mr. Holcombe and his work were looked
+upon in Louisville even by those who were not Christians.
+
+[Illustration: THE WAYFARER'S REST. 1. EXTERIOR. 2. OFFICE. 3. SLEEPING
+APARTMENT. 4. TAKING MEALS. 5. AT WORK. 6. ON THE LEVEE.]
+
+A German singing society was negotiating for the building at the same
+time, and had offered a higher price than the friends of the Mission
+thought they could give. Mr. Holcombe went to the leader of the society
+and told him he desired the building for the Mission, and, though the
+man was an unbeliever, he said: "Mr. Holcombe, though I am not a
+Christian and do not believe in Christianity, I do believe in the work
+you are doing. I will not be in the way of your getting that building."
+He withdrew his bid at once, and the Directors of the Holcombe Mission
+purchased it for $12,500.
+
+Mr. Holcombe at once took possession. He fitted up the rooms of the
+lower floor for the various departments of the mission work. The large
+and elegant double-parlors were thrown into one and arranged for the
+audience-room. This has a seating capacity of two hundred or more. The
+other rooms of the lower floor are used, one for Mr. Holcombe's office,
+two others for the Kindergarten, another for a cloak-room, and so on.
+The second floor, with its seven large, bright, airy rooms, is occupied
+by Mr. Holcombe's family, and, for the first time since his conversion,
+they are in comfortable quarters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+At last after years of love and faith and faithfulness Mrs. Holcombe has
+her full reward and joy. The long twenty-five years of sorrow and
+suspense passed by and her husband is what she unconsciously believed
+her love had the power of waiting for him to become--a good man. And
+more than a good man. He is consumed with the desire and somehow clothed
+with the power of making other men good, of making bad men good, of
+making the worst of bad men good. This he has now been doing, by God's
+grace, for seven faithful years and more--and continues to do. Her
+husband is honored and beloved for his character, his work and his
+usefulness--no man, no minister in Louisville more so.
+
+All her children are members of the church even down to little Pearl,
+the latest-born. Her oldest son, her Willie, is happily married,
+occupies the position of book-keeper with the Sievers Hardware Company
+on Main street, and is an efficient officer of the church of God. Her
+second daughter is happily married to a Christian man, "one of the best
+of husbands," who is book-keeper in the old Kentucky Woolen Mills, of
+Louisville. Her oldest daughter is a devoted Christian and serves with
+equal efficiency as organist of the Mission and teacher in the
+Kindergarten. Her baby-boy now eighteen years old and the rise of six
+feet in height is a member of the church and a good boy. He also is
+in business with the Sievers Hardware Company on Main street. And Pearl,
+the blue-eyed, golden-haired, eight-year-old girl baby is, nobody dare
+question, the flower of the flock. Her dead children are in heaven all,
+for they died before they knew sin, and her living children are on the
+way to heaven, all, for they trust in and serve Him who was manifested
+to take away sin.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. S. P. HOLCOMBE.]
+
+Mrs. Holcombe helps her husband in his noble work and the "converts"
+look on her as their spiritual mother as they regard him as their
+spiritual father. She _might_ say with Simeon, the _Nunc dimittis_, "Now
+lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy
+salvation;" but instead of that she says with St. Paul, "Nevertheless to
+abide in the flesh is more needful" for my husband, my children and the
+work of Christ.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe still has trials, but they are few and small, while her
+blessings are many and great. She still has faults, perhaps, as most of
+mortals have; but they are few and small, while her virtues are very
+many and very great. Many daughters have done virtuously but few have
+excelled this one in those qualities which constitute a noble womanly
+character.
+
+The following letter, written to her by her husband during a short visit
+in the country, will show how that after so long a time of waiting, the
+hope of her earliest love is realized at last.
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., May 29, 1888.
+
+     My Dear Wife:
+
+     Your letter to hand. I am so happy to know that you are having
+     a good time. Isn't God good to us? When we look back over our
+     past lives and see how good God has been to us, how thankful we
+     should be. Very little sickness in our immediate family and no
+     death in thirty years. The two babes that we lost thirty years
+     ago are safe in the arms of Jesus, and all the living ones are
+     sweetly trusting in Him. Let us from this hour be more earnest
+     and untiring in our efforts to save the children of others.
+     Kiss Mamie for me and then look in the glass and kiss yourself
+     a thousand times for him who loves you with a true, deep love.
+     Yours in life, yours in death,
+
+     STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+Those who are familiar with Mr. Holcombe's career as a Christian worker
+would regard any sketch of his life incomplete which did not contain
+some account of the assault made upon him by three strange men in the
+winter of 1887. A few months after his removal to the new quarters that
+had been purchased by the Mission, he was attacked by three men in his
+own house and severely injured. On a Sunday afternoon in January, 1887,
+he heard some one walking in the hall on the second floor of the
+building, and went out to see who it was. He found a man there whom he
+had never seen before, and asked him who he was and what he wanted. The
+man replied in an insolent, manner that he had come to visit a servant
+girl who was at the time working in Mr. Holcombe's family. When Mr.
+Holcombe asked him why he came into his private family apartments, the
+man became more impudent and defiant, and gave utterance to some abusive
+language. Already provoked at the man's audacity and alarmed at the
+thought of what such a ruffian might have done to some one of his family
+if he had been absent, Mr. Holcombe's quick nature now became so
+exasperated that he forgot himself for a moment and thrust the man
+violently down the stairway and out of the house. The man left the place
+and Mr. Holcombe thought that was the end of it. But an hour or two
+later some one knocked at his room door on the same floor, and as he
+opened it, he saw himself confronted by three men, one of whom he
+recognized as the man he had put out of the house. The two others
+professed to be policemen who had come to arrest Mr. Holcombe, but when
+he asked to see their badges of authority they seized him. One against
+three, he resisted them with all his might, uttering no cry of distress
+or call for help. In the struggle Mr. Holcombe's leg was broken, both
+bones of it, and as he fell, with all his weight, the men thought he was
+badly hurt and fled, leaving him lying helpless on the floor. He was
+taken up by those whom he called and laid on his bed. Physicians were
+sent for. The news spread in a few minutes all over the neighborhood,
+and before night, all over the city. The Chief of Police, Colonel
+Whallen, set his detectives to work looking for the men, and many
+citizens, self-constituted detectives, inquired concerning the
+appearance of the men and kept a sharp lookout for them. But they
+succeeded in escaping, and it was, perhaps, well for them they did.
+Before night Mr. Holcombe's room was crowded with friends filled with
+sympathy and indignation. Drs. Kelly and Alexander set the broken limb
+and gave Mr. Holcombe the unwelcome bit of information that he would
+have to lie in his bed for some five or six weeks, a sore trial to his
+restless spirit; but by the help of God he accepted it and settled down
+to endure it, not knowing, however, what good he was to get out of it.
+It was an opportunity for the people of Louisville to show their
+estimation and appreciation of him, and it is safe to say that no man in
+Louisville would have received the attentions and favors which this poor
+converted gambler, Steve Holcombe, did receive. It reminds one of a
+passage in Dr. Prime's account of the funeral of Jerry McAuley in the
+Broadway Tabernacle in New York. Dr. Prime himself was to conduct the
+funeral service, and this is what he says:
+
+"We are going to-day to the tabernacle to talk of what Jerry McAuley was
+and what he has done, to the little congregation that will gather there.
+If it were Dr. Taylor, the beloved and honored pastor, the house would
+be crowded and the streets full of mourners, but poor Jerry, he is dead
+and who will be there to weep with us over his remains? Ah, how little
+did I know the place poor Jerry held in the hearts of the people of this
+vast city! I was to conduct the funeral and went early to complete all
+arrangements. As I turned down from Fifth avenue through Thirty-fourth
+street, I saw a vast multitude standing in the sunshine, filling the
+streets and the square in front of the tabernacle. Astonished at the
+spectacle and wondering why they did not go and take seats in the
+church, I soon found that the house was packed with people so that it
+was impossible for me to get within the door. Proclamation was made that
+the clergy who were to officiate were on the outside, and a passage was
+made for us to enter. What could be more impressive and what more
+expressive of the estimate set upon the man and his work? There is no
+other Christian worker in the city who would have called out these
+uncounted thousands in a last tribute of love and in honor of his
+memory."
+
+The tribute which the people of Louisville paid to the work and worth of
+Steve Holcombe _before_ his death was hardly less.
+
+On Monday, the day following his misfortune, Mr. Holcombe's room was,
+nearly all the day long, full of people of every grade, from the mayor
+and the richest and finest people on Broadway and Fourth avenue, down to
+the poor drunkard and outcast, who forgot his shabby dress and pressed
+in among those fine people in order to see "Brother Holcombe," and find
+out how he was. The ministers of the leading churches of every
+Protestant denomination came with words of sympathy and prayer. Fine
+ladies came in their carriages, bringing baskets of fruit and all sorts
+of delicacies. Those who could not go sent letters and messages. And Mr.
+Holcombe lay in his bed and wept--not for pain, but for gratitude and
+humble joy. "Why," said he, "I would be willing to have half a dozen
+legs broken to know that these people think so much of me and of my poor
+efforts to be useful."
+
+This, then, was the first compensation and blessing.
+
+He learned also that it would be absolutely necessary for him to watch
+more closely his impulsive and fiery temper, and get a better control of
+it. For he does not deny that he was inexcusably hasty and severe in his
+treatment of the impudent intruder.
+
+And then he was temporarily relieved from the incessant demands and the
+constant strain of his daily activity and his nightly anxiety. He had
+time and opportunity, as far as the importunity and kindness of his
+friends would allow, to get calmed, to look down into his own heart, to
+analyze his motives, to study his own nature, to see his own faults, to
+find out his own needs and to pray. He had been told by one of his
+friends, that while he did not work too much, he did not pray _enough_,
+and that he was, therefore, liable to be overtaken by some sudden
+temptation and be betrayed into sin.
+
+That same friend, in conducting service in one of the churches of the
+city on that very Sunday morning, had offered special public prayer for
+Mr. Holcombe and his work. He prayed specifically that if Brother
+Holcombe needed a thorn in the flesh, to keep him humble, God would send
+it. It was thought to be a special and speedy answer, that before
+sundown of that very day, Mr. Holcombe did receive almost literally a
+thorn in the flesh; a messenger of Satan it was withal to buffet him.
+And Mr. Holcombe was the first to acknowledge that he needed this trial
+and the threefold blessing which came with it.
+
+The perpetrators of the cowardly deed were, some time afterward, caught
+and imprisoned--every one of them. One of them has been pardoned and
+released, and through Mr. Holcombe's kindly intervention the other two
+probably will be, while through his friendly counsels one of them has
+been brought to realize his own sinfulness, and has promised to live a
+better life.
+
+It would be out of the question to reproduce here all the written
+messages of sympathy which Mr. Holcombe received during his confinement
+from the injury he received. But one of them is too touching and
+beautiful to be left out. It was written by Miss Jennie Casseday, a lady
+of culture and refinement, who has, for eighteen years, been confined to
+her "sick bed." She is well known as the originator of the "Flower
+Missions," which, all over this country, have been the bearers of
+blessing to many unblessed and unloved ones:
+
+
+    "SICK BED, January 18, 1887.
+
+     "_Dear Christian Friend_:
+
+     "I send you some lines which have been a great blessing to me:
+
+            "'I can not say,
+    Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day,
+            I joy in these;
+            But I _can_ say
+    That I _had rather_ walk this rugged way
+            If Him it please.
+
+           "'I can not feel
+    That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal
+            The shining sun;
+            But then I know
+    God lives and loves, and say, since that is so,
+            "Thy will be done."
+
+            "'I can not speak
+    In happy tones; the tear-drops on my cheek
+            Show I am sad;
+            But I _can_ speak
+    _Of grace to suffer_ with submission meek,
+            Until made glad.
+
+            "'I do not see
+    Why God should e'en permit _some things_ to be;
+            When He is Love;
+            But I _can_ see,
+    Though often dimly, through the mystery,
+            His hand above.
+
+            "'I do not know
+    Where falls the seed that I have tried to sow
+            With greatest care;
+            But I shall know
+    The meaning of each waiting hour below
+            Sometime, somewhere.'
+
+     "Selected with tender sympathy.
+
+    "Your friend,
+    "JENNIE CASSEDAY."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+In conclusion it will not be out of place to glance for a moment
+backward and to call attention definitely to some plain facts.
+
+Mr. Holcombe inherited from his parents a diversely perverse and bad
+nature. Already in his childhood he was cross, irritable, spiteful. In
+his boyhood his temper was savage and revengful. In his manhood he took
+the life of a fellowman. He inherited the love of drink from his father,
+who was a confirmed drunkard before the child was born; and the child
+himself was drunk before he was twelve years old. He was given to
+sensuality from his boyhood.
+
+His education was not good--as far as the educating power of daily
+example goes, it was bad, positively bad, continually bad. His
+associations outside of home were, for the most part, of the worst sort.
+His boyish companions were given to gambling, pilfering, fighting, and
+in all these things they called him chief. But the companionship of boys
+did not long satisfy him and already before he was fifteen, he drank and
+gambled with grown men in the bar-rooms of the village.
+
+He had an impulsive sympathy for helpless suffering when it was before
+his eyes. He had a vague, faint fear of the Power that makes for
+righteousness, so that in his youth he made three or four ineffectual
+efforts to get the mastery of his evil nature and to become better. He
+provided well for his family in meat and drink and the like. He was
+generous to his friends. When this is said, about all is said on that
+side. Apart from these things he gave himself up for forty years to the
+indulgence of all his passions without let or hinderance from parental
+authority, domestic bonds, fear of God or regard for man. So that the
+adverse power of evil habit, strengthened by forty years of indulgence,
+was superimposed upon the moral helplessness of an inherited bad nature
+made worse by bad education and bad associations.
+
+Such he _was_. The preceding pages have described in part what he _is_.
+And only in part. The uttermost details of the purity of his life since
+October, 1877, could not be stated without violating delicacy any more
+than the uttermost details of his sinful life could be uncurtained
+without injuring the innocent and offending the public. The candid
+reader will bridge for himself the past and present of Mr. Holcombe's
+life. These are the facts. And these facts are freely and fully
+recognized by all classes of the community in which he lives his daily
+life. Thousands of eyes have watched him for years and no one has
+detected any immoral practice or act or found any fault of a serious
+nature in him.
+
+Candor requires us to say that he is sometimes over-sensitive, that he
+has his own views as to the best methods of conducting his work and is
+sometimes a little domineering in carrying them out; that he sometimes
+uses unnecessary harshness in his public addresses in dealing with the
+sins and shortcomings of people, especially of the converts of the
+Mission, a thing which is probably due to his over-anxiety for them;
+that he has not yet learned economy and the best way of conducting his
+financial affairs, and that owing to his own former wicked life he would
+be a trifle too severe in the control of his family but for the good
+sense and prudent firmness of his wife. But these are minor matters and
+when they are said, about all is said on _that_ side.
+
+And Mr. Holcombe has come to occupy a unique and commanding position in
+the city of Louisville. All classes respect him, all classes look up to
+him and people from all classes seek his counsel and aid in certain
+emergencies.
+
+Mothers in distress over the sins of their sons, sisters in sorrow over
+the dissipation of their brothers, wives in despair over the wickedness
+of their husbands, all these go to Steve Holcombe for advice, comfort,
+encouragement and help; and when they can not go, they write; sometimes
+from distant places, as far away as Canada. The ministers of Louisville
+refer to him those extreme cases which they meet with in their ministry,
+and which they feel his experience and his knowledge of the ways and
+temptations of dissipated men enable him to handle, as a letter from Dr.
+Broadus and one from Dr. Willits, elsewhere reproduced, will show. And
+the dissipated men themselves, the drunkards, the gamblers, the outcast,
+the lost--all these feel that Steve Holcombe is their friend, a friend
+who has the willingness and the power to help them up, and they go to
+him when they are in distress or when they awake to a sense of their
+wretched condition and desire to rise again. And through his
+instrumentality many a one _has_ risen again, and to many a mother,
+wife, sister, family, has come through him a resurrection of buried hope
+and joy.
+
+And those gamblers who have never yet come to distress or to religion
+regard him with admiration and affection. The following letter from Mr.
+A. M. Waddill, one of the leading sporting men of the South, was written
+in answer to an inquiry as to how Mr. Holcombe is looked upon by the
+gamblers:
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., August 13, 1888.
+     _Rev. Gross Alexander_:
+
+     DEAR SIR: In writing of my friend, Steve P. Holcombe, I will
+     say that his adoption of the pulpit has not lowered him in the
+     esteem of his former associates--the gamblers. Far from it.
+     They are his admirers and his friends, and, when they have the
+     funds, are as willing supporters of his work as any. They can
+     not show him too much respect and can not exhibit a more
+     profound love than is shown him every day by some one of his
+     old companions. He has wielded a wonderful influence over them
+     for good, both here and elsewhere, and has made many converts
+     from their ranks, who could not have been influenced probably
+     by any other minister of the Gospel. I myself have been, I am
+     happy to say, wonderfully benefited by the influence of his
+     benevolent character.
+
+     Very respectfully yours,
+     A. M. WADDILL.
+
+The esteem in which he is held by the leading business men of the city
+is shown by the fact that the Board of Directors of the Mission is
+composed of such men as John A. Carter, J. P. Torbitt, L. Richardson, J.
+B. McFerran, R. J. Menefee, J. T. Burghard, H. V. Loving, Arthur Peter,
+John T. Moore, J. K. Goodloe, P. Meguiar, C. McClarty, W. T. Rolph, John
+Finzer, with P. H. Tapp as Treasurer.
+
+He has the confidence and esteem of the officers both of the city and
+State, and he has a large influence with them.
+
+The Mayor, the Chief of Police, and the Judges of the Courts recognize
+his usefulness, his ability and his efficiency by co-operating with him,
+as far as may be, and by adopting his views and suggestions as to the
+treatment of criminals charged with lesser crimes and misdemeanors.
+
+The Governor, J. Proctor Knott, readily granted pardon to the only man
+for whom Mr. Holcombe ever asked it, and the testimony of this now happy
+man is given in this volume.
+
+Not only is Mr. Holcombe thus in honor and demand at home; he is in
+demand all over the country. Until it came to be known that he would not
+leave his own work in Louisville, he was constantly receiving requests
+to attend or conduct meetings of one sort or another in all parts of
+Kentucky and in several other States.
+
+Year before last, in the summer of 1886, he was, by appointment of the
+Governor of the State, a Commissioner from Kentucky in the National
+Convention of Corrections and Charities at Washington.
+
+In the fall of 1887 he attended, by request, the Convention of Christian
+Workers of the United States and Canada, in the Broadway Tabernacle in
+New York City, and made two addresses, both of which are printed among
+his sermons in this book. He was appointed a member of the Executive
+Committee of that body, in which capacity he now serves.
+
+But not only in direct results has the power of God been manifested
+through this instrument. Mr. Holcombe's conversion and work have had the
+effect of quickening the faith and zeal of all the churches of the city.
+It has not only drawn them nearer together in fostering and furthering a
+common enterprise into which they entered of their own motion, and
+without solicitation, but it has revived the languishing faith of all
+classes. Not only has the Gospel saved Steve Holcombe and others, he
+(let it be said reverently and understood rightly) has, in one sense,
+saved the Gospel. Many had lost faith in it. They thought it was an old,
+worn-out story. It had lost its novelty and vitality, and it had not the
+power it claimed to have. Its achievements were not equal to its
+pretensions. Some of the men who have been brought to a better life
+through Mr. Holcombe's instrumentality have said that, though they did
+not, out of respect for other people, publish the fact, they had lost
+all faith and were, at heart, utter infidels. Some of them continued to
+attend church and to give to the church of their means, and to give
+respectful attention to the preaching, but it was out of deference to
+relatives or respect for custom, or for mere Sunday pastime. But the
+conversion of Steve Holcombe, and the life he was living, arrested
+their thought, awakened inquiry and revived their faith, and many of
+these have been saved.
+
+The conversion of these has in turn resulted in the conviction of others
+and so the stream has broadened and deepened. As Mr. Holcombe says in
+one of his addresses, "There is naturally in the minds of men a doubt as
+to the truth and divinity of the religion which fails to do what it
+proposes to do, and so in times of religious deadness men lose faith and
+unbelief gets stronger and more stubborn while they see no examples of
+the power of the Gospel to save bad men. But when bad men have been
+reached and quickened and made better through the Gospel, and this
+continues year after year, then the tide turns, and faith becomes
+natural and easy not to say contagious and inevitable."
+
+These effects have demonstrated the reality of conversion in opposition
+to the view that it is an effect of the excitement of the imagination.
+"One hears," it is said, "the narration of the experience of others who
+claim to be converted, and he works at himself till he works himself up
+to the persuasion that he also has got it." But, as one of the converts
+in narrating his experience said, "Imagination could not take the whisky
+habit out of a man. It never did take it out of me. But the power of
+this Gospel which Steve Holcombe preaches has taken it out root and
+branch."
+
+Another thing is shown also by the history of this work. A distinguished
+minister said once, "We must get the top of society converted and then
+we may expect to reach the lower classes." Mr. Holcombe, on the
+contrary, in accordance with the example and words of Jesus and of Paul,
+of Luther and of Wesley, has given his time and labor primarily and
+largely to the lower classes and the lost classes, and through these he
+has reached also the higher classes, exemplifying again what was said by
+the most apostolic man since the Apostles, that the Gospel "works not
+from the top down but from the bottom up."
+
+If you should ask what is the explanation of Mr. Holcombe's success, it
+may be answered that it is due to three things. The extraordinary change
+which has taken place in his character and in his life arrests attention
+and produces conviction.
+
+In the second place is his intense and pitying love for those who are
+not saved, and especially for those who, besides being most utterly
+lost, are, either by their own suspicions and fears or by the customs
+and coldheartedness of society, or both, shut out from all sympathy and
+opportunity. He has a very mother's love for poor, sinful, struggling
+souls, and he shows this not in words only or chiefly, but in service.
+Some account has already been given from one of the Louisville papers
+concerning his rescue of a man who had been drunk continuously for
+twenty-three years. To have preached temperance and morality and duty to
+this wild and degraded man would have been useless, to have _told_ him
+of the love of God would, perhaps, have been no better. But when this
+far off love of God took concrete form in the person of Steve Holcombe
+and was brought nigh and made real in his brotherliness and gentleness
+and patience and service, it proved stronger than a twenty-three years'
+whisky habit and to-day this man, who lately dwelt apart from men like
+the man among the tombs and who was possessed by the demon of drink so
+that no man could bind him with bonds of morality or duty--this man is
+to-day clothed and in his right mind. And though he has not fully
+apprehended the way of salvation, he says, yet a transfiguration has
+taken place in him which is little short of miraculous. He says also
+that he has got some light on the question of personal religion. He is
+thoroughly honest and will not claim or profess what he has not. He says
+a man who has always gone slow in everything else can't go fast in
+getting religion.[1]
+
+[1] This man has, since the above was written, been brought into a clear
+experience of conversion, and is now a clean and happy Christian man.
+
+In the third place, Mr Holcombe's success is due to the character of his
+preaching. It is the simple Gospel, wherein two points are continually
+made and emphasized, the reality and tenderness of God's love for sinful
+men, even the worst, and the absolute necessity of regeneration and a
+holy life. Both these great truths he illustrates with fitness and force
+from his own life and that of the men who have been converted under his
+ministry. His sermons are so striking in their directness and
+simplicity, and so helpful withal, that some of them have been
+reproduced in outline in the present volume, and the reader who has
+never heard him may get some idea of his preaching from these, and, it
+is hoped, some profit as well.
+
+Whatever men may say, the fact remains that when the Gospel is preached
+on apostolic conditions, it has still apostolic success.
+
+In 1886, when Rev. Sam P. Jones was holding a meeting in Cincinnati, he
+said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"Mr. Holcombe's work is finer than anything done since the death of
+Jerry McAuley. He is fully consecrated to the work of rescuing the
+perishing and saving the fallen. Hundreds of men, dug by him from the
+deepest depths of dissipation and degradation, are to-day clothed in
+their right minds. Some of the most efficient Christian men have passed
+through his Mission, at No. 436 Jefferson street, in Louisville. I feel
+that in helping Steve Holcombe, I shall be able to say, at least: 'Lord,
+if I did not do much when I was on earth, I did what I could to help
+Steve Holcombe, the converted gambler, in his mission work among men who
+never hear preaching, and to whom a helping hand is never extended.'
+
+"There are mighty few men like Steve Holcombe to take hold of poor
+fellows and bring them back to a purer and better life."
+
+In 1888, during a great temperance meeting in Louisville, Mr. Francis
+Murphy said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"Of all the noble men I know, he is one of the noblest, and Louisville
+may well be proud of the grand, big-hearted Christian man, who, in his
+quiet, unassuming manner is doing such a world of good here."
+
+Mr. D. L. Moody, during his great meeting in Louisville, in the months
+of January and February, 1888, said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"I have got very much interested in a work in your city conducted by a
+man you call Steve Holcombe. I don't know when I met a man who so struck
+my heart. I went up and saw his headquarters and how he works. He is
+doing the noblest work I know of. I want you to help him with money and
+words of cheer. Remember, here in Louisville you make so many drunkards
+that you must have a place to take care of the wrecks. Steve Holcombe
+rescues them. Let us help him all we can."
+
+And Mr. Holcombe's work is not done. He is in the vigor of life, with
+fifteen or twenty years of life and service, God willing, before him. He
+is only beginning to reap the results of these ten years of study and
+these ten years of Christian living and working. He knows the Gospel
+better than he ever did before, and he preaches it better. He knows
+himself and God better than he ever did before, and he lives nearer the
+Source of Power. He knows men good and bad, better than he ever did
+before, and he deals with them in all states and stages more wisely and
+successfully.
+
+He is of that nervous and Intense temperament which can not rest without
+getting something done, and he is always doing something to advance his
+work. And though so intensely in earnest, he is singularly, it is not at
+all too strong to say, entirely free from fanaticism. He is in high
+esteem, with large influence at home and abroad, and this he does not
+prostitute to selfishness, but uses for usefulness.
+
+And, best of all, he has tokens, not a few, in the form of discipline on
+the one hand, and success on the other, that God is guarding and guiding
+his Life and Work.
+
+[Illustration: THE UNION GOSPEL MISSION.]
+
+
+
+
+LETTERS.
+
+
+    TO HIS FIRST PASTOR.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 6, 1883.
+
+    _My Dear Brother_:
+
+    Our meetings continue in interest. Last night the Holy Ghost was
+    with us in great power. At the close of the talk, we invited
+    backsliders to come forward and kneel. Six responded. Then we
+    invited all others who wanted to become Christians to come
+    forward and nine others responded, most of them the most
+    hardened sinners in the city. I am sure nothing but the power of
+    God could have lifted them from their seats. Men who have fought
+    each other actually embraced last night. Continue to pray for
+    us.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 19, 1883.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Last night about two hundred persons were present, most of them
+    non-churchgoers. About forty stood up for prayers. And oh, such
+    good testimonies, no harangues but living testimonies as to what
+    God can and will do for those who will let him.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 21, 1883.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    How grateful I am to you for all your kindness God alone knows.
+    I may and do lack education and refinement, but I will not allow
+    myself under any circumstances to lack gratitude. The results of
+    our meetings prove to me that it is the work of the Holy Ghost.
+    Of course, I could hardly believe you would come to Louisville
+    even for a little while and not come to see me, one who has cost
+    you so much of time and care. There was a time when I could not
+    have stood it. But thanks to God I am now above letting small
+    things or great things upset me. Give my love to your dear
+    family.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 3, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    How I do wish you could have been where you could have looked in
+    on us last night. The room was full. They had to be turned away
+    from the door. And they were so anxious to hear the glad
+    tidings. No carpet, nothing to deaden the sound and yet you
+    could have heard a pin drop. All the churches are feeling the
+    results of our work. Yesterday G. H. joined the Christian
+    church. He seems to be a thoroughly converted man, if I know
+    one. P. D., whom you know, came in here about a week ago under
+    the influence of liquor. Said "I am an infidel and a drunkard.
+    Pray for me." We did pray for him. He has been coming ever
+    since. He is now perfectly sober and says he was never so moved
+    before. These are two out of many cases.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 7, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Your kind favor received. P. D. comes every night and sometimes
+    speaks. He is not drinking. He says he can not believe. He does
+    so pitifully and pleadingly ask for the prayers of Christian
+    people. He is in earnest. Pray for him.
+
+    C. T. testified last night. He was a schoolmate of yours. He
+    said: "For the last five years, when I would meet Brother
+    Holcombe, I would say to myself: 'I wish he would say good day,
+    and pass on.' But he would not. He generally had something to
+    say about the way I was living. Of late, every time he has met
+    me he has invited me to the Mission. I would promise to go, but
+    went, instead, to some bar-room, until I wound up by losing my
+    position, being sent to the work-house, and being left by a
+    loving wife. Two weeks ago he met me again, and this time I kept
+    my promise. I have been coming every night since, and have not
+    touched liquor since, and by God's help I do not expect to do so
+    any more. I enjoy the meetings so much. The two hours I spend
+    here seem so short."
+
+    G. H. never misses a night. He is in the room with me now
+    singing, "Happy Day, When Jesus Washed My Sins Away." And he is
+    happy. Although in the last four years he has spent thirty
+    thousand dollars in riotous living, and although his wife has
+    left him, he said to me: "Brother Holcombe, I believe I am as
+    happy as I ever was in my life." I asked him, why? He said:
+    "Because I have something which I never had when I had wife,
+    child and money. I have the forgiveness of sins and the
+    friendship of God."
+
+    I said: "You will have to watch the devil or he will get you in
+    his power again."
+
+    "Yes," he replied, "the devil told me when I first began to come
+    to this Mission that I was too mean, and my heart was too dead
+    ever to get religion; but I fought him on my knees and I got the
+    victory. I know how hard it was to get, and by the help of God I
+    am going to keep it, whether I ever have wife or child or money
+    again."
+
+    Pray for me, that I may make no mistake in my difficult work.
+    Yours, as ever,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 13, 1884.
+
+_Dear Brother_:
+
+    I did just what you suggested; though I was disappointed I did
+    not show it. God is helping me to give up my preferences. I am
+    trusting in the Lord, and sweetly singing
+
+    "Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
+      Only as led by His hand;
+    A messenger at His gateway,
+      Only waiting for His command."
+
+I am willing to preach on the streets, at the Mission, at Walnut-street
+church, or I am willing to be door-keeper--anything for Christ.
+
+So you heard that I am improving in preaching. Well, I do believe that I
+shall yet learn how to preach.
+
+I had a letter requesting me to go to Nicholasville to preach. But I can
+not go. I feel I have a little, humble work to do in Louisville, and I
+am going to do it. The mission men are all doing well. Though to you I
+may seem very weak, I am to them what you are to me. Yours, etc.,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 1, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Yours to hand. I do not think you negligent. I know you love me,
+    and I know you love the cause of Christ for which I am laboring,
+    and I know you will do all you can to help me to help it. I am
+    surprised, not at what you don't do, but at what you do do.
+
+    I suppose you saw in the paper what a handsome thing they did
+    for us in the way of giving us a fifty-dollar parlor set, a fine
+    Brussels carpet, a large walnut book-case and many other
+    articles, including a fine portrait of dear Brother Morris.
+
+    Even for this donation and for all the love shown me by these
+    good people I am indebted to you. "Jesus must needs go through
+    Samaria" to save the woman at the well. You must needs be sent
+    to Portland church to save and instruct and guide Steve
+    Holcombe. This morning I prayed nearly an hour before breakfast,
+    and it was lucky for me I did. Something came up at noon that
+    would have completely upset me, but I was fortified and
+    withstood the temptation successfully.
+
+    I am improving every way. My health is better, my memory is
+    better. I can read my Bible more profitably than ever and I can
+    pray better.
+
+    God grant you may have good health, length of days and all of
+    this world's goods that may be good for you.
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 23, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of the 16th to hand. God is so good to me. Certain
+    temptations have come to me lately and I could not have borne
+    them but for His help. I talked at the church last Sunday night
+    in the absence of Dr. Messick. I felt so humble, it seemed a
+    privilege to be treated shamefully that I might have an
+    opportunity of showing that a Christian can give up his own
+    rights for the good of others. I have grown in grace since you
+    showed me the necessity of secret prayer and of getting so well
+    acquainted with God that he would become more real to me than my
+    own father ever was.
+
+    You have seen in the papers poor D. T.'s attempt at suicide. But
+    God has spared him yet another season. He will recover. Pray for
+    him. May God bless you and strengthen you and keep you is the
+    prayer of
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 23, 1884.
+
+    _My Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours received this A. M. I am so pressed for means I can not
+    now buy the book you speak of, but will do so as soon as I can.
+    I am _taking time_ to study. I am getting much better acquainted
+    with God and the better I know him the more I love him.
+
+    Yours in love,
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 25, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    The men are all doing tolerably well. The attendance at the
+    meetings is increasing. Sunday-school holds up well. My great
+    desire now is to be able to study the Bible better. The more I
+    think of what you have been to me, the more grateful I feel. I
+    wish I could in some substantial way show you how I appreciate
+    your care. But God will reward you.
+
+    Yours, etc.,  S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 30, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    The Bible is becoming very sweet to me. I can study it all day
+    long and not get tired. I am sure the Holy Ghost is helping me.
+    I have read the book you gave me. It is very helpful.
+
+    Brother Davidson has gone to housekeeping. He has his son and
+    daughter with him. Oh, the love and power of God. Praise His
+    name!
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    CHICAGO, ILL., September 5, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of the 2d to hand. Think of you? The sun may forget to
+    shine, but poor Steve Holcombe can never forget the man who has
+    done so much for his soul. Never has a day passed since my
+    conversion that I have not prayed God's blessing on you, your
+    family and your work.
+
+    Well, Chicago is a great city, a grand field for Christian work.
+    I find many earnest Christian men and women laboring for the
+    Master. I am not idle either. I talked four times last
+    Sunday--three times on the street and once at a Mission.
+
+    I am having a royal time, sailing on the lake, riding on
+    street-cars, taking in the town. I wish you were here.
+
+    God bless you always. STEVE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 1, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of June 25th received. I do hope you will get Brother
+    C.[2] those books to sell. These men must have employment. They
+    can not live, as some Christian people seem to think, on
+    promises. It is all right to say, "Oh, let go and trust in the
+    Lord," to a man who knows the way, but it is all not right when
+    it is said to a poor struggling gambler, who, in faith, is as
+    weak as a baby. I know of Brother L.'s troubles. My heart goes
+    out to him. All well.
+
+    Yours,  S. P. H.
+
+[2] A converted gambler.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 15, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Since writing my card this morning I have learned that D. McC.,
+    the boss Nashville gambler, and an old partner of mine, is
+    attending Sam Jones' meetings. I want you to go to see him.
+    Don't be afraid to go right up to him and introduce yourself.
+    Tell him you and I are old friends, and that I love him, and
+    requested you to see him. But you know better how to approach
+    him than I can tell you. But you must see him. Take Sam Jones to
+    see him. Visit him at his home, with Sam Jones. He is worthy of
+    concentration. If you can get him converted, he will be a power
+    for good. Most of your members know him, I guess. If you don't
+    like to call on him, alone, get some of them to go along and
+    introduce you. May God help us save poor D. McC.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    STEVE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 20, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Your favor to hand. I have had a terrible battle with self, but
+    by the grace of God I have come out conquerer. I praise God now
+    that I had the struggle, because it has enabled me to realize
+    the emptiness of all that is earthly. It has convinced me that
+    to depend on men is "like a foot out of joint." I make more
+    miles toward my haven of rest during a night of storm than in
+    days of calm weather. Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy
+    New Year, I am as ever,
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 29, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours was received a few days ago. Yes, I thank God I am almost
+    rid of my love of praise. I am willing to do the dirty and
+    disagreeable work and let others have the picnics and the
+    praise. "Who am I that I should be a leader of the Lord's
+    people?" But I confess I did not get to this point without a
+    struggle. How I did have to wrestle with God. He showed me the
+    envy that was in my heart, that is my jealousy of any one who
+    did more work or had more attention paid them than I had. But
+    glory to God I hope I am rid of it at last.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 26, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours just received. I hardly think it would be worth while to
+    ask Mr. Moody to visit our Mission, as his time is so completely
+    occupied. I think our work is as much thought of as ever. It is
+    quiet but I think deep. I have kept it out of the papers,
+    because too much newspaper notoriety is calculated to cause a
+    poor little-brained fellow to exaggerate his own importance. And
+    then there is such sweetness in the work when you are sure it is
+    not for praise but for Christ. I am afraid that many of us on
+    analyzing our hearts will find first, self; second, self; and
+    almost all for self in one way or another. May God deliver me
+    from self.
+
+    Yours as ever,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 10, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Your letter to hand. There is nothing so comforting as true
+    friendship. Alas! how little of it there is in this world. Happy
+    the man who can claim _one true friend_. I know a man that has a
+    true friend. I am that man and you are that friend. How do I
+    know it? You are so faithful in telling me the truth about
+    myself and showing me my faults and mistakes. Who but a true
+    friend that had your best interest at heart would have written
+    such a letter as this last one from you? I want you to know that
+    while I loved you much before, I love you more now. I have been
+    going through the fire lately, but I think I shall come out all
+    right. Doesn't God sift a fellow? I believe I can say I rejoice
+    in tribulation. I find I can not expect to be understood in this
+    world or always have sympathy, but I do expect, if "I meekly
+    wait and murmur not," to find it is all right in my Father's
+    house.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO S. P. DALTON (one of the converts).
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 17, 1883.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Your good letter to hand. It is, as you say, so sweet to be
+    bound together by the ties of Christian love, and there is no
+    tie which binds men more closely than the religion of Christ. It
+    breaks down every barrier, and all are alike to the true
+    Christian man; rich, poor, halt, lame, blind, there is no
+    difference. And the Christian is happiest when he is denying
+    himself to help others.
+
+    In order to convince the world of the truth and power of our
+    religion, our own standard must be very high. We must deny
+    ourselves of things which in themselves would be innocent, but
+    which, if practiced by us, would lessen our influence for good.
+    And how comforting to think that if we _suffer_ with Him, we
+    shall also reign with Him. The suffering comes first, the
+    humiliation first, the toil and weariness first. Yes, we may
+    _expect_ troubles and crosses here, but we leave it all behind
+    when we enter within the gates into the city. I thank God that
+    your heart has been changed and that you have tasted of the
+    powers of the world to come. I am glad you find more pleasure in
+    my poor company and lame words than in the follies and
+    friendships of the world. Hoping for you all good things, I am
+    with much love,
+
+    Your brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 23, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Your letter from the great Falls is to hand. It is very
+    gratifying to me to know that in the midst of so much excitement
+    you could and did think of one so humble and obscure as myself.
+    I have been at the Falls and have seen many wonderful and grand
+    things, but the most beautiful thing I have ever seen is an old
+    hardened sinner picking up his grip-sack and bidding the devil
+    farewell forever. And, praise the Lord, that is my privilege
+    almost daily in the dear old mission. Though the weather is very
+    hot, we have glorious meetings; new converts testifying almost
+    nightly. Two professional gamblers have just been converted. One
+    of them was one of the sweetest conversions I ever saw. The old
+    converts are nearly all doing well. Don't grow, cold, but be in
+    some work for the Master every day, and you will not miss the
+    time or regret the service. God bless you.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., April 17, 1886.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Yours of the 6th to hand. We have purchased the property for our
+    new home, and we shall move in in about a month. Our work is
+    moving like a thing of life. It was never so prosperous before.
+    I wish you could be here to work with us. Sister Clark is in her
+    glory. She is one of the grandest Christian women I have ever
+    seen. Nearly all the converts are doing well.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 15, 1886.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    I receive no letters that touch my heart more deeply than those
+    I receive from you. Our work is more quiet now. The papers do
+    not notice it so much, but we are doing a good work. It is now
+    more among the unfortunate business men of the city some of
+    whom, were fallen very low. Some who have recently been
+    reclaimed are now first-class business men. The old converts are
+    all right and doing well, but they don't stand by me in the work
+    as I wish they would. Oh, for "consecration and concentration."
+    That is my motto.
+
+    My married daughter has got one of the best of husbands and I
+    think they are the happiest couple I know. The rest are all
+    well. I hope you will be blown back this way by some favoring
+    breeze, so we can have your help in our work.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 6, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Our work is going on grandly again. You can see from the papers
+    I am kept as busy as a bee. You must know from the number that
+    come that my time is all taken up in nursing them. Hence, I can
+    not write long letters, however much I would like to.
+
+    Hope to see you soon.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., October 28, 1887.
+
+    _S.P. Dalton, Cleveland, Ohio:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER DALTON: Yours of the 17th is received. I am glad
+    you are an active worker in the church, and that they have shown
+    their appreciation of you by making you a steward in the church.
+
+    I believe you will render a good account of your stewardship.
+    The main thing for you to guard against is _care_. Remember,
+    always when you think you are too busy to pray in secret, read
+    the Bible, go to the meetings, etc., what Jesus said to Martha:
+    "Thou art careful and troubled about many things."
+
+    I am trying to be a faithful servant. God is blessing my humble
+    efforts. The converts are sticking and the work is growing. Most
+    of the converts are prospering in business. Some that were in
+    the gutter are now making from fifty to two hundred dollars a
+    month.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 11, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Yours of the 9th to hand. Glad to hear of your continued success
+    in business. You are a great man, but a man who is so prosperous
+    in business must keep his eyes open.
+
+    Remember to give to the Lord all that belongs to Him of every
+    dollar you earn. John Wesley's motto is hard to improve on:
+    "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can." And oh!
+    what sweetness there is in giving. Never get too busy to do some
+    Christian work. We have just had Murphy at Louisville, for a
+    month.
+
+    Good-bye,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[3]LETTERS TO MR. HOLCOMBE.
+
+[3] A few of the letters to Mr. Holcombe have been selected out of
+several hundreds.
+
+    _Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    I have heard and read so much of your influence and prayers for
+    men leading dissolute lives, that I am going to ask you if you
+    won't find my husband and stay and pray with him until he is
+    saved. The other night, when he was drinking very hard, he
+    appealed to me to send for you to pray for him. He has much
+    confidence in your prayers, and believes in your life; I have
+    often heard him say so. He has a noble, loving disposition, and
+    forgiving; so you need not be afraid of offending him. His whole
+    heart would forever offer thanksgivings for his delivery from
+    drink; for it is that that he prays for. I have thought that,
+    perhaps, God intended salvation to come to him through you; and
+    how earnestly I pray that it may. So much has been done, and so
+    many prayers offered for him, won't you please, at your next
+    opportunity, find him and talk and pray with him? You would make
+    a miserable, lonely woman's life happy again. We have been so
+    happy together, so congenial, so well mated; and if God will
+    answer all our united prayers, happiness will return to our
+    hearts tenfold. Oh, Mr. Holcombe, pray the prayer of faith, and
+    my heart will ever turn in grateful acknowledgment to God for
+    making you the humble instrument of my much-loved husband's
+    salvation. Won't you go now immediately and wrestle for and with
+    him in prayer?
+
+    Believe me, most earnestly, your co-worker in prayer for his
+    salvation.
+
+    MRS. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BIRMINGHAM, ALA., May 12, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    I hope you will not think hard of me for asking you to write
+    once more to my husband. I feel so confident it will stir up a
+    remembrance of his conversion. Oh, brother, don't give up
+    helping me. Try to save my husband. It nearly kills me to see
+    him come home full of the destroying thing called whisky; and it
+    seems to have such a strong hold on him. All the imploring I can
+    do will not change him at all. I have grieved until my life is
+    almost grieved away. But oh, God will surely hear my cry after a
+    while. If I could give my life to save my husband's soul, I
+    would willingly, yes, gladly, do it. Brother Holcombe, what do
+    you think about this plan? If you can get one of the converts
+    whom my husband knows, and one who has been a great drunkard, to
+    write a friendly, brotherly letter to him, don't you think that
+    might do some good? Oh, I have thought of so many plans and ways
+    to try and get him back to the Lord. I am sorry to say that the
+    city of Birmingham is the most wicked place I have ever seen; so
+    few Christians, and they are not working. I do fervently hope
+    God will send some one here who is like yourself, not ashamed to
+    work for the lost. I hope you will write, Brother Holcombe. Pray
+    for me; and oh, do ask all the friends there to pray for my
+    husband.
+
+    Mrs. P.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 3d.
+
+    _Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you ask the prayers of your people in behalf of my
+    skeptical son-in-law. He is a talented man, but he is using his
+    influence against his best friend. My poor child is suffering
+    the penalty for marrying an infidel. If I dared tell you how
+    desperate the case, I am sure your heart would be troubled to
+    its depths. Do pray that this man may be led into the light of
+    the Gospel, and become a better husband, father and citizen.
+
+    A SUFFERING MOTHER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BOWLING GREEN, November 10, 1884.
+
+    _Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you please go and see my son L., and try to persuade him to
+    live a better life? He has great faith in what you say. When you
+    wrote to him last spring he seemed very much affected, and said
+    to me. "That is one of the best men in the world." Oh, for
+    heaven's sake, pray for him. If you can go and talk to him,
+    advise him to leave Kentucky and go away off and reform his
+    life. If he comes back here, _danger awaits him_. I feel sure
+    you can influence him, for he believes you are sincere. He is
+    not mean and sinful at heart, but oh, the accursed demon Drink
+    causes him all his trouble. If he could get some respectable
+    work and some one to encourage him and lift him above his
+    darkened life, I believe he would be all right. He has relatives
+    there, but they are the last to apply to for assistance. He is
+    in jail in your city now. God only knows the pang it causes me
+    to say he is in jail. He was such a good Sunday-school boy and a
+    good Templar. Is it possible that he is to be lost? I can't yet
+    give up all hope. While my Father in heaven has so sorely
+    afflicted me, I can't help believing that after awhile the
+    change will come. Oh, how I wish Brother Morris could go to him
+    to-day. He took more interest in him than any one else ever did.
+    Please do what you can. I know God _will hear your prayer_ and
+    help you to save him. Yours with a mother's aching heart for her
+    boy,
+
+    ---- ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CHICAGO, May 24th.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    MY DEAR FRIEND: I have just received a letter from my son, who
+    has almost ruined himself and broken my heart by his
+    intemperance. I have been always praying for his reformation,
+    but felt almost hopeless, as he would not go to church and
+    seemed hardened, and I know very well he could not rely on his
+    own strength and would not look to a stronger arm for help. Do
+    you know when I received a letter from him to-day making a full
+    confession of all his past course, and saying he had been to
+    hear you and asked for your prayers, I could not realize it? How
+    we are surprised when God hears us. I write this to thank you
+    for anything you may have said to help him, and to beg you to
+    follow him with your prayers and advice. Oh, won't you try to
+    help him all you can? It will be a hard battle with him, poor
+    fellow, as he has been for some time indulging freely. Will you
+    look after him as much as you can and if he should fall, help
+    him up? I am praying for you and your work, and have been doing
+    so for a long time. Your friend,
+
+    MRS. P. W. M.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
+
+    _Dear Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you please come out to my home on Third street in the
+    morning as early as you can? I dislike to trouble you in this
+    way; but I am in great trouble with Mr. L. He has been drinking,
+    and I feel that you can be the means of bringing him back to
+    God. I have prayed with him, and done all I could for him. I
+    feel crushed to the earth with this deep sorrow and
+    mortification. Don't let him know that I sent for you. He is
+    quite sick to-night. Pray that God may sustain us and lift us
+    out of this deep dark sorrow, and cast out the demon that seems
+    to possess my poor dear husband. God bless you, our dear good
+    friend, and keep us all this night.
+
+    Sincerely your friend,
+
+    MRS. L.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., April 12, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. S. P. Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER: It is with grief in my heart I must write you
+    again. Mr. L. went on a business trip three weeks since, but
+    fell into bad company, and has been on a protracted spree. He
+    came home last night utterly discouraged--will not even try to
+    pray again. I am almost discouraged myself; can only wait and
+    trust. I think if you could make it convenient to call to see
+    him to-day, perhaps God will put words into your mouth that will
+    help him. I leave it with you; and would not ask you to leave
+    your duties, except I know your willingness to work for the
+    Master. He will not know that I have sent for you. Oh, help me
+    to pray that God will help my husband.
+
+    Your friend,
+
+    MRS. L.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    OCTOBER 28TH.
+
+    _Friend Holcombe:_
+
+    I am locked up, and go to the work-house this morning. Oh, can
+    anything be done to help me; I want to become a different man.
+    Try and save me.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CITY WORK-HOUSE, November 1, 1882.
+
+    _Rev. Stephen P. Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: You kindly requested me to write you in event I
+    reached the conclusion that under a change of condition I might
+    become a different man. My knowledge of your own career inspires
+    me with more confidence than anything that has ever fallen under
+    my notice. Coupled with the impression made upon me by the
+    sermon on Sunday afternoon, I firmly believe if you will come
+    and see me, and allow me to state to you fully my convictions as
+    to your ability to make a sober man of me, you will do one of
+    the greatest and noblest acts of your life; and, in keeping me
+    from the slavery of drink, rescue one who has suffered, and who
+    has caused, and now is causing, much suffering to others. I
+    stand ready to unite with you in any manner you may suggest, and
+    pray God Almighty to bless you.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CITY WORK-HOUSE, November 2, 1882.
+
+    _Friend Holcombe:_
+
+    When I penned the few lines to you yesterday, I had to do it in
+    so short a space of time, that in all probability I omitted to
+    state specifically why I desired to see you. Heretofore, I have
+    never entertained any settled plan of operations to restrain my
+    appetite for liquor other than the mere will power I deemed in
+    my own possession and control, and, as a result, would
+    invariably find myself in the very midst of violating every
+    previously conceived resolution. Your kindness in pointing out a
+    course of discipline and conduct, and extending to me a welcome
+    among those who have made, and who are making, successful battle
+    against the great destroyer of happiness, awakened within me an
+    entirely different current of thought; and when I stated I would
+    unite with you in any manner you would suggest, to effect the
+    object in view, I meant it with all my heart and mind; and I
+    appeal to an all-wise and merciful Creator to attest the
+    sincerity of my declaration in this matter. Again, my resolve is
+    to attend strictly to any suggestions you may make. The accursed
+    appetite has beggared me. I do not ask charity from any mortal
+    toward me. I am not deserving of either sympathy or pity; and
+    while the embracing of the cause of religion and temperance can
+    not of itself work reformation, it places a man in a position
+    where he can climb upward and go forward, instead of forever
+    traveling the broad way that leads to destruction. Holcombe, I
+    want to redeem myself. I only crave this one last opportunity,
+    and if God will help me no man shall ever know of me using
+    either intoxicating drink or profane language as long as breath
+    is in my body. When released, I do not want to be idle a day. I
+    have mouths to feed whose entry into this troubled life is
+    chargeable solely to me. I will work for a dollar a day to do my
+    duty towards them. Judge W. L. Jackson, Judge H. H. Bruee, Gary
+    B. Blackburn or Major Tom Hays, would, I am sure, put in a good
+    word for me; and Judge Price himself, I think has some hope for
+    me. I had a violent chill to-day, and am in the hospital
+    department, and my fingers are somewhat stiff from researches in
+    the geological department.[4] Hence this cramped writing. Come
+    and see me, and do not give me up as hopeless.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----.
+
+[4] He means the rock-pile.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BOWLING GREEN, KY., March 27, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: I am so much obliged to you for the kind letter you
+    were pleased to write me. You no doubt think ere this that the
+    seed has fallen on stony ground, and, perhaps, among thorns; but
+    I can assure you that I made up my mind when in your city to
+    lead a different life, and to devote the remainder of my life to
+    the service of my God. I have so often thought of you, and have
+    wished to see you. Pray for me, and I do hope we may meet again.
+    If ever convenient, call and see me. Our doors will be open,
+    yes, wide open, to you. Thanking you again for your remembrance
+    of me, I am, yours truly,
+
+    ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    SICK BED, February 5th.
+
+    _Dear Christian Brother:_
+
+    I have a tenant in a little house, a grocery, on Sixth street,
+    right next to the First Presbyterian church, who is a fearfully
+    wicked man, a common drunkard, and steeped in sin; and I come to
+    you to-day to beg you to seek him out and try to rescue him. He
+    has four or five little motherless children, whose lives are
+    full of the bitterest sorrow; they are so dirty and unkempt that
+    the public school teacher had to send them home. They are under
+    no control; have no one to train them for God, and ought to be
+    where some one would save them from themselves and ruin. When I
+    leased my house to him, he was a very handsome, well-to-do man;
+    young, apparently honest, paid his rent regularly, and had a
+    very nice little wife, who has since died--I think with a broken
+    heart. Will you not look him up at once? Or, if you are too full
+    of other cases, will you not get some one of your workers to try
+    to lead him back to good paths? He is a very desperate case, I
+    know, and seems almost past saving now; but you know God's grace
+    can reach any heart. I would lay this poor dissolute creature,
+    lost to all sense of honor, shame or manliness, on your soul, my
+    brother, and beseech you, for Christ's sake, for the sake of
+    these poor motherless children, whose souls are worth saving for
+    Christ, do try to bring your influence and your prayers for
+    God's help, to this miserable man's case, and see if you can
+    help. If he is past God's mercy--and I can not believe
+    that--will you not see what can be done for the little ones?
+    The oldest boy is a bright little fellow, and may become a great
+    light in our Father's work. I hear that this man has been to
+    hear Mr. Moody. I do not know if it helped him. Will you not
+    send after him, and try to get him to go to-night? I will meet
+    you in prayer there for him.
+
+    In bonds of Christian friendship,
+
+    JENNIE CASSEDAY.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    ALEXANDER'S HOTEL,
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 30, 1888.
+
+    _My Dear Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    I am struggling as hard as ever a poor wretch did against my
+    appetite for liquor. I have asked the good Lord to help me
+    overcome the habit, but I feel that my prayers amount to
+    nothing. May I ask you to ask the Great Controller of us all to
+    give me strength to overcome this habit? Save me, or help save
+    me, I beg and implore you. Please give me your prayers.
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    OCTOBER 16, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your kind favor of the 7th instant reached me in due time. I
+    was, of course, delighted to hear from you, and inexpressibly
+    glad to hear of the improved state of your health. I also note
+    with much pleasure what you say in regard to the pleasant and
+    extensive trip that you have just finished. It gratifies and
+    pleases me beyond expression to know that the people of
+    Louisville are at last awakened to your worth, and are willing
+    to manifest some substantial recognition of the same. "All
+    things work well for those who love the Lord." I believe the
+    quotation is correct. Oh, had I continued in the way you pointed
+    out to me, how different my situation and circumstances would
+    be. Instead of being broken in health and bankrupt in purse,
+    separated from all that I love and hold most dear, I would be, I
+    am sure, what I was while I was endeavoring to lead a Christian
+    life--a happy husband and father and a respectable citizen. Oh,
+    Steve, my dear friend, I am wretched, miserable, broken hearted.
+    When I reflect upon what I was and what I might have been, and
+    consider what I am and how little I have to look forward to, I
+    simply get desperate. But I will not weary you with my troubles.
+    As regards myself and habits, I may say, without exaggeration,
+    that I am in better health and my mode of living is plainer and
+    more regular than it has ever been. I rise every morning between
+    four and five o'clock, and retire between eight and nine. My
+    food is of the plainest and coarsest kind. My companions are, I
+    regret to say, cowboys. You know, I presume, what they are, so I
+    will say nothing about them. I neither drink nor smoke; I chew
+    tobacco very moderately, and expect to quit that. I suffer
+    terribly at times for the want of congenial company. You must
+    excuse this effort, as I am surrounded by a lot of boys who are
+    making a terrible lot of noise. Give my love to all of your
+    family. God bless you, my dear Steve. Pray for me and mine.
+
+    Your friend, ---- ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    NOVEMBER 2, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your letter of the 27th is before me. It is just such a letter
+    as I expected--so full of sympathy, love and good, wholesome
+    advice. I wish it were possible, or, rather, expedient, to
+    listen to your advice and return home, for I am heartily sick
+    and tired of the life I am now living. Don't you know that my
+    life out here reminds me, in a measure, of your western
+    experience? Of course, I am not subjected to the hardships and
+    deprivations that you were forced to undergo. But, as far as
+    bodily comfort and companionship are concerned, I must say that
+    your experience must have been rather "tough," if it was worse
+    than mine. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have plenty to eat,
+    such as it is, I have a fairly good bed, in a fairly good room.
+    My companions are, as you know, cowboys. That they are rough and
+    all that, goes without saying, but let me tell you, my dear
+    friend, I have received better treatment and more consideration
+    from these wild, half-civilized cowboys, upon whom I have no
+    earthly claim, than I ever received from some from whom I had a
+    right to expect, if not fair treatment, at least some
+    consideration. The people one meets out here are always willing
+    to give a fellow a "white man's chance." When you write, tell me
+    something about the dear old Mission and its workers. What has
+    become of Davidson, Peck, Booker and all of the boys? I would be
+    extremely sorry to hear that any of them had forsaken the narrow
+    for the broad way. The dear old Mission! What a train of happy
+    memories is connected with it. I almost forgot to inquire about
+    Clay Price. Tell me about all of them. I am about to change my
+    quarters. Don't know where I will go. You had better wait until
+    you hear from me again before answering. With much love to
+    yourself and family, I am, as ever,
+
+    Your friend,
+
+    ---- ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    DECEMBER 10, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your letter, or rather note, of November 29th, reached me in due
+    course. You advise me to keep up a brave heart. Steve, old
+    fellow, my heart is broken. I know you will smile and shake your
+    head; but I honestly believe that if there is such a thing as a
+    broken heart, mine is broken. Haven't I suffered enough? Well,
+    how is the Mission getting along? I noticed in the
+    _Courier-Journal_ the other day that George Kerr had been
+    reclaimed. Well, well, who would have thought it? I know him
+    well. He is a fellow of some parts. If he can only keep sober,
+    he is abundantly qualified to do well. Write me something about
+    the boys. I would be mighty glad to hear good reports of them.
+    Have you seen the ----s lately. Give them my regards when you
+    see them; and remind them for me, that they are in debt to me a
+    letter. They and you, old fellow, are about all the friends I
+    have left. What a sad commentary upon human nature is the
+    mutability of so-called friendship! When I was prosperous, I had
+    all the friends I wanted, and more, too. Now, I can count them
+    upon the fingers of one hand. Ah, well, I suppose it has been
+    the same time out of mind; I am not an exception. Now, Steve,
+    write me a long letter, and tell me all the news.
+
+    Very truly your friend, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    KANSAS CITY, MO., May 30, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve P. Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:_
+
+    Yours received. Would have written sooner but I have been away
+    and busy. I have been at Fulton, Mo., since the tenth instant.
+    Brother Jones left Monday morning. I tell you I just had a
+    glorious time. Steve, I love the work! and God is blessing me
+    wonderfully; everything is prosperous; business is getting
+    better; my health is getting better. In short, everything is
+    just glorious. Of course, I feel gloomy sometimes; but, blessed
+    be God, he will not allow us to be tempted above that we are
+    able to bear; and, with every temptation there is a way of
+    escape. I feel just that way. Every time temptation comes to me,
+    I flee to God for help, and I never yet failed. I have gone into
+    this for life; and, God helping me, I will stick. I have not
+    tasted drink of any kind since about January 9th, and I tell you
+    I was a slave to it. I never think of drinking now; my thought
+    is all in a different channel; bless God for it. Our little
+    mission is gradually growing, and we hope for grand things from
+    it. Pray for us. Brother Morris wishes to be remembered to
+    yourself and family. I am a member of his church, and I love
+    him. He is a grand man. I am going to Chillicothe, Missouri, the
+    12th of June--Brother Jones will be there for ten days. Give my
+    regards to all who know me; and tell them I am trusting Jesus
+    for everything. May God bless you in your good work. I shall
+    never forget you. Write as soon as convenient.
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    HARRY CHAPMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    CHICAGO, July 21, 1884.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Steve:_
+
+    Your kind postal of the 21st to hand this P. M. I must really
+    beg your pardon for having neglected your cards; but I have no
+    excuse to offer. It has been nothing but carelessness. I was
+    absent from Chicago a week with my friend D., and had a very
+    pleasant time. It is probable that he will start into business
+    in Chicago. He will know in the next few weeks. The Lord has
+    taken wonderfully good care of me since I have been here,
+    although on one or two occasions I have had to do with only one
+    meal a day. He has blessed me all the time. He has kept me
+    cheerful through all, and I feel to-day that I am nearer to Him
+    than I have ever been. I have put myself into His hands
+    unreservedly, and I feel that He is taking care of me. Yesterday
+    I got a letter from my brother. He asked me to pray for him, and
+    I shall certainly continue to do so as long as I live. Whenever
+    you see him, speak to him about the salvation of his soul. I
+    have written to him about it, and he wants to try and become a
+    Christian. Pray for him. Sunday I saw Dr. S. He is better
+    dressed than I ever saw him. I notice he wears the Murphy ribbon
+    in his button-hole. I am glad he is looking so well. This was
+    the first time I had seen him for weeks. Steve, there is only
+    one thing lacking to make my happiness complete, and that is to
+    have my mother think more favorably of my reformation. I have
+    written to her twice, and she has not even deigned to answer. I
+    feel, however, that the Lord will bring this about all right. As
+    to my getting into a situation, it will be some time yet, as
+    business hardly ever starts up here until about September. Then
+    the Lord will put me into something permanent, I know. The
+    captain is indeed happy with his family reunited with him. He
+    ought to shout God's praises from morning till night; but he is
+    not the only one that can shout--_my_ heart is forever full.
+    Neither hard times, nor anything else, can keep me down as long
+    as I have Jesus with me. I must close; it is time to go to
+    convert's meeting. My prayers are for you and the Mission. I
+    humbly ask you, as well as all the good Christians there, to
+    pray for me. May God bless you and yours.
+
+    Your brother in Christ,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+Remember me to Mrs. Holcombe and the rest of the family, as well as to
+all inquiring friends.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM THE SAME.
+
+    CHICAGO, August 3, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your kind letter to hand. I feel ashamed of myself for not
+    answering your letters more promptly. It does my heart good to
+    think that you at last have confidence in me, and that my going
+    to Chicago must not necessarily round up in my going to hell. It
+    seems to me, although I have not been in the service of our
+    glorious Master as long as you have, yet I have, or rather had,
+    more faith in His power to keep me than you had; but your remark
+    has often been recalled to my mind. Do you remember saying "that
+    if I went to Chicago, I was certainly bound for hell?" Was this
+    charity or placing much faith in God's word? Well, let the
+    matter drop. I have just come home from a glorious meeting. Oh,
+    how I thank God this morning for a lightness of heart and a
+    buoyancy of spirit that lift me above surrounding trials and
+    troubles! I am poor in purse; but, bless His holy name, I am
+    rich in promises and faith. My temporal affairs are not in a
+    very prosperous condition, but notwithstanding all this, I have
+    the confidence He will take care of me. He has done this in a
+    wonderful manner to this time, and He certainly has not changed
+    since I have become one of His. Captain Davidson keeps me pretty
+    well posted as to your meetings. I am glad they are well
+    attended. The Lord willing, I will be with you on a visit this
+    coming winter, and I will bring a friend. You will then see in
+    what style they conduct their meetings here in Chicago. I have
+    as yet received no answer to my long letter to H., but I praise
+    God that my humble words have set him to thinking. My prayers
+    ascend to heaven daily that he may be saved. Your friend, Frank
+    Jones, is here in Chicago. I saw him once on Clark street, but
+    had no chance to talk to him. This has been some two weeks ago.
+    Remember me in Christian love to the Millers, Captain Denny,
+    Dalton, Ben Harney, Tom Watts--in fact, all; but especially give
+    my regards to Mrs. Holcombe. Don't forget Mulligan, and my
+    prayers are that God may bless you as abundantly as he is
+    blessing your brother in Christ,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., September 12, 1887.
+
+    _Rev, S. P. Holcombe, New York City:_
+
+    MY DEAR OLD FRIEND: You do not know the pleasure your letter
+    gave me, I have wanted to write you ever since my return, but
+    did not know where a letter would reach you, nor do I know where
+    to direct this, but suppose I can get your address from Will. I
+    was at the Mission last night, and missed you sadly. We all
+    missed you in many ways. Your good, hard, common horse sense is
+    sadly needed. It is the same old story; we never appreciate a
+    man until it is too late. I used to think I could pick many
+    flaws in your management of the mission work, but I have now
+    come to the conclusion that you can't be downed in that line,
+    and hereafter I shall not even think a thought against your
+    management. Last night we had some ignoramus to preach, and his
+    grammar and ways of expressing himself were (to say the least)
+    tiresome; but we had testimonies afterward, and I said to
+    myself, "Well, Brother Steve is away, and I have been on the
+    quiet lay for a long time; I think, for the sake of Christ and
+    old Steve, I will give a red-hot testimony right from the
+    shoulder," and I did. I was followed by Hocker in a like strain,
+    and others chiming in, we made the welkin ring from turret to
+    foundation-stone. But the banner-bearer was not there; so the
+    good intended to be done fell short. Only one stood up for
+    prayer. But never mind, we will have our old veteran leader with
+    us soon, when we will unfurl our battle-flag anew and carry
+    terror and dismay into old Beelzebub's camp. I think if our
+    winter campaign is well organized, there will be no "Indians on
+    the warpath next spring." I miss you and want to see you so bad,
+    that you may give me a hundred lectures and I won't shirk. Your
+    true blues are all holding fast. Your Old Guard is a true and
+    tried one. I think they all can be depended on both on dress
+    parade and under fire. Your family are all well. May our
+    heavenly Father bless you, my dear friend, both here and
+    hereafter. Your sins have been great; but oh, what would I not
+    give to know that, after life's fitful fever is over, I would be
+    permitted to occupy a seat in the beautiful land of the blest
+    alongside of you. Truly your faith has made you whole. Good-bye,
+    and once more, God bless you.
+
+    Your sincere friend,
+
+    P. B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    ATLANTA, GA., February 3, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Your letter of December 17th was received in due time. Your
+    postal card was also received a few days ago. I have no lawful
+    excuse to offer but pure procrastination, from time to time, for
+    not answering. You are not forgotten by me or my wife and
+    daughter. We often speak of you, and the question is often
+    asked, "Will he come and see us this year and hold another
+    mission meeting?" You did so much good in Atlanta. The meetings
+    were kept up until the bad weather broke us up; they were well
+    attended nearly every night, and the good seed you sowed
+    germinated; and, by Brother Barclay's good tilling and the
+    assistance and the goodness of God, has brought forth much fruit
+    of repentance; and, thank God, we all bless the day He sent you
+    to us. If your Mission managers could see the great good you
+    accomplished while with us, I do not think they would say no to
+    your making Atlanta another visit; and we look forward to the
+    day as not being far distant when you will do so. I am trying my
+    best to live right. I know I am changed; I feel very different
+    from what I did before you visited us. You have known me fifteen
+    years; and you know how bad and sinful I was, and how
+    dissipated. I have not even wanted a drink of anything since
+    your visit. You know I told you I had put my foot on the serpent
+    and I intended to keep it there. I do not go with any of my old
+    associates who drink or who visit bar rooms. I select good
+    company; I keep up the family altar, and we are a happy little
+    family now. Can you appreciate that you saved one of your old
+    lost friends by your good work? When I met you and saw and heard
+    of the great blessing God had bestowed upon you and your dear
+    family, I set about obtaining the like blessing for myself; and
+    I feel in my heart that I have received it. God has been very
+    merciful to me and blesses all my undertakings and I am so
+    thankful for all of His kind mercies. Brother Barclay told me he
+    wrote you a few days ago, and I suppose he gave you all the
+    news. I have not been to the mission Sunday-school for some time
+    on account of the bad weather, and you know I live a long way
+    off. But, God willing, I shall go next Sunday. My wife and
+    daughter join in much love to you and your family, and wish you
+    a happy and successful year in the Master's cause.
+
+    Yours truly, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM AN OFFENDED GENTLEMAN.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 13, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Sir:_
+
+    Your letter surprises me. You came to me unintroduced; I was
+    glad to see you, and, I hope, treated you with the consideration
+    which I think your merit demands. You again approached me
+    to-day. Tonight I received a letter from you which is to me
+    offensive and impolite. I am not coming to your place, and I
+    will thank you to abate your interest in my behalf. I believe in
+    your work, and wish you success; but I hope you will let me
+    alone. My self-constituted friends have done me more injury than
+    _even_ my own indiscretions. Very truly,
+
+    To Rev. Steve P. Holcombe. ----- -----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A GAMBLER.
+
+    FEBRUARY 4, 1884.
+
+    _Mr. Steve Holcombe, Esq., Lewisville, Ky.:_
+
+    DEAR FRIEND: I take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines, as I
+    haven't heard of you for a long time, I learnt from a friend, of
+    your whereabouts, and that you had forever Retired from
+    Gambling, I want to accumulate a few hundred dollars and Retire
+    from the Business in the future, and as we have long Been
+    friends, I hope you will not Refuse giving me your sure system
+    of winning at the Game of Poker. From your friend,
+
+    DAVID W. MILLER,
+
+    _Ridgeville, Randolph Co., Ind._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    849 SEVENTH ST., LOUISVILLE, May 28, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: I have a large family Bible, which has been in my
+    family a number of years. You will do me a personal favor by
+    accepting it as a souvenir of my late son, Charles A. Gill. It
+    was through your Christian instrumentality and kindness that my
+    dear son embraced his Saviour and died a Christian.
+
+    Hoping that God will add many stars to your crown, I am your
+    sincere friend,
+
+    HANNAH GILL.
+
+    Two more Bibles will be given you by the same hand for
+    distribution.
+
+    H. G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CHRISTIAN BROTHER.
+
+    MEMPHIS, TENN., May 6, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Friend and Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Your card well received, but I have been so busy that I have
+    waited for a time to write to you. I am in good health and have
+    a good situation, thank God. Am always alone. My children in
+    Switzerland are well. When I passed through Louisville, as I
+    wrote you from New York, I wished I had been able to stop for
+    twenty-four hours, but had a through sleeper to Memphis, and
+    could not stay over. I heard of your great trial lately. Hope
+    God did sustain you, and that good will come out of it for your
+    soul. The more I live, the more I am separated from this world.
+    My body is in it, but my mind and spirit are longing for a
+    better state, where evil shall not be present, within or
+    without. The Bible becomes clearer to my soul every day, and
+    with the grace of God I hope to come to the end a faithful and
+    obedient child of the Almighty Father in heaven. I suffer very
+    much mentally; it is a constant agony. I am absolutely,
+    completely broken down in my own will; have given up entirely
+    all worldly pleasures; have no pleasure except in doing the will
+    of God the best I can. My old enemy, myself, with my passions
+    and self-indulgence, I pay no more attention to. May God use me
+    according to His good will, and make me so as to be worthy of
+    His service. Everything of this world has been taken away from
+    me; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" is my daily bread. I
+    often wish to be in Louisville. Maybe I shall return there
+    later, to have some Christian friends around me. I have here
+    $150.00 a month, and the finest situation that can be wished in
+    my line of business. What are you doing? I suppose always the
+    same--taking care of the lost and neglected. Your reward shall
+    be great, as you come nearer fulfilling the Master's teaching
+    than brilliant preachers who do not touch the burdens of poor
+    sinners. How is your family, especially your sweet little
+    daughter? I hope you are all well. This world is nothing but a
+    tremendous deception to all who are attached to it; everything
+    is corrupt, and has the sting of death and sin. It is a constant
+    warfare with evil and evil forces around you. It is only worth
+    living for the good we can do to others. I can not understand at
+    all the joy that some find in it, except in doing entirely, to
+    the best of your ability, the will of God. There is surely no
+    other source of life in the universe. I am writing now to dear
+    Brother A. A few months ago he wrote to me. He, also, has had
+    great sorrows. It is very strange that alone pain and suffering
+    can make us wise and pure in heart. How antagonistic are the
+    ways of God and those of men? Absolutely opposed in all things.
+    Oh, let us be true to God, even unto death, cutting mercilessly
+    all that is worldly and carnal, so as to live for the spirit and
+    not lose eternal life. My dear brother, please do pray for your
+    lonely brother, that God may bring His presence into my worried
+    soul and help me in the battle. The enemy is very powerful, and
+    shows no mercy. His mission is to destroy and to lie, and he
+    knows how to do it. May God bless you and keep you forever.
+
+    Your true friend,
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM SAM P. JONES.
+
+    CHICAGO, ILL., March 16, 1886.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER HOLCOMBE: Yours of March 10th received. I thought
+    you were wise enough to know, when you wanted to plant yourself
+    in permanent quarters, that the devil would do his best to
+    prevent it. The devil don't like you anyway; but keep your
+    equilibrium--God is with you; and He is more than all that can
+    be against you. I have just passed through the most terrific
+    storm of criticism almost of my life; and thank God I have
+    witnessed in Chicago, within the last twenty-four hours, the
+    grandest triumph of the Gospel I ever saw. I wish you could be
+    here a few days and see the power of God, and rejoice with us in
+    the work.
+
+    I enclose an article, which you can take to the
+    _Courier-Journal_ if you like.
+
+    Kindest regards to your loved ones and all the brethren, and may
+    God's blessing be upon your work.
+
+    Fraternally yours,
+
+    SAM P. JONES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM THE SAME.
+
+    GIBSON HOUSE,
+    CINCINNATI, OHIO, June 13, 1886.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    I received your message sent by Brother Cleveland. I would like
+    you to come over about the middle of next week. I think we will
+    have some of the slain of the Lord for you to look after by that
+    time. Our meeting moves off gloriously. I have never seen a
+    better start anywhere. Thank God for the prospect of a glorious
+    victory in this wicked city. The house is packed day and night,
+    and the preachers and people stand shoulder to shoulder with me.
+    Love to your family. Affectionately,
+
+    SAM P. JONES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM REV. DR. WILLITS (Warren Memorial Church).
+
+    _Mr. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: The bearer, Ch. H., is a stranger to me; but he will
+    tell you his story. It is the old story of fight with appetite,
+    and you will be better able to advise him than myself.
+
+    Truly yours,
+
+    A. A. WILLITS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+    MARCH 23, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe_:
+
+    The bearer is Mr. B., once a merchant in Richmond, Va., fallen
+    by drinking habits, separated from wife and children, _lost_. He
+    spoke to me after sermon yesterday morning, and came to my house
+    this morning. He does not ask immediate relief, having some
+    money; but wants to find employment, and thinks he can stop
+    drinking. He is evidently an intelligent man, and earnestly
+    desirous of regaining himself. He used to be an Episcopal
+    communicant. Now, if you can in any way help Mr. B., I shall be
+    exceedingly glad.
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     The following letter is from one of the converts whose
+     testimony is given elsewhere, but it is interesting as an
+     independent account given soon after his conversion.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 28, 1884.
+
+    _Rev. G. Alexander_:
+
+DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: The few brotherly words you spoke to me during our
+short acquaintance, and your kindness toward me, a poor drunken outcast
+at the time, will ever be remembered. Often I make inquiries of Brother
+Holcombe regarding you and your health. At his suggestion, I write you
+and give a brief history of my life, in hope it may encourage some poor
+fellow whom you are seeking to save for a better life, and give him
+renewed courage to battle against sin; and for the glory of our Saviour
+Jesus Christ.
+
+My father, as a wealthy man, determined to give his children the benefit
+of a good education. With this end in view, he left my younger brother
+and myself in Germany in 1864, after a visit there with the family. We
+stayed until 1867, when we returned to Louisville, I to enter the
+banking house of Theodore Schwartz & Co. With them I stayed until 1869,
+when my father became bondsman for the sheriff, Captain John A. Martin.
+Out of courtesy, Captain Martin made me, although only nineteen years of
+age, one of his deputies. From that time I date my downfall. Money
+flowed in freely; and, being young and inexperienced, I spent it just as
+freely, if not more so. In two years, at the age of twenty-one, I was
+considered about as reckless a young man as there was in the city. My
+father was always proud of his oldest son, and indulged me in almost
+everything. The habit of intemperance was gaining a sure hold; and when
+he died, in 1872, I was considered by some a confirmed drunkard.
+
+Gradually I sank lower and lower, until I became what I was when you
+first saw me eight months ago--a poor miserable outcast from society,
+and a burden to myself and friends. I was forsaken and despised by all.
+I shudder to think that my life should ever flow in the same channel
+again. During all these years of dissipation I wandered all over this
+country--from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic almost
+to the Pacific. I drifted aimlessly with no other object in view but to
+gratify a terrible longing for strong drink. I had been in the city but
+a short while when I heard of Brother Holcombe's efforts to redeem the
+fallen. Having known him before his conversion, curiosity led me to
+listen to him. During all this time I knew and felt that a day of
+reckoning would come, but whenever such thoughts entered my mind, I
+dismissed them, as they made me tremble at the very idea of having to
+give an account of the misdeeds of a wasted life. On the 25th of last
+June I was passing up Jefferson street, and heard singing in the
+basement at No. 436. My first impulse was to turn and go away, as I was
+in no suitable dress to go into a place of worship. Then the thought
+came into my mind, "This is Steve Holcombe's place; I'll go in and see
+what it looks like." Thank God, I did go in. The songs of those
+Sunday-school children awakened chords in my heart which I thought had
+died long ago. Tears came into my eyes, and then and there I vowed, if
+by God's help salvation was possible for me, I certainly would make the
+trial. Glorious have been the results. That evening I heard Brother
+Holcombe once more; introduced myself to him and promised him I would
+attend evening service, which I did.
+
+From that day to this I have been growing in grace. The Lord has blessed
+me wonderfully. My worldly affairs have prospered; and, what is worth
+more than all the world to me, I am continually happy. Nothing disturbs
+my peace, and I allow nothing to interfere with it. My trust is in my
+Saviour; He has promised to care for those who trust Him, and I have
+implicit faith in that promise. My old appetite and desires are all
+taken away and I find pleasure and joy in things that in former years I
+considered ridiculous.
+
+    Very truly yours,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+
+
+
+TESTIMONIALS.
+
+
+CAPTAIN EGBERT J. MARTIN.
+
+I was born in Louisville in 1842; was educated in New York and Virginia;
+served in General Lee's army during the war on the staff of my uncle,
+General Edward Johnson. The only commission I received was received on
+the third day of July, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg.
+
+My first drinking commenced in Georgia, where I was planting rice with
+General Gordon. That was in 1867. I did not drink during the war at all
+except that I might have taken a drink occasionally when I met with
+friends. My uncle would not permit liquor about his headquarters. On
+leaving Georgia, I went to New York, and went into business. I acquired
+quite a reputation there, and had a good income. My periodical drinking
+continued, however, and each year became greater and greater. Nothing
+was said about it for seven years and a half. I would not drink around
+my place of business. When I felt the spell coming on me, I would quit
+and go off, and be gone seven or eight days, and be back to business
+again when I had straightened up, and nothing was said about it; but the
+thing will increase on a man, and, of course, with each succeeding year
+the habit became stronger, and the intervals shorter.
+
+I conceived the idea that a change of climate would do me good. Visits
+to the mountains seemed to benefit me, and I thought I would go West,
+and the change would effect a cure. I went to Colorado, made friends
+there, went into business, and was successful. I was married to my wife
+in Denver, Colorado. I believed as my wife did, that my drinking was a
+matter under my control. I had been leading an aimless life, with no
+family ties; and after I was married, I thought a strong effort on my
+part would stop it. I wanted to get back to salt water again, and have
+everything in my favor; and the next morning after we were married, I
+started for California. I was very successful there. I was in a short
+time made special agent of the California Electric Light Company, at a
+salary of three thousand dollars a year. They wanted to make a contract
+with me for five years, giving me three thousand dollars a year, if I
+would bind myself not to drink during the five years. I found it was not
+such an easy thing to quit drinking. I consulted physicians there. There
+was a doctor in Oakland who said he had a specific for drunkenness; and
+he gave it to me. The result was that when I wanted a drink, I threw the
+medicine away and got the drink. What I always wanted, and tried to get,
+was something to take away the appetite for drink. There were times when
+I had no more desire for drink than you or any other man; but when it
+seized me, it seized me in an uncontrollable way, and I would drink for
+the deliberate purpose of making myself sick and getting over it as
+quick as possible. I knew it had to be gone through with, and I drank
+until I made myself sick.
+
+I never attended to business when I drank liquor. I never mixed up my
+business affairs with my drinking. Everybody I had anything to do with
+knew I was thoroughly reliable. I never lied about being drunk. I never
+said I was sick or had the cholera infantum or anything of that sort.
+Everybody who employed me knew as much about it as I did.
+
+When my little boy was born, I felt a sacred duty was imposed upon me;
+and I tried to encourage my ideas of morality. I had always been a moral
+man, and, although an infidel, had never sought to break down the
+religious opinions of any one, because I had nothing to give them
+instead. My rationalism satisfied me. It was a belief, an opinion, with
+which I was willing to face my Maker, because I believed I was right. I
+believed in the existence of a Supreme Being, but I did not believe that
+the great Ruler of the universe thought enough of us insignificant human
+beings to interest Himself in our affairs. I did not believe in the
+Christians' God. There in Virginia I had been surrounded by members of
+the church. Everybody was either a Baptist, a Methodist, or a member of
+some other denomination; drunkards and saloon-keepers and all belonged
+to the church. They could do wrong and afterward go straight to church.
+That kind of religion disgusted me, and that kind of religion confirmed
+my skepticism. I wanted to get away and I even planned to go to
+Australia. After my little boy was born, I stayed sober for six months,
+and then I commenced drinking again. I did not conceal the truth from
+myself. I said, "You are false to everything that is manly; you are a
+disgrace to yourself." I decided to go back to Virginia (my wife had
+never been there) and settle up a lawsuit I had pending in the courts.
+
+But after a short stay in Virginia I had an offer to return to New York
+and go to work, and went to New York; and after I had been there a
+month, I received a dispatch stating that a compromise had been agreed
+upon without consulting me at all. I went back to Richmond and rejected
+the compromise.
+
+A decision was made in my favor, but the case was taken to the Court of
+Appeals. I had used up everything I had in litigation; and when, at
+last, I got a telegram that the Court of Appeals had reversed the case,
+and we had lost everything, it just broke me down. It took me more than
+a month to realize that it was a fact--I could not get it into my head;
+and it broke me down completely. I loved my wife and I loved my child,
+and was troubled about them, and for the two years I was fighting these
+Virginia gentlemen I was in a state of high excitement. I had nothing to
+do except to worry, and I drank more than ever in my life. I said, "My
+God! it is awful. I have lost everything. I know I am a drunkard; it is
+no use denying it, because the appetite is on me all the time." And many
+a time I threw myself down in the woods and sobbed aloud if Fate would
+have mercy on me. I had given up all hope. I thought the good fortune
+which had followed me all my life would never return. I had sent my wife
+off; so I had lost her, too. She went to her sister's, in Ohio; and I
+arranged that my mother should remain at the old place. I wrote to a
+cousin of mine whom I had not met since the war. He used, frequently, to
+come to our home, a delightful and healthful place, thirteen miles from
+Richmond. I thought I would write him that I desired to get out of
+Virginia, and had not the means, and would make Louisville my objective
+point. So I wrote him, but received no reply. I wrote to another man,
+stating the circumstances--that I wanted to get out of Virginia and go
+to work; but I received no answer from him; and I came to the conclusion
+if I wanted to get out of Virginia I would have to walk. I had secured
+my wife and child, and as for myself it little mattered what befell me
+or how I fared.
+
+I was walking through the woods one day and saw a man getting out
+railroad ties. He told me of a place near by, called the "Lost Land." A
+year before that, my uncle's executor gave me a deed that was taken from
+the old house at my oldest uncle's death. It was for a little slip of
+land--an avenue--that my grandfather had bought in 1815. Well, I thought
+nothing of it. I told the old negro woman that when everything was
+settled up, I was going to give her that land; and I put the deed away
+with other papers and forgot all about it. When I was worrying about the
+means, and making efforts to get the means to get out of Virginia, this
+man, who was hewing in the woods, told me about the little piece of
+woodland that had so much sill timber on it, and he spoke of it as the
+"Lost Land," and his speaking of the "Lost Land" reminded me of this
+deed, and I hurried home, found the deed, and saw that it located the
+land at about where he mentioned. I went to the County Surveyor, who had
+succeeded his father and grandfather in the office, and we found that
+the property of which this formed a part had been sold in large lots,
+and it was there between the lines of the other property, unclaimed by
+any one, and for seventy-three years had escaped taxation, because the
+deed conveying it had never been recorded in the county books, and it
+was supposed by the county officials that all of the original tract had
+been divided off in the larger subdivisions. We found it, ran the lines
+around it, and I sold ten acres for one hundred dollars--enough to pay a
+grocery bill, buy me a suit of clothes and land me in Louisville.
+
+I had loved the old place--loved it all my life, because I had spent
+many days there when a happy, careless boy. My mother was born there, my
+grandmother and my great-grandfather lie buried there. It was bought in
+1782 by my great-grandfather, who was not only a gentleman but a
+scholar. He graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
+Edinburgh, and afterward spent seven years in Europe. I was very much
+attached to the old place, and on leaving it I drank to deaden the pain.
+
+I came here to Louisville, and I drank after I got here to keep from
+thinking. I tell you things looked blue, and I tell you the fact, the
+liquor I drank every day made me feel worse and worse, and my brain was
+affected from the excitement I had passed through. I found myself in a
+second or third-class hotel which stood nearly on the spot where I was
+born. I lay in my room for three days. I came to the conclusion there
+was no use kicking; the end was at hand. Fate had brought me back here,
+where I was born, to die. I even said it to myself, "Destiny has brought
+you back here, to the city where you were born, to die; and to die by
+your own hands. You have no respect for yourself, nor have others
+respect for you. You know by living you will bring further disgrace upon
+the wife and child you love so well. If you will commit suicide people
+will say, 'He was an unfortunate man, but a brave one; his only fault
+was his drinking.'" I tried to shut out all thoughts of my wife and
+child, but I could not. I said to myself, "I was born here; I have not
+outraged the law; I have done nothing dishonorable; nothing why any man
+related to me should shun me. But I have lost everything; I am accursed;
+I am alone here. My wife's people know I am here, but do not communicate
+with me. And they tell me there is a God." A man came to my room in the
+hotel and said they wanted the room. "You say you have no money and no
+friends, so we can not keep you here any longer. You must give us the
+room." Under these circumstances I was coming nearer and nearer the
+final determination to commit suicide when a man, a stranger, came into
+my room who was himself a drunkard. I told him my condition and my
+determination. He said, "Wait till I send that man Holcombe down to see
+you. Maybe he can help you." Mr. Holcombe dropped everything and came to
+me at once. I did not know who he was. He said, "My name is Holcombe: I
+am from the Mission." Well, sir, if he had commenced at me as most
+preachers would have done, and told me in a sort of mechanical way that
+I had brought it all on myself, I would have said, "I am much obliged to
+you for your politeness and your well-meant efforts, but it does me no
+good, and I am very much distressed and would much prefer to be alone."
+He said, "There is no use trusting in yourself; you can not save
+yourself." That struck me at once as a correct diagnosis of my case, and
+I said, "That is just the conclusion I have come to myself." Then he
+told me what had been done for him, and he got down on his knees and
+prayed. And when he prayed for me and my wife and child, that is what
+reached my heart. I said "There is _something_ in that man's religion at
+any rate. I do not believe in this stuff I have seen in the churches;
+but there is something in that sort of religion. It is the last straw I
+have to catch at. I will try it." I got up out of bed where I had been
+for three wretched days, and came up to the Mission. There I came in
+contact with some influence I had never felt before. I came to the
+conclusion that there was truth in the Christian religion, and I said,
+"That is all right, but that is not what I want. I want that inward
+consciousness that I am not going to drink." I might get up and say, "I
+am ready to confess I am wrong; I believe religion is right; I have seen
+evidences of it; I believe you are right and I am wrong. But I had no
+inward consciousness of any change in me, and I did not feel secure or
+in any way protected against the habit of drinking." I knew if there was
+anything in religion, there must be something a man would be conscious
+of. I said, "There is something in this religion, but I have not got the
+hang of it." It occurred to me that perhaps after all, my chief motive
+and desire in all this was the welfare of my wife and child and the
+recovery of our domestic happiness. And lying on that bed I said, "I am
+willing to do anything. There is nothing that I am not willing to do, if
+I can only get rid of this appetite. I will get up and state that I was
+a drunkard; I will acknowledge every tramp as my brother; and, although
+I have no desire to do it, I will go out and preach. Just let me know
+that I am free from this thing and that I can go on in life;" and all at
+once--I could not connect the thought and result together--there came
+upon me a perfect sense of relief. I was just as conscious then of
+divine interposition as I ever was afterward; and I said to myself,
+"This is what they call regeneration," and turned over and went to
+sleep. From that time I commenced a new sober life; and I never have
+wanted liquor; I never have had a desire for it since, and it is now
+going on two years.
+
+I think many men are called, but few are chosen. There are a great many
+men who get far enough in the surrender to feel good and change their
+opinions; but they do not get down to the bed-rock of regeneration. I do
+not believe in any change, or in any doctrine that says there is
+regeneration through anything except a complete surrender. Men are ready
+to believe that Christ was the son of God, but go straight home and
+continue their old way of life. They must say, "I will not only quit
+serving the devil, but I will commence serving God." "Thou shall love
+the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy
+strength."
+
+I do not let theological opinions disturb me now. My simple faith and
+theology is this: That I have the peace of God and He keeps me. I have
+knowledge of God's power and mercy, and feel that God keeps me.
+
+My wife and child have come back and are now with me, and are as happy
+as they can be; and there is not a man in this country with less money
+and more happiness than I. I am happier than I ever was in my life.
+
+     NOTE.--Captain Martin is now engaged in business in the house
+     of Bayless Bros. & Co., Louisville.
+
+
+R. N. DENNY.
+
+I was born in 1846 in the State of Illinois. At that time, before there
+were many railroads, it was a comparatively backwoods country where I
+was raised. Our nearest market was St. Louis, sixty miles from where we
+lived. My father kept a country store there, and hauled his produce to
+St. Louis. My father was a professed Christian, so also was my
+grandfather, yet each of them kept a demijohn of whisky in the house.
+They would prepare roots and whisky, and herbs and whisky, which was
+used for all kinds of medical purposes and for all kinds of ills that
+flesh is heir to; and I believe at that time I got the appetite for
+whisky, if I did not inherit it. I have drunk whisky as far back as I
+can remember. I had a great many relatives who were Christians; but I
+gloried in my obstinacy and would have nothing to do with Christianity.
+
+In my seventeenth year I went into the army. Of course, being among the
+Romans, I had to be a Roman, too; and consequently, the drinking habit
+grew upon me; and I acquired also a passion for gambling. After the war
+I did not do much good. I drifted about from place to place for
+something over a year, and then joined the regular army. I belonged to
+the Seventh Regular Cavalry, Custer's command, which was massacred on
+the Little Big Horn. At that time I did not belong to the command, as my
+time had expired some time before.
+
+I came to Louisville in 1871, and commenced working as a restaurant and
+hotel cook. I was very apt at the business, and was soon able to command
+the best situations to be had, having been _chef_ at the Galt House.
+During all this time I had been a drunkard in different stages. I was
+what is called a "periodical drunkard." I often braced up and went
+without a drink for six months or a year--something like that length of
+time--and always had work when I was not drinking; but I became so
+unreliable, that I could get no employment when another man could be
+had. It was said of me everywhere, "Denny is a good man, but he drinks."
+About 1873 I got married, and up to 1883 I had four children. Of course,
+my drinking, and everything of that kind, brought my family to want--in
+fact, to beggary. For a long time I always took my wages home on
+pay-day, and my wife, in her good-heartedness, always offered me money;
+would often ask me of a morning if I did not feel bad, and would give me
+fifteen cents or a quarter, not knowing that she was giving me money for
+my own damnation, until the year of the first Exposition here--1882. I
+had a position there at twelve dollars a week. I stayed there ten weeks;
+and I do not believe I got home with five dollars in the whole ten
+weeks. The man with whom I worked had a bar attachment to his
+restaurant, and I could get what credit I wanted there; and on Saturday
+night when I found my wages were short, I would get drunk, and conclude
+to try and win something at gambling, but I invariably lost.
+
+At the close of the Exposition, it was on the verge of winter, and times
+were very dull. I was behind with my rent and in debt to everybody I
+could get in debt to, my family were without decent clothing, had no
+fire, and I was almost naked myself, with no prospects of a situation. A
+short time afterward I got a position on a steamboat, which paid me
+fairly well, and which I believe I kept two, maybe three, weeks, and got
+drunk as usual. I failed to take my money home, and, of course, told my
+wife some lie. I had to say something. Sometimes my wife believed me,
+and sometimes she did not. At that time it was winter, it must have been
+in December, and very cold. My children were barefooted, and I was just
+about to be set out on the street because I had not paid my rent. I woke
+up one very cold morning very early, and we had not a morsel of food in
+the house or coal to make a fire with. I walked down toward the river
+and met the same man I had been working with a few weeks before. He
+stopped and asked me if I did not want to go back on the boat. I told
+him I would be glad to go back. He asked me how long before I would get
+drunk; and I said, as I had said a thousand times before, "I will never
+drink again." I made one trip, which was three days, and got drunk. It
+was on the second day of January, 1883, that I shipped, and I came back
+on the fifth, which was the coldest day I ever saw in Louisville. The
+thermometer was twenty-six degrees below zero between New Albany and the
+mouth of Salt river. There were during these dark days a few charitable
+people that used to give my family some of the necessaries of life--and
+but for that I can not see how they would have kept from starvation. I
+appreciated my situation nearly all the time, knew how wrong I was
+doing, would admit it to myself but would not admit it to anybody else.
+If a man had called me a drunkard, I would have called him a liar.
+
+In the providence of God the Fifth and Walnut-street church established
+the Holcombe Mission near where I lived, and among other waifs picked up
+on the street and taken to the Sunday-school were my children. While I
+had always been pretty bad myself, I had always tried to teach my
+children better. I shuddered at the thought of my boys going on in the
+way that I was going. When they went to Sunday-school and learned the
+songs there and came home and sang them, it broke me all to pieces. I
+had nothing left to do but to go and get drunk in self-defense. The
+Sunday-school teacher (Mrs. J. R. Clarke), who taught my children, had
+been trying to find me for a long time. She must have thought from
+seeing my children at Sunday-school that there was some good in me; and
+after awhile she sent me a Bible with a great many passages marked in
+it. She was looking for me and had sent for me to come and see her, and
+I had been trying to keep out of her way for a long time. Finally she
+found me at home one day, and would take no excuse, but insisted that I
+must come to Holcombe's Mission; and, of course, I promised to go,
+because I could not help myself. I could not get out of it; and if I had
+a redeeming trait in the world, it was that I would not break a positive
+promise.
+
+I promised her to come, and that day I did go. They were holding
+noon-day meetings at the time. I do not remember just now that I was
+very deeply impressed. I was of a skeptical turn of mind and very
+critical. I well remember I criticised all the testimonies given there;
+but the thing was so strange to me, so different from anything that I
+was used to, that I was very considerably impressed in a strange kind of
+way, which is unaccountable to me even now. I had taken a seat near the
+door, so that I might get out very quick; but Brother Holcombe headed me
+off, and caught me before I got to the door. I did not know him
+personally at that time, but had known of him for a long time. Of
+course, I could not get out of the Mission without promising to come
+again. After having come two or three times, I was asked to say
+something, but did not feel like saying anything. Finally I stood up one
+day, perhaps the third or fourth day I was there. It was not a time when
+they were asking people if they wanted an interest in their prayers. I
+got up and said I wanted an interest in their prayers that I might be
+saved from myself. I had known for a long time that I was helpless, so
+far as delivering myself from drink was concerned. I knew nothing about
+Christianity, in fact, I did not care much about it, because I had not
+studied on the subject, and would not study on the subject. For many
+years I had not dared to stop and think seriously about such a subject,
+but when I heard that the Gospel of Christ was able to deliver such a
+man as I, I heard it gladly, because I had found there was no earthly
+power that could deliver such a man as I was. In the meantime, I had
+been reading my Bible, and had committed some of it to memory; and there
+was a good deal of mystery attached to the whole thing--things that I
+could not understand. When they asked me to speak, I quoted a passage
+from the Bible. One day I quoted the passage about a man having put his
+hand to the plow and looking back, not being worthy of the kingdom of
+God. Brother Messick, pastor of the church which I afterward joined,
+prayed directly afterward, and in his prayer he quoted this passage of
+Scripture, and prayed in such an encouraging and helpful way, that I
+rose from my knees satisfied in my heart that I was changed.
+
+Well, from that time until now I have never drunk anything. That was in
+January or February, 1883. I have never had a desire for liquor but once
+since. Last summer I went to Crab Orchard. I was _chef_ down there, and
+I had to handle very choice wines and liquors in my business, and I
+handled one brand of wine that I was particularly fond of in old times.
+I was tempted that time to drink wine. It seemed the tempter said to me:
+"You are way down here where nobody knows anything about you. It is
+good, and you know it won't hurt you. It don't cost you anything and it
+is nothing but wine, and you need not take too much." At that time I
+could get all the liquor I wanted. If I wanted it, I could order a
+hogshead of it just by a scratch of the pen. With that single exception,
+I have never had a temptation to drink. I don't know that I had an
+appetite to drink then. It was a clear cut temptation from without, and
+not from within.
+
+I have had no trouble about getting positions since my conversion and
+deliverance from the appetite for drink. My family are well housed, well
+clothed and well fed, and have everything they need, and have had since
+the time I became a Christian man. They themselves are the greatest
+evidences in the world of what Christianity can do for a man. A short
+time ago--six months ago--I established myself in business, and have
+been doing a thriving, prosperous business from that time until now.
+
+I might say something about my going to the work-house: Two years ago,
+or a little over, I was asked to go to the work-house one Sunday
+evening. I was very much impressed with the necessity for working for
+the poor men there. I was at that time identified with the Mission work,
+and the services at the work-house were all under the auspices of the Y.
+M. C. A. I continued going to the work-house for some length of
+time--three or four months. The Y. M. C. A. very kindly divided time
+with me and other Mission workers. After having gone to the work-house
+three or four months, I stopped going. The Chairman of the Devotional
+Committee of the Y. M. C. A. sent for me and gave me charge of the
+work-house and jail, which, of course, I accepted in the name of the
+Mission; and from that time until now both of them have been under
+Mission workers. I was very anxious to return to the work-house, but our
+head decided that I should take the jail, where I have continued to go
+for a year and a half--I suppose about that length of time--every Sunday
+when I was in the city, with possibly one or two exceptions.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Denny is at present the joint-proprietor, with Mr.
+     Ropke, of a thriving restaurant on Third street, between
+     Jefferson and Green, Louisville.
+
+[Illustration: B. F. DAVIDSON.]
+
+
+B. F. DAVIDSON.
+
+Twenty years ago I resided in the city of Cincinnati; was President of a
+Boatman's Insurance Company, proprietor of a ship chandlery, and
+interested largely in some twenty odd steamboats; and also interested
+largely in other insurance companies, and was rated as worth half a
+million of dollars. Through depreciation in property, bad debts, and
+indorsing for other parties largely, in four years I had lost all my
+money. To retrieve my fortune, I then started West, not being willing,
+of course, to accept a position where I had been a proprietor. While
+there, associating with the miners and Western people generally, I
+contracted the habit of drinking. This grew upon me and was continued,
+with short intermissions of soberness, up to four years ago--about last
+January. I was brought very low as a consequence of my dissipation, and
+I have traveled as a tramp from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from
+the lakes to the Gulf, spending my time in alternately fighting and
+yielding to the demon of drink. For five years previous to my coming to
+Louisville, I had given up all hope of ever being able to make anything
+of myself, as I had tried, in vain, every known remedy to cure me of the
+appetite. My pride was effectually humbled, and I was in despair.
+
+From the time that I went West--which was in 1872--until my arrival in
+1884, my children, a daughter and son, knew not whether I was dead or
+alive--knew nothing of me whatever. After I took to drink, I lost all
+interest in them and everything else.
+
+As soon as I got off the ferry-boat in Louisville, in as sad a plight as
+any wretched man was ever in, I met an old friend, who had known me in
+years previous, and who handed me two dollars, requesting me to call at
+his office the next morning, when he would give me such assistance as I
+needed. The two dollars I spent that day for whisky. That night I begged
+a quarter to pay for my lodging. The next day, by begging, I filled up
+pretty well on whisky again. Toward evening I went into a Main-street
+house and asked a gentleman for a quarter to pay for a night's lodging,
+I had lost all pride, all self-respect, and could beg with a brazen
+face. The gentleman handed me a card of Holcombe's Mission. As I did not
+know or care anything about missions or churches, I merely stuck the
+card in my pocket and went on my way. After walking around for some time
+I heard the remark: "There goes that old man now." Upon looking up I
+recognized the gentleman whom I last asked for a quarter to pay for a
+night's lodging, and another man, engaged in conversation. The other
+gentleman, who proved to be the Rev. Steve Holcombe, of Holcombe's
+Mission, took me by the hand and invited me up to the Mission rooms,
+where I told him my story. He asked me if I ever had asked God through
+Jesus Christ to assist me in my endeavors to become a sober man. I told
+him I had not, as I had made up my mind years ago that God had no use
+for me. I felt as though I had sinned beyond redemption.
+
+I had left home very early in life. My mother was the best Christian
+woman I had ever seen. She was a Methodist, but she never could preach
+Christianity to me--I fell back on my own righteousness. I did not
+drink, I did not smoke, I did not chew, I did not swear, I did not run
+after women, I did not loaf around saloons like other young men. When my
+mother was after me to join the church, I told her that would not make
+me any better: "Look at your church members; is that man any better than
+I am?" My sister, along toward the last, having joined the Episcopal
+church, I took two pews in that church; was a lay member, but I did not
+attend it. That was in Newport--St. Paul's Episcopal church, Newport.
+When the minister insisted on my going to church, I told him that while
+he would be preaching sermons I would be building steamboats, so his
+sermons would not do me any good.
+
+After I got to drinking, my poor daughter did not see me. I did not go
+to my children at all. I never got but one letter from them during that
+time, from 1872 to 1884, and that was a letter that went to Cincinnati,
+and they held it there, I believe, for two years. I was at Cincinnati a
+good many times; but they could never get me to stay there long enough
+to get my children down to see me. As soon as I had an idea that they
+were manoeuvring for anything of that kind, I would get out of town at
+once, and they would not know where I had gone.
+
+During my life as a tramp, there is no kind of work that can be thought
+of that I did not work at more or less, and the money I
+earned--sometimes I earned as much as eight dollars a day--eventually
+went to the barkeepers; I could not even buy my clothes.
+
+After a long talk with Brother Holcombe, I told him that, having tried
+everything else, I was perfectly willing to try God. That night I went
+to church, and went up to be prayed for. There was no regular meeting at
+the Mission then, from the fact that the church that was running the
+Mission had a revival. So, with Brother Holcombe, I went around to the
+revival meeting at the Fifth and Walnut-street church. When the
+invitation was given for those who wanted to be prayed for to come
+forward, I was among the first to accept it, and went up clothed in all
+my rags. After prayer I felt much better than I had for many years. That
+night I went back and lay on the floor in the Mission, having refused an
+invitation from Brother Holcombe to go to a boarding-house, telling him
+if God, in His mercy, would take from me the appetite for strong drink,
+I had still strength and will enough left to make my own living. The
+next morning I asked Brother Holcombe to go with me to the paper-mill of
+Bremaker-Moore Company, where they were building a dam to prevent an
+overflow from stopping the engines in the paper-mill. I secured a
+position there, at a dollar and a quarter a day, to shovel mud. As soon
+as the river commenced to fall that occupation was gone; but the
+superintendent of the mill, becoming in the meantime somewhat acquainted
+with my history, offered me a situation inside, which I held for three
+weeks, when I was sent for to see the business manager of the _Post_. I
+accepted a position on the _Post_ as advertising solicitor at fifteen
+dollars a week, which was afterward increased to twenty-five. I was then
+made business manager, at thirty dollars, which position I now hold.
+
+I can say this: That while I had an abundance of means to find
+happiness, pleasure and contentment, and had sought it in every possible
+way that a man could, I failed to find it until I accepted Christ as my
+Saviour, and gave myself into His hands. Since then I have had a
+happiness I never knew before. My life has been one of constant peace
+and uninterrupted prosperity. My children are both happily married, and
+I have married myself.
+
+Though I was before so proud that I could not accept my mother's
+teaching, I was at a point where I would have accepted anything. They
+would tell me that doctor so-and-so would cure me; which was no kindness
+to me, because it kept me from asking God's help. But nothing would do
+me any good. So I said, "God, here I am; accept me. If there is any good
+in me, bring it out. I am down, down, down; I can not help myself."
+
+Brother Holcombe had told me what God had done for him. I had confidence
+in him from the start, from the fact of his having told me he was a
+gambler so long; and when he told me God had redeemed him from the
+desire for gambling, I thought he might take away the appetite for drink
+from me; and He has done so, I am very thankful to say. I expect I was
+the worst-looking sight you ever saw, but I do not take a back seat now
+for any one--I look as well as anybody. As I told a man last week: "With
+the Lord on my side, I do not fear anything!" I had had charge of men,
+and had succeeded in managing them. I did not accept religion because I
+was a weak-minded man. As evidence of that, I have proved it since as I
+had proved it before. I proved that when I was trying to be a good man
+in my own way. I have proved since that I was not a weak-minded man
+from the responsible positions I have held and do hold.
+
+But, as I was going to say, I had not shaved for two years, and had not
+had my hair cut, I am satisfied, for one year. My hair was hanging down
+on my shoulders; my face, of course, not very clean; my clothes were
+rags. My shoes were simply tops, and the gentleman who gave me these two
+dollars, told me: "Captain, you are the hardest-looking man I ever saw
+in my life. I do not know how I recognized you." I said: "This is the
+condition I am in, and drinking has brought me to it."
+
+I have been asked by several prominent men how it is I get up night
+after night and tell people how bad I have been. I told them it was like
+this; if they had been sick nigh unto death and were going to die, and a
+physician came and gave them some medicine and made whole men out of
+them, would they not be going around the streets telling people about
+that physician? I said that is the reason I get up every night and tell
+people about it. Christ was the physician that healed me. That is the
+remedy I have for all evil now--the blood of Jesus Christ. It was
+utterly impossible for a man to exist and be in a worse condition than I
+was. I was physically and mentally a wreck; and now by accepting
+Christ--becoming a Christian--I am physically, morally, mentally and
+spiritually restored and well. That is the reason why I do not hesitate
+to tell anybody--even people coming into my office. An editor of a paper
+said to me: "Is it possible you were a tramp?" I told him it was; and he
+was talking something about attacking me through his paper, about what
+I had been. I said, "Blaze away; it won't hurt me. I do not deny having
+been a tramp and a drunkard--everything that was mean. But what am I
+now?" I do not care what they bring back of my past record; they can not
+hurt me, for I do not deny it. It is what I am now. I think now that I
+was as bad and mean as a man could possibly be. But I am no longer what
+I was, by the grace of Him who called me out of the former darkness into
+His light.
+
+[Illustration: H. C. PRICE.]
+
+
+H. CLAY PRICE.
+
+I used to know Brother Holcombe in those days; knew him to be a gambler.
+He was considered one of the best of gamblers, but I always looked upon
+him as being an honorable gambler, so far as I have heard. I knew him
+even before he was a gambler.
+
+Well, my father and mother were very pious, my mother especially. She
+was a praying woman, and everybody knew her by the name of "Aunt
+Kittie," and my father as "Uncle Billy." My father did not think it was
+any harm to play cards in the parlor every night. When I was young he
+loved to play whist. I had a sister older than I, sixteen or seventeen
+years old, and she used to invite young men, and father used to invite
+them, to come there and play cards; and the moment they commenced to fix
+the table, my father beckoned his head to me, and I knew what that
+meant--to get out. We had a young negro that used to wait on the ladies
+in the parlor, and he told me one time, "You steal a deck of cards and I
+will show you how to play cards." And I stole a deck of cards from the
+house and we went back in the stable; and that is the way I came to
+learn how to play cards. I was twelve or fifteen years old at that
+time--not any older than that--and I commenced playing cards for money,
+and I kept on playing cards for money with the boys; for money or for
+anything. I was sent off to school--to St. Mary's College, and we got to
+playing cards there for money, and we were caught, and the oldest one
+was expelled from school, and I promised never to do it any more, and
+the other boys promised not to do it any more, and they did not. But I
+kept on and I was caught playing cards, and I was expelled from school.
+After that my father sent me to St. Joseph's College in Ohio. I ran off
+from that school and came home, and I was appointed a Deputy Marshal by
+my brother-in-law, W. S. D. McGowen; and I got to gambling then sure
+enough and running after women; and about that time the war came on, and
+I went off with my brother-in-law into the army, and I gambled all
+through the army--everywhere I could get five cents to play with. All I
+had I gambled away. I came back home and I gambled here; played in the
+faro banks all the time. And a proprietor of a gambling house by the
+name of Jo. Croxton came to me and said, "You are too good a man to be
+gambling around. I will give you an interest, and you can take charge of
+my house." I did not know much about gambling, but I knew how to take
+care of his house. He gave me the bank roll; and I went on down and
+down.
+
+I was married then and had a faithful, gentle and devoted wife, but I
+thought I was smarter than anybody about gambling, and I thought I could
+make big money, and so I would leave my wife, devoted and dependent as
+she was, and I kept traveling on around the country, going to different
+towns. I went to Nashville; from there I went to New Orleans. I came
+back to Nashville. I left Nashville and went to Huntsville, Ala.; came
+back here and went to St. Louis; then to Chicago and Lexington. After
+that I went back to Nashville again. I made a good deal of money if I
+could have kept it; but the Lord would not let me have it. I averaged
+here for years and years $500 a month. Sometimes I made more--made as
+much as $1,700 a month, and once I went up as high as $2,100 a
+month--made big winnings. As fast as I got this money I could not keep
+it--threw it away on women all the time and gambling against the bank
+and poker; would spit at a mark for money. I have lost hundreds and
+hundreds of dollars without getting off of my seat, with men I knew were
+robbing me all the time. It was a passion I had to gamble and I'd not
+stop. In one game of poker that I was in I bet and lost $900 on one
+hand, and I have never played at poker since that time.
+
+When the gambling-houses were broken up here in Louisville, I concluded
+I would go off to Chicago. I had some money and I went to Chicago; and
+as soon as I got there, I got broke, lost all the money I had. I was
+among strangers and I was dead broke. Finally I got another situation,
+and worked there for some time. I then got hold of some money again, and
+I came home and remained some time. My wife was begging me all the time
+not to go away--did not think I ought to go away; she said that I could
+stay here and get some work to do, and make an honest living. But I
+thought I had better go back to Chicago and make some money; and I made
+some money as soon as I got there by playing faro bank; and I did very
+well at that time, made a good deal of money; and you know how a man
+feels when he has five hundred dollars in his pocket; and yet all that
+time I did not send my wife anything. I thought I would get about one
+thousand dollars and open some kind of a bar-room or cigar shop, or
+something of the kind. But the day before Christmas I got to playing
+against the faro bank, and got broke; and I was the most miserable man
+in the world, to think that I had lost the last chance I had. The day
+before Christmas my wife wrote me, "Why don't you come home? I had
+rather see you home than there again making money," I said, "Yesterday I
+got broke--I played to win. I had nothing to eat all day." But
+accidentally I found a twenty-five cent piece in my pocket; and I got up
+and went and bought a ten-cent dinner, and paid fifteen cents for a
+cigar. I have done that many times, I suppose, bought a quarter dinner
+and given the other quarter for a cigar. I just got to studying about
+it, studying about what I was to do. I said, "If I come back to
+Louisville, I will starve. I am not competent to keep a set of books, or
+clerk anywhere; but," I said, "I will go back if I do starve." So I
+wrote to my patient wife: "I have lost every cent I had in the world, I
+have got to work one week longer to make enough money to come home on,
+and I am coming. You may look for me the first of next week." As soon as
+they paid me off that evening I jumped on the cars and came home, having
+just the money to pay my fare.
+
+Before this Brother Holcombe had met me time and again after he had been
+converted. He used to come after me; and every time he would see me, may
+be I would be looking at something in the street--he would hit me on the
+shoulder and say, "How do you do, old boy?" and then he would talk to me
+about my salvation, and about Jesus Christ. I used to hide from him;
+but it looked like every time he came around he would nail me, and talk
+to me about Jesus. That was when I was gambling here and prosperous. He
+told me about my mother and told me I ought to quit gambling. I said,
+"Brother Holcombe, what shall I do if I quit gambling? I have no way to
+make a living." He said, "Look to God, and He will help you." I went
+away about that time; and as soon as I came back, every time he would
+see me he would nail me again. After awhile I got interested in him. I
+would look for him and when I would catch him, I would say, "You can not
+get away from me now." That was after I came from Chicago. I had nowhere
+to go except to visit bar-rooms. So I began to go down around the old
+Mission every night. I heard the singing and praying down there. One
+night I said, "I am going to see Brother Holcombe." The clock struck
+eight, and I said "I am not going in to-night, it is too late. I will go
+to-morrow;" and to-morrow night came and I went down there and went in
+very early, before they commenced singing; and they sang and prayed and
+Brother Holcombe preached, and the next night I went, and the next night
+I went, and I went every night. And then they moved up here on Jefferson
+street and after they moved up here, I stayed away a week, and then I
+commenced coming again; and here I am now, thank God. I think God has
+been my friend all the way through. To think He has let me go as far as
+He could, and at last brought me home. I tell you it is a great thing
+for a man that has been living the life I have, to get up and say that
+he is now a child of God.
+
+It came gradually, a little bit of it at a time, but when I was down in
+the Mission that night, God came to me in full power, I felt that I did
+not care what happened to me. I was willing to go if God called on me.
+Whatever He said I was willing to do. After my conversion I got a place
+where I was making a dollar a day, at Robinson's, on Ninth, between
+Broadway and York streets, and I worked there until I went up on a new
+railroad. They promised to give me forty-five dollars a month. I thought
+at the time, and so did Brother Holcombe, I would get forty-five dollars
+a month. He said, "You will get forty-five dollars a month, and it is so
+much easier than the work you are doing." I thought they would pay all
+my expenses and I worked up there at forty-five dollars and I had to pay
+all my own expenses; and all I received was not a cent more or less than
+thirteen dollars a month. But I was happier a thousand times--I will say
+a hundred thousand times--than I was with six or seven hundred dollars a
+month.
+
+You may think gamblers are happy, and it looks like it; but they are
+not--they are miserable. Just to look back in our lives and think what
+we have done with all the money! It is nothing to be compared with the
+life of a Christian. If I could go back to-morrow and make a million
+dollars gambling, I would not do it. I would say, "Take your million of
+dollars. I will stay where I am." My wife is the best woman in the
+world. I leave her at home and she is reading the Bible. You can not go
+in there any time, when she is not at work, that she is not either
+singing or reading the Bible. She was raised a Catholic. She is now
+trying to help me along. She has joined the Methodist church; she is
+with me. I do not think she was a Christian before we came in contact
+with Brother Holcombe. It was just her interest in me, and her patient,
+long-suffering love. She never went to church nor prayed nor knelt down.
+She prayed after she went to bed like I did, for I said prayers every
+day even then. I always said, "If I forget, God will forget me." Every
+day of my life I prayed; and if I forgot it, I asked the Lord to forgive
+me; but I never would kneel down. I prayed after I went to bed; but now
+I get down on my knees and pray. Do you know how we do at night? We get
+down on our knees and say the Lord's prayer; and after we get through, I
+pray; and after I get through, the old lady prays. You see the old lady
+was raising our little girl up to be a Catholic; and I said to her,
+after we were converted--maybe a month afterward--"I don't know whether
+I am right or wrong--I want you to say--do you not think it is right to
+teach Kittie to do the way we do in our prayers? I think it would be a
+sin to try to teach her any other way. Now, let us set her an example,
+and she will come over gradually and gradually until she will be one of
+us." She has asked her mother about Jesus. She said to her mother one
+day, "I can't pray like you all can." The old lady said to her, "You
+will learn after awhile." Last night I was out late, and when I came
+home she said, "We will all kneel down and pray." We started off, "Our
+Father, who art in heaven," and Kittie went along with us, repeating it.
+She knows all that, you know. After we were done saying that, I prayed;
+and after I got through the old lady prayed; and after we had prayed I
+said, "Kittie, you must say your prayer." She said, "I can not pray
+like you do." But she did the best she could.
+
+If you ask me how I came to change my life, it was this way: I knew that
+Brother Holcombe was a good man, and knew that he was reformed and I had
+so much faith in him, and I studied about that so much that I just
+thought if he could be such a good man, why could not I be a good man;
+and that is the way it came. I tell you, backwardness is a fault with a
+good many preachers. If I was a preacher and I saw a man on the street
+that I saw was going wrong, I would go right up to him and touch him on
+the shoulder. I do it now--I never let him get away; I never let a
+friend of mine get away, I do not care who he is. I go to him and tell
+him what God has done for me. I say, "Why don't you come up to the
+Mission? Don't you know Brother Holcombe?" If he says "No; I don't live
+here," I say, "If you come up there, we will be pleased to see you. You
+don't know what good it might do your soul."
+
+I do wish I had an education. I reckon there has been more money spent
+on me than on all the rest of my family. I went to three colleges; was
+expelled from one and ran away from the other two. I was the worst boy
+on earth; there is no use talking. I would rather fight that eat; but no
+more fighting for me; I am done. You know that I have been trying to get
+work to do, and at last I have found a place. I am earnestly praying
+every day more and more--I _can_ pray now. A man asked me the other
+day--I don't know whether I answered him right or not--he asked me, "Do
+you ever expect to go back to gambling?" I said, "I would starve to
+death before I would gamble any more." He said, "What about your
+wife--if you knew your wife was going to starve, would you gamble?" I
+said, "Before I would let my wife and child starve, I would gamble--I
+would gamble to get them something to eat; but," I said, "there is no
+danger of their starving. But you put that question to me so strong." I
+said, "I know that God would not censure me for that, but there is no
+danger of it."
+
+I wish I could say more. I know I mean what I have said, God knows I do,
+and it is all true as near as I can remember.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Price is a brother of the late Hon. J. Hop Price,
+     for many years a well-known lawyer and judge in Louisville. He
+     is now engaged as night watchman on Main street.
+
+
+MILES TURPIN.
+
+I had the example of Christian parents, and, of course, I had the
+benefit of a Christian education; but, like all young men, I was rather
+inclined to be wild; and after I had served four years in the
+Confederate army, my habits were formed rather for the worse. After I
+had returned home, being without avocation, I naturally resorted to what
+all idle men do; that was the beginning. I contracted the habit of
+frolicing, gambling and drinking, in that early period of my life, which
+has followed me through all these years, up to March 14, 1886, when,
+after considerable journeying through North America and portions of
+Mexico, I happened in Cincinnati, and heard a great many times about
+Steve Holcombe's conversion. Having known Steve in his gambling days, it
+occurred to me, like all persons in pursuit of happiness, going from
+place to place and not finding it, that if there was such a change and
+improvement in Steve as the newspapers described, I would come to
+Louisville and see for myself concluding that if religion had done so
+much for him, it might do something for me. I was a dissipated
+man--dissipated in the extreme. I had contracted this habit of drinking,
+and was rarely ever sober. I have some capacity, as a business man, and
+I have had a great many positions, but I had to give them up from this
+habit of drinking. While a man would express his deep friendship for me,
+he would say his business would not tolerate my drinking; consequently,
+I have been frequently but politely dismissed.
+
+I had lived in I don't know how many places in the United States, I had
+lived in New Orleans, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S. C., Birmingham,
+Montgomery, Selma, Vidalia, La., Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., Macon,
+Ga., Pensacola, Fla., Fernandina, Fla., throughout the length and
+breadth of Western Mexico, Lower California and the Pacific coast, and
+through the State of Texas, end to end. In all these tortuous windings I
+was searching for happiness; but a man who is more or less full of
+whisky and without the religion of Jesus Christ is of necessity unhappy,
+in himself, and, in consequence, shunned by his fellowmen. No man can
+wander around the world in that condition without feeling a void which
+human wisdom can not fill; and I was forced to this conclusion by a
+careful survey of my past career. The desperation of the case was such,
+that I resolved if I could not find employment, and if I could not find
+happiness, which I then knew nothing about, I would destroy myself. I
+have contemplated suicide many times with the utmost seriousness; and I
+certainly in my sinful life was not afraid of death. But then it was
+because I was in despair.
+
+I was in Cincinnati; had previously held a political position there,
+which paid me quite a handsome sum; but in the change of politics my
+pecuniary condition changed, and I found myself alone, poor and full of
+rum and corruption; as vile a sinner as ever lived. It was at that time
+that I heard of Steve. I was in a deplorable condition; I knew not where
+to turn for comfort, and it occurred to me that if I could go to
+Louisville and have these assertions verified about Steve's regeneration
+and if I could see and satisfy myself. I would do so, as vile as I was,
+and ask God to have mercy upon me. Of course, I was an infidel (at
+least, I imagined myself an infidel), an atheist, if you please, and my
+chief delight was deriding all Christian work, and ridiculing the Bible;
+and to more thoroughly uphold my atheistical notions I went so far as to
+defame the Saviour of mankind, not in vulgar language or profane, but by
+a mode of expression that was plain and unmistakable. _Now_, I do not
+see how a man can be an infidel. When a man says he is an atheist, I
+believe he is a liar. A man must be insane who does not recognize a
+Supreme Power and the Master-hand that made the world, and who does not
+rely upon and give obedience to that Higher Power. I do not believe that
+any atheist is honest in the announcement that he does not believe in
+God or a Creator. I believe now, since my conversion, that no man is in
+his right mind unless he has the habit of prayer.
+
+All nature points to the existence of a Creator--every action of life,
+every hair of the head shows an unseen hand. If it is a mistake, it is a
+mistake man can never fathom; but if not and if, as we are told by the
+word of faith, you believe, you shall be saved. If you cast your burden
+upon Him, and there is a possibility of a hereafter, you lose nothing in
+this world. A man is wiser, purer, more companionable, more affectionate
+and more charitable. There must be immortality of the soul; there must
+be a future reward. Reflection upon these great facts induced me to
+become a Christian man. As I had served the devil so long as one of his
+allies, and had been treated so badly by him. I deserted him and put my
+faith in God, where I intend to remain the remainder of my life.
+
+I got to Louisville a little over a year ago, the 15th of March, and
+went immediately to find Mr. Holcombe. He was sitting by the fire. He
+knew me at once. I shook hands with him and sat down by the fire, and
+had a conversation with him. He immediately entered upon the subject of
+religion, and I told him my condition. I told him what I wanted to do--I
+wanted to see for myself if it was possible for a man like him to become
+regenerated--if it was possible for such a great scoundrel as I knew him
+to be to become a Christian man. I wanted to see for myself if it were
+possible to make, out of so vile a creature, such a good man as he was
+said to be. As I said last night, I came, like the conqueror of old, and
+saw, but, unlike the conqueror of old, I was conquered. I made up my
+mind that I was done with the old life. Steve's appearance convinced me
+that he was cured, and I confessed then and there that I was convinced.
+That was the starting point. There was only one thing I have never been
+thoroughly satisfied about; I find that the Christian influence grows
+gradually on me, and becomes stronger and stronger the longer I live. I
+confess myself, when I first became a Christian man, with the exception
+of drinking whisky, I was like I was before; but, encouraged by my
+experiences in the beginning, I gradually began to see that it was a
+better life. A man was purer, and there was some hope a man could be
+changed through and through, and take his place among men; and from that
+time forward I was continually growing in grace. From the very moment I
+resolved to quit, I did not drink any more. After I saw Steve, I did
+not take a drop, though I had tried before to quit it many a time. I had
+oftentimes joined temperance societies, and made resolutions, which were
+of no avail. A man in that case was bound by no tie except his
+assertion--by his word: and might break it just as a man allows a note
+to be protested in bank. The moment I determined to change my life, this
+appetite for whisky left me. It was because my ideas were changed.
+
+I used to think that no drunken man could become a Christian; but now I
+hope, by the grace of God, I am a Christian, I could not explain it; I
+do not believe any man can explain it. He may attempt it, but he can not
+do it. A man who lives a Christian life can hardly calculate the
+advantages; it is a matter of impossibility. In the first place, his
+associates put an entirely different estimate on him. His ambitions are
+entirely changed, and certainly his hope is. It makes him a more
+charitable man, a more forbearing man with the faults of his neighbors,
+makes him a more tolerant man, makes him a better citizen; and if he
+were a politician--though it is scarcely within the bounds of
+possibility--it would make him an honest politician.
+
+I have had no trouble to get along in business since my conversion. Just
+as soon as I tried to get business, when I was once really in earnest
+about it, I had a number of offers. I have still a number of offers.
+When I became a Christian man I determined, in my own mind, I would live
+up to Christianity so far as I could in every particular, humbly and
+conscientiously. The opinions of man have no weight with me now. All I
+am I hold by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ.
+
+
+FRED ROPKE.
+
+I think it was on the 25th of June, 1883, I was stopping at Fifth and
+Jefferson. Previous to that time I had been tramping the country for
+about eight years, from 1874 until the middle of 1883. My father was a
+Louisville man. He gave me all the advantages that wealth could command.
+He sent me to Germany in 1864, where I remained three years at school.
+In 1869 or 1870, I went into the sheriff's office here in Louisville.
+Previous to that time I had been with Theodore Schwartz & Co. I went
+from Theodore Schwartz & Co. into the sheriff's office. I got that
+position from courtesy of the sheriff to my father, who was his
+bondsman. I contracted the habit of drinking right there, through the
+associations. And, being ashamed to remain among my friends as a
+drunkard, I went then from pillar to post all over the country.
+
+I left home just after my father's death, in 1872, not knowing whither I
+was going. I dragged around the country from that time until the summer
+of 1883--eleven years; and if there ever was a man sick and tired, it
+was I. I beat my way through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee,
+Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois,
+Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
+
+The box car was my home the greater part of the time. Of course, during
+those years, I came home off and on; but nothing could stop me in my
+downward course. As soon as I lost self-control I persuaded myself
+there was no hereafter, no God and no devil. I took to that idea to
+console myself for what I was doing more than for anything else; and I
+had a perfect indifference as to what became of me, except at times when
+I was alone and sober and thoughtful. But I never had any aim; no
+ambition at all; in fact, I had given up all hope. I do not know what I
+wandered for. I would come home and stay for a month or so, and I would
+get drunk and get ashamed of myself and go away. I would walk all night
+to get out of Louisville.
+
+I had been brought up by religious parents. My father was a very
+religious man. He was considered by people as a fanatic because he was
+making money in the whisky business, and sold out rather than continue
+it. He lost money by selling out during the war. He saw what it was
+drifting to, and sold out. After that there was not a drop of whisky
+handled in his house on Main street until after his death. My mother
+also was a very religious woman, so that I had a careful religious
+training. But I had read a good deal of Ingersoll and Tom Paine. I heard
+Ingersoll lecture on one or two occasions; I wanted to get all the proof
+I could to sustain me. I wanted some consolation; I knew where I was
+drifting; there was a consciousness all this time that I was wrong; and
+I trembled at the thought of one day giving an account for the misdeeds
+of a wasted life; but I could not possibly help myself. From the mental
+anxiety I went through it is a wonder my hair is not gray to-day. It was
+terrible. I had two attacks of delirium tremens.
+
+What brought me to realize my condition more than anything else, took
+place just before the time I first met Brother Holcombe. I was out on
+Second street mending umbrellas; for that was the way I made my living.
+I had become thoroughly hardened. I would have cut my throat, only
+cowardice kept me from it. Well, I was mending umbrellas out on Second
+street, and Mrs. Werne heard me as I was calling out, and knowing that
+Henry, her husband, and I had been to school together--had been boys
+together, she called me and said, "Fred, I want you to come in." She
+insisted on my coming to their house to dinner the next day. "Fix up,"
+she said, "and come to dinner with us;" but I do not believe I had a
+stitch of clothes except what was on my back. She insisted however, on
+my coming; some of my friends would be there. That brought me to realize
+to what depths I had fallen.
+
+The next week I went to New Albany; and I was told to leave the town,
+and I left the town under the escort of two policemen. To such abject
+wretchedness was I reduced, I could not endure to stay among friends,
+and I was in such a plight strangers could not endure me among them. But
+once I was coming down the street, and heard the singing in the Holcombe
+Mission; and I was considerably touched to think that I had come through
+the religious training of a Christian home and of church and
+Sunday-school; and that is all it amounted to. I went that evening to
+the courthouse steps, and heard Mr. Holcombe preach there; and from that
+day to this I have not drank a single drop; and it is only through God's
+grace that I realize that I am able to resist temptation. I felt that I
+was not worth anything; I felt that there was no power in myself. My
+skepticism all melted away. The view I took of it was that if God could
+help Holcombe, he could and would help such a one as I. I knew Mr.
+Holcombe very well. When I was deputy sheriff, I had a warrant for his
+arrest one time from Franklin county, and went there armed, knowing his
+dangerous reputation. I thought if Holcombe could be saved, there
+certainly was some hope for me, and under the inspiration of that hope I
+turned to God. It was my last and only hope. But it was not
+disappointed, for He has saved me.
+
+I remember the first time I went up to be prayed for; I felt that I
+would from that time have strength--I had no doubt that I would have it
+from that time on. It was in the back room of the old mission. I felt--I
+don't know why it was--I felt then and there that, by God's help, I
+would make a man of myself; and I went out with that feeling, although I
+had been under the influence of liquor for months before. I can not say
+that I had no appetite for it, but I had strength to resist it. That was
+the 25th of June, 1883.
+
+I would do anything for whisky when I wandered around. I did not gamble,
+but I was licentious. I lived for nothing else; I had no other aim in
+life but to gratify my passions, and I would adopt any extreme to do it,
+and did do it. I left nothing untouched--I would sell my coat to gratify
+my passions. If I wanted a drink of whisky and my hat would pay for it,
+I would let it go. Once, on coming back from New Orleans, my mother gave
+me a suit of clothes; and I did not keep that suit of clothes three
+days. All of the time I was tramping around, my mother was living in
+Louisville, worth seventy-five thousand dollars. She was willing to do
+anything for me, and suffered much because of my wicked ways. I remember
+on one occasion, when I left her to go to Denver, Colorado, she begged
+me to stay at home, and reminded me how she would suffer from anxiety
+about me, day and night, till I should return. But I had just been
+released from jail for drunkenness and I did not want to stay in
+Louisville. So I left my mother in sorrow and despair.
+
+One thing I am thankful for to-day; that after my conversion I did not
+get into anything right away; that I made a bare living with my
+umbrellas; and that continued two years before I got into a permanent
+situation. I believe those were the two happiest years of my life. I had
+a tough time to get something to eat sometimes, but that was good for
+me. I pegged away at an old umbrella for twenty-five or thirty cents
+down in the old mission; and I was thankful to get them to fix. It
+seemed to me it was sweeter; I enjoyed it more.
+
+There is no comparison between the new life and the old. I thought at
+one time that I was enjoying myself; but I have had to suffer in my new
+life for all the enjoyment that I had in the old--I have to suffer
+physically--even yet. I am an old man before my time. Even to-day on my
+coming in contact with it the influence of the old association will crop
+out. Sometimes my passions worry me considerably. The only relief I find
+is by keeping close to God. I realize that from day to day if I do not
+do that--pay strict attention to my religious duties--I will fall. I
+know that if I neglect them for one week, I get away off. I am happy in
+being placed where I am. My place is a kind of rendezvous for religious
+people; and their society and conversation help to strengthen me. Since
+my conversion, I was offered a position in a liquor house, but I would
+not take it, because I was afraid of it, and the very next day I
+obtained a situation with the Finzer Brothers. I went to a minister and
+made it the subject of prayer as to whether I should accept the
+situation; and finally decided to decline it, and the next day I got a
+situation that I had filled in years gone by, with Finzer Brothers in
+this city. It is now the height of my ambition to have the opportunity
+to convince the people who were and are my friends in Louisville that
+there is something in me, and by the grace of God I am no longer the
+failure I was.
+
+[Illustration: J. T. HOCKER.]
+
+
+JAMES THOMPSON HOCKER.
+
+I was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1837, and no man had better
+advantages for being a Christian or becoming one than I had. I had a
+pious mother and father, and all the influences of my home were of that
+character. My father and mother were both members of the Baptist church,
+and I recollect that they used to have me go to Sunday-school, but I
+think now I went there because they asked me to go. Thinking over my
+condition, I did not have any other incentive at that time than to obey
+my mother's request. At about the age of fifteen I left my home, and it
+seems to me now when I did do so I left behind me all good impulses and
+all good feeling, and any religious inclination I might have had seemed
+to leave me when I stepped over the threshold; and I think the devil
+joined me then and told me he would keep me company all the rest of my
+life, and he did do it pretty closely for thirty years. I do not suppose
+that he had a better servant, or one who did his behests more faithfully
+than I.
+
+Whether I inherited the appetite for drink has been a question with me.
+On both sides of my house--the Old Virginia stock--I had several
+relatives who drank to excess; and it seems to me that the appetite must
+have passed through our family to me. I remember the first drink I ever
+took in my life; it was whisky, and I liked it. Most people don't like
+the first drink.
+
+When I came to this city I went into business as a clerk. The devil
+and I dropped into company as hail fellows well met. He persuaded me to
+think it was proper for young men to take a drink before calling on
+their lady friends. He prompted me to go in with the boys. "This is the
+right way for you to do," he would say, "I am your friend." I had the
+usual compunctions of conscience that the young man feels when he goes
+into bar-rooms. I took wine at first, but the devil said: "That is not
+the thing; whisky is better." I obeyed him; I took whisky, until whisky
+pretty nearly took me forever.
+
+Along in 1871--March, 1871--I was working at a clothing house, and I
+married a lady who was thoroughly conversant with all my habits; who
+knew that the habit for drink had fastened itself on me; but who, with a
+woman's faithful, trusting heart, married me, hoping, as they generally
+do, that her influence might reform me. Perhaps for a year or so the
+devil and I rather separated, but he had me in sight all the while. This
+continued for six or seven months, until, on one occasion, I went out to
+a fishing party. We carried two or three gallons of whisky, and two or
+three pounds of solid food. I went fishing with two or three personal
+acquaintances, who prevailed on me to indulge with them in drinking, and
+from this time forward, until about one year ago, I was as fully devoted
+to my old ways as ever.
+
+The appetite for drink was on me, and dragged me down day by day, deeper
+and deeper into the mire; and still, through all this, my wife's loyal
+heart never faltered, unwavering as she was in her trust in me, that I
+would yet reform. She still, when others failed me, remained my faithful
+friend. My wife was forced, however, by my conduct, to return to her
+mother's home, because, instead of supporting her, I was spending all my
+earnings for whisky and in debauchery of other kinds.
+
+I shall have to go back a little in my story. About eight years ago I
+was working in a clothing house at the corner of Third and Market
+streets. I noticed across the street, one morning, a man whom I knew
+setting out on the sidewalk a lot of vegetables, apples, etc. I looked
+at him, and recognized him as Steve Holcombe, a man who had recently
+reformed his way of living, and abandoned his old life. In the meantime,
+I had become an infidel, I had begun to doubt the divinity of Christ,
+and even doubted that there was a God. I read all of Ingersoll's books,
+and went back and read Paine's essay on Reason and Common Sense. I was
+thoroughly fortified with all the infidel batteries that I could bring
+to bear on Christian people. As soon as I laid eyes on Brother Holcombe
+I started across the street and opened on him; and I kept this up for
+months. I fortified myself with a couple of drinks, so as to be very
+brave, and went over and tackled him regularly every morning.
+
+At last, I stood and watched him one morning. I reasoned this way:
+"There is a man I have known for twenty-five years. I know of no man who
+was more thoroughly steeped in wickedness, who was a more persistent
+sinner, and I have tried to batter him down with my infidel batteries
+for months, and he is as solid as a stone wall;" and all this led me to
+think that there was something in the religion of Jesus Christ; and,
+thinking this way, I rather refrained from my attacks upon him and his
+position; but I often thought of him afterward, and the thought occurred
+to me, there must be something in this thing, for no power living, or
+anything that I know of, could sustain that man in his position. It must
+be something beyond human.
+
+The 20th day of last April I was on a protracted debauch; had been for
+three weeks. My brain was thoroughly stunned with the effects of the
+liquor I had drunk. I was sitting in a bar-room at seven o'clock in the
+evening, as far as my memory now serves me, and I appeared to see the
+face of my wife and child; and then one of my boon companions said,
+"Join us in a drink." Just then I could no more have taken that drink
+than I could have transformed myself into an angel of light. At that
+moment I thought some impending calamity that neither I nor any human
+power could avert was about to crush me. The next thing that came into
+my mind was that I must see Mr. Holcombe; and I went out of that saloon
+into the night, scarcely knowing what I did, feeling that some terrible
+accident was going to happen; but still this impulse moved me to go to
+the man I had fought so long and so persistently. I happened to find him
+before the old Mission, on Jefferson street, near Fifth. He seemed to
+think that I had now some other object in view than to attack him as
+formerly, because, the first time in all my career, he was the only man
+who did reach out his hand and said, "God bless you, my brother." I
+said: "I want to talk to you; I want you to pray for me." He said, "God
+bless you, I am the happiest man to meet you that I know of." He asked
+me to walk down to the Mission. The services were about to commence. I
+stayed with him that evening. In the morning he made a special prayer
+for me; and during all my wanderings, I had felt that, perhaps, the
+prayers of my mother and father would, in the end, reach the throne of
+grace; and I had never lost my faith in the efficacy of prayer. When he
+prayed for me, I felt my mother's hand on my head and heard her saying,
+"God bless and keep my boy." When I left him he said, "Won't you go to
+your room to-night and pray?" I had no room. He loaned me the money to
+get a room. I went to the hotel and procured lodging. He said to me,
+"Say any prayer you think of." The only prayer I could recall was one I
+had heard in my childhood, "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!" When I
+made that prayer before the Christian's God, I did it with fear and
+trembling, for it seemed profanity for a wretch like me, who had defied
+God's laws, to prostrate himself at His feet and ask the Christian's God
+to have mercy on him; but I kept up that prayer in my weak, broken way.
+And to-day, having tried this life one year, you don't know of a man
+happier than I am. My wife, no longer broken-hearted as in those years
+of darkness and sorrow, now daily bids me welcome to our happy home. And
+we recognize together that nothing but this religion of Jesus Christ
+could have brought this about. I know, from the experiences I have had,
+that God has forgiven me, the sinner.
+
+I had from a child been the most inveterate swearer. Since my conversion
+I have not sworn an oath; I never have taken a drop of beer or anything
+that might intoxicate me, and I have never had a return of the
+appetite. And I hope, by God's mercy, that when the last call shall come
+I shall be found fighting for God; and I feel I want to fall with "my
+back to the field and my feet to the foe." Immediately after my
+conversion I attached myself to the Fifth and Walnut-street church; and
+if you inquire of those who know me, they will tell you that, since I
+stepped out of the old life into this, I have walked consistently.
+
+I have told you a true story. I can think of no more to say. I may add,
+however, that since I have come into this new life, under God's mercy, I
+have been the humble instrument of bringing into the light three of my
+acquaintances, of whose conversion I know personally. I was the only
+wandering, wayward, prodigal son in my father's family; and there is
+probably not now a happier household in the State.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Hocker is at present engaged in business in one of
+     the large clothing houses of Louisville.
+
+[Illustration: S. P. DALTON.]
+
+
+SAMUEL P. DALTON.
+
+I was born in Shelbyville, Tenn., January 20, 1849, and am, therefore,
+thirty-nine years of age. My father and mother were both members of the
+church; and they tried to bring me up as a Christian. I went to
+Sunday-school and church almost all my life. My father has been dead
+twenty odd years. My mother is still living. As I say, I was brought up
+a Christian, and I was converted when I was about seventeen years of
+age, while a boy clerking in a brickyard alone. I was licensed soon
+afterward to exhort in the Methodist church. After that I married; I
+removed to Paducah, Ky., and I was a member of the church there for
+several years. After that I lost my wife, broke up housekeeping and went
+to traveling. I traveled awhile, and then moved to Louisville. I lived
+here seven years.
+
+In the meantime, I became indifferent to Christianity and formed the
+habit of moderate drinking; I was a moderate drinker for a couple of
+years, and gradually I drifted farther and farther away till at last I
+came to believe in Ingersoll's teachings. I formed this idea, that the
+world was made to enjoy, and that we had a right to enjoy it in any way
+we wished. I never would go to church and I would avoid meeting any of
+my church friends as much as possible. I became very unhappy and
+miserable in my irreligious life, and found that serving the devil was
+hard.
+
+One day while in this unhappy condition my attention was called to a
+crowd of people on Jefferson street, near the courthouse. Going over
+to satisfy my curiosity, I found they were a Christian band from the
+Holcombe Mission preaching the Gospel. Of course, I would not go to
+church, and when I went over there to see what they were doing, I looked
+upon them as so many cranks; but there was one prayer that touched my
+heart. It was this: "Oh Lord, if there are any persons in this audience
+who are miserable or unhappy on account of their sins, I pray Thee to
+give them no peace until they give their hearts to God." And God
+answered the prayer in my case. I had no peace until I gave my heart to
+God and renewed my vows to the church. After hearing this prayer I went
+home very miserable and unhappy, and fought the feeling for six months
+afterward--tried to drive it away by drinking; but could not do so.
+Finally one night about midnight, in my room, I gave my heart to God and
+made new vows. I was again brought back to God on the 15th of October,
+1882.
+
+Then I went to see Brother Morris, pastor of the Fifth and Walnut-street
+Methodist church, and told him what I had done. Of course, he met me
+with open arms, and invited me to the church, and on the following
+Sunday I joined the Methodist church. Directly afterward Mr. Morris
+introduced me to Brother Holcombe. He said: "Brother Dalton, here is a
+man you ought to know and be with. His Mission is the place for you to
+do Christian work." He saw, I suppose, that I ought to be doing some
+good, and he wanted me right there.
+
+I went, then, to Brother Holcombe's Mission, and remained with him for
+about two years, working there almost every night for these two years,
+keeping door, and doing, to the best of my ability, all the good I
+could. I can say that my connection with the Mission, I have no doubt,
+has had all to do with strengthening me in the Christian life and
+leading me into usefulness, giving me strength and energy to engage in
+saving others, and confirming myself in Christian character.
+
+I have witnessed some of the most remarkable conversions at Holcombe's
+Mission that I think ever were known anywhere, and I regard Holcombe as
+one of the most remarkable men on earth for mission work. It seems that
+he can use more means to put men to thinking than any other man that I
+know of.
+
+I was always fond of going to the theater. After I had become a
+Christian, I had an idea that I could still continue going to theaters,
+and so stated to Brother Holcombe and Brother Alexander. They simply
+said this: "Brother Dalton, if you get the love of God in your heart you
+will find a great deal more pleasure in God's service than you will in
+attending theaters;" and from my own experience I have found it true. I
+have no desire to go to theaters; my own pleasure is in Christian work;
+and I do not think a man can make a practice of attending theaters
+regularly and exert the same influence for the salvation of others as if
+he did not attend.
+
+I believe as firmly as I do anything, that when I was a boy, God called
+me to some kind of Christian work; and I was the most miserable man in
+the world when I lost my religion. After meeting with Brother Holcombe,
+he seemed to be a great wall of protection to me--and he does yet. He
+has infused into my life more Christian zeal than I ever had before. I
+am of a temperament that is easily led off--easily influenced; and I
+feel that God, in His wisdom, leads me into Christian work in order to
+save my own soul as well as others. Since I have been away from
+Louisville, in Cleveland, Ohio, in business, I think there has not been
+a day or night but what I have thought of Brother Holcombe and the
+Mission. It seems to have such an everlasting effect on me, that at all
+times I feel a restraining influence which comes out from that Mission.
+If at any time I am tempted to become discouraged, the remembrance of
+him and the mission work that he is engaged in, seems to be a
+protection, something that upholds me in my Christian faith; and I have
+learned to love Brother Holcombe as I never loved any man on earth who
+was no kin to me. He is a man whom I have watched very closely, and
+understand thoroughly; and believe he is one of the most honest, earnest
+and upright Christian men that I ever met in all my life, and one who
+will do more, and endure more, to lead a man to Christ than any one I
+ever knew.
+
+The result of that Christian experience which I had while associated
+with Brother Holcombe has been the means of my seeking an opportunity
+for Christian work in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where I am now
+residing. I joined the Franklin-avenue Methodist church, of Cleveland, a
+grand body of Christians, too, about 650 members; and it seemed that the
+Lord had opened the way into this church to harness me into Christian
+work there. Being a man from the South, I hardly expected them to
+receive me as cordially as they did; but it seemed that, after watching
+me, and knowing me, when I was not expecting it, I was elected one of
+the stewards of that church a very short time after joining it; and I
+have been put on different committees, and have been treated as well as
+a Christian gentleman could possibly desire to be treated, and I have
+learned to love them. My aim and object in life now is to do all the
+good I possibly can in this new field of labor.
+
+The Lord has been very good to me since I reentered His service, and I
+have found complete happiness and contentment in this Christian life,
+and no man on earth is happier than I when I am doing Christian work,
+and I am quite unhappy when I am not, being fully convinced that the
+Lord has a Christian work of some kind for me to engage in, and always
+being blest in the least effort I make for the salvation of others.
+
+God has prospered me in business, too. I have been very successful in my
+business life, not getting rich, but making a good, honest living,
+having the confidence and respect of my employers, and the full
+confidence of those who work for me. I have endeavored, to the best of
+my ability, to use every means within my power to exert as good an
+influence over the men in my employ as I possibly can under the
+circumstances. I correspond with Brother Holcombe regularly, and have
+for the last three years, and I very often use his letters in
+endeavoring to bring others to Christ; and frequently in my talks and
+Christian work I take a great pride in referring to the Mission in
+Louisville, and believe there has been some good done in simply telling
+of these remarkable conversions that I have witnessed there, convincing
+me that the Mission is not only exerting a good influence in the city of
+Louisville, but is being felt all over this country.
+
+After being away a little over three years, I returned to Kentucky on a
+visit to my mother and family in Paducah, and also to Brother Holcombe
+and my friends in Louisville, and stopped with Brother Holcombe. Of
+course, he received me with open arms and a hearty welcome, and I had
+the pleasure of meeting many of those men whom I had known when they
+were in their sinful lives, bound by the power of strong drink, and it
+did my heart good to look into their happy, shining faces, sober as they
+are, and active in business, and engaged in Christian work, thereby
+receiving new strength and stronger faith in the Blessed Gospel of
+Christ. I am fully persuaded there is no other power under heaven that
+would save men from these terrible habits except the religion of the
+Lord Jesus Christ.
+
+Coming into the presence of Brother Holcombe seemed to have a peculiar
+effect upon me. It seemed that I received a new baptism of the Holy
+Ghost. I do not know what it is; I know that God's blessing is just as
+rich and precious in Cleveland as it is in Louisville, but having been
+associated with Brother Holcombe in this Christian work, and witnessing
+such wonderful conversions, and God's blessings having been bestowed
+upon us so richly, it seems that the place is precious to my soul, and
+the remembrance of those things so cheers my heart that it gives me new
+strength and new zeal, and I never could, under any circumstances, in my
+future life, doubt the reality of the Christian religion.
+
+
+COLONEL MOSES GIBSON.
+
+My birthplace was Bowling Green, Rappahannock county, Virginia. I was
+born May 7, 1837. My ancestors were Quakers, and my grandfather a
+Hicksite Quaker. He married a Methodist, and was, consequently, turned
+out of the church. The family originally came from the north of Ireland,
+opposite Glasgow; non-conformists. They came to this country about the
+time Penn did, and got over into Loudon county, Virginia. On my mother's
+side I am descended from Nathaniel Pendleton, who is a brother of Edmund
+Pendleton, and aid-de-camp of General Green during the Revolutionary
+war. On both sides a considerable number of the men were in both legal
+and literary pursuits. My mother was raised in the Presbyterian
+church--joined the Presbyterian church. I was baptized by the Rev. Dr.
+Foot, one of the corner-stones of the old school church. My father was
+never a member of any church until very late in life. My mother had me
+baptized by the Rev. Dr. Foot when I was six years old.
+
+I was always, as a boy, religiously inclined; and never cared for those
+enjoyments and pleasures that boys indulge in so much, like playing
+ball, hunting and fishing, tobogganing, coasting and all such kind of
+sport. I was more of a house boy. I liked to stay at home and read, and
+was very affectionate in my disposition. Very early in life I started
+out in the world, and when I was fourteen years old I was a store boy;
+and even with all that, my early training, to a certain extent, kept me
+out of bad company, although I slept in the store, and was really under
+no restraint from the time I was about fourteen. I generally, when I
+found I was too far gone, pulled up stakes and went somewhere else; and
+in that way I grew up. I very rarely failed to go to church twice every
+Sunday; and I looked upon religion more as a pleasure and a matter of
+pride for the respectability of it. I liked the church, even after I
+grew up to be a man. But during the latter part of the war, I became
+impressed. I believe it was in October, 1864, I professed religion in a
+little church in New Market, Virginia; and after the war, I went to
+Baltimore, and united myself there with the Episcopal church. I never
+was confirmed, however, until some time in 1868, here in Calvary church
+in Louisville. But I always considered myself a member of the church,
+went to Sunday-school, and attended to my duties very particularly. I
+never drank anything, and never kept bad company. My association was
+always the most refined, principally that of ladies. I was fond of
+society, parties, theaters and things of that kind, which our church
+never objected to very particularly, but I kept myself in bounds.
+
+It was only about 1874 or 1875 that I became associated with some
+gentlemen here who were very learned, and who were very earnest men; and
+we got into the study of the Bible in search of truth. We got all the
+books of modern thought on the subject that we could. We conversed
+together and talked together a great deal. We got all the modern
+authors, and studied them very thoroughly; and studied so much, that we
+finally studied ourselves into infidelity. We studied Draper, Max
+Muller, Ledyard, Bishop Colenzo and Judge Strange. Judge Strange's was
+the most powerful book, to me, of any. It was a reference to the Old
+Testament legends and the miracles of the New. I gradually by the
+association, and by reading these modern treatises on theology, etc.,
+drifted into that thoughtful infidelity, which is the worst sort in the
+world, because I had a great respect for religion, but did not believe
+it. I believed in a God, but could not consistently believe that he was
+the God of the Bible, or that the Bible itself could be an inspired
+book, because so much of it was inconsistent with demands of human
+reason.
+
+Following these convictions, I gradually drifted into the most complete
+infidelity that a man ever did on earth. I did not believe anything,
+still I did not attempt in any way to have my associates and friends
+believe that I was an infidel. I never boasted of it, I never made light
+of religion. I continued to go to church, continued to keep in the
+church; and when Ingersoll was here I would not go to hear him. I was
+satisfied that Ingersoll's teachings were, to a great extent, what I
+believed; but I did not like to hear a man get up and ridicule my
+mother's God; and my answer to those who wanted me to go was that I
+would not listen to any man who tried to ridicule the religion of my
+mother.
+
+About 1878 I commenced drinking. I was then about forty-one years old. I
+got to taking a drink here and there, but do not suppose I took over a
+hundred drinks during the year. In 1879 I got to drinking a little
+more. In 1880 I got to drinking pretty hard. During the year 1879 I took
+rarely less than three, and very often six to eight drinks, a day, and
+in 1881 I was a confirmed, genteel tippler. I rarely took less than
+three or more than I could stand, but in a genteel way and in a genteel
+saloon.
+
+I sold out my business and traveled seven or eight months for pleasure,
+and kept up the same thing everywhere. I seldom gambled. I played poker
+for twenty-five cents ante, and bet on horse races. I never was a
+profane man except when I was intoxicated; then I would be a little
+profane. I always remembered more than anything else the early teachings
+of my mother; they clung to me. I had respect not only for the church
+but respect for the ministry and respect for Christian people.
+
+After I commenced drinking I would have given anything in the world if I
+could have stopped. I would get up in the morning and I would feel a
+lassitude--feel debilitated. I would not care to eat anything--a biscuit
+and a cup of coffee--and by eleven o'clock that was all emptied, and my
+stomach would crave something. Probably if I had sat down at a
+restaurant and made a good dinner it would have helped me; but it was so
+much easier to get a toddy, and that toddy did away with the craving,
+and probably in an hour and a half I would want the same thing, and,
+instead of going to dinner, I would take another drink, and about three
+o'clock I would want this toning of the stomach again.
+
+In the fall of 1883 I thought I would call a halt. I quit drinking in
+October, 1883, of my own will, and I did not drink a drop of anything
+until July, 1884; and then I got at it in the same old way. I got to
+taking a toddy a day, and then I got to taking two, and for two months I
+was taking a toddy before every meal; and then my stomach got so I did
+not care to eat--I took the toddy without the dinner; and in the course
+of the year--probably by the first of October--I had got to drinking all
+the way from six drinks a day to about a dozen. I kept that up until I
+got to being genteelly intoxicated--always genteel, but always going to
+bed being pretty well intoxicated. When I got to bed, I would lie down
+and sleep; and when I got up in the morning I would have a toddy.
+
+About October we sold out our business here. The winter was beginning,
+and I had no money. I began to be a little reckless; and I commenced
+drinking the first of October, and I was full until the first of
+January. I do not think from the first of October, 1884, until the first
+of January, 1887, there was a day that I did not take six drinks, and
+generally ten or twelve--pretty stiff drinks, too. I generally drank
+about two ounces of whisky. It never affected my health at all. It
+stimulated my mind; it made me bright--exceedingly so--so much so that
+if there was anybody about the bar-room I was the center of attraction.
+I could discourse upon any subject; but I was very bright and vivacious.
+I never was afraid of anything on the face of the earth; I guess there
+never was a man more fearless than I was when under the influence of
+whisky; otherwise, I was very timid.
+
+I kept that thing up, and on the first of January I was walking down the
+street. I had gone to bed pretty sober on the night before; and I got
+up on the morning of the first of January and dressed myself up nicely,
+intending to go to church. I met a friend of mine, who said he was going
+around to the office, and asked me to go with him. I said I would. On
+the way around there he suggested we should have a pint of whisky. I
+said, "I believe I will quit; I am getting tired of whisky." "Well," he
+said, "let us have a bottle anyway; it is the first of January." "Yes,"
+I said, "as it is the first of January." We sat there and drank that,
+and sent out and got another pint and drank that. After that, I went
+down to Louis Roderer's and sat there, and some gentlemen came in and
+they got to throwing dice for the drinks, and I was invited to join
+them, and I did; and I took six drinks there with them. The weather was
+cold; the pavement covered with ice. As long as I stayed in the house,
+the liquor did not affect me, but as soon as I got out of the door, the
+cold coming right into contact with it, seemed to throw all the
+undigested alcohol into my brain. I went back to this friend of mine. He
+was not there. I walked up Market street, and went to my room and went
+to bed. It was there, I suppose, I mashed my nose and cut my face badly.
+The servant girl came up stairs and found me lying on the floor. She
+went down and got help, and they bathed my face, and they both together
+put me to bed. I had been unconscious from the moment I left the
+bar-room and was so up to five o'clock the next morning.
+
+They put me to bed, and I was totally unconscious until I woke up the
+next morning at five o'clock. It occurred to me that something was the
+matter; I felt the wound on my face. I got up and lighted the candle and
+looked into the glass, and saw that my face was all bruised and bloody.
+I said, "I suppose I ran against something and mashed my face last
+night." The next morning I heard this servant girl in the next room. I
+heard her saying, "Poor man, poor man." Pretty soon she came in and
+said, "What in the world is the matter with you? How did you hurt your
+face?" She then told me the condition they had found me in; and if they
+had not found me I would have frozen to death. I said, "If this thing is
+going to work that way on me, I must call a halt." I could not eat
+anything but some milk. I lay in bed all day.
+
+I could not pray. I had got into that frame of mind I could not pray. I
+did not believe in the efficacy of prayer. I had lost sight of Christ as
+God, but I had great respect for Christ as a teacher. I lay there all
+that day, Monday. I was then thoroughly sober; and I said, "I will just
+see if there is any efficacy in religion, anyhow. I believe I will try
+it." I had gotten up and dressed myself. I had not eaten any breakfast.
+I drank some coffee. Not having taken anything to eat, I felt pretty
+weak, and I said, "I believe I will take a drink." I went around to a
+friend of mine on First street, and he was not there. Then I walked
+around to a saloon on Third street. Several gentlemen were there that I
+used to drink with. I stood around there for awhile, hoping that some
+one would ask me to take a drink, but nobody asked me.
+
+Finally I came up here to Mr. Holcombe's and found him here, and we got
+to talking the matter over. I told him that I was tired of this kind of
+life. I wanted to take a pledge. "I do not give pledges to anybody to
+stop drinking." He said there was but one remedy--reliance upon Christ;
+that Christ was all--Christ and the love of God. If I determined to live
+up to the teachings of the Bible, if I was willing about it, that he
+believed I would be cured. Well, I told him that I thought that my mind
+was sufficiently prepared; that I had made up my mind to quit if I
+possibly could; that if the Lord wanted to take me the way I was, I had
+made up my mind to believe; that I had not believed anything for a long
+time, and that if I did believe I would have to take it by faith, and
+not by reason.
+
+Finally, after talking it over, Mr. Holcombe prayed, and after prayer I
+said I had better go down to my boarding-house. "No," he said, "you stay
+with me awhile." I said I could not do that; I had to go down to my
+boarding-house. He said, "No!" he thought I had better stay awhile; that
+I could stay with him just the same, as I was around there; that I might
+get out and get to drinking; that I was not strong enough. I concluded I
+would stay with him, and I stayed with him for three weeks.
+
+I went down stairs to the Mission meeting that night, and stood up for
+prayer. After the prayer, I felt a great deal better--in fact, I felt as
+much converted as I am now. Since then, I have had no trouble.
+
+I never had made a prayer in public in my life; I never had talked
+religion in my life, and I got up a week afterward and preached a sermon
+an hour long. The second or third night I made a prayer. Before that
+night I had never prayed in public. The only prayer I would say was,
+"Our Father Who Art In Heaven."
+
+I have never taken a drink since then, and I do not now chew tobacco. I
+had either a cigar or a chew of tobacco in my mouth all the time during
+the last year. From the time I was fifteen years old, I used to smoke
+from three to a dozen cigars a day. My general average of cigars was six
+a day. I have not chewed tobacco, I have not smoked a cigar, I have not
+taken a drink of liquor since January. A man talking to me the other day
+said: "You have the strongest will power on earth. If I had the will
+power you have, I could do anything I wanted." I said, "I do not think
+so. I do not believe I ever would have stopped smoking and chewing
+without the change which has been produced in me through faith and
+prayer."
+
+I will tell you what broke me of chewing tobacco. It was Monday that I
+came here to the Mission, the 3d of January, and on Tuesday night I
+professed conversion. Wednesday morning I went out to see Mr.
+Minnegerode, and had my name again placed on the church record as a
+member of Calvary church. The first Sunday in the month was our
+communion, and I was very anxious that I should perform all the
+obligations necessary to fill out the measure of my conversion, and to
+do it as soon as possible; and I happened to be down in Cyrus Young's
+office, and he told me that they were going to have communion. They had
+quarterly meeting at the Broadway Methodist church. Dr. Brewer preached,
+and there I took my first communion. From there I went over to the house
+of a friend of mine, who has since died, named Lewis. I took dinner
+with him, and stayed there until half-past three o'clock. Well, I took a
+chew of tobacco going down the street, and when I had just commenced
+chewing it, I said: "You are a pretty kind of a Christian. You have got
+your mouth full of that stuff that a hog would not eat, and immediately
+after taking the bread and wine commemorative of the death of Christ. It
+is not right for a Christian to take that after having partaken of these
+emblems." And I spit it out of my mouth. For two or three days it
+bothered me a great deal--much more than drinking. I never had a desire
+to take a drink since that Monday, although I have been asked
+repeatedly. I was down at a hotel with two or three gentlemen the other
+day, and somebody got up and suggested taking a drink. I said, "No; I
+have joined the church; I am a Christian, and I do not believe in
+Christians or church members drinking." Shortly after that they offered
+me a cigar, which I refused.
+
+I have now charge of a chapel, and have preached two sermons up there
+this week, one Sunday night and one Thursday night. I preached on the
+Prodigal Son the other night. I have held seven or eight services up
+there. I hold forth here at the Mission one night in the week--that is
+Tuesday night. I never killed anybody; have never won a thousand dollars
+at cards; and I never was in the gutter. I was a refined tippler. I was
+a leader of society all these years, as everybody who knows me is aware.
+I was prominent in social life and prominent in church life before I was
+an infidel, previous to 1874, and a member of the vestry of Advent
+church here. I kept up my acquaintances. All the drinking I did was
+with the tony men, at the high-typed, tony saloons. I am now a
+communicant of Calvary church. I am a lay reader, and, for the present,
+have charge of Campbell-street chapel. I go up there two nights a week.
+I was going up to Campbell street, the other evening, to hold service
+and I met Bishop Dudley, who was going up to Trinity to confirm a class,
+and he asked me where I was going. I told him I was going over to
+Campbell street to hold service. He asked me who did my singing. I said
+I did all the preaching and singing myself.
+
+The sum of it is, I felt that mine was a bad case; I had been struggling
+for two years and a half to rid myself of this appetite, by making to
+myself all kinds of promises day after day, but was unable to do it; I
+said to myself, "Mine is a bad case--an aggravated case--and it needs
+heroic treatment. I can say I will quit drinking. I can go and kneel
+down and feel very well about it; but the question is, whether I would
+not go back to the same old way of living; and I reflected that I might
+be renewed or regenerated--if the Lord created me, He could re-create
+me--to the man He had made and created in His own image, if he believed,
+He could give back his manhood; would re-create him and give him a new
+birth." I felt that, and felt that I must make a public confession. Mine
+was a bad case, and there was only one way to cure me--a public
+confession before God and the world, and a prayer for strength to make
+me live up to that profession--and when I made that profession, I felt
+relieved.
+
+I have had more strength since then. I have not had the least desire for
+liquor. Last night was the first time I ever dreamed about drinking
+since; and then I dreamed that I wanted a lemonade very badly and went
+to the saloon to get it; and my conscience pricked me even in my sleep
+for the desire for a lemonade and going into a saloon to get it. Before,
+I used to dream about going into drinking saloons. Instead of having a
+desire for a drink of whisky, I give you my word and honor, it was
+nauseating to me. That was not a qualm of conscience, but a physical
+sensation. It came when I picked up a glass that had had whisky in it. I
+smelled it, and set it down. And, by the grace of God, I am determined
+that I have drunk my last drop of intoxicating liquor.
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN N. B. PECK.]
+
+
+CAPTAIN BEN PECK.
+
+I have had rather an eventful life; but I don't know that it would be
+interesting to the public.
+
+I certainly had less reason to be a bad boy, and worse man, than almost
+anybody ever had. I was surrounded by the very best Christian
+influences. My father was a prominent minister of the Baptist
+denomination in this State. He died, though, when I was quite young. My
+mother's people had been Christian people very far back. The male
+members on my father's side were Baptist ministers as far as I could
+trace it. I lost my father when I was about eight years old. My mother
+tried to raise me right--taught me right; but we were living out here in
+a little town--Hodgensville--and I was wild from the start. I was not
+worse than any other boys, but I was in all sorts of mischief. I was
+looked upon as a bad boy, and regarded as no exception to the general
+rule, that preacher's boys are worse than other boys.
+
+When about twelve years old, I joined the church at a revival. I believe
+I was truly converted, and for a short while I lived up to the duties of
+my church; but I soon neglected going to church--first I neglected going
+to prayer-meeting--and I got back so far that I would not be picked out
+as a Christian by any means.
+
+The war came up when I was fourteen years old, and I went into it; and
+the first night out I got to drinking and playing cards; and I suppose I
+was known as the leader in all the mischief got up in the brigade. I
+was notorious throughout the command as a reckless, bad boy from the
+beginning.
+
+My mother had been opposed to my going into the army at all; but, if I
+was going, she would have preferred my serving on the other side. I
+never shall forget one thing she said to me at starting. When the time
+came to go, I would not have hesitated to back out if she had given me
+any encouragement at all. She said, "My son, you have determined; you
+have cast your lot with the South. I had rather you would do your duty
+and be a brave soldier." But she continued to pray for me.
+
+After the war I came back home, and found that our property was all
+gone. My mother had sent me to Georgetown college before the war, and my
+idea was to educate myself for a lawyer. When I came home the property
+was dissipated, and I did not have enough to finish my education; and
+the question was, what would be the best for me to do. I came here to
+Louisville and went to drumming; met with phenomenal success from the
+start; went up and up; was hail fellow, well met, with everybody;
+situations offered me on every side. But I continued to drink and play
+cards as I did in the army, and gambled all the time, although not a
+professional gambler. I played against Holcombe's bank many a time. I
+went from bad to worse. I continued to dissipate and gamble; and eleven
+years ago my health was very much shattered from my excesses, and I
+became soured with myself and everybody. I was as miserable as a man
+could be, in that condition, as a matter of course; and a gentleman who
+had been a comrade in the army with me, and had taken a great deal of
+interest in me, Captain Cross, in a conversation with me, insisted that
+I should go with him to Texas, where he was doing a flourishing
+business. I had tried, time and again, to reform, always in my own
+strength, and got further away from God all the time. I tried to believe
+that Christ was not the Son of God; that he was not inspired; I denied
+the divinity of Christ, although I never denied that there was a Supreme
+Ruler. Captain Cross wanted me to go to Texas, thinking that if I got
+away from the surroundings here, it would help me. Accordingly, I went
+to Texas with him, where I made plenty of money.
+
+But I soon fell into the old ways, and found gambling houses as numerous
+there as they are here; I found dance-houses more accessible than the
+churches. I led a reckless life; and frequently did not hear from my
+family and friends for months at a time. Finally I drank until I drank
+myself into delirium tremens; tried to kill myself; went and bought
+morphine. But fortunately for me, they were watching me. That was in
+Paris, Texas. I was in bed for two or three weeks; and when I got up
+from that, I felt like I did not want to stay in Texas any longer.
+
+I went to St. Louis and went into business there; had success as a
+salesman; had a big trade; and I went there with a determination not to
+drink any more whisky; but I was there only a few days before I was
+drinking and playing cards--my old life, in fact. Finally I got into a
+difficulty with a man, shot him and got shot myself. I got into a great
+deal of trouble on account of it. It cost me a great deal of money and
+my mother a great deal of sorrow. One time I went to Mexico to get out
+of the way, where I led a reckless life; went into the army; played
+cards and drank whisky. I neglected business for whisky a great deal of
+the time. Then I came here to Louisville, and kept up the same practice;
+went to Cincinnati and did the same thing there. I let up for a little
+while when I went to new places. When I got back from St. Louis, I met
+Steve Holcombe and shook hands with him. The first thing he said to me
+was, "I have changed my life." I had not heard anything of it. I asked
+him what he was doing. He said he was serving the Lord instead of the
+devil; that he had a little mission somewhere. I did not pay any
+attention to it. But one Sunday I was passing down Jefferson street, and
+there was a crowd on the courthouse steps, and I saw Steve talking to
+them. I listened to him, and after the crowd went away I asked him how
+he was getting along and he told me.
+
+I kept on drinking, however. Sometimes I had a situation and sometimes I
+did not. People did not want me; they did not know when I would be
+sober. If I got a situation, it was in the busy season. After the busy
+season was over, they would reduce my salary and give me to understand
+they wanted me to get a new place.
+
+One time I was drunk for a week or ten days, and as I passed I heard
+them singing in the Mission down stairs and went in. I thought that
+would be a good place to rest. I went back a night or two; and one night
+Mr. Holcombe delivered a powerful testimony and mentioned some
+circumstances that had occurred in his life, at some of which I had
+been present--I don't know that he had particular reference to me. I
+went back the next night and went up for prayer. I went again sober; but
+I did not see my way clear. I went back and took "a nip," as he said. I
+sank lower and lower; but I still went to that Mission. Something
+impelled me, I know now what it was. I got a situation, and was
+traveling; but whenever I got off a trip the spirit of the Lord impelled
+me to go to that Mission. I talked with Steve frequently, and promised
+him that I was going to try and reform; but I did not, and toward the
+last, in fact, I had almost quit going to the Mission. I said, "It is
+not for me, it is for these other men. I have gone too far."
+
+I went in there in November. I was going away on a trip, and the next
+day I started. I met a friend on the street, and he asked me for a
+quarter. He wanted to get a drink and lunch. I told him it was about my
+time to get a drink, too, and we would go and get one together before I
+left. I was telling him about going to the Mission, and he hooted at the
+idea of a man of my sense going to the Mission. About two o'clock in the
+afternoon I was going down the street to take the boat, and I met
+another friend, and he certainly was the worst looking case I ever saw.
+I did not think he would live two weeks. He was a physical wreck, and
+almost a total mental wreck. After talking to him for a few minutes he
+asked me where I was going. I told him. And I told him, too, I did not
+care whether I ever got back or not. I told him it would be a relief to
+me if I never got back off of that trip. I had a family, saw them
+occasionally, and sent them money when I could; but I never lived with
+them. After talking with him a little while, I said my time was up, and
+asked him if he would not go and take a parting drink with me. We went
+into the Opera House down there and took a drink. I never expected to
+see my friend alive again, even if I got back from that trip myself.
+That was the 30th day of November. I got back here the 18th day of
+December.
+
+The most of the night of the 18th I spent down here at the Grand
+Central--"made a night of it." The next morning, when I got up, the very
+first man I saw asked me if I had seen a certain friend of mine. I told
+him, "No." He said: "You would not know him." I said: "What is the
+matter with him?" He said: "He is reformed; he is a Christian, and he
+looks twenty years younger than you ever saw him." I said: "You are a
+liar." He said: "I am not a liar. You won't know him. He looks like a
+gentleman." I said: "It is pretty funny if he can look like a gentleman
+in this short time." I had not gone another square before some one asked
+me if I had seen another friend of mine. I said: "No." "Well," he said,
+"you ought to see him. He has quit drinking, and looks like he used to
+look." I said "What is the matter with him?" He said: "He has joined the
+church." I took a drink, and thought about this thing; went down to the
+store, and knocked around there all day long, thinking about those two
+men. But here I was, drunk and wretched and trying to get sober, but
+could not.
+
+Somebody met me about four o'clock in the evening, and asked: "Where are
+you going?" I said: "I am going around here to get a drink." He said:
+"How are you going to drink when your partners have quit drinking?" I
+asked him where they could be found; that I wanted to take a look at
+them. He told me that I could find them at the Mission. I concluded I
+would come up to the Mission, and did so, pretty full; and, honestly, I
+would not have known either of these men on the street. I never saw such
+a transformation as in them. After the services were over they came up
+and shook hands with me, and treated me as kindly as they used to do
+when we were drinking together. And I made up my mind if Christ could
+save them, I wanted some of it for myself.
+
+I came to the Mission, and stood up for prayers all the time, but came
+half drunk for four or five nights, but still with the determination to
+have salvation if it was to be found; but the more I came the darker the
+way grew. I think (on the 29th of December) Mrs. Clark came and talked
+to me, and Mr. Atmore came and talked to me, I was sober--comparatively
+so. I told them that I had given up all hope; that I had sinned away my
+day of grace, and there was no hope for me. They cheered me, and I
+promised them I would pray that night. I went out of the Mission and got
+blind, staving drunk; was hardly able to get up stairs to my bed at
+eleven o'clock, at night. I did it out of despair. The doctors had told
+me before that unless I quit drinking whisky I would go dead. I was
+tired of life, but afraid to commit suicide. I concluded that the sooner
+I died, the better. I got up at three o'clock in the morning to come
+down stairs and get a drink. The barkeeper was absent from his bar, and
+I concluded that I would wash myself before I took a drink. I said to
+myself while I was washing: "You promised yourself you would not drink,
+and the very first night you get drunk, and get up in the morning to
+take another drink, and if you take it you will be drunk before night."
+I concluded I would stop. I took a seat by the stove, and very soon the
+barkeeper came back. He looked at me and said: "Are you broke this
+morning, or too stingy to drink, or what is the matter?" He added: "Come
+on. If you are too stingy to take a drink yourself, take one with me." I
+was just dying for a drink. I was shaking--suffering physically and
+mentally. I got up two or three times to go to that bar to take a drink,
+but I argued to myself: "If you can not keep from taking a drink, you
+had better go up stairs and kill yourself." After awhile the boys
+commenced dropping in, and, as was the custom, said: "Come on, Peck, and
+take a drink." I told them, "No; I have quit."
+
+I went around to the Mission that night, and went up to the front. I had
+a talk with some Christian people there about the matter, and talked
+with one of my converted friends. He said there was only one way to
+do--to give myself to God. I went to bed immediately after I left. I
+could not sleep. I continued to pray until somewhere along about three
+o'clock in the morning of the 2d of January; and the way was made clear
+for me. I don't know that there was any particular vision. I made up my
+mind that I would go and make my arrangements to join the church, and
+ask God's direction from that time on, and to lead another life--lead a
+Christian life as much as it is possible for a sinful mortal like me to
+do.
+
+I came up to the Mission that night, and told Sister Clark and Brother
+Holcombe that I was as happy as I could be; I had found what I was
+seeking for, and I felt that I could trust God. The next Wednesday night
+I went down to the Fourth and Walnut-street Baptist church, and put
+myself under the care of the church. Since that time I have been leading
+a different life. I am in perfect peace and rest. Everything, of course,
+has not gone to suit me exactly; but I always have been able to say: "I
+know it is for the best." My faith grows stronger and my future brighter
+day by day. I think these people who have been moral and religious all
+of their lives can not enjoy religion like a hard customer, as I was--if
+they do, they do not show it.
+
+Friends and relatives who had forsaken and avoided me came to me at once
+and upheld and encouraged me. Business came to me without seeking it. I
+was encouraged on every hand. People that I thought despised me, I found
+did not. I had every encouragement, so far as this life is concerned,
+and I am, to-day, in a better fix, a long ways, than I have been for
+years.
+
+My appetite for whisky has troubled me three or four times since I came
+to Christ, but all I have to do is to get down on my knees, and ask for
+strength to resist it. And before I get through praying I forget about
+it. I have confidence that God will keep me to the end, and my
+confidence grows stronger every day. Things that were a great trial to
+me at first are no longer so.
+
+A very remarkable thing in my case is, that the thing that I expected to
+give me the most trouble has given me the least. I was certainly one of
+the most profane men that ever lived, and I was always afraid that the
+sin that I would have to guard against most would be profanity. But, if
+I have ever sworn an oath, it has been unconsciously, and I do not have
+to think about it--I do not have to guard against it; it horrifies me to
+hear a man swear now. I thought I could fight whisky easier than I could
+that. Strange to say, it has not bothered me in the least, but whisky
+has, on three or four occasions. A craving came on me yesterday. It was
+a terrible, miserable, bleak, rainy day. I was sitting in my room,
+writing, and all at once I concluded that I must have a stimulant. I
+have not recovered, and will not for months, from the effects of whisky.
+I said: "It is a cold, damp, miserable day. Go up there to the
+drug-store and get some port wine as a medicine. Do not go into a
+bar-room. There will be no harm in going there to get a little port
+wine. Bring it into your room. It will be the best thing you can do." I
+got up and put on my overcoat and my overshoes, and it struck me that it
+would not be the best thing for me; and I got down on my knees and
+prayed to God, and before I got through praying I forgot all about it.
+The devil had tempted me previously, but he put it that day in the shape
+of the port wine.
+
+Just about ten days after I joined the church, I was in the Phoenix
+hotel. A friend of mine, a man that I had gambled and drunk with all my
+life, or at least, for a number of years, said to me, "You are not
+drinking much from the way you look." I said, "No, I am not." He said he
+thought he would beckon me out, because he did not like to make that
+statement before the crowd, and had I been drinking as I did the last
+time he saw me, he would not have asked me. He wanted me to come in and
+take a drink with him. I said whisky had once got the upper hand of me,
+and he must excuse me. He said he knew I was a man, and could take a
+drink without getting drunk, and he wanted me to take it socially. I
+told him that might all be true. I might take the drink without getting
+drunk, and I might take it without its being a sin in his sight, or in
+the sight of other people; but that I had promised God that I would
+follow Him all my life, and walk in the way He wanted me to go; that I
+had joined the church, and our church rules forbade drinking. He then
+begged my pardon, with tears in his eyes, for having asked me, and bade
+me God speed.
+
+[Illustration: J. C. WILSON.]
+
+
+JAMES C. WILSON.
+
+I started out in gambling during the war--about 1862. That was in New
+York State. I was born and raised there. I will be forty-five years of
+age the next eighth of July. I started out in New York in 1862. My
+father kept a shoe store there then. He was pretty well to do. Having
+money, I cared nothing about getting any kind of business. I got in with
+a man by the name of Captain Brown, who was one of the principal
+gamblers there; and I began to be expert in short cards at first.
+
+From there I went into the army during the war, and stayed there until
+1865, and then went to Texas. At Austin, Texas, I got into trouble in
+1866, on account of my gambling. I believe it was about the 20th of
+January. Myself and a man by the name of Ryan had been playing together,
+and I had beaten him, which made him mad. He called me very insulting
+names. He slapped me and hit me, and I drew my pistol on him. I first
+struck him once and then shot him, and killed him instantly. I was put
+in jail. I had not been there long and was a stranger. The thing
+occurred down near the Colorado river. A mob assembled, and came down
+with ropes to hang me. But the sheriff and his posse, in order to save
+me, carried me out of the city, and ran me up to San Antonio. I stayed
+in jail six months and was tried; but there was nothing done with
+me--the witnesses testified that I was justified in doing what I did.
+
+After that I went to Rochester, New York, and from there to Toronto,
+Canada. I made my living by gambling; and, of course, gambled in all
+these places. I got broke very often, but always managed to get hold of
+a stake. I went from Canada back to New York City; and used to play on
+the falls steamers--Fisk's boats. I stayed there until I came to
+Louisville in 1870, when I went into the army again. I was here in the
+Taylor barracks with General Custer. I went out West with him, and was
+there discharged from the army, and went to gambling at Bismarck,
+Dakota. When I had got out of the army, I had made about six thousand
+dollars, and went to St. Paul, and from there to Chicago. I gambled
+there for awhile, and was unsuccessful; and from there I came to
+Louisville again.
+
+I have been here since 1873, I believe. Shortly after I commenced
+gambling here, the gambling houses were closed, but were re-opened in
+1874 again, and I commenced gambling again, opening at the Richmond, the
+house on the South-west corner of Fifth and Market streets. Brother
+Holcombe before that, I think, was interested in the Richmond. That was
+the last house I dealt in, or worked in, until I opened for myself,
+which was at "84" Fifth street, between Main and Market. I was very
+unsuccessful there; had men working for me who did not attend to their
+business.
+
+During all this time I had a wife and family, whom I really loved but
+whom I neglected and allowed to suffer greatly through my passion for
+gambling, the uncertainty of making a living and my wanderings from
+place to place. About this time I used to think of Holcombe; and we
+gamblers used to remark among ourselves how it was that he had become
+religious. I used to get to studying to myself how he got along, and ask
+myself how a man could be a Christian who had been a gambler so long as
+he had.
+
+About this time I met Dr. Jno. B. Richardson and Mr. Samuel B.
+Richardson. They talked with me in regard to swearing and gambling and
+the life I was leading. They influenced me as best they could and
+advised me to see Brother Holcombe, and together with Brother Holcombe
+they watched over my spiritual condition for a couple of years. I had
+become disgusted with the life I was leading; and came to Brother
+Holcombe for advice. I had quit "84" and was broke. I had some money
+when I quit, and bought the house which I am living in yet. I said to
+Brother Holcombe: "I am getting tired of this infernal gambling. How can
+I quit it? Show me something to do. How can I get out of this life?" He
+said, "Brother Wilson, come up stairs." He talked with me and prayed
+with me. He said, "Do not be discouraged. Take my advice. The first
+thing you do, commit yourself; take a stand and after that every night,
+and during the day, ask God for strength and help, and come to this
+mission and," he said, "I will help you to get something to do in every
+way I can." I never will forget the first night I got down on my knees
+and prayed. I laughed at myself, which showed how the devil was after me
+to lead me back to my old life. I actually laughed to think I was trying
+to pray in earnest. I came to the mission and told Steve. Brother
+Holcombe said, "Keep on in that way, anyhow. Pray to God and ask for
+strength all the time. Keep away from gamblers and bad company, and do
+not mix with them," and I did so--I took his advice, and I began to get
+strength from Almighty God; He was helping me; He opened a way for me,
+though everything was new to me for awhile.
+
+When I least expected it, I got a situation with the Louisville City
+Railway Company, which I still hold. I am happy and my family are happy,
+and all my surroundings are good; and I know, with the help of God, I
+will never touch a card again. If we trust in God, I know we are kept
+from all temptation. When any temptation comes to me, I always look to
+God for help; and the help comes as naturally as my pay does when
+pay-day comes. I feel that the number of friends I have made, and
+everything I have, I owe to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
+Brother Holcombe; and I trust I may be kept and continue in the life I
+am leading. I am happy and contented and all my surroundings are happy;
+and I hope all good people will pray for me that I may continue the life
+I am now leading.
+
+I belong to the First Presbyterian Church, Dr. Witherspoon's church, and
+I am sorry I can not attend more regularly. My business occupies me so
+constantly that I can not get away.
+
+I get only a dollar and a half a day. When I was a gambler, some months
+I would make three or four thousand dollars, and sometimes five thousand
+dollars; and some months I believe I have made more than that, so far as
+that is concerned; but a gambler, you know, has his ups and downs, I
+have been so hard up that I have been tempted to commit murder for
+money. In Texas I looked for a man to kill him for his money, but when I
+found him I did not have the heart to do it. It seemed as if I could not
+use my hands.
+
+It would take me from now until to-morrow morning to tell all of my
+experiences. I have been in Europe, California, Old and New Mexico, and
+I believe that God was with me even when I was wicked. I have a bad
+temper to this day, but, by God's grace, I can control it.
+
+My parents were church members--Presbyterians, and I was raised in the
+church. My father died when I was fifteen years old, and my mother died
+when I was eight years old. If I had been put to hard work, and had had
+something to do, it might have been different with me; but my father was
+well-to-do, and I had too much money to spend. My parents tried to give
+me a good education, and I went to school; but when I got to gambling I
+could not get anything in my head but cards. I did not care for anything
+else. But, thank God, it is now just the reverse; it just gives me the
+chills to think of playing cards.
+
+Three years ago, if a man had told me that I would quit gambling, I
+would have told him that he was crazy. I thank God and Brother Holcombe
+for what has been done for me. I am truly thankful there was such a man.
+I know if it had not been for him I would have been right in hell
+to-day. If I had not been helped and lifted up, just like a little
+child in the new life, I think I would to-day be in hell. I never will
+forget Brother Holcombe.
+
+I drank liquor, but was not a regular drunkard, because it made me too
+sick. I used to drink and get drunk, but I would get so sick I could not
+stand it. The habit was there, but the constitution could not endure it.
+
+I have no trouble now; I am perfectly happy; I do not know what trouble
+is any more. Of course, we all have ups and downs; we can not have
+everything our own way; but I praise God and Brother Holcombe that I am
+able to bear them.
+
+You must show that you are willing for the Lord to help you before He
+will do so. It is like a man teaching his children; if the child keeps
+shoving him off, the parent can not help the child, and so it is with
+God. But when a man has seen and felt the effects of sin, and his pride
+is broken down so that he is willing, then God will help him and save
+him, no matter how far he has gone in wickedness.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Wilson is employed by the Louisville City Railway
+     Company, at the corner of Eighteenth and Chestnut streets,
+     where, day after day, for years, he has faithfully discharged
+     his duties, and he has the respect and esteem of his employers
+     and of all who know him.
+
+[Illustration: WM. BIERLY.]
+
+
+WILLIAM BIERLY.
+
+I am thirty-two years of age. I was born at Louisville in 1856. My
+father was a Catholic then, but he is not now. My mother died when I was
+so small that I don't know what she was. I will tell you how it was: My
+mother died when I was quite young, my father went into the war, and I
+was kicked and cuffed about from one place to another, here and there,
+till I had no respect for myself, and felt that I was nobody.
+
+I was with my father in the soldiers' hospital for a long time. He was
+nurse in the soldiers' hospital. At this time I would drink whisky
+whenever I could get it, which appetite did not leave me until I was
+about eighteen years old.
+
+When I was about eleven years old I got to being bad--got to stealing.
+My father was a strictly honest man himself, and my pilfering was
+abhorrent to him; so he had me put in the house of refuge when I was
+eleven years old. I was to remain in the house of refuge until I was
+twenty-one years old, but I got out before I was twenty-one. When I was
+nineteen I got to be a guard there. But I got to misbehaving, and got
+discharged from there before I was twenty-one.
+
+When I came out of the house of refuge I boarded around at different
+places, first at one place and then another; and sometimes I had no
+place to board at all, and sometimes I could almost lie down on the
+ground and eat grass. I did not go to my father's, but knocked about
+from one place to another. I got to stealing again, and I kept that up
+all the time. I never had a desire to do anything else wrong, but I
+always had the desire to steal; and while a boy I would steal anything I
+came across. I would go down to the river and steal a bag of peanuts, or
+burst in the head of a barrel of apples and take apples out--many a time
+have I done that. I worked in a tobacco shop for awhile, and would steal
+tobacco--I would steal anything.
+
+I never was arrested when I was a boy. The first time I ever was
+arrested I was sent to the work-house, and Mr. Steve Holcombe got me
+out. After I got out of the work-house I attended the Mission, and there
+was a good religious impression made on me. That was the first time I
+ever had any religious impression.
+
+I lived pretty straight for awhile, and after awhile my old desire to
+steal came back on me. Thank the Lord it does not bother me any more
+now, I was watching at the Louisville Exposition during the first year
+of the exposition, 1883, and I was boarding where there were some street
+car drivers boarding, and they had all their money boxes there at the
+boarding house. I was tempted to take a few of their boxes, and I did
+take two of them. I was arrested for it, tried, convicted and sentenced
+to six years in the penitentiary.
+
+While I was in the penitentiary it seemed that everything turned around
+the other way with me; it seemed like I had got enough of it. I saw so
+many bad men there, I got disgusted. It seemed to me if ever I got out
+and got my liberty any more, I would try to do right if it took my head
+off.
+
+During the time--two years--that I was in the penitentiary, I kept up a
+correspondence all the time with Mr. Holcombe; and Mr. Holcombe's
+Christian letters touched my heart, and I made up my mind by the grace
+of God I would lead a Christian life in the future. At the expiration of
+about two years, Mr. Holcombe, to my great surprise and delight, brought
+me a pardon from Governor Knott.
+
+Since I have been out of the penitentiary I have been leading a
+Christian life, and have had no inclination to steal. I have been at
+work for Hegan Brothers, as engineer and fireman, for some time, have
+got married to a sweet girl, and am now living happily in the Lord; and
+I shall never cease to be grateful to God and Mr. Holcombe. I never go
+to sleep at night without thanking the Lord--and my wife joins me in
+it.
+
+[Illustration: MAC. PITTMAN.]
+
+
+CAPTAIN MAC PITTMAN.
+
+I was born in Baltimore in 1834. My ancestors were driven away from
+Arcadia by the English, on account of their Roman Catholic proclivities.
+
+I was educated at two Catholic colleges, St. Mary's, at Baltimore; and
+St. Mary's at Wilmington, Delaware. At eighteen years of age, on account
+of the tyranny of my father, I ran away from home, and shipped in the
+United States Navy as a common sailor. I went around to San Francisco,
+and there joined "the gray-eyed man of destiny," General Walker.
+
+I joined his expedition in September, 1885, and arrived in Nicaragua in
+October, the following month--the third day of October. There was a
+civil war then in progress in Nicaragua; and the pretense of this
+expedition was that we were hired by one of the parties to take part in
+it. Walker was to furnish three hundred Americans, who were to get one
+hundred dollars a month and five hundred acres of land, and their
+clothes and rations, of course. When I first arrived there, we were to
+escort specie trains across the isthmus--there are but twelve miles of
+land from water to water--from San Juan del Sur to Virgin Bay. I was one
+of the guard over the celebrated State prisoners, General Coral and the
+Secretary of War, whose name I forget, who were both executed. I was
+inside of the seventieth man who joined this expedition; when I joined
+him, Walker had but sixty men. The re-enforcements that came over
+made just one hundred men. He had sixty men, I think, and we numbered
+forty. With this one hundred men we took the city of Grenada, which had
+a population of twelve thousand, on the morning of October 13, 1855. A
+small division of men was sent to the town of Leon on the Pacific coast.
+The natives of that section of the country were all in favor of Walker;
+that part--the western part--is the Democratic part of the country. On
+our return to Grenada, on the 11th day of April, 1856, we went into the
+Battle of Rivas, after marching sixty-five miles. We fought from eight
+o'clock in the morning until two the next morning, by the flash of guns.
+I lost my arm that morning; and was promoted from the rank of sergeant
+to that of first lieutenant for taking a cannon in advance of the army.
+I returned to Grenada, and lay there for several months, and then
+returned to America. I went back with the re-enforcements from New York
+in the following August. In October, 1856, I resigned, and came back to
+America.
+
+At the breaking out of the civil war, on the first call for troops, I
+refused a commission in the Federal army, and joined the Confederate
+forces.
+
+In 1861 we formed the First Maryland regiment. The last six months of
+the war I spent as a prisoner in Fort Delaware, charged with the murder
+of the eleven men who were killed in Baltimore during the riot, on the
+19th of April, 1861. I was court-martialed in Washington City, in the
+latter part of 1864, and was sent in irons to Fort Delaware, and
+remained there until May, 1865, when I was released.
+
+From Fort Delaware I went to New York, and from there went to Virginia,
+where I married the great granddaughter of the illustrious patriot,
+Patrick Henry, at Danville. In January, 1866, I migrated to Texas, where
+I spent the little patrimony my grandfather had given me. When I left
+there, I took the position of commercial and marine editor of the
+Savannah _News_.
+
+I never had given a thought to religion or my hereafter before this
+time. To illustrate this: When they amputated my arm, they asked me
+distinctly if I had any religion. They told me afterward they expected
+me to die. I said: "Yes, I have been raised a Catholic." They wanted to
+send for a priest. I said: "No, I do not want you to send for a priest."
+They asked me why? "Well," I said, "as I have lived, thus will I die; I
+don't have much faith in the hereafter business." I did not have much
+faith in hell, I meant.
+
+I was interested, directly and indirectly, in several gambling
+establishments, and my proclivities were in that direction. The passion
+of gambling controlled me to such an extent that I was capable of all
+sins and crimes to indulge in it. It was one day up, one day down; one
+day with plenty, another day without a cent.
+
+I continued in this wild, reckless career, until fate turned my
+footsteps toward the city of Louisville. For it was fate, sure enough,
+or I don't know what it was. I was sitting one Sunday in front of the
+old Willard Hotel, Steve Holcombe was preaching that Sunday on the
+courthouse steps. His remarks were such as to elicit my closest
+attention; so impressive were they that he seemed to picture before me a
+panorama of my whole life, in referring to his own career. When he got
+through with his sermon, I walked up to him, and said: "Mr. Holcombe,
+you are the first man that I ever heard in my life who impressed me with
+the importance of preparing for death and meeting God." I then commenced
+attending the Mission, on Jefferson street, near Fifth, daily. I was
+there nearly every day.
+
+I then went South, to New Orleans, and fell from grace again--commenced
+going through the same old routine--gambling, drinking, spreeing. In
+fact, I was a fearful periodical spreer; if I took one drink, I had to
+keep drinking for a month. As long as I kept away from it I was all
+right. I was very abusive when I was drinking; I would knock a man down
+with a club. I have been arrested, I guess, fifty times for fighting and
+drunken brawls.
+
+From New Orleans I again came back to Louisville, the 6th of August a
+year ago, still going on in the same reckless manner, getting drunk, and
+being drunk, as usual, a week at a time--sometimes a month; in fact, I
+lived in bar-rooms here. One night, while Mr. Murphy was here--I do not
+recollect the night, but at one of Mr. Murphy's meetings--he appealed to
+us all to try and reform and be sober men. I met Mr. Werne and Miles
+Turpin there, and while there, Mr. Werne asked me if I did not intend to
+reform, or something like that--that was the substance of the
+conversation of himself and his wife with me--and he told me that Miles
+Turpin had reformed. I said: "If Miles Turpin has reformed, I can, too.
+From this day henceforth I will be a sober man." And I signed the Murphy
+pledge a short time afterward, and I have not taken anything
+intoxicating from that day to this.
+
+Mr. Werne then asked me to come up to the Mission, and I have not missed
+attending this Mission but three nights since, and the benefits that I
+have derived--the satisfaction, the happiness of mind, the contentment
+of spirit--I would not exchange for my old life for anything in the
+world. I mean I would not exchange my present life for the old one for
+any earthly consideration. I attribute this reformation to the strong
+personal interest that Mr. Holcombe has taken in my welfare, and if he
+does not save but one soul, as he says, it would pay him for all the
+trouble he has gone through within the last ten years or more.
+
+     The two following letters, though in the nature of testimonies,
+     are from men of high standing in the community, who preferred,
+     on account of others, not to give their testimonies in the form
+     in which the foregoing are given:
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 24, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Gross Alexander_:
+
+    MY DEAR BROTHER--Yours of 21st is just received. I can not see
+    how a sketch of my life can do "The Life of Brother Holcombe"
+    any good. As I understand it, you are writing the life and
+    conversion of Steve Holcombe and not of others. My past history
+    is sufficiently sad and regretful without having it paraded
+    before the public in book form. I am far from being proud of it.
+    I am exceedingly anxious it should sink into the shades of
+    forgetfulness. Having marked out a new and brighter life, I am
+    only too glad to let "the dead past bury its dead."
+
+    Most sincerely,
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., August 2, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Alexander_:
+
+    Your kind letter was received several days ago, but I have
+    delayed answering, in the expectation of seeing you here in
+    person.
+
+    I am now anxious for the successful issue of the book, on
+    account of the great moral influence it will have upon all
+    classes of the community. But I can not consent to what you
+    propose. I am endeavoring every day to blot out and forget the
+    dark and cloudy past of my life, keeping always a bright future
+    in view. There are dark and painful episodes in the life of
+    every man and though _he_ may be willing to expose them to the
+    eyes of the public, there are those who are bound to him by the
+    ties of blood and relationship, who would blush at the recital.
+    This is the position I occupy. I hope to see you here soon.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+[Illustration: A NIGHT MEETING--MR. HOLCOMBE PREACHING.]
+
+
+
+
+SERMONS.
+
+MARK 1: 15.
+
+     "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel."
+
+
+Verse 14 says, the Lord Jesus came into Galilee preaching; and this was
+the announcement which He made, namely, that the kingdom of God was at
+hand and they were to enter it by repentance and faith. The kingdom was
+brought to them; they did not have to go and search for it. It was
+brought to them, opened for them and they were _urged_ to go in and
+become members of it. And so it is now. God's messengers are sent
+everywhere to find sinners, and when they are found, to say to them:
+"Ho! everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters and drink, come buy
+and eat without money and without price" (Isaiah 55), and to cry, "All
+things are now ready; come ye, therefore, to the feast."
+
+And so it is to-day, God sends the same message of good news, of glad
+tidings to you--even to you. The kingdom of God is _here--here to-day
+and now_; and if you _will_, you may enter it and be saved.
+
+But what are men told to do in order that they may enter?
+
+How are they to enter?
+
+1. They are to _repent_.
+
+And what is it to repent?
+
+Some think that great sorrow of heart is a necessary part of repentance;
+and that tears and groans of agony must be a part of every repentance
+that is genuine, and they think that unless we feel deeply and keenly
+the baseness of our ingratitude to God we are not truly penitent. Now,
+it is true that some people have _all these_ marks of repentance, and it
+is very well to have them, but some men can not have them and never can
+get them. So that if all men are commanded to repent and can repent,
+these things are not an essential part of true repentance. To repent,
+then, is to turn unto God with the feeling that sin is wrong, and that,
+if we do not get rid of it, it will ruin us; and with the resolution and
+hope, by the help of God, to keep from sin and to live for Him during
+the rest of our lives. And if our repentance is genuine, we _will_ leave
+off sin and practice righteousness. It will show itself by its _fruits_.
+Pretending or professing to repent without turning away from our sins
+and abandoning them is, as some one has said, like trying to pump the
+water out of a boat without stopping the leaks. If you have sorrow and
+regrets and tears, they are all right; but the _main thing_ is to have
+such a feeling concerning sin as to turn _forever_ away from it to God
+and to a life of righteousness. And if your repentance is genuine, you
+will not wait until you are converted before you begin to leave off all
+sin and to do all the good of every kind in your power. No; you will
+begin _at once and keep it up_, and the longer you keep at it the more
+you will feel that you must go on with it.
+
+2. But there is another thing to be done. The Lord says:
+
+"Repent and _believe_ the Gospel."
+
+So you are to _believe_. You are to believe that God _does_ accept you
+now through Jesus Christ _just because He says_ He accepts and saves
+those who believe in His Son. You may not receive the evidence of
+acceptance _at once_ and so you are to hold on by faith till He does
+give you the evidence of your acceptance, even the witness of His spirit
+that your sins are forgiven and you made a child of God.
+
+You must not let the difficulty of believing without feeling keep you
+back from believing and you must not let the remembrance of your great
+sins keep you from believing. Poor, unhappy men, you who are bruised and
+sore on account of your sins, I beg you cease from your evil ways. Why
+will you die? "What fearful thing is there in Heaven which makes you
+flee from that world? What fascinating object in hell, that excites such
+frenzied exertion to break every band, and overleap every bound, and
+force your way downward to the chambers of death?" Stop, I beseech you,
+and repent, and Jesus Christ shall blot out your sins, and remember your
+transgressions no more. Stop, and the host who follow your steps shall
+turn, and take hold on the path of life. Stop, and the wide waste of sin
+shall cease, and the song of the angels shall be heard again, "glory to
+God in the highest; on earth, peace, good will to men." Stop, and
+instead of wailing with the lost, you shall join the multitude which no
+man can number, in the ascription of blessing and honor, and glory, and
+power, to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and
+forever.
+
+The kingdom of God is here to-night. Will you come in?
+
+     "Come humble sinner in whose breast," etc.
+
+Come, angels invite you, we invite you, and, best of all, Christ invites
+you. O, do not, by your own actions, bar this door forever against your
+immortal soul. What a fearful thing it will be to wake up in eternity to
+find this door, which to-day hangs wide open, barred against you and
+hung with crape. O, how fearful will be those words, too late! too late!
+All is lost.
+
+    "Just as I am, without one plea,
+    But that Thy blood was shed for me,
+    And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,
+    O! Lamb of God I come.
+
+    "Just as I am, tho' tossed about,
+    With many a conflict, many a doubt,
+    Fightings and fears within, without,
+    O! Lamb of God I come."
+
+
+JOHN III: 16
+
+     "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
+     that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
+     everlasting life."
+
+Many of the glorious truths of the Gospel are both above the conception
+of man and altogether contrary to what his unrenewed nature would desire
+to publish. Heathen writers could tell of the cruelty and vengeful wrath
+of their imaginary gods. They could tell of deeds of daring, the
+exploits of Hercules, Hector, �neas and others; but it was foreign to
+their nature to write: "God so loved the world as to give His only
+begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
+have everlasting life."
+
+1. The Gospel is glad tidings. It is the news that God is reconciled and
+wants to be at peace with man. Is this not good news? Have you never
+heard good news that made your heart leap for joy? Well, this is better
+news than any you have ever heard. God, not angry with you, but loving
+you, so as, at a great sacrifice, to make a way for the salvation of the
+world.
+
+2. What was that sacrifice? It was the gift of His own Son. Think of it,
+oh sinner! God consenteth to give up His Son, to leave His glory and
+come as a stranger into the world, and to be born in great poverty, and
+with all the conditions of us poor mortals. Think of God looking down on
+Jesus, His Son, living this poor earthly life, here among strangers who
+did not recognize His divinity--nay, who became jealous of Him, and
+persecuted Him trying to kill him; and at last, after unheard-of
+tortures inflicted upon Him, did kill Him. Now, think of God giving up
+His Son to endure all this, and watching all this lonely and
+misunderstood and persecuted life of His only begotten Son, watching it
+and enduring it for thirty-three years, and then ask yourself how much
+God sacrificed to show His love for us sinners. Have you a son? If you
+have, don't you know how it stings you deeper for a man to mistreat or
+strike him than yourself? If a man should beat my little Pearl it would
+be harder for me to bear than anything, and yet this is what God endured
+for long years to show His love for you and me.
+
+Think of the arrest of Jesus, His being tied, handcuffed, beaten more
+than once with fearful lashes, knocked in the face, spit on, and then
+nailed with spikes to a cross with thieves, and think of God looking at
+all this while it was going on, and you have some idea of what it means
+when it says God _gave_ His only begotten Son.
+
+3. And the way to get this friendship of God and profit by this love is
+merely to _believe_ with all your heart on Jesus. It is hard to believe
+that God loves, really loves, such sinners as you are, and yet I am a
+living witness that He does; for I was as bad as any of you, and if God
+did not love me and take hold of me and save me, then I don't know what
+has happened to me, certain. So you must _believe_ it, even if it is
+hard to believe it.
+
+4. But this glad tidings is for you and you and you--for _every one of
+you_. It is for _whosoever_, and that means everybody--everybody. A
+certain believing man in England said, "I rather it would _be
+whosoever_ than to have my name there. For if my name was there, I
+could say there might be another man of my name in the world, but when
+it says _whosoever, I know it includes me_."
+
+5. It is to save us from _perishing_.
+
+Oh, what an awful word is that, and what an awful thing it must be to
+perish. You have a taste of it now in your sins, and their saddening,
+darkening, hardening effect on you. You once had tender consciences. You
+once loved things and people that were pure and good and true, and you
+loved a Christian mother, wife, father or sister; but sin has so
+hardened you, that you care for none of these things now. Is it not so?
+Well, this is a little taste of what it is to finally and forever
+_perish_.
+
+But Christ was given that you might _not perish_. What, can Christ save
+me from my hardness of heart, from my black sins, from my uncleanness
+and debauchery, and from my awful darkness of mind and conscience?
+
+Yes; He can, glory to His name. I am a living witness. He has saved me.
+He can save others like me from all these awful effects of sin, even
+after they have lived in it for scores of years, as I did. Yes, and He
+saves from that awful _perishing_ which comes after this little, short
+life is over, whatever it is. Yes; Jesus can shut and bar the door of
+hell, and no soul can enter there who believes in Him and lives for Him.
+
+6. But He not only saves from perishing, He gives them eternal _life_,
+
+What does that mean? Oh, I know not--only I know it means life forever
+without death or decay or sickness or pain or sorrow or weakness or
+tiredness or parting or fear or anxiety. But what else it means I know
+not. This eternal life, this life forever in heaven, I expect--I fully
+expect--to get, though I was a poor gambler and swearer and adulterer,
+and all that I could be that was sinful, for forty years. Yes; I expect
+to get it. I know I am on my way thither, though I am not perfect. Won't
+you come and go with us? Oh, won't you come?
+
+
+TITUS II: 14.
+
+     "Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all
+     iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of
+     good works."
+
+This verse contains a comprehensive statement of the Gospel in few
+words. Let us ask God that His Holy Spirit may give us wisdom and
+insight to understand and profit by what we are here told.
+
+In the first place, we are told that the ground of our salvation is
+through the self-surrender of Himself by Jesus, the Son of God.
+
+We saw, in a passage of Scripture a week or two ago, how great the
+condescension of Jesus Christ was. Though He was equal with God, yet He
+took upon himself the form of a servant; and being found in fashion as a
+man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death--the death of the
+Cross. Our text now teaches us what this was for. "He gave Himself _for
+us_."
+
+Now, I will ask you, could God show His concern for us in a more
+striking and convincing way than in the _giving_ of His Son to ignominy
+and death? Could Jesus, the Son of God, show His love for men in any
+more convincing way than in _giving Himself_ for their recovery and
+salvation? Then, surely we ought to lay aside our habitual way of
+thinking of God as our enemy, and think of Him as our best friend. For
+no human friend ever did for us what God has done for us. And if we
+judge of one's love for us by the sacrifices he makes for us, then must
+we give the crown to Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh. He bore
+our sins; He would bear our burdens, if we would throw them on Him; He
+would fill us with His spirit, and with power, if we would trust Him and
+believe His promise.
+
+But did He give Himself for us that we might remain _in sin_, and yet
+not be punished? This is what the Universalists say. But no! He gave
+Himself for us that He might redeem us _from_ iniquity, and from _all_
+iniquity at that. He was manifested to deliver us from the _guilt_ of
+our past sins; and, second, to deliver us from the dominion and power of
+sin, that being free from sin, we might live unto God.
+
+And that man who thinks he has been pardoned for past sins is mistaken,
+unless he also has been saved from the _power_ of sin, so as no longer
+to be led captive by the devil.
+
+Let not what I say discourage anybody. If you have not been saved from
+the power of evil and of evil habits, you may be saved, and that here
+and now. The fact is, many of us are so selfish, we just want to be
+delivered from the danger, but not from the practice, of sin. Some of us
+enjoy sin.
+
+If some who are here could have _all_ desire for liquor utterly taken
+away by raising a hand, they would, perhaps, not raise a hand, because
+they love liquor too well. If some could be utterly and forever freed
+from lust by bowing their heads, they would not be willing to bow their
+heads, because they find so much pleasure in lust and in lewd thoughts,
+feelings and acts, that they do not _desire_ to be freed from that which
+gives them this low, animal pleasure. And yet these same men will
+profess to have great desires to be cleansed from their sins. But, if
+you are willing, Christ is ready and able to deliver you from all these
+base and beastly passions and habits. What do you say? Do you want to
+be redeemed from all iniquity to-night?
+
+And when thus delivered from all iniquity, your soul being pure will
+desire nothing but to do good, and to bring other poor soiled and
+enslaved souls into the same liberty and purity. Since my conversion I
+have had no other desire and no other care but to do good and save
+others. And that is what the text says: "Zealous of good works."
+
+Now, you who have been saved here, I want to ask you: What are you doing
+for others? If you do _not_ abound in good works, and do not try to save
+others, it will be difficult or _impossible_ to keep yourself saved.
+Jesus said: "Every branch that beareth not fruit He taketh away."--John
+XV: 1. And you will find your supply of grace running short and your
+faith growing weak and tottering, if you do not make it a point and
+business to do good to others--to their bodies and their souls. What do
+you say? Has anybody else heard from your lips of your great blessing
+and salvation? Do you tell your family and your friends about it? Do you
+tell others of their sins and their danger? Do you pray for others? Do
+you give your time (part of it at least) and your money in doing good to
+others? If you do, you will find your own cup gets fuller, your own
+faith stronger, your own heart more joyful. It is God's law and God's
+plan that you should give out to others. In so doing He will increase
+your own supply. Do you feel your weakness? It is right you should do
+so. But do the work, speak the word, and leave it to God who giveth the
+increase, and it shall abound to the salvation of others, the joy of
+your heart, and the glory of His blessed name.
+
+
+ISAIAH LV: 6-7.
+
+     "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while
+     He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and let him
+     return unto the Lord and He will abundantly pardon."
+
+If a father were to write a letter to a dissipated and rebellious son,
+far away from home, to persuade him to return, and to assure him of a
+cordial welcome, he could hardly fill it fuller of expressions of
+tenderness and love, expressions to inspire confidence, than the Bible
+is of such expressions from the great God. This chapter contains an
+invitation to seek God, and a precious promise of forgiveness to any who
+will do so.
+
+1. _Seek_ ye the Lord.
+
+Now, you know what it means when it says _seek_. You know what it means
+when a man says he is seeking employment. He goes from place to place,
+from man to man, and he does this from day to day, and from week to week
+if he does not succeed; and the reason is, there is a _necessity_ upon
+him. He _must_ have employment, or himself and family are without bread,
+without clothing, without shelter. So when we talk about a man seeking
+the Lord, we mean that he searches diligently for Him, and from day to
+day, and from week to week, because there is something worse than
+starvation to suffer if he does not find God. I tell you when a man has
+soul-hunger, it is worse than body-hunger if he does not find God. When
+a man is sick of sin and feels his loneliness and orphanage, and that he
+is without God and without hope in the world, and that he dare not go
+into eternity in his condition of guilt and uncleanness, it is more
+fearful than hunger of the body, and it will make him seek for God with
+all his soul.
+
+_How_ am I to seek God? you say. Well, seek Him by prayer. "Call upon
+Him," as the text says. "Ask and it shall be given you." Go off to
+yourself. Shut out everybody. Be entirely alone. Then get down upon your
+knees and call upon God. Plead His promises. Tell Him you have heard
+that He receives and saves sinners, and that you are a sinner, and that
+you do not mean to let Him go until He blesses you.
+
+Seek Him by reading good, religious books and papers, and especially the
+Bible; and don't read any other sort of reading unless it is necessary
+till you find Him. Keep your mind on God all the time.
+
+Seek Him by going with good, Christian people, pious, godly men and
+women who walk with God, no matter what their name or denomination may
+be. If you say you don't know where to find such, come to our Mission
+rooms, to the Walnut-street church, to all our meetings, preaching,
+prayer-meeting, Sunday-school, class-meetings, ask us questions, use us
+in any way we can help you to find God.
+
+Seeking Him by putting out of the way those things which are
+_hindrances_. The text refers to this. It says, "Let the wicked forsake
+his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts and thus let him return
+unto God."
+
+The forsaking of sin is the main feature of what we call _repentance_.
+
+You can not come to God unless you come giving up your sins entirely or
+crying to God for help to give them up.
+
+You can, by God's grace, give up all your sins and all your sinful and
+slavish habits. A proof of this is my own deliverance from evil habits,
+as whisky, tobacco and evil passions, as lewdness, licentiousness.
+
+1. You must give up sin. You can not expect to retain it and please God
+or serve God. Do not question this. You must give up sin. There is no
+escape. Turn away from it with all your heart and soul.
+
+2. You must give up _all_ sin, your besetting sin, the sin that has the
+most power over you.
+
+3. Give up all sin _now_.
+
+Do not wait. God will help you. You know not that you will be living
+to-morrow or next Sunday; and if you are, it will not be any easier then
+than it is to-day. Now is the day of salvation.
+
+4. Give up all sin, give it up _now_, and give it up _forever_. You can
+not give it up for awhile and then turn to it again. That will do you no
+good. You might as well not give it up at all as to turn back to it
+again.
+
+And look to God for help, for present help, for all-sufficient strength.
+
+Tell Him by His help you mean to be His, no matter what it costs; and
+believe on Jesus Christ, His Son, as the bearer of your past sins and
+the giver of the Holy Spirit, and very soon you will be happier than the
+men who own these hotels and business houses and Broadway palaces and
+hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes; you will. I know from my
+experience and that of others.
+
+My text says, God will have mercy on you and will _abundantly_ pardon
+you.
+
+
+THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.
+
+LUKE VIII: 5-15.
+
+Jesus may have seen a farmer sowing seed, and, directing the attention
+of the people to him, uttered this parable. He took the commonest and
+most familiar facts and occurrences and made them the means of
+expressing the great truths of His kingdom. So His ministers should try
+to do now--teach the truth of God in language easily understood by the
+men addressed.
+
+He divides the hearers of the word into four classes: be ready then to
+decide in which class _you_ are, for you are certainly in one.
+
+1. The seed which fell on the hard beaten path is the word preached to
+men who do not receive any impression at all from hearing it.
+
+They have forgotten it by the time the sound of the preacher's voice has
+died away. It does not enter their minds and produce any _thought_; nor
+their hearts, and produce any _feeling_.
+
+Are there not thousands of people who go to church, who hear preaching
+constantly, and yet it produces no effect? They are no better, and _they
+do not try to be_.
+
+But in the twelfth verse we find who is the cause of this astonishing
+indifference and hardness--it is the _devil_ who causes them at once and
+forever to forget all that is said "lest they should _believe_ and _be
+saved_."
+
+There is an unseen adversary, then, who keeps us from thinking about
+religion all he can. If you do not think about it much, that is a proof
+that you are under his influence.
+
+2. The next class consists of those who from impulse become religious
+without counting the cost.
+
+They do not stop to reflect that to be godly requires self-denial,
+humility, patience, crucifying the flesh with all its lusts. And so,
+when temptation comes or trial, they give up in disgust. They are like
+Pliable in Bunyan's Pilgrims' Progress--easily persuaded to start on the
+way to heaven, but just as easily discouraged and disgusted. There are
+lots of such people now. They lack stability.
+
+3. The next class are those who hear, believe, receive and practice the
+word of God--who run well for a season, maybe for a _long season_, but
+are little by little, and in an unperceived way, drawn away from their
+first love, and then on to perdition.
+
+Three things are here mentioned as drawing them gradually away from
+their devotion to Christ:
+
+(_a_) _Cares._
+
+They have so much to attend to, they do not _have_ time or _take_ time
+for their religious duties, as prayer, going to meetings, etc., and
+missing these, they soon grow cold, and they are so occupied and worried
+with the multitude of things to be attended to, they have no
+_disposition_ for religion. All this care may be about things that are
+lawful, as making a living, for example.
+
+(_b_) _Riches._
+
+Oh, how deceitful riches are. We think we don't love them, but let us be
+asked to part with them, as Christ asked the young man, and _we see_.
+John Wesley said, "As wealth increases, religion decreases," and he was
+right.
+
+(_c._) _Pleasure._
+
+The pleasure of fine, rich living, fashionable life, fine dress,
+theater-going, balls, parties, flirtations, the admiration and praise of
+others etc., etc.
+
+4. The last class are those who _count the cost_, go in with their eyes
+open, who _won't_ let cares, riches or pleasures draw them off, but who
+work, and serve, and pray with _patience_ even unto the end.
+
+
+II. CORINTHIANS, II: 11.
+
+     "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not
+     ignorant of his devices."
+
+The New Testament everywhere teaches that there is a personal evil
+spirit of wonderful cunning and deep malignity toward God and the human
+race. Hence, our conflict is not with flesh and blood; not against our
+own inclinations to evil, nor against sin in the abstract, but it is
+against the god of this world, the spirit that now worketh in the
+children of disobedience.
+
+Therefore, yielding to sin is no small matter, for it is yielding to an
+enemy of unfathomable hatred toward us, and of the deepest cunning, who,
+in everything, has for his purpose our ruin and God's disappointment,
+and who, however lightly he may let his chains lie upon us while we are
+led captive by him, at his will, always draws them so tight, when we
+attempt to escape from him, that only Almighty God can break them off
+and set us free.
+
+It makes a vast difference whether sin is only the indulgence of a
+passion which can have no intelligent design to damage and to ruin us,
+and which passes away when it is gratified, to trouble us no more, or
+whether it is the means adopted by an invisible but awfully real and
+hellish foe to lure us to an unforeseen ruin.
+
+Yes, sin is not a mere pleasure whose effects are ended when the
+enjoyment is over, but it is the bait that hides the cruel hook thrown
+out for us by the artful fisherman of hell. And he is all the more
+dangerous because we can not see him and realize always his ultimate
+purpose.
+
+The skillful fisherman keeps himself out of sight and lets the fish see
+only the tempting bait, and so the poor, deceived creature is lured by a
+harmless looking pleasure on to agony and death.
+
+And Satan not only controls the world, but he continually tempts
+Christians; those who have just recently escaped out of his snares and
+are on their way to heaven.
+
+And now, what are some of his devices?
+
+1. He makes a grand effort to persuade young Christians that they have
+never been converted. He almost invariably attacks them with this
+temptation. He sometimes pursues them for years with this fear, that
+they have never really experienced a change of heart. And, if he
+succeeds in persuading them of this, he has gained a grand point toward
+their fall. For to find that one is mistaken in the belief that he has
+passed from death unto life, is the most discouraging, disheartening
+thing he could experience.
+
+I have known old ministers of the Gospel say that the first thing Satan
+ever tempted them with was this suggestion, that they were mistaken in
+believing that they had passed through that wonderful change which makes
+a sinner an heir of God, and fits him for heaven.
+
+So, my brother, you are in the line of God's true servants if the enemy
+has troubled you with this temptation. Don't, therefore, let it
+discourage you. And do not, by any means, give up to it. Say to your
+tempter that your Lord says he is a liar from the beginning, and that
+you can not believe him, but you prefer to believe God.
+
+And the very fact that you are strongly tempted to believe you are not
+converted is one proof that you are. For if you were really _not_
+converted, but still in the flesh, the devil would tempt you to believe
+you _were_ converted, in order to make you rest satisfied and deceived
+with your unsaved condition. As he _does_ tempt many worldly-minded
+church members to believe they are changed enough to be safe, and so
+they rest satisfied in their unsaved condition, and perish.
+
+So, there are many church members who become irreconcilably offended if
+you dare to suggest to them that you don't believe they are really
+children of God. Their temptation then is to believe the falsehood, that
+they are really converted and in a safe condition.
+
+And if a man's temptation is to believe he is _not_ converted, it is one
+proof that he _is_ converted.
+
+Besides, if the devil tempts you to believe you are not converted, you
+can cut the matter short by saying: "Well, then, I can be in a moment.
+For whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ hath everlasting life,
+and I do here and now believe on Him, and will hold on to Him by faith
+in spite of earth and hell." Old Brother Bottomly, a preacher in the
+Louisville Conference, was tempted to doubt his conversion the night
+after it occurred, as he was lying on his bed. He recognized Satan at
+once as the author of his temptation, and he said: "Well, Satan, if I
+have not been converted, as you say, I will be." And he got out of his
+bed, and down on his knees, and he gave himself to God, and he believed
+on Jesus, and prayed, and soon he was rejoicing in full assurance, and
+the devil fled away out of hearing with his harassing temptation.
+
+2. He tries to make them believe and feel, after the glow of the first
+love has subsided a little, that the service of God is hard and trying,
+and that it has nothing in it to satisfy the heart and to compensate for
+the pleasure of sin, which they have given up.
+
+And if you begin to yield and to slacken your earnestness or zeal, he
+gets a great advantage and you lose the joy of religion by letting
+yourself lag away at a doubting distance from Christ, and then it does
+seem like the devil is telling the truth, because you don't keep close
+enough to Christ and put soul and will enough into His service to get
+the joy of it. Christ says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."
+And if your heart or your enemy says the contrary, tell them that they
+are false.
+
+But don't allow yourself to be tempted to try if you can not find an
+easy way to heaven. It will get sweet and easy by a patient and
+whole-souled perseverance in it, but _not_ by slackening your
+carefulness and experimenting with worldly pleasure to see how far you
+can go therein.
+
+3. But his grand scheme for ruining young Christians, and the one he
+generally succeeds with, is the suggestion that there is no need of
+being so particular and so regular in everything and so rigid in the
+performance of duty and in the avoiding of all appearances of evil.
+
+In other words, a sort of reaction comes, and a dangerous thing it often
+proves to be. Now, the temptation is to give up the regular and rigid
+performance of duty because you don't _feel_ as much like doing it as
+you did at first, or because some of your well-meaning, but unrenewed,
+friends say they can't see the need of being so particular and strict.
+There's no use of going to prayer-meeting every time, no use going to
+church twice every Sunday, no use having prayer at home every day, etc.
+
+But if you miss any duty once it will be much easier to miss it the
+second time and you will be much more likely to neglect it again. And
+you can't afford to take such a dangerous risk in so important a matter.
+
+And then we begin to think that there is no use being so particular
+about abstaining from the very beginnings of evil, or else we persuade
+ourselves that we have grown so strong and have been so changed we can
+be men now and enjoy things in moderation which formerly we could not
+use without going to excess.
+
+Ah, brother, you are walking right into one of Satan's unseen traps. O,
+beware! For your happiness' sake, beware! for your family's sake,
+beware! Satan says, "It's no harm to take a dram if you don't get drunk;
+no harm to go to the race track if you don't bet; no harm to go to the
+ball-room if you don't dance," etc.
+
+But we know that even in case of a youth who has never been in the habit
+of indulging in sins, they have a growing charm and power over him if he
+yields once or twice; how much greater the danger for one who has been
+the slave of these sins and has only recently broken off from them!
+
+I heard a recently converted man say to a friend who was starting away
+on a trip, "Dunc, don't let the devil say to you 'Now, just take one
+drink and then stop.' For I tell you, if you take one drink you are
+gone." Now, this man understood the case and the danger.
+
+There is no possibility of compromise. No possible middle ground in
+these things, especially for us who were once the slaves of our evil
+passions.
+
+I have heard of a man who _for years_ had abstained from drinking and
+his father, thinking he was safe, invited him to drink toddies with him.
+The son did so, and he went back to his old habit of drunkenness, had
+delirium tremens, forced his wife to get a divorce and brought distress
+and disgrace and anguish on his family as well as himself. That was a
+Mr. D., who has several times been to our Mission.
+
+So, my brother, though you may think you would be safe to trifle with
+sin, and try to practice moderation, it is such an awful, awful risk you
+had better not make the experiment. Remember, it is only the bait of
+Satan to lure you to certain ruin.
+
+For your sake, for your father's sake, for your mother's sake, for your
+wife's sake, for your children's sake, for Christ's sake, don't do it.
+
+
+COMPARISON OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED.
+
+PSALM I: 1-2.
+
+All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and hence it is profitable
+for instruction and assistance to those who will attentively consider
+it. This Psalm is a part of the Scripture, and we may expect to find it
+instructive and helpful. It contains a description of the righteous man.
+
+1. It tells what he does _not_ do. He does not walk in the counsel of
+the ungodly. This is the beginning of an evil life--to go among those
+who are ungodly and to listen to their opinions and views and counsels.
+There is no sin, our evil hearts suggest to us, in merely going with
+worldly people, if we do not pattern after their ways and do as they do.
+We can go with them and yet not do as they do. But the history, the sad
+history, of many a struggling soul, shows that this is a great mistake.
+We can't go with bad associates and not be harmed by them. The very fact
+that we want to go with wicked people shows that there is in us an
+inclination toward sin which is dangerous, and which ought to be
+severely watched and kept down rather than encouraged. More men have
+been ruined by their associations than by any other one cause. And let
+me say by way of warning that if any of you, my friends, are purposing
+and trying to lead a new life, you will have to give up the associations
+of your old life and choose new ones, as I had to do, and did do.
+
+But did you observe the word _walk_ here in this verse? That word is
+intended to show that in the first part of a sinful life there is
+restlessness and uneasiness. The man who is just beginning to sin
+against light and conscience and God is uneasy about it. He can not be
+still. It is something new and strange, and his conscience rises up
+against his conduct; and till he goes on to the deadening of his
+conscience, it gives him distress and anxiety.
+
+But it says, the good man does not "stand in the way of sinners." This
+is the second stage. When a man passes through the first stage and gets
+to this second one, then he not only listens to the conversation and
+counsel of those who are ungodly--that is, who make no professions of
+religion--but he goes now with open _sinners, in the way_ with evil
+doers, violators of law, criminals against God and man. And now observe
+he takes a "_stand_." It is no longer "walk," for the restlessness and
+uneasiness have about passed away, and he takes a deliberate _stand_
+among wicked men, who do not fear to commit any sort of crime. And, my
+young friend, this is always the way with sin. It grows upon a man; and
+before he is aware of it, he has grown fond of it, sees no evil or
+danger in it, and deliberately chooses it as his course of life. Beware,
+then, of _beginning_ in the way of evil.
+
+But it says, in the third place, that he does not "sit in the seat of
+the scornful." Ah, here we have the third stage of the downward course
+of sin. First, there was a restlessness in even associating with ungodly
+people; second, a deliberate stand among sinners, evil doers, as one of
+their number; and now it is _sitting down_ in the seat of the
+_scornful_. When men have silenced the voice of conscience, and spent
+years in the practice of evil, they come at last to lose faith in
+everything--in God, in man, in virtue, in goodness; and they become cold
+and sneering scorners of everything that is called good. Have you not
+known men who have gone through this downward road? Nay, do you not know
+now some who are traveling this ruinous pathway? I have known young men
+to go among gamblers just to _look on_. They would have _feared_ to
+touch the implements of sin, but they became familiarized with the
+sight, and then took part; and from bad to worse, have gone on and on,
+till it makes me shudder to know what they are to-day. I tell you, my
+friends, the course of sin is down, down, down. You may as soon expect
+to get in a boat on the current of Niagara above the falls and stand
+still, as to expect that you can launch yourself on the current of sin
+and not go down toward swift and certain ruin. Beware then! Hear the
+voice of warning before you have gone too far ever to return.
+
+2. In the next place, this Psalm tells what a _good_ man does. His
+delight is in the law of the Lord. He is satisfied that in sin there is
+only ruin; and turning with fear and dread away from sin, he yearns to
+find God, who alone can deliver him from sin and keep him from it and
+furnish him a satisfying portion instead of it.
+
+But where can we find God, and how? Not in nature; for there is nothing
+clear enough in nature to teach anything about God or how to come to
+His presence. But he can expect to find God in that revelation which God
+has made of Himself in His word. So he goes to that, and he finds there
+encouragement and instruction and tender invitations and promises of
+mercy and help; and the more he seeks the more he finds to draw him on,
+to satisfy his yearning heart and to charm his poor soul away from the
+love of sin. As he practices what he finds in God's word, he realizes
+the blessedness of it. It brings peace, purity, deliverance from
+darkness, uncertainty and fear; and so he longs to know more and more of
+it and he studies into it. Do you know that to one whose heart is
+changed the word of God is like a whole California of gold mines? He is
+_always_ finding treasures there. Every time he reads it there is
+something new and rich and blessed. The deepest and most devout students
+of God's word say that there is no end to its wealth of instruction and
+consolation. If you want to know God and His salvation, you ought to set
+apart a certain time _every day_ to prayerfully read and study into His
+word, always asking His guidance and help.
+
+And it will soon come to pass that, as the text says, you will
+"_delight_ in the law of God." Do you ever deliberately, carefully,
+studiously, humbly and prayerfully read the Bible? You say, "No." Then
+how can you expect to know anything of God? How can a physician know
+anything of the nature of the human body unless he studies into it? And
+how can you know anything of God and His wonderful mercy unless you go
+and search where God has revealed this for man? There are some men who
+will not read the Bible because they can't understand it. Of course they
+can't understand it all, but, if they can understand one verse in a
+chapter, let them take that and study on it and believe it, and keep
+reading, and soon more and more will open out to their understanding,
+and it will be a constant surprise and delight to find the undreamed-of
+beauties and comforts of the word of God. Promise God now that you will
+_patiently_ read some every day. You will then find your desire for sin
+and sinful associations leaving you.
+
+
+PSALM I: 3-6.
+
+We propose to-day a continuance of the study of the first Psalm, which
+we begun Sunday last. Then we saw the downward course of sin and of the
+sinner, and of the great transformation of the nature of men when they
+are converted or become righteous.
+
+And now the inspired writer goes on to speak of the fruitfulness of such
+men. "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that
+bringeth forth its fruit in its season." You know a tree planted by a
+river draws moisture from below, and does not depend on the uncertain
+rains that may or may not come. And so in time of drought it shall bear
+its fruit at its proper season.
+
+So the man who is born of God, whose nature is transformed and made
+holy, is fruitful in good deeds, in benevolent works. Having himself
+been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the light, he has a
+desire, a strong desire, an unquenchable desire, that all others should
+know the same happiness, and he works by all means to persuade them, to
+get their good will and their confidence. He will feed and clothe them,
+take them up out of filth and rags and reclothe them and befriend them
+(as we are trying to do at the Mission) in order to get their good will
+and direct them to Christ.
+
+Not only so, but when a man has truly the Spirit of God, he has an
+inexpressible pity for his poor brother mortals, and a tender sympathy
+for their sufferings and sorrows. His heart is a fountain of compassion
+for those who are in distress; and this leads him to labor that he may
+in some way, and in all possible ways, bring them relief and comfort.
+
+And, as the tree on the river is supplied with moisture from an unseen
+source, and without the showers, so the man whose heart is in communion
+with God never suffers a drought. When the benevolence of worldly men
+fails, his goes on and never fails. Men wonder that he does not get
+tired or grow weary or disappointed and discouraged. But no! he never
+does. His zeal not depending on changing influences from without, but
+supplied from an unseen and never-failing source--that is, God--never
+gives out. So he is always bearing fruit. Other men may be cold and
+selfish, and panics and famines may shut up their feelings of sympathy,
+but the man of God goes on working and bearing fruit in panics and
+famines, in cold and hot, in wet and dry, in plenty or in poverty,
+always and ever.
+
+"_The ungodly are not so._" No; the ungodly greedily devour all they can
+get, and crave all they can't get. They want selfish pleasure no matter
+what sacrifice or pain it may cost others. They want the property of
+other people, though it leave a widow in poverty and orphans in want.
+They want honor and promotion and fame, if it be built on the downfall
+of their neighbors and fellows. They want the passing animal pleasure of
+licentiousness, if it blight the life and ruin the soul of an innocent
+being and turn a happy home into a very hell of anguish. Self! Self!
+Self! always and ever! and if there be some semblance of benevolence, it
+is for the higher selfishness of getting the honor that men bestow on
+charity, or to appease an angry and tormenting conscience, that lashes
+them with fury for their misdeeds done in secret.
+
+"The ungodly are like the chaff." They have no stability, no
+steadfastness, no fixed purpose or plan in life--nothing to tie to; and
+so they are the victims of circumstances and changes and moods and
+tempers, and are driven hither and thither by every passing breeze.
+
+How I do pity the poor man who does not know or care what he is living
+for, and just pursues every day what _happens_ to take his mind for that
+day.
+
+And because the ungodly are not steadfast and fixed in their devotion to
+God, neither shall they be able to _stand_ in the _judgment_.
+
+Then, there is a judgment coming, is there? Oh, yes! All these things
+that men are doing are not done and then put away forever and forgotten.
+No! no! no! they are all to be brought into review again and exposed
+before God and all men assembled in judgment. All the midnight meanness
+you have done will then be brought to light. Where were you last night?
+What were you doing?
+
+How would you like for me to tell right here before all this crowd all
+the mean and filthy things you have done in the last week and kept them
+hidden from father, mother, wife, children and every other mortal except
+the accomplices of your guilt and shame? Ah! you could not _stand_; no,
+you could not _stand_.
+
+Then, how do you expect to stand when God is reciting to you all the
+misdoings of all the midnights of your whole lives before your father,
+mother, sisters, wife, neighbors and all the world?
+
+
+GOD'S LOVE FOR SINNERS.
+
+ROMANS V: 8.
+
+     "But God commendeth His love for us in that while we were yet
+     sinners, Christ died for us."
+
+There are many of us who _feel_ that we are _sinners_, who know it, and
+who do not want any proof of it; but we can't be persuaded to believe
+that God has any love for us or interest in us. We have gotten to be
+such wicked sinners that maybe our friends have forsaken us, and we can
+not believe that God has any feeling of tenderness for us. We are
+willing to admit that God loves good people, those who are obedient, and
+that if _we_ were good, He would _then_ love us; but as it is, He can
+not love us, and there is no reason why He should love us. And then we
+go back and try to call up all our sins; all the times when we rejected
+Christ and the truth, and we find plenty of arguments to prove that God
+does not love us.
+
+But stop! You are judging the great God by yourself. You know you would
+not love one who would have treated you as you have treated God, and so
+you conclude He does not love you. You find it _exceedingly_ hard to
+believe in the love of God. This is one of the sad effects of sin. It
+darkens our hearts and separates us far, far from God, so that when we
+come to feel our need of Him we have no confidence that He will accept
+us or help us.
+
+Besides, by your long service of sin, you have put yourself in the power
+of an enemy who makes it as difficult as possible for you to _believe_
+in God's love for you.
+
+But I come to you to-day with a declaration and assurance from God's own
+word, that though you have been a sinner all your life, and still feel
+that you are the greatest of sinners, the great God loves you with a
+true, deep, warm and yearning love.
+
+The great proof of it is the life and death of Jesus Christ, His Son.
+
+Have you read about it in the Gospel?
+
+Ah, if you had, and had seen Him delighting to be with the poor and the
+outcast, eating with them, choosing them for His friends, speaking words
+of heavenly cheer to them, pronouncing their sins forgiven and promising
+them heaven, then you would be moved and attracted and convinced. And
+then if you had read the pathetic story of His awful sufferings and
+death, and had reflected that "He was wounded for our transgressions; He
+was bruised for our iniquities; all we like sheep have gone astray, and
+the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us _all_," then hope would
+begin to dawn in your breast, and faith in His love would not be so
+difficult. But you have neglected to read and reflect about it, and so I
+am come to bring the glad tidings to you where you are, and to beg you
+to believe it for your own sake.
+
+And now, here are some of the ways God has taken to tell you of His
+love: Psalm ciii., 13; Isaiah xlix., 15; Luke xi., 13; Luke xviii., 13,
+14; Luke xv., 7, 10; Prodigal Son; Luke vii., 36 to end.
+
+"I came not to call the righteous but _sinners_ to repentance."
+
+Why does God, in so many ways, express His love for sinners?
+
+Because He wants to touch their hearts and melt them by tenderness.
+
+A father whose son had gone away to California, and was a gambler in San
+Francisco, sent him word by a friend: "Your father loves you still." And
+it made him ashamed; it broke his heart; he repented, returned home and
+was saved.
+
+So God sends me to-day to say to you: "Your Father loves you still."
+Will you not believe it and come to Him for safety? He will not abuse
+you for your sins; He will save you from your sins, and make you as
+happy as you were when you were little children at your mother's knee.
+
+You know it is true that parents are more troubled about a wandering
+boy, and take more pains with him than with the good boys, and think
+more about him and pray more for him, because he is in danger and must
+be rescued or perish. So it is with God. Because you are lost, away from
+Him, on the road to ruin, He sends after you and He begs you to be
+reconciled.
+
+
+GODLINESS PROFITABLE FOR THIS LIFE.
+
+I. TIMOTHY IV: 8.
+
+     "But godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise
+     of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
+
+There are not many who think this. Nearly everybody admits that religion
+is a good thing to have when he is about to die and to enter upon the
+future life; and all men, however hardened in vice, wickedness and
+crime, have a sure expectation and firm intention of making some
+preparation for death and what may follow death. They fully intend to
+make amends to conscience for the violations of it, of which they have
+been guilty.
+
+There are men here to-day who know that this is true of themselves, who
+feel that the coffin and the grave and the unknown future beyond are the
+most fearful of realities, and who are firmly persuaded that a day of
+reckoning is coming, maybe slowly, but surely, and they do mean to make
+peace in some way with conscience before that time draws near. And so I
+say all men agree that religion is good for death and what is to follow;
+but how it can be an advantage to one in _this life_, they can not see.
+
+1. But godliness is a help to a man in making a living.
+
+If a man is honest, industrious, faithful and conscientious, he will be
+in demand. Such men are always in demand; and, when they are known, can
+get employment and can keep employment; but a man who is a true
+Christian, _is_ honest, industrious, careful, temperate, trustworthy and
+conscientious, because he works and lives not to please men but God.
+Hence, such a one is always wanted. Employers, rather than give up such
+men, will increase their salaries and offer them extra inducements. A
+Main-street merchant found he could not do without Willie Holcombe
+conveniently, so he raised his salary twenty dollars a month rather than
+lose him.
+
+And, even if they are among strangers, and not known, yet God will turn
+the hearts of strangers toward them, as he turned the heart of the
+prison-keeper in Egypt toward Joseph. And when they have a chance to
+_try_ and to show their value, their employers will not give them up.
+
+But then if a man is in business for himself, he will get a large custom
+if people find out that he does business as a Christian--that is, he
+does not charge an unjust and exorbitant price, his goods are only what
+he says they are, he gives full and honest measure, his word can be
+trusted, he will correct mistakes and take back an article if it is
+found not to be good. Show people such a man and they will all want to
+patronize him. William Kendrick was such a man here in Louisville.
+
+The Christian man has the _promise of God_ that he shall be provided
+for--Matthew vi.: 32, 33--while the godless man has no such assurances
+at all.
+
+2. But religion keeps a man from those vices which destroy the
+health--as dissipation, debauchery, intemperance, etc.--and health is
+one of the chief elements in human happiness.
+
+3. Religion keeps men also from those crimes which bring men into ruin
+and disgrace and bitter remorse.
+
+Many a man has come to the jail or penitentiary or gallows who would
+have escaped it all if he had had religion to protect and shield and
+restrain and assist him. And many a good and happy man there is who
+might have been a guilty criminal and a wretched convict but for the
+grace of God and the lessons and blessings of true religion. He might
+gradually have been led off and on and on till he would have become
+capable of committing any crime.
+
+I might have been a drunkard or a murderer still, if God had not changed
+my heart and helped me mightily and constantly by His grace.
+
+4. But religion takes away the fear of death and the dread of the future
+and gives inward and constant peace--a heart happiness which poverty and
+disappointment and trials can not destroy. And nothing else can do this
+but true religion.
+
+5. Religion can release a man from the power of those evil habits which
+make a man's life miserable--from acquired appetites, as drinking, opium
+eating, debauchery, licentiousness, swearing, gambling and even from
+tobacco.
+
+6. Religion makes a good father, a good mother, a good husband, a good
+wife, good children, it makes the family happy, and the home bright,
+cheerful, joyous.
+
+7. It makes a man a good citizen. So he can get along in peace with his
+neighbors and even become a peace-maker among them when they quarrel.
+
+Thus have I tried to show you that, regardless of the future, godliness
+is profitable for this life. But if this were not so, if the life of a
+Christian were an uninterrupted experience of pains and disappointments
+and sorrows, yet, in view of the interests of the soul, and the
+possibilities of the future, and the length of eternity, it would be the
+highest wisdom to cheerfully accept all these and endure them to the
+bitter end, in order to depart out of this world with a peaceful and
+unaccusing conscience and a sure preparation for heaven.
+
+O man, what will you do with eternity, _eternity_, if you go thither
+unprepared? Did you ever try to think of eternity? As John Wesley says,
+"If a bird were to come once in a million of years and take away one
+grain of the earth, when it had taken the whole earth away, that would
+not be eternity, nor the beginning of eternity." And it is certain that
+eternity is the period of the desolation and confusion and remorse and
+suffering of the lost.
+
+8. But even if we had to live in misery all this life, it would be
+better to do it and have religion; for it alone fits us for happiness in
+the life to come.
+
+Take away property, comforts, friends, family, reputation, health, but
+give me religion, and I shall have a passport into the kingdom of heaven
+and an eternity of rest and blessedness.
+
+O then, come to Jesus Christ and have all these things and heaven
+beside.
+
+
+PROVERBS XII: 15.
+
+     "The way of transgressors is hard."
+
+Our friend's career affords a striking example of the truth of the text.
+Most people do not think the text is true. But the Bible reverses nearly
+all of our notions about things, and when, in the light of experience
+and honest thought, we come to examine the Bible, we find it contains
+the truth on all subjects. The natural effects of a life of sin are
+injurious and destructive in every particular.
+
+1. In the first place, vice destroys health. If a man indulges in
+gluttony, he brings on dyspepsia with its accompanying pains and
+distress and torture. All this is increased by a life of idleness,
+laziness and inactivity. If he indulges in intemperance, he soon becomes
+a wretched slave, and is consumed by inward fires till delirium tremens
+ends the miserable career. If he indulges in sensuality, he is likely to
+contract loathsome and painful diseases--diseases which make life a
+burden that can hardly be borne; diseases which poison the blood and can
+not, by any art or remedy, be expelled from the system, but which are
+transmitted to the innocent offspring, if there be any.
+
+2. It brings disgrace and drives away friends who would otherwise rally
+around and help. This poor man spent two terms in the penitentiary, lost
+all his friends, and had to go to a _hospital_ to die!
+
+3. In destroying one's good name and alienating one's friends, it
+becomes the cause of poverty and want.
+
+4. It destroys the happiness of families, and in this way adds to the
+wretchedness of the one who does all this mischief and damage.
+
+5. It often produces insanity.
+
+6. It produces remorse, uneasiness of mind, shame, hatred of self.
+
+7. It is what makes men shudder and shiver like convicts under the
+gallows, when they think of death and come near death. My own fear of
+death was something terrible.
+
+     "The sting of death is sin."
+
+8. But this fear of death, this awful lashing of conscience on the verge
+of the grave, is but the intimation and the beginning of those awful
+experiences in the future world which the Bible describes in words of
+such dark and fearful import.
+
+But there is a remedy for sin, there is a fountain opened in the house
+of King David for sin and uncleanness. Yes
+
+    "There is a fountain filled with blood
+    Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
+    And sinners plunged beneath that flood
+    Lose all their guilty stains.
+
+    "The dying thief rejoiced to see
+    That fountain in his day,
+    And there may _you_, though vile as he,
+    Wash all your sins away."
+
+And beside that, when He gives salvation from the guilt of sin, He
+sends, also, the power to keep you from sin in the future. It is a full
+salvation and a _free_ salvation.
+
+How much better to accept Christ while you are in health and let your
+life of holiness and purity and devotion _prove_ that the work is a
+genuine work and that you really have been saved. I have almost _no_
+faith in death-bed repentances and conversions. Hardly one in a hundred
+is genuine. And then there is no way of testing the genuineness of it;
+but if you turn to Christ _now_ you can have time and opportunity to
+exemplify and manifest the fruits of regeneration in your life. Christ
+has power to forgive sins, to give peace and to keep from sin and sinful
+habits. An experience of five years on my part enables me to speak
+boldly and confidently on this point. God grant some of you may turn to
+Him to-day.
+
+     NOTE.--This was delivered at the funeral of some man who died
+     unsaved in a hospital. Mr. Holcombe is frequently called on to
+     officiate at the funeral of such men, and of gamblers, and of
+     strangers and unknown persons.--ED.
+
+
+ROMANS XIV: 17.
+
+     "The kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but righteousness
+     and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."
+
+We heard some time ago of the coming of the kingdom of heaven. Christ,
+at His coming, brought it near and proclaimed it to the people. At the
+time when our text was written, the kingdom had been set up, established
+among men, and many, very many, had entered into it. And now, St. Paul,
+finding that some of these had fallen into wrong notions as to what
+constituted citizenship in that kingdom, corrects these wrong notions,
+and sets before them the right and proper notions about the matter.
+
+1. In the first place, he tells them that religion does _not_ consist in
+certain things. They had gotten into the notion that they must, as a
+matter of great importance, attend to certain outward things. But it is
+not so. They thought, as the Jews, from whose nation Jesus, the founder
+of the kingdom, arose, observed certain customs as to eating and
+drinking and keeping certain seasons and days, they also had to do the
+same; and gradually they allowed these outward things to become more
+important to them than the inward spiritual life.
+
+So now we (or some of us) have fallen into the notion that religion
+consists in certain outward things.
+
+There are those who believe that it consists in connecting one's self
+with some certain church, and that the sanctity and virtue of that
+church will be imparted to them as members, and they will be saved. But
+this is not true.
+
+Again, there are some who believe that some outward ceremony, and
+especially that of baptism by the proper authorities and in the proper
+mode, will procure salvation, and that it constitutes a man a member of
+the kingdom of heaven.
+
+Again, some think their own morality and effort to do and live justly
+will give them a place among those who are in the pale of the kingdom,
+forgetting that God, Himself, says that the righteousness of us
+miserable sinners is but as filthy rags in His sight.
+
+And there are many, very many, who think that if they are decent in
+their outward lives and attend the services of the house of God and
+contribute to the support of His church, they do all any man can require
+of them, and that, therefore, they may claim that they are also
+fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of faith.
+
+But no, none of these outward things can make a man a new creature. He
+may comply with any one or all of these, and yet be really a bad man at
+heart, a rebel against God and His government. And the fact that there
+are many such in the church calling themselves Christians and performing
+the outward duties of religion, while those who see them every day and
+know their private walk see that they are not really better than many
+outsiders, is a great stumbling-block to serious and honest inquirers
+outside of the church. We admit it, and we are sorry for it, though, of
+course, it is no valid excuse for them, and will not stand in the trying
+hour of death or the ordeal of the judgment. But I want to say to you
+to-day, no matter who it is, if they have no more than a performance of
+outward duties, ceremonies and services, they _are not_ members of the
+kingdom of God.
+
+2. But, in the second place, the Apostle does tell us what true religion
+consists in, in the latter part of the text. "It is righteousness and
+joy and peace in the Holy Ghost."
+
+And, first, it is _righteousness_.
+
+In another place it is said that, "The wisdom that cometh from above is
+first _pure_."
+
+The object and aim of the Christian religion is to make men holy. That
+is _first_. The righteousness mentioned in the text is put first--before
+the joy and peace. And this is what the world demands of people who
+profess to be Christians, no less than God's law demands it. The world
+has no use or respect for Christians who are not righteous or for a
+Christianity that does not make men righteous.
+
+When God comes into a human heart, He comes with power, with the power
+of God, and that is greater than all other power, and before it all
+opposing forces fall. The sins of men, such as avarice, or love of
+money; the lust of the flesh, such as gluttony, licentiousness, the
+hatred of fellowmen and the hatred of God, all these are broken and
+driven out when the spirit and power of God come in. There is not only
+this demand of God, then, for righteousness, but also ample supply of
+strength to meet it, and to meet it fully. Come, then, to God, you who
+are in bondage to evil habits, and who have striven in vain to deliver
+yourselves. You can not retain your evil practices and be a child of
+God. His first demand, His imperative demand, is righteousness, and if
+you have the _will_ He gives the _grace_ to attain it.
+
+But this is not all. When you believe with your heart in Christ, the
+Holy Ghost is given you, and He brings, with the righteousness and
+holiness which God requires, also joy and peace. Yes, when you surrender
+to Christ, He makes you happy.
+
+
+MATTHEW XI: 28.
+
+     "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will
+     give you rest."
+
+1. The cry of all hearts is for rest, for contentment. Not only does the
+heart of humanity cry out for rest, rest, rest; their busy and tired
+hands and feet _toil_ for it day and night, year in and year out.
+
+It is for this that men labor through the days and weeks of summer's
+heat and expose themselves to the severities of winter's cold.
+
+It is for this that they plow and sow and reap and gather into barns.
+
+It is for this that they blow the bellows and swing the heavy hammers
+from morn until night.
+
+It is for this they buy and sell and buy again to sell again.
+
+It is for this that men will spend years of toil in schools and
+colleges, burning the midnight lamp till the eye is heavy and the brain
+is tired.
+
+It is for this that they will leave wife and children to try their
+fortunes in some distant California or Australia.
+
+It is for this they will abandon their homes in time of war to brave the
+dangers of the battle-field.
+
+It is for this that they will worry away the hours of night in games to
+get each other's money.
+
+It is for this they will devise schemes and lay plans to entrap their
+fellows, some times going to the length of committing murder.
+
+It is for this that women will toil with the needle and bend over the
+sewing machine.
+
+It is for this they will stand for weary hours behind counters measuring
+off goods or waiting for customers to buy.
+
+It is for this that they work over the hot stove or wear out their hands
+in the wash-tub.
+
+Yes, it is for this that some of them, weary of work-life, will venture
+on the slippery paths of pleasure, turn their thoughts toward the gilded
+chambers of licentiousness, sell virtue and abandon home and family to
+go in the ways that in the end take hold on death and hell.
+
+We are a race of _toilers_. All over the world it is the same. We see it
+here in Louisville, It is work, work, work, go, go, go.
+
+And are we happy? Have we rest?
+
+But not only are we toiling, some in one way, some in another; some by
+innocent means, some by wicked means; some by what does no harm to
+ourselves or our neighbor, and some by what does harm to both, in order
+to obtain rest and happiness; it is also true that most of us are heavy
+laden, oppressed and saddened beneath burdens that we can not shake off,
+can not get rid of.
+
+Some of us are bowed down under our poverty. No good house to live in,
+no comfortable home to turn into after the battles and toils of outside
+life, no comfortable shelter for our families. No assurance as to where
+we are to get to-morrow's bread. No comfortable and respectable clothes
+to wear, and, of course, no friends. For when a poor fellow gets poor
+and shabby, his friends drop off and pass by on the other side. No
+friends, none of that sympathy and communion of friendship which all
+human hearts so crave and which they find to be the best part of what
+this life can give.
+
+Yes; some of us have this burden to bear. And then some of us are bowed
+down beneath some great sorrow, which may be one thing in one case and
+another in another. In some cases it is domestic trouble, continual jars
+and broils in the family, no peace, no quiet, no love. Ah, if we could
+see into all the homes in this city, I fear we should find in many of
+them family trouble of some sort. Or it may be some dear one of yours is
+given to drink or to gambling and is wearing out his life as fast as
+vice can eat it away, with no hope beyond the grave.
+
+Ah, yes; no doubt some of _you_ are yourselves the slaves of evil habits
+which you hate and would do anything to break off. You have tried by
+resolving and promising and all to no purpose; you have felt ashamed and
+degraded because you had no power to do what you felt you ought to do
+and what you knew would be infinitely better for you.
+
+Do you not know men who would willingly give a right arm for deliverance
+from some degrading and ruinous habit? But giving a right arm avails
+nothing, nor any human effort or means.
+
+Then, again, some of you are bowed down by the recollection of your past
+life and its dissipation and crimes.
+
+You may have mistreated father, mother, sister, and may have broken
+hearts by your cruelty that would gladly have bled for you. You may have
+crushed a loving and faithful wife by your selfishness and your
+brutality and heartlessness. You may have driven your children to
+desperation and crime by your coldness and hardness to them.
+
+And may be some life, innocent until you came upon it with your hellish
+art, has been corrupted and embittered and darkened by your base
+passions and lusts.
+
+May be your hands have gone to that last extreme of human crime and have
+deprived a fellowman of life. And, oh, if any of these things be true,
+what must be the burden of remorse, remorse, remorse, that weighs upon
+your heart.
+
+But you are the very ones whom Jesus addresses and invites in this
+tender appeal. Do you believe it?
+
+2. In the second place, consider who it is that offers you rest. It is
+one who knows you and who knows what you need and one who has all power
+in heaven and in earth to give what you need.
+
+3. Lastly, consider what this rest means which Jesus offers to you
+burdened and toiling ones.
+
+1. It is rest from sin, both its guilt and power.
+
+2. It is rest from all care. For He has said, we should cast all our
+care upon Him because He cares for us.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 3.
+
+     "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
+     heaven."
+
+These words, as you know, are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount
+as it is called. This Sermon on the Mount is the full exposition of the
+character of those who are members of Christ's kingdom. It is one of the
+most important parts of the Bible. At the time of Christ there were in
+the world many teachers and many schools of philosophy all trying to
+find what was best for men; or, thinking they had found it, were
+teaching their views to others. But, of course, none of them knew the
+truth and nearly every one taught a different thing from the others.
+There was no certainty. It all seemed like guess-work, and while the
+philosophers were guessing at what was best for men or trying to prove
+the views of each other to be false, the poor people were perishing in
+uncertainty and ignorance. But into this age of uncertainty and darkness
+and hunger, there came a Teacher from God Himself, who knew all things
+and who could without arguing or guessing tell with authority the simple
+and certain truth. What then does the Teacher say? He does not say that
+blessedness consists in any certain kind or degree of _knowledge_ but in
+the _disposition_ of the _mind and heart_.
+
+Listen then and hear and be prepared to believe and accept with all your
+heart what this Instructor from God says. Remember He makes no mistakes.
+He knows the end from the beginning. He knows eternity as well as time.
+He knows the future as well as the past and present. He knows God as
+well as He knows man. He has been all through eternity and knows the
+nature and purposes of God. He then is competent to say what is good for
+man, what is best for man. Will you hear it? And, having heard it, will
+you believe it? "Blessed"--ah, what a sweet word to begin with!
+"Blessed." But who are blessed? It may be blessed are the great or the
+powerful or the good and some of us are sadly conscious that we are not
+great or good. But no, troubled heart, poor fearing heart, it is for
+you. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That is what the Divine Teacher
+says. He brings it right down and home to your poor heart and leaves
+blessedness at your very door.
+
+And what is it to be poor in spirit? No doubt some of you poor sinners
+are ready to say "I know what it is, for I am so wretchedly poor that I
+feel unworthy to set my polluted foot down anywhere in God's universe."
+Yes, that is it--you are dissatisfied with yourself, disgusted with
+yourself, weary of yourself; and you know you can not make your
+condition any better, for you have tried it and failed till you are
+heart-sick and hopeless. You are satisfied that neither your education,
+nor your wisdom, nor your shrewdness, nor your money, if you have any,
+nor your family, nor your friends, nor your strength, nor your will, nor
+all these put together and multiplied a thousand times can deliver you
+from soul-bondage and soul-darkness and satisfy your aching and breaking
+heart. Is that your feeling, my brother? Then you are the one I am
+talking to; nay, you are the one my Divine Master is talking to. But
+God said the same thing in other words away back yonder one thousand
+years before Jesus came to earth. Read it in Psalm xxxiv: 18: "The Lord
+is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a
+contrite spirit." Have your sins broken your heart? Does the
+recollection of them cast down your spirit? You are not far from the
+kingdom of God then. Only believe on Jesus Christ who was not only
+Divine Teacher but also sin-bearer, and see God's willingness to save
+sinners, in the scene enacted on Calvary's trembling summit. What did
+Jesus suffer for if not for you and your sins? Say, what for, if not for
+you and all sinners? Answer that question. Do not turn it away or put it
+off but _answer_ it.
+
+Did I say you were not far from the kingdom of heaven? My text says, if
+you have the spirit I have described that "yours is, _is now_, the
+kingdom of heaven." Read it again. Will you believe it?
+
+Oh, are you afraid to venture? Is it too good to be true? Well, I tell
+you I ventured and that with forty-two years of sin and crime on my
+heart to press me down and keep me back. Yes; I ventured and I found
+_such a welcome_ that I was constrained in the joy of my heart to give
+up all other employment and spend my whole time and energy in telling of
+it to others who are in the condition I was in.
+
+But if there are any here who are satisfied with themselves, who do not
+feel their need of help and cleansing and deliverance, then this message
+of comfort is not for you. If you think you know enough about eternity
+to risk going into it as you are, if you think you know enough about
+God to meet him as you are, then we have no message of consolation for
+you. It is not because we do not want you to have a message of
+consolation and salvation, but because _you_ do not want it.
+
+It is said in one place that the "Word of God is a discerner of the
+thoughts and intents of the heart." And now I am sure this text of ours
+has to-night found you out and shown you to yourself. Where do you
+stand? And even if you are persuaded, the suggestion to put it off till
+to-morrow or next week will knock it all in the head.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 4-5.
+
+     "4. Blessed _are_ they that mourn; for they shall be
+     comforted."
+
+     "5. Blessed _are_ the meek; for they shall inherit the earth."
+
+Our talk to-night follows right along in the line of the one preceding.
+We shall continue to speak of that wonderful address of Jesus which is
+called the Sermon on the Mount and which we began to speak of before. We
+were speaking of those who are poor in spirit and tried to describe
+such. Now we go on and we find the next words of Jesus, the Divine
+Teacher, just suited to those who are poor in spirit, who are
+dissatisfied with themselves and their condition, and who are wretched
+because they have not the grace and favor of God, and who, as the Psalm
+says, have a "broken heart and a contrite spirit." (Psalm xxxiv., 18.)
+And what are these comforting words of Jesus? "Blessed are they that
+_mourn_, for they shall be _comforted_." Of course, those who are poor
+in spirit and broken in heart _will mourn_. They are comfortless and
+they will mourn for comfort. They are in darkness and they will mourn
+for light. They are in sin and under condemnation and they will mourn
+till the power of sin is destroyed and they are set free and until the
+voice of forgiving love assures them that there is henceforth nothing
+against them. Ah, yes, when a man is under conviction for sin he is,
+above all men, a mourner. There is hardly any sorrow that strikes deeper
+or any suspense that is more intense or awful.
+
+But is there no one here who knows all about this, not because they have
+heard me describe it, but because they have felt it and groaned under it
+or, may be, _are_ doing so now?
+
+Well, let me assure you, on the authority of Jesus, there is comfort for
+you as surely as Jesus will not lie. Does He say "Cursed are they who
+mourn?" Or "To be pitied are they that mourn?" No, He says, "_Blessed_
+are they."
+
+There, now, you are already comforted a little bit, are you not?
+
+But what is the rest of this sentence of Jesus? "For they _shall_ be
+comforted." And, indeed, the fact that you _mourn_ for a better
+condition and a better life and for God, is itself a ground for you to
+surely expect comfort. For only God's spirit could make you dissatisfied
+with yourself, tired of your sins and eager to find God.
+
+And if He began the work He will carry it on to completion, assuredly,
+if you do not hinder him by your turning back to sin or going with the
+vicious or refusing to have faith in Jesus as Saviour.
+
+And the next verse comes right along to fill out the one we are
+considering. "Blessed are the _meek_."
+
+If a man is truly poor in spirit, mourning because of his sins and his
+ignorance of God and his insecurity in view of death, then he will not
+be egotistic and ambitious and greedy of praise and pompous and
+self-sufficient and disposed to stand on _his honor_ and his rights. But
+he will have the opposite feelings exactly.
+
+He feels his unworthiness so deeply and keenly that he is willing to
+give up his own rights and to prefer others before himself. And Jesus
+adds, "the meek shall inherit the earth."
+
+A man who has this spirit of humility, deep consciousness of his
+unworthiness and a disposition to bear all things rather than be
+contentious, will win everybody and they will want to give up to him.
+
+You have perhaps read of the man who went to his neighbor to claim a
+piece of ground in his possession, and, contrary to his expectation,
+that neighbor said, "Well, then, if it is yours, I will not have a
+strife about it. I will move in my fence and let you have it." This
+gentle answer and this meek spirit made the other man so ashamed and so
+completely melted and won him that he said he would not take the land,
+and he went back home leaving it as it was.
+
+And so if you have this meek and yielding spirit, and this patient and
+forgiving spirit, you will make even your enemies to be at peace with
+you. But this meekness of spirit includes, also, cheerful submission to
+all the hard and disappointing and trying experiences of life, and
+perfect contentment with one's lot.
+
+A man who is always sour and bitter because things don't go to suit him
+is the opposite of a _meek_ man. And one of the loveliest and most
+attractive and winning qualities of human character is this unfailing
+resignation, this _cheerful_ acceptance of all that comes upon us. If
+the church were full of people of this description, they would soon win
+the world, and, as Jesus said, they would "inherit the earth."
+
+Now, let me ask, have we all who profess to be Christians this meek
+spirit and character? Are we gentle and cheerful at home and abroad,
+when we are disappointed as well as when we are gratified, when we are
+treated with ingratitude and injury as well as when we are treated with
+kindness, consideration and honor? Or are we crabbed and cross and
+discontented and complaining against those who cross our wills and
+against the lot that God has given to us in life? If we are of this last
+sort we shall not draw many to Jesus and to the acceptance of our
+religion. You can't catch flies with vinegar.
+
+How disposed are we to lay our crossness and roughness to the charge of
+our health, our dyspepsia or neuralgia or nervousness. But it would be
+all the _more convincing_ to men if, _in the midst_ of bad health and
+nervousness, we should have a meek, quiet, patient, bright and cheerful
+spirit.
+
+And if you haven't it, the way to get it is to be filled with God's
+spirit, and the way to do that is to pray, to commune with God in
+secret, to patiently wait for Him, as David did (Psalms xl, 1), and to
+be with Him so much that He shall become more real to you than the
+objects of sight and sound and feeling that surround you.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 13.
+
+     "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its
+     savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for
+     nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of
+     men."
+
+Jesus takes the most familiar facts and objects to convey the truths and
+doctrines which He wished to communicate. Here he uses for illustration
+an object, with the properties and uses of which everybody is
+familiar--namely, salt. It is good to prevent corruption and to preserve
+life. Without it life could not continue. I have heard of a party of
+travelers whose supply of salt almost gave out; and not having enough
+for themselves and their horses, the horses grew weak, would stagger,
+and finally fall and die, though they had food for them. Yet the lack of
+salt could not be supplied by any amount of food.
+
+So it is with Christianity. It prevents corruption, moral corruption, in
+the individual, and so prevents social corruption, political corruption,
+national corruption, and is the means of purification in all these
+respects. But it not only prevents corruption, it imparts spiritual life
+and vigor and sends its possessors on their way filled with an energy
+that goes out after others.
+
+Christianity is suited to be the salt of the earth. It demands a perfect
+morality, a perfect righteousness, and offers the highest motives to men
+to attain this. It teaches, with assurance, that there is a righteous
+God who demands holiness on our part, and, at the same time, it
+encourages men and inspires them with hope because it declares that
+this God loves men, as sinners, and so it gets hold of men by the heart.
+
+If man will only compare those nations that are Christian with those
+that are not, he will find out what a difference there is.
+
+But the text refers to the holy lives of Christians as being the salt of
+the earth.
+
+The savor of Christians is an unction from the spirit of God that
+produces purity, humility, patience, long-suffering, self-denial,
+tenderness, sympathy and unselfish love.
+
+And when men see a person whose daily life presents all these beauties,
+they are forced to pause and regard it. It is such an unnatural and such
+an unearthly thing that they can not help it. And it is far more
+convincing and eloquent than all logic and rhetoric put together. There
+is no way of getting around it. Men know that a gifted orator can dress
+things up so as to make any cause seem a fair and plausible one, but men
+know also that neither a gifted orator nor any one less than God can
+make men humble, pure, patient, gentle, long-suffering, unselfish and
+glad to spend and be spent for others than themselves.
+
+When men see such a life, they seek to know how it is realized, and
+finding that Christianity has done it, that faith in Jesus has done it,
+they are constrained to say: "We know that Christianity is from God. For
+nothing could do such wonderful miracles except God be in it," as
+Nicodemus said to Jesus.
+
+There are so many men who are anxiously inquiring about spiritual things
+and about God and a future life. And they say: "Show us something that
+Christianity can do." And if we are living such lives, they find what
+they are seeking for and are satisfied. But there are many men who
+_won't_ search the Bible to find out if it is true--and many who don't
+do so for want of time and of opportunity--and some who _can't_ do so
+because they can't read or reason, and we _force_ Christianity upon
+their attention by the beauty and unearthliness of holy Christian lives.
+Instead of waiting for them to come inquire and into Christianity, which
+they might never do, we carry it before their eyes in its loveliest and
+most attractive and powerful form when we live holy lives before them.
+And when men see many people living thus, it turns the tide of their
+feelings, reverses the current of their thoughts, and makes it easy
+instead of difficult to believe. Oh, that we had more of these entirely
+consecrated lives! They would do far more good than the preaching. When
+people see these consecrated women doing the work they do for the poor
+neglected children, they say: "Ah, now, that looks like something, sure
+enough, and we believe in that sort of religion." John Wesley said:
+"Give me one hundred men who love nothing but God, and who fear nothing
+but sin, and we will soon lay England at Jesus' feet."
+
+How can we get and keep this savour, this divine unction which produces
+such a life? Only by much communion with God.
+
+David knew no fear when he went to meet Goliath because he had communed
+so much with God in the sheep pastures that God was more of a reality to
+him than Goliath was. So it must be with us, my dear brothers, or we
+_lose this savour_.
+
+And that is what the text says. Let us read it again.
+
+You may retain outward forms of religion and perform outward duties, but
+the unction and zeal and power will be gone and men will find it out and
+see it and say that you are no better than they are.
+
+So the text says, "Good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under
+foot of men." And sad it is that more harm is done to the cause of
+Christianity by hypocritical or wicked or inconsistent professors of it
+than by all the Ingersolls in the world. Men look at the church to see
+what Christianity can do; and seeing it does nothing extraordinary in
+the way of making men better, they say it must be false. So it is the
+wicked and worldly professors of religion that make more infidels than
+anything else. Oh, let us be sure that we are not the darkness of the
+world. For if we are not its light, we become darkness.
+
+The light in the lighthouse may be burning, but if the lights along the
+shore are not burning, too, the poor sailors may be lost.
+
+    "Brightly beams our Father's mercy
+      From _His_ lighthouse evermore,
+    But to _us_ He gives the keeping
+      Of the lights along the shore."
+
+
+THE PRODIGAL SON,
+
+HIS SIN, HIS WRETCHEDNESS AND HIS RECOVERY.
+
+LUKE XV: 11-24.
+
+1. This younger son thought he was wiser than his father and wanted to
+manage his own affairs. So it is with men who think they can manage
+their own affairs without God. And as this young man wanted to get as
+far from his father's presence as possible (see verse 13, "into a far
+country") so the sinner, when he determines to give himself up to
+pleasure and sin, wants to get as far from God as possible. He does not
+want to hear about Him or even think about Him. Was not this so with
+_you_?
+
+2. The father did not _compel_ the son to stay at home. He allowed him
+to choose what he preferred. So it is with God. He does not compel us to
+obedience. For my part I wish He did. But he lets us go and pursue sin
+with all our hearts, if we choose that above the innocence and joy of
+dwelling with Him.
+
+3. "He _wasted_ his substance with riotous living," verse 13, and so it
+is with the sinner--in the service of sin and Satan he wastes and
+destroys his property, his health, his reputation, his intellect, his
+conscience--all.
+
+"_And he began to be in want._"
+
+That is what sin brings a man to--want, want, want and wretchedness,
+wretchedness, wretchedness. Has not sin done this for _you_?
+
+4. And it was this very wretchedness which brought him to his
+senses--"he came to himself" (verse 17).
+
+And when he does come to himself he can think of only one place where he
+can hope to find relief and he bravely determines to go straight to the
+very father he had so shamefully abandoned and to make a full confession
+of his sin and throw himself on that father's mercy with the hope of
+being taken back as a hired servant. He is willing to take the
+_humblest_ and _meanest_ place, if he can only get back to that home he
+was, a short time before, so eager to leave. Nor does he offer _any
+excuse_, he calls his sin by the right name and confesses it without
+trying to excuse it or justify it.
+
+5. And how did his father receive him?
+
+Why, he did not wait till his poor, ragged, worn and wasted boy got in
+and made his confession but he saw him a great way off (verse 20) and he
+knew what had passed in the poor boy's heart and life, and, moved with
+compassion toward him, he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him a glad
+welcome back to his heart and his home. But the son goes on to make his
+confession and his offer to be a hired servant anyhow, and yet the
+father says, "No! no! bring forth the _best_ robe and put it on him."
+So, though we may go to God expecting to _work as servants_ for Him and
+for His favor, He gives us far more than we ask and He makes us His own
+_sons_. And, poor wretched sinners, I come now with this message for
+_you_, bruised and sore and despairing and wretched as you are on
+account of your sins. May God help you believe it.
+
+
+II. PETER I: 5-6.
+
+     "5. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith
+     virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
+
+     "6. And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience;
+     and to patience, godliness."
+
+I want to say something to you to-night about how to _grow_ in the
+Christian life, and how to secure yourself from falling. And now, let me
+begin by saying what you, no doubt, have heard before, that there is no
+such thing as standing still in the Christian life. If you are not going
+forward, you are losing ground. See the Apostle here speaks of giving
+all diligence, to be adding something all the time. And why not exercise
+diligence in making sure of the salvation of your souls? Men use
+astonishing diligence in the affairs and pursuits of this life. The men
+of all professions and occupations use diligence and industry and toil
+and self-denial in order to make a little money or to gain a little
+honor. Why, you know there are thousands of men in this city who get up
+early in wet weather or dry, in summer's heat or winter's cold, and go
+hurrying up and down these streets to be at their places at the
+prescribed hour for beginning their day's toil; and they work, work,
+work, sometimes with tired hands and feet and weary hearts, till the sun
+goes down, because they know they must do it in order to get bread and
+meat and clothing for themselves and their families. They do not stop to
+think how they _feel_. No, no; feelings and preferences and all must be
+overlooked and forgotten; for they know that work must be done that
+bread may be won. And we do not hear many complaining of this. They
+accept it as a matter of course. Why, I know how the gamblers will sit
+up late and do without sleep, and rack their brains, in order to devise
+some means of finding a poor victim and getting his money. Then why
+should not Christians, who are striving to avoid the danger and sorrow
+of sin and to gain eternal rest and reward--why should not they exercise
+diligence and self-denial and watchfulness also? And we are told in the
+text how to succeed in this. We are to _make up our minds_ by God's
+grace to live a life of consecration and activity.
+
+You have begun with faith, have you not? If any man here has been truly
+converted, he knows what faith is. He came to Christ as a hell-deserving
+sinner, and believed in Christ's mercy for forgiveness and salvation. So
+faith is the first step; faith is the foundation. And let me stop to say
+to any one here who is not yet saved, that, if he wants to be, he must
+throw himself as a sinner on the mercy of God in Christ; and God will
+save him at once, if he will do so. But, having exercised faith and
+received forgiveness and strength, you must add virtue, which means
+courage or boldness. It is sometimes very hard for a man who has lived a
+sinner and taken pride in it, to come out before the world, and
+especially before his old companions, and let them know that henceforth
+and forever he is a humble follower of Jesus Christ. But it is
+necessary. No middle ground is safe at all. If you try to meet the world
+as a reformed man, concealing the fact that you are a Christian, you
+will weaken, and give the devil a great advantage, and probably fall. I
+told gamblers in Denver I was a Christian, and they let me alone. But,
+not only that, you must be bold enough to try to persuade others to
+become Christians. There are some poor cowards who are not ashamed to
+let their friends and the world know that they have _reformed_; but they
+are too chicken-hearted to say that they have humbled themselves,
+surrendered their pride and become _Christians_. I know more than one of
+that sort. And, again, there are some men who are content to be saved
+themselves, but are afraid of being called fanatics if they are bold
+enough to go to talking and trying to persuade others to be so. Boldness
+in going out after others strengthened me and kept me from many a
+temptation.
+
+But, having this godly boldness, you must go on striving to get
+knowledge--knowledge of your own deceitful heart, knowledge of human
+nature, knowledge of the fullness of the gospel way of salvation. When a
+man is first converted, he is almost like a baby. Everything is new, and
+he hardly knows anything. So it was with me, but I trust I have grown in
+knowledge of myself and others and of the word of God and of the plan of
+salvation. Your knowledge will increase of itself if you are in earnest
+and if you will use all the means of growing better and stronger.
+Conversation with older Christians, when you get into a tight place,
+will help you. Earnest prayer to God will result in increase of
+knowledge. Reading His precious word, and studying short portions of it
+at a time, with prayer for guidance, will wonderfully enlighten you and
+increase your knowledge. You will gain knowledge also by reading good
+books--the lives of very pious people, and the sermons of such men as
+Wesley, Spurgeon, etc. Why not have some good books to read? Could you
+invest your money to better advantage? In this way, having your mind
+always occupied with the subject of religion, you will have neither time
+nor temptation for sin or thoughts of sin.
+
+There are some selfish men who, when they find themselves delivered from
+their evil appetites and raised up again to respectability and their
+right mind, begin to think of reading all sorts of worldly and profane
+literature, and want to cultivate their "literary taste" and prepare to
+shine in society. Such men forget the pit from which they were taken,
+and in their selfishness and worldliness and pride become blind to the
+awful peril to which they expose themselves in neglecting to keep their
+minds occupied with religious thoughts and subjects as far as is
+practicable. Some of our converts have fallen in this way.
+
+But what is the next thing, to be added? It is _temperance_. This means
+entire self-control in things that are, in themselves, innocent and
+lawful. Of course, men understand that in things that are wrong and
+dangerous nothing is right or safe but an utter abstinence from them and
+abhorrence of them, (Read Romans xii., 9, second clause: "Abhor that
+which is evil.") Temperance means here what we spoke about when we
+considered Paul's saying that he kept his body under, and brought it
+into subjection, lest he should be a castaway (1 Corinthians, ix: 27).
+And as you grow in experience and in knowledge of yourself you will
+find it absolutely necessary to keep down your body by denying it, and
+by asserting your entire mastery of it, through God's grace. Oh, be
+careful and be prayerful, and be self-denying, or some day, when you
+think all is secure, some sudden temptation will come and find you
+self-indulgent and careless, and, like David, you will fall before you
+are aware of it, and then, maybe, have not the heart and hope to ever
+try to be a Christian again. Men who have been addicted to bad habits
+before are especially in danger if they do not practice the strictest
+self-control in all things. But, with all this, you will often be
+provoked, and find your temper very troublesome. It troubled me long
+after conversion and troubles me now more than anything else. So it is
+necessary to bear all things, however unreasonable and provoking they
+may be; and this is exactly the next thing the Apostle puts
+down--namely, _patience_.
+
+Oh, how I tremble for some of these men who are converted here. They do
+not know how necessary it is to keep right down in the dust, and not
+only to give diligence, but to _make it their chief business_ for some
+time to watch and guard their thoughts and ways, and to pray always, and
+by all the means we have spoken of try to keep away--far, far away from
+temptation. I beg you to make up your minds to bear anything and
+everything. Always be ready for a disappointment, and determine not to
+let your contentment and happiness depend upon anything or anybody in
+this world. Then it won't make any difference what happens to you; it
+will come like water on a duck's back, and won't hurt you. Remember how
+humble you had to get before you could get forgiveness and strength to
+resist your appetites. And did it kill you or did it damage you in any
+way? No! It killed your wretched sins, but not you. It robbed you of
+your bondage and darkness and despair and wretchedness. But it did not
+rob you of any good, did it? Then it won't hurt you to keep humble and
+in that same state of mind till you die. And you can afford to do so.
+How would you like to get back into bondage and darkness where you were?
+You say: "Not for the world!" But, if you knew you could, by diligence
+and watchfulness, gain the world, you would be diligent and watchful.
+And yet, by this diligence, you not only keep yourself secure from
+falling back, you make your family happy, you bless many others--and,
+best of all, you make _sure_ of everlasting life, and escape the hell
+which we all fear more than all things else combined.
+
+    "Since I must fight if I would reign,
+      Increase my courage, Lord;
+    I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
+      Supported by Thy word."
+
+
+ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.
+
+     "Let us bear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and
+     keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man."
+
+The book of Ecclesiastes contains the experience of a man who had tried
+every phase of life, who had tasted every kind of pleasure, and who,
+also, had experience in the service of God, with its consolations and
+its sacrifices; and he had also made a study of the great questions that
+come up in considering the affairs of the world about him. And after his
+long and thorough experience, and his deep and life-long study of the
+facts of human life and history, he at last reaches a conclusion
+concerning it all, and this conclusion he has recorded in the text I
+have read, "Fear God and keep His commandments," etc.
+
+1. Fear God.
+
+The fear of God is natural to man until, by false teaching and evil
+association, it is destroyed. The severe things we see in nature about
+us lead us to have a dread of Him who is the author of all these things.
+And, then, death is an awful and a fear-inspiring thing, and the thought
+of what is to come after death, in that unknown country from which no
+traveler has ever returned to tell us of it, fills us with awe and
+sobers us whenever it comes to us. And most men even that are in their
+lives wicked, and seemingly have no thought of God or fear of Him, are
+often troubled with the fear of death and what is to come after death.
+This was my own experience.
+
+2. But merely to have this fear of God is not sufficient, and will do no
+good if it does not lead a man to obey God and keep His commandments, as
+the text says. For example, I knew a fireman in an engine-house here who
+had this fear of God; but he lived a swearing, drinking man, and, of
+course, he was not at all benefited by his fear of God. No doubt this
+fear of God was created in the human mind in order to lead men to keep
+God's commandments. But how are we to know His commandments? Why, my
+brothers, they are given with great plainness in His Holy Word--so plain
+that the wayfaring man, though he be a fool, need not miss them if only
+he is willing to know them and to do them. And, as St. John says, "His
+commandments are not grievous." They only require of us what is most
+just and reasonably due to Him who is the giver, the free and bountiful
+giver, of all the good things of this life, and the gracious promiser of
+perfect blessedness in the life to come. And, on the human side, His
+commandments require of us only that we keep from doing to others what
+they ought not do to us, and that we do for others that which they ought
+to do for us. In other words, the commandments of God are all embraced
+in two sentences, "Love God with all your heart, because He first loved
+you," and "Love your fellowmen, because they are commanded to love you,"
+and when you submit to God's Spirit, and become renewed in mind and
+heart, born again, made a new creature, you will see the reasonableness
+of keeping God's commandments, and the desirableness of it, in such a
+light that you will go on in His ways with delight, desiring to know
+more and more of Him.
+
+3. And we are told that to do this is the _whole purpose_ of man's
+existence, and when he does this he has fully answered the end of his
+existence, met all that is required of him and is secure amid the
+problems of life and the possibilities of the unknown future.
+
+This, also, brings rest to the human heart, a rest to be found nowhere
+else. I am in a position to speak with some confidence and positiveness
+on this point; for, like the man who uttered the text, I have tried life
+in all its phases. I have had all the kinds of pleasure, and I have
+tested them to the bottom. I have found out all there is in them. For
+forty years I gave myself to seeking and enjoying worldly pleasure, and
+I ought to know what it can do for a human soul. But I have another
+advantage, too; I have tried the doctrine of my text. I have surrendered
+myself, my life, my prospects, my all, to God, and live only to keep His
+commandments and to please Him. My mind has been renewed, transformed,
+my life entirely turned around. I have passed through the struggle and
+the sacrifice that were involved in becoming a Christian, and I have
+been passing through those that belong to the life of a Christian. But
+you may say I speak thus because it is a novelty to me. No, sir; it is
+no longer a novelty. I have been trying it now for ten years--surely a
+long enough time to know pretty well how it compares with the old life;
+and my testimony, from forty years' experience of the old life and ten
+years of the new life, is that of the writer of my text, "Fear God and
+keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
+
+
+HEBREWS XII: 1, 2.
+
+     "1. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great
+     a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
+     sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
+     the race that is set before us.
+
+     "2. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith;
+     who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
+     despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
+     throne of God."
+
+The Apostle here speaks of a great number of witnesses, who, having
+tried God and His ways, are competent to testify as to what God can do
+for those who trust Him and serve Him. In the chapter just preceding he
+has spoken of Abraham and Joseph and Moses, and many others, and they,
+having lived the life of faith, were prepared to say whether it was a
+disappointment or not to trust God and to walk in His ways. And they
+were not disappointed. They obtained a good report, held fast to their
+faith in God, and were content to endure all sorts of trials and
+sufferings for the comfort and compensation of their religion. And so
+now there are witnesses, not a few, who have tested this matter, and
+tested it under circumstances the most adverse and trying, and they give
+no uncertain testimony as to the desirableness of religion. There are
+people who have none of the good things of this world; none of its
+honors; none of its pleasures; none of its wealth, and not many of its
+comforts, and yet they are contented, and even happy. Yes, far happier
+than many who have the best that this world can give. I am one of this
+class myself. Then the Apostle goes on to exhort them to hold fast, and
+to go on, because others having tried it were conquerors.
+
+He exhorts to three things:
+
+1. To lay aside every weight, and especially every besetting sin that
+might have especial attraction and special power. And it is impossible
+to serve God and have peace of conscience and to overcome sin while the
+mind is divided and undecided. A man can not expect to win a race if he
+ties heavy weights upon his person; be must be unencumbered and free.
+So, in running the Christian race, we must free ourselves from
+everything we find to be a hindrance, no matter how desirable or how
+dear it may be to the flesh. So Jesus Himself says: "If anything so dear
+as a right arm or a right eye becomes a hindrance to to us, it must be
+given up." There are men who say they want to serve God, and expect to
+do so, but then they enjoy certain things they know to be wrong and
+hurtful, and they will indulge in them just a little, not enough to
+cause them to get clear away from God. I know and you know men who think
+they can enjoy sin just a little, or once in awhile. In the first place,
+this is ungrateful and mean. It is the same as to say: "I want to be
+just religious enough to escape hell, and yet I want to enjoy all the
+pleasure I can from sin, too." Such a feeling dishonors God. And, in the
+second place, it is exceedingly dangerous. It shows that the heart is
+not right. While you are trifling thus with sin, you may become so
+fascinated by it and led away as to be enslaved before you know it, and
+lose all your taste for heavenly things. Besides, God will not long bear
+with a man who has no better heart and no more self-sacrificing spirit
+than that. For myself, I should tremble and shudder if I were so far
+gone as to feel that I could go and deliberately indulge in some
+pleasant sin for awhile and then come back to resume the service of God
+when I had satiated my evil desires. Be assured, you can not serve God
+and sin. They are as opposite as light and darkness; you must give up
+one or the other. "But," you say, "how can I give up sin?" If you are
+_willing_ to do so, God will see that you have the _power_ to do it.
+Give it up if it gives you pain--yes, if it breaks your heart! God
+Himself will pour in the oil of comfort and joy, and heal all your
+wounds.
+
+2. The Apostle exhorts to run with patience the race set before us. It
+is easy to do well for awhile; to abstain from sin while the excitement
+of novelty in the religious life is upon us; and how many there are who
+began well and did well for awhile, but when the novelty wore away, and
+the excitement of the change was gone, they grew weary and sought the
+old pleasures of sin again. Some have thus done in connection with our
+work here in this mission. Make up your mind before hand that when the
+time of temptation and loneliness comes, you will endure it and go
+through with it patiently, waiting for the removal of the temptation and
+the return of joy. And when temptation does come, pray, oh pray. Go
+alone and ask God to restore to you the joy of His salvation and trust
+Him until he does it. Go work for others; go mingle with Christian
+people, whether you feel like it or not, and you will soon find how to
+meet the enemy, and how to defeat his plans and purposes.
+
+3. But his last exhortation is to look to Jesus. He bore our sins on the
+cross, and therefore we are released from them, if we trust Him and
+accept Him as our sin-bearer. He is alive forevermore; and when
+earnestly asked, He gives spiritual life and joy and strength by sending
+the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Then again, His life is the pattern of
+patience in loneliness and trials, which you and I are to follow; and
+can we desire or aspire to be or to do any better than did He?
+
+    "Would you lose your load of sin?
+      Fix your eyes upon Jesus.
+    Would you have God's peace within?
+      Fix your eyes upon Jesus."
+
+
+ACTS II: 38.
+
+     "Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of
+     you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
+     ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
+
+We may not be able to understand how it is, but these inspired
+Scriptures represent the work of salvation as applied to human hearts by
+the Holy Spirit. We do not hear enough of the Holy Spirit. We do not
+know Him and speak of Him and pray for His help and guidance and power,
+as the Scriptures teach us to do. These Scriptures are our guide; what
+they say we do not question, nor can we subtract from them or add to
+them. Let us see, then, what they teach us as to the Holy Spirit. In the
+14th, 15th and 16th chapters of St. John's Gospel Jesus distinctly
+promises His disciples that upon His departure He would send to them and
+to the world a divine agent whom He calls the Spirit of Truth, the
+Comforter, etc., and He tells them what that divine agent would do. Let
+us, then, fix our minds now intently on what He says, and be prepared to
+believe it.
+
+He said that this Spirit of Truth should "convince men of sin." Well,
+the fact is, we do see men convinced of sin as sin, and not merely
+because it is damaging and ruinous. But we see this only in connection
+with the Christian religion. So it must be by means of some power that
+belongs to the Christian religion. And if any of you here to-night see
+your sins and feel them to be, not only damaging and destructive, but
+mean and hateful and crimes against the good Father who has borne with
+you and blessed you through all these years of sin, then you may know
+that it is God's Holy Spirit that has produced that feeling in you; and
+especially so if you feel that your ingratitude to God, who has provided
+for you a way of salvation at such great cost, and your cold and
+heartless neglect of Jesus Christ through all these years of sin are the
+most aggravated part of your guilt. And you may be sure if God is
+willing to begin a good work in you He is willing to carry it on to
+completion, and will do so if you do not hinder Him. "Work out your
+salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you."
+And since it is He who has begun this work, beware that you do not
+hinder it or stop it by your coldness, carelessness or sin.
+
+But, in the second place, Jesus says the Holy Spirit should reveal Him
+to sinners as their sin-bearer and life-giver. So the promise is to you.
+Hold on in prayer and patient expectation. You can not be disappointed,
+for God can not lie. I was ignorant of Christ to an astonishing and
+shameful degree; but I was told to pray and I did so. I shut myself up
+in my back room one evening and told God I was going to stay there until
+He blessed me, and I was blessed, and the only three words I uttered
+were "Jesus of Nazareth." By some power I was so illuminated and changed
+that I saw Jesus as the dearest and loveliest being I ever thought of.
+Was not this a fulfillment to me of the promise made in John xvi.: 14?
+And having received grace from my God, I continue to this day witnessing
+to small and to great the things I have experienced since becoming a
+Christian. Now, let us inquire what else this gracious divine agent
+working in man is to do.
+
+He it is who produces that change in men which we call conversion or
+regeneration or new birth. You remember in John (3d chapter) the
+expression, "Born of the Spirit," and again in Titus iii.: 5, it is said
+we are saved by the "renewing of the Holy Ghost." When we know, then,
+that these changes are the immediate effect of the inworking of this
+divine agent, we need not be surprised that they are so sudden and so
+thorough as we see them to be in some cases that we know of. Let me say
+to those who have not yet experienced this wonderful deliverance from
+the power and love of sin and this inner revolution, that many of us
+have tested this matter who were in the deepest depths of sin and
+darkness, and God will do to depend on. Go ahead, go ahead; keep on
+praying and keep on hoping and trust yourself to Jesus, and you shall
+receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
+
+But, after we have experienced this change which we call conversion,
+God's spirit abides with us and keeps on doing great things for us when
+we are converted. We are not made angels or gods, but are still human,
+and, though delivered from the guilt and power of sin, we are hampered
+by ignorance and depressed by sorrow and encompassed with temptations.
+But just anticipating these needs of ours, the Holy Spirit is to be our
+teacher and to guide us into the truth. So we need not fear if we are
+only humble and honest and teachable; we shall not go dangerously
+astray, for God Himself will thus open to our minds the wonderful things
+of Scripture, and cause us to understand as much of it as we need.
+
+But He, the Holy Spirit, is to be the comforter of God's people in their
+loneliness and trials and conflicts in this world of exile. I have been
+sustained by unseen power in my trials as a Christian. But He enables
+them to overcome, and be more than conquerors, when they are assailed by
+temptation to sin. "He strengthens with might in the inner man"
+(Ephesians iii.: 16), and gives joy and peace; so that the soul, being
+content with these, does not need or desire the poor pleasures of sin.
+This has been my experience.
+
+He sanctifies God's people; He makes them holier and holier; He produces
+the fruit of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
+meekness, temperance, faith; and He gives power to reach, by our poor
+words, the hearts and consciences of others, though they be dead in sin.
+Jesus says, "Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon
+you." (Acts 1.: 8.) There are some men who have this power to reach and
+awaken and interest sinners in the salvation of their souls. And they do
+have power to bring sinners into this new life of peace and purity and
+joy. And you and I might have this power, and far more of it than we do,
+if, like the Apostle, we would wait before God in patient, believing
+prayer till the Holy Spirit should come in fullness and power. Pentecost
+was a display of this power, and we may have another Pentecost when we
+are willing to wait for it and pray for it as did the little company in
+the upper room at Jerusalem.
+
+
+LUKE V: 32.
+
+     "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
+
+These words of Jesus were spoken to the Scribes and Pharisees, and
+combine in themselves a defense of His own course in mingling with
+sinners, and a keen rebuke of the spirit of those who brought against
+him an accusation of associating with sinners, as well as the
+declaration of the object of His mission into this poor darkened world.
+And does it not seem strange that a man should be required to defend
+himself for going to spend and be spent for the good of those who are
+most sorely in need of help and relief? But it has always been so. Men
+are so selfish, so utterly without concern for the interests of others
+that they want to monopolize and swallow up everything that is good. So
+when Jesus of Nazareth was revealed to the Jewish people, and made
+Himself conspicuous and famous by the daily performance of astonishing
+miracles, the Scribes and Pharisees, who thought that everything ought
+to be subservient to their own personal interests and aggrandizement,
+fell out with Jesus because He did not fall in with notions of what He
+ought to be and do. They did not care a baubee for the people, the
+rabble, the mob, the human cattle. Indeed they utterly despised them,
+and would have nothing to do with them. They might perish and rot so far
+as the Scribes and Pharisees were concerned, provided these latter could
+hold the places of honor and gain. And so utterly possessed were they by
+this feeling of all-consuming selfishness, that when they saw this
+Jesus of Nazareth going with sinners, talking with sinners and eating
+with sinners, they set it down as a conclusion they would never give up
+that He was not, and could not be, and should not be, their Messiah. So
+that Jesus was thus forced to reason with them, and to make His defense
+before these self-constituted judges of His, and tell them why it was
+that He pursued the course He did. So it was in the time of John Wesley
+in England. He went among sinners, talked with them, taught them, and
+drew them by the magic force of his great love to follow him wherever he
+went to preach; and they so crowded the churches to hear the words of
+grace and tenderness that fell from his lips, that the doors were shut
+upon him, and he had to go out on the commons and into the fields
+beneath the sky of that God and Father whose words he was preaching, and
+whose lost children he was trying to save. This has been the experience
+of other zealous and earnest ministers of Christ. And they, too, have
+had to defend themselves for such a course. Our dear Brother Morris felt
+himself pressed to say why he went to the courthouse steps to try to
+lift up the fallen and save the wretched and the lost. But the words of
+Jesus contain also a scathing rebuke of the self-righteous spirit of
+those hard-headed, hard-hearted Scribes and Pharisees. It was the same
+as saying, "you claim that you are the righteous of the world. You are
+not willing to be classed with sinners, or to be called sinners, or to
+believe yourselves sinners. Therefore you have no need of me, and I have
+nothing for you; for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to
+repentance." Let us beware then, my dear friends and brethren, of
+thinking or feeling that we are better than others, or that we are not
+sinners. Now, need I stop here to prove that any of you are sinners?
+Does any one here need to have arguments worked out and laid before him
+to prove to him that he is a poor, miserable, blind sinner? If there is
+any one here who thinks and feels that he is not, then he has no
+business here, he has no business with Christ, and we have nothing to
+tell him or give him here. We bid him farewell, and turn away from him,
+to work for and to talk to others. If I were to go to see a sick man
+concerned about his soul, and he were to begin to tell about his good
+deeds and his freedom from sins and vices, I would get my hat and tell
+him good-bye; that I knew nothing about salvation for anybody but
+sinners. But for sinners I have and hold up a Saviour, a divine Saviour,
+who, blessed be God, is able to save to the uttermost all who come to
+him, and to save them here and now. If you want to see a specimen of
+Christ's interest in sinners and feeling for sinners, look at His life.
+In the beginning of His ministry He chooses Matthew, one of the despised
+class of publicans, to be one of His disciples--nay, one of His
+Apostles. Then He went to Matthew's house to dinner. It was as if some
+leading minister of the Gospel here to-day would be seen walking down
+the street with some leading gambler, on his way to take dinner and
+spend the afternoon with him. It was as if Mr. Moody should come to
+Louisville to conduct one of his great meetings, and, instead of
+stopping with Mr. Carley or Mr. Carter or Judge Bullock, should stop
+with John Young or Harry Johnson, and be his willing guest. So Jesus
+went to the house of another big gambler, so to speak, in his day. It
+was the publican Zaccheus (Luke xix., 1-10), and Jesus not only went
+there to dinner, but took salvation with Him to Zaccheus' house. So by
+His tenderness and grace, Jesus drew to Him the poor outcast women of
+His day. One wretched sinner of this class was so won by His concern for
+sinners, that she pressed her way into a rich man's house where Jesus
+was dining, and going to Him washed His feet with her tears, and
+anointed them with costly perfume, Jesus not only not forbidding her,
+but defending her for it (Luke 7). And Jesus spoke the parables of the
+Lost Sheep, the Lost Piece of Silver, the Lost Prodigal Son, and
+said--oh, hear it--"There is joy in heaven over one sinner that
+repenteth."
+
+
+JAMES I: 25, 26.
+
+     "25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
+     continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer
+     of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
+
+     "26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth
+     not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's
+     religion is vain."
+
+James, the writer of this language, is that inspired servant of God, who
+gets impatient with mere professions of piety, and who wants to see
+action, action! not mere words, not dead faith, but also action. He
+speaks, in the text, of "forgetful hearers of the Word." Now, do you not
+know all about what that means? Have you not, many a time, read the
+Bible, or heard a sermon from it that, like a mirror, held up to your
+heart, showed you yourself even better than you knew yourself? And have
+you not said: "Well, I will change; that picture is true, and it is too
+dark to be endured any longer?" But, instead of carrying out your
+purpose and doing what you say, you went away and forgot all about it,
+and soon you were as dead as ever. And, instead of continuing to read
+the Bible and see yourself there; and instead of continuing to go where
+faithful ministers would uncover your poor, wicked heart and life to
+your eyes, you went on your accustomed ways of business or pleasure, and
+became a "forgetful hearer of the Word," and it did you no good. How,
+then, in the name of God, can a man keep himself from forgetting the
+things he reads or hears from the Bible? Why, it is very simple--to go
+to _doing_ at once, without waiting even till to-morrow. "Do what?" you
+say. Why, go to praying. Cut yourself off from retreat by coming out on
+the side of Christ and taking your place among those who are seeking His
+mercy and salvation, till you can take your place among those who have
+that salvation. But I want to say a very solemn word to those who
+profess to have already obtained salvation. Are _you doing_, as well as
+_hearing_ the Word of God? Does your life exemplify "holiness to the
+Lord," and does it abound in good works and good words? Do you abstain
+from evil and keep yourself from evil associations? Do you turn away
+from dangerous and suspicious places and people? Do you obey readily and
+heartily what you find to be commanded in God's Word? If you do not do
+the things you hear, then you, too, will soon become "forgetful
+hearers," and little by little the world will re-assert its power over
+you, and the flesh will get the upper hand, and at the last you may wind
+up as our poor friend Eicheler did. Doing is as important a part of the
+Gospel as hearing. Read the last part of the Sermon on the Mount
+(Matthew vii., 24-27). Notice that Jesus says the man who does His
+sayings is like one who buildeth on a solid and enduring foundation that
+can stand storms and temptations. Now, do you not find that if you do
+what you find in the Bible, then the Bible becomes sweeter and sweeter
+to you? You do not shut it up then and shove it aside for fear of
+finding yourself condemned, for when you do its biddings it will not
+condemn you, but commend you, and that makes you love it and keeps you
+from forgetting it. And thus you grow stronger and stronger, and sin
+will grow weaker and weaker, and you will surely find that you have
+built on a strong foundation. But, in the last part of the text is a
+subject I want to talk about. Read verse 26. It is the tongue. If any
+man seems to be religious, and fails to control his tongue, then he is
+mistaken. Oh, have you not found your tongue to be one of the most
+troublesome things you have to contend with? If you want to see James'
+idea of the tongue, read chapter iii., 1-10. Do you watch your
+conversation? Do you guard the door of your lips? Do you? I am in
+earnest.
+
+Do you ever indulge in the least obscenity? Some so-called Christians
+do, and it is sickening and disgusting to others; and while it shows
+what their thoughts dwell on, it does themselves great harm, for it
+keeps temptation before their minds, and makes it a great deal more
+difficult to resist temptations when they come in their lives. Do you
+mean it only as innocent fun? It is not innocent. For if you are so
+hardened as to unclean thoughts, that they don't hurt _you_, they, will
+hurt others.
+
+What about swearing? If the devil can get you to swear a few times, then
+he will say: "Oh, you might as well confess that you are no Christian,
+and give up this hypocritical business." There is one of the Ten
+Commandments forbidding to take God's name in vain; the Sermon on the
+Mount forbids it still more strongly, and James, in chapter v., 12,
+condemns it in the strongest language. And yet there are some church
+members who practice it, especially when they get mad. That man's heart
+is not right, and he is treading on very dangerous ground who is not
+changed enough to avoid swearing. And if a man, by God's grace, will
+turn away from it and from the thought of it, he will soon become so
+that it will make him shudder to hear others swear. I know this from my
+own experience.
+
+If you do not watch yourself in conversation, you will tell things that
+are not true; and so, in trying to be polite, you will have to watch or
+your tongue will tell a falsehood, and you will recollect it with shame
+and lose strength of faith in God.
+
+And then that tongue often indulges in gossip about your acquaintances
+that does them great harm. And have you not, in moments of temper and
+passion, said cruel and, perhaps, false things to your dear ones; to
+those who have worked for you, and maybe would die for you? It cut them
+to the heart, and you have not made acknowledgment of your sin to them.
+
+
+JAMES I: 8.
+
+     "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."
+
+One of the commonest and greatest faults and weaknesses of men is this
+that I am going to speak about to you to-night, and that is indecision.
+It is not only a weakness and a fault and a great hindrance in regard to
+religion, but in any and all the affairs of life. Do you not know men of
+competent ability and of good advantages and education who amount to
+very little in the world? And when you ask yourself why it is, is it not
+because they have not enough decision of character to keep at any one
+thing long enough to master the difficulties with which it is beset and
+to win success in spite of obstacles? Some of them are confused by the
+great number of ways that seem to open before them and are not decided
+as to which one they will pursue. And after embarking in one pursuit and
+continuing in it for awhile, they conclude they could do better at
+something else; and before they have studied and labored long enough to
+obtain success in this second enterprise, they conclude they could do
+better by changing for a third or going back to the first. And so,
+because study and time and labor are necessary to success in any
+occupation or profession and they do not bestow these, they do not
+succeed, and, in the nature of the case, can not succeed. Or, if they
+are not embarrassed by the number of openings before them, they are
+divided in their minds between a life of ease, indulgence and pleasure
+and a life of labor and self-denial, and, though they would be something
+and are not without ambition, yet a life of indolence and rest offers
+so many inducements that they prefer it to a life of hard work and of
+discouragements and battles and anxieties, or, at least, if they do not
+positively prefer such a life, yet they hanker after it; and in their
+effort to have ease and pleasure and, at the same time, to pursue some
+honorable and profitable calling, _they miss both_, and have no
+satisfaction, but only a consciousness of their own weakness and
+uselessness and a contempt for themselves. But maybe I need not ask you
+if you know persons of this sort. You who listen to me to-night may be
+of just that kind. Possibly--nay, probably--there are men here to-night
+whose lives have been failures just because of the miserable weakness I
+have been trying to describe. But if this weakness of character is the
+cause of many failures and the utter disappointment that many lives have
+ended in, in worldly matters, how much more so is it in religious
+concerns and interests. If concentration of thought and fixedness of
+purpose and firmness of will are necessary to overcome obstacles and to
+master success in business or in the learned professions, they are more
+so in the matter of religion. If indecision and dividedness of mind and
+wavering of purpose cause men to fail in worldly matters, much more so
+will they cause men to fail in religion. Some men are forever wavering
+between accepting and rejecting Christianity. To-day they are satisfied
+that Christianity is true, and to-morrow they say they have found proof
+that Christianity is false. Then, again, they get into trouble and find
+that nothing can help them but Christianity, and they believe it until
+some man comes along and argues against it, and away they go off after
+him. So they never believe in Christianity long enough at any time to
+get any good from it, and they will not utterly and finally reject it so
+as to be no longer troubled by it. But the trouble with most of the
+people who are in this wretched state of indecision is that they believe
+in Christianity, and are persuaded that it is far better to be a
+Christian and safer, but they love the world and the ways of the world
+and the honors of the world and the pleasures of the world; and it is
+impossible to love the world and partake of the pleasures of the world
+and at the same time to serve God with your whole heart. "Ye can not
+serve two masters," and yet you see people who are trying to do it. So
+they do not make good Christians, for their hearts are in the world, and
+their lives and influence are not for Christianity, but for the world.
+Nor do they get the good and pleasure of a worldly life, for they are
+restrained and harassed by their fear of conscience, God and hell. And
+Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, says, "Ye can not serve two masters."
+Many have tried it. Some whose histories are given in the Bible tried
+it. Saul, the first king of Israel, tried it. When God sent him to
+destroy the Amalekites, he obeyed the command in part, but not
+altogether. (I. Samuel xv., 13-25.) But God is not mocked, and because
+Saul trifled with Him He rejected Saul, and Saul went from bad to worse,
+until at last, in his abandonment to the power of evil, he committed
+murder after murder and finally died a suicide. The rich young man in
+the New Testament was another case of divided mind. He saw the
+desirableness of being good, and the safety of being at peace with God,
+and showed a zeal in trying to be good; but when Jesus told him to sell
+all he had and give it to the poor, he refused. He wanted to do both,
+obey God and inherit the kingdom of heaven and have a fortune for
+selfish enjoyment or for miserable greed at the same time. But he could
+not do both. King Agrippa said "he was almost persuaded" to be a
+Christian. His mind was divided; he could not do both. He chose to keep
+his worldly possessions, and, of course, could not be a Christian (Acts
+xxvi., 28). But, on the other hand, those men who were decided and
+positive in their rejection of the pleasures of the world found no great
+trouble in serving God. Moses was a man of this sort (Hebrews xi.,
+25-27). He deliberately chose to suffer afflictions with the people of
+God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Paul was
+another man of this positive character. When Jesus revealed Himself to
+Paul his surrender was immediate and complete. He said, "What wilt thou
+have me do?" And to the end of a long and laborious life, amid
+persecutions and sufferings and disgraces and loneliness and bonds, he
+continually cried, "None of these things move me." And his Christian
+life was victorious and glorious.
+
+
+II. TIMOTHY III: 5.
+
+     "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;
+     from such turn away."
+
+This text is a description of certain false teachers who had arisen in
+the midst of the church, or who would arise and assume the name of
+disciples of Christ, as well as authority to teach. They would assume
+the outward form of Christianity and adopt its expressions and conform
+to its usage in outward respects, but would deny that there was any
+supernatural power or divine unction in it. And there are such men
+to-day. But if Christianity be not attended by any supernatural agency
+and energy present in it and with it, then it is no better than any
+other of the so-called religions of the world. If it has only form and
+body, without a living and life-giving soul and divinity in it, it is on
+a level with the heathen religions, for they all have these. And,
+indeed, all men have a form of religion, and many of them are so devoted
+to it that they will suffer and some of them die before they will give
+it up. The ancient Jews held to the forms of their religion, and fought
+for it in bloody and bitter wars. And the Pharisees at the time of
+Christ were the most careful and scrupulous observers of all the forms
+of their religion, and yet Jesus denounced them as the wickedest sinners
+of His time. There are men of this kind in the Christian churches of
+to-day, men who go through the forms of religion, who perform the
+outward duties of religion, and who would not give these up for any
+consideration; and yet they not only do not experience anything of the
+power of inward religion, but they go so far as to deny that there is
+any such inward power, and call those who claim to have it fanatical.
+
+But read the following passages, and see if we have not Scripture
+warrant for this power of religion: I. Corinthians ii., 4; I.
+Thessalonians i., 5; II. Timothy i., 7; Ephesians iii., 16; and our
+text, II. Timothy iii., 5.
+
+1. The power of Christianity is shown in the conviction for sin.
+
+It is impossible to get men to see and realize the sinfulness and
+hatefulness of sin. It is impossible for any power of men's eloquence to
+pierce through the deep native depravity of the heart--through the
+selfish motives, desires, ambitions and interests, and get men to see
+and feel the nature and danger of sin. Oh, the impossibility of making
+men feel guilt and danger by any human means while they are dead in sin!
+But under the power of this force, or, rather, this agent, who works in
+and through Christianity, the poor sinner sees and feels all this. He
+sees that, of all bitter and perilous things, sin is the most bitter and
+perilous and dreadful. He feels smitten with remorse. He feels that
+there is no beauty in the world, or in anything, because of the
+blackness and ugliness and foulness of his own evil heart and life. And
+he feels that, above all things, he must get rid of sin, and at whatever
+cost, and speedily at that, for the agony is unendurable. Everything
+seems as nothing compared with salvation from sin. "He will go and sell
+all he has to buy it," as Jesus says. This sense of sin and danger
+produces an earthquake in the spiritual nature that upheaves the hidden
+depths of the soul. Like the pilgrim in Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress, he
+puts his fingers in his ears and flees from the City of Destruction.
+Like the murderers of Jesus when convicted by this power, he cries out,
+"What must I do to be saved?"
+
+2. It is shown in what we call conversion.
+
+But this power which belongs to Christianity, not only produces this
+awful sense of the guilt and danger of sin, it also delivers from the
+guilt and power of sin, and makes the man a new creature. The awful
+sense of condemnation and the fear of a just and endless retribution are
+taken away. He may not know how or just why, but he knows it is so, and
+he rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But, not only so, he
+finds to his amazement and joy that his whole inner nature is reversed,
+re-created, and he no longer is a slave of sinful habits and passions,
+but he is delivered from these, and now loves holiness and holy people
+and holy things and holy thoughts. The whole current of his nature is
+changed. "Old things are passed away, and behold all things are become
+new," and, instead of the old defilement and darkness and
+devilishness, there flows out and on a life of purity, consecration,
+self-forgetfulness and holiness. Now, do you not call that a power which
+can bring to pass such effects as this? Do you know of any other power
+that can do anything like it?
+
+And now, my brother, you who profess to be a follower of Jesus, have you
+experienced this power, or have you only the form of godliness without
+the power? That is what is the matter with most of the church members
+of this day. They have a form of godliness, but in too many cases only a
+form. They do not know anything of the power of which I have been
+speaking. But let no one be discouraged who has not experienced this
+blessed deliverance from the power of the enemy, provided you are
+seeking for it. You shall not seek long in vain, if you seek it in
+earnest. May God reveal Himself to us all now and here.
+
+
+I. CORINTHIANS IX: 26, 27.
+
+     "I therefore so run not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one
+     that beateth the air:
+
+     "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
+     that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
+     should be a castaway."
+
+This Is the language of St. Paul, the Apostle. As we have already
+remarked of Jesus, that He took the most familiar facts and experiences
+of every-day life by which to teach His doctrines, so we may say of His
+great Apostle, Paul. The Grecian games, consisting of running matches
+and boxing matches, were well known among the people of St. Paul's day,
+and especially so at Corinth, and these furnished him the illustrations
+which he frequently used in his letters. In another place he speaks of
+laying aside all weights and running with patience the race set before
+us. In this place he speaks both of running and boxing. His object is to
+show that, as in these games the utmost attention and energy and
+self-denial were necessary to success, and that these would insure
+success, so it is in the Christian race and the Christian fight. He
+says: "I, for my part, run not as uncertainly," that is, I run no risk,
+I indulge in nothing that would make it in the least degree uncertain as
+to my gaining the desired object; I know what is required of me, and I
+know that if I do not fully observe all that is commanded me and
+required of me, I, to that extent, render my success uncertain, and this
+I am determined, by the grace of God, not to do. Then he says: "I fight
+not as one that beateth the air." The boxers would frequently take
+exercise by striking into the air, as we see men practicing gymnastics
+now; but Paul meant to say that he was not taking exercise--he was
+facing an earnest and dangerous foe, and it was a life and death matter
+to him to know just what that foe was, and to know just how to attack it
+so as to conquer it. And what was that foe? Hear it, you who think you
+are safe and can just go smoothly to heaven as if you were sliding down
+hill. Hear what Paul's greatest foe was: It was his body--yes, his body,
+with its appetites and passions, its constant craving for gratification
+and pleasure. What! do you mean to say that Paul, the great Apostle, was
+in danger of being led away by the appetites of the body? Well, that is
+what he himself says. He was not in danger of falling because of doubt,
+for he had had such a wonderful conversion, and such an actual vision of
+Christ, that he could never, never doubt that, nor does he any where, in
+any of his epistles, show the slightest wavering in this respect, but he
+does show that he knew and felt there was danger of being, in some
+unguarded moment, misled and brought into sin by the appetites of an
+unmastered body. So, he says in the next verse: "I keep under my body
+and bring it into subjection, lest that when I have preached to others,
+I myself should be lost." He still keeps up the figure of the boxing
+matches in the games, and says: "The foe I have to contend with is my
+body," and as the winner in the fist fight of the games beats his foe
+black, till he cries "enough!" so do I deny my body till it ceases to
+have any desire or disposition toward the objects of unholy passions,
+till it meekly gives up, and I feel that I am perfect master, and it is
+under my feet as it were. When the body is fed and gratified and
+pampered, its animal appetites and passions are nursed and become
+strong. So men who live high and eat to gluttony and drink wines and
+liquors are usually in a perfect strut of sensual passion. I guess that
+is why the Lord keeps me so poor, and why I have so little to live on
+and so little to feed on. It is that, by this necessary self-denial, I
+may keep my poor body down, out of danger of betraying me into sin.
+
+David was as great a man in some respects as Paul, he communed with God
+in the solitudes of Bethlehem's sheep pastures, till he became strong
+enough to overcome a giant and to put a whole army to flight. He
+composed most of the Psalms, the most spiritual songs in the world. He
+withstood all the temptations of honor, and endured, with matchless
+meekness, the hatred and persecution of Saul, the king (I. Samuel xxiv).
+But his poor body, with its sensual passions, got the better of him, and
+he committed the awful sin of adultery. Doubtless, when he had become
+king, he forgot the self-denial which he practiced when he was a
+shepherd, and when he was a persecuted and hunted fugitive, and instead
+of that he lived high, fed high, drank high, and so he fell, and fell
+very low.
+
+Solomon was a wise man. He knew all the secrets of the human heart. He
+wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, books full of profound knowledge, as
+well as of deepest piety. Yet Solomon was led away from God by indulging
+in sensuality. And if David and Solomon, with all their faith and wisdom
+and power and piety, found that their bodies, because not kept down,
+led them into sin, we need not wonder that Paul saw and shunned this
+danger. But how is a man to keep his body under? By totally abstaining
+from everything that heats the blood and inflames passion, as drinking,
+etc., and high living; by fleeing from evil conversation, evil books,
+evil thoughts; by fasting and abstinence, frequently practiced. Moses
+fasted; Elijah, David, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus, Paul, the
+early church and Wesley and the early Methodists--all these eminent
+servants of God fasted, and there must be something good and profitable
+in it. I am satisfied it is one of the ways of keeping the body under,
+and bringing it into subjection. And may God help us to use all the
+means in our power for securing ourselves from our greatest enemy.
+
+
+ACTS XX: 21.
+
+     "Testifying both to the Jews, and also the Greeks, repentance
+     toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+This verse is a part of St. Paul's account of his own ministry at the
+city of Ephesus in Asia. He revisits them after having spent three years
+of labor among them, and in his address to them he reminds them of his
+manner of life among them, and recounts the substance of his preaching
+among them; and the burden of his preaching was as is stated in the
+text: "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+And the first point to be noticed is that St. Paul made no difference
+among men; he was no respecter of persons or classes. You all know the
+Jews were the church people of that day. They not only claimed to be the
+pious of that day, but they claimed to be the only pious people, and the
+only ones qualified to teach others. But Paul, finding their religion
+was altogether outward and formal, as is the religion of many of the
+church people to-day, preached to them just as he did to the vilest of
+the heathens around them, the necessity of repentance, of turning from
+their sins and passions to God, with self-abhorrence and hope of mercy
+and pardon. And in this he has only followed the example of his Divine
+Master; for Christ said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a sort of
+reverend doctor of divinity, "Except ye be born again, ye can not enter
+into the kingdom of God." (John iii., 3.) And so now it makes no
+difference if you belong to the Catholic church or the Episcopal church
+or the Methodist church, or any or all others, it will do you
+absolutely no good at all if you have not repented of your sins and evil
+doings and turned to God in prayer and hope for grace to enable you to
+live above the power of sin. But, in the next place, Paul said he
+preached "repentance toward God." It is God, then, whom you have
+offended by your sins. As David says in the fifty-first Psalm, "Against
+Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." And
+because you have sinned against God, you must repent toward God, and as
+in the sight of Him who sees and knows all, even the secret thoughts and
+passions and purposes of the heart. God is judge, and God is a consuming
+fire. But what is it to repent? Ordinarily, when we hear persons speak
+of repentance, we think at once about being sorry and of feeling a deep
+grief because we have done wrong; and some of us think it means to weep
+and moan and to be afflicted with an awful bitterness of soul because of
+our sins, when we hear any one speak of repentance in a religious sense.
+And, indeed, this may be the kind of repentance which many people have,
+and doubtless do have. But there _may_ be true repentance without this
+extreme sorrow for sin, provided there is enough sorrow for sin and
+hatred of sin and dread of sin to turn away from it, and to at once and
+forever forsake it. Nor must you wait for this extreme sorrow, which you
+may have heard others speak of, but if you are convinced of the evil of
+sin and the baseness of sin and the ruinousness of sin, then cease to
+follow it, cease to practice it, and cease at once, however much it may
+cost you to do so. The old prophet, speaking to the Jews who came with
+sighs and groans and tears to God's altar, but without mending their
+ways, says, "Cease to do evil, learn to do right, put away the evil from
+you." And John the Baptist says, "Bring forth fruits worthy of
+repentance," that is, such fruit as will show that you have indeed and
+in heart turned away from evil and from sin. Meanwhile, ask God to help
+you repent, tell Him you are nothing but sin and that you look to Him
+for grace to repent right and to turn away from all sin. And as long as
+you cleave to one sin, you need not expect to get any relief. Many give
+up one thing and another, but think they can hold on to one sin--one
+darling sin, one idolized sin--and that God will excuse this one, if
+they give up all others. "But be not deceived; God is not mocked," nor
+can you trifle with Him. Having thus let go your hold of sin, of your
+secret darling sins, and turned away from them with hope of mercy from
+God, you can trust in Jesus Christ, His Son crucified for your sins, and
+in your stead, and you will surely have peace, and that quickly.
+
+Observe, Paul says he preached faith, not in God the Father, but faith
+in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that God reconciles the world
+unto Himself, And if you do not accept Jesus and trust in God's mercy,
+as shown in Jesus, you will get no relief and no peace. God has promised
+nothing outside of Jesus. But He has promised everything to him who
+accepts Jesus Christ's suffering and sacrifice as the sufficient and
+satisfactory penalty due to his own sins, and believes that Jesus bore
+his sins in His body on the cross. If Jesus satisfied Paul, He ought to
+satisfy you, and be worthy of your confidence and trust and worship.
+Turn from sin, then, with humility and shame that you have so long
+grieved God, and trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, and keep doing so for
+days if necessary, and you can not, and shall not, fail to obtain
+salvation.
+
+
+ON SELF-DENIAL.
+
+LUKE IX: 23.
+
+     "And He said unto them all, if any man will come after Me, let
+     him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
+
+Religion depends on this more than on any other one thing. If we are
+willing to give up all our own preferences and to deny all our desires
+and inclinations, we shall not have much trouble at any other point. The
+greatest hindrance to getting religion or _keeping_ religion is our own
+desire for ease, comfort and self-gratification, and our aversion to
+enduring any hardship or privation or suffering. The reason why
+self-denial is necessary is that our very nature is corrupted and
+diseased and we are blinded by sin. Once the will of man was the same as
+the will of God; but, since the fall, the will of man and that of God
+are directly opposed; and if we live according to God's will, we must go
+directly against our own.
+
+Self-denial is necessary in avoiding sin to which we are inclined and
+which we find give us pleasure.
+
+But it is necessary also, when no sin or temptation is present, to
+preserve that frame of mind which keeps us in readiness for temptation
+and enables us to resist it when it does come.
+
+A constant habit of self-denial is necessary to make us proof against
+the gradual and unperceived approach of sin either in the form of
+coldness and distaste for religion, or sloth, or a desire to gratify the
+flesh. So Paul (I. Cor. ix., 27) said he kept his body under and
+brought it into subjection, lest _even he_, through the deceitfulness of
+sin, should become a castaway.
+
+It follows that self-denial is absolutely necessary to growing in grace.
+We are mistaken if we imagine we are growing in grace, when we are
+practicing no self-denial. Jesus said (Luke ix., 23): "If any man will
+come after Me let him deny himself and take up his cross _daily_." Now
+what does that word "daily" mean in this connection? Indeed growth in
+piety is a growing out of self so that self is _crucified_, as Paul says
+he was.
+
+Self-denial must be practiced then.
+
+1. In abstaining from sins of all kinds.
+
+2. In performing all our duties of religion, however hard and unpleasant
+they may be, as attending all church services, ordinances, etc., and
+giving according to your ability.
+
+3. In practicing private prayer however hard and distasteful it may be
+at first. Some men have prayed three hours a day in secret, as, for
+example, Luther.
+
+4. In abstinence from food, _i.e._, fasting; and sometimes from sleep
+when it is necessary to have time to pray, etc.
+
+Get the upper hand of your animal nature and keep it by _daily_
+self-denial and you will mount up with wings as eagles, you will run and
+not be weary, you will walk and not faint.
+
+
+I. JOHN III: 5.
+
+     "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and
+     in Him is no sin."
+
+These are Christmas days. This is the period of the year that is
+celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. I fear that if some
+stranger from a foreign land, who knew nothing of the character of Jesus
+and His history and nothing of Christianity, were to happen in our midst
+during this Christmas time, he would think, from the character of our
+festivities and the kind of our demonstrations, that we were either, by
+our bonfires and guns and rockets and fireworks, celebrating some
+warlike hero who, in the midst of belching cannon and blazing musketry,
+had delivered his country from peril, or else that we were, by our
+revelry and dissipation and debauchery and riot, celebrating some
+heathen god of pleasure like Bacchus, the Roman god of the wine cup. And
+it is strange--unaccountably strange--that men should so pervert the
+sacred Christmas time into a season of unusual and disgraceful
+indulgence in sin. What does our text say? "He was manifested to take
+away our sins." "He was manifested;" what does that mean? Oh, it means
+more than you and I will give ourselves time to fully take in. It is
+said that the angels desire to look into the wonderful fact of the
+condescension of Jesus Christ, the prince of princes, in becoming man in
+order to save sinners. But though _angels_ thus desire, very few of
+_us_, for whom this wonderful humiliation was suffered, give enough time
+or attention to it to either understand it or care much about it. We are
+too much occupied with these lower things to take any special interest
+in things infinitely higher.
+
+Paul, in the second chapter of the Philippians, tells us how Jesus
+humbled himself. Let us see verse 5: "Who being in the form of God,
+thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made _Himself_ of _no
+reputation_ and took on Him the form of a servant, and humbled Himself
+and became obedient unto _death_, yea even unto the death of the cross."
+
+Christ, then, was the equal of God, the Father, worshipped by angels;
+and yet He consented to become man, and so be made "a little lower than
+the angels." But He not only became man, He became a servant among men.
+So His life was one of lowly service and unremitting toil for others. He
+once girded Himself with a towel and washed the feet of His disciples.
+But He not only became man and servant to man, He went to a deeper depth
+of humiliation than any other ever descended to: He suffered as an
+evil-doer, though in fact He was the only good and pure man that ever
+lived. "He was numbered among the transgressors," though He was guilty
+of no transgression, and He descended down to the bottom floor of
+disgrace--He was nailed on a cross and left there to die as you hang the
+worst criminals by the neck till they are dead.
+
+Yes, He was born poor; He lived in toil and sorrow and died in shame:
+the Prince of Glory did all this. But, stop and ask, Why did He endure
+all this when He might and could have avoided it? Let God answer:
+"Surely He hath borne _our_ griefs and carried _our_ sorrows. He was
+wounded for _our_ transgressions. He was bruised for _our_ iniquities;
+all we like sheep had gone astray, and the Lord laid on _Him_ the
+iniquity of us all." (Isaiah lviii., 4, 6.) Yes, "He was manifested to
+take away our transgressions" in the sense that He suffered in our stead
+for those transgressions that are past. But what good would it do to
+forgive sinners if they were not changed and renewed, so that they could
+have the power in the future to abstain from sin? What good would it do
+for God to say to a drunkard, "Your sins are forgiven" if He did not at
+the same time so change that drunkard as to make him able to keep from
+drinking in the future? What good to forgive the past sins of a
+debauchee or a liar or a gambler or a thief or a murderer if, at the
+same time, their hearts were not so changed that they would and could
+keep from sinning again? It would do no good, for they would go straight
+into the sins they had been practicing. Well, does Jesus make provision
+for this? Yes, He does. He was manifested not only to take away the
+guilt of our transgressions, but also their _power_ over us. Do we not
+read in the Scripture that if the Son shall make us free we shall be
+free indeed? Jesus promised a mighty agent which should work in the
+hearts of men and renew their natures. I, myself, am as different a man
+as if I had been blotted out of existence and born again a new creature.
+And these are the very expressions the Scripture uses for describing the
+wonderful change. This, then, is what Jesus was born in poverty, lived
+in sorrow and died in shame for, and at this time of remembrance and
+rejoicing He makes appeal to you:
+
+    "I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed
+    That thou mightest ransomed be, and quickened from the dead.
+    My Father's house of light, my glory-circled throne,
+    I left, for earthly night, far wanderings, sad and lone.
+    I've borne it all for thee; what hast thou borne for me?"
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S SERMON.
+
+DEUTERONOMY VIII: 2-11.
+
+The people of Israel had journeyed long and wearily since leaving Egypt.
+For forty years they had wandered and now at last had come to the
+borders of the Promised Land. Only the narrow Jordan was between them
+and the Canaan of their hopes. They were encamped upon the eastern bank
+of this river and were only awaiting orders to pass over and possess the
+goodly land which lay before them. And Moses, who was not to cross over
+with them, but to be buried in the land of Moab, gives this parting
+address to them. They were just passing from one stage of their journey
+to another and they need to be reminded of the _past_ and instructed and
+warned as to the _future_.
+
+So he says:
+
+"Thou shalt _remember_ all the way which the Lord hath led thee these
+forty years."
+
+1. They were to remember the trials and temptations they had. The object
+of these, he says (verse 2), was to _humble_ them and to _prove_ them
+that they might know what was in their hearts. And so, my brother, if
+during the past year, or during your past life, you have had trials and
+temptations, it was that you might learn your own weakness, a hard
+lesson for proud mortals to learn, and so be humbled to distrust
+yourself and seek help from God. And if you have had sorrow or
+bereavement it was for the same purpose, that you might learn to give up
+seeking perfect happiness in anything or any creature on earth and seek
+it in God. And have not some of you learned this lesson or are you not
+beginning to learn it at last? Have not the sins and the sorrows of your
+past life humbled you and at last brought you to feel your _need of
+God_? But another object of these past experiences of trial was to prove
+what was in your heart. A man does not know what there is in his heart
+till temptation brings it out. He does not know how bad it is. I thought
+I was patient; but when temptation came, I found my heart had much
+impatience in it. I thought I was humble and did not think highly of
+myself till people began to praise me and I found I enjoyed it and loved
+it and I was not humble.
+
+2. But they were to remember God's goodness to them also (see verses 3
+and 4). He had fed them Himself with manna and kept their clothes from
+wearing out and their feet from swelling. And so _you_ are to remember
+the goodness of God to you during the past year and during your past
+life. Remember how He has spared you in the midst of your wickedness as
+He spared me in my neglect of Him _for forty years_, and how He has
+furnished you many blessings and would have given you more, but you
+would not. And if He has allowed your wickedness to bring you into
+trouble and distress, it is to cause you to _stop_ and _reflect_ upon
+your ways and turn from them unto Him for deliverance and true
+happiness. Thus you are to recall, from the past year and from your past
+life, your sins and sorrows, and God's manifold mercies to you.
+
+II. But, just entering upon this new year, you are to look ahead also,
+even as the Israelites were to look ahead to the goodly land into which
+the Lord was going to bring them (see verses 7, 8 and 9).
+
+1. God _promises_ you much, my brother, on condition that you follow Him
+and obey Him. He promises to bless you temporally and spiritually, and
+to give you happiness--a goodly possession--if you, for your part, give
+yourself up, _unreservedly_ to His directions. He has done much for
+_me_, since I began to follow and obey Him years ago.
+
+2. Moses ends his discourse with a solemn warning (verse 11). _Beware_
+that you forget not the Lord your God, and go at any time to trusting to
+yourself or any earthly help.
+
+
+ON AFFLICTION AND SUFFERING.
+
+LAMENTATIONS, III: 32-33.
+
+     "32. But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion
+     according to the multitude of His mercies.
+
+     "33. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children
+     of men."
+
+There is a vast deal of suffering and of sorrow in the world, and the
+most of it, if not all, is due directly or indirectly to _sin_ as the
+cause. Sin is followed by suffering, as for example, intemperance ruins
+the health and brings on a slavery worse in some cases than death; and
+sensuality is often followed by loathsome and painful diseases. Thus God
+declares His feeling towards sin in these sufferings that result from
+it. He has set up a barrier to keep men from the practice of it. But we
+will consider how afflictions and sufferings may all be overruled to the
+good of the sufferer and his deliverance from the evil of _sin_.
+
+1. Sufferings which are the direct effect of sin have a tendency to make
+us turn away from sin. For example, the poverty and distress of the
+Prodigal son were the cause of his returning to his Father. So it was
+with Jack Harrington and others whom we know.
+
+2. But sufferings and misfortunes which are not the direct effect of sin
+stir up the memory to a recollection of past sins, and excite a remorse
+for them. For example, a lady who is the wife of a whisky dealer told
+her husband she believed that their losses and misfortunes were
+judgments sent on them for being in that business.
+
+3. Sometimes it takes the greatest and most prolonged suffering to
+conquer man's stubbornness and independence of God. But suffering
+humbles him, and, his pride being out of the way, he has no more
+trouble.
+
+4. Sorrow that is too great for any earthly consolation leads the
+sorrowing one to seek comfort in God. One of the greatest and best
+preachers of Germany was thus led to God by the loss of his young wife.
+So parents are brought to God by the death of children and children by
+the death of parents.
+
+5. Sometimes suffering is necessary to wean us from some idol which we
+would not otherwise be willing to give up.
+
+6. Sometimes when we forget God and become absorbed in the world,
+nothing but some affliction will make us come to ourselves and turn
+again to God with repentance and consecration. Read Psalm cxix., 67-75.
+
+The case of Sister P----, at Portland, was one of this kind. She was a
+backslider and put off her return to God and kept putting it off. But
+she had a great sorrow. Her son left home under a cloud, her son's wife
+lost her mind and then died, and her son was put in prison. To this was
+added her own bad health. These things broke the spell of the world,
+woke her up from her apathy and made her seek God with all her heart and
+she found Him again, and died in great peace and triumph.
+
+7. Then suffering purifies us and develops us and prepares us for work
+we could not otherwise do. "Tribulation worketh _patience_." What
+_excellent training_ I got when I rubbed the engine for a dollar and a
+half a day. It brought patience and resignation and a better preparation
+for the work I am doing than any other sort of experience, perhaps,
+could have given me.
+
+
+REVELATIONS XXI: 3.
+
+     "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
+     tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and
+     they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them,
+     and be their God."
+
+The subject suggested by the text is, the future and final conquest of
+the world by the Church of Christ, and the rest and reward of that
+church in Heaven.
+
+And the Scriptures do teach that, in time, all nations shall learn
+righteousness. The time is coming when neighbor shall not say to
+neighbor, "Know ye the Lord," but when all shall know Him, from the
+least to the greatest; and the knowledge of God shall cover the earth,
+as the waters cover the deep. When this blessed time is to be, and what
+are to be the signs of its approach, are not questions for us to attempt
+to discuss here to-day, though we may be allowed to say that the Gospel
+is being preached to more people to-day that at any former period in the
+history of the church. There is a missionary zeal in the church to-day
+that has not been paralleled in all her history. There is not only a
+readiness among heathen people to hear the Gospel, but there seems to be
+a positive hunger for it, and within the last few years the Gospel has
+penetrated to the interior of nations and continents that were
+previously inaccessible. Certainly the church is more aggressive and
+bold in her plans and operations to-day than ever before. And if it be a
+prophecy of the not distant conquest of the world to the reign of
+Christ, we take courage, and say: "God speed the day!" It is well for us
+to pause now, and to reflect upon the reward promised to us in the end
+of our course. We do not give enough attention to this. To study about
+it; to learn what we do not know concerning it; to realize the
+unspeakable blessedness of that state would make us more patient in
+waiting, more cheerful in suffering, more earnest and active and
+untiring in our efforts to help others to the attainment and enjoyment
+of it.
+
+Heaven, then, is represented in the Bible as a place of _perfect beauty,
+perfect security, perfect rest and perfect joy_.
+
+It is so represented as to appeal to the desires and longings of all
+classes of people. To the inhabitant of the city, what could be more
+pleasing than the freedom and freshness and beauty of the country? So
+heaven is described as having its landscapes, with its fruit-bearing
+trees, its crystal rivers and gurgling fountains. But for the rustic
+peasant, it is said to be a resplendent city, with walls of sapphire and
+gates of pearl and streets of gold.
+
+But in some respects we are all alike.
+
+We want to be free from sin and danger.
+
+To a Christian heart, sin is the most abhorred and dreadful of all
+things. It gives more pain and causes more darkness than any other
+cause; and the fear of it causes more suspense than the fear of all
+bodily suffering.
+
+But in heaven we shall be free from sin, and free from all fear of sin
+and all liability to sin. For nothing that defileth or maketh a lie can
+ever enter there; and they who are so happy as to gain heaven shall go
+out no more forever.
+
+We all dread sorrow and grief and pain. And truly we all have our share
+of it in this life. "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward."
+"Man is of few days and full of trouble," but we leave it all behind
+when we go in at the gate of the City of God. "And there shall be no
+more sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the
+former things are passed away." Christians in this world feel that they
+are pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land, away from their home and
+their Father's house. Their hearts have been so changed, and they have
+tasted of the powers of the world to come, and have come into communion
+with God, so that neither the pleasures of the world nor the friendships
+of earth can content them--their hearts are not here, but away in
+heaven.
+
+I heard a Christian man say, not long ago (though he has a sweet family
+and many friends), that he felt that day an unutterable loneliness, as
+if he were an exile. His heart had such a longing for his Father and his
+kindred and his home beyond the skies. Oh, the sympathy and love and
+tenderness we know we shall get at home! It makes us all feel a thrill
+that responds to the poet's immortal lines:
+
+    "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
+
+And all the sympathy and tenderness of father, mother, brother and
+sister are transcended by the sympathy and tenderness of God, for
+marvelous to tell it is said that "God _Himself_ shall wipe away all
+tears from our eyes."
+
+And how we thirst for _knowledge_ here. We know nothing now. We are
+surrounded on all sides by things we do not understand. If we undertake
+to investigate, we soon reach the limit of our capacity and have to stop
+before we have learned anything. "But then we shall know as also we are
+known."
+
+What it means, when it says we shall "sit down at the marriage supper of
+the Lamb" we know not, nor what it implies when it says we are to "enter
+into the joy of our Lord;" nor do we understand that wonderful saying,
+"Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
+many things." No, no; now we see through a glass darkly, but then face
+to face, and "it doth not yet appear what we shall be." But we know that
+"if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him." The suffering comes
+first, the humiliation first, the toil and weariness, the _cross_ first,
+and then the crown. Peter the Great, of Russia, during one of his wars,
+was separated from his army and lost, and, to escape detection, took off
+his royal apparel and dressed in common garb. In his wanderings he came
+to a humble cottage, and was kindly received and ministered unto by the
+peasant woman, who knew not who he was. She gave him a home until danger
+was passed, and then helped him to get back to his capital. When the war
+was ended, Peter sent for this poor peasant woman, brought her to his
+splendid court, and, marrying her, made her the partner of his throne
+and his empire. She who had ministered to him in his sufferings now
+reigned with him as Queen Catherine, of Russia.
+
+So, my brethren, see that you serve Christ, suffer for Him; spend and be
+spent for His cause, and _then_, oh, then, how sweet to rest and reign
+forevermore.
+
+
+ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.
+
+     Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and
+     keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
+
+Now, boys, here is a piece of advice given by the wisest of men. Can any
+of you tell me who was the wisest man? (Solomon.) Well this Solomon was
+the son of a king. Can any of you tell me whose son Solomon was?
+(David's.) And, of course, Solomon had all that money could buy from his
+childhood up; and when his father died, he became king in his place. He
+lived to be an old man and he had a wide experience of life. In other
+words he tried everything that he thought he could get happiness from
+and his experience is given in the book of Ecclesiastes. He tried all
+sorts of pleasures and he tried them fully, because there was nothing to
+hinder or to check him. He denied himself nothing that his heart
+desired. He knew fully the effects of all sorts of enjoyment and when he
+had passed through it all he wrote it down as the lesson of his
+experience for all boys and young men to read. And what was it? Does he
+say "Young man, you have a long life before you. Now you must enjoy the
+pleasures of life while you are young?" Does he say you must run off
+from your father's house and presence like the Prodigal son did, so you
+can have a good time in the enjoyment of the pleasures of the world and
+then in your after life, when you get more settled, you can think about
+your Creator and death and heaven and hell and eternity? Was that the
+lesson which his long and extended experience taught him? Ah, no. It
+was a far different one. He would say this: "Young men, boys, I have
+been all over the road you are traveling now. I have had your feelings,
+your hopes, your ambitions, your passions, your temptations. And in one
+part of my life I concluded I would give myself up to the enjoyment of
+pleasure of every kind and I did so. And I know all about it and this is
+what I would say to you all just starting out. Remember _now_ your
+Creator in the days of your _youth_ and give your hearts _and lives_ to
+Him, if you want to be happy."
+
+1. In the first place by so doing you will avoid wretched poverty. For a
+man whose heart and life are given to God can not be a spendthrift. But
+just look at some young men how they spend their money or that of their
+fathers. However large a fortune they may have, they soon come to
+_poverty_.
+
+And a man whose life is given to God is industrious and loves to work.
+He can not bear to be idle, for he knows and _feels_ it to be a great
+sin. Besides all this God promises to see that those who live for Him
+shall not want what is best for them. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
+declares that if God provides for sparrows and clothes lilies, He will
+be sure to see to the needs of His own children. So the way to get the
+best assurance that you will be blessed with things needful in this life
+is to give yourself up to God to be His, through thick and thin.
+
+2. If you give your heart to God _now_, you will be kept from the sins
+which bring men into _disgrace_. "A good name is rather to be chosen
+than riches." Ah! you know not into what awful sins your passions will
+plunge you, if you do not get the control of yourself, which only
+religion can give. You may be led along little by little, almost without
+knowing it, till you may wake up to find that you can not, _can not_,
+break off from your sins--your hated and ruinous sins. But if you give
+God your heart to be changed, renewed, purified _now_, you will avoid
+all these awful dangers.
+
+3. But this verse says "the years will draw nigh in which thou shalt
+take no pleasure in these things that relate to God." My dear young
+friend, that is terribly true. The longer you live away from God the
+less and less will be your care for Him and for your soul. How few old
+men ever turn to God! Yes, very few, forty years of age and over, ever
+do so. I heard Dr. Munhall ask once, in a large congregation, that all
+who were converted after seventy years of age would stand up. Not one
+stood up. Then he asked that all who had been converted after they were
+sixty years of age would stand up. Not one stood up. Then he asked all
+who were converted after fifty years to stand up. Only one, I believe,
+did so. When he asked all who were converted after forty years to stand
+up, only three or four did so. When he asked all converted after thirty
+years to stand up, perhaps eight or ten did so. A few more had been
+converted after twenty years of age; but when he asked all who were
+converted _under_ twenty years to stand, most of the congregation arose.
+
+True, I was converted after I was forty years of age, but it was a bare
+chance. And oh, how hard it was for me. And if I had not had the most
+patient of friends to sympathize with me, encourage me and guide me, I
+should never have gotten along. I beg you do not follow my example in
+putting off your return to God.
+
+Look at the men _whom you know_. How little interest they take in
+religion and their interest grows less and less all the time. The years
+have already come when they have no pleasure in the things of God. They
+have encouraged all their feelings, desires and ambitions but this, and
+this has almost died out. They have devoted all their thought and
+affections to making money and enjoying it, to seeking pleasure and
+enjoying it, to acquiring fame and enjoying it, and so their hearts are
+completely hardened and insensible to the religion which they cast aside
+ten, twenty or thirty years ago. And they will probably _never_ feel the
+all-absorbing interest in religion which is necessary to obtain it.
+Hence, they will go on blinder and blinder, colder and colder, more and
+more hardened down to old age and to the grave and to a hopeless
+eternity. I beg you, my young friends, all who hear me to put off your
+return to God not one day longer.
+
+     NOTE.--The address, of which this is the outline, was delivered
+     on a Sunday-school occasion and is a specimen of Mr. Holcombe's
+     talks to young people.--ED.
+
+
+MARK II: 15.
+
+     "And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house,
+     many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His
+     disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him."
+
+1. This class of persons _feel_ that they are outcast, and not
+recognized by those who are esteemed the good. Hence, they feel
+backward, and will not make advances toward the good for fear of being
+slighted.
+
+2. If those who are looked upon and honored as good and pious and pure,
+will show that they _want_ to be friendly and sociable, it will take
+these persons by surprise, and will win their feelings--and this is
+nearly half the battle.
+
+3. Besides, if the good, instead of waiting for these sinners to make
+advances, which they will not do, will take pains to show their interest
+in the welfare of these, their unfortunate brothers, it will make them
+believe that the pious are sincere, and not hypocritical, and that
+religion is a reality and not a mere profession. This is a great step
+toward gaining them. Most of this class believe in the Gospel in some
+vague sense, but it is too vague to amount to anything. But when they
+see the grand principle of the Gospel--_Love_--embodied in the
+Christian, and coming after them in their lost condition, it makes an
+impression, and it moves them to _action_. You can not drive men, nor
+can you convince them by abusing them and by shutting them out as too
+vile to be your associates. This only drives them further away. But all
+men have a chord in their natures that can be touched by love and
+kindness. It was this gentleness and sympathy that drew the thousands
+around John Wesley. It was this wonderful tenderness that made the
+publicans and sinners and harlots, the outcast and the low and the vile
+seek the company of the loving Jesus and press into His presence, even
+when He was the guest of the great and noble of His day. They knew Jesus
+would never repulse them--they knew He would love them, help them, save
+them.
+
+    "Down in the human heart
+    Crushed by the Tempter,
+    Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
+    Touched by a loving hand, wakened by kindness,
+    Chords that were broken will vibrate once more."
+
+4. There has to be such an interest felt for those of this class as will
+make you cease to care for what people will say about your going among
+them and working with them. This was the sort of interest Jesus had for
+them.
+
+5. Imagine your own dear son to be one of this number, and see what
+feelings you would have, what earnestness and what planning. These are
+some of the ways and means of getting at this class of persons. For we
+have to use means and reason in all things.
+
+6. But the _agent_, the only one who can accomplish anything is _God's
+Holy Spirit_, and the Holy Spirit comes _only_ in answer to prayer and
+trust. Prayer is to be first and second and third and everywhere and
+always, and then we may hope that our plans will succeed.
+
+
+PREPARATION FOR WINNING SOULS.
+
+I am sure, my dear brethren, that in the discussion of this topic we are
+to be allowed some liberty and some latitude; and, if I shall speak in a
+general way, I trust I shall not be counted out of order. And, not to
+detain you with preliminaries, I say that, to be a winner of souls, a
+man must have the anointing of the Holy One, reproducing the mind that
+was in Christ, who "though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor,
+that we through His poverty might become rich," and who "being in the
+form of God, thought it not a usurpation to be equal with God, but He
+emptied Himself and took upon Him the form of a servant; and being found
+in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient as far as
+unto death, even death on a cross."
+
+A sympathy that arises from any other motive, or comes from any other
+source, than His divine and supernatural anointing, will fall short of
+the mark, and will be found too shallow and weak to bear with the
+hardheartedness, the perversity and the ingratitude of sinful men.
+
+This anointing, on the other hand, brings with it a yearning love and a
+profound sympathy for those who are in the blindness and bondage of sin,
+which impels one to _seek out_ the lost, to be at patient pains to save
+them, and to bear with all their dullness, slothfulness, selfishness,
+perverseness and thanklessness, while they are under training, so to
+speak.
+
+It makes a man as ready and anxious to save the soul of a solitary
+sinner, however humble and degraded he may be, as to preach with power
+to the great congregations. It was this that made John Wesley as willing
+and careful and patient in talking to a negro servant girl as to a
+multitude. And it was this which lead a greater than John Wesley to lead
+with patient love along, the poor Samaritan adulteress whom He met at
+the well of Jacob.
+
+But what is more important and imperative for the immediate work of
+getting a dead soul to a living Saviour, this divine anointing imparts
+that peculiar and energetic pungency which pierces to the heart and
+conscience of a sinner, rouses his fears, and prepares him for the
+reception of Christ.
+
+Not only so, this unction from the Holy One is accompanied with a
+practical wisdom and _insight_ which discerns, if not all things, yet,
+at least, _many practical things_. It enables a man to see that the
+first thing to be done in the way of saving a sinner is to convict him
+of sin. To get him to admit theoretically that he is a sinner, is equal
+to zero, amounts to nothing. But, in a way not to repel him, he must be
+made to _feel_ that he is sinful, and so, wretched. It is wonderful what
+tact some men have in this respect. Here lies, undoubtedly, the secret
+of Sam Jones' power. He turns all classes of men, Pharisees in the
+church and sinners out of it, inside out, and makes them see, in spite
+of all spiritual apathy and all self-deception, what they are. He shows
+them secrets which they thought nobody knew but themselves.
+
+But a greater than he did the same thing--Jesus touched the _sore spot_
+in the conscience of the Samaritan woman and compelled her to say: "He
+told me all things that I have done." This revealing the secrets of the
+heart is a thing that fascinates and attracts and wins a sinner; and he
+feels, if you know so well without being told, all the particulars of
+his inner life and all the desperate trouble of his case, you surely can
+not make a mistake in pointing out the way of escape. Just as a patient
+yields immediate and unquestioning confidence to the physician who can
+tell him all his symptoms and describe his feelings better than he
+himself can do it.
+
+If preaching the love of Christ without convicting of sin would have
+saved people, then most people in the United States would have been
+saved long ago, for the love of Christ has been told and retold and
+preached and re-preached, and it does not bring sinners to repentance.
+To be sure there are some sinners who have found, by bitter experience,
+the ripe fruits of sin, and these may be already prepared to accept a
+deliverer and a deliverance as soon as offered to them.
+
+The possession of this unction presupposes that a man is correct,
+upright, holy in his life; for God would not give it to one who was not
+so. I believe Mr. Moody was right when he said: "If a man's life is not
+above reproach, the less he says the better." A friend of mine says he
+knows a minister who, though no doubt a good man and a fine talker, will
+_lie_ now and then. Of course, he would not call it lying, nor would his
+admirers call it lying, but lying it is; and so he has no power. His
+preaching is like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
+
+There are some men who have some little success in soul-saving, but who
+would have much more success, if their lives were thoroughly holy, and
+Christlike. And indeed some men would not have the success they do have,
+if the public knew their secret life. For example, there are some men
+who indulge evil thoughts (if they do not go further) and who are not
+chaste in their associations with women; and there are others who are
+ill-tempered, cross, fault-finding, sour and bitter in their home life.
+If these things were publicly and generally known, they would lose what
+power they have with the people. Brethren, we can hardly be too careful
+of these things. But a full and constant anointing of the Holy One would
+correct all these evils at the _source_, namely, in the heart. It makes
+a sober Christian man tremble to know how little some of the preachers
+and evangelists of the day _pray_. It would be no wonder if under stress
+of some sudden and strong temptation, they should fall into scandalous
+sin and disgrace themselves and the cause they represent. There is an
+old and true saying that "when a man's life is lightning, his words will
+be thunderbolts."
+
+We are advised to make ourselves familiar with the Scriptures, to equip
+ourselves with weapons from the armory of God's word; and excellent
+advice it is.
+
+No man can maintain a spiritual life who does not habitually and
+diligently study God's holy word. No man is prepared to understand the
+wants of souls or to deal with them who is not familiar with the
+Scriptures. It is a marked characteristic of our honored brother, D. L.
+Moody, that he can, not only discern the deeper, inner spiritual sense
+of all the Scriptures, both of the Old Testament and the New, but he
+can handle and apply them with a skill, effectiveness and power that are
+truly wonderful. And, what is more, he is peculiarly apt in selecting
+just the right passages for any particular case or occasion. He is truly
+a masterly handler of the sword of the spirit, and his success is
+largely due to this fact.
+
+But there is a class of workers who seem to think that it is sufficient
+to know by heart some Scriptures, or to have a certain facility in
+referring to different passages, and they rely upon this, congratulating
+themselves that they are doing well. But it is all perfunctory and
+lifeless and dead. There is no charm, no warmth, no power in it. A man
+must be more than a mechanical text-peddler in order to impress, arouse,
+comfort and save the souls of men. You may pitch cold lead at a man all
+day long and never break his skin; but let a full charge of ignited
+gunpowder drive it out of a well-aimed rifle, and the effect is
+terrific. So these text-mongers may throw Scripture at people all day
+long, and they laugh at it. But let the same missile be hurled forth
+with the energy of a soul on fire of the Holy Ghost, and the slain of
+the Lord will be many.
+
+So, my brother, there is absolutely no substitute for this unction of
+the Holy Spirit. And this unction is given in answer to self-denying and
+daily prayer.
+
+If we would know the secret of power with men, we _must_ spend much time
+in secret communion with God.
+
+     NOTE.--This address is one of two delivered by Mr. Holcombe
+     before the convention of Christian workers of United States and
+     Canada in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, September 21-28,
+     1887.--ED.
+
+
+THE MISSION--PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
+
+I. THE PAST.
+
+Two years ago I was working in the Fire Department of the city, because
+I could get nothing else to do. The close and slavish confinement, the
+necessity of being always at my place, both of nights and Sundays, and
+the consequent lack of opportunity to do anything for the cause of my
+Master, made it almost intolerable for me, and several times I made up
+my mind I would give up the place, even though I had nothing else to
+fall back on for a living for myself and family. But through the advice
+of friends and the help of God, I was kept from that rash step. However,
+I determined I must do something for my Lord and for the men of my
+acquaintance and former occupation who would not, I knew, go inside of a
+church. So, though I was getting under sixty dollars a month, and had a
+large family to support, I determined to rent a room at my own expense
+in the central part of the city for holding Gospel meetings, and to hire
+a substitute to take my place in the Fire Department when I was absent
+and engaged in the work of my Lord.
+
+I made known my plans to my former pastor, and he became interested and
+promised to help me. He was living in the country, and hardly ever
+attended the preachers' meeting here on Mondays; but it happened on the
+next Monday after I told him of my purpose that he was at the preachers'
+meeting, and, on my name being mentioned by some one present, he took
+occasion to speak at length of my conversion, trials, poverty; my
+intense yearning to engage entirely in the work of God, and my immediate
+purpose to commence Gospel meetings in entire dependence on God alone
+for help. He went so far as to ask the preachers present to speak of the
+matter to their members and make an effort to get assistance from them
+for the expenses of my proposed work. But one of the preachers present,
+though saying very little at the time, was moved to lay before his
+official board a proposition not to _assist_ in paying the expenses of
+such a plan of work, but to take me from the Fire Department and pay me
+a regular salary and defray all the other necessary expenses of such a
+Mission work as my heart was set on doing. And his official members were
+_also moved_ to agree to his proposition, and when he came to me and
+told me of what had taken place, I was constrained to say: "This is
+God's doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes." So the very thing I
+desired above all other things; the very thing I should have chosen if I
+could have had my wish, was brought to pass. And I saw that by waiting
+God's time, He rewarded me in granting me the desire of my heart, and
+meanwhile I had learned lessons of patience and preparation that I could
+not have learned so well anywhere else. (Mr. Holcombe went on to speak
+of the beginning of his work in the Tyler Block, with the assistance and
+co-operation of Rev. Mr. Morris; of the results accomplished during that
+first period; of the removal of the Mission to Jefferson street, between
+Fourth and Fifth streets, and the results accomplished there, and,
+lastly, of the removal to the present building, etc. See his life.)
+
+
+II. THE PRESENT.
+
+At present we have the house on Jefferson street. We have a
+Sunday-school of scholars who do not attend any other school, and would
+not. It is supplied with able and devoted teachers, such as Brother
+Atmore and others. The devotion of Brother Atmore is shown by his
+refusing to leave his class one Sunday to go to the Masonic Temple
+during Sam Jones' meetings. The children show a wonderful improvement
+since they have been coming to the Sunday-school. Brother Atmore's boys
+were almost unmanageable at first, but they are now so changed that it
+is very noticeable. This Sunday-school feature of the work is one of the
+most important and promising parts of it, and we believe the results to
+be accomplished by it _alone_ will amply repay all the outlay of labor,
+time and means that has been made in the enterprise. We have also a
+reading-room in connection with the Mission-room, where we have papers,
+magazines, books, etc. The words of invitation and welcome painted on
+the door have drawn in some who, but for the reception, sympathy and
+help which they found there, might have gone on in their wretchedness to
+suicide.
+
+While we furnish lodging, food, etc., to those who are destitute, yet it
+is with a view to their spiritual welfare and ultimate salvation. And so
+soon as we find a man is availing himself of our charity with no
+intention or effort to become a Christian, we let him go.
+
+
+III. THE FUTURE.
+
+In looking at the past, we find there are several plain and striking
+results of the work. The most apparent is the radical and astonishing
+change for the better that has taken place in the cases of many unhappy
+men and their families. Two years ago these men "sat in darkness and in
+the shadow of death," being bound in affliction and iron, because they
+rebelled against the laws of God. Therefore He brought down their
+hearts. They fell down and there was none to help. And none but
+themselves and God knew the bitterness of their bondage and the depth of
+their dark and unrelieved despair. But they were brought into contact
+with a new force and a new agency by means of the efforts and sympathy
+and instructions of those engaged in this work, and to-day their old
+life with its bitterness and bondage and darkness is left behind from
+one to two years in a path that, it is hoped, is not to be retraced
+forever, and now these men are happy again, and some of them prosperous
+in business. And what shall be said of their families--their wives and
+children, innocent sufferers from the vices of husbands and fathers?
+
+Husband is husband again, father is father again, and the long dark
+night of hopeless sorrow and bitter tears has ended--ended at last, and
+ended, let us hope and pray, forever.
+
+But if it be also true, as He said, who spake as never man spake, that
+it profits nothing to gain the whole world and lose one's own soul; if
+there is for the unsaved an undying worm and an unquenchable fire, and
+for the saved an inheritance of joy that is incorruptible and a glory
+that fadeth never more away, then where or how shall we _begin_ to
+compute the result of this mission work? It is recorded in eternity, and
+only the unfolding of eternity can unfold the good that has thus far
+been done.
+
+But aside from these direct results, there is another one which can not
+be estimated, namely the demonstration of the power of the Gospel to do
+for helpless, enslaved, lost men what nothing else in the universe can
+do. There is naturally in the hearts of men a doubt as to the divinity
+of that religion which fails to do what it proposes to do, and so in
+times of religious deadness, men lose faith, and unbelief grows stronger
+and more stubborn in proportion as they see no actual instances of the
+power of the Gospel to save bad men. But when bad men have been reached
+and quickened and convicted and made holy by the Gospel, then the tide
+turns and faith becomes natural and easy and contagious, not to say
+necessary. Many of my old companions were brought to believe in the
+Gospel when I was changed by it; and now when scores of the worst cases
+in Louisville have been reached and saved, and have _stayed saved_ so
+long, men are brought back from unbelief to faith, and naturally turn to
+the Gospel with increasing hope.
+
+But this return of faith has not only been noticeable in the case of the
+unsaved classes, the churches have seen this work, and have had their
+faith in the divine power of the Gospel to save all men increased, and a
+corresponding activity is witnessed among many of the churches in the
+city. They have learned also that to save lost men we must, like Jesus,
+not wait for them to come to us, but we must go to them and after them,
+just as has been done in this work.
+
+There is a passage in Malachi which says, "Bring all the tithes into my
+storehouse and prove me herewith if I will not open the windows of
+heaven and pour you out such a blessing there shall not be room enough
+to receive it."
+
+This Walnut-street church, led by its devoted pastor, was willing to
+accept God's challenge, and they brought the tithes, they laid down
+their money, they made the venture, and God has given them a great
+blessing.
+
+But this is only the pledge of far greater blessings yet to be given
+them, if they will continue to honor God, by the faith that lays upon
+His altar, sacrifices that cost something and amount to something.
+
+Let us not stop to congratulate ourselves upon what has been done and
+rest satisfied with that, but accept it only as an indication of what He
+will do for us if we have faith to claim a deep wide-spread and
+continuous revival.
+
+     NOTE.--The foregoing is the substance of an address delivered
+     by request of the Directors of the Mission on the occasion of a
+     reunion of the converts and mass-meeting of the Christian
+     people of Louisville, in the Walnut-street Methodist Church, in
+     April, 1886.--ED.
+
+
+CHRISTIAN WORKERS.
+
+     From September 21st to 28th, the second convention of Christian
+     Workers in the United States and Canada was held in Broadway
+     Tabernacle, New York City. From the published report of the
+     proceedings, this speech of the Rev. S. P. Holcombe is taken:
+
+It would be presumptuous in me to stand up here and say how you should
+conduct a "Gospel Meeting." I do not propose to do that; but will simply
+tell you how, for six years, I have conducted one at Louisville,
+Kentucky, and with some success. I say some success, for we
+have succeeded in gaining the confidence and respect of all
+classes--preachers, Christians, gamblers, drunkards and infidels. Not
+only have we succeeded in reaching the hearts of the people, but also
+their pocket-books.
+
+Beginning in a basement room, at a rent of twenty dollars per month, we
+now own a building of thirty rooms. As an instance of the respect all
+classes have for our work, while we were negotiating for this property a
+German Singing Society also wanted it. This kept the price up above our
+figures.
+
+I called on the President of the Club, who is an infidel, told him I
+wanted that property for my Mission work. Said he: "Mr. Holcombe, I am
+not a Christian, neither do I believe in the churches, but I do believe
+in the kind of work that you are doing. I shall withdraw until the
+Holcombe Mission is done." We soon had the property.
+
+Since my conversion I have tried to be a man, just as much as before. As
+Dr. Pentecost said the other day: "When I put off the old man, I did
+not put on the old woman," and by this I mean no disrespect to the dear
+old women, for many of them have more manhood in them than some of us
+men, and my wife is one of them. What I mean is, that since I have
+become a Christian I have not lost any of my manhood.
+
+When I was a gambler, I had gambling houses all over the country. The
+object was to get other people's money without giving them any
+equivalent, in order to gratify my base passion. I could not, of course,
+call on the police for protection, as my business was not legitimate.
+Hence, I had to protect myself, which I did at all hazards.
+
+So, when I opened a house for the Lord, to win souls for Him, I
+determined I would take care of it at any cost. I think some who are
+engaged in Christian work are too stilted, others are too lax. I have
+tried to be both stiff and limber; when it was a matter of no
+consequence, to bend like the willow; when it was something vital to my
+Master's cause, to be as stiff as steel. In other words I have tried to
+be "all things to all men" that I might win some.
+
+I think all Missions ought to have a leader. Ours has one. I am the
+leader of the meetings. Not that I do all the talking, but I look out
+for the details.
+
+I have a time for opening and a time for closing the meeting, and I
+always close at the time. If my opening time is 7:30, I begin the
+meeting if there is no one there but myself, which, however, has never
+occurred; and if my closing hour is at 9 o'clock, I close at 9--not
+9:30 or 10. We have in Louisville a class of poor people who attend the
+Mission and who work every day. They must be at their places of labor at
+an early hour in the morning. They love to be at the meeting, and when
+they know that they will be dismissed promptly, they will come. I feel
+that if I were to keep these men and women up till 10, 11 or 12 o'clock,
+and let them get up at 5 and go to a hard day's work, while I lie in bed
+until 8 or 9, that I would be a robber.
+
+Now, I do not say that I go home at 9 o'clock; for if there is a single
+one anxious enough about his soul's eternal salvation to stay till the
+dawning of the morning, I will remain with him. I simply say that I have
+a time for opening and a time for closing, and I keep promptly to it.
+
+I have no set way of conducting the meetings. I try to take advantage of
+the situation and do the best I can under the circumstances.
+
+We always have a Scripture lesson read and a few remarks by the leader.
+If I ask him to speak twenty minutes, I mean twenty minutes; and, if he
+is a bishop, I will stop him when his time is up. I don't ask you to
+agree that this is right--I am only telling you how I conduct a Gospel
+meeting. After this we have Christians to give their experience, never
+allowing more than three minutes, and I make it my business to know what
+kind of lives those who testify are living. If one gets up and begins to
+talk about the love of Jesus, who I know has that day been drinking, or
+in a house of prostitution, I stop him right there. I do not allow him
+to talk, and injure the cause, and then tell him afterward. I say,
+"Brother, we don't want to hear from you to-night," and so I stop him at
+once.
+
+I am very careful as to who testifies in my meetings and what they say.
+If a man who is not a Christian undertakes to exhort others to become
+Christians, I stop him, because he is trying to talk about something of
+which he knows nothing, and this is one of the hardest things in the
+world to do.
+
+Where everybody is invited to take part in a meeting, we are apt to have
+cranks to deal with. They must be checked and kept down rather than
+encouraged. By cranks I mean those who have eccentric and unsound views,
+and think that nobody else can know as well about these things as
+themselves.
+
+I was holding a series of Gospel meetings in Atlanta, Ga., on one
+occasion, and had been talking from Acts ii., 38, "And ye shall receive
+the gift of the Holy Ghost." In the address I undertook, as best I
+could, to show that He, the Holy Ghost, convinces men of sin, and that
+He reveals Jesus to poor sinners as their sin bearer and life giver, and
+that it is He that produces that change in men which we call conversion
+or regeneration or the new birth; and that He, the Holy Ghost, is the
+comforter of God's people, in their loneliness and trials and conflicts
+here in this world of exile, as well as our teacher to guide us into the
+truth. When I had gotten through, I said, "Now we will have short talks
+from others, and no one will talk more than three minutes." Up jumped a
+street preacher, who began saying that I had been talking about the
+Holy Ghost, but I did not know what I was talking about. He knew all
+about Him, and would tell them about Him. (This was pretty trying, but I
+kept mum, however.) He then began a harangue. When his time was up, I
+stopped him. "You are going to limit the Holy Ghost, are you? You are
+going to take the responsibility of stopping Him, are you?" "No, but I
+am going to stop you, and that at once." And at once he stopped.
+
+I never allow those who testify to abuse others. Some will begin to talk
+about the gambling hells. I stop them and say: "No man will go farther
+to stop these things than I, but this is not the place for that kind of
+talk." Others, as soon as they are converted, begin to find fault with
+the churches, and abuse the ministers. I do not approve of this, and I
+discourage it. I am sorry to know that many who are conducting Gospel
+meetings are inclined to find fault with Christians, magnifying
+themselves and their work and underrating the churches and the work of
+their faithful pastors.
+
+Some of these Mission workers have spent the best part of their lives in
+sin, never looking into the Bible--have been converted only a short
+time; have had a little success; got the big-head, and think they know
+better how to do God's work than those dear men who have been good all
+their lives and made a study of God's Word.
+
+My dear brethren, in the Mission work, we must remember that all who
+have ever done any mighty work for God have been trained for it, and
+trained slowly. Moses, you remember, when he was going to his work down
+in Egypt, commenced killing people. He was the great chieftain, and was
+going to deliver his brethren by killing his enemies. This was not the
+way God wanted it done. God saw that there was good material in Moses,
+and that He could use him, but he must be trained. So He sent him away
+to the solitudes of Horeb and Sinai, and kept him there forty years.
+Then when God called him to go down and bring His people out, he had
+learned the lesson God wanted him to learn, had gotten down in the dust,
+was humbled, and he said: "Who am I, Lord?" Moses had gotten more of the
+Holy Ghost. The more we get of the Holy Ghost the closer we get to God.
+The more we see of Him, and the more we see of God, the less we think of
+ourselves; the more insignificant we become in our own eyes.
+
+The Twelve had a grand work to do, but they were slowly trained for it.
+So, then, let us young converts, whose work God has honored and blessed,
+be very careful how we magnify ourselves, and underrate the regular
+ministry. These men are doing a noble work in their respective fields,
+and they are just as ready and willing to take hold of the poor outcast
+as we Mission workers are.
+
+There are preachers who are occupying pulpits, where they are getting
+twenty-five hundred or three thousand dollars a year, and they are doing
+just as much to save poor drunkards as we ignorant, humble Mission
+workers are.
+
+You who were at the Chicago Convention last year remember what Dr.
+Lawrence told us about taking one of these poor, wretched drunkards to
+his beautiful home; how, notwithstanding he was full of vermin, he had
+him take a bath, burned his clothes, put clean ones on him, gave him a
+bed and took care of him as a brother. I tell you, my friends, I was
+touched by that story as well as taught a valuable lesson. I know of
+many instances of the same kind that I might tell.
+
+You remember Dr. John A. Broadus, a well-known Baptist minister in
+Louisville. I know him well. He has been one of my best friends. Not
+very long before I left home, a drunkard came to the Mission and showed
+me a note from Dr. Broadus, saying: "This man has called on me for help.
+I do not like to give him any money, as he is under the influence of
+liquor. Give him whatever you think best, and I will settle the bill." I
+asked the man, as I knew him well: "How did you happen to go to Dr.
+Broadus?" "Because I had heard so many say that he had helped them." I
+gave him nothing. My friends, we must not underrate the willingness of
+the preachers to help the poor outcast, for they are much interested in
+their very welfare.
+
+I love the Missions and the Mission work. Just at this present time, the
+Missions have got a boom over the country, but if we are not very
+careful how we talk and act, the Missions will suffer. And the only
+reason some of them have not quit already is because those who support
+them, for want of time to hunt up real results, have had to take printed
+reports.
+
+It is easy for us to find fault with Christians, rich Christians, and
+say they are cold and indifferent about the souls of men, but the
+history of the church proves that this is a great mistake. These
+Missions have to be supported by rich Christians, and when you find a
+man that has got much money, you will find that he is not a fool. He is
+generally a man with a long head and farsightedness. He wants to see
+where his money is going, and what is being done with it. If you use it
+properly, he will give it liberally. If he finds that you are one of
+those fellows that want to give his money to every beggar that comes
+along, he will stop his subscription at once. These are simple facts. If
+we want this Mission work to succeed we have got to be very careful.
+
+I never allow any begging in my Mission, I don't care how pitiable the
+object may be. When tramps want food, I send them to the wood yard to
+work for it. If men will not work, neither shall they eat of the money
+intrusted to me for spiritual work.
+
+I have no indiscriminate praying. When I want a prayer, I want to know
+something about the man or woman who is to make it. I ask some one who,
+I have good reason to believe, is a true Christian, that is, who walks
+and talks with God. I do not care about their name or denomination. I
+feel that there is a great responsibility in going to God for these poor
+sinners, and I want the best man or woman that I can get to talk to God
+for them. I say: "I am going to call on some one to pray. I don't want
+you to pray for Africans, Chinese or any other of the heathen nations
+here. When you go home, you can pray for them all night if you want to,
+but now we want you to pray for this special work."
+
+I believe in good singing, and try to have it. I would like to have a
+hundred in the choir. I seldom have over two persons. I suppose the
+reason is that I will not allow any one to sit on my platform and sing
+these sweet hymns unless I have good reason to believe they are living
+pure, holy, consistent Christian lives. I think the man or woman who
+sits in the choir ought to be as good as he who stands in the pulpit.
+
+Some will come to me and say: "So-and-so is a fine singer; has such a
+fine voice." "What church does he or she belong to?" "Oh, they are not
+members." "Well, then, excuse me, if you please." "But that might save
+them!" "I shall not try the experiment."
+
+I have polite ushers to welcome the people, and to shake hands with them
+as they come in and also as they go out, and invite them back. They are
+also supplied with tracts for distribution, tracts that have passed
+under my observation, as I allow nobody to distribute tracts unless I
+know what they are.
+
+I try to keep the run of the converts; in fact, I try to know all about
+them. I try to get them into some church of their choice, that one which
+they will feel the most at home in and where they will get the right
+sort of care. It is a very easy thing to get one of these poor
+drunkards, who hasn't got any place to sleep or anything to eat, to say,
+"I am going to try and be a better man and follow Christ!" It is a very
+easy thing, I say, and the poor fellows mean it. But, oh! my friends,
+how hard it is to get them up to the sticking point. They want to be
+watched over and given the very best nursing. If I had not had the very
+best care and nursing of one of the most godly of ministers, I do not
+think I should be standing before you to-day a Christian man.
+
+I try to follow them up and help the pastors to nurse them. In order to
+keep track of them we use a book, something like a bank check-book. When
+they want to unite with some church, we give them a certificate of
+introduction. In it I ask the pastor to let me know when it is
+presented. On the stub I take the man's name, age, residence, where
+from, to whom introduced, with space for remarks as to future career,
+etc. If he has a home, we visit him at his home, and if he has not, I
+invite him to visit me at my home at any time, day or night, which is in
+the same building over the Mission, and we talk together and pray
+together.
+
+QUESTION. "Will you please state whether you ever recommend fasting as a
+means of keeping the body under?"
+
+ANSWER. "I think it is a good idea. I think fasting a good thing to keep
+the body under. Owing to my poverty, since I have become a Christian, I
+have had little to feed on. This necessary self-denial has enabled me to
+keep my poor body down, and from betraying me into sin. No man was ever
+a greater slave to his passions than I. My passion for gambling was so
+great I would have committed murder to gratify it. I was very
+licentious. I just gave loose reins to my passions; but to-day, I thank
+God, I can stand up before you and say that I am complete master of
+myself. I know it is a help to live a plain life."
+
+Q. "How many meetings a week do you hold?"
+
+A. "We have them every night."
+
+Q. "Do the men go to the churches when you send them? Do you prepare
+them?"
+
+A. "I do not hurry them into the churches. And yet I don't say they must
+be converted before they go in. When a man is sick of sin, willing to
+give it up, I think he is about as ready for the church as we can get
+him."
+
+Q. "Do you have much or little Bible reading in the services?"
+
+A. "We do not have much Bible reading. I know that it is the power of
+God unto salvation; but the class of men who attend Missions, as a rule,
+are in no condition to be profited by a long Bible reading. The mission
+of the Missions is to stop these men in their downward course, put them
+to thinking, get them into churches; then have the Bible read and
+explained to them by those who are more competent than I am."
+
+Q. "How long do you hold service?"
+
+A. "Exactly one hour and a half; never more, sometimes a little less.
+The first half hour is taken up in prayer and singing, the other hour in
+exhortation and testimonies and prayers for the inquirers. After
+dismissing, we remain with any anxious ones."
+
+Q. "When do you have your converts' meeting?"
+
+A. "Every Sunday morning, beginning at 9:30 o'clock and closing at
+10:30, in time for them to get to church."
+
+Q. "Do the churches take good care of the converts?"
+
+A. "As a rule, yes. Some better than others."
+
+Q. "Do the converts come to your Mission after they have joined the
+church?"
+
+A. "Oh, yes, sir. They feel more at home in the Mission than they do in
+church, because it was there they entered upon the Christian life. Many
+of our Christian workers make a great mistake. They find fault with the
+churches because they don't receive these tramps--I must call them
+tramps--in their filthy condition and give them the best seats, etc. I
+want to say right here that a clean church, where clean people go, is no
+place for a body of tramps. We must remember, my friends, that people
+who are clean, who have good clothes and clean homes, also have some
+rights to be considered. I say it is not right to take these people into
+a fine church, and put them side by side with the clean ones until they
+themselves are thoroughly clean. I took fifty or sixty of them into a
+church once, but afterward I was aware that I had made a great mistake.
+The Mission is the place to clean them up, and then send them to a clean
+church, and they will feel better themselves, and be warmly welcomed by
+the members. I don't like dirt any better than other folks, but some one
+has to do this work, and I am perfectly willing to do it."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted
+Gambler, by Rev. Gross Alexander
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler, by
+Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler
+       His Life and Work
+
+Author: Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+Commentator: Rev. Sam P. Jones
+
+Release Date: October 30, 2011 [EBook #37883]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STEVE P. HOLCOMBE, THE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Garcia, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Kentuckiana Digital Library)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-001.jpg" width="288" height="468" alt="Steve P. Holcombe." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">Steve P. Holcombe.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1 class="booktitle">
+<span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe</span>,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="fifty">THE</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="fifty">CONVERTED GAMBLER:</span><br />
+<br />
+HIS LIFE AND WORK.</h1>
+
+<p class="h2"><span class="smcap">By Rev. Gross Alexander.</span></p>
+
+<p class="h5">INTRODUCTION BY</p>
+
+<p class="h4"><i>REV. SAM P. JONES.</i></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h6">LOUISVILLE:<br />
+PRESS OF THE COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING COMPANY.<br />
+1888.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h6"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted, 1888.</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h5">TO<br />
+<br />
+Mrs. S. P. Holcombe,<br />
+<br />
+THE PATIENT WIFE,<br />
+<br />
+THE FAITHFUL MOTHER,<br />
+<br />
+THE FRIEND OF PUBLICANS AND SINNERS,<br />
+<br />
+THIS ACCOUNT OF<br />
+<br />
+THE LIFE AND WORK OF HER HUSBAND<br />
+<br />
+IS DEDICATED.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h3">TABLE OF CONTENTS.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="tdrfirst">PAGE</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION BY SAM. P. JONES</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">ix</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl"><a href="#LETTER_FROM_DR_JOHN_A_BROADUS">LETTER FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">xiii</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl">LIFE AND WORKS OF STEVE P. HOLCOMBE--</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">1</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">19</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">28</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">75</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">102</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdlin"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">111</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl"><a href="#LETTERS">LETTERS</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">125</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl"><a href="#TESTIMONIALS">TESTIMONIALS OF CONVERTS</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">173</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdl"><a href="#SERMONS">SERMONS</a></td>
+    <td class="tdr">269</td>
+    </tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[vii]</span>
+
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+<p>It has been thought and suggested by some of
+those having knowledge of Mr. Holcombe's history,
+that an account of his life and work in book-form
+would multiply his usefulness and do good. And
+since the narration of his experiences by himself has
+been of such great benefit to those who have been
+privileged to hear him, why may not others also be
+benefited by reading some account of his uncommon
+career?</p>
+
+<p>It is hoped that it will be of interest to the general
+reader as a revelation and record of the workings and
+struggles of some human hearts and the wretchedness
+and blessedness of some human lives. It is a sort of
+luxury to read about and sympathize with wretchedness,
+as it is a joy to see that wretchedness turned
+to blessedness. It will show to those who are unwillingly
+the slaves of sin what God has done for such as
+they. It will possibly interest and encourage those
+who are engaged in Christian work. It may furnish
+suggestions as to practical methods to be pursued
+in working among poor and needy classes, whether
+in towns or cities. Even ministers of the Gospel may
+find encouragement and instruction in the experience
+of Mr. Holcombe's life and the methods and successes
+of his work.</p>
+
+<p>What few letters of Mr. Holcombe's could be
+found are put in as showing phases of this interesting
+character that could be shown as well no other way,
+and some letters written <i>to</i> him are selected out of<span class="pagenum">[viii]</span>
+several hundred of like character to show how he
+touches all classes of people.</p>
+
+<p>The "Testimonies" are from men who have been
+rescued under Mr. Holcombe's ministry, and will give
+some idea of the work that is being done. These
+are only a few of the men who have been brought
+to a better and happier life through Mr. Holcombe's
+efforts. If any should feel that there is a sameness
+in these testimonies, which it is believed very few will
+do, perhaps others will feel the cumulative effect of
+line upon line, example upon example.</p>
+
+<p>The sermons or addresses are inserted because
+they have been the means of awakening and guiding
+many to salvation, and they may be of interest and
+possibly of benefit to some who have not heard Mr.
+Holcombe. They contain much of the history of his
+inner life in statements of experience introduced by
+way of illustration. They are given in outline only,
+as will be seen.</p>
+
+<p>The book lays no claim to literary excellence.
+The position and work of the man make his life
+worth writing and reading apart from the style of
+the book.</p>
+
+<p>The accounts here given of Mr. Holcombe's character
+and work are not written for the purpose of
+glorifying him. Many of these pages are profoundly
+painful and humiliating to him. But they are written
+that those who read them may know from what depths
+he has been brought, and to what blessedness he has
+been raised, through Jesus Christ, to whose name the
+glory is given and to whose blessing the book is
+commended.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap in2">August, 1888.</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[ix]</span></p>
+
+<h2 id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+
+<p class="h3">BY REV. SAM P. JONES.</p>
+
+<p>The author of this volume, the Rev. Gross Alexander,
+Professor of Theology in Vanderbilt University,
+was surely the man to give to the world the Life of
+Steve Holcombe. The warm heart and clear head of
+the author, and the consecrated, self-denying life of the
+subject of the volume, assure the reader ample compensation
+for the time given to the book.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Alexander has known Brother Holcombe from
+the beginning of his Christian life, and tells the story
+of his fidelity to Christ and loyalty to duty as no other
+could.</p>
+
+<p>I first met Brother Holcombe at Louisville, in the
+year 1882, when I was preaching in the church of his
+pastor, Rev. J. C. Morris. It was from Brother Morris
+that I learned of this consecrated layman. He often
+told me with joy of many incidents connected with
+the conversion and work of Brother Holcombe. My
+acquaintance with him soon grew into a warm friendship.
+It has always been an inspiration to me to talk
+with him, and a source of gratitude to me to know that
+I have his affection and prayers.</p>
+
+<p>The work he is doing now in the city of Louisville,
+Kentucky, is very much like Jerry Macauley's
+work in New York City years ago. No man has
+experienced more vividly the power of Christ to save,
+and no man has a stronger faith in Christ's ability to
+save. Brother Holcombe's humility and fidelity have
+made him a power in the work of rescuing the perishing<span class="pagenum">[x]</span>
+and saving the fallen. I have been charmed by
+the purity of soul manifested by him on all occasions,
+and his continual efforts to bring back those who
+have been overtaken in a fault. Hundreds of men
+who have felt his sympathizing arms about them and
+listened to his brotherly words have grown strong,
+because they had a friend and brother in Steve
+Holcombe, who, in spite of their failures and faults,
+has clung to them with a love like that which Christ
+Himself manifested toward those who were as bruised
+reeds and smoking flax.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Holcombe, rescued himself by the loving
+hand of Christ, has extended the hand from a heart
+full of love for Christ and men, and has done his best
+to save all who have come under his influence.</p>
+
+<p>This volume will be especially instructive to those
+who are interested in the salvation of the non-churchgoers
+of the great cities. For surely Brother Holcombe's
+Mission is a place where the worst sinners
+hear of Christ's power to save, and where they see,
+in Brother Holcombe himself, with his rich experience,
+one of the greatest triumphs of the Gospel.</p>
+
+<p>I heartily commend this volume to all Christian
+people, because it tells of the life of a saved man. It
+tells also what a saved man can do for others, and it
+will inspire many hearts with sympathy for such work
+and prepare many hands to help in it. I heartily
+commend this book because it is the biography of
+one whom I love and whom all men would love, if they
+knew him in his devotion to God and duty. Brother
+Holcombe has frequently been with me in my meetings
+and in my private room; I have frequently been with<span class="pagenum">[xi]</span>
+him in his Mission, in his family circle, on the streets
+of the great cities, and he is one man of whom it may
+be said: "His conversation is in heaven." I frequently
+feel that my own life would have been more successful
+with such a fervent consecration to my work as Brother
+Steve Holcombe exemplifies.</p>
+
+<p>The sermons contained in this volume will be read
+with interest. They are his sermons. They come
+from his heart, and they have reached the hearts of
+hundreds and thousands who have heard him gladly.</p>
+
+<p>I bespeak for the book a circulation which will
+put it into the library of all pastors and into thousands
+of homes.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Sam P. Jones.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap in2">Cartersville, Ga.</span>, October 18, 1888.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[xiii]</span>
+
+<h2 id="LETTER_FROM_DR_JOHN_A_BROADUS">LETTER FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.</h2>
+
+<p>I have read with very great interest the "Life of
+Steve Holcombe," and have carefully looked through
+the letters, testimonies and sermons to be included in
+the proposed volume, and I rejoice that it is to be
+published. Professor Alexander, who was Mr. Holcombe's
+first pastor, has written the life with the best
+use of his fine literary gifts, and with sound judgment
+and good taste. It is a wonderful story. I have long
+felt interest in Mr. Holcombe and his work, for after
+beginning his Mission he attended my seminary lessons
+in the New Testament through a session and more;
+but this record of his life warms my heart still more
+toward him and his remarkable labors of love. I
+think the book will be very widely read. It will
+stir Christians to more hopeful efforts to save the
+most wicked. It will encourage many a desperate
+wanderer to seek the grace of God in the Gospel.
+Such a book makes a real addition to the "evidences
+of Christianity." No one can read it without feeling
+that Christian piety is something real and powerful
+and delightful. Much may be learned from Mr. Holcombe's
+recorded methods and discourses, and from
+the testimonies of his converts, as to the best means
+of carrying on religious work of many kinds. The
+book will, doubtless, lead to the establishment of like
+Missions in other cities, and put new heart and hope
+into the pastors, missionaries and every class of Christian
+workers. It will show that zeal and love and
+faith must be supported by ample common sense and<span class="pagenum">[xiv]</span>
+force of character, as in Mr. Holcombe's case, if great
+results are to hoped for. Many persons can be induced
+to read his brief outline sermons who would never
+look at more elaborate discourses. As to two or
+three slight touches of doctrinal statement, some of
+us might not agree with the speaker, but all must
+see that his sermons are very practical, pervaded by
+good sense and true feeling, and adapted to do much
+good.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">John A. Broadus.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap in2">Louisville, Ky.</span>, September 25, 1888.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+<h2>LIFE AND WORK.</h2>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[1]</span>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<p>Steve P. Holcombe, known in former years
+as a gambler and doer of all evil, no less known
+in these latter days as a preacher of the
+Gospel and doer of all good, was born at Shippingsport,
+Kentucky, in 1835. The place, as well as the
+man, has an interesting history. An odd, straggling,
+tired, little old town, it looks as if it had been left
+behind and had long ago given up all hope of ever
+catching up. It is in this and other respects in striking
+contrast with its surroundings. The triangular
+island, upon which it is situated, lies lazily between
+the Ohio river, which flows like a torrent around two
+sides of it, and the Louisville canal, which stretches
+straight as an arrow along the third. On its northeast
+side it commands a view of the most picturesque
+part of La Belle Riviere. This part embraces the
+rapids, or "Falls," opposite the city of Louisville,
+which gets its surname of "Falls City" from this
+circumstance. In the midst of the rapids a lone,
+little island of bare rocks rises sheer out of the
+dashing waters to the height of several feet, and
+across the wide expanse, on the other side of the
+river, loom up the wooded banks of the Indiana
+side, indented with many a romantic cove, and sweeping
+around with a graceful curve, while the chimneys
+and towers and spires of Jeffersonville and New<span class="pagenum">[2]</span>
+Albany rise in the distance, with the blue Indiana
+"Knobs" in the deep background beyond. From this
+same point on the island, and forming part of the
+same extensive view, one may see the two majestic
+bridges, each a mile in length, one of which spans
+the river directly over the Falls and connects the
+city of Louisville with Jeffersonville, Indiana, while
+the other joins the western portion of Louisville with
+the thriving city of New Albany. Across the canal
+from the island, on the south, lies the city of Louisville
+with its near 200,000 population, its broad
+avenues, its palatial buildings.</p>
+
+<p>In the very midst of all this profusion of beauty
+and all this hum and buzz and rush of commercial
+and social life, lies the dingy, sleepy old town of
+Shippingsport with its three hundred or four hundred
+people, all unheeded and unheeding, uncared for and
+uncaring. There are five or six fairly good houses,
+and all the rest are poor. There is a good brick
+school-house, built and kept up by the city of Louisville,
+of which, since 1842, Shippingsport is an incorporated
+part. There is one dilapidated, sad looking,
+little old brick church, which seldom suffers any sort
+of disturbance. On the northeast shore of the island
+directly over the rushing waters stands the picturesque
+old mill built by Tarascon in the early part of
+the century. It utilizes the fine water-power of the
+"Falls" in making the famous Louisville cement. Part
+of the inhabitants are employed as laborers in this
+mill, and part of them derive their support from fishing
+in the river, for which there are exceptional opportunities
+all the year around in the shallows, where<span class="pagenum">[3]</span>
+the rushing waters dash, with eddying whirl, against
+the rocky shores of their island.</p>
+
+<p>There are, at this time, some excellent people in
+Shippingsport, who faithfully maintain spiritual life and
+good moral character amid surrounding apathy and
+immorality. "For except the Lord had left unto
+them a very small remnant, they should have been
+as Sodom, and they should have been like unto
+Gomorrah."</p>
+
+<p>And yet, Shippingsport was not always what it
+is now. Time was when it boasted the aristocracy
+of the Falls. "The house is still standing," says a
+recent writer in Harper's Monthly Magazine, "where
+in the early part of the century the Frenchman, Tarascon,
+offered border hospitality to many distinguished
+guests, among whom were Aaron Burr and Blennerhasset,
+and General Wilkinson, then in command of
+the armies of the United States." He might have
+added that Shippingsport was once honored with a
+visit from LaFayette, and later also from President
+Jackson. But in other respects also Shippingsport
+was, in former years, far different from what it is
+to-day. In business importance it rivaled the city of
+Louisville itself. In that early day, before the building
+of the canal, steamboats could not, on account of
+the Falls, pass up the river except during high water,
+so that for about nine months in the year Shippingsport
+was the head of navigation. Naturally, it became a
+place of considerable commercial importance, as the
+shrewd Frenchman who first settled there saw it was
+bound to be. Very soon it attracted a population of
+some hundreds, and grew into a very busy little mart.<span class="pagenum">[4]</span>
+"Every day," says one of the old citizens still living,
+"steamboats were landing with products and passengers
+from the South, or leaving with products and
+passengers from Kentucky and the upper country."
+The freight which was landed at Shippingsport was
+carried by wagons and drays to Louisville, Lexington
+and other places in Kentucky and Indiana. This
+same old citizen, Mr. Alex. Folwell, declares that he
+has seen as many as five hundred wagons in one
+day in and around the place. There were three large
+warehouses and several stores, and what seems hard
+to believe, land sold in some instances for $100 per
+foot.</p>
+
+<p>The canal was begun in 1824, the first spadeful
+of dirt being taken out by DeWitt Clinton, of New
+York. During the next six years from five hundred
+to a thousand men were employed on it. They
+were, as a general thing, a rough set. Sometimes,
+while steamboats were lying at the place, the unemployed
+hands would annoy the workmen on the canal
+so that gradually there grew up a feeling of enmity
+between the two classes which broke out occasionally
+in regular battles.</p>
+
+<p>In 1830, when the canal was finished, the days of
+Shippingsport's prosperity were numbered. Thenceforth
+steamboats, independent of obstructions in the
+river, passed on up through the canal, and Shippingsport
+found her occupation was gone. The better
+classes lost no time in removing to other places, and
+only the poorer and rougher classes remained. Many
+of the workmen who had been engaged in building
+the canal settled down there to live; unemployed and<span class="pagenum">[5]</span>
+broken-down steamboatmen gravitated to the place
+where they always had such good times; shiftless
+and thriftless poor people from other places came
+flocking in as to a poor man's paradise. Within
+easy reach of Louisville, the place became a resort
+for the immoral young men, the gamblers and all the
+rough characters of that growing city.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the place to which Steve Holcombe's
+parents removed from Central Kentucky in 1835, the
+year of his birth; and, though coming into the midst of
+surroundings so full of moral perils, they did not bring
+that strength of moral character, that fixedness of moral
+habit and that steadfastness of moral purpose which
+were necessary to guard against the temptations of
+every sort which were awaiting them.</p>
+
+<p>The father, though an honest and well disposed sort
+of man and very kind to his family, was already a
+drunkard. His son says of him: "My poor father had
+gotten to be a confirmed drunkard before I was born,
+and after he had settled at Shippingsport, my mother
+would not let him stay about the house, so that most of
+his time was spent in lying around bar-rooms or out on
+the commons, where he usually slept all times of the
+year." It is not surprising that as a consequence of
+such dissipation and such exposure he died at the early
+age of thirty-three, when his son Steve was eleven
+years old. Dead, he sleeps in an unmarked grave on
+the commons where formerly he slept when drunk and
+shut out by his wife from his home.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Holcombe, the mother of Steve, a woman five
+feet ten inches in height and one hundred and ninety
+pounds in weight, was as strong in passion as in physical<span class="pagenum">[6]</span>
+power. "When aroused," says her son, "she was
+as fierce as a tigress and fearless of God, man or devil,
+although she was a woman of quick sympathy and
+impulsive kindheartedness toward those who were in
+distress, and would go further to help such than almost
+any one I have ever known." She was a woman of
+more than ordinary mind, though entirely without
+education. In the government of her children she was
+extremely severe. "Though my father," says Mr. Holcombe,
+"never whipped me but once in my life, and
+that slightly, my mother has whipped me hundreds of
+times, I suppose, and with as great severity as frequency.
+She has, at times, almost beaten me to death. She
+would use a switch, a cane, a broom-stick or a club,
+whichever happened to be at hand when she became
+provoked. She whipped me oftener for going swimming
+than for anything else, I believe. If I told her
+a lie about it she would whip me, and if I told her the
+truth, she would whip me."</p>
+
+<p>From neglect and other causes little Steve was very
+sickly and puny in his babyhood, so that he did not
+walk till he was four years old; but from the beginning
+his temper was as violent as his body was weak, and
+from his earliest recollection, he says, he loved to fight.
+At the same time he had his mother's tenderheartedness
+for those who were in distress. Once a stranger
+stopped for a few days at the tavern in Shippingsport,
+and the roughs of the place caught him out on one
+occasion and beat him so severely that he was left for
+dead; but he crawled afterward into an old shed where
+little Holcombe, between five and six years old, found
+him and took him food every day for about two weeks.<span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p>
+
+<p>The boys with whom he associated in childhood
+were addicted to petty stealing, and he learned from
+them to practice the same. When about seven years
+old his mother, on account of their poverty, provided
+him with a supply of cakes, pies and fruits to peddle
+out on the steamers while they were detained in passing
+the locks of the canal. Instead of returning the money
+to his mother, however, he would often lose it in gambling
+with the bad boys of the place, and sometimes
+even with his half-brothers, so that he seldom got home
+with his money, but always got his beating.</p>
+
+<p>At eight years of age he played cards for money
+in bar-rooms with grown men. At ten he began to
+explore those parts of the river about the falls, in a
+skiff alone looking for articles of various kinds lost in
+wrecks, that he might get means for gambling. This,
+together with the fact that his hair was very light in
+color, gained for him the distinction of the "Little
+White-headed Pirate."</p>
+
+<p>In 1842 Shippingsport was taken into the city of Louisville,
+and a school was established, which he attended
+about three months during this period of his life, and he
+never attended school afterward. The brown-haired,
+black-eyed little girl who afterward became his wife,
+attended this school at the same time. Her parents
+had lately removed to Shippingsport from Jeffersonville,
+Indiana. They were people of excellent character and
+were so careful of their children that they would not
+allow them to associate with the children of Shippingsport
+any farther than was necessary and unavoidable.
+But, notwithstanding these restrictions, their little Mary
+saw just enough of Steve Holcombe in school to form a<span class="pagenum">[8]</span>
+strange liking for him, as he did also for her&mdash;an attachment
+which has lasted through many and varying
+experiences up to the present. At that time he had
+grown to be "a heavy set little boy," as Mrs. Holcombe
+describes him, and was "very good looking," indeed,
+"very handsome," as she goes on to say, "with his
+deep blue eyes and his golden hair." She did not
+know that she was in love with a boy who was to
+become one of the worst of men in all forms of
+wickedness, and as little did she know that she was in
+love with a boy who was to become one of the best of
+men in all forms of goodness and usefulness. Nor did
+he foresee that he was forming an attachment then and
+there for one who was to love him devotedly and serve
+him patiently through all phases of infidelity and wickedness,
+and through years of almost unexampled trials
+and sufferings, who was to cling to him amid numberless
+perils and scandals, who was to train and restrain his
+children so as to lead them in ways of purity and goodness
+in spite of the father's bad example, who was to
+endure for his sake forms of ill treatment that have
+killed many a woman, and who was in long distant
+years to be his most patient encourager and helper in a
+singularly blessed and successful work for God and the
+most abandoned and hopeless class of sinful men, and
+to develop, amid all and in spite of all and by means of
+all, one of the truest and strongest and most devoted of
+female characters. A singular thing it seems, indeed,
+that an attachment begun so early and tested so
+severely should have lasted so late. And yet it is
+perhaps at this moment stronger than ever it was
+before.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-027.jpg" width="468" height="290" alt="BIRTHPLACE OF MR. HOLCOMBE. SHIPPINGSPORT." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">BIRTHPLACE OF MR. HOLCOMBE. SHIPPINGSPORT.</p>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[9]</span>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding young Holcombe's lack of religious
+instruction and his extraordinary maturity in wickedness,
+he declares that at times he had, even before his
+tenth year, very serious thoughts. He says:</p>
+
+<p>"I always believed there was a God and that the
+Bible was from God, but for the most part my belief
+was very vague and took hold of nothing definite.
+Hence, nearly all my thoughts were evil, only evil and
+evil continually. I am sure, however, that I believed
+there was a hell. When a child, I used to dream, it
+seems to me, almost every night, that the devil had me,
+and sometimes my dreams were so real that I would
+say to myself while dreaming, 'Now this is no dream;
+he has got me this time, sure enough.' I remember
+that one text which I heard a preacher read troubled
+me more than anything else, when I thought about
+dying and going to judgment. It was this: 'And
+they hid themselves in the dens and rocks of the
+mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall
+on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth
+on the throne.' I always had a fear of death and a
+dread of the future. The rattling of clods on a coffin
+filled me with awe and dread. When I thought about
+my soul, I would always say to myself, 'I am going to
+get good before I go into the presence of God; but now
+I want to keep these thoughts out of mind so I can
+do as I please and not have to suffer and struggle and
+fight against sin&mdash;till I get consumption. When I get
+consumption I will have plenty of warning as to death's
+approach and plenty of time to prepare for it.' But I
+had gotten such an admiration for gamblers and such a
+passion for gambling that I had a consuming ambition<span class="pagenum">[10]</span>
+to become a regular blackleg, as gamblers were called
+in those days. I made up my mind that this was to be
+my business, and I began to look about for some way
+to get loose from everything else, so I could do nothing
+but gamble, with nobody to molest or make me afraid."</p>
+
+<p>It is hard enough for a boy to keep from doing
+wrong and to do right always, even when he has
+inherited a good disposition, enjoyed good advantages
+and had the best of training. But our little friend,
+Steve Holcombe, poor fellow, inherited from his father
+an appetite for drink and from his mother a savage
+temper. To balance these, he had none of the safeguards
+of a careful, moral or religious education, and
+none of those sweet and helpful home associations
+which follow a man through life and hold him back
+from wrong doing.</p>
+
+<p>Thus unprepared, unshielded, unguarded, at the tender
+age of eleven years he left home to work his own way in
+the world. No mother's prayers had hitherto helped him,
+and no mother's prayers from henceforth followed him.
+No hallowed home influences had blessed and sweetened
+his miserable childhood and no tender recollections of
+sanctified home life were to follow him into the great
+wicked world. On the contrary, he was fleeing from his
+home to find some refuge, he knew not what, he knew not
+where. He was going out, boy as he was, loaded
+down with the vices and hungry with the passions of
+a man. He did not seek employment among people
+that were good or in circumstances encouraging to
+goodness, but just where of all places he would find
+most vice and learn most wickedness&mdash;on a steamboat.
+One knowing his antecedents and looking out into his<span class="pagenum">[11]</span>
+future could easily have foreseen his career in vice and
+crime, but would hardly have predicted for him that
+life of goodness and usefulness which now for eleven
+wonderful years he has been leading.</p>
+
+<p>He was employed on a steamboat which ran on
+the Tennessee river, and his first trip was to Florence,
+Alabama. His mother did not know what had become
+of him. He was employed in some service about the
+kitchen. He slept on deck with the hands and ate
+with the servants. Hungry as he was for some word
+or look of sympathy which, given him and followed
+up, might have made him a different character, nobody
+showed him any kindness. The steward of the boat
+on the contrary showed him some unkindness, and
+was in the act of kicking him on one occasion for
+something, when young Holcombe jumped at him
+like an enraged animal and frightened him so badly
+that he was glad to drop the matter for the present
+and to respect the boy for the future. On this trip
+he found five dollars in money on the boat, and
+was honest enough to take it to the steward for the
+owner.</p>
+
+<p>When he returned home from this trip, strange to
+say, his mother so far from giving him a severer beating
+than usual, as might have been expected, did not punish
+him at all. She was probably too glad to get him back
+and too afraid of driving him away again. But nothing
+could restrain him now that he had once seen the world
+and made the successful experiment of getting on in
+the world without anybody's help. So that he soon
+went on another trip and so continued, going on four
+or five long steamboat runs before he was fourteen<span class="pagenum">[12]</span>
+years of age, and spending his unoccupied time in
+gambling with either white men or negroes, as he
+found opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>After he was fourteen years old he went on the
+upper Mississippi river and traveled to and from St.
+Louis. On the Mississippi steamers of those days gambling
+was common, not only among the servants and
+deck-hands, it was the pastime or the business of some
+of the first-class passengers also. Sometimes when
+a rich planter had lost all his ready money in gambling,
+he would put up a slave, male or female, that he might
+happen to have with him, and after losing, would
+borrow money to win or buy again the slave. Professional
+gamblers, luxuriously dressed and living like
+princes, frequented the steamers of those days for the
+purpose of entrapping and fleecing the passengers.
+All this only increased the fascination of gambling for
+young Holcombe, and he studied and practiced it with
+increasing zeal.</p>
+
+<p>About this time, when he was in the neighborhood
+of fourteen years of age, his mother, awaking all too
+late to his peril and to her duty, got him a situation
+as office-boy in the office of Dr. Mandeville Thum, of
+Louisville, hoping to keep him at home and rescue
+him from the perilous life he had entered upon.
+Dr. Thum was much pleased with him, took great
+interest in him, and treated him with unusual kindness.
+He even began himself to teach him algebra,
+with the intention of making a civil engineer of the
+boy. And he was making encouraging progress in
+his studies and would, doubtless, have done well, had
+he continued.<span class="pagenum">[13]</span></p>
+
+<p>During the time he spent in the service of Dr.
+Thum, he attended a revival meeting held by the
+Rev. Mr. Crenshaw, at Shippingsport, and was much
+impressed by what he heard. He became so awakened
+and interested that he responded to the appeals
+that were made by this devoted and zealous preacher
+and sought interviews with him. He tried his level
+best, as he expresses it, to work himself up to a point
+where he could feel that he was converted, a not rare,
+but very wrong, view of this solemn matter. But he
+could not <i>feel</i> it. While, however, he could not get
+the feeling, he <i>determined</i> to be a Christian, anyhow, a
+rarer and better, but not altogether correct, view of the
+subject either. For a week or ten days he succeeded
+in overcoming evil impulses, and in living right, but he
+was led away by evil companions. Soon after this he
+tried it again, and this time he succeeded for a longer
+time than before in resisting temptations and following
+his sense of right, but was one day persuaded to
+go on a Sunday steamboat-excursion to New Albany,
+with some young folks from Shippingsport, which
+proved the occasion of his fall. On returning home
+he and two other boys went part of the way on foot.
+They heard a man, not far away, crying for water, and
+Holcombe's quick impulse of sympathy led him to propose
+to go to the relief of the sufferer. When they
+found he was not so bad off as they thought, the two
+other boys began to abuse and mistreat the stranger.
+He was an unequal match for the two, however, and
+as he was about to get the best of them, young Holcombe
+knocked the poor man down, and they all
+kicked him so severely over the head and face that<span class="pagenum">[14]</span>
+when they left him he was nearly dead. Holcombe
+went back the next day, and half a mile away he found
+the coroner holding an inquest over the man. He
+was preparing to flee to Indiana when he heard that
+the verdict of the jury was: "Death from exposure
+to the sun."</p>
+
+<p>This cowardly and wicked deed wrought in him
+such shame, such self-loathing and such discouragement
+that he abandoned all hope and purpose of
+living a better life. With a sort of feeling of desperation
+and of revenge against his better nature for
+allowing him to yield and stoop to such meanness,
+he left his position in Louisville and shipped on a
+steamboat again for St. Louis. While the boat was
+lying at the wharf at St. Louis he got into a difficulty
+with one of the deck-hands who applied to
+him a very disgraceful name. Instantly young Holcombe
+seized a heavy meat-cleaver and would have
+split the man's head in two if the cook had not
+caught his arm as he swung it back for the stroke.
+From St. Louis he went up the Missouri river to
+Omaha, engaging, as usual, in gambling and other
+nameless vices.</p>
+
+<p>On his second trip from Omaha to St. Louis he
+innocently provoked the anger of the steward of the
+boat, who abused him in such a way that Holcombe
+ran at him with an ice-pick, when the terrified man
+rushed into the office and took refuge behind the
+captain. It was decided that Holcombe should be
+discharged and put ashore. When the clerk called
+him up to pay him off, he volunteered some reproof
+and abuse of the seventeen-year-old boy. But, upon<span class="pagenum">[15]</span>
+finding he was dealing with one who, when aroused,
+knew neither fear nor self-control, he was glad to
+quiet down and pay him his dues, as Holcombe remarked:
+"You may discharge me and put me ashore,
+but you shall not abuse me." And they put him
+ashore at Kansas City, then a small village. While
+waiting at Kansas City for the next boat to St. Louis
+(all traveling being done in those days and regions by
+water), he spent his time around bar-rooms and gambling-houses.
+There he saw a different and more
+extensive kind of gaming than he had ever seen before.
+Great quantities of money were on the tables before
+the players, greater than he had ever seen, and he
+saw it change hands and pass from one to another.
+Such a sight increased his desire to follow such a life.
+So he put up his money, the wages of his labor on
+the boat, and lost it&mdash;all. He spent the remainder
+of his stay in Kansas City wandering around, destitute,
+hungry, lonely, with various reflections on the
+fortunes and misfortunes of a gambler's life, till at last
+he got deck-passage on a boat to St. Louis, and paid
+his fare by sawing wood. During this trip his violent
+and revengeful temper led him to commit an act that
+nearly resulted in murder. One of the deck-hands
+threw down some wood which he had piled up, and
+Holcombe protested, whereupon the deck-hand cursed
+him and said: "You little rat, I will throw you overboard!"
+Mr. Holcombe replied: "I guess you won't,"
+and said nothing more at the time. After the man
+had lain down and gone to sleep, Mr. Holcombe got a
+cord-stick, slipped upon him, and hit him on the skull
+with all his might, completely stunning the man.<span class="pagenum">[16]</span>
+"Now," says Mr. Holcombe, speaking of this incident,
+"I can not understand how a man could do so cruel
+a thing, but <i>then</i> I felt I must have revenge some way,
+and <i>I could not keep from it</i>."</p>
+
+<p>At St. Louis he got a position on a boat for New
+Orleans, and soon after arriving in that city he shipped
+on board a steamship for Galveston, Texas, but returned
+immediately to New Orleans. Here, however,
+he soon lost, in gambling, all the money he had made
+on the trip, and was so entirely without friends or
+acquaintances that he could find no place to sleep,
+and wandered about on the levee until one or two
+o'clock in the morning. To add to the loneliness and
+dismalness of his situation, it was during an epidemic
+of yellow fever in the city, and people were dying so
+fast they could not bury them, but had to plow trenches
+and throw the corpses in, as they bury soldiers on a
+battle-field. About one or two o'clock, a colored man,
+on a steamboat seeing him walking around alone,
+called him, and finding out his condition, took him on
+board the steamer and gave him a bed. But Holcombe
+was so afraid the negro had some design
+upon him, as there were no others on board, that he
+stole away from the boat and wandered around, alone,
+all the rest of the night.</p>
+
+<p>On that awful night the great deep of his heart was
+broken up and he felt a sense of loneliness that he had
+never felt before in his life. He was in a strange city
+among a strange people. He had no friends, he had no
+means. He had not where to lay his head. The
+darkness of the night shut off the sight of those
+objects which in the day would have diverted his mind<span class="pagenum">[17]</span>
+and relieved his painful reflections; and the awful
+stillness, broken only by the rattling of wheels that
+bore away the dead, made it seem to him as if his
+thoughts were spoken to him by some audible voice.
+His past life came up before him, but there was in
+it nothing pleasant for him to remember. It had been
+from his earliest recollection one constant experience of
+pain and sin. He was uneasy about himself. He was
+frightened at the past, and the recollection of his hard,
+but vain, struggle to get his evil nature changed and
+bettered, cast a dark cloud over his future. What
+could he do? Where could he go? Who was there
+could help him? Who was there that loved him? At
+his own home, if home it could be called, there was
+nothing but strife and cruelty and sin. Father, he had
+none. He that was his father had lived a drunkard's
+life, had died a drunkard's death and was buried in a
+drunkard's grave. And his mother&mdash;she had no
+power to help him or even love him as most mothers
+love their children, and as on that lone dismal night he
+would have given the world to be loved. Of God's
+mercy and love he did not know, he thought only of
+his wrath, nor had he learned how to approach him in
+prayer. Alone, alone, he felt himself to be shut up between
+a past that was full of sin and crime and a future
+that promised nothing better. But he did think of
+one who had loved him and who had said she would
+always love him and he felt there was truth in her soul
+and in her words. It was the brown-haired, sweet-faced,
+strong-hearted little girl he had left in Shippingsport.
+He would go back to her. She alone of all
+people in the world seemed able to help him and this<span class="pagenum">[18]</span>
+seemed his last, his only hope. If she had remained
+true to him, and if she would love him, the world would
+not seem so dreary and the future would not seem so
+dark, and maybe she could help him to be a better
+man. "On the next day," says Mr. Holcombe, "an
+acquaintance of mine from Louisville ran across me as
+I was strolling about the streets, took me aboard a
+steamer and made me go home with him."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-039.jpg" width="290" height="494" alt="THE OLD MILL AT SHIPPINGSPORT." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE OLD MILL AT SHIPPINGSPORT.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[19]</span>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<p>As has already been said, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the
+parents of Mrs. Holcombe, were people of excellent
+moral character and were so careful of their
+children that as long as they could prevent it, they did
+not allow them to associate freely with the Shippingsport
+children. But of Steve Holcombe, the worst of
+them all, they had a special dread. Mr. Evans could
+not endure to see him or to hear his name called.
+And yet, this same Steve Holcombe was in love with
+their own precious child, and had now come home to
+ask her to marry him. Of course, he did not visit her
+at her own home but he managed to see her elsewhere.
+He found that she had not wavered during his absence,
+but that the bond of their childhood had grown with
+her womanhood. And yet she knew full well his past
+career and his present character. She went into it
+"with her eyes open," to quote her own words.
+Against the will of her parents and against the advice
+of her friends she adhered to her purpose to marry
+Steve Holcombe when the time should come. Even
+his own mother, moved with pity at the thought of the
+sufferings and wretchedness which this marriage would
+bring the poor girl, tried to dissuade her from it and
+warned her that she was going to marry "the very
+devil." She replied that she knew all about it, and
+when asked why she then did it, her simple answer
+was "because I love him."<span class="pagenum">[20]</span></p>
+
+<p>He promised her that he would try to be a better
+man and <i>she</i>, as well as <i>he, believed it</i>, though not because
+she expected he would some time become a Christian
+and not because she had the Christian's faith and hope.
+Her simple belief was that the outcome of her love
+would be his reformation and return to a better life.
+It was not thus definitely stated to herself by herself.
+It was an unconscious process of reasoning or rather it
+was the deep instinct of her strong and deeply-rooted
+love.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Holcombe was recently asked if, during all the
+years of her husband's recklessness and disgraceful
+dissipation, his sins and crimes, his cruel neglect and
+heartless mistreatment of herself, her love ever faltered?
+She answered: "No; never. There never
+was a time, even when Mr. Holcombe was at his worst,
+that I did not love him. It pained me, of course, that
+some things should come <i>through</i> him, but I never
+loved <i>him</i> any less." A rare and wonderful love it
+surely was. When she was asked if during those dark
+and bitter years she ever gave up her belief that her
+husband would change his life and become a good man,
+she answered, "No; I never gave it up." A woman
+of deep Insight, of large reading and wide observation,
+on hearing these replies of Mrs. Holcombe, said: "It
+is the most wonderful case of love and patience and
+faith I have ever known."</p>
+
+<p>He had come home then to marry Mary Evans.
+He met her at the house of a mutual friend and proposed
+an elopement. She was frightened and refused.
+But he pleaded and besought her, and, wounded and
+vexed at what seemed a disregard of his feelings and<span class="pagenum">[21]</span>
+rights, he ended by saying, "It must be to-night or
+never." Whereupon she consented, though with great
+reluctance, and they went together to the house of
+his mother, in the city of Louisville. But his own
+mother would not consent to their marriage under such
+circumstances until she could first go and see if she
+could get the consent of the girl's parents. Accordingly,
+she went at once to Shippingsport, night as it
+was, and laid the case before them. They did not
+consent, but saw it would do no good to undertake to
+put a stop to it. So that, at the house of his mother
+in Louisville, they were married, Steve Holcombe and
+Mary Evans, the hardened gambler and the timid girl.</p>
+
+<p>After his marriage he quit running on the river,
+settled down at Shippingsport and went to fishing for a
+living. And it did seem for a time that his hope was
+to be realized and that through the helpful influences
+of his young wife he was to become a better man. He
+grew steadily toward better purposes and toward a
+higher standard of character, and within two or three
+months after their marriage they joined the church
+together. Mrs. Holcombe says, however, that she does
+not now believe that she was a Christian at the time.
+They thought in a general way that it was right to join
+the church, and that it would do them good and somehow
+help them to be good. If they had had some one,
+wise and patient and faithful, to teach them and advise
+them and sympathize with them at this time of awakening
+and of honest endeavor after a spiritual life, they
+would probably have gone on happily and helpfully
+together in it. But alas! as is true in so many, many
+cases to-day, nobody understood or seemed to understand<span class="pagenum">[22]</span>
+them, nobody tried or cared to understand them;
+nobody cared for their souls. It was taken for granted,
+then as now, that when people are gotten into the
+church, nothing special is to be done for them any
+further, though, in fact, the most difficult and delicate
+part of training a soul and developing Christian character
+comes after conversion and after joining the
+church. Mr. Holcombe attributes his present success
+in the helping and guidance of inquiring and struggling
+souls to his lack on the one hand of careful and sympathetic
+training in his earlier efforts to be a Christian and
+on the other hand to the great benefit of such training
+in his later efforts. In such a nature as his, especially,
+no mere form of religion and no external bond of union
+with the church was sufficient. The strength of his
+will, the tenacity of his old habits, the intensity of his
+nature and the violence of his passions were such that
+only an extraordinary power would suffice to bring him
+under control. It was not long, therefore, before he
+was overcome by his evil nature, and he soon gave over
+the ineffectual struggle and fell back into his old ways.
+His poor wife soon found to her sorrow that reforming
+a bad man was a greater undertaking than she had
+dreamed of, and was often reminded of her mother-in-law's
+remark that she had married "the very devil."
+And Mr. Holcombe found out, too, that his wife, good
+as she was, could not make him good. Some men
+there are so hungry-hearted and so dependent, that
+they can not endure life without the supreme and
+faithful and submissive affection of a wife, but who
+know not how to appreciate or treat a wife and soon
+lose that consideration and love for her which are<span class="pagenum">[23]</span>
+her due. Then marriage becomes tyranny on the one
+side and slavery on the other.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the reader will conclude later that this
+description applies all too well to the married life of
+Steve Holcombe and his faithful and brave-hearted
+young wife; for it was not long before he returned, in
+spite of all his solemn vows and his earnest resolutions,
+to his old habit of gambling and to all his evil ways.
+On a certain occasion not long after he married, in
+company with a friend, who is at this moment lying in
+the jail in Louisville for the violation of the law against
+gambling, he went on a fishing excursion to Mound
+City, Illinois. Having returned to the landing one
+night about midnight they found a fierce-looking man
+sitting on the wharf-boat who said to them on entering,
+"I understand there are some gamblers here and I have
+come to play them, and I can whip any two men on the
+Ohio river," at the same time exposing a large knife
+which he carried in his boot. He was evidently a
+bully who thought he could intimidate these strangers
+and in some underhanded way get from them their
+money. Mr. Holcombe did not reply but waited till the
+next morning when he "sized up the man" and determined
+to play against him. After they had been playing
+some time Mr. Holcombe discovered that the man was
+"holding cards out of the pack" on him. He said nothing,
+however, till the man had gotten out all the cards he
+wanted, when Mr. Holcombe made a bet. The other
+man "raised him," that is, offered to increase the
+amount. Mr. Holcombe raised him back and so on till
+each one had put up all the money he had. Then the
+man "showed down his hand" as the saying is, and he<span class="pagenum">[24]</span>
+had the four aces. Mr. Holcombe replied "That is a
+good hand, but here is a better one;" and with that
+struck him a quick heavy blow that sent the man to the
+floor, Mr. Holcombe took all the money and the other
+man began to cry like a child and beg for it. Mr. Holcombe
+was instantly touched with pity and wanted to
+give him back his money but his partner objected.
+He did, however, give the man enough for his immediate
+wants and left him some the wiser for his loss of
+the rest.</p>
+
+<p>At the same place the owner of the storeboat left a
+young man in charge, who, during the absence of his
+proprietor, offered to play against Mr. Holcombe and
+lost all the money he had. Then he insisted on Mr.
+Holcombe's playing for the clothing which he had in
+the store and Mr. Holcombe won all that from him,
+leaving him a sadder, but it is to be hoped a wiser,
+man.</p>
+
+<p>Having thus once again felt the fascination of
+gambling and the intoxication of success, Mr. Holcombe
+was impelled by these and by his naturally restless
+disposition to give up altogether his legitimate business
+and to return to the old life. So without returning to
+visit his wife and child or even informing them of his
+whereabouts, he shipped on a steamer for Memphis and
+thence to New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>On his return trip from New Orleans he played
+poker and won several hundred dollars. On landing in
+Louisville, his half-brother, Mr. Wm. Sowders, the
+largest fish and oyster dealer in Louisville, gave him a
+partnership in his business, but they soon fell out and
+he quit the firm.<span class="pagenum">[25]</span></p>
+
+<p>He removed to Nashville, Tennessee, and opened
+a business of the same kind there in connection with
+his brother's house in Louisville, Mr. Holcombe shipping
+his vegetables and produce in return for fish and
+oysters. This was early in 1860. It was a great trial
+for his young wife to be taken from among her relatives
+and friends and put down among people who were
+entire strangers, especially that she had found out in
+four or five years of married life that her husband had
+grown away from her, that his heart and life were in
+other people than his family, in other places than his
+home and in others pleasures than his duty. She knew
+that she could not now count on having his companionship
+day or night, in sickness or in health, in poverty or
+in wealth. And to make the outlook all the more
+gloomy for her, she had just passed through one of the
+severest trials that had come into her life.</p>
+
+<p>When an intense woman finds that she is deceived
+and disappointed in her husband, and the hopes of
+married bliss are brought to naught, she finds some
+compensation and relief in the love of her children.
+So it was with Mrs. Holcombe. But just before the
+time came for them to remove to Nashville, death came
+and took from her arms her second-born child. This
+made it all the harder to leave her home to go among
+strangers. But already, as a wife, she had learned that
+charity which suffereth long and is kind, which seeketh
+not her own and which endureth all things.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe's business in Nashville was very
+profitable and he made sometimes as much as fifty
+dollars a day, so that in a short time he had accumulated
+a considerable amount of money. But his passion<span class="pagenum">[26]</span>
+for gambling remained. His wife had hoped that the
+sufferings and death of their little child might soften
+his heart and lead him to a better life. But it seemed
+to have no effect on him whatever. Though he did not
+follow gambling as a profession, he engaged in it at
+night and in a private way with business men.</p>
+
+<p>When the active hostilities of the war came on, his
+communication with Louisville was cut off and so his
+business was at an end. Leaving his wife and only
+remaining child alone in Nashville he went to Clarksville
+and engaged in the ice business. While he was
+there, the Kentucky troops, who were encamped near
+that place, moved up to Bowling Green, Kentucky.
+The sound of fife and drum and the sight of moving
+columns of soldiers stirred either his patriotism or his
+enthusiasm so that he got rid of his business and
+followed them on up to Green river in Kentucky, and
+went into camp with them where he spent some time,
+without, however, being sworn into service. But this
+short time sufficed for him and he became satisfied
+that "lugging knap-sack, box and gun was harder work
+than" gambling.</p>
+
+<p>He quit the camp, settled down at Bowling Green,
+and opened a grocery and restaurant, doing a very
+prosperous business. While there, he had a severe
+spell of sickness and came near dying, but did not send
+for his wife and child, who were still alone in Nashville.
+Just before the Federal troops took possession
+of Bowling Green, he sold his grocery for a large claim
+on the Confederate Government which a party held
+for some guns sold to the Confederacy. He then rode
+horseback from Bowling Green to Nashville, where he<span class="pagenum">[27]</span>
+rejoined his wife and child. After another severe spell
+of sickness through which his wife nursed him, he left
+his family again in those trying and fearful times and
+went South to collect his claim on the Confederate
+Government. Having succeeded in getting it he returned
+to Nashville with a large sum of money.</p>
+
+<p>As he had no legitimate business to occupy his time
+and his mind, he returned to gambling and this is his
+own account of it: "Then I began playing poker
+with business men in private rooms; and one of those
+business men being familiar with faro banks, roped us
+around to a faro room to play poker; and while we
+were playing, the faro dealer, who had cappers around,
+opened up a brace game, and the game of poker broke
+up, and I drifted over to the faro table, and did not look
+on long until I began to bet, and soon lost two or three
+hundred dollars which I had in my pockets, and lost
+a little on credit, which I paid the next morning.
+I lost what I had the next day, and kept up that same
+racket until I was broke. During this time I had been
+very liberal with the gamblers, treated them to oyster
+stews and other good things; and when I got broke I
+got to sitting around the gambling-house, and heard
+them say to each other, 'We will have to make Steve
+one of the boys,' and thus it was I became familiar
+with faro."</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[28]</span>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<p>The initiation of Mr. Holcombe into the game of
+faro was an epoch in his life. He was so fascinated
+with it, and saw so much money in it, that
+he now finally and deliberately gave up all attempts
+at any other business or occupation, and, removing
+again to Louisville, in partnership with a gambling
+friend he "opened up a game" or established a house
+of his own for playing faro in that city. He sent for
+his family thinking he was settled for life. Alas! how
+little he knew of that heart of his that knew so little
+of God. He found out later what St. Augustine has
+so beautifully said for all humanity: "Thou hast
+made us for Thyself and our hearts find no repose
+till they repose in Thee." It was not long before he
+had lost all his money and was "dead broke" again.
+It was about this time and during this residence at
+Louisville, that, uncontrolled by the grace and power
+of God, and untouched by the love that can forgive
+as it hopes to be forgiven, he committed the greatest
+crime of his life.</p>
+
+<p>A young man was visiting and courting a half-sister
+of his at Shippingsport, and, under promise of
+marriage, had deceived her. When Mr. Holcombe
+found it out, he felt enraged, and thought it his duty
+to compel him to marry her. But knowing himself
+so well, and being afraid to trust himself to speak to<span class="pagenum">[29]</span>
+the young man about it, he asked his two older half-brothers
+to see him and get the affair settled. They
+refused to do so. Mr. Holcombe then got a pistol
+and looked the man up with the deliberate intention
+of having the affair settled according to his notion of
+what was right, or killing him. He met him at Shippingsport,
+near the bank of the canal, and told him
+who he was&mdash;for they scarcely knew each other.
+Then he reminded him of what had occurred, and
+said that the only thing to be done was to marry the
+girl. This the man declined to do, saying: "We are
+as good as married now." He had scarcely uttered
+the words when Mr. Holcombe drew his derringer
+and shot him. When he fell, Mr. Holcombe put his
+hand under the poor man's neck, raised him up and
+held him until a doctor could be called. He was
+touched with a great feeling of pity for his victim, and
+would have done anything in his power for him. But
+all his pity and repentance could not bring back the
+dying man. He went into a neighboring house and
+washed the blood from his hands, but he could not
+wash the blood from his conscience. In after years
+the cry of another murderer, "Deliver me from blood-guiltiness,
+O, God!" was to burst from his lips, and
+faith in the blood of a murdered Christ was to bring
+the answer of peace to his long troubled soul. But
+alas! alas! he was to add crime to crime and multiply
+guilt manifold before that time should come.</p>
+
+<p>He was soon arrested and taken to jail, where,
+after some hours, he was informed that the man was
+dead. Some time afterward he was tried by a jury
+and acquitted, though the Commonwealth's Attorney,<span class="pagenum">[30]</span>
+assisted by paid counsel, did all he could to procure
+his conviction. But no human sentence or approval
+of public opinion can quiet a guilty human conscience
+when awakened by the God whose sole prerogative
+of executing justice is guarded by His own solemn
+and awful words, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay,"
+saith the Lord. When the conscience is pressed with
+a great sense of guilt, it seeks relief by the way of
+contrition and repentance, or it seeks relief by a
+deeper plunge into sin and guilt, as if the antidote to
+a poison were a larger dose of poison. There is no
+middle ground unless it be insanity. Nor did Mr.
+Holcombe find any middle ground, though he declares
+that he never allowed himself to think about the killing
+of Martin Mohler, and could not bear to hear
+his name. He had to <i>keep very busy</i> in a career
+of sin, however, to <i>keep from</i> thinking about it, and
+that is exactly the second alternative of the two described
+above.</p>
+
+<p>"After this," says Mr. Holcombe, "I continued
+gambling, traveling around from place to place, and
+at last I settled down at Nashville and dealt faro
+there. I took my family with me to Nashville. I
+gambled there for awhile, and then came back to
+Louisville, where I opened a game for working men.
+But when I looked at their hard hands and thought
+of their suffering families, I could not bear to take
+their money. Then I turned my steps toward the
+South and landed in Augusta, Georgia. I went to
+Augusta in 1869 in connection with a man named
+Dennis McCarty. We opened there a big game of
+faro, where I did some of the biggest gambling I<span class="pagenum">[31]</span>
+ever did in my life. On one occasion I played seven-up
+with a man and beat him out of five thousand
+dollars, which broke him up entirely."</p>
+
+<p>Let us now take a peep into his home-life: Mrs.
+Holcombe says that in Augusta he was in the habit
+of staying out for several days and nights at a time,
+a thing which he had never done before. They lived
+in Augusta something over two years, and during all
+that time she had not one day of peace. He was more
+reckless than he had ever been before. She suffered
+most from his drunkenness and his ungovernable
+temper. Sometimes he would come into the house
+in a bad humor and proceed to vent his wrath on
+her and the furniture; for he was never harsh to his
+children, but on the contrary, excessively indulgent,
+especially to his sons. During his outbursts of anger,
+Mrs. Holcombe always sat perfectly still, not in fear,
+but in grief; for she knew as little of fear as he.
+Many a time he has come into the house in a bad
+humor and proceeded to upset the dining-table, emptying
+all the food onto the floor and breaking all the
+dishes. On one occasion he came home angry and
+found his wife sitting on a sofa in the parlor. He
+began to complain of her and to find fault with her,
+and as her silence seemed to provoke him, he began
+to curse her; and as she sat and wept in silence, he
+grew worse and worse, using the most dreadful oaths
+she ever heard. When he had fully vented his passion,
+he walked out and stood awhile at the front
+gate as if in a study. Then he walked back into
+the house where she sat, still weeping, and said, in a
+mild and gentle tone: "Well, Mary, I was pretty mad<span class="pagenum">[32]</span>
+awhile ago, wasn't I?" Then he began to apologize
+and to tell her how sorry he was for having talked
+to her so harshly, and wound up by petting her.
+He was at times almost insanely jealous of his wife,
+and if he saw her even talking with a man, no
+matter whom, it put him in a rage which ended only
+when he had vented it in the most abusive language
+to her.</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion, while they were living in Augusta,
+an incident occurred which illustrates at once
+her unexampled devotion and his unexampled depravity.
+On the night in question she had gone to
+bed, but not to sleep. About midnight he came staggering
+in and fell full length on the floor at the foot
+of the stairway. She tried to help him up, but he was
+so dead drunk she could not lift him. She left him
+lying at the foot of the stairway and went back to
+bed. But, though she was very tired, she could not
+endure the thought of lying in a comfortable bed
+while her husband was on the floor. She got up,
+therefore, and went down stairs again and sat on the
+floor beside him in her night-dress till morning. Then
+she left him and went up stairs to dress, that she
+might be prepared for the duties of the day. When,
+some time afterward, she came back to where he was
+lying, he abused and cursed her for leaving him
+alone, and, before his tirade was ended he was sorry,
+and tried to smooth it over by saying: "I did not
+think <i>you</i> would leave me."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Holcombe says concerning her life at this
+period: "I usually walked the floor, after the children
+were in bed, till past midnight waiting for him to come<span class="pagenum">[33]</span>
+home. One night in particular, between eleven and
+twelve o'clock, I heard a shot fired and I heard a man
+cry out not far from the house. I thought it was Mr.
+Holcombe, and my agony was almost more than I could
+bear while waiting for day to come, for I was sure somebody
+had shot him. But between three and four o'clock
+In the morning he came in, and his coming brought me
+great relief." "Then another time," she goes on to
+say, "I was sitting by the window when an express
+wagon drove up with a coffin in it. The driver said to
+me, 'Does this coffin belong here?' I understood him
+to say, 'Does Mr. Holcombe live here?' I thought it
+was Mr. Holcombe and that he had been killed and
+sent home to me in his coffin. The driver repeated his
+question twice, but I was so paralyzed I could not
+answer him a word."</p>
+
+<p>From Augusta Mr. Holcombe removed with his
+family to Atlanta, where he made a good deal of money.
+Mrs. Holcombe says concerning their stay in Atlanta,
+"My life at Atlanta was no better than it had been at
+Augusta. Much of my time was spent in walking the
+floor and grieving. Often in my loneliness and sorrow
+my lips would cry out, 'How can I endure this life any
+longer?' I had not then become a Christian and did not
+know what I do now about taking troubles and burdens
+to God. And yet I believe that it was God who comforted
+my heart more than once when my sorrow was
+more than I could bear. I cried to Him without knowing
+Him. All these years I tried to raise my children
+right, and I taught them to respect their father. I hid
+his sins from them when I could, and when I could not,
+I always excused him to them the best I could." But<span class="pagenum">[34]</span>
+Mr. Holcombe instead of aiding his wife's efforts to
+bring up their children in the right path, often perversely
+put obstacles in her way and increased her
+difficulties, though he did try to conceal his drinking
+from them, and would never allow his boys to have or
+handle cards. So in many things he was a combination
+of contradictions. He could not endure, however, for
+his wife to punish the children, and especially the boys.
+On one occasion he came home and the younger son
+was still crying from the punishment inflicted by his
+mother for wading in a pond of water with his shoes on.
+Mr. Holcombe asked him what was the matter, and
+when he found out, he was so angry he made the boy
+go and wade in the pond again with his shoes on. And
+yet Mrs. Holcombe's love for her husband "never
+wavered," and she loved him "when he was at his
+worst."</p>
+
+<p>While Mr. Holcombe was living in Atlanta he
+attended the races in Nashville, and while there, two
+men came along that had a new thing on cards, and
+they beat him out of five or six thousand dollars&mdash;broke
+him, in fact. After he was broke, he went to one of the
+men by the name of Buchanan and said, "I see that
+you have got a new trick on cards, and as I am well
+acquainted through the South, if you will give it away
+to me, we can go together and make money." The
+man, after some hesitation, agreed to do so. They went
+in partnership and traveled through the South as far as
+Key West, Florida, stopping at the principal cities and
+making money everywhere. At Key West he and his
+partner had a split and separated. From Key West
+Mr. Holcombe crossed over to Cuba, and spent some<span class="pagenum">[35]</span>
+time in Havana. In seeking adventures in that strange
+city he made some very narrow escapes, and was glad to
+get away. On landing at New Orleans, though he had
+a good deal of money, the accumulations of his winnings
+on his late tour through the South, he got to playing
+against faro bank and lost all he had. But he fell in
+with a young man about twenty years of age, from
+Georgia, on his way to Texas, and became very intimate
+with him. Finding that this young man had a draft for
+$1,050, by the most adroit piece of maneuvering he
+got another man, a third party, to win it from him for
+himself, and gave this third party $50 for doing it.
+Then he took charge of the young man in his destitution
+and distress, paid his bill for a day or two at a
+hotel in New Orleans, and gave him enough to pay his
+way on to Texas. The young man departed thinking
+Mr. Holcombe was one of the kindest men he had ever
+met. The gentle reader, if he be a young man who
+thinks himself wise enough to be intimate with strangers,
+might learn a useful little lesson from this young Georgian's
+experience as herein detailed.</p>
+
+<p>From New Orleans, Mr. Holcombe went by river
+to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he met again with his
+former partner, Buchanan. They made up their differences
+and went into partnership again, and were successful
+in winning a good deal of money together. But
+afterward their fortunes changed and they both lost all
+they had. This soured Buchanan, who had never cordially
+liked Holcombe since their quarrel and separation
+at Key West. Mr. Holcombe himself shall narrate
+what took place afterward: "During this time we had
+been sleeping in a room together. Buchanan knew that<span class="pagenum">[36]</span>
+I had two derringer pistols. He got Phil Spangler to
+borrow one, and I feel satisfied he had snaked the other.
+A friend of mine, John Norton, asked me to deal faro
+bank, and I got broke, and the night that I did, I put the
+box in the drawer pretty roughly, and made some pretty
+rough remarks. Buchanan was present, but took no
+exception to what I said that night. The next morning,
+however, in the bar-room he began to abuse me, and we
+abused each other backward and forward until I had
+backed clear across the street. During this time I had
+my derringer pistol out in my hand. He had a big
+stick in his hand and a knife in his bosom. When we
+got across the street I made this remark, 'Mr. Buchanan,
+I do not want to kill you,' He was then about ten feet
+from me, and made a step toward me. I took deliberate
+aim at his heart and pulled the trigger, but the pistol
+snapped. He walked away from me then. I ran up to
+the hotel where Aleck Doran was, knowing that his six-shooter
+was always in good condition. I borrowed it
+and started to hunt Buchanan up, and when I found him,
+he came up to me with his hand out. We made up and
+have been good friends ever since. After we left
+there, these parties with whom we had been playing,
+got to quarreling among themselves about the different
+games, and the result was that John Norton killed Phil
+Spangler and another one of the men. And such is the
+life of the gambler." And such is too often, alas! the
+death of the gambler.</p>
+
+<p>From Shreveport he went back to Atlanta where his
+family, consisting now of his wife, two sons and two
+daughters, had remained. But he could not be contented
+at any one place. It seemed impossible for him<span class="pagenum">[37]</span>
+to be quiet, no matter how much money he was making.
+Indeed, the more he got the more disquieted he seemed,
+and yet it was his passion to win money. Sometimes
+he would go to his home with his pockets full of it and
+would pour it out on the floor and tell the children to
+take what they wanted. He was so restless when he
+had won largely that he could not sleep; and his wife
+says she has known him to get up after having retired
+late and walk back to the city to his gambling house to
+find somebody to play with. He seemed to want to
+lose his money again. In fact, he seemed happier
+when he was entirely without money than when he had
+a great deal.</p>
+
+<p>Not contented, then, at Atlanta, he went from there
+to Beaufort, South Carolina, to gamble with the officers
+of the navy. He got into a game of poker with some
+of them and won all the money. Then he was ready to
+quit and leave the place, but he got into a difficulty
+with a man there whose diamond pin he had in pawn
+for money lent him, and though it be at the risk of
+taxing the reader's patience with these details, yet, in
+order to show vividly what a gambler's life is, we shall
+let Mr. Holcombe give his own account of the affair:</p>
+
+<p>"This man was the bully of the place. I had his
+diamond pin in pawn for seventy-five dollars, and
+another little fellow owed me eighteen dollars, or something
+like that, and I wanted him to pay me. Instead
+of paying me, however, he began to curse and abuse
+me; and I hit him on the nose, knocked him over and
+bloodied it, and he was bleeding like everything. He
+got over into the crowd; and under the excitement of
+the moment, I drew my pistol and started toward him.<span class="pagenum">[38]</span>
+This big bully caught me gently by the vest, and asked
+me quietly to put up my pistol. I did so. Then he
+said, 'You can't shoot anybody here,' I said 'I do not
+want to shoot anybody.' I then asked him to turn me
+loose. He again said 'You can't shoot anybody here.'
+I then said, 'What is the matter with you? Are we
+not friends?' And he said 'No,' and made the remark,
+'I will take your pistol away from you and beat your
+brains out.' I struck him and knocked him over on a
+lounge, but he rose up and came at me, and we had
+quite a tussle around the room. The others all ran
+and left the house, and the barkeeper hid.</p>
+
+<p>"When we separated, the big fellow had quite
+a head on him; was all beaten up. He then
+went into the other room and sat down, and the
+barkeeper came in where I was. I was willing to
+do or say anything to reconcile this man, and I said to
+the barkeeper that I was sorry of the difficulty, as I
+liked the man, which was a lie, and a square one, for I
+hated him from the moment I saw him. When he
+heard what I said, he came sauntering into the room,
+and I said to him, 'I am sorry this occurred, but you
+called me such a name that I was compelled to do
+as I did. You know that you are a brave man; and if
+any man had called you such a name, you would have
+done just as I did.' He called me a liar, and at it we
+went again. We separated ourselves every time.
+I got the best of the round. After that he stepped
+up to the sideboard and got a tumbler; but I looked
+him in the eye so closely that he could not throw it at
+me, and he put it down. After a little more conversation,
+he started to lift up a heavy spittoon of iron. I<span class="pagenum">[39]</span>
+stepped back a foot or two, drew my pistol, and told
+him if he did not put that down, I would kill him. He
+put it down. I then told the barkeeper he must come
+in there and witness this thing, because I expected to
+have to kill him. After the barkeeper came in, the
+man went out, saying, 'You had a gun on me to-night,
+and I will have one on you to-morrow.' Feeling satisfied
+if I remained, one of us would have to be killed;
+and feeling that I did not want to kill him, neither did
+I want to get killed on a cold collar, I concluded to walk
+out of the place. I got the barkeeper to promise to
+ship my trunk to Atlanta, and walked through the
+swamps to a station fourteen miles away, arriving there
+some time next day." Other such experiences Mr.
+Holcombe had enough to fill a volume perhaps, but
+these are sufficient to give an impression of what a
+gambler's life is and to show what <i>was</i> the life of that
+same Steve Holcombe who now for eleven years has
+been a pattern of Christian usefulness and zeal.</p>
+
+<p>After spending a short time at Atlanta, he went to
+Hot Springs, Arkansas, and then again to Louisville,
+where he opened a faro bank and once more settled
+down for life, as he thought. <i>At any rate for the first
+time in his life he thought of saving a little money</i>, and
+he did so, investing it in some houses in the West End.
+Poor man! he had wandered <i>nearly</i> enough. He had
+almost found that rest can not be found, at least in the
+way he was seeking it, and the time was approaching
+when he would be <i>prepared</i> to hear of another sort and
+source of rest. Until he should be prepared, it would
+be vain to send him the message. To give the truth to
+some people to-day would be to cast pearls before<span class="pagenum">[40]</span>
+swine, to give it to them to-morrow may be re-clothing
+banished princes with due tokens of welcome and
+of royalty. To have told Steve Holcombe of Christ
+yet awhile would probably have excited his wonder and
+disgust; to tell him a little later will be to welcome a
+long-lost, long-enslaved and perishing child to his
+Father's house and to all the liberty of the sons of
+God.</p>
+
+<p>So <i>he thought</i> of saving a little money and of
+investing in some cottages in the west end of Louisville.
+And God was thinking, too, and He was
+thinking thoughts of kindness and of love for the
+poor wicked outcast. He was <i>more</i> than thinking, He
+was getting things ready. But the time was not yet.
+A few more wanderings and the sinning one, foot-sore,
+heart-sore and weary will be willing to come to the
+Father's house and rest. Truth and God are always
+ready, but man is not always ready. "I have many
+things to say to you, but you can not bear them now."</p>
+
+<p>His income at Louisville at this time was between
+five and seven thousand dollars a year. He had a large
+interest in the bank and some nights he would take in
+hundreds of dollars. But he could not be contented.
+The roving passion seized him again, and in company
+with a young man of fine family in Louisville, who had
+just inherited five thousand dollars, he set out on a
+circuit of the races. But in Lexington, the very first
+place they visited, they lost all they had, including the
+young man's jewelry, watch and diamond pin. They
+got more money and other partners and started again
+on the circuit and they made money. At Kalamazoo,
+Michigan, Mr. Holcombe withdrew from the party,<span class="pagenum">[41]</span>
+just for the sake of change, just because he was
+tired of them; and in playing against the faro banks
+at Kalamazoo he lost all he had again. Then he
+traveled around to different places playing against faro
+banks and "catching on" when he could. He visited
+Fort Wayne, Cleveland, Utica, Saratoga and New York.
+At New York he was broke and he had become so disgusted
+with traveling around and so weary of the world
+that he determined he <i>would</i> go back to Louisville and
+settle down for life. He did return to Louisville and
+got an interest in two gambling houses, making for him
+an income again of five thousand dollars a year.</p>
+
+<p>During all these years his faithful wife, though not
+professing to be a Christian herself, endeavored in all
+possible ways to lead her children to become Christians.
+She taught them to pray the best she could, and sent
+them to Sunday-school. After her first child was born
+she gave up those worldly amusements which before she
+had, to please her husband, participated in with him&mdash;a
+good example for Christian mothers. She was in continual
+dread lest the children should grow up to follow
+the father's example. She always tried to conceal from
+them the fact of his being a gambler. The two
+daughters, Mamie and Irene, did not, when good-sized
+girls and going to school, know their father's business.
+They were asked at school what his occupation was,
+and could not tell. More than once they asked their
+mother, but she evaded the question by saying, "He
+isn't engaged in any work just now," or in some such
+way. Mrs. Holcombe begged her husband again and
+again not to continue gambling. She says, "I told him
+I was willing to live on bread and water, if he would<span class="pagenum">[42]</span>
+quit it." And she would not lay up any of the money
+he would give her, nor use any more of it than was
+necessary for herself and the children, for she felt that
+it was not rightly gotten. And because she would
+neither lay it up nor use it lavishly, she had nothing to
+do but let the children take it to play with and to give
+away. Under the training of such a mother with
+such patience, love and faith, it is no great marvel,
+and yet perhaps it is a great marvel, that Willie, the
+eldest child, notwithstanding the father's example, grew
+up to discern good, to desire good and to be good.
+While he was still a child, when his father came home
+drunk, the wounded and wondering child would beg
+him not to drink any more. Mrs. Holcombe says of
+him further, "When Willie would see his father on the
+street drinking, I have seen him, when twelve years old,
+jump off the car, go to his father and beg him with
+tears to go home with him. And I never saw Mr.
+Holcombe refuse to go."</p>
+
+<p>In this way the boy grew up with a disgust and
+horror of drunkenness and drinking, and when in the
+year 1877 the great temperance movement was rolling
+over the country and meetings were held everywhere,
+and in Louisville also, though the boy had never drunk
+any intoxicating liquor in his life, he signed the pledge.
+He took his card home with his name signed to it, and
+when his father saw it, he was very angry about it.
+And yet, strange to say, on that very evening the
+father himself attended the meeting; and on the next
+evening he went again, in company with his wife.
+During the progress of the meeting he turned to his
+wife and said, "Mary, shall I go up and sign the<span class="pagenum">[43]</span>
+pledge?" Concealing her emotions as best she could,
+lest the show of it might disgust and repel him, she
+replied, "Yes, Steve, Willie and I would be very glad
+if you would," and he did so.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after that, Willie asked his father and
+mother if they would accompany him to the Broadway
+Baptist church in the city to see him baptized. While
+witnessing the baptism of his son, Mr. Holcombe made
+up his mind that he would quit gambling, and as he
+went out of the church, he said to his wife, "<i>I will
+never play another card</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Some friend of his who overhead the remark said
+to him, "Steve, you had better study about that." He
+answered, "No, I have made up my mind. I wish
+you would tell the boys for me that they may count
+me out. They may stop my interest in the banks.
+I am done."</p>
+
+<p>His wife, who was hanging on his arm, could no
+longer now conceal her emotions, nor did she try.
+She laughed and cried for joy. God was saying to
+her, "Mary, thy toils and tears, thy sufferings and
+patience have come up for a memorial before me, and
+I will send a man who will tell thee what thou oughtest
+to do, and speak to thee words whereby thou and all
+thy house shall be saved."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe was as good as his word. He did
+give up gambling from that time. But he had had
+so little experience in business that he was at a great
+loss what to do. Finally, however, he decided to go
+into the produce and commission business as he had
+had some experience in that line years before in
+Nashville, and as that required no great outlay of<span class="pagenum">[44]</span>
+money for a beginning. All the money he had was
+tied up in the houses which he had bought in Portland,
+the western suburb of Louisville. He was living
+in one of these himself, but he now determined to rent
+it out and to remove to the city that he might be
+nearer his business.</p>
+
+<p>One day in October, 1877, a stranger entered his
+place of business, on Main street, and, calling for Mr.
+Holcombe, said: "I see you have a house for rent in
+Portland."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said he, "I have."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the stranger, "I like your house;
+but as my income is not large, I should be glad to
+get it at as low a rent as you can allow."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe replied: "I am rather pressed for
+money now myself, but maybe we can make a trade.
+What is your business?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am a Methodist minister, and am just sent to
+the church in Portland, and you know it can not pay
+very much of a salary."</p>
+
+<p>"That settles it then, sir," said Mr. Holcombe, with
+that abruptness and positiveness which are so characteristic
+of him, "I am a notorious gambler, and, of
+course, you would not want to live in a house of mine."</p>
+
+<p>He expected that would be the end of the matter,
+and he looked to see the minister shrink from him
+and leave at once his presence and his house. On
+the contrary, the minister, though knowing nothing
+of Mr. Holcombe's recent reformation, yet seeing his
+sensitiveness, admiring his candor and hoping to be
+able to do him some good, laid his hand kindly on
+his shoulder and said:<span class="pagenum">[45]</span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh no, my brother; I do not object to living in
+your house; and who knows but that this interview
+will result in good to us both, in more ways than one?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe's impression was that ministers of
+the Gospel were, in their own estimation, and in fact,
+too good for gamblers to touch the hem of their garments,
+and that ministers had, for this reason, as little
+use and as great contempt for gamblers as the average
+gambler has, on the very same account, for ministers.
+But he found, to his amazement, that he was mistaken,
+and when the minister invited him to come to
+his church he said, not to the minister, yet he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I will go, I never had a good man to call me
+'brother' before. And he knows what I am, for I told
+him. I am so tired; I am so spent. Maybe he can
+tell me what to do and how to go. If Sunday ever
+comes, I will go to that man's church."</p>
+
+<p>And when Sunday came the minister and the gambler
+faced each other again. With a great sense of
+his responsibility and insufficiency the preacher declared
+the message of his Lord, not as he wished,
+but as he could. To the usual invitation to join the
+church nobody responded. After the benediction, however,
+Mr. Holcombe walked down the aisle to the
+pulpit and said to the minister: "How does a man
+join the church?" He had not attended church for
+twenty-three years, and had been engaged in such a
+life that he had forgotten what little he knew. The
+minister informed him.</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said he, "may I join your church?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are welcome, and more than welcome," replied
+the minister, and the people wondered.<span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p>
+
+<p>"From the day I joined his church," says Mr.
+Holcombe, "that minister seemed to understand me
+better than I understood myself. He seemed to know
+and did tell me my own secrets. He led me into an
+understanding of myself and my situation. I saw now
+what had been the cause of my restlessness, my wanderings,
+my weariness and my woe. I saw what it
+was I needed, and I prayed as earnestly as I knew
+how from that time. I attended all the services&mdash;preaching,
+Sunday-school, prayer-meeting, class-meeting
+in any and all kinds of weather, walking frequently all
+the way from Second street to Portland, a distance of
+three miles, because I was making too little to allow
+me to ride on the street-cars. But with all this, I felt
+something was yet wanting. I began to see that I
+could not make any advance in goodness and happiness
+so long as I was burdened with the unforgiven
+guilt of forty years of sin and crime. It grew worse
+and heavier until I felt I must have relief, if relief
+could be had. One day I went in the back office of my
+business house, after the others had all gone home,
+and shut myself up and determined to stay there and
+pray until I should find relief. The room was dark,
+and I had prayed, I know not how long, when such a
+great sense of relief and gladness and joy came to
+me that it seemed to me as if a light had flooded the
+room, and the only words I could utter or think of
+were these three: 'Jesus of Nazareth.' It seemed to me
+they were the sweetest words I had ever heard. Never,
+till then, did the feeling of blood-guiltiness leave me.
+It was only the blood of Christ that could wash from
+my conscience the blood of my fellowman."<span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>As in his case, so always, in proportion as a man
+is in earnest about forsaking sin, will he desire the
+assurance of the forgiveness of past sins, and <i>vice
+versa</i>. But Mr. Holcombe did not find this an end of
+difficulty and trial and conflict&mdash;far from it. Indeed, it
+was the preparation for conflict, and the entrance
+upon it. Hitherto, in his old life, he had made no
+resistance to his evil nature, and there was no conflict
+with the world, the flesh and the devil. But such
+a nature as his was not to be conquered and subjected
+to entire and easy control in a day. His
+passions would revive, his old habits would re-assert
+themselves, poverty pinched him, people misunderstood
+him, failure after failure in business discouraged him.
+Hence, he needed constant and careful guidance and
+an unfailing sympathy. And he thus refers to the
+help he received from his pastor in those trying days:</p>
+
+<p>"Seeing the great necessity of giving me much
+attention and making me feel at home in his presence
+and in the presence of his wife, he spent much time
+in my company, and with loving patience bore with
+my ignorance, dullness and slowness. In this way I
+became so much attached to him that I had no need
+or desire for my old associations. He led me along
+till I was entirely weaned from all desire for my old
+sinful life and habits. I think he gave me this close
+attention for about two years, when he felt that it
+was best for me to lean more upon God and less
+upon him."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe received continual kindness and
+encouragement from the minister's wife also, who not
+only had for him always a cordial greeting and a kindly<span class="pagenum">[48]</span>
+word of cheer, but who took great pleasure in entertaining
+him frequently in their home. It was a perpetual
+benediction to him to know her, to see the
+daily beauty of her faithful life, to feel the influence
+of her heavenly spirit. With quick intuition she recognized
+the sincerity and intensity of Mr. Holcombe's
+desires and efforts to be a Christian man; with ready
+insight she comprehended the situation and saw his
+difficulties and needs, and with a very Christlike self-forgetfulness
+and joy she ministered to this struggling
+soul. Not only Mr. Holcombe, but all who ever knew
+her, whether in adversity or prosperity, whether in sickness
+or in health, admired the beauty and felt the quiet
+unconscious power of her character. As for Mr. Holcombe
+himself, his mingled feeling of reverence for her
+saintliness and of gratitude for her sisterliness led him
+always to speak of her in terms that he did not apply
+to any other person whom he knew. He could never
+cease to marvel that one of her education, position and
+tender womanliness should take such pains and have
+such pleasure in helping, entertaining and serving such
+as he. A few years only was he blessed with the helpfulness
+of her friendship. In 1885, when she was just
+past the age of thirty-one, her tender feet grew so
+tired that she could go no further in this rough world,
+and Christ took her away. Few were more deeply
+bereaved than the poor converted gambler, and when
+he was asked if he would serve as one of the pallbearers
+on the occasion of her funeral, he burst into
+tears and replied, "I am not worthy, I am not worthy."
+If those who knew her&mdash;little children of tender years,
+young men and women, perplexed on life's threshold<span class="pagenum">[49]</span>
+and desiring to enter in at the strait gate, people
+of rank and wealth, people in poverty and ignorance,
+worldly-minded people whom she had unconsciously
+attracted, experienced Christians whom she unconsciously
+helped, and, most of all, her husband and
+children who knew her best&mdash;if all these should be
+asked, all these would agree that St. Paul has written
+her fitting epitaph:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Well reported of for good works;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If she have brought up children,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If she have lodged strangers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If she have washed the saints' feet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If she have relieved the afflicted,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If she have diligently followed every good work."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It was not long after Mr. Holcombe's conversion
+before his entire family became members of the church.
+Though this was to him cause of unspeakable joy and
+gratitude, it did not mark the limit of his love and zeal.
+From the time of his conversion he had a deep and
+brotherly sympathy for all who were without the knowledge
+and joy he had come into the possession of, but
+he felt a special interest in the salvation of the wretched
+and the outcast, and of the men of his own class and
+former occupation who were as ignorant as he was of
+these higher things and as shut out from opportunities
+of knowing them. So that from the very beginning
+of his Christian life he undertook to help others, and
+when they were in need, not stopping to think of any
+other way, he took them to his own house. This, with
+the support of his own family, increased the cost of
+his living to such an extent that he was soon surprised
+and pained to find that he could not carry on his business.<span class="pagenum">[50]</span>
+He had taken to his home, also, the father of his
+wife, whom he cared for till his death. And in a short
+time he was so pressed for means that he had to mortgage
+his property for money to go into another kind of
+business.</p>
+
+<p>When it was first reported that Steve Holcombe,
+one of the most successful, daring and famous gamblers
+in the South, had been converted and had joined the
+church, the usual predictions were made that in less
+than three months, etc., he would see his mistake or
+yield to discouragements and return to his old life of
+self-indulgence and ease. But when men passed and
+repassed the corner where this man had a little fruit
+store and was trying to make an honest living for his
+family, their thoughts became more serious and their
+questions deepen Steve had got something or something
+had got him. He was not the man of former
+times. And most of his friends, the gamblers included,
+when they saw this, were glad, and while they wondered
+wished him well. But there was one man engaged in
+business just across the street from the little fruit store,
+who with a patronizing air bought little fruits from Mr.
+Holcombe, and then spent his leisure in discussions and
+arguments to prove not only that he had made a big
+blunder in becoming a Christian, but that religion was all
+a sham, the Bible a not very cunningly devised fable and
+that Mr. Ingersoll was the greatest man of the day,
+because he had shattered these delusions. Mr. Holcombe
+patiently heard it all, and perhaps did not frame
+as cogent or logical an answer to this man's sophistries
+as he could do now, but he felt in his own heart and he
+saw in his own life that he was a new man. He felt a<span class="pagenum">[51]</span>
+profound pity for his friend who knew not nor cared for
+any of these things, and he lived on his humble, patient,
+uncomplaining Christian life. It may not be out of
+place to add as the sequel of this little episode that the
+testimony of this man across the way, who was such an
+unbeliever and scoffer, is given elsewhere in this volume,
+and doubtless will be recognized by the reader. Mr.
+Holcombe's life was too much for his logic.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Holcombe had failed in every kind of
+business that he undertook, his property was forced
+on the market and nothing was left him from the sale
+of it. Christian men of means might have helped him
+and ought to have helped him, but for reasons known
+to themselves they did not. Perhaps they were afraid
+to take hold of so tough a case as Steve Holcombe was
+known to have been, perhaps they saw he was not an
+experienced business man, perhaps they felt indisposed
+to help a man who was so incapable of economy and so
+generous in entertaining his friends and helping the
+needy. Greatly pressed, he went at last to his half-brother
+with whom in former years he had been associated
+as partner in business, and putting his case and
+condition before him asked for employment. But his
+half-brother declined on the spot, giving as his short
+and sole reason that he believed Mr. Holcombe was a
+hypocrite and was making believe that he was a
+Christian for some sinister purpose.</p>
+
+<p>This was "the most unkindest cut" of all and for
+days the poor wounded man felt the iron in his soul.
+During his former life he would have cared nothing for
+such treatment. A ruined character is benumbed like a
+paralyzed limb, but a revived and repentant soul is full<span class="pagenum">[52]</span>
+of sensitive nerves and feels the slightest slight or the
+smallest wound. He found out months afterward, however,
+that his half-brother was already losing his mind
+and was not responsible for this extraordinary behavior.
+He tried and his friends tried everywhere and every
+way to find employment for him, but he could get nothing
+to do. His money was all gone, his property was
+all gone, he sold his piano, he sold his Brussels carpets,
+he removed from place to place, following cheaper rent
+till at last he took his family to a garret. It was now
+two years since his conversion. During these two
+years he had done nothing to bring reproach on his
+profession or to give ground for a doubt of his sincerity.
+He had not only lived a consistent life himself, he had
+striven earnestly to help others to do so. He assisted
+in holding meetings in Shippingsport, and the people
+marveled and magnified the grace of God in him.
+But he was with his family on the point of starvation.
+When at last everything had been tried and no relief
+was found, in his desperation he thought of the improbable
+possibility of finding something, at least something
+to do, in the West, and he decided to go to Colorado.</p>
+
+<p>In Louisville, where he was suffering and where his
+family was suffering, he could have returned to gambling
+and have been independent in a month. He could
+have been living in a comfortable house; he could have
+had, as he was wont, the best the market afforded for
+his table, he could have decked himself with jewelry
+and diamonds, he could soon have been once more in
+position to spend, as he had regularly done, from two to
+ten dollars a day for the mere luxuries of life. He
+could have done all this and he could do all this even<span class="pagenum">[53]</span>
+yet; for even yet he is in the prime of life and power.
+But he did not, and he does not. He did not turn
+Christian because he had played out as a gambler.
+He did not turn to Christianity because fortune had
+turned away from him. But he turned away himself
+from fortune when he was fortune's pet, in order to
+turn to a better and worthier life.</p>
+
+<p>When he had decided to go to Colorado, he went to
+his pastor and told him. The pastor was astonished,
+alarmed. After two years and more of faithful and
+self-denying service was his friend and brother about to
+give away? Was this a plan to get away into a "far
+country" where he might turn again to sin? He reasoned
+with him, he appealed to him, he besought him.
+He tried to picture the perils of the journey and the
+perils of the place. He reminded Mr. Holcombe of
+the condition, as far as he knew it, of his family.
+But all to no purpose. He committed his friend trustfully
+to God and gave it up.</p>
+
+<p>"But," said the pastor, "how are you going to get
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am going to walk from place to place and work
+my way out. I can not stay here, I can get nothing to
+do and I must try elsewhere. I am desperate."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said the pastor, "if your mind is made up
+and you are going, I can let you have some money.
+I have about sixty-one dollars in bank which I laid
+aside when a single man, to use for Christ, and if that
+will pay your way out, you can have it. Christ has
+called for his own."</p>
+
+<p>He accepted it with tears, left a few dollars of it
+with his wife and, with the rest, started for Leadville.<span class="pagenum">[54]</span></p>
+
+<p>When he first landed at Denver, he met an old
+friend, John Chisholm, with whom he had gambled in
+Atlanta. This man had left Atlanta on account of
+having killed somebody there, and had made a considerable
+amount of money in California. He had
+now come to Denver and opened a game of faro.
+When he saw Mr. Holcombe on the street, he said:
+"You are just the man I want. I have opened a
+game of faro here, and I am afraid I can not protect
+myself. I will give you a good interest if you will
+go in with me."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe replied: "Yes, John; but I am a
+Christian now, and can not deal faro."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," said the man, "you were a Christian
+in Louisville, but you are a long ways from there."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," Mr. Holcombe said, "but a true Christian
+is a Christian everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding, he insisted on Mr. Holcombe's
+going to his room to see another old Atlanta friend.
+He did so, but felt so much out of place there that
+he did not remain ten minutes.</p>
+
+<p>From Denver he concluded to go to Silver Cliff
+instead of Leadville. When he arrived in that strange
+village, his money was all gone and he lacked fifteen
+cents of having enough to pay the stage-driver. "It
+was about sundown," says he, "when I got there. I
+did not know a living soul. I had not a cent of
+money. My courage failed me. I broke down and
+wept like a child."</p>
+
+<p>Having a good trunk he knew he would not be
+asked to pay in advance, and he went to a hotel and
+spent the night. In the morning he walked out after<span class="pagenum">[55]</span>
+breakfast to see what sort of a place he had gotten
+into. As he stood at the post-office, he saw across
+the street what he recognized as a gambling-house,
+"everything wide open," no attempt at concealment
+or privacy. He asked some one out of curiosity who
+was the proprietor, and found that two of his old
+acquaintances were running the house. He could
+easily, and at once, have gotten a situation with them,
+and could soon have had money to relieve his own
+wants and the wants of his family. But he had
+already stood severe tests, and had now arrived at a
+point where he had no inclination whatever to gamble
+and felt no temptation to procure money in that
+way or from that source. He did not even look
+for the proprietors of the establishment or let them
+know he was in the village. But while he was
+standing there, thinking of his condition and wondering
+what he should do, he overheard a man say that
+a dining-room waiter was wanted at the Carbonate
+hotel, the one at which he had spent the night. He
+went at once to the hotel, made application for the
+place, and was accepted at a salary of twenty-five
+dollars a month and board.</p>
+
+<p>He was filled with thankfulness and joy, and he
+has declared since, that though, on one night during
+his gambling life, he had won three thousand dollars
+in money, the satisfaction which he felt then could
+not be compared with that which he felt now when
+the hotel-proprietor gave him this position of dining-room
+waiter <i>at a salary of twenty-five dollars a month</i>.
+He entered at once upon his duties. To his great
+surprise he found several Louisville gentlemen stopping<span class="pagenum">[56]</span>
+at the hotel, some of whom had known him in
+other days and circumstances, and whom he had
+boarded with at hotels where he paid five dollars a
+day, with two to four dollars a day, extra, for wine
+and cigars. But, notwithstanding that, he was not
+ashamed of his present position. On the contrary,
+he was very thankful for it and happy in it. He did
+such faithful service there that the proprietor became
+interested in him and showed him much kindness.</p>
+
+<p>During his stay at Silver Cliff he did not neglect
+any opportunity of doing good to others.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when he was standing in the door of
+the post-office, a man, whose name he afterward
+found to be James Lewis, came in, got a letter and
+sat down on the step right under Mr. Holcombe to
+read it. As he read it, he was much affected and
+tears were running down his hardened face. Mr. Holcombe
+became so interested that he read the man's
+letter over his shoulder. It was from his wife, who,
+with her three children, had left her husband on
+account of his drunkenness. Mr. Holcombe made up
+his mind he would see if he could do something for
+the poor man to better his condition, and, if possible,
+bring about the reunion of the family. He did not
+like to approach him then and there. He watched
+him till he got up and moved away and started down
+through an alley. As he emerged from the alley, at
+the farther end, Mr. Holcombe, who had gone around
+another way, met him. Little did the man suspect
+that the stranger who accosted him knew his trouble
+and his family secrets. Mr. Holcombe, with that tact
+which his knowledge of men had given him, spoke to<span class="pagenum">[57]</span>
+him kindly, but in a way that would not arouse his
+suspicions. He told him, after a little while, his own
+condition in that far-off land away from his family and
+friends. He found out from the man where he stayed.
+He went to see him, found that he slept in a stable,
+provided him with some things he needed, and then
+got down on his knees there in the stable and prayed
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, when the proper time had come, Mr. Holcombe
+showed him a Murphy pledge and asked him if
+he would not sign it. He told him what he himself
+had been before, and what he had become, since
+signing that pledge. The man gave Mr. Holcombe
+his confidence, unbosomed himself to him and eagerly
+sought counsel. He signed the pledge also and said
+he would, by God's help, give up his sins that had
+separated him from a loving wife, and would try to live
+a better life. Mr. Holcombe wrote to the man's wife
+informing her of the change in her husband and the
+effort he was making to do right. She came at once to
+Silver Cliff and Mr. Holcombe had the pleasure of
+seeing them reunited and ate with them in their humble
+cabin.</p>
+
+<p>When he had been some time at the Carbonate
+hotel, he found a position where he could make more
+money and worked there till he had saved enough to
+buy an outfit for "prospecting" in the mountains.
+This outfit consisted of a little donkey, several "agricultural
+implements for subverting <i>terra firma</i>" such as
+spade, pick, etc., and provisions for two or three weeks.
+Having procured these and packed his burro, as the
+donkey is called out West, he and his partner started<span class="pagenum">[58]</span>
+for the mountains. Mr. Holcombe kept a sort of diary
+of this part of his Western trip, and we give it here,
+including the time from his leaving Silver Cliff to his
+return to Denver.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">DIARY.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday, May 27, 1879.&mdash;I entered into partnership
+with a man by the name of J. E. White from Wisconsin
+for prospecting in the mountains. He had some
+blankets at Oak Creek, a distance of thirty miles from
+Silver Cliff. We walked out there one day and
+returned the next. The road was very full of dust and
+gravel. My shoes would get full of it. Every little
+mountain stream we came to I would stop and wash my
+feet, which was very refreshing. This made me think
+of the blessed Son of God and why, when he was a
+guest at different places, they brought him water for
+his feet,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Those blessed feet<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which, eighteen hundred years ago, were nailed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For our advantage on the bitter cross."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Wednesday, May 28.&mdash;After having bought a burro
+and a two weeks' grub-stake, J. E. White and myself
+started for the Sangre de Christo mountain, a wild,
+high range of the Rockies. We paid for our burro
+twenty-one dollars, and for our grub seven dollars.
+It consisted of flour, coffee, sugar, bacon, salt, pepper,
+potatoes and baking powder. We had a coffee-pot,
+frying-pan, tin cups. We used our pocket-knives
+instead of table-knives. We had a butcher-knife and
+some teaspoons. With these and some other things
+we packed our burro and started. It was a funny sight.
+It all looked like a house on top of the poor little<span class="pagenum">[59]</span>
+animal which was not much larger than a good sized
+Newfoundland dog. But it was strong, faithful and
+sure-footed and could go anywhere in the mountains
+that a man could. We traveled this first day about ten
+miles and camped in a gulch at night. Had a hard
+storm. Our only shelter was a hut made of boughs of
+trees, Indian fashion.</p>
+
+<p>Thursday, May 29.&mdash;We moved up the gulch as far
+as we could for the snow. Did some little prospecting
+of which neither of us knew very much, and, of course,
+we found nothing. Every once in awhile, White would
+pick up a rock, look at it wisely and say "This is
+good float. I think there is a paying lode up on this
+mountain somewhere." Up the mountain we go about
+9,000 feet above the sea level. We turned over all the
+stones and dug up the earth every now and then and
+toward night we went to work to make our hut which
+we got about half finished. During the night snow fell
+about three inches. We were on the side of the
+mountain. Could hardly keep the fire from rolling
+down the side of the mountain. Could hardly keep
+our victuals from upsetting. This and the snow made
+me weaken considerably, and I did say in my heart I
+wished I was back home.</p>
+
+<p>Friday, May 30.&mdash;We prospected the second ridge,
+south of Horn's Peak, going up about 300 feet above
+timber line, or about 12,000 feet above the sea-level.
+There were no indications of minerals. About five
+miles off we could see a beautiful lake. I was very
+anxious to go to it, but White objected. Said it would
+be dangerous, might be caught in a snow-storm.
+The sun was shining brightly. Weather was very<span class="pagenum">[60]</span>
+pleasant. I could not conceive of a snow-storm on the
+30th of May. So I persuaded him to go. After we
+had gone some distance, all of a sudden it began to
+blow up cold and in a little while to snow. We turned
+our faces toward camp. Just then we saw one of those
+beautiful Rocky mountain spotted grouse. We were
+so hungry for something fresh to eat, we took several
+shots at it with White's pistol. But the blinding snow
+made it impossible for us to hit it. We had no grouse
+for supper.</p>
+
+<p>It grew cold very rapidly and in a very short time it
+seemed to me as cold as I ever felt it in my life.
+My moustache froze stiff. At last the storm got so
+heavy, and, the evening coming on, we could hardly see
+our way. The side of the mountain was full of dead
+timber, which was slick like glass and, as everything
+was covered with snow, we could not always see where
+to put our feet down, and to have slipped would have
+been almost certain death. Once White did slip and
+but for having the pick and sticking it in a soft place,
+he would have been killed. We got lost and wandered
+about over the mountain side till late in the evening
+when we providentially struck on our camp. We were
+hungry, tired and wet. Our bedding was covered with
+snow. Before going to bed I read the first chapter
+of Romans.</p>
+
+<p>Saturday, May 31.&mdash;Cloudy morning. Four inches
+of snow. No wind. Felt very well. We moved
+our camp. Stopped at a deserted cabin. Found a
+grindstone and ground our hatchet. We pitched camp
+about three miles South-east. Built a hut of boughs.
+We got wet. I had but one pair of pants and one pair<span class="pagenum">[61]</span>
+of socks. My feet were soaking wet. At bedtime I
+read Romans, second chapter.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday, June 1, 1879.&mdash;Snowed Saturday night.
+When I awoke our blankets were wet. I had symptoms
+of rheumatism in knees and wrists. I read Romans,
+third chapter, and we had prayer together. White sang
+"Tell Me the Old, Old Story" and "Safe in the Arms
+of Jesus." It made me think of my family so far away,
+of my dear pastor, Brother&mdash;&mdash;, and the dear old
+Portland church, and the tears streamed down my face.
+Spent the day in camp.</p>
+
+<p>Monday, June 2.&mdash;Woke up very cold. Our hut
+of pine boughs was not sufficient to keep us warm.
+So much snow on the mountains that we prospected the
+foot-hills and found what we thought were indications
+of mineral. At night read Romans, fourth chapter.
+Much encouraged by Abraham's faith. So cold I had to
+get my hat in the night and put it on my head to keep
+warm. Dreamed that I was at home with my precious
+wife. Tried to wake her up, but she was dead. What
+awful feelings!</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday, June 3.&mdash;A beautiful bright morning.
+Read Romans v. Partner wanted to go deer hunting
+with a pistol. Seemed to me so foolish I would not go.
+I stayed at camp and was very lonesome.</p>
+
+<p>Wednesday, June 4.&mdash;Bright, clear morning. Read
+Romans vi. Had our breakfast, bread, bacon, coffee
+and potatoes, early, so as to prospect on third
+mountain south of Horn's Peak. Started for the
+mountains. Went up above timber line. Ate lunch
+up there. Too much snow to go any higher. Found
+what we thought were indications of mineral. Saw a<span class="pagenum">[62]</span>
+gray eagle sailing around. It looked very grand away
+up above that lonely mountain. Suppose its nest was
+near. In evening returned to camp very tired. Read
+Romans vii., and it did me a great deal of good.</p>
+
+<p>Thursday, June 5.&mdash;Clear morning. Prospected
+some around the foot-hills. Found nothing. Began
+to get disgusted with prospecting. Struck camp
+about ten or eleven o'clock <span class="smcap">a. m.</span> Packed our burro
+and crossed valley about fifteen miles. Very hot crossing.
+Pack slipped out of place several times. Very
+troublesome. White got out of humor. Was inclined
+to quarrel, but I would not quarrel with him. After
+getting across the valley we had trouble finding a place
+to camp convenient to water, but found it at last.
+While we were unpacking a big rabbit jumped up.
+White fired three or four shots at him with his revolver.
+Followed him up the side of the mountain. At last
+he killed him. He came down the mountain swinging
+old Brer Rabbit, and I think he was as happy looking a
+man as I ever saw. No doubt a smile of satisfaction
+might have been seen on your Uncle Remus' face, too,
+when I saw that rabbit. That was the first thing in
+shape of fresh meat we had had for about ten days.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+SUPPER&mdash;BILL OF FARE.
+</div>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<span class="tenl"><i>Fried Rabbit,</i></span>
+<span class="tenr"><i>Fried Bread</i>,</span>
+<br />
+<span class="thirtyl"><i>Potatoes,</i></span>
+<span class="thirtyr"><i>Coffee.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>After supper we raised a few poles and threw our
+blankets over them for shelter. Read Romans viii.,
+and went to sleep, feeling satisfied that if I died before
+morning, I would wake up in heaven.</p>
+
+<p>Friday, June 6.&mdash;Bright morning. Fine appetite.
+Good breakfast. Read Romans ix. We moved from<span class="pagenum">[63]</span>
+the foot-hills and went up into the mountain. White
+went prospecting while I built us a hut for the night.
+When he came back he said he had found some very
+good float. Very cold night. Our burro got loose in
+the night and made considerable noise moving around.
+We were sure it was a mountain lion, but, of course,
+we were not afraid. I had my hatchet under my head
+and he had his pistols. Of course, we were not afraid.</p>
+
+<p>Saturday, June 7.&mdash;Very cold morning. Prospected.
+Found a lode of black rock. Felt sure we had struck
+it rich. Dug a whole in the ground and staked a claim.
+Read Romans x, at night. Slept cold. Got to thinking.
+Thought it was easier to find a needle in a
+haystack than a paying mine in the Rocky mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday, June 8.&mdash;Morning clear and bright. Owing
+to the disagreeable place in which we were camped, we
+thought our health justified us in moving even on the
+Lord's day. Found an old cabin. It was worse than
+any horse stable, but we cleaned it out. Made a bed
+of poles, which we cut and carried some distance.
+This was on the Pueblo and Rosita road.</p>
+
+<p>Monday, June 9.&mdash;Bright, cold morning. Ice on
+the spring branch. After breakfast we started prospecting.
+Found nothing, except another old deserted
+cabin of the Arkansaw Traveler's style. Returned to
+camp in the evening. Read Romans xii. and xiii. and
+slept like a prince.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday, June 10&mdash;Another bright, clear, cold
+morning. We prospected some. Staked off a claim,
+more in fun than anything else, for we knew it was
+worth nothing. The locality is called Hardscrabble.
+And it was the right name. Our provisions had about<span class="pagenum">[64]</span>
+given out, and it was a hard scrabble for us to get
+along. Concluded to return to Silver Cliff, go to
+work, get another grub stake, and take another fresh
+start. In the afternoon we rested. Read Romans xiv.,
+xv. and xvi.</p>
+
+<p>Wednesday, June 11.&mdash;Another beautiful Colorado
+morning. Read 1 Cor., i. Started for Silver Cliff
+about 7:00 <span class="smcap">a. m.</span> I carried White's pistol. On the
+way I killed two doves. Had them for dinner about
+3:00 <span class="smcap">p. m.</span> How sweet they did taste! Arrived at
+Silver Cliff about dark.</p>
+
+<p>Thursday, June 12.&mdash;Concluded the best thing I
+could do was to get home as soon as possible. We
+sold our burro for $15.00, and with my part ($7.50)
+I started with a friend by the name of Hall for home.
+We got a cheap ride in a freight wagon from Silver
+Cliff to Pueblo. The country through which we passed
+is the wildest and grandest I ever saw anywhere in
+my life. Hardscrabble canon is one of the most
+picturesque in the world, and then the beautiful mountain
+stream all the way, winding like a serpent down
+the valley. We crossed and re-crossed it several
+times. That night we slept in the wagon. I never
+neglected praying any day while I was on the prospecting
+tour.</p>
+
+<p>Friday, June 13.&mdash;Arrived at Pueblo about 2:00
+<span class="smcap">p. m.</span> Had a little money. Got a bite to eat. At
+that time there was a railroad war. Men were killing
+each other for three dollars a day for corporations.
+The excitement about this, and the moving bodies of
+men all anxious for news, kept me from thinking of
+my condition till night. At night I went out to the<span class="pagenum">[65]</span>
+commons, on the edge of the city, and, with other
+tramps, went to sleep on the cold ground.</p>
+
+<p>Saturday, June 14.&mdash;Had a little money. Some
+others of the tramps had a little. We pooled it,
+bought a little grub, and at 12:00 o'clock started on
+a tramp to Denver, a distance of about one hundred
+and twenty-five miles. I felt fresh and strong. We
+walked about six miles and slept on the ground at
+night.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday, June 15.&mdash;Got up early. Had a little breakfast.
+Started about 6:00 <span class="smcap">a. m.</span> Walked about three
+miles when, two of our party having such sore feet,
+we stopped. I had a voracious appetite. Went to
+cooking. We had some canned tomatoes and canned
+syrup. I cooked some tomatoes and ate them. Then
+I went to a ranch, bought a nickel's worth of milk,
+fried some cakes, ate them with the syrup, drank the
+milk and was&mdash;sick. Did not feel strong again all
+the time. I had had no experience in tramping and
+tried to carry too much luggage. My feet got sore.
+Every day's tramp after that was a drag. One of the
+party left us and went on ahead by himself. We
+never saw him again. Another was so broken down
+we had to leave him. Hall and I went on sick and
+tired. About dark we went up to the house of a
+ranchman, and I told him my story. He took us in.
+I found out he was a professing Christian. I read
+Romans vii., and prayed with the family. His name
+is John Irvine, El Paso, Colorado.</p>
+
+<p>Monday, June 16.&mdash;Left John Irvine's soon after
+breakfast. Walked five miles to a water-tank where
+the train had to stop for water. We waited till the<span class="pagenum">[66]</span>
+train came along, and boarded her. The conductor
+did not see us till we had passed Colorado Springs
+some distance. When he did see us, I made the appeal
+of my life on account of myself and my friend,
+whose feet were so sore he could, with difficulty,
+hobble along. I told the conductor my own condition,
+and of my anxiety to get home to a suffering family.
+When I saw he would not believe what I said, I offered
+him my pocket-knife, a very fine and costly one, to let
+us ride a short distance further, but he was like a
+stone. At the next stop he put us off without a cent
+of money or a bite to eat. We walked about six miles,
+lay down on the ground, with the sky for a covering,
+and slept like logs.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday, June 17.&mdash;We started about daybreak,
+without anything to eat. Walked about eight miles
+to a little place called Sedalia. Saw a German boarding
+house. Sent Hall in to see if we could get anything
+to eat. Had no money, but told him to tell her
+I would give her a butcher-knife and a silver teaspoon,
+which I had brought from home, for something to eat.</p>
+
+<p>She said to him so I could hear her: "Breakfast
+is over, but I will give you what I have." That was
+enough for me. In I went. Sat down to a real German
+lunch, and never did a breakfast taste sweeter to me
+than that. God bless that good old German woman,
+not only for her good breakfast, but for her kind,
+motherly words to two strangers in want. It taught
+me a lesson which I have not forgotten yet, and I pray
+God I never may.</p>
+
+<p>I left Sedalia feeling comfortable. Walked about
+four miles. Hall was about done. He could go no<span class="pagenum">[67]</span>
+further. While we were sitting there, a Christian man
+by the name of Jennings came along, took pity on us,
+took us in his wagon, gave us something to eat and
+brought us to Denver. We arrived there about 6:00
+<span class="smcap">p m.</span>, without one cent, nothing to eat, no place to
+go. Slept that night in a stable-yard under Jennings'
+wagon.</p>
+
+<p>Wednesday, June 18.&mdash;Got up next morning about
+daybreak. Had a little cold breakfast with Jennings.
+Knocked about town a little. Had a baker's blackberry
+pie and a cup of water for dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Here the diary of the prospecting tour and the tramp
+to Denver ends.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe continued the next day to knock about
+town, not knowing what to do, when his old friend, Frank
+Jones, by nature one of the kindest-hearted men in the
+world, chanced to meet him and insisted on sharing his
+room with him. As his friend Jones, however, was himself
+broke, he could render Mr. Holcombe no further
+assistance and it was necessary for Mr. Holcombe to
+look about for something to do. He spent a week in
+this occupation, or want of occupation, and at the end
+of that time found employment in a brickyard. But the
+work was so hard, at the end of three weeks, he had to
+give it up. After some time what little money he had
+was expended and again he was destitute. And at one
+time he was so pressed that he went into a grocery store
+and offered his fine pocket-knife again for something to
+eat, but it was refused. Several times he passed the
+Young Men's Christian Association rooms. Each time
+he stopped, looked wistfully in and debated with himself
+whether they would probably believe him and help<span class="pagenum">[68]</span>
+him if he ventured to go in and make his condition
+known. But he had never been used to asking favors,
+and he did not know how to approach Christian people,
+and so his heart failed him.</p>
+
+<p>At that time and in that condition he was assailed
+by a sore temptation. The devil, he says, suggested
+these thoughts to him: "This is a fine condition for
+Steve Holcombe to be in. Before you heard of God
+and this religion, you could stop at first-class hotels,
+wear fine clothes, live like a gentleman, have a good
+home and all that money could buy for your family.
+Now, you say you are serving God. You say He is
+your father and that He owns everything in the world.
+Yet here you are without food and clothing and your
+family is at home in want. You have not enough to
+buy a meal for them or for yourself. Can you afford to
+trust and serve such a master as that?"</p>
+
+<p>But he had not been serving God two years and
+more for naught. He had learned some things in that
+time. One of them was that trials and privations are a
+part of the Christian's heritage, and that if any man will
+live godly in this present world, he must expect to suffer.
+So his reply was ready and he met the temptation with
+decision. "Yea, and though He slay me, yet will I trust
+in Him." And the sequel will show whether he made
+a mistake in trusting Him.</p>
+
+<p>When he saw it was useless for him to remain longer
+away from home, he informed his friend, Mr. Jones, of his
+purpose to leave at once for Louisville. Mr. Jones got
+him money enough to buy a ticket to Kansas City, and
+there the great temperance lecturer, Francis Murphy,
+having found out his character and condition, gave him
+enough to get home.<span class="pagenum">[69]</span></p>
+
+<p>Whether God can or not, at any rate He does not
+pour wisdom into a man as we pour water into a bottle.
+He does not so favor even His own children, if favor it
+could be called. But He gives a man opportunities of
+self-discipline, and if, aided by His divine help and
+grace, the man is willing to go through the process, he
+comes out with larger knowledge and better equipment
+for life and service and usefulness.</p>
+
+<p>Without the experiences and lessons of this Colorado
+trip, Mr. Holcombe could not have been the efficient
+man he is to-day. That season of loneliness and self-searching
+and severe testing and humiliation was to
+him, though a painful, yet a helpful, and perhaps necessary,
+stage in his Christian life.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, all the trying experiences that had come to
+him since his conversion were helpful to him in one way
+or another. He needed to learn patience, he needed to
+learn economy, he needed to learn self-control. The
+disposition to practice all these was given him at the
+time of his conversion, he needed now to be put to the
+test and to "learn obedience, practically, by the things
+which he suffered." Moreover, if he was to serve
+efficiently the poor and the tempted, he needed to
+become acquainted with their condition, their sorrows,
+their conflicts, by passing through them himself.</p>
+
+<p>The endurance of the evils which give occasion for
+the exercise of self-denial and for the acquisition of self-control
+is a far less evil than the want of self-denial and
+of self-control. So Mr. Holcombe was willing to suffer
+all these things rather than to decline them and be
+without the blessing which comes through them. This
+reflection justified his past sufferings and prepared him<span class="pagenum">[70]</span>
+for any that might come in the future. He knew what
+he had been and he had learned that he was to be
+purified by fire. So he felt that if God would be
+patient with him, he would be patient with God's
+dealings. When he arrived at home he found his family
+in a very needy condition. Shortly after his departure
+for Colorado, his wife had to remove from the house
+she was occupying, because she could not pay the rent.
+She had never taken care of herself before or done any
+sort of work, for he always provided well for his family;
+but now she saw it was necessary for her to support the
+family. Accordingly, she took in sewing, and in that
+way did support them till Mr. Holcombe's return. For
+six weeks after his return he could find nothing to do,
+and Mrs. Holcombe, brave, noble woman, continued
+to support the family with her needle. The time of
+her full deliverance was coming, but it was not yet.
+Nor did she know when it would come, or that it would
+ever come. But all the same she waited, and while
+she waited, she served, and with a glad heart, too, for
+had not her husband turned his face heavenward? And
+poverty seemed now a small thing.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after Mr. Holcombe's return, his friend,
+Major Ed Hughes, was elected Chief of the Fire
+Department in Louisville, and he made application to
+him at once for a position. Major Hughes gave it to
+him unhesitatingly; but, as Mr. Holcombe was entirely
+without experience, it had to be a subordinate one, in
+which the salary was not large, being only a dollar and
+a half per day. It was impossible for him to support
+his family on so little, and though Mrs. Holcombe
+undertook to help him out by keeping boarders and
+<span class="pagenum">[71]</span>doing all the work herself, they got behind all the time
+he was in the fire department. Finding that keeping
+boarders after Mrs. Holcombe's liberal fashion was
+entirely unprofitable, she gave that up and commenced
+taking in sewing again. She even learned to make
+coats for clothing stores in Louisville, and continued
+that for some time.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-093.jpg" width="298" height="458" alt="ENGINE HOUSE." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">ENGINE HOUSE.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, he was having a hard time in his subordinate
+position in the fire department. In the first
+place he was required to be at the engine-house night
+and day and Sundays, with the bare exception of a
+half hour or such a matter at meal time. For a man of
+his nature and habits this confinement was almost intolerable,
+and would have been quite so, if he had not been
+radically changed. In the second place he was subject
+to the orders of his superiors, though he had never
+been obliged to obey anybody, and as a matter of fact
+never had obeyed anybody since he was a mere infant.
+In the third place, notwithstanding his experience, his
+knowledge of the world and his capacity for higher
+work, he was required to do work which a well-trained
+idiot might have done just as well. One of his duties
+was to rub the engine and keep it polished. In order
+to clean some parts of it, he would have to lie down
+on the floor under it flat on his back; and in order to
+clean other more delicate parts of the machinery, he
+had to work in such places that he was always bruising
+and skinning his hands.</p>
+
+<p>If repeated failure in business in Louisville was
+hard, if starving in Colorado was harder, the confinement
+and drudgery of his position at the engine-house
+were hardest. It would require some effort to<span class="pagenum">[72]</span>
+think of a position more thoroughly disagreeable and
+trying than this one which Mr. Holcombe filled to the
+satisfaction of his superiors for two mortal years. But
+he was learning some things he needed to know. He
+was passing through a necessary apprenticeship, though
+he did not know it, for something vastly higher. It
+perhaps should be added that Mr. Holcombe was
+practically isolated and alone at the engine-house,
+for none of the men there employed were congenial
+companions. However, to their credit, be it said, they
+showed great respect for him and for his Christian
+profession; they quit gambling, they refrained from
+using obscene or profane language in his presence,
+and, in general, were very kind to him.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing could lessen Mr. Holcombe's sympathy
+for the outcast and the lost, and nothing destroy his
+zeal for their salvation. Though he was not allowed
+to leave his post even on Sunday, without hiring, at
+his own expense, a substitute, yet he frequently went
+to Shippingsport and other places to hold services
+among the poor "with the hope," as he says, "of
+helping and blessing them." He incurred the expense
+of a substitute that he might, once in awhile, go out
+bearing light and blessing to others, and he even took
+to his own home men who were trying to reform and
+live better lives. In view of the condition of his family,
+this was doubtless more than he ought to have done,
+and in after years he saw it was a mistake, but such
+was his insatiable longing to help and bless others, he
+let his zeal, perhaps, go beyond his prudence in that
+single particular. Most of us err very far on the other
+side. He did not hesitate to take to his home in some<span class="pagenum">[73]</span>
+instances men who had gone in their dissipation to
+the extent of delirium tremens. One such case was
+that of a fine young fellow who belonged to an excellent
+family in Louisville, but who through drink had
+gone down, down, down, until he had struck bottom.
+During his drinking sprees he was the most forlorn
+and wretched looking man in Louisville. He was at
+this time, by Mr. Holcombe's invitation, staying at
+his house. He ate there, he slept there; it was his
+home. But on one occasion, some time after midnight,
+he was attacked with a frightful spell of delirium
+tremens, or, as he said, the devils got after him. They
+told him, he said, that if he did not kill Mr. and Mrs.
+Holcombe and their baby, they would kill him. He
+heard them. They told him to go and get his razor,
+and he did it. Then they advanced on him and he
+backed from them, his razor in hand. As they advanced
+he retreated. He opened Mr. Holcombe's door (for he
+had hired a substitute and remained at home on the
+night in question in order to help his man through his
+spell). He backed to the bed in which Mr. and Mrs.
+Holcombe were sleeping. He struck the bed as he
+retreated from the devils, and Mrs. Holcombe awoke
+to find a demonized man standing over them with a
+drawn razor. She woke her husband. He jumped
+out of bed, caught the man's arm and took the razor
+from him. After that Mr. Holcombe sat up with him
+the remainder of the night, and during most of the
+time the man was talking to imaginary devils. About
+daylight he snatched up a brickbat out of the hearth
+and rushed toward the door saying there were three
+big men out there who had come to kill him. Mr.<span class="pagenum">[74]</span>
+Holcombe kept him with himself all next day. The
+next night while they were walking together in the
+open air, the man imagined that a woman whom he
+knew to be dead was choking him to death, and he
+was on the point of dying with suffocation when Mr.
+Holcombe called a physician to his aid.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the kind of men Mr. Holcombe, even in
+those days of poverty and discouragement, was trying
+to help and rescue, and such were his efforts and trials
+and perils in rescuing them.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Holcombe's pastor saw the grace of God
+that abounded in him, it was plain to him that he might,
+in future, when a suitable opening should come, make a
+very useful helper in the work of the church. In order,
+therefore, that Mr. Holcombe might be prepared for an
+enlarged sphere, if it should ever come, the pastor
+proposed to teach him in certain lines and did so,
+visiting him regularly at the engine house for that
+purpose. Mr. Holcombe studied very industriously,
+but it was with extreme difficulty that he could apply
+himself to books at that time. Later, however, he
+overcame to a great extent this difficulty and has
+gotten now to be quite a student. He has attended
+also, for two years, with great profit, the lectures of
+Dr. Broadus in the Baptist Seminary in Louisville.</p>
+
+<p>As has been said elsewhere, Mr. Holcombe
+remained in the fire department for two years, enduring
+the confinement, performing the drudgery and
+trying, as best he could, to help and bless others.
+Four years and more had now elapsed since his
+conversion. It was a long stretch and at times a heavy
+strain. But he endured it, and grew strong.<span class="pagenum">[75]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p>The time had now come for such an extraordinary
+career and such an extraordinary man to be
+recognized, and he was. He had made an impression
+and his work, humble as it was, had made an
+impression. Moreover, Mr. Holcombe himself was
+now growing impatient to get into a position more
+favorable to his usefulness. It was not the selfish
+impatience that could not longer endure the humiliation
+and manifold disagreeablenesses of his position at the
+engine house. He had overcome all that. It was the
+noble impatience of love and zeal. Oh, how he did
+long to get into a place where he could help somebody
+and serve somebody and love somebody.</p>
+
+<p>He had been very kindly treated by his old friends,
+the gamblers, during all this time; and though he was
+loath to allow it and at first declined it, yet fearing lest
+his refusal might alienate them, he had, more than once,
+accepted substantial help from one or two particular
+friends among them. Encouraged by assurances from
+some of these and by the promise of all the help his
+pastor could possibly give him, financially and otherwise,
+he had made up his mind to rent a room in the
+central part of the city and to open a meeting for the
+outcast classes. But on the very day when he was
+engaged in making these arrangements, his remarkable
+conversion and character and career were the subject of<span class="pagenum">[76]</span>
+discussion at the Methodist Ministers' meeting. The
+result was that before the week had passed, the Rev.
+Jas. C. Morris, pastor of the Walnut-street Methodist
+church, visited him at the engine-house and informed
+him that the Official Board of his church had authorized
+him to take measures for the establishment of a mission
+in the central part of the city and to employ Mr.
+Holcombe to take charge of it at an assured salary
+sufficient to meet the wants of his family. He at once
+accepted it as a call from God and gave up his position
+in the fire department, with no great degree of
+reluctance.</p>
+
+<p>A vacant store in the Tyler Block, on Jefferson
+street between Third and Fourth, was offered free of
+rent. Regular noon-day meetings were held there in
+charge of Rev. Mr. Morris and Mr. Holcombe. It was
+a phenomenon. Within two blocks of the two faro
+banks which Steve Holcombe used to own and run, he
+was now every day at high noon declaring the Gospel
+of the grace of God. The people came to see and
+hear. They found it was no mushroom fanatic, but a
+man who for forty years was a leader in wickedness
+and for four years had been almost a pattern of righteousness.
+He spoke no hot words of excitement, but
+narrated facts with truth and soberness. Many of his
+old time friends, the gamblers, their timidity overcome
+by their curiosity, joined the crowd and heard the man.
+Poor drunkards, too far gone for timidity or curiosity,
+dragged themselves to the place where the famous
+gambler was telling about his conversion and his
+new life. And the power of God was present to heal,
+and great grace was upon them all. Among those who<span class="pagenum">[77]</span>
+were saved at that time and place were Mr. Ben
+Harney, son of the distinguished editor of the old
+<i>Louisville Democrat</i>, who lives again in happiness and
+prosperity with his beloved family, and Mr. D. C.
+Chaudoin, at one time a Main-street merchant, who
+remained faithful until death.</p>
+
+<p>When the supporters of the movement saw that
+it promised so much, they took steps at once to make
+larger provision for it and to secure its permanence.
+They sought a suitable house in a convenient place,
+and finally decided to take the room at No. 436 Jefferson
+street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, which
+had formerly been used as a gambling-house. Mr.
+Holcombe took possession of it, and found some of
+the gambling implements still there. A Board of
+Managers was elected, consisting of John L. Wheat,
+James G. Carter, P. H. Tapp, C. P. Atmore and George
+W. Wicks. Some friends from the Walnut-street church
+and others volunteered as singers; the room was supplied
+with hymn-books, an organ was secured, and the
+meetings commenced under the most promising circumstances.
+At first, meetings were held three nights
+in the week, and the attendance was large. Soon
+after, meetings were held every night and on Sundays.
+People of all classes came. The services consisted
+of singing, prayers, reading of Scripture, a short,
+earnest address from Mr. Holcombe, and sometimes
+testimonies from the men who had been helped and
+saved&mdash;among whom were drunkards, gamblers, pick-pockets,
+thieves, burglars, tramps, men who had fallen
+from high positions in business and social circles, and
+in short, men of all classes and kinds. Many of these<span class="pagenum">[78]</span>
+gave unquestionable proofs of conversion, "of whom
+the greater part remain unto this present, but some
+are fallen asleep," faithful unto death. Among those
+who were converted during that period were Robert
+Denny, Fred Ropke, Captain B. F. Davidson and
+Charles Wilson, whose testimonies will be found elsewhere
+in this book&mdash;besides others, some of whom
+are residents of Louisville and some of other places.</p>
+
+<p>By request, the Rev. James C. Morris, D. D., now
+of Kansas City, Mo., has written a brief account of
+Mr. Holcombe's work from the beginning to the point
+which we have now reached in this narrative. And,
+as no part of it can well be omitted or changed for
+the better, it is here introduced entire, with a part of
+the genial letter which accompanied it:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="author"><span class="smcap">"Kansas City, Mo.,</span> August 14, 1888.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>My Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>"I inclose the notes for which you ask. You see
+they are in a crude state. But do not judge from
+that that I have no interest in the work you have in
+hand. My Father in heaven knows I keep it very
+near my heart. I felt it would be sufficient for me to
+furnish you the matter in a crude state, and let you
+work it into your plan rather than give it any literary
+shape myself. Besides, I am pressed, pressed to my
+utmost, and I therefore send you this imperfect sketch
+with an apology. I am glad you are doing the work.
+It will surely do good. Brother Holcombe's work
+ought to be known. I wish in my heart of hearts
+that every city and town had such a man in it to<span class="pagenum">[79]</span>
+work for God and souls. Praying God to bless you
+and your work, I am,</p>
+
+<p class="author1">"Yours affectionately,</p>
+
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">James C. Morris</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>"In the year 1881, while I was pastor of the
+Walnut-street Methodist church, in Louisville, Ky.,
+I heard of Steve Holcombe, the converted gambler;
+of his remarkable career; of his remarkable conversion,
+and of his unusual devotion and zeal in the
+cause of religion. I heard also of his efforts in the
+line of Christian work and of his desire for better
+opportunities. I mentioned his case to the Official
+Board of the Walnut-street church, and suggested
+that he might be usefully employed by our churches
+in the city in doing missionary work. The matter
+was kindly received, but the suggestion took no practical
+shape. As I walked home from the meeting one
+of the stewards said to me: 'Why could not we, of
+the Walnut-street church, employ Brother Holcombe
+ourselves?' This question put me upon a course of
+thought about the work we might be able to do, and
+at the next meeting of the Board I made the suggestion
+that we organize some work of the kind and
+employ Brother Holcombe to take charge of it. They
+unanimously accepted the suggestion and directed me
+to investigate the case. If anything could be done,
+they were ready to enter upon the work and support it.
+I lost no time in seeing Brother Holcombe. He was
+then employed at the engine-house, on Portland avenue.
+I found him rubbing the engine. It took but a moment
+to introduce myself, and in a short time we<span class="pagenum">[80]</span>
+were up-stairs, alone, talking about religion and work
+for Christ. He told me how his heart was drawn out in
+solicitude for the classes who never attended church&mdash;the
+gamblers, drunkards and the like. It was easy to
+see that the movement contemplated was of God.
+We talked and rejoiced together; we knelt down and
+prayed together for God's guidance in all our plans
+and undertakings. I then told him how I came to call
+on him, and laid before him our plan. His eyes filled
+with tears&mdash;tears of joy&mdash;at the thought of having
+an opportunity to do the work that was on his heart.</p>
+
+<p>"At once I reported to the Board, and recommended
+that Brother Holcombe be at once employed
+and the work set on foot without delay. God breathed
+on them the same spirit that he had breathed on us
+together at the engine-house. With unanimity and
+enthusiasm they entered into the plan and pledged
+their support. They fixed his salary at nine hundred
+dollars a year and authorized me to do all that was
+necessary to carry the plan into effect.</p>
+
+<p>"Early the next morning Brother Holcombe gave
+up his place at the engine-house, and we went out to
+look for a house in which to domicile our work. I
+can never forget that day. What joy there was in
+that heart that had waited so long and prayed so
+fervently for an open door of opportunity. Now the
+door was opened wide, and a song was put in his
+heart and in his mouth. We walked miles to find a
+suitable place, while we talked much by the way as
+our hearts burned within us.</p>
+
+<p>"At length we found a vacant storeroom on Jefferson
+street, between Third and Fourth, and as we
+<span class="pagenum">[81]</span>looked in the window, we said: 'This would make
+a grand place to begin in.' We went to see Mr.
+Isaac Tyler, the owner, and he gave us a favorable
+answer and the key. The next day we began a
+meeting which continued through three months. And
+who can write the history of that work? Only the
+All-seeing God; and He has the record of it in His
+book. We had a noon-day service every day, except
+Sunday, and a Saturday evening service every week.</p>
+
+<p>"The services were advertised and men stationed at
+the door invited the passer-by to come in. At the meetings
+all classes of men were represented. There were
+strong, wise, honorable business-men and there were
+tramps and drunkards with all the classes that lie
+between these two. No man was slighted. Many a
+man was brought in who was too drunk to sit alone in
+his seat. Many were there who had not slept in a bed
+for months. There were gamblers and drunkards and
+outcast men from every quarter of the city. The gathering
+looked more like that in the police courts of a
+great city on Monday morning than like a religious
+meeting. The workers did literally go out into the
+highways and into the lowways and compel them to
+come in. And marvelous things took place there.</p>
+
+<p>"Steve Holcombe was known all over the city, and
+such a work done by such a man who had lately been
+a noted gambler in the community drew men who,
+for years, had had no thought of attending church.
+The old companions of his worldly life came, the worst
+elements of the city came, good men from all the
+churches came. Brother Holcombe was in his element.
+His soul was as free to the work as that of an<span class="pagenum">[82]</span>
+Apostle. Daily he trod the streets inviting people
+to come, and daily, as they came, he spoke words of
+deep feeling to them, urging them to be saved. No man
+ever had a more respectful hearing than he had. No
+man ever devoted himself more fully in the spirit of the
+Master to doing men good than did he. His devotion to
+the poor outcast who showed any willingness to listen or
+any wish to be saved was as marvelous as his own conversion.
+I never saw such in any other worker for Christ.</p>
+
+<p>"In the progress of the work we often spoke of
+keeping a record of those who professed conversion
+there. I am sorry it was not done. Hardly a day
+passed without some case of exceptional interest. Men
+were saved who had been for years in the very lowest
+stages of dissipation and vagrancy. Not a few of those
+who were thus saved were men who had belonged to the
+very best social, and business circles of the city. Many
+of them are bright and blessed lights in Christian circles
+to-day. Many homes were built up out of wrecks
+where only ashes and tears remained. Many scattered
+families were brought together after long separation.
+God only knows the results of that three months' work.
+I remember some conversions that were as marvelous as
+that of Saul of Tarsus. I could tell of some of them
+but perhaps this is not the place.</p>
+
+<p>"This meeting in the Tyler block was a feature of
+a meeting which was in progress at the Walnut-street
+church and to this it was tributary. In the evening
+those who had been reached by the services at the
+mission were invited to the church. They were largely
+of a class not often seen in the church but they came,
+and when they came the church welcomed them.<span class="pagenum">[83]</span></p>
+
+<p>"Then there was rejoicing in the presence of the
+angels, for many sinners were repenting and returning.
+I saw the Gospel net dragged to the shore enclosing
+fish that no one would have been willing to take out of
+the net except Steve Holcombe. But it is far different
+with them to-day. Changed by the power of God,
+these repulsive creatures are honored members of the
+various churches, heads of happy families and respected
+and useful citizens of the community.</p>
+
+<p>"At the end of three months the meetings in the
+storeroom were discontinued. Mr. Holcombe had won
+thousands of friends, hundreds had been put in the
+way of a new life and the whole city was in sympathy
+with the work.</p>
+
+<p>"We were now to select and secure a suitable place
+for the permanent home of the mission. Another
+search brought us to the room on the south side of
+Jefferson between Fourth and Fifth streets, No. 436.
+It had been occupied as a gambling room, and the
+gambling apparatus was still there when we took possession
+of it. In a few days the house was fitted
+up and the 'Gospel-Mission' was opened.</p>
+
+<p>"The work was now thoroughly organized. There
+was, in addition to the regular services, a Sunday-school
+for the children whose parents never went to
+church. Colonel C. P. Atmore was superintendent.
+The 'Industrial School' also was organized, where
+Christian women taught the girls to sew, furnishing
+them the materials and giving them the finished garments.
+It is especially worthy of remark that the old
+associates of Mr. Holcombe, the gamblers, contributed
+more than $500 toward the expenses of this work.<span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p>
+
+<p>"This house became an open home for any weary,
+foot-sore wanderer who was willing to come in, and
+through the years many were the hearts made happy
+in a new life.</p>
+
+<p>"The year following the organization of the work,
+Rev. Sam P. Jones conducted a meeting at the Walnut-street
+church, and his heart was strangely drawn to that
+mission. He himself conducted many services there
+and he was more impressed with the character of the
+work and of the man who was in charge of it than
+with any Christian work he had ever seen. During
+this meeting of Mr. Jones a programme of street-preaching
+was carried out by Mr. Holcombe and
+his fellow-workers. Mr. Holcombe himself preached
+several times on the courthouse steps, and, even in
+the midst of the tumult, souls were converted to God."</p>
+
+<p>This is the end of Dr. Morris' account of the
+beginnings of Mr. Holcombe's work, though the
+reader will probably wish it were longer, and even
+more circumstantial.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe's family lived in the same building,
+over the mission room, and whenever men in need or
+distress applied, he gave them board and lodging.
+Mrs. Holcombe says that for three months they had
+never less than twenty men eating two meals a day.
+Of course, among so many there were, doubtless,
+some imposters, but it took a pretty keen man to
+play imposter without being spotted by the keen
+man who was in charge of the enterprise. Mr. Holcombe
+had mixed with men long enough to know
+them. He had spent most of his life among bad
+men. He had studied their ways and he knew their<span class="pagenum">[85]</span>
+tricks. And it is not necessary to say to the reader
+who has perused the foregoing pages, that Mr. Holcombe
+was not afraid of any man. His former experience
+in sin and his former association with sinners
+of every sort led him to see that it was necessary
+for him rigidly to protect the work he was now
+engaged in and he determined to do so. Men would
+come into the meetings, sometimes, in a state of intoxication;
+sometimes lewd fellows of the baser sort
+would come in for the purpose of interrupting the
+service and still others for other purposes; but when
+Mr. Holcombe had put a few of them out, they saw
+that this man in getting religion had lost neither
+common sense nor courage, and that Steve Holcombe,
+the converted gambler, was not a man to be fooled
+with any more than Steve Holcombe, the unconverted
+gambler; so that all such interruptions soon ceased.
+But nobody should get the impression that Mr. Holcombe
+was harsh or unsympathetic. On the contrary,
+he is one of the most tenderhearted of men, and few
+men living would go farther, do more or make greater
+sacrifices to save a drunkard or a gambler or an
+outcast of any sort, than Steve Holcombe. For days
+he has gone without meat for himself and his family
+that he might have something to help a poor drunkard
+who was trying to reform. Indeed, his pitying
+love for wretched men and women of every class and
+degree, manifested in his efforts to look them up
+and to do them good in any possible way, is the chief
+secret of his wonderful success in dealing with hardened
+and apparently inaccessible cases. The following
+account of his last and perhaps most desperate<span class="pagenum">[86]</span>
+case is taken from one of the Louisville daily papers
+and will illustrate what has been said:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-104.jpg" width="186" height="394" alt="JAMES WILLIAMS
+AS HE WAS." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">JAMES WILLIAMS<br />AS HE WAS.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">DRUNK TWENTY-THREE YEARS.</p>
+
+<p class="h5">REMARKABLE&nbsp; &nbsp;STORY&nbsp; &nbsp;OF&nbsp; &nbsp;"WHISKY JIM'S"&nbsp;
+&nbsp;WASTED&nbsp; &nbsp;LIFE&nbsp; &nbsp;AND&nbsp; &nbsp;FINAL&nbsp; &nbsp;CONVERSION.&nbsp;
+&nbsp;HOW&nbsp; &nbsp;THE&nbsp; &nbsp;WORK&nbsp; &nbsp;WAS&nbsp; &nbsp;EFFECTED.</p>
+
+<p>The work that Steve Holcombe is doing is well
+known, in a general way, but the public understand but
+little of the wonderful good that man is doing. The
+reformations he has brought about may be numbered
+by the hundred, and the drunkards he has reclaimed
+would make a regiment.</p>
+
+<p>But of all the wonderful and truly startling examples
+of what Mr. Holcombe is doing, the case of James
+Williams is the climax. Williams has been known for
+years as "Whisky Jim" and "Old Hoss," and there is
+not a more familiar character in the city. Until the last
+two or three weeks no man in Louisville ever remembers
+to have seen Jim free from the influence of liquor.
+He was always drunk, and was looked upon as an
+absolutely hopeless case, that would be able to stand
+the terrible life he was leading but a year or two
+longer.</p>
+
+<p>The story of his life and reformation as related to a
+<i>Times</i> reporter is very interesting. He had asked
+Mr. Holcombe when his prot&eacute;g&eacute; could be seen, and
+was told at nine o'clock at the mission. Williams was
+seen coming up the steps, his face clean shaven, his
+eyes bright and his gait steady. Mr. Holcombe said:
+"There he is now, God bless him; I could just kiss
+him. I knew he'd be here. One thing I've learned
+about Jim is, that he is an honest man, and another is<span class="pagenum">[87]</span>
+that he will not tell a lie. I feel that I can trust him.
+He has had the hardest struggle to overcome the drinking
+habit I ever saw, and I feel sure that he has gained
+the victory. I began on him quietly about one month
+ago and got him to attend our meetings. But here he
+is." The reporter was introduced, and Mr. Williams
+readily consented to tell anything concerning himself
+that would be of interest to the public and calculated to
+do good in the cause of temperance. He said: "I was
+born in Paducah, Ky., and am forty-eight years old.
+My father's name was Rufus A. Williams. While a
+boy I was sent to school, and picked up a little
+education. I was put at work in a tobacco manufactory,
+and am a tobacco-twister by trade. My father
+died when I was nine years old, after which our family
+consisted of my mother, now seventy-five years of age,
+my sister and myself. We now live on the east side of
+Floyd street, near Market. Shortly after I grew up I
+found work on the river and have been employed on
+nearly every boat between Louisville and New Orleans.
+That is what downed me. I began to drink little by
+little, and the appetite and habit began to grow on me
+until I gave up all idea of resistance. Up to yesterday
+a week ago, I can truthfully say that I have been drunk
+twenty-three years, day and night.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1862 I got a job on the 'Science,' Number 2, a
+little Government boat running the Ohio and Cumberland
+rivers. Coming down the Cumberland on one
+trip I was too sick to work, and the boat put me ashore
+about twenty miles above Clarksville. The woods
+where I was dumped out were full of guerrillas, but I
+managed to secure a little canoe in which I paddled<span class="pagenum">[88]</span>
+down to Clarksville. There I sold it for three dollars
+and with the small sum I had already I came to this city,
+where we were then living. I then drank up every cent
+I could rake and scrape. I could get all sorts of work,
+but could keep no job because I couldn't keep sober.
+I finally depended on getting odd jobs along the river
+front, such as loading and unloading freight, etc.
+But the work was so hard I could scarcely do it, and
+finally I had to give that up, especially after falling and
+breaking my leg while at work on the old 'United
+States' several years ago. That accident laid me up in
+the Marine Hospital for several months, and just as I felt
+able to get out I broke the same leg again at the same
+place. After recovering I yielded entirely to the
+appetite for strong drink and cared for nothing else.
+As I say, for twenty-three years I have not known what
+it is to be sober until a few days ago.</p>
+
+<p>"For the past six years I have earned my drinks
+and some free lunch by picking up old boxes and barrel
+staves which I would dispose of to the saloon-keepers
+along the river front who knew me. I did not often ask
+any one for money with which to buy whisky, for I
+could always earn it in this manner. I usually slept at
+my mother's house. As to eating I did not eat much
+and was getting so I could scarcely eat at all. I am
+getting over that now, and have a good appetite, as
+Mr. Holcombe can testify.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, about one month ago Mr. Holcombe came
+to me and gave me a little talk. He did not say much,
+but he set me to thinking as far as I was capable of
+thinking. He saw me the second time, and then
+several times. Of course, I was always drunk but I
+<span class="pagenum">[89]</span>understood him. Finally he said to me 'Jim, if you're
+bound to have whisky, come around to the Mission and
+let me give it to you.' I promised him I'd come around,
+and I did so, for I wanted some o' the liquor. After I
+had gone around several times and he had given me a
+few drinks, not to make me drunk, of course, but to
+help me get sober, if possible; he invited me to go in
+and attend the religious services. I did so and he
+invited me to come again, which I did. At last he
+insisted that I should take my meals at the mission,
+and I have been doing so for some days. Finally I
+made up my mind to quit drinking altogether, and
+I intend to stick to the pledge I have taken. I was full
+last Sunday week for the last time. I was trying to
+taper off then, but a saloon-keeper on Market, just
+below Jackson, knowing my condition and knowing that
+I was trying to quit, gave me a bucket of bock beer.
+I knew he meant no good to me, but I couldn't help
+drinking it. Other saloon-keepers have been trying to
+get me to drink again, and I think they are trying to
+get me to do a great wrong.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-115.jpg" width="298" height="440" alt="JAMES WILLIAMS,
+AS HE IS" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">JAMES WILLIAMS,<br />AS HE IS</p>
+
+<p>"I went to church yesterday for the first time since
+I was a boy. Heard Dr. Eaton preach.</p>
+
+<p>"My poor old mother is greatly rejoiced at the
+change in me, for I have given her a great deal of
+torment and misery. As soon as the Murphy meetings
+are over Mr. Holcombe and I will spend a couple of
+weeks at French Lick Springs."</p>
+
+<p>During this period, when the mission occupied
+rooms at No. 436 Jefferson street, the meetings were
+not confined to that single place, but services were
+held in other parts of the city, on the streets and even<span class="pagenum">[90]</span>
+on the courthouse steps. Many strangers, as well as
+citizens of Louisville, attended these, and some were
+so powerfully impressed that after going away to their
+distant homes they wrote back to Mr. Holcombe
+acknowledging the good they had received, and in some
+instances giving an account of their conviction, repentance
+and conversion. The Holcombe Mission became
+one of the "sights" of the city, so that strangers visiting
+the city would look it up and attend services there.</p>
+
+<p>In 1884 a new feature was added which, in turn,
+added much to the efficiency and usefulness of the
+mission. It was suggested by the sight of the poorly
+clad children who attended the mission with their
+parents, and who seemed willing and anxious themselves
+to do better and be better. This new feature
+was the Industrial School, an account of the origin,
+history and methods of which is furnished by Mrs.
+Clark, the Superintendent. A Sunday-school was
+organized also, with C. P. Atmore, Esq., as Superintendent,
+and some of the most earnest Christian
+people of the city as teachers and helpers. A little
+later the Kindergarten was also organized and is now
+in successful operation.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-118.jpg" width="600" height="390" alt="THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.<br />1. Cutting Garments. 2. Boys Making Carpets. 3. Girls Sewing.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND THE KINDERGARTEN.</p>
+
+<p>In order to enlarge the mission work and better
+reach the homes of the needy, both spiritually and
+temporally, the Union Gospel Industrial School was
+opened in April, 1884, with six little girls and three
+teachers in attendance. In May following it was formally
+organized as The Union Gospel Mission
+Industrial School with</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p>
+<p>
+Mrs. J. R. Clark, Superintendent;<br />
+Mrs. L. G. Herndon, Assistant Superintendent;<br />
+Miss Ella Downing, Secretary;<br />
+Miss Ella Harding, Treasurer.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1884, it closed for the summer with twenty-two
+pupils and five teachers. In September following
+it opened for the fall and winter term with the same
+teachers and a small increase in the number of pupils,
+all from the neglected classes. The school was organized
+in the old mission room, at No. 436 Jefferson
+street, between Fourth and Fifth, and continued there
+for three winters. The children came, however, from
+all parts of the city, some of them from garrets and
+cellars. Their ages ranged from five to eighteen
+years.</p>
+
+<p>In May, 1886, the school was removed to its present
+spacious rooms in the Union Gospel Mission building
+on Jefferson street, above First. The work has steadily
+increased, each year bringing in a larger number
+of the neglected children. Those who come are so
+interested and benefited, they become missionaries, so
+to speak, to other poor and neglected children. There
+is one class of girls, however, who are not charity-scholars,
+but come for the purpose of learning to sew.
+Their work is done, not for themselves, but for the
+younger children of the poorer class who are not yet
+old enough to sew. For this reason, the class just
+mentioned is called The Missionary Class, and it is
+one of which the school is justly proud. They not
+only do their work for others, they do good in other
+ways and in general exert a good influence over the
+other children who are less fortunate.<span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p>
+
+<p>The children are first taught all the different stitches
+that are used in sewing. Then work is cut out for
+them by a committee of ladies who attend for that
+purpose, and the children are taught to make all kinds
+of garments. When the garment is completed and
+passes examination, it is given to the child who
+made it.</p>
+
+<p>There is a class of boys, sixty in number, ranging
+from five to twelve years of age. These are first
+taught to sew on buttons and to mend rents in their
+own clothes and then other things follow. They are
+at present engaged in making a carpet for Mr. Holcombe's
+office. The teachers in charge of them
+endeavor to train them to habits of industry, self-reliance,
+cleanliness, truthfulness, etc. Some of the
+boys are very bright and promising and some of them
+seem hopelessly cowed and broken. Their histories
+would, doubtless, be full of pathos and of pain, if they
+were known.</p>
+
+<p>The school meets every Saturday morning at 9:15.
+The opening services consist of&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. Singing (Gospel Hymns).</p>
+
+<p>2. Responsive recitation of a Psalm, or the Beatitudes
+or the Ten Commandments.</p>
+
+<p>3. Prayer.</p>
+
+<p>4. Distribution of work-baskets.</p>
+
+<p>The sewing continues for one hour and a half,
+then, at the tap of the bell, the work is folded nicely,
+replaced in the basket and taken to another room.
+The children then return to the large room and join
+in the closing exercises, which consist of&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>5. Singing.<span class="pagenum">[93]</span></p>
+
+<p>6. Repeating of Scripture texts, each teacher and
+child repeating a verse; or this is sometimes replaced
+with a chalk-talk, sometimes with a short address on
+the Sunday-school lesson for the following Sunday,
+sometimes with a short earnest appeal to the children
+by some visitor who is known to be an effective speaker
+for such occasions.</p>
+
+<p>7. The Lord's Prayer is recited in concert.</p>
+
+<p>8. Dismissal.</p>
+
+<p>The teachers, besides instructing the children in
+the art of sewing, converse with them on pleasant
+and profitable topics and upon the subject of religion
+in seasonable times and ways.</p>
+
+<p>Quite a number of families have been brought under
+Christian influence through the pupils of the Industrial
+School. Several parents as well as children have been
+converted. Mr. Robert Denny, the account of whose
+conversion is given by himself in another part of this
+volume, was induced to attend the meetings of the
+Holcombe Mission by what his children told him of
+the things they learned at the Industrial School. One
+of the members of the first class of six and her mother
+are now acceptable members of the First Presbyterian
+church. The daughter has become an artist and is
+employed in retouching pictures in one of the city
+photograph galleries. Three or four of the girls connected
+with the school have died. Two of them,
+one aged twelve and the other fourteen, gave every
+evidence of being Christians. One of these when
+asked when she learned to love God and to pray,
+answered, "At the sewing school; Jesus is always
+there."<span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p>
+
+<p>Many when they began to attend did not even know
+the little prayer beginning:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Now I lay me down to sleep."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The ignorance of these poor children led the superintendent
+to open a "Mothers' Meeting," for the
+mothers of these children and any others who might
+wish to attend. The results have been wonderful.
+So many homes have become changed, and are now
+neat, clean, orderly and happy. In the rounds of the
+superintendent's visits she found a very sick woman
+who said to her:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm so glad you have come, Mrs. Clark.
+I want you to pray with me."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Clark said, "Can't you pray yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>She replied, "I don't know what to say. I did not
+know 'Now I lay me down to sleep,' till my little Jennie
+learned it at the sewing school, and I learned it from
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"But can't you say 'Our Father who art in
+heaven?'" asked Mrs. Clark.</p>
+
+<p>"No; not all of it, I know only a little of it."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Clark was much moved at the ignorance, helplessness
+and need of the poor woman, and was praying
+with her when the husband came in. She talked with
+him and he was deeply impressed, and before she left
+promised he would try to live a better life. A position
+as street car driver was gotten for him, and for a while
+he did well, but after a time he fell into his old ways
+and was dismissed. But, through the intervention of
+the friends who had helped him before, he was restored
+to his place, and to-day he is a sober industrious man
+and a member of the First Christian church in the city.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-125.jpg" width="466" height="306" alt="KINDERGARTEN, THANKSGIVING DAY" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">KINDERGARTEN,<br />THANKSGIVING DAY</p>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[95]</span>
+
+<p>Perhaps a score of similar instances could be cited.</p>
+
+<p>The sewing school closed May 12, 1888, with the
+annual picnic. The following is the report for the
+year just past:</p>
+
+<p>Average weekly attendance of girls, 162; average
+weekly attendance of boys, 21; total average attendance
+of pupils, 183; average attendance of officers and
+teachers, 32; average attendance of visitors, 4; total
+average attendance, 219; total number of garments
+made by, and given to, the children, 848.</p>
+
+<p>The officers for the past year were as follows:
+Mrs. J. R. Clark, superintendent; Miss Mary L. Graham,
+assistant superintendent; Mrs. L. G. Herndon,
+superintendent of work; Miss Lithgow, treasurer; Miss
+Ella Gardiner, secretary.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">THE KINDERGARTEN.</p>
+
+<p>In January, 1885, there were so many little boys and
+girls between the ages of three and five years that
+the teachers did not know what to do with them.
+The superintendent, who had some knowledge of the
+kindergarten system, believed that its introduction here
+was what was needed. She could not see her way clear,
+however, to incur any more expense. But in answer to
+prayer the way was opened. Money was given for
+the appliances and Miss Graham, an excellent teacher,
+offered her services freely. The class at first averaged
+twenty-four pupils, met each Saturday morning in connection
+with the sewing school, and was called the
+Kindergarten class.</p>
+
+<p>The interest increased till February, 1886, when
+the board of directors of the Holcombe Mission consented<span class="pagenum">[96]</span>
+that the superintendent should open a regular
+kindergarten for every day in the week except Saturday.
+More money was raised and a trained kindergarten
+teacher from Cincinnati was employed. In June,
+1886, the school closed with sixty little children in
+attendance and four young ladies training for kindergarten
+teachers. Arrangements were made for the
+following year and several hundred dollars pledged.
+In September, 1887, the kindergarten was re-opened
+with Miss Bryan, of Chicago, as teacher of training
+class and superintendent of the school. In the following
+October a large and enthusiastic meeting was
+held in the Warren Memorial church and the Free
+Kindergarten Association was formally organized. In
+February, 1888, a second free kindergarten was opened
+in another part of the city. The year's work closed
+in June, 1888, five young ladies graduating as kindergarten
+teachers. The number of children enrolled for
+the year was one hundred. The kindergarten, it will
+be noticed, is thus distinct from the industrial school.</p>
+
+<p>In 1885, another department still was added to meet
+a want which had been developed in the progress
+of the work. The great number of broken-down men
+and tramps that came to Mr. Holcombe for food and
+help of one sort or another made it impossible for
+him to give them lodging in the mission rooms or
+board in his own family. And it encouraged indolence
+in unworthy men to feed and lodge them as
+a mere charity. And yet, if anything was to be done
+for their souls, they had for a time to be cared for.
+Mr. Holcombe conceived the idea, therefore, of establishing
+some sort of a place in connection with his
+<span class="pagenum">[97]</span>work, where these men might earn their food and
+lodging by the sweat of their brows and at the same
+time be brought under the powerful religious influences
+of the Mission.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-129.jpg" width="252" height="394" alt="MRS. J. M. CLARK." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">MRS. J. M. CLARK.</p>
+
+<p>The result was the establishment of the "Wayfarers'
+Rest." Mayor Reed and Chief of Police
+Whallen gave Mr. Holcombe a police station building
+free of rent and Mr. J. T. Burghard gave the money
+to furnish it with bunks, stove, cooking utensils,
+facilities for bathing, etc., and it became at once an
+established feature, and a very admirable one, of the
+Union Gospel Mission.</p>
+
+<p>When Mayor Jacob came into office he gladly continued
+the use of the building free of rent, and the
+institution has continued in successful operation up to
+the present time&mdash;a space of three years.</p>
+
+<p>The rooms are arranged for the accommodation of
+sixty men. All who come are required to do some sort
+of work for whatever they receive, whether it be food
+or lodging. The men do various kinds of work, according
+to their several ability, but the chief employment is
+sawing kindling wood out of material provided by the
+superintendent. Each man is required to work an
+hour for one night's lodging or for a meal. The kindling
+wood is sold all over the city, and under the
+excellent management of Mr. W. H. Black, the present
+superintendent, the enterprise has become more than
+self-supporting, bringing in enough to pay the salary
+of the superintendent and the book-keeper, and leaving
+a surplus. It should, perhaps, in justice be added,
+that donations of food are made daily and have been
+from the beginning, by the Alexander Hotel Company.<span class="pagenum">[98]</span></p>
+
+<p>During the winter of 1887 Mr. Black fed and lodged
+an average of fifty men a day. He has never turned
+one away. The average income per day from the sale
+of kindling wood is, in winter, ten dollars. The rules
+for the government of the inmates requiring registration,
+cleanliness, bathing, etc., are wisely conceived and
+strictly carried out.</p>
+
+<p>This institution has proved in Louisville the solution
+of the vexed question as to the proper treatment of
+tramps and beggars. The citizens, instead of encouraging
+indolence and pauperism by feeding tramps at
+their houses, some of whom are burglars in disguise,
+can now send them to the Wayfarers' Rest, where they
+are always sure of finding food and lodging, and, what
+is better, the opportunity of earning what they get by
+honest work. And Mr. Holcombe's experience as a
+tramp in Colorado leads him to take a brotherly interest
+in all these unfortunate men.</p>
+
+<p>In 1886, the work had expanded beyond its quarters
+and beyond all expectations. It was predicted that
+Steve Holcombe would hold out three months. He
+had now held out three times three years, and that
+through unprecedented trials and discouragements.
+During these nine years he had helped many and
+many a man, almost as bad as he, into the blessed
+life that he was living. He had established a unique
+institution in the city of Louisville which had been
+the means of helping and uplifting and blessing men
+and women and whole families. But the end was not
+yet. The man and his work had so won the confidence
+of the people of the city that in 1886, a
+formal request was made by the Evangelical churches<span class="pagenum">[99]</span>
+of the city that they be allowed to share with the
+Walnut-street Methodist church in the expense and
+the care and the usefulness of the Mission. It was
+changed then into a Union Mission, and representatives
+from the Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal, Christian
+and Lutheran churches were added to the board
+of directors.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year, when Mr. Holcombe was feeling
+the need of more spacious quarters for his expanding
+work, the large and elegant house on Jefferson
+street above First, known as the "Smith Property,"
+was advertised for sale. Mr. Holcombe saw it and
+liked it. It was the very sort of a building he needed
+for his work and all its various departments.</p>
+
+<p>He procured the keys and went through the
+building alone, from cellar to garret, stopping in every
+room to pray that, in some way, God would put it
+into his hands, with a firm persuasion, moreover, that
+his prayer would be answered. An interesting letter
+written by Mr. Holcombe in February, 1886, contains
+a reference to the project of purchasing the new
+house. It is addressed to one of the converts of
+the Mission, Mr. S. P. Dalton, of Cleveland, Ohio,
+and, as it shows also Mr. Holcombe's interest in his
+spiritual children, it is given entire:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="author">"<span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, February 3, 1886.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dear Brother Dalton</i>:</p>
+
+<p>"Your welcome and encouraging letter is just received.
+I acknowledge your claim, so gently urged,
+to something better than a hasty postal in reply.<span class="pagenum">[100]</span>
+When I write you briefly, it is because my work
+compels it. My soul delights to commune with spirits
+like yours, consecrated to God, and with brothers
+who live in my memory as associates in our humble
+work here. Our mission is being abundantly blessed
+of God, although meeting, from time to time, with
+those drawbacks which remind us of our dependence
+and the need of constant prayer. We are having
+good meetings and conversions are numerous, and,
+as a rule, of such a character as to make us believe
+they are genuine and permanent. As I write, our
+friends are canvassing the city for the collection of
+means to purchase the old Smith mansion on Jefferson
+street, for our use, and believing all our work
+to be of God I have no doubt that it will be ours
+within a week. Then shall we do a great work for
+Louisville and for souls. Our sewing-school and our
+Sunday-school, having outgrown our present quarters,
+will be greatly enlarged, and every department of
+our work also.</p>
+
+<p>"I am truly glad you are having such opportunities
+of doing good in Cleveland. May God bless you and
+your dear wife, my dear brother, and in His own time
+bring you back to us and to the work which always
+needs such help, is the prayer of</p>
+
+<p class="author1">"Your brother,</p>
+
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>An incident that occurred in connection with the
+purchase of this elegant property will show how Mr.
+Holcombe and his work were looked upon in Louisville
+even by those who were not Christians.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-135.jpg" width="474" height="306" alt="THE WAYFARER&#39;S REST." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE WAYFARER&#39;S REST.<br />
+<span class="smcap">
+1. Exterior.
+2. Office.
+3. Sleeping Apartment.
+4. Taking Meals.
+5. At Work.
+6. On the Levee.</span></p>
+
+<p>A German singing society was negotiating for the
+building at the same time, and had offered a higher
+price than the friends of the Mission thought they
+could give. Mr. Holcombe went to the leader of the
+society and told him he desired the building for the
+Mission, and, though the man was an unbeliever, he
+said: "Mr. Holcombe, though I am not a Christian
+and do not believe in Christianity, I do believe in
+the work you are doing. I will not be in the way
+of your getting that building." He withdrew his bid
+at once, and the Directors of the Holcombe Mission
+purchased it for $12,500.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe at once took possession. He fitted
+up the rooms of the lower floor for the various departments
+of the mission work. The large and elegant
+double-parlors were thrown into one and arranged for
+the audience-room. This has a seating capacity of
+two hundred or more. The other rooms of the lower
+floor are used, one for Mr. Holcombe's office, two
+others for the Kindergarten, another for a cloak-room,
+and so on. The second floor, with its seven large,
+bright, airy rooms, is occupied by Mr. Holcombe's
+family, and, for the first time since his conversion, they
+are in comfortable quarters.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[102]</span>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<p>At last after years of love and faith and faithfulness
+Mrs. Holcombe has her full reward and joy.
+The long twenty-five years of sorrow and suspense
+passed by and her husband is what she unconsciously
+believed her love had the power of waiting for him to
+become&mdash;a good man. And more than a good man.
+He is consumed with the desire and somehow clothed
+with the power of making other men good, of making
+bad men good, of making the worst of bad men good.
+This he has now been doing, by God's grace, for seven
+faithful years and more&mdash;and continues to do. Her
+husband is honored and beloved for his character, his
+work and his usefulness&mdash;no man, no minister in
+Louisville more so.</p>
+
+<p>All her children are members of the church even
+down to little Pearl, the latest-born. Her oldest son,
+her Willie, is happily married, occupies the position of
+book-keeper with the Sievers Hardware Company on
+Main street, and is an efficient officer of the church of
+God. Her second daughter is happily married to a
+Christian man, "one of the best of husbands," who is
+book-keeper in the old Kentucky Woolen Mills, of
+Louisville. Her oldest daughter is a devoted Christian
+and serves with equal efficiency as organist of the
+Mission and teacher in the Kindergarten. Her baby-boy
+now eighteen years old and the rise of six feet in
+<span class="pagenum">[103]</span>height is a member of the church and a good boy.
+He also is in business with the Sievers Hardware
+Company on Main street. And Pearl, the blue-eyed,
+golden-haired, eight-year-old girl baby is, nobody dare
+question, the flower of the flock. Her dead children
+are in heaven all, for they died before they knew sin,
+and her living children are on the way to heaven, all,
+for they trust in and serve Him who was manifested to
+take away sin.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-138.jpg" width="234" height="376" alt="MRS. S. P. HOLCOMBE." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">MRS. S. P. HOLCOMBE.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Holcombe helps her husband in his noble work
+and the "converts" look on her as their spiritual
+mother as they regard him as their spiritual father.
+She <i>might</i> say with Simeon, the <i>Nunc dimittis</i>, "Now
+lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes
+have seen thy salvation;" but instead of that she says
+with St. Paul, "Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is
+more needful" for my husband, my children and the
+work of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Holcombe still has trials, but they are few and
+small, while her blessings are many and great.
+She still has faults, perhaps, as most of mortals have;
+but they are few and small, while her virtues are very
+many and very great. Many daughters have done
+virtuously but few have excelled this one in those
+qualities which constitute a noble womanly character.</p>
+
+<p>The following letter, written to her by her husband
+during a short visit in the country, will show how that
+after so long a time of waiting, the hope of her earliest
+love is realized at last.<span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="author">"LOUISVILLE, KY., May 29, 1888.</p>
+
+<p>"My Dear Wife:</p>
+
+<p>"Your letter to hand. I am so happy to know that
+you are having a good time. Isn't God good to us?
+When we look back over our past lives and see how
+good God has been to us, how thankful we should be.
+Very little sickness in our immediate family and no
+death in thirty years. The two babes that we lost
+thirty years ago are safe in the arms of Jesus, and all
+the living ones are sweetly trusting in Him. Let us
+from this hour be more earnest and untiring in our
+efforts to save the children of others. Kiss Mamie for
+me and then look in the glass and kiss yourself a
+thousand times for him who loves you with a true, deep
+love.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours in life, yours in death,</p>
+
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe.</span>"</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Those who are familiar with Mr. Holcombe's career
+as a Christian worker would regard any sketch of his
+life incomplete which did not contain some account of
+the assault made upon him by three strange men in
+the winter of 1887. A few months after his removal
+to the new quarters that had been purchased by the
+Mission, he was attacked by three men in his own house
+and severely injured. On a Sunday afternoon in January,
+1887, he heard some one walking in the hall on
+the second floor of the building, and went out to see
+who it was. He found a man there whom he had never
+seen before, and asked him who he was and what he
+wanted. The man replied in an insolent, manner that
+he had come to visit a servant girl who was at the time
+working in Mr. Holcombe's family. When Mr. Holcombe<span class="pagenum">[105]</span>
+asked him why he came into his private family
+apartments, the man became more impudent and defiant,
+and gave utterance to some abusive language. Already
+provoked at the man's audacity and alarmed at the
+thought of what such a ruffian might have done to
+some one of his family if he had been absent, Mr.
+Holcombe's quick nature now became so exasperated
+that he forgot himself for a moment and thrust the
+man violently down the stairway and out of the house.
+The man left the place and Mr. Holcombe thought that
+was the end of it. But an hour or two later some one
+knocked at his room door on the same floor, and as
+he opened it, he saw himself confronted by three men,
+one of whom he recognized as the man he had put out
+of the house. The two others professed to be policemen
+who had come to arrest Mr. Holcombe, but when
+he asked to see their badges of authority they seized
+him. One against three, he resisted them with all
+his might, uttering no cry of distress or call for help.
+In the struggle Mr. Holcombe's leg was broken, both
+bones of it, and as he fell, with all his weight, the men
+thought he was badly hurt and fled, leaving him lying
+helpless on the floor. He was taken up by those whom
+he called and laid on his bed. Physicians were sent for.
+The news spread in a few minutes all over the neighborhood,
+and before night, all over the city. The Chief
+of Police, Colonel Whallen, set his detectives to work
+looking for the men, and many citizens, self-constituted
+detectives, inquired concerning the appearance
+of the men and kept a sharp lookout for them. But
+they succeeded in escaping, and it was, perhaps,
+well for them they did. Before night Mr. Holcombe's<span class="pagenum">[106]</span>
+room was crowded with friends filled with sympathy
+and indignation. Drs. Kelly and Alexander set the
+broken limb and gave Mr. Holcombe the unwelcome
+bit of information that he would have to lie in his
+bed for some five or six weeks, a sore trial to his
+restless spirit; but by the help of God he accepted
+it and settled down to endure it, not knowing, however,
+what good he was to get out of it. It was
+an opportunity for the people of Louisville to show
+their estimation and appreciation of him, and it is
+safe to say that no man in Louisville would have
+received the attentions and favors which this poor
+converted gambler, Steve Holcombe, did receive. It
+reminds one of a passage in Dr. Prime's account of
+the funeral of Jerry McAuley in the Broadway Tabernacle
+in New York. Dr. Prime himself was to conduct
+the funeral service, and this is what he says:</p>
+
+<p>"We are going to-day to the tabernacle to talk of
+what Jerry McAuley was and what he has done, to
+the little congregation that will gather there. If it
+were Dr. Taylor, the beloved and honored pastor, the
+house would be crowded and the streets full of
+mourners, but poor Jerry, he is dead and who will
+be there to weep with us over his remains? Ah,
+how little did I know the place poor Jerry held in
+the hearts of the people of this vast city! I was to
+conduct the funeral and went early to complete all
+arrangements. As I turned down from Fifth avenue
+through Thirty-fourth street, I saw a vast multitude
+standing in the sunshine, filling the streets and the
+square in front of the tabernacle. Astonished at the
+spectacle and wondering why they did not go and<span class="pagenum">[107]</span>
+take seats in the church, I soon found that the house
+was packed with people so that it was impossible for
+me to get within the door. Proclamation was made
+that the clergy who were to officiate were on the outside,
+and a passage was made for us to enter. What
+could be more impressive and what more expressive
+of the estimate set upon the man and his work? There
+is no other Christian worker in the city who would
+have called out these uncounted thousands in a last
+tribute of love and in honor of his memory."</p>
+
+<p>The tribute which the people of Louisville paid to
+the work and worth of Steve Holcombe <i>before</i> his
+death was hardly less.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday, the day following his misfortune, Mr.
+Holcombe's room was, nearly all the day long, full of
+people of every grade, from the mayor and the richest
+and finest people on Broadway and Fourth avenue,
+down to the poor drunkard and outcast, who forgot
+his shabby dress and pressed in among those fine
+people in order to see "Brother Holcombe," and find
+out how he was. The ministers of the leading churches
+of every Protestant denomination came with words of
+sympathy and prayer. Fine ladies came in their carriages,
+bringing baskets of fruit and all sorts of
+delicacies. Those who could not go sent letters and
+messages. And Mr. Holcombe lay in his bed and
+wept&mdash;not for pain, but for gratitude and humble joy.
+"Why," said he, "I would be willing to have half a
+dozen legs broken to know that these people think
+so much of me and of my poor efforts to be useful."</p>
+
+<p>This, then, was the first compensation and blessing.<span class="pagenum">[108]</span></p>
+
+<p>He learned also that it would be absolutely necessary
+for him to watch more closely his impulsive and
+fiery temper, and get a better control of it. For he
+does not deny that he was inexcusably hasty and severe
+in his treatment of the impudent intruder.</p>
+
+<p>And then he was temporarily relieved from the
+incessant demands and the constant strain of his daily
+activity and his nightly anxiety. He had time and
+opportunity, as far as the importunity and kindness
+of his friends would allow, to get calmed, to look down
+into his own heart, to analyze his motives, to study
+his own nature, to see his own faults, to find out his
+own needs and to pray. He had been told by one of
+his friends, that while he did not work too much, he
+did not pray <i>enough</i>, and that he was, therefore, liable
+to be overtaken by some sudden temptation and be
+betrayed into sin.</p>
+
+<p>That same friend, in conducting service in one of
+the churches of the city on that very Sunday morning,
+had offered special public prayer for Mr. Holcombe
+and his work. He prayed specifically that if Brother
+Holcombe needed a thorn in the flesh, to keep him
+humble, God would send it. It was thought to be a
+special and speedy answer, that before sundown of
+that very day, Mr. Holcombe did receive almost literally
+a thorn in the flesh; a messenger of Satan it
+was withal to buffet him. And Mr. Holcombe was
+the first to acknowledge that he needed this trial and
+the threefold blessing which came with it.</p>
+
+<p>The perpetrators of the cowardly deed were, some
+time afterward, caught and imprisoned&mdash;every one of
+them. One of them has been pardoned and released,<span class="pagenum">[109]</span>
+and through Mr. Holcombe's kindly intervention the
+other two probably will be, while through his friendly
+counsels one of them has been brought to realize his
+own sinfulness, and has promised to live a better
+life.</p>
+
+<p>It would be out of the question to reproduce here
+all the written messages of sympathy which Mr. Holcombe
+received during his confinement from the injury
+he received. But one of them is too touching and
+beautiful to be left out. It was written by Miss Jennie
+Casseday, a lady of culture and refinement, who has,
+for eighteen years, been confined to her "sick bed."
+She is well known as the originator of the "Flower
+Missions," which, all over this country, have been the
+bearers of blessing to many unblessed and unloved
+ones:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="author">"<span class="smcap">Sick Bed</span>, January 18, 1887.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dear Christian Friend</i>:</p>
+
+<p>"I send you some lines which have been a great
+blessing to me:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"'I can not say,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">I joy in these;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">But I <i>can</i> say<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That I <i>had rather</i> walk this rugged way<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">If Him it please.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i3">"'I can not feel<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The shining sun;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">But then I know<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">God lives and loves, and say, since that is so,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">"Thy will be done."<span class="pagenum">[110]</span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"'I can not speak<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In happy tones; the tear-drops on my cheek<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Show I am sad;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">But I <i>can</i> speak<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>Of grace to suffer</i> with submission meek,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Until made glad.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"'I do not see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Why God should e'en permit <i>some things</i> to be;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">When He is Love;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">But I <i>can</i> see,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Though often dimly, through the mystery,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">His hand above.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"'I do not know<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where falls the seed that I have tried to sow<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">With greatest care;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">But I shall know<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The meaning of each waiting hour below<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Sometime, somewhere.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Selected with tender sympathy.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">"Your friend,</p>
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">Jennie Casseday</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[111]</span>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<p>In conclusion it will not be out of place to glance
+for a moment backward and to call attention definitely
+to some plain facts.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Holcombe inherited from his parents a diversely
+perverse and bad nature. Already in his childhood he
+was cross, irritable, spiteful. In his boyhood his
+temper was savage and revengful. In his manhood he
+took the life of a fellowman. He inherited the love of
+drink from his father, who was a confirmed drunkard
+before the child was born; and the child himself was
+drunk before he was twelve years old. He was given
+to sensuality from his boyhood.</p>
+
+<p>His education was not good&mdash;as far as the educating
+power of daily example goes, it was bad, positively
+bad, continually bad. His associations outside of
+home were, for the most part, of the worst sort.
+His boyish companions were given to gambling, pilfering,
+fighting, and in all these things they called him
+chief. But the companionship of boys did not long
+satisfy him and already before he was fifteen, he drank
+and gambled with grown men in the bar-rooms of the
+village.</p>
+
+<p>He had an impulsive sympathy for helpless suffering
+when it was before his eyes. He had a vague, faint
+fear of the Power that makes for righteousness, so that
+in his youth he made three or four ineffectual efforts to<span class="pagenum">[112]</span>
+get the mastery of his evil nature and to become
+better. He provided well for his family in meat and
+drink and the like. He was generous to his friends.
+When this is said, about all is said on that side.
+Apart from these things he gave himself up for forty
+years to the indulgence of all his passions without let
+or hinderance from parental authority, domestic bonds,
+fear of God or regard for man. So that the adverse
+power of evil habit, strengthened by forty years of
+indulgence, was superimposed upon the moral helplessness
+of an inherited bad nature made worse by bad
+education and bad associations.</p>
+
+<p>Such he <i>was</i>. The preceding pages have described
+in part what he <i>is</i>. And only in part. The
+uttermost details of the purity of his life since October,
+1877, could not be stated without violating delicacy
+any more than the uttermost details of his sinful life
+could be uncurtained without injuring the innocent and
+offending the public. The candid reader will bridge for
+himself the past and present of Mr. Holcombe's life.
+These are the facts. And these facts are freely and
+fully recognized by all classes of the community in
+which he lives his daily life. Thousands of eyes have
+watched him for years and no one has detected any
+immoral practice or act or found any fault of a serious
+nature in him.</p>
+
+<p>Candor requires us to say that he is sometimes
+over-sensitive, that he has his own views as to the best
+methods of conducting his work and is sometimes a
+little domineering in carrying them out; that he sometimes
+uses unnecessary harshness in his public addresses
+in dealing with the sins and shortcomings of people,<span class="pagenum">[113]</span>
+especially of the converts of the Mission, a thing which
+is probably due to his over-anxiety for them; that he
+has not yet learned economy and the best way of
+conducting his financial affairs, and that owing to his
+own former wicked life he would be a trifle too severe in
+the control of his family but for the good sense and
+prudent firmness of his wife. But these are minor
+matters and when they are said, about all is said on <i>that</i>
+side.</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Holcombe has come to occupy a unique
+and commanding position in the city of Louisville.
+All classes respect him, all classes look up to him and
+people from all classes seek his counsel and aid in
+certain emergencies.</p>
+
+<p>Mothers in distress over the sins of their sons,
+sisters in sorrow over the dissipation of their brothers,
+wives in despair over the wickedness of their husbands,
+all these go to Steve Holcombe for advice, comfort,
+encouragement and help; and when they can not go,
+they write; sometimes from distant places, as far away
+as Canada. The ministers of Louisville refer to him
+those extreme cases which they meet with in their
+ministry, and which they feel his experience and his
+knowledge of the ways and temptations of dissipated
+men enable him to handle, as a letter from Dr. Broadus
+and one from Dr. Willits, elsewhere reproduced, will
+show. And the dissipated men themselves, the drunkards,
+the gamblers, the outcast, the lost&mdash;all these
+feel that Steve Holcombe is their friend, a friend who
+has the willingness and the power to help them up,
+and they go to him when they are in distress or when
+they awake to a sense of their wretched condition<span class="pagenum">[114]</span>
+and desire to rise again. And through his instrumentality
+many a one <i>has</i> risen again, and to many a
+mother, wife, sister, family, has come through him a
+resurrection of buried hope and joy.</p>
+
+<p>And those gamblers who have never yet come to
+distress or to religion regard him with admiration
+and affection. The following letter from Mr. A. M.
+Waddill, one of the leading sporting men of the South,
+was written in answer to an inquiry as to how Mr.
+Holcombe is looked upon by the gamblers:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, August 13, 1888.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Rev. Gross Alexander</i>:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>: In writing of my friend, Steve P.
+Holcombe, I will say that his adoption of the pulpit
+has not lowered him in the esteem of his former associates&mdash;the
+gamblers. Far from it. They are his
+admirers and his friends, and, when they have the funds,
+are as willing supporters of his work as any. They
+can not show him too much respect and can not exhibit
+a more profound love than is shown him every day by
+some one of his old companions. He has wielded a
+wonderful influence over them for good, both here and
+elsewhere, and has made many converts from their
+ranks, who could not have been influenced probably
+by any other minister of the Gospel. I myself have
+been, I am happy to say, wonderfully benefited by
+the influence of his benevolent character.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">"Very respectfully yours,</p>
+<p class="author">"<span class="smcap">A. M. Waddill</span>."
+</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>The esteem in which he is held by the leading
+business men of the city is shown by the fact that
+the Board of Directors of the Mission is composed
+of such men as John A. Carter, J. P. Torbitt, L. Richardson,
+J. B. McFerran, R. J. Menefee, J. T. Burghard,
+H. V. Loving, Arthur Peter, John T. Moore, J. K.
+Goodloe, P. Meguiar, C. McClarty, W. T. Rolph, John
+Finzer, with P. H. Tapp as Treasurer.</p>
+
+<p>He has the confidence and esteem of the officers
+both of the city and State, and he has a large influence
+with them.</p>
+
+<p>The Mayor, the Chief of Police, and the Judges
+of the Courts recognize his usefulness, his ability and
+his efficiency by co-operating with him, as far as may
+be, and by adopting his views and suggestions as to
+the treatment of criminals charged with lesser crimes
+and misdemeanors.</p>
+
+<p>The Governor, J. Proctor Knott, readily granted
+pardon to the only man for whom Mr. Holcombe ever
+asked it, and the testimony of this now happy man
+is given in this volume.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is Mr. Holcombe thus in honor and demand
+at home; he is in demand all over the country.
+Until it came to be known that he would not leave
+his own work in Louisville, he was constantly receiving
+requests to attend or conduct meetings of one sort or
+another in all parts of Kentucky and in several other
+States.</p>
+
+<p>Year before last, in the summer of 1886, he was,
+by appointment of the Governor of the State, a Commissioner
+from Kentucky in the National Convention
+of Corrections and Charities at Washington.<span class="pagenum">[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1887 he attended, by request, the
+Convention of Christian Workers of the United States
+and Canada, in the Broadway Tabernacle in New York
+City, and made two addresses, both of which are printed
+among his sermons in this book. He was appointed
+a member of the Executive Committee of that body,
+in which capacity he now serves.</p>
+
+<p>But not only in direct results has the power of God
+been manifested through this instrument. Mr. Holcombe's
+conversion and work have had the effect of
+quickening the faith and zeal of all the churches of
+the city. It has not only drawn them nearer together
+in fostering and furthering a common enterprise into
+which they entered of their own motion, and without
+solicitation, but it has revived the languishing faith of
+all classes. Not only has the Gospel saved Steve Holcombe
+and others, he (let it be said reverently and
+understood rightly) has, in one sense, saved the Gospel.
+Many had lost faith in it. They thought it was an old,
+worn-out story. It had lost its novelty and vitality,
+and it had not the power it claimed to have. Its
+achievements were not equal to its pretensions. Some
+of the men who have been brought to a better life
+through Mr. Holcombe's instrumentality have said that,
+though they did not, out of respect for other people,
+publish the fact, they had lost all faith and were, at
+heart, utter infidels. Some of them continued to attend
+church and to give to the church of their means, and
+to give respectful attention to the preaching, but it
+was out of deference to relatives or respect for custom,
+or for mere Sunday pastime. But the conversion of
+Steve Holcombe, and the life he was living, arrested<span class="pagenum">[117]</span>
+their thought, awakened inquiry and revived their faith,
+and many of these have been saved.</p>
+
+<p>The conversion of these has in turn resulted in the
+conviction of others and so the stream has broadened
+and deepened. As Mr. Holcombe says in one of his
+addresses, "There is naturally in the minds of men a
+doubt as to the truth and divinity of the religion which
+fails to do what it proposes to do, and so in times of
+religious deadness men lose faith and unbelief gets
+stronger and more stubborn while they see no examples
+of the power of the Gospel to save bad men. But
+when bad men have been reached and quickened and
+made better through the Gospel, and this continues
+year after year, then the tide turns, and faith becomes
+natural and easy not to say contagious and inevitable."</p>
+
+<p>These effects have demonstrated the reality of
+conversion in opposition to the view that it is an effect
+of the excitement of the imagination. "One hears,"
+it is said, "the narration of the experience of others
+who claim to be converted, and he works at himself till
+he works himself up to the persuasion that he also has
+got it." But, as one of the converts in narrating his
+experience said, "Imagination could not take the
+whisky habit out of a man. It never did take it out of
+me. But the power of this Gospel which Steve Holcombe
+preaches has taken it out root and branch."</p>
+
+<p>Another thing is shown also by the history of this
+work. A distinguished minister said once, "We must
+get the top of society converted and then we may
+expect to reach the lower classes." Mr. Holcombe, on
+the contrary, in accordance with the example and words
+of Jesus and of Paul, of Luther and of Wesley, has given<span class="pagenum">[118]</span>
+his time and labor primarily and largely to the lower
+classes and the lost classes, and through these he has
+reached also the higher classes, exemplifying again
+what was said by the most apostolic man since the
+Apostles, that the Gospel "works not from the top
+down but from the bottom up."</p>
+
+<p>If you should ask what is the explanation of Mr.
+Holcombe's success, it may be answered that it is due
+to three things. The extraordinary change which has
+taken place in his character and in his life arrests
+attention and produces conviction.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place is his intense and pitying love
+for those who are not saved, and especially for those who,
+besides being most utterly lost, are, either by their own
+suspicions and fears or by the customs and coldheartedness
+of society, or both, shut out from all sympathy and
+opportunity. He has a very mother's love for poor,
+sinful, struggling souls, and he shows this not in words
+only or chiefly, but in service. Some account has
+already been given from one of the Louisville papers
+concerning his rescue of a man who had been drunk
+continuously for twenty-three years. To have preached
+temperance and morality and duty to this wild and
+degraded man would have been useless, to have <i>told</i>
+him of the love of God would, perhaps, have been no
+better. But when this far off love of God took concrete
+form in the person of Steve Holcombe and was brought
+nigh and made real in his brotherliness and gentleness
+and patience and service, it proved stronger than a
+twenty-three years' whisky habit and to-day this man,
+who lately dwelt apart from men like the man among
+the tombs and who was possessed by the demon of<span class="pagenum">[119]</span>
+drink so that no man could bind him with bonds of
+morality or duty&mdash;this man is to-day clothed and in
+his right mind. And though he has not fully apprehended
+the way of salvation, he says, yet a transfiguration
+has taken place in him which is little short of
+miraculous. He says also that he has got some light
+on the question of personal religion. He is thoroughly
+honest and will not claim or profess what he has not.
+He says a man who has always gone slow in everything
+else can't go fast in getting religion.<a id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This man has, since the above was written, been brought into a clear experience of
+conversion, and is now a clean and happy Christian man.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the third place, Mr Holcombe's success is due
+to the character of his preaching. It is the simple
+Gospel, wherein two points are continually made and
+emphasized, the reality and tenderness of God's love
+for sinful men, even the worst, and the absolute necessity
+of regeneration and a holy life. Both these great
+truths he illustrates with fitness and force from his
+own life and that of the men who have been converted
+under his ministry. His sermons are so striking in
+their directness and simplicity, and so helpful withal,
+that some of them have been reproduced in outline
+in the present volume, and the reader who has never
+heard him may get some idea of his preaching from
+these, and, it is hoped, some profit as well.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever men may say, the fact remains that when
+the Gospel is preached on apostolic conditions, it has
+still apostolic success.</p>
+
+<p>In 1886, when Rev. Sam P. Jones was holding a
+meeting in Cincinnati, he said of Mr. Holcombe:</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Holcombe's work is finer than anything done
+since the death of Jerry McAuley. He is fully consecrated
+to the work of rescuing the perishing and
+<span class="pagenum">[120]</span>saving the fallen. Hundreds of men, dug by him
+from the deepest depths of dissipation and degradation,
+are to-day clothed in their right minds. Some
+of the most efficient Christian men have passed through
+his Mission, at No. 436 Jefferson street, in Louisville.
+I feel that in helping Steve Holcombe, I shall be
+able to say, at least: 'Lord, if I did not do much
+when I was on earth, I did what I could to help Steve
+Holcombe, the converted gambler, in his mission work
+among men who never hear preaching, and to whom
+a helping hand is never extended.'</p>
+
+<p>"There are mighty few men like Steve Holcombe
+to take hold of poor fellows and bring them back to
+a purer and better life."</p>
+
+<p>In 1888, during a great temperance meeting in
+Louisville, Mr. Francis Murphy said of Mr. Holcombe:</p>
+
+<p>"Of all the noble men I know, he is one of the
+noblest, and Louisville may well be proud of the
+grand, big-hearted Christian man, who, in his quiet,
+unassuming manner is doing such a world of good
+here."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. D. L. Moody, during his great meeting in
+Louisville, in the months of January and February,
+1888, said of Mr. Holcombe:</p>
+
+<p>"I have got very much interested in a work in
+your city conducted by a man you call Steve Holcombe.
+I don't know when I met a man who so
+struck my heart. I went up and saw his headquarters
+and how he works. He is doing the noblest work I
+know of. I want you to help him with money and
+words of cheer. Remember, here in Louisville you
+make so many drunkards that you must have a place<span class="pagenum">[121]</span>
+to take care of the wrecks. Steve Holcombe rescues
+them. Let us help him all we can."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Holcombe's work is not done. He is
+in the vigor of life, with fifteen or twenty years of
+life and service, God willing, before him. He is
+only beginning to reap the results of these ten years
+of study and these ten years of Christian living and
+working. He knows the Gospel better than he ever
+did before, and he preaches it better. He knows
+himself and God better than he ever did before, and
+he lives nearer the Source of Power. He knows men
+good and bad, better than he ever did before, and he
+deals with them in all states and stages more wisely
+and successfully.</p>
+
+<p>He is of that nervous and Intense temperament
+which can not rest without getting something done,
+and he is always doing something to advance his work.
+And though so intensely in earnest, he is singularly, it
+is not at all too strong to say, entirely free from
+fanaticism. He is in high esteem, with large influence
+at home and abroad, and this he does not prostitute
+to selfishness, but uses for usefulness.</p>
+
+<p>And, best of all, he has tokens, not a few, in the
+form of discipline on the one hand, and success on
+the other, that God is guarding and guiding his Life
+and Work.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-159.jpg" width="462" height="308" alt="THE UNION GOSPEL MISSION." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE UNION GOSPEL MISSION.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">[125]</span>
+
+<h2 id="LETTERS">LETTERS.</h2>
+
+<p class="h4">TO HIS FIRST PASTOR.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, November 6, 1883.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>Our meetings continue in interest. Last night the
+Holy Ghost was with us in great power. At the close
+of the talk, we invited backsliders to come forward and
+kneel. Six responded. Then we invited all others
+who wanted to become Christians to come forward
+and nine others responded, most of them the most
+hardened sinners in the city. I am sure nothing but
+the power of God could have lifted them from their
+seats. Men who have fought each other actually
+embraced last night. Continue to pray for us.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, November 19, 1883.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>Last night about two hundred persons were present,
+most of them non-churchgoers. About forty stood up
+for prayers. And oh, such good testimonies, no harangues
+but living testimonies as to what God can
+and will do for those who will let him.</p>
+
+<p>Yours truly,</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[126]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p  class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, November 21, 1883.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>How grateful I am to you for all your kindness God
+alone knows. I may and do lack education and refinement,
+but I will not allow myself under any circumstances
+to lack gratitude. The results of our meetings
+prove to me that it is the work of the Holy Ghost.
+Of course, I could hardly believe you would come to
+Louisville even for a little while and not come to see
+me, one who has cost you so much of time and care.
+There was a time when I could not have stood it.
+But thanks to God I am now above letting small things
+or great things upset me. Give my love to your dear
+family.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours truly,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, February 3, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>How I do wish you could have been where you
+could have looked in on us last night. The room
+was full. They had to be turned away from the
+door. And they were so anxious to hear the glad
+tidings. No carpet, nothing to deaden the sound
+and yet you could have heard a pin drop. All the
+churches are feeling the results of our work. Yesterday
+G. H. joined the Christian church. He seems to be a
+thoroughly converted man, if I know one. P. D., whom<span class="pagenum">[127]</span>
+you know, came in here about a week ago under the
+influence of liquor. Said "I am an infidel and a
+drunkard. Pray for me." We did pray for him. He
+has been coming ever since. He is now perfectly
+sober and says he was never so moved before. These
+are two out of many cases.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours truly,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, February 7, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>Your kind favor received. P. D. comes every
+night and sometimes speaks. He is not drinking.
+He says he can not believe. He does so pitifully and
+pleadingly ask for the prayers of Christian people.
+He is in earnest. Pray for him.</p>
+
+<p>C. T. testified last night. He was a schoolmate
+of yours. He said: "For the last five years, when I
+would meet Brother Holcombe, I would say to myself:
+'I wish he would say good day, and pass on.' But he
+would not. He generally had something to say about
+the way I was living. Of late, every time he has met
+me he has invited me to the Mission. I would promise
+to go, but went, instead, to some bar-room, until I
+wound up by losing my position, being sent to the
+work-house, and being left by a loving wife. Two
+weeks ago he met me again, and this time I kept my
+promise. I have been coming every night since, and
+have not touched liquor since, and by God's help I do
+not expect to do so any more. I enjoy the meetings<span class="pagenum">[128]</span>
+so much. The two hours I spend here seem so
+short."</p>
+
+<p>G. H. never misses a night. He is in the room
+with me now singing, "Happy Day, When Jesus
+Washed My Sins Away." And he is happy. Although
+in the last four years he has spent thirty
+thousand dollars in riotous living, and although his
+wife has left him, he said to me: "Brother Holcombe,
+I believe I am as happy as I ever was in my life." I
+asked him, why? He said: "Because I have something
+which I never had when I had wife, child and
+money. I have the forgiveness of sins and the friendship
+of God."</p>
+
+<p>I said: "You will have to watch the devil or he
+will get you in his power again."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he replied, "the devil told me when I
+first began to come to this Mission that I was too
+mean, and my heart was too dead ever to get religion;
+but I fought him on my knees and I got the victory.
+I know how hard it was to get, and by the help of
+God I am going to keep it, whether I ever have wife
+or child or money again."</p>
+
+<p>Pray for me, that I may make no mistake in my
+difficult work.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours, as ever,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, February 13, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>I did just what you suggested; though I was
+disappointed I did not show it. God is helping me<span class="pagenum">[129]</span>
+to give up my preferences. I am trusting in the
+Lord, and sweetly singing</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Oh, to be nothing, nothing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Only as led by His hand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A messenger at His gateway,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Only waiting for His command."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I am willing to preach on the streets, at the
+Mission, at Walnut-street church, or I am willing to
+be door-keeper&mdash;anything for Christ.</p>
+
+<p>So you heard that I am improving in preaching.
+Well, I do believe that I shall yet learn how to
+preach.</p>
+
+<p>I had a letter requesting me to go to Nicholasville
+to preach. But I can not go. I feel I have
+a little, humble work to do in Louisville, and I am
+going to do it. The mission men are all doing well.
+Though to you I may seem very weak, I am to them
+what you are to me.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours, etc.,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, May 1, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother</i>:</p>
+
+<p>Yours to hand. I do not think you negligent.
+I know you love me, and I know you love the cause
+of Christ for which I am laboring, and I know you
+will do all you can to help me to help it. I am
+surprised, not at what you don't do, but at what
+you do do.<span class="pagenum">[130]</span></p>
+
+<p>I suppose you saw in the paper what a handsome
+thing they did for us in the way of giving us a fifty-dollar
+parlor set, a fine Brussels carpet, a large walnut
+book-case and many other articles, including a fine
+portrait of dear Brother Morris.</p>
+
+<p>Even for this donation and for all the love shown
+me by these good people I am indebted to you.
+"Jesus must needs go through Samaria" to save the
+woman at the well. You must needs be sent to
+Portland church to save and instruct and guide
+Steve Holcombe. This morning I prayed nearly an
+hour before breakfast, and it was lucky for me I did.
+Something came up at noon that would have completely
+upset me, but I was fortified and withstood the temptation
+successfully.</p>
+
+<p>I am improving every way. My health is better,
+my memory is better. I can read my Bible more
+profitably than ever and I can pray better.</p>
+
+<p>God grant you may have good health, length of
+days and all of this world's goods that may be good
+for you.</p>
+
+<p class="author">S. P. H.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, May 23, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours of the 16th to hand. God is so good to me.
+Certain temptations have come to me lately and I could
+not have borne them but for His help. I talked at the
+church last Sunday night in the absence of Dr. Messick.
+I felt so humble, it seemed a privilege to be treated<span class="pagenum">[131]</span>
+shamefully that I might have an opportunity of showing
+that a Christian can give up his own rights for the good
+of others. I have grown in grace since you showed
+me the necessity of secret prayer and of getting so
+well acquainted with God that he would become more
+real to me than my own father ever was.</p>
+
+<p>You have seen in the papers poor D. T.'s attempt
+at suicide. But God has spared him yet another
+season. He will recover. Pray for him. May God
+bless you and strengthen you and keep you is the
+prayer of</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 23, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours received this <span class="smcap">a. m.</span> I am so pressed for
+means I can not now buy the book you speak of, but will
+do so as soon as I can. I am <i>taking time</i> to study. I am
+getting much better acquainted with God and the better
+I know him the more I love him.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours in love,</p>
+
+<p class="author">S. P. H.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 25, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>The men are all doing tolerably well. The attendance
+at the meetings is increasing. Sunday-school<span class="pagenum">[132]</span>
+holds up well. My great desire now is to be able to
+study the Bible better. The more I think of what
+you have been to me, the more grateful I feel. I wish
+I could in some substantial way show you how I appreciate
+your care. But God will reward you.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours, etc.,</p>
+
+<p class="author">S. P. H.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 30, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>The Bible is becoming very sweet to me. I can
+study it all day long and not get tired. I am sure
+the Holy Ghost is helping me. I have read the
+book you gave me. It is very helpful.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Davidson has gone to housekeeping. He
+has his son and daughter with him. Oh, the love and
+power of God. Praise His name!</p>
+
+<p class="author">S. P. H.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Chicago, Ill.</span>, September 5, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours of the 2d to hand. Think of you? The
+sun may forget to shine, but poor Steve Holcombe
+can never forget the man who has done so much
+for his soul. Never has a day passed since my
+conversion that I have not prayed God's blessing on
+you, your family and your work.<span class="pagenum">[133]</span></p>
+
+<p>Well, Chicago is a great city, a grand field for
+Christian work. I find many earnest Christian men
+and women laboring for the Master. I am not idle
+either. I talked four times last Sunday&mdash;three times
+on the street and once at a Mission.</p>
+
+<p>I am having a royal time, sailing on the lake,
+riding on street-cars, taking in the town. I wish
+you were here.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">God bless you always.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 1, 1885.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours of June 25th received. I do hope you
+will get Brother C.<a id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> those books to sell. These men
+must have employment. They can not live, as some
+Christian people seem to think, on promises. It is all
+right to say, "Oh, let go and trust in the Lord," to a
+man who knows the way, but it is all not right when
+it is said to a poor struggling gambler, who, in faith, is
+as weak as a baby. I know of Brother L.'s troubles.
+My heart goes out to him. All well.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Yours,  S. P. H.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A converted gambler.</p></div>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, May 15, 1885.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Since writing my card this morning I have learned
+that D. McC., the boss Nashville gambler, and an old
+partner of mine, is attending Sam Jones' meetings.
+<span class="pagenum">[134]</span>I want you to go to see him. Don't be afraid to go
+right up to him and introduce yourself. Tell him you
+and I are old friends, and that I love him, and requested
+you to see him. But you know better how
+to approach him than I can tell you. But you must
+see him. Take Sam Jones to see him. Visit him at
+his home, with Sam Jones. He is worthy of concentration.
+If you can get him converted, he will be a
+power for good. Most of your members know him, I
+guess. If you don't like to call on him, alone, get
+some of them to go along and introduce you. May
+God help us save poor D. McC.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, December 20, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your favor to hand. I have had a terrible battle
+with self, but by the grace of God I have come out
+conquerer. I praise God now that I had the struggle,
+because it has enabled me to realize the emptiness of all
+that is earthly. It has convinced me that to depend on
+men is "like a foot out of joint." I make more miles
+toward my haven of rest during a night of storm than
+in days of calm weather. Wishing you a merry Christmas
+and a happy New Year, I am as ever,</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p>
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, December 29, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours was received a few days ago. Yes, I thank
+God I am almost rid of my love of praise. I am
+willing to do the dirty and disagreeable work and let
+others have the picnics and the praise. "Who am I
+that I should be a leader of the Lord's people?" But I
+confess I did not get to this point without a struggle.
+How I did have to wrestle with God. He showed me
+the envy that was in my heart, that is my jealousy of
+any one who did more work or had more attention paid
+them than I had. But glory to God I hope I am rid of
+it at last.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author">S. P. H.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, January 26, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours just received. I hardly think it would be
+worth while to ask Mr. Moody to visit our Mission, as
+his time is so completely occupied. I think our work is
+as much thought of as ever. It is quiet but I think deep.
+I have kept it out of the papers, because too much
+newspaper notoriety is calculated to cause a poor little-brained
+fellow to exaggerate his own importance.
+And then there is such sweetness in the work when
+you are sure it is not for praise but for Christ. I am
+afraid that many of us on analyzing our hearts will find<span class="pagenum">[136]</span>
+first, self; second, self; and almost all for self in one
+way or another. May God deliver me from self.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours as ever,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 10, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter to hand. There is nothing so comforting
+as true friendship. Alas! how little of it there is
+in this world. Happy the man who can claim <i>one true
+friend</i>. I know a man that has a true friend. I am
+that man and you are that friend. How do I know it?
+You are so faithful in telling me the truth about myself
+and showing me my faults and mistakes. Who but
+a true friend that had your best interest at heart would
+have written such a letter as this last one from you?
+I want you to know that while I loved you much before,
+I love you more now. I have been going through the
+fire lately, but I think I shall come out all right.
+Doesn't God sift a fellow? I believe I can say I rejoice
+in tribulation. I find I can not expect to be understood
+in this world or always have sympathy, but I do expect,
+if "I meekly wait and murmur not," to find it is all
+right in my Father's house.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[137]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO S. P. DALTON (one of the converts).</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 17, 1883.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your good letter to hand. It is, as you say, so
+sweet to be bound together by the ties of Christian
+love, and there is no tie which binds men more closely
+than the religion of Christ. It breaks down every
+barrier, and all are alike to the true Christian man;
+rich, poor, halt, lame, blind, there is no difference. And
+the Christian is happiest when he is denying himself
+to help others.</p>
+
+<p>In order to convince the world of the truth and
+power of our religion, our own standard must be very
+high. We must deny ourselves of things which in
+themselves would be innocent, but which, if practiced
+by us, would lessen our influence for good. And how
+comforting to think that if we <i>suffer</i> with Him, we
+shall also reign with Him. The suffering comes first,
+the humiliation first, the toil and weariness first. Yes,
+we may <i>expect</i> troubles and crosses here, but we leave
+it all behind when we enter within the gates into the
+city. I thank God that your heart has been changed
+and that you have tasted of the powers of the world
+to come. I am glad you find more pleasure in my poor
+company and lame words than in the follies and friendships
+of the world. Hoping for you all good things,
+I am with much love,</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve Holcombe</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p>
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 23, 1885.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter from the great Falls is to hand. It
+is very gratifying to me to know that in the midst of
+so much excitement you could and did think of one
+so humble and obscure as myself. I have been at the
+Falls and have seen many wonderful and grand things,
+but the most beautiful thing I have ever seen is an
+old hardened sinner picking up his grip-sack and
+bidding the devil farewell forever. And, praise the
+Lord, that is my privilege almost daily in the dear
+old mission. Though the weather is very hot, we have
+glorious meetings; new converts testifying almost
+nightly. Two professional gamblers have just been
+converted. One of them was one of the sweetest
+conversions I ever saw. The old converts are nearly
+all doing well. Don't grow, cold, but be in some work
+for the Master every day, and you will not miss the time
+or regret the service. God bless you.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, April 17, 1886.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours of the 6th to hand. We have purchased
+the property for our new home, and we shall move in
+in about a month. Our work is moving like a thing<span class="pagenum">[139]</span>
+of life. It was never so prosperous before. I wish
+you could be here to work with us. Sister Clark is
+in her glory. She is one of the grandest Christian
+women I have ever seen. Nearly all the converts are
+doing well.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, November 15, 1886.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>I receive no letters that touch my heart more
+deeply than those I receive from you. Our work is
+more quiet now. The papers do not notice it so much,
+but we are doing a good work. It is now more among
+the unfortunate business men of the city some of whom,
+were fallen very low. Some who have recently been
+reclaimed are now first-class business men. The old
+converts are all right and doing well, but they don't
+stand by me in the work as I wish they would. Oh,
+for "consecration and concentration." That is my
+motto.</p>
+
+<p>My married daughter has got one of the best of
+husbands and I think they are the happiest couple I
+know. The rest are all well. I hope you will be
+blown back this way by some favoring breeze, so we
+can have your help in our work.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, January 6, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>Our work is going on grandly again. You can see
+from the papers I am kept as busy as a bee. You
+must know from the number that come that my time
+is all taken up in nursing them. Hence, I can not write
+long letters, however much I would like to.</p>
+
+<p>Hope to see you soon.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, October 28, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>S.P. Dalton, Cleveland, Ohio:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Brother Dalton:</span> Yours of the 17th is
+received. I am glad you are an active worker in the
+church, and that they have shown their appreciation
+of you by making you a steward in the church.</p>
+
+<p>I believe you will render a good account of your
+stewardship. The main thing for you to guard against
+is <i>care</i>. Remember, always when you think you are
+too busy to pray in secret, read the Bible, go to the
+meetings, etc., what Jesus said to Martha: "Thou
+art careful and troubled about many things."</p>
+
+<p>I am trying to be a faithful servant. God is
+blessing my humble efforts. The converts are sticking
+and the work is growing. Most of the converts are
+prospering in business. Some that were in the gutter<span class="pagenum">[141]</span>
+are now making from fifty to two hundred dollars a
+month.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">S. P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">TO THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, May 11, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Dalton:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours of the 9th to hand. Glad to hear of your
+continued success in business. You are a great man,
+but a man who is so prosperous in business must
+keep his eyes open.</p>
+
+<p>Remember to give to the Lord all that belongs
+to Him of every dollar you earn. John Wesley's
+motto is hard to improve on: "Make all you can, save
+all you can, give all you can." And oh! what sweetness
+there is in giving. Never get too busy to do
+some Christian work. We have just had Murphy
+at Louisville, for a month.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Good-bye,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Steve P. Holcombe.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4"><a id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>LETTERS TO MR. HOLCOMBE.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> A few of the letters to Mr. Holcombe have been selected out of several
+hundreds.</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>I have heard and read so much of your influence
+and prayers for men leading dissolute lives, that I am
+going to ask you if you won't find my husband and
+stay and pray with him until he is saved. The other
+<span class="pagenum">[142]</span>night, when he was drinking very hard, he appealed
+to me to send for you to pray for him. He has much
+confidence in your prayers, and believes in your life;
+I have often heard him say so. He has a noble, loving
+disposition, and forgiving; so you need not be afraid
+of offending him. His whole heart would forever offer
+thanksgivings for his delivery from drink; for it is
+that that he prays for. I have thought that, perhaps,
+God intended salvation to come to him through you;
+and how earnestly I pray that it may. So much has
+been done, and so many prayers offered for him, won't
+you please, at your next opportunity, find him and talk
+and pray with him? You would make a miserable,
+lonely woman's life happy again. We have been so
+happy together, so congenial, so well mated; and if
+God will answer all our united prayers, happiness will
+return to our hearts tenfold. Oh, Mr. Holcombe, pray
+the prayer of faith, and my heart will ever turn in
+grateful acknowledgment to God for making you the
+humble instrument of my much-loved husband's salvation.
+Won't you go now immediately and wrestle
+for and with him in prayer?</p>
+
+<p>Believe me, most earnestly, your co-worker in
+prayer for his salvation.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Mrs. H.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Birmingham, Ala.</span>, May 12, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>I hope you will not think hard of me for asking you
+to write once more to my husband. I feel so confident
+it will stir up a remembrance of his conversion. Oh,<span class="pagenum">[143]</span>
+brother, don't give up helping me. Try to save my
+husband. It nearly kills me to see him come home full
+of the destroying thing called whisky; and it seems to
+have such a strong hold on him. All the imploring I
+can do will not change him at all. I have grieved until
+my life is almost grieved away. But oh, God will
+surely hear my cry after a while. If I could give my
+life to save my husband's soul, I would willingly, yes,
+gladly, do it. Brother Holcombe, what do you think
+about this plan? If you can get one of the converts
+whom my husband knows, and one who has been a
+great drunkard, to write a friendly, brotherly letter to
+him, don't you think that might do some good? Oh, I
+have thought of so many plans and ways to try and get
+him back to the Lord. I am sorry to say that the
+city of Birmingham is the most wicked place I have
+ever seen; so few Christians, and they are not working.
+I do fervently hope God will send some one here who
+is like yourself, not ashamed to work for the lost. I
+hope you will write, Brother Holcombe. Pray for me;
+and oh, do ask all the friends there to pray for my
+husband.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Mrs. P.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, December 3d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Brother Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>Will you ask the prayers of your people in behalf
+of my skeptical son-in-law. He is a talented man, but
+he is using his influence against his best friend. My
+poor child is suffering the penalty for marrying an
+infidel. If I dared tell you how desperate the case, I<span class="pagenum">[144]</span>
+am sure your heart would be troubled to its depths.
+Do pray that this man may be led into the light of the
+Gospel, and become a better husband, father and
+citizen.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">A Suffering Mother.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Bowling Green</span>, November 10, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>Will you please go and see my son L., and try to
+persuade him to live a better life? He has great faith
+in what you say. When you wrote to him last spring
+he seemed very much affected, and said to me. "That
+is one of the best men in the world." Oh, for heaven's
+sake, pray for him. If you can go and talk to him,
+advise him to leave Kentucky and go away off and
+reform his life. If he comes back here, <i>danger awaits
+him</i>. I feel sure you can influence him, for he believes
+you are sincere. He is not mean and sinful at heart,
+but oh, the accursed demon Drink causes him all his
+trouble. If he could get some respectable work and
+some one to encourage him and lift him above his
+darkened life, I believe he would be all right. He has
+relatives there, but they are the last to apply to for
+assistance. He is in jail in your city now. God only
+knows the pang it causes me to say he is in jail. He
+was such a good Sunday-school boy and a good
+Templar. Is it possible that he is to be lost? I can't
+yet give up all hope. While my Father in heaven has
+so sorely afflicted me, I can't help believing that after
+awhile the change will come. Oh, how I wish Brother<span class="pagenum">[145]</span>
+Morris could go to him to-day. He took more interest
+in him than any one else ever did. Please do what
+you can. I know God <i>will hear your prayer</i> and help
+you to save him. Yours with a mother's aching heart
+for her boy,</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4"><span class="smcap">Chicago</span>, May 24th.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Steve Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Friend:</span> I have just received a letter
+from my son, who has almost ruined himself and broken
+my heart by his intemperance. I have been always
+praying for his reformation, but felt almost hopeless, as
+he would not go to church and seemed hardened, and I
+know very well he could not rely on his own strength
+and would not look to a stronger arm for help. Do
+you know when I received a letter from him to-day
+making a full confession of all his past course, and
+saying he had been to hear you and asked for your
+prayers, I could not realize it? How we are surprised
+when God hears us. I write this to thank you for
+anything you may have said to help him, and to beg
+you to follow him with your prayers and advice. Oh,
+won't you try to help him all you can? It will be a hard
+battle with him, poor fellow, as he has been for some
+time indulging freely. Will you look after him as
+much as you can and if he should fall, help him up?
+I am praying for you and your work, and have been
+doing so for a long time. Your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Mrs. P. W. M.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[146]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Wednesday Night.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Mr. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>Will you please come out to my home on Third
+street in the morning as early as you can? I dislike to
+trouble you in this way; but I am in great trouble with
+Mr. L. He has been drinking, and I feel that you can
+be the means of bringing him back to God. I have
+prayed with him, and done all I could for him. I feel
+crushed to the earth with this deep sorrow and mortification.
+Don't let him know that I sent for you.
+He is quite sick to-night. Pray that God may sustain
+us and lift us out of this deep dark sorrow, and cast
+out the demon that seems to possess my poor dear
+husband. God bless you, our dear good friend, and
+keep us all this night.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Sincerely your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Mrs. L.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, April 12, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. S. P. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Brother:</span> It is with grief in my heart I
+must write you again. Mr. L. went on a business trip
+three weeks since, but fell into bad company, and has
+been on a protracted spree. He came home last night
+utterly discouraged&mdash;will not even try to pray again.
+I am almost discouraged myself; can only wait and
+trust. I think if you could make it convenient to call
+to see him to-day, perhaps God will put words into
+your mouth that will help him. I leave it with you;
+and would not ask you to leave your duties, except
+I know your willingness to work for the Master.<span class="pagenum">[147]</span>
+He will not know that I have sent for you. Oh, help
+me to pray that God will help my husband.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Mrs. L.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">October 28th.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>Friend Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>I am locked up, and go to the work-house this
+morning. Oh, can anything be done to help me;
+I want to become a different man. Try and save me.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Truly, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">City Work-house</span>, November 1, 1882.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Stephen P. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir:</span> You kindly requested me to write you
+in event I reached the conclusion that under a change
+of condition I might become a different man. My
+knowledge of your own career inspires me with more
+confidence than anything that has ever fallen under my
+notice. Coupled with the impression made upon me
+by the sermon on Sunday afternoon, I firmly believe if
+you will come and see me, and allow me to state to you
+fully my convictions as to your ability to make a sober
+man of me, you will do one of the greatest and noblest
+acts of your life; and, in keeping me from the slavery
+of drink, rescue one who has suffered, and who has
+caused, and now is causing, much suffering to others.
+I stand ready to unite with you in any manner you may
+suggest, and pray God Almighty to bless you.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Truly, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">City Work-house</span>, November 2, 1882.</p>
+
+<p><i>Friend Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>When I penned the few lines to you yesterday, I
+had to do it in so short a space of time, that in all
+probability I omitted to state specifically why I desired
+to see you. Heretofore, I have never entertained any
+settled plan of operations to restrain my appetite for
+liquor other than the mere will power I deemed in my
+own possession and control, and, as a result, would
+invariably find myself in the very midst of violating
+every previously conceived resolution. Your kindness
+in pointing out a course of discipline and conduct, and
+extending to me a welcome among those who have
+made, and who are making, successful battle against the
+great destroyer of happiness, awakened within me an
+entirely different current of thought; and when I stated
+I would unite with you in any manner you would
+suggest, to effect the object in view, I meant it with all
+my heart and mind; and I appeal to an all-wise and
+merciful Creator to attest the sincerity of my
+declaration in this matter. Again, my resolve is to
+attend strictly to any suggestions you may make.
+The accursed appetite has beggared me. I do not ask
+charity from any mortal toward me. I am not deserving
+of either sympathy or pity; and while the embracing
+of the cause of religion and temperance can not of
+itself work reformation, it places a man in a position
+where he can climb upward and go forward, instead of
+forever traveling the broad way that leads to destruction.
+Holcombe, I want to redeem myself. I only crave
+this one last opportunity, and if God will help me no<span class="pagenum">[149]</span>
+man shall ever know of me using either intoxicating
+drink or profane language as long as breath is in my
+body. When released, I do not want to be idle a day.
+I have mouths to feed whose entry into this troubled
+life is chargeable solely to me. I will work for a dollar
+a day to do my duty towards them. Judge W. L.
+Jackson, Judge H. H. Bruee, Gary B. Blackburn or
+Major Tom Hays, would, I am sure, put in a good word
+for me; and Judge Price himself, I think has some hope
+for me. I had a violent chill to-day, and am in the
+hospital department, and my fingers are somewhat stiff
+from researches in the geological department.<a id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Hence
+this cramped writing. Come and see me, and do not
+give me up as hopeless.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Truly, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> He means the rock-pile.</p></div>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Bowling Green, Ky.</span>, March 27, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Steve Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir:</span> I am so much obliged to you for the
+kind letter you were pleased to write me. You no
+doubt think ere this that the seed has fallen on stony
+ground, and, perhaps, among thorns; but I can assure
+you that I made up my mind when in your city to lead
+a different life, and to devote the remainder of my life
+to the service of my God. I have so often thought
+of you, and have wished to see you. Pray for me, and
+I do hope we may meet again. If ever convenient,
+call and see me. Our doors will be open, yes, wide
+open, to you. Thanking you again for your remembrance
+of me, I am, yours truly,</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[150]</span></p><hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Sick Bed</span>, February 5th.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Christian Brother:</i></p>
+
+<p>I have a tenant in a little house, a grocery, on
+Sixth street, right next to the First Presbyterian
+church, who is a fearfully wicked man, a common
+drunkard, and steeped in sin; and I come to you
+to-day to beg you to seek him out and try to rescue
+him. He has four or five little motherless children,
+whose lives are full of the bitterest sorrow; they are
+so dirty and unkempt that the public school teacher
+had to send them home. They are under no control;
+have no one to train them for God, and ought to be
+where some one would save them from themselves
+and ruin. When I leased my house to him, he was a
+very handsome, well-to-do man; young, apparently
+honest, paid his rent regularly, and had a very nice
+little wife, who has since died&mdash;I think with a broken
+heart. Will you not look him up at once? Or, if
+you are too full of other cases, will you not get
+some one of your workers to try to lead him back
+to good paths? He is a very desperate case, I know,
+and seems almost past saving now; but you know
+God's grace can reach any heart. I would lay this
+poor dissolute creature, lost to all sense of honor,
+shame or manliness, on your soul, my brother, and
+beseech you, for Christ's sake, for the sake of these
+poor motherless children, whose souls are worth saving
+for Christ, do try to bring your influence and your
+prayers for God's help, to this miserable man's case,
+and see if you can help. If he is past God's mercy&mdash;and
+I can not believe that&mdash;will you not see what<span class="pagenum">[151]</span>
+can be done for the little ones? The oldest boy is
+a bright little fellow, and may become a great light
+in our Father's work. I hear that this man has been
+to hear Mr. Moody. I do not know if it helped him.
+Will you not send after him, and try to get him to go
+to-night? I will meet you in prayer there for him.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">In bonds of Christian friendship,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Jennie Casseday.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author1"><span class="smcap">Alexander's Hotel,</span></p>
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, May 30, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Mr. Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>I am struggling as hard as ever a poor wretch
+did against my appetite for liquor. I have asked the
+good Lord to help me overcome the habit, but I feel
+that my prayers amount to nothing. May I ask you
+to ask the Great Controller of us all to give me
+strength to overcome this habit? Save me, or help
+save me, I beg and implore you. Please give me
+your prayers.</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">October 16, 1887.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Steve:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your kind favor of the 7th instant reached me in
+due time. I was, of course, delighted to hear from you,
+and inexpressibly glad to hear of the improved state
+of your health. I also note with much pleasure what
+you say in regard to the pleasant and extensive trip
+that you have just finished. It gratifies and pleases<span class="pagenum">[152]</span>
+me beyond expression to know that the people of
+Louisville are at last awakened to your worth, and are
+willing to manifest some substantial recognition of the
+same. "All things work well for those who love the
+Lord." I believe the quotation is correct. Oh, had I
+continued in the way you pointed out to me, how
+different my situation and circumstances would be.
+Instead of being broken in health and bankrupt in
+purse, separated from all that I love and hold most
+dear, I would be, I am sure, what I was while I was
+endeavoring to lead a Christian life&mdash;a happy husband
+and father and a respectable citizen. Oh, Steve, my
+dear friend, I am wretched, miserable, broken hearted.
+When I reflect upon what I was and what I might have
+been, and consider what I am and how little I have to
+look forward to, I simply get desperate. But I will not
+weary you with my troubles. As regards myself and
+habits, I may say, without exaggeration, that I am in
+better health and my mode of living is plainer and
+more regular than it has ever been. I rise every
+morning between four and five o'clock, and retire
+between eight and nine. My food is of the plainest
+and coarsest kind. My companions are, I regret to
+say, cowboys. You know, I presume, what they are, so
+I will say nothing about them. I neither drink nor
+smoke; I chew tobacco very moderately, and expect
+to quit that. I suffer terribly at times for the want of
+congenial company. You must excuse this effort, as
+I am surrounded by a lot of boys who are making a
+terrible lot of noise. Give my love to all of your family.
+God bless you, my dear Steve. Pray for me and mine.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Your friend, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[153]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">November 2, 1887.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Steve:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter of the 27th is before me. It is just
+such a letter as I expected&mdash;so full of sympathy, love
+and good, wholesome advice. I wish it were possible,
+or, rather, expedient, to listen to your advice and return
+home, for I am heartily sick and tired of the life I am
+now living. Don't you know that my life out here
+reminds me, in a measure, of your western experience?
+Of course, I am not subjected to the hardships and
+deprivations that you were forced to undergo. But, as
+far as bodily comfort and companionship are concerned,
+I must say that your experience must have been rather
+"tough," if it was worse than mine. Now, don't misunderstand
+me, I have plenty to eat, such as it is, I
+have a fairly good bed, in a fairly good room. My companions
+are, as you know, cowboys. That they are
+rough and all that, goes without saying, but let me tell
+you, my dear friend, I have received better treatment
+and more consideration from these wild, half-civilized
+cowboys, upon whom I have no earthly claim, than I
+ever received from some from whom I had a right to
+expect, if not fair treatment, at least some consideration.
+The people one meets out here are always willing to
+give a fellow a "white man's chance." When you write,
+tell me something about the dear old Mission and
+its workers. What has become of Davidson, Peck,
+Booker and all of the boys? I would be extremely
+sorry to hear that any of them had forsaken the narrow
+for the broad way. The dear old Mission! What a
+train of happy memories is connected with it. I almost<span class="pagenum">[154]</span>
+forgot to inquire about Clay Price. Tell me about all
+of them. I am about to change my quarters. Don't
+know where I will go. You had better wait until you
+hear from me again before answering. With much
+love to yourself and family, I am, as ever,</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4"><span class="smcap">December 10, 1887.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Steve:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter, or rather note, of November 29th,
+reached me in due course. You advise me to keep up
+a brave heart. Steve, old fellow, my heart is broken.
+I know you will smile and shake your head; but I
+honestly believe that if there is such a thing as a
+broken heart, mine is broken. Haven't I suffered
+enough? Well, how is the Mission getting along?
+I noticed in the <i>Courier-Journal</i> the other day that
+George Kerr had been reclaimed. Well, well, who
+would have thought it? I know him well. He is a
+fellow of some parts. If he can only keep sober, he is
+abundantly qualified to do well. Write me something
+about the boys. I would be mighty glad to hear good
+reports of them. Have you seen the &mdash;&mdash;s lately.
+Give them my regards when you see them; and remind
+them for me, that they are in debt to me a letter.
+They and you, old fellow, are about all the friends I
+have left. What a sad commentary upon human nature
+is the mutability of so-called friendship! When I was
+prosperous, I had all the friends I wanted, and more, too.
+Now, I can count them upon the fingers of one hand.<span class="pagenum">[155]</span>
+Ah, well, I suppose it has been the same time out of
+mind; I am not an exception. Now, Steve, write me a
+long letter, and tell me all the news.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Very truly your friend,</p>
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A CONVERT.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Kansas City, Mo.</span>, May 30, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Steve P. Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:</i></p>
+
+<p>Yours received. Would have written sooner but I
+have been away and busy. I have been at Fulton, Mo.,
+since the tenth instant. Brother Jones left Monday
+morning. I tell you I just had a glorious time. Steve,
+I love the work! and God is blessing me wonderfully;
+everything is prosperous; business is getting better;
+my health is getting better. In short, everything is
+just glorious. Of course, I feel gloomy sometimes; but,
+blessed be God, he will not allow us to be tempted
+above that we are able to bear; and, with every
+temptation there is a way of escape. I feel just that
+way. Every time temptation comes to me, I flee to
+God for help, and I never yet failed. I have gone into
+this for life; and, God helping me, I will stick. I have
+not tasted drink of any kind since about January 9th,
+and I tell you I was a slave to it. I never think of
+drinking now; my thought is all in a different channel;
+bless God for it. Our little mission is gradually growing,
+and we hope for grand things from it. Pray for us.
+Brother Morris wishes to be remembered to yourself
+and family. I am a member of his church, and I love<span class="pagenum">[156]</span>
+him. He is a grand man. I am going to Chillicothe,
+Missouri, the 12th of June&mdash;Brother Jones will be there
+for ten days. Give my regards to all who know me;
+and tell them I am trusting Jesus for everything.
+May God bless you in your good work. I shall never
+forget you. Write as soon as convenient.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Harry Chapman.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A CONVERT.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Chicago</span>, July 21, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Brother Steve:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your kind postal of the 21st to hand this <span class="smcap">p. m.</span> I
+must really beg your pardon for having neglected
+your cards; but I have no excuse to offer. It has
+been nothing but carelessness. I was absent from
+Chicago a week with my friend D., and had a very
+pleasant time. It is probable that he will start into
+business in Chicago. He will know in the next few
+weeks. The Lord has taken wonderfully good care
+of me since I have been here, although on one or two
+occasions I have had to do with only one meal a day.
+He has blessed me all the time. He has kept me
+cheerful through all, and I feel to-day that I am nearer
+to Him than I have ever been. I have put myself into
+His hands unreservedly, and I feel that He is taking
+care of me. Yesterday I got a letter from my brother.
+He asked me to pray for him, and I shall certainly
+continue to do so as long as I live. Whenever you
+see him, speak to him about the salvation of his soul.<span class="pagenum">[157]</span>
+I have written to him about it, and he wants to try
+and become a Christian. Pray for him. Sunday I saw
+Dr. S. He is better dressed than I ever saw him.
+I notice he wears the Murphy ribbon in his button-hole.
+I am glad he is looking so well. This was the
+first time I had seen him for weeks. Steve, there is
+only one thing lacking to make my happiness complete,
+and that is to have my mother think more favorably
+of my reformation. I have written to her twice, and
+she has not even deigned to answer. I feel, however,
+that the Lord will bring this about all right. As to
+my getting into a situation, it will be some time yet, as
+business hardly ever starts up here until about September.
+Then the Lord will put me into something
+permanent, I know. The captain is indeed happy with
+his family reunited with him. He ought to shout
+God's praises from morning till night; but he is not
+the only one that can shout&mdash;<i>my</i> heart is forever full.
+Neither hard times, nor anything else, can keep me
+down as long as I have Jesus with me. I must close;
+it is time to go to convert's meeting. My prayers are
+for you and the Mission. I humbly ask you, as well as
+all the good Christians there, to pray for me. May
+God bless you and yours.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Fred Ropke.</span></p>
+
+<p>Remember me to Mrs. Holcombe and the rest of
+the family, as well as to all inquiring friends.<span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Chicago</span>, August 3, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Steve:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your kind letter to hand. I feel ashamed of myself
+for not answering your letters more promptly. It does
+my heart good to think that you at last have confidence
+in me, and that my going to Chicago must not
+necessarily round up in my going to hell. It seems to
+me, although I have not been in the service of our glorious
+Master as long as you have, yet I have, or rather
+had, more faith in His power to keep me than you had;
+but your remark has often been recalled to my mind.
+Do you remember saying "that if I went to Chicago, I
+was certainly bound for hell?" Was this charity or
+placing much faith in God's word? Well, let the matter
+drop. I have just come home from a glorious meeting.
+Oh, how I thank God this morning for a lightness of
+heart and a buoyancy of spirit that lift me above surrounding
+trials and troubles! I am poor in purse; but,
+bless His holy name, I am rich in promises and faith.
+My temporal affairs are not in a very prosperous condition,
+but notwithstanding all this, I have the confidence
+He will take care of me. He has done this in
+a wonderful manner to this time, and He certainly has
+not changed since I have become one of His. Captain
+Davidson keeps me pretty well posted as to your
+meetings. I am glad they are well attended. The
+Lord willing, I will be with you on a visit this coming
+winter, and I will bring a friend. You will then see in
+what style they conduct their meetings here in Chicago.
+I have as yet received no answer to my long letter<span class="pagenum">[159]</span>
+to H., but I praise God that my humble words have
+set him to thinking. My prayers ascend to heaven
+daily that he may be saved. Your friend, Frank Jones,
+is here in Chicago. I saw him once on Clark street,
+but had no chance to talk to him. This has been some
+two weeks ago. Remember me in Christian love to
+the Millers, Captain Denny, Dalton, Ben Harney, Tom
+Watts&mdash;in fact, all; but especially give my regards to
+Mrs. Holcombe. Don't forget Mulligan, and my
+prayers are that God may bless you as abundantly as
+he is blessing your brother in Christ,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Fred Ropke.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A CONVERT.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, September 12, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev, S. P. Holcombe, New York City:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Old Friend:</span> You do not know the
+pleasure your letter gave me, I have wanted to write
+you ever since my return, but did not know where a
+letter would reach you, nor do I know where to direct
+this, but suppose I can get your address from Will. I
+was at the Mission last night, and missed you sadly.
+We all missed you in many ways. Your good, hard,
+common horse sense is sadly needed. It is the same old
+story; we never appreciate a man until it is too late.
+I used to think I could pick many flaws in your management
+of the mission work, but I have now come to the
+conclusion that you can't be downed in that line, and<span class="pagenum">[160]</span>
+hereafter I shall not even think a thought against your
+management. Last night we had some ignoramus to
+preach, and his grammar and ways of expressing
+himself were (to say the least) tiresome; but we had
+testimonies afterward, and I said to myself, "Well,
+Brother Steve is away, and I have been on the quiet
+lay for a long time; I think, for the sake of Christ and
+old Steve, I will give a red-hot testimony right from
+the shoulder," and I did. I was followed by Hocker
+in a like strain, and others chiming in, we made the
+welkin ring from turret to foundation-stone. But the
+banner-bearer was not there; so the good intended
+to be done fell short. Only one stood up for prayer.
+But never mind, we will have our old veteran leader
+with us soon, when we will unfurl our battle-flag anew
+and carry terror and dismay into old Beelzebub's camp.
+I think if our winter campaign is well organized, there
+will be no "Indians on the warpath next spring." I
+miss you and want to see you so bad, that you may
+give me a hundred lectures and I won't shirk. Your
+true blues are all holding fast. Your Old Guard is a
+true and tried one. I think they all can be depended
+on both on dress parade and under fire. Your family
+are all well. May our heavenly Father bless you, my
+dear friend, both here and hereafter. Your sins have
+been great; but oh, what would I not give to know that,
+after life's fitful fever is over, I would be permitted to
+occupy a seat in the beautiful land of the blest alongside
+of you. Truly your faith has made you whole.
+Good-bye, and once more, God bless you.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your sincere friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author">P. B.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[161]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A CONVERT.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Ga.</span>, February 3, 1885.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter of December 17th was received in
+due time. Your postal card was also received a few
+days ago. I have no lawful excuse to offer but pure
+procrastination, from time to time, for not answering.
+You are not forgotten by me or my wife and daughter.
+We often speak of you, and the question is often
+asked, "Will he come and see us this year and hold
+another mission meeting?" You did so much good
+in Atlanta. The meetings were kept up until the
+bad weather broke us up; they were well attended
+nearly every night, and the good seed you sowed
+germinated; and, by Brother Barclay's good tilling
+and the assistance and the goodness of God, has
+brought forth much fruit of repentance; and, thank
+God, we all bless the day He sent you to us. If
+your Mission managers could see the great good you
+accomplished while with us, I do not think they would
+say no to your making Atlanta another visit; and
+we look forward to the day as not being far distant
+when you will do so. I am trying my best to live
+right. I know I am changed; I feel very different
+from what I did before you visited us. You have
+known me fifteen years; and you know how bad and
+sinful I was, and how dissipated. I have not even
+wanted a drink of anything since your visit. You
+know I told you I had put my foot on the serpent
+and I intended to keep it there. I do not go with
+any of my old associates who drink or who visit bar<span class="pagenum">[162]</span>
+rooms. I select good company; I keep up the
+family altar, and we are a happy little family now.
+Can you appreciate that you saved one of your old
+lost friends by your good work? When I met you
+and saw and heard of the great blessing God had
+bestowed upon you and your dear family, I set
+about obtaining the like blessing for myself; and I feel
+in my heart that I have received it. God has been
+very merciful to me and blesses all my undertakings
+and I am so thankful for all of His kind mercies.
+Brother Barclay told me he wrote you a few days
+ago, and I suppose he gave you all the news. I
+have not been to the mission Sunday-school for
+some time on account of the bad weather, and you
+know I live a long way off. But, God willing, I shall
+go next Sunday. My wife and daughter join in much
+love to you and your family, and wish you a happy
+and successful year in the Master's cause.</p>
+
+<p class="author">Yours truly, &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM AN OFFENDED GENTLEMAN.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, January 13, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Sir:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your letter surprises me. You came to me unintroduced;
+I was glad to see you, and, I hope, treated
+you with the consideration which I think your merit
+demands. You again approached me to-day. Tonight
+I received a letter from you which is to me
+offensive and impolite. I am not coming to your<span class="pagenum">[163]</span>
+place, and I will thank you to abate your interest in
+my behalf. I believe in your work, and wish you
+success; but I hope you will let me alone. My
+self-constituted friends have done me more injury
+than <i>even</i> my own indiscretions. Very truly,</p>
+
+<p>To Rev. Steve P. Holcombe. &mdash;&mdash;- &mdash;&mdash;-.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A GAMBLER.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">February 4, 1884.</span></p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Steve Holcombe, Esq., Lewisville, Ky.:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Friend:</span> I take my pen in hand to drop
+you a few lines, as I haven't heard of you for a long
+time, I learnt from a friend, of your whereabouts, and
+that you had forever Retired from Gambling, I want
+to accumulate a few hundred dollars and Retire from
+the Business in the future, and as we have long Been
+friends, I hope you will not Refuse giving me your
+sure system of winning at the Game of Poker. From
+your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author1"><span class="smcap">David W. Miller</span>,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><i>Ridgeville, Randolph Co., Ind.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">849 Seventh St., Louisville</span>, May 28, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Steve Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir:</span> I have a large family Bible, which has
+been in my family a number of years. You will do
+me a personal favor by accepting it as a souvenir of
+my late son, Charles A. Gill. It was through your<span class="pagenum">[164]</span>
+Christian instrumentality and kindness that my dear
+son embraced his Saviour and died a Christian.</p>
+
+<p>Hoping that God will add many stars to your
+crown, I am your sincere friend,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Hannah Gill.</span></p>
+
+<p>Two more Bibles will be given you by the same
+hand for distribution.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">H. G.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM A CHRISTIAN BROTHER.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Memphis, Tenn.</span>, May 6, 1887.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Friend and Brother Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>Your card well received, but I have been so busy
+that I have waited for a time to write to you. I am
+in good health and have a good situation, thank God.
+Am always alone. My children in Switzerland are
+well. When I passed through Louisville, as I wrote you
+from New York, I wished I had been able to stop for
+twenty-four hours, but had a through sleeper to Memphis,
+and could not stay over. I heard of your great
+trial lately. Hope God did sustain you, and that good
+will come out of it for your soul. The more I live,
+the more I am separated from this world. My body
+is in it, but my mind and spirit are longing for a better
+state, where evil shall not be present, within or without.
+The Bible becomes clearer to my soul every day, and
+with the grace of God I hope to come to the end
+a faithful and obedient child of the Almighty Father
+in heaven. I suffer very much mentally; it is a constant
+agony. I am absolutely, completely broken down<span class="pagenum">[165]</span>
+in my own will; have given up entirely all worldly
+pleasures; have no pleasure except in doing the will of
+God the best I can. My old enemy, myself, with my
+passions and self-indulgence, I pay no more attention to.
+May God use me according to His good will, and make
+me so as to be worthy of His service. Everything of
+this world has been taken away from me; "Vanity of
+vanities, all is vanity" is my daily bread. I often wish
+to be in Louisville. Maybe I shall return there later,
+to have some Christian friends around me. I have
+here $150.00 a month, and the finest situation that
+can be wished in my line of business. What are you
+doing? I suppose always the same&mdash;taking care of
+the lost and neglected. Your reward shall be great,
+as you come nearer fulfilling the Master's teaching
+than brilliant preachers who do not touch the burdens
+of poor sinners. How is your family, especially your
+sweet little daughter? I hope you are all well. This
+world is nothing but a tremendous deception to all
+who are attached to it; everything is corrupt, and
+has the sting of death and sin. It is a constant warfare
+with evil and evil forces around you. It is only worth
+living for the good we can do to others. I can not
+understand at all the joy that some find in it, except
+in doing entirely, to the best of your ability, the will
+of God. There is surely no other source of life in
+the universe. I am writing now to dear Brother A.
+A few months ago he wrote to me. He, also, has had
+great sorrows. It is very strange that alone pain
+and suffering can make us wise and pure in heart.
+How antagonistic are the ways of God and those of
+men? Absolutely opposed in all things. Oh, let us<span class="pagenum">[166]</span>
+be true to God, even unto death, cutting mercilessly
+all that is worldly and carnal, so as to live for the spirit
+and not lose eternal life. My dear brother, please do
+pray for your lonely brother, that God may bring His
+presence into my worried soul and help me in the battle.
+The enemy is very powerful, and shows no mercy.
+His mission is to destroy and to lie, and he knows
+how to do it. May God bless you and keep you
+forever.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your true friend,</p>
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM SAM P. JONES.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Chicago, Ill.</span>, March 16, 1886.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Steve Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Brother Holcombe:</span> Yours of March 10th
+received. I thought you were wise enough to know,
+when you wanted to plant yourself in permanent quarters,
+that the devil would do his best to prevent it.
+The devil don't like you anyway; but keep your
+equilibrium&mdash;God is with you; and He is more than all
+that can be against you. I have just passed through
+the most terrific storm of criticism almost of my life;
+and thank God I have witnessed in Chicago, within
+the last twenty-four hours, the grandest triumph of the
+Gospel I ever saw. I wish you could be here a few
+days and see the power of God, and rejoice with us
+in the work.</p>
+
+<p>I enclose an article, which you can take to the
+<i>Courier-Journal</i> if you like.<span class="pagenum">[167]</span></p>
+
+<p>Kindest regards to your loved ones and all the
+brethren, and may God's blessing be upon your
+work.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Fraternally yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Sam P. Jones.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM THE SAME.</p>
+
+<p class="author1"><span class="smcap">Gibson House,</span></p>
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Cincinnati, Ohio</span>, June 13, 1886.</p>
+
+<p><i>My Dear Brother Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p>I received your message sent by Brother Cleveland.
+I would like you to come over about the
+middle of next week. I think we will have some of
+the slain of the Lord for you to look after by that
+time. Our meeting moves off gloriously. I have
+never seen a better start anywhere. Thank God for
+the prospect of a glorious victory in this wicked
+city. The house is packed day and night, and the
+preachers and people stand shoulder to shoulder
+with me. Love to your family. Affectionately,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Sam P. Jones.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM REV. DR. WILLITS (Warren Memorial Church).</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Steve Holcombe:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir:</span> The bearer, Ch. H., is a stranger to
+me; but he will tell you his story. It is the old story
+of fight with appetite, and you will be better able to
+advise him than myself.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Truly yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">A. A. Willits.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[168]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="h4">FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">March</span> 23, 1885.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Holcombe</i>:</p>
+
+<p>The bearer is Mr. B., once a merchant in Richmond,
+Va., fallen by drinking habits, separated from
+wife and children, <i>lost</i>. He spoke to me after
+sermon yesterday morning, and came to my house
+this morning. He does not ask immediate relief,
+having some money; but wants to find employment,
+and thinks he can stop drinking. He is evidently
+an intelligent man, and earnestly desirous of regaining
+himself. He used to be an Episcopal communicant.
+Now, if you can in any way help Mr. B., I shall
+be exceedingly glad.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Your friend and brother,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">John A. Broadus.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>The following letter is from one of the converts whose testimony is
+given elsewhere, but it is interesting as an independent account given soon
+after his conversion.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, January 28, 1884.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. G. Alexander</i>:</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir and Brother</span>: The few brotherly words
+you spoke to me during our short acquaintance, and
+your kindness toward me, a poor drunken outcast at
+the time, will ever be remembered. Often I make
+inquiries of Brother Holcombe regarding you and your
+health. At his suggestion, I write you and give a
+brief history of my life, in hope it may encourage some
+poor fellow whom you are seeking to save for a better
+life, and give him renewed courage to battle against
+sin; and for the glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ.<span class="pagenum">[169]</span></p>
+
+<p>My father, as a wealthy man, determined to give his
+children the benefit of a good education. With this
+end in view, he left my younger brother and myself in
+Germany in 1864, after a visit there with the family.
+We stayed until 1867, when we returned to Louisville,
+I to enter the banking house of Theodore Schwartz
+&amp; Co. With them I stayed until 1869, when my father
+became bondsman for the sheriff, Captain John A.
+Martin. Out of courtesy, Captain Martin made me,
+although only nineteen years of age, one of his deputies.
+From that time I date my downfall. Money flowed in
+freely; and, being young and inexperienced, I spent it
+just as freely, if not more so. In two years, at the age
+of twenty-one, I was considered about as reckless a
+young man as there was in the city. My father was
+always proud of his oldest son, and indulged me in
+almost everything. The habit of intemperance was
+gaining a sure hold; and when he died, in 1872, I was
+considered by some a confirmed drunkard.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually I sank lower and lower, until I became
+what I was when you first saw me eight months ago&mdash;a
+poor miserable outcast from society, and a burden to
+myself and friends. I was forsaken and despised by
+all. I shudder to think that my life should ever flow
+in the same channel again. During all these years of
+dissipation I wandered all over this country&mdash;from
+Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic
+almost to the Pacific. I drifted aimlessly with no other
+object in view but to gratify a terrible longing for strong
+drink. I had been in the city but a short while when
+I heard of Brother Holcombe's efforts to redeem the
+fallen. Having known him before his conversion,<span class="pagenum">[170]</span>
+curiosity led me to listen to him. During all this
+time I knew and felt that a day of reckoning would
+come, but whenever such thoughts entered my mind,
+I dismissed them, as they made me tremble at the
+very idea of having to give an account of the misdeeds
+of a wasted life. On the 25th of last June I was
+passing up Jefferson street, and heard singing in the
+basement at No. 436. My first impulse was to turn
+and go away, as I was in no suitable dress to go into a
+place of worship. Then the thought came into my
+mind, "This is Steve Holcombe's place; I'll go in and
+see what it looks like." Thank God, I did go in. The
+songs of those Sunday-school children awakened chords
+in my heart which I thought had died long ago. Tears
+came into my eyes, and then and there I vowed, if by
+God's help salvation was possible for me, I certainly
+would make the trial. Glorious have been the results.
+That evening I heard Brother Holcombe once more;
+introduced myself to him and promised him I would
+attend evening service, which I did.</p>
+
+<p>From that day to this I have been growing in grace.
+The Lord has blessed me wonderfully. My worldly
+affairs have prospered; and, what is worth more than all
+the world to me, I am continually happy. Nothing
+disturbs my peace, and I allow nothing to interfere
+with it. My trust is in my Saviour; He has promised to
+care for those who trust Him, and I have implicit faith
+in that promise. My old appetite and desires are all
+taken away and I find pleasure and joy in things that in
+former years I considered ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Very truly yours,</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Fred Ropke</span>.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" /><p><span class="pagenum">[173]</span></p>
+<h2 id="TESTIMONIALS">TESTIMONIALS.</h2>
+
+<p class="h4">CAPTAIN EGBERT J. MARTIN.</p>
+
+<p>I was born in Louisville in 1842; was educated in
+New York and Virginia; served in General Lee's army
+during the war on the staff of my uncle, General
+Edward Johnson. The only commission I received
+was received on the third day of July, 1863, at the
+battle of Gettysburg.</p>
+
+<p>My first drinking commenced in Georgia, where I
+was planting rice with General Gordon. That was in
+1867. I did not drink during the war at all except that
+I might have taken a drink occasionally when I met
+with friends. My uncle would not permit liquor about
+his headquarters. On leaving Georgia, I went to New
+York, and went into business. I acquired quite a
+reputation there, and had a good income. My
+periodical drinking continued, however, and each year
+became greater and greater. Nothing was said about
+it for seven years and a half. I would not drink around
+my place of business. When I felt the spell coming on
+me, I would quit and go off, and be gone seven or eight
+days, and be back to business again when I had
+straightened up, and nothing was said about it; but the
+thing will increase on a man, and, of course, with each
+succeeding year the habit became stronger, and the
+intervals shorter.</p>
+
+<p>I conceived the idea that a change of climate would
+do me good. Visits to the mountains seemed to benefit
+me, and I thought I would go West, and the change
+would effect a cure. I went to Colorado, made friends<span class="pagenum">[174]</span>
+there, went into business, and was successful. I was
+married to my wife in Denver, Colorado. I believed as
+my wife did, that my drinking was a matter under my
+control. I had been leading an aimless life, with no
+family ties; and after I was married, I thought a strong
+effort on my part would stop it. I wanted to get back
+to salt water again, and have everything in my favor;
+and the next morning after we were married, I started
+for California. I was very successful there. I was in
+a short time made special agent of the California
+Electric Light Company, at a salary of three thousand
+dollars a year. They wanted to make a contract with
+me for five years, giving me three thousand dollars a
+year, if I would bind myself not to drink during the five
+years. I found it was not such an easy thing to quit
+drinking. I consulted physicians there. There was
+a doctor in Oakland who said he had a specific for
+drunkenness; and he gave it to me. The result was
+that when I wanted a drink, I threw the medicine away
+and got the drink. What I always wanted, and tried
+to get, was something to take away the appetite for
+drink. There were times when I had no more desire
+for drink than you or any other man; but when it seized
+me, it seized me in an uncontrollable way, and I would
+drink for the deliberate purpose of making myself sick
+and getting over it as quick as possible. I knew it
+had to be gone through with, and I drank until I made
+myself sick.</p>
+
+<p>I never attended to business when I drank liquor.
+I never mixed up my business affairs with my drinking.
+Everybody I had anything to do with knew I was
+thoroughly reliable. I never lied about being drunk.<span class="pagenum">[175]</span>
+I never said I was sick or had the cholera infantum
+or anything of that sort. Everybody who employed
+me knew as much about it as I did.</p>
+
+<p>When my little boy was born, I felt a sacred duty
+was imposed upon me; and I tried to encourage
+my ideas of morality. I had always been a moral
+man, and, although an infidel, had never sought
+to break down the religious opinions of any one,
+because I had nothing to give them instead. My
+rationalism satisfied me. It was a belief, an opinion,
+with which I was willing to face my Maker, because I
+believed I was right. I believed in the existence of a
+Supreme Being, but I did not believe that the great
+Ruler of the universe thought enough of us insignificant
+human beings to interest Himself in our affairs. I did
+not believe in the Christians' God. There in Virginia I
+had been surrounded by members of the church. Everybody
+was either a Baptist, a Methodist, or a member
+of some other denomination; drunkards and saloon-keepers
+and all belonged to the church. They could do
+wrong and afterward go straight to church. That
+kind of religion disgusted me, and that kind of religion
+confirmed my skepticism. I wanted to get away and I
+even planned to go to Australia. After my little boy
+was born, I stayed sober for six months, and then I
+commenced drinking again. I did not conceal the truth
+from myself. I said, "You are false to everything that
+is manly; you are a disgrace to yourself." I decided
+to go back to Virginia (my wife had never been there)
+and settle up a lawsuit I had pending in the courts.</p>
+
+<p>But after a short stay in Virginia I had an offer to
+return to New York and go to work, and went to New<span class="pagenum">[176]</span>
+York; and after I had been there a month, I received a
+dispatch stating that a compromise had been agreed
+upon without consulting me at all. I went back to
+Richmond and rejected the compromise.</p>
+
+<p>A decision was made in my favor, but the case was
+taken to the Court of Appeals. I had used up everything
+I had in litigation; and when, at last, I got a
+telegram that the Court of Appeals had reversed the
+case, and we had lost everything, it just broke me
+down. It took me more than a month to realize that
+it was a fact&mdash;I could not get it into my head; and
+it broke me down completely. I loved my wife and
+I loved my child, and was troubled about them, and
+for the two years I was fighting these Virginia gentlemen
+I was in a state of high excitement. I had
+nothing to do except to worry, and I drank more than
+ever in my life. I said, "My God! it is awful. I have
+lost everything. I know I am a drunkard; it is no
+use denying it, because the appetite is on me all
+the time." And many a time I threw myself down
+in the woods and sobbed aloud if Fate would have
+mercy on me. I had given up all hope. I thought
+the good fortune which had followed me all my life
+would never return. I had sent my wife off; so I had
+lost her, too. She went to her sister's, in Ohio; and
+I arranged that my mother should remain at the old
+place. I wrote to a cousin of mine whom I had not
+met since the war. He used, frequently, to come to
+our home, a delightful and healthful place, thirteen
+miles from Richmond. I thought I would write him that
+I desired to get out of Virginia, and had not the means,
+and would make Louisville my objective point. So I<span class="pagenum">[177]</span>
+wrote him, but received no reply. I wrote to another
+man, stating the circumstances&mdash;that I wanted to get
+out of Virginia and go to work; but I received no
+answer from him; and I came to the conclusion if I
+wanted to get out of Virginia I would have to walk. I
+had secured my wife and child, and as for myself it
+little mattered what befell me or how I fared.</p>
+
+<p>I was walking through the woods one day and
+saw a man getting out railroad ties. He told me of
+a place near by, called the "Lost Land." A year
+before that, my uncle's executor gave me a deed that
+was taken from the old house at my oldest uncle's
+death. It was for a little slip of land&mdash;an avenue&mdash;that
+my grandfather had bought in 1815. Well, I thought
+nothing of it. I told the old negro woman that when
+everything was settled up, I was going to give her
+that land; and I put the deed away with other papers
+and forgot all about it. When I was worrying about
+the means, and making efforts to get the means to
+get out of Virginia, this man, who was hewing in the
+woods, told me about the little piece of woodland
+that had so much sill timber on it, and he spoke
+of it as the "Lost Land," and his speaking of the
+"Lost Land" reminded me of this deed, and I hurried
+home, found the deed, and saw that it located the land
+at about where he mentioned. I went to the County
+Surveyor, who had succeeded his father and grandfather
+in the office, and we found that the property
+of which this formed a part had been sold in large
+lots, and it was there between the lines of the other
+property, unclaimed by any one, and for seventy-three
+years had escaped taxation, because the deed conveying<span class="pagenum">[178]</span>
+it had never been recorded in the county books,
+and it was supposed by the county officials that all of
+the original tract had been divided off in the larger
+subdivisions. We found it, ran the lines around it,
+and I sold ten acres for one hundred dollars&mdash;enough
+to pay a grocery bill, buy me a suit of clothes and
+land me in Louisville.</p>
+
+<p>I had loved the old place&mdash;loved it all my life,
+because I had spent many days there when a happy,
+careless boy. My mother was born there, my grandmother
+and my great-grandfather lie buried there. It
+was bought in 1782 by my great-grandfather, who was
+not only a gentleman but a scholar. He graduated
+at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Edinburgh,
+and afterward spent seven years in Europe. I
+was very much attached to the old place, and on
+leaving it I drank to deaden the pain.</p>
+
+<p>I came here to Louisville, and I drank after I got
+here to keep from thinking. I tell you things looked
+blue, and I tell you the fact, the liquor I drank every
+day made me feel worse and worse, and my brain was
+affected from the excitement I had passed through. I
+found myself in a second or third-class hotel which stood
+nearly on the spot where I was born. I lay in my room
+for three days. I came to the conclusion there was no
+use kicking; the end was at hand. Fate had brought
+me back here, where I was born, to die. I even said it
+to myself, "Destiny has brought you back here, to the
+city where you were born, to die; and to die by your
+own hands. You have no respect for yourself, nor have
+others respect for you. You know by living you will
+bring further disgrace upon the wife and child you love<span class="pagenum">[179]</span>
+so well. If you will commit suicide people will say, 'He
+was an unfortunate man, but a brave one; his only fault
+was his drinking.'" I tried to shut out all thoughts of
+my wife and child, but I could not. I said to myself, "I
+was born here; I have not outraged the law; I have
+done nothing dishonorable; nothing why any man
+related to me should shun me. But I have lost everything;
+I am accursed; I am alone here. My wife's
+people know I am here, but do not communicate with me.
+And they tell me there is a God." A man came to my
+room in the hotel and said they wanted the room.
+"You say you have no money and no friends, so we
+can not keep you here any longer. You must give us
+the room." Under these circumstances I was coming
+nearer and nearer the final determination to commit
+suicide when a man, a stranger, came into my room
+who was himself a drunkard. I told him my condition
+and my determination. He said, "Wait till I send that
+man Holcombe down to see you. Maybe he can help
+you." Mr. Holcombe dropped everything and came to
+me at once. I did not know who he was. He said,
+"My name is Holcombe: I am from the Mission."
+Well, sir, if he had commenced at me as most
+preachers would have done, and told me in a sort of
+mechanical way that I had brought it all on myself, I
+would have said, "I am much obliged to you for your
+politeness and your well-meant efforts, but it does me
+no good, and I am very much distressed and would
+much prefer to be alone." He said, "There is no use
+trusting in yourself; you can not save yourself." That
+struck me at once as a correct diagnosis of my case,
+and I said, "That is just the conclusion I have come<span class="pagenum">[180]</span>
+to myself." Then he told me what had been done for
+him, and he got down on his knees and prayed. And
+when he prayed for me and my wife and child, that is
+what reached my heart. I said "There is <i>something</i>
+in that man's religion at any rate. I do not believe
+in this stuff I have seen in the churches; but there is
+something in that sort of religion. It is the last straw
+I have to catch at. I will try it." I got up out of bed
+where I had been for three wretched days, and came
+up to the Mission. There I came in contact with some
+influence I had never felt before. I came to the conclusion
+that there was truth in the Christian religion,
+and I said, "That is all right, but that is not what I
+want. I want that inward consciousness that I am not
+going to drink." I might get up and say, "I am ready
+to confess I am wrong; I believe religion is right; I
+have seen evidences of it; I believe you are right and I
+am wrong. But I had no inward consciousness of
+any change in me, and I did not feel secure or in any
+way protected against the habit of drinking." I knew
+if there was anything in religion, there must be something
+a man would be conscious of. I said, "There is
+something in this religion, but I have not got the hang
+of it." It occurred to me that perhaps after all, my
+chief motive and desire in all this was the welfare of
+my wife and child and the recovery of our domestic
+happiness. And lying on that bed I said, "I am willing
+to do anything. There is nothing that I am not willing
+to do, if I can only get rid of this appetite. I will get
+up and state that I was a drunkard; I will acknowledge
+every tramp as my brother; and, although I have no
+desire to do it, I will go out and preach. Just let me<span class="pagenum">[181]</span>
+know that I am free from this thing and that I can go
+on in life;" and all at once&mdash;I could not connect the
+thought and result together&mdash;there came upon me a
+perfect sense of relief. I was just as conscious then of
+divine interposition as I ever was afterward; and I said
+to myself, "This is what they call regeneration," and
+turned over and went to sleep. From that time I commenced
+a new sober life; and I never have wanted
+liquor; I never have had a desire for it since, and it is
+now going on two years.</p>
+
+<p>I think many men are called, but few are chosen.
+There are a great many men who get far enough in the
+surrender to feel good and change their opinions; but
+they do not get down to the bed-rock of regeneration.
+I do not believe in any change, or in any doctrine that
+says there is regeneration through anything except
+a complete surrender. Men are ready to believe that
+Christ was the son of God, but go straight home and
+continue their old way of life. They must say, "I will
+not only quit serving the devil, but I will commence
+serving God." "Thou shall love the Lord thy God
+with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy
+strength."</p>
+
+<p>I do not let theological opinions disturb me now.
+My simple faith and theology is this: That I have the
+peace of God and He keeps me. I have knowledge
+of God's power and mercy, and feel that God keeps me.</p>
+
+<p>My wife and child have come back and are now with
+me, and are as happy as they can be; and there is not
+a man in this country with less money and more happiness
+than I. I am happier than I ever was in my life.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Captain Martin is now engaged in business in the house of
+Bayless Bros. &amp; Co., Louisville.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[182]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">R. N. DENNY.</p>
+
+<p>I was born in 1846 in the State of Illinois. At that
+time, before there were many railroads, it was a comparatively
+backwoods country where I was raised.
+Our nearest market was St. Louis, sixty miles from
+where we lived. My father kept a country store there,
+and hauled his produce to St. Louis. My father was a
+professed Christian, so also was my grandfather, yet
+each of them kept a demijohn of whisky in the house.
+They would prepare roots and whisky, and herbs and
+whisky, which was used for all kinds of medical purposes
+and for all kinds of ills that flesh is heir to; and I believe
+at that time I got the appetite for whisky, if I did not
+inherit it. I have drunk whisky as far back as I can
+remember. I had a great many relatives who were
+Christians; but I gloried in my obstinacy and would
+have nothing to do with Christianity.</p>
+
+<p>In my seventeenth year I went into the army.
+Of course, being among the Romans, I had to be a
+Roman, too; and consequently, the drinking habit grew
+upon me; and I acquired also a passion for gambling.
+After the war I did not do much good. I drifted about
+from place to place for something over a year, and then
+joined the regular army. I belonged to the Seventh
+Regular Cavalry, Custer's command, which was massacred
+on the Little Big Horn. At that time I did not
+belong to the command, as my time had expired some
+time before.<span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p>
+
+<p>I came to Louisville in 1871, and commenced working
+as a restaurant and hotel cook. I was very apt at
+the business, and was soon able to command the best
+situations to be had, having been <i>chef</i> at the Galt
+House. During all this time I had been a drunkard in
+different stages. I was what is called a "periodical
+drunkard." I often braced up and went without a
+drink for six months or a year&mdash;something like that
+length of time&mdash;and always had work when I was not
+drinking; but I became so unreliable, that I could get
+no employment when another man could be had.
+It was said of me everywhere, "Denny is a good man,
+but he drinks." About 1873 I got married, and up to
+1883 I had four children. Of course, my drinking, and
+everything of that kind, brought my family to want&mdash;in
+fact, to beggary. For a long time I always took my
+wages home on pay-day, and my wife, in her good-heartedness,
+always offered me money; would often ask
+me of a morning if I did not feel bad, and would give
+me fifteen cents or a quarter, not knowing that she
+was giving me money for my own damnation, until the
+year of the first Exposition here&mdash;1882. I had a
+position there at twelve dollars a week. I stayed there
+ten weeks; and I do not believe I got home with five
+dollars in the whole ten weeks. The man with whom I
+worked had a bar attachment to his restaurant, and I
+could get what credit I wanted there; and on Saturday
+night when I found my wages were short, I would get
+drunk, and conclude to try and win something at
+gambling, but I invariably lost.</p>
+
+<p>At the close of the Exposition, it was on the verge of
+winter, and times were very dull. I was behind with my<span class="pagenum">[184]</span>
+rent and in debt to everybody I could get in debt to, my
+family were without decent clothing, had no fire, and I
+was almost naked myself, with no prospects of a situation.
+A short time afterward I got a position on a
+steamboat, which paid me fairly well, and which I
+believe I kept two, maybe three, weeks, and got drunk
+as usual. I failed to take my money home, and, of course,
+told my wife some lie. I had to say something. Sometimes
+my wife believed me, and sometimes she did not.
+At that time it was winter, it must have been in December,
+and very cold. My children were barefooted, and I
+was just about to be set out on the street because I had
+not paid my rent. I woke up one very cold morning
+very early, and we had not a morsel of food in the house
+or coal to make a fire with. I walked down toward the
+river and met the same man I had been working with a
+few weeks before. He stopped and asked me if I did
+not want to go back on the boat. I told him I would be
+glad to go back. He asked me how long before I
+would get drunk; and I said, as I had said a thousand
+times before, "I will never drink again." I made one
+trip, which was three days, and got drunk. It was on
+the second day of January, 1883, that I shipped, and I
+came back on the fifth, which was the coldest day I ever
+saw in Louisville. The thermometer was twenty-six
+degrees below zero between New Albany and the mouth
+of Salt river. There were during these dark days a few
+charitable people that used to give my family some of
+the necessaries of life&mdash;and but for that I can not see
+how they would have kept from starvation. I appreciated
+my situation nearly all the time, knew how wrong I
+was doing, would admit it to myself but would not admit<span class="pagenum">[185]</span>
+it to anybody else. If a man had called me a drunkard,
+I would have called him a liar.</p>
+
+<p>In the providence of God the Fifth and Walnut-street
+church established the Holcombe Mission near
+where I lived, and among other waifs picked up on the
+street and taken to the Sunday-school were my children.
+While I had always been pretty bad myself, I had
+always tried to teach my children better. I shuddered
+at the thought of my boys going on in the way that I
+was going. When they went to Sunday-school and
+learned the songs there and came home and sang them,
+it broke me all to pieces. I had nothing left to do but
+to go and get drunk in self-defense. The Sunday-school
+teacher (Mrs. J. R. Clarke), who taught my
+children, had been trying to find me for a long time.
+She must have thought from seeing my children at
+Sunday-school that there was some good in me; and
+after awhile she sent me a Bible with a great many
+passages marked in it. She was looking for me and
+had sent for me to come and see her, and I had been
+trying to keep out of her way for a long time. Finally
+she found me at home one day, and would take no
+excuse, but insisted that I must come to Holcombe's
+Mission; and, of course, I promised to go, because I
+could not help myself. I could not get out of it; and
+if I had a redeeming trait in the world, it was that
+I would not break a positive promise.</p>
+
+<p>I promised her to come, and that day I did go.
+They were holding noon-day meetings at the time. I
+do not remember just now that I was very deeply
+impressed. I was of a skeptical turn of mind and very
+critical. I well remember I criticised all the testimonies<span class="pagenum">[186]</span>
+given there; but the thing was so strange to me, so
+different from anything that I was used to, that I was
+very considerably impressed in a strange kind of way,
+which is unaccountable to me even now. I had taken
+a seat near the door, so that I might get out very
+quick; but Brother Holcombe headed me off, and
+caught me before I got to the door. I did not know
+him personally at that time, but had known of him for
+a long time. Of course, I could not get out of the
+Mission without promising to come again. After
+having come two or three times, I was asked to say
+something, but did not feel like saying anything.
+Finally I stood up one day, perhaps the third or fourth
+day I was there. It was not a time when they were
+asking people if they wanted an interest in their
+prayers. I got up and said I wanted an interest in
+their prayers that I might be saved from myself. I
+had known for a long time that I was helpless, so far
+as delivering myself from drink was concerned. I
+knew nothing about Christianity, in fact, I did not care
+much about it, because I had not studied on the subject,
+and would not study on the subject. For many years
+I had not dared to stop and think seriously about such
+a subject, but when I heard that the Gospel of Christ
+was able to deliver such a man as I, I heard it gladly,
+because I had found there was no earthly power that
+could deliver such a man as I was. In the meantime,
+I had been reading my Bible, and had committed some
+of it to memory; and there was a good deal of mystery
+attached to the whole thing&mdash;things that I could
+not understand. When they asked me to speak, I
+quoted a passage from the Bible. One day I quoted<span class="pagenum">[187]</span>
+the passage about a man having put his hand to the
+plow and looking back, not being worthy of the kingdom
+of God. Brother Messick, pastor of the church
+which I afterward joined, prayed directly afterward, and
+in his prayer he quoted this passage of Scripture, and
+prayed in such an encouraging and helpful way, that
+I rose from my knees satisfied in my heart that I was
+changed.</p>
+
+<p>Well, from that time until now I have never drunk
+anything. That was in January or February, 1883. I
+have never had a desire for liquor but once since. Last
+summer I went to Crab Orchard. I was <i>chef</i> down
+there, and I had to handle very choice wines and
+liquors in my business, and I handled one brand of
+wine that I was particularly fond of in old times. I
+was tempted that time to drink wine. It seemed the
+tempter said to me: "You are way down here where
+nobody knows anything about you. It is good, and
+you know it won't hurt you. It don't cost you anything
+and it is nothing but wine, and you need not take too
+much." At that time I could get all the liquor I
+wanted. If I wanted it, I could order a hogshead of
+it just by a scratch of the pen. With that single
+exception, I have never had a temptation to drink. I
+don't know that I had an appetite to drink then. It
+was a clear cut temptation from without, and not from
+within.</p>
+
+<p>I have had no trouble about getting positions since
+my conversion and deliverance from the appetite for
+drink. My family are well housed, well clothed and
+well fed, and have everything they need, and have had
+since the time I became a Christian man. They themselves<span class="pagenum">[188]</span>
+are the greatest evidences in the world of what
+Christianity can do for a man. A short time ago&mdash;six
+months ago&mdash;I established myself in business, and have
+been doing a thriving, prosperous business from that
+time until now.</p>
+
+<p>I might say something about my going to the work-house:
+Two years ago, or a little over, I was asked to
+go to the work-house one Sunday evening. I was very
+much impressed with the necessity for working for the
+poor men there. I was at that time identified with the
+Mission work, and the services at the work-house were
+all under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. I continued
+going to the work-house for some length of time&mdash;three
+or four months. The Y. M. C. A. very kindly divided
+time with me and other Mission workers. After having
+gone to the work-house three or four months, I stopped
+going. The Chairman of the Devotional Committee
+of the Y. M. C. A. sent for me and gave me charge
+of the work-house and jail, which, of course, I accepted
+in the name of the Mission; and from that time until
+now both of them have been under Mission workers.
+I was very anxious to return to the work-house, but our
+head decided that I should take the jail, where I have
+continued to go for a year and a half&mdash;I suppose about
+that length of time&mdash;every Sunday when I was in the
+city, with possibly one or two exceptions.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Mr. Denny is at present the joint-proprietor, with Mr. Ropke,
+of a thriving restaurant on Third street, between Jefferson and Green,
+Louisville.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-227.jpg" width="274" height="366" alt="B. F. DAVIDSON." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">B. F. DAVIDSON.</p>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[189]</span>
+
+<p class="h4">B. F. DAVIDSON.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty years ago I resided in the city of Cincinnati;
+was President of a Boatman's Insurance Company,
+proprietor of a ship chandlery, and interested largely
+in some twenty odd steamboats; and also interested
+largely in other insurance companies, and was rated
+as worth half a million of dollars. Through depreciation
+in property, bad debts, and indorsing for other
+parties largely, in four years I had lost all my money.
+To retrieve my fortune, I then started West, not being
+willing, of course, to accept a position where I had
+been a proprietor. While there, associating with the
+miners and Western people generally, I contracted the
+habit of drinking. This grew upon me and was continued,
+with short intermissions of soberness, up to
+four years ago&mdash;about last January. I was brought
+very low as a consequence of my dissipation, and I
+have traveled as a tramp from the Atlantic to the
+Pacific, and from the lakes to the Gulf, spending my
+time in alternately fighting and yielding to the demon
+of drink. For five years previous to my coming to
+Louisville, I had given up all hope of ever being able
+to make anything of myself, as I had tried, in vain,
+every known remedy to cure me of the appetite. My
+pride was effectually humbled, and I was in despair.</p>
+
+<p>From the time that I went West&mdash;which was in
+1872&mdash;until my arrival in 1884, my children, a daughter
+and son, knew not whether I was dead or alive&mdash;knew
+nothing of me whatever. After I took to drink, I lost
+all interest in them and everything else.<span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p>
+
+<p>As soon as I got off the ferry-boat in Louisville, in
+as sad a plight as any wretched man was ever in, I
+met an old friend, who had known me in years previous,
+and who handed me two dollars, requesting me to
+call at his office the next morning, when he would
+give me such assistance as I needed. The two dollars
+I spent that day for whisky. That night I begged
+a quarter to pay for my lodging. The next day, by
+begging, I filled up pretty well on whisky again. Toward
+evening I went into a Main-street house and
+asked a gentleman for a quarter to pay for a night's
+lodging, I had lost all pride, all self-respect, and
+could beg with a brazen face. The gentleman handed
+me a card of Holcombe's Mission. As I did not know
+or care anything about missions or churches, I merely
+stuck the card in my pocket and went on my way.
+After walking around for some time I heard the remark:
+"There goes that old man now." Upon
+looking up I recognized the gentleman whom I last
+asked for a quarter to pay for a night's lodging, and
+another man, engaged in conversation. The other
+gentleman, who proved to be the Rev. Steve Holcombe,
+of Holcombe's Mission, took me by the hand and
+invited me up to the Mission rooms, where I told him
+my story. He asked me if I ever had asked God
+through Jesus Christ to assist me in my endeavors to
+become a sober man. I told him I had not, as I had
+made up my mind years ago that God had no use
+for me. I felt as though I had sinned beyond redemption.</p>
+
+<p>I had left home very early in life. My mother was
+the best Christian woman I had ever seen. She<span class="pagenum">[191]</span>
+was a Methodist, but she never could preach Christianity
+to me&mdash;I fell back on my own righteousness.
+I did not drink, I did not smoke, I did not chew, I did
+not swear, I did not run after women, I did not loaf
+around saloons like other young men. When my
+mother was after me to join the church, I told her that
+would not make me any better: "Look at your church
+members; is that man any better than I am?" My
+sister, along toward the last, having joined the Episcopal
+church, I took two pews in that church; was a
+lay member, but I did not attend it. That was in Newport&mdash;St.
+Paul's Episcopal church, Newport. When
+the minister insisted on my going to church, I told him
+that while he would be preaching sermons I would be
+building steamboats, so his sermons would not do me
+any good.</p>
+
+<p>After I got to drinking, my poor daughter did not see
+me. I did not go to my children at all. I never got
+but one letter from them during that time, from 1872 to
+1884, and that was a letter that went to Cincinnati, and
+they held it there, I believe, for two years. I was at
+Cincinnati a good many times; but they could never get
+me to stay there long enough to get my children down
+to see me. As soon as I had an idea that they were
+man&oelig;uvring for anything of that kind, I would get out
+of town at once, and they would not know where I had
+gone.</p>
+
+<p>During my life as a tramp, there is no kind of work
+that can be thought of that I did not work at more or
+less, and the money I earned&mdash;sometimes I earned as
+much as eight dollars a day&mdash;eventually went to the
+barkeepers; I could not even buy my clothes.<span class="pagenum">[192]</span></p>
+
+<p>After a long talk with Brother Holcombe, I told him
+that, having tried everything else, I was perfectly willing
+to try God. That night I went to church, and went up
+to be prayed for. There was no regular meeting at the
+Mission then, from the fact that the church that was
+running the Mission had a revival. So, with Brother
+Holcombe, I went around to the revival meeting at the
+Fifth and Walnut-street church. When the invitation
+was given for those who wanted to be prayed for to
+come forward, I was among the first to accept it, and
+went up clothed in all my rags. After prayer I felt
+much better than I had for many years. That night I
+went back and lay on the floor in the Mission, having
+refused an invitation from Brother Holcombe to go to a
+boarding-house, telling him if God, in His mercy, would
+take from me the appetite for strong drink, I had still
+strength and will enough left to make my own living.
+The next morning I asked Brother Holcombe to go with
+me to the paper-mill of Bremaker-Moore Company,
+where they were building a dam to prevent an overflow
+from stopping the engines in the paper-mill. I secured
+a position there, at a dollar and a quarter a day, to
+shovel mud. As soon as the river commenced to fall
+that occupation was gone; but the superintendent of the
+mill, becoming in the meantime somewhat acquainted
+with my history, offered me a situation inside, which I
+held for three weeks, when I was sent for to see the
+business manager of the <i>Post</i>. I accepted a position on
+the <i>Post</i> as advertising solicitor at fifteen dollars a week,
+which was afterward increased to twenty-five. I was
+then made business manager, at thirty dollars, which
+position I now hold.<span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p>
+
+<p>I can say this: That while I had an abundance of
+means to find happiness, pleasure and contentment, and
+had sought it in every possible way that a man could, I
+failed to find it until I accepted Christ as my Saviour,
+and gave myself into His hands. Since then I have had
+a happiness I never knew before. My life has been one
+of constant peace and uninterrupted prosperity. My
+children are both happily married, and I have married
+myself.</p>
+
+<p>Though I was before so proud that I could not
+accept my mother's teaching, I was at a point where I
+would have accepted anything. They would tell me that
+doctor so-and-so would cure me; which was no kindness
+to me, because it kept me from asking God's help.
+But nothing would do me any good. So I said, "God,
+here I am; accept me. If there is any good in me, bring
+it out. I am down, down, down; I can not help myself."</p>
+
+<p>Brother Holcombe had told me what God had done
+for him. I had confidence in him from the start, from
+the fact of his having told me he was a gambler so
+long; and when he told me God had redeemed him from
+the desire for gambling, I thought he might take away
+the appetite for drink from me; and He has done so, I
+am very thankful to say. I expect I was the worst-looking
+sight you ever saw, but I do not take a back seat
+now for any one&mdash;I look as well as anybody. As I told
+a man last week: "With the Lord on my side, I do not
+fear anything!" I had had charge of men, and had
+succeeded in managing them. I did not accept religion
+because I was a weak-minded man. As evidence of
+that, I have proved it since as I had proved it before.
+I proved that when I was trying to be a good man in<span class="pagenum">[194]</span>
+my own way. I have proved since that I was not a
+weak-minded man from the responsible positions I have
+held and do hold.</p>
+
+<p>But, as I was going to say, I had not shaved for two
+years, and had not had my hair cut, I am satisfied, for
+one year. My hair was hanging down on my shoulders;
+my face, of course, not very clean; my clothes were
+rags. My shoes were simply tops, and the gentleman
+who gave me these two dollars, told me: "Captain, you
+are the hardest-looking man I ever saw in my life. I
+do not know how I recognized you." I said: "This is
+the condition I am in, and drinking has brought me
+to it."</p>
+
+<p>I have been asked by several prominent men how
+it is I get up night after night and tell people how bad
+I have been. I told them it was like this; if they had
+been sick nigh unto death and were going to die, and a
+physician came and gave them some medicine and made
+whole men out of them, would they not be going around
+the streets telling people about that physician? I said
+that is the reason I get up every night and tell people
+about it. Christ was the physician that healed me.
+That is the remedy I have for all evil now&mdash;the blood
+of Jesus Christ. It was utterly impossible for a man
+to exist and be in a worse condition than I was. I was
+physically and mentally a wreck; and now by accepting
+Christ&mdash;becoming a Christian&mdash;I am physically,
+morally, mentally and spiritually restored and well.
+That is the reason why I do not hesitate to tell anybody&mdash;even
+people coming into my office. An editor
+of a paper said to me: "Is it possible you were a
+tramp?" I told him it was; and he was talking something<span class="pagenum">[195]</span>
+about attacking me through his paper, about what
+I had been. I said, "Blaze away; it won't hurt me.
+I do not deny having been a tramp and a drunkard&mdash;everything
+that was mean. But what am I now?" I
+do not care what they bring back of my past record;
+they can not hurt me, for I do not deny it. It is what
+I am now. I think now that I was as bad and mean as
+a man could possibly be. But I am no longer what I
+was, by the grace of Him who called me out of the
+former darkness into His light.<span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-236.jpg" width="232" height="356" alt="H. C. PRICE." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">H. C. PRICE.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">H. CLAY PRICE.</p>
+
+<p>I used to know Brother Holcombe in those days;
+knew him to be a gambler. He was considered one
+of the best of gamblers, but I always looked upon him
+as being an honorable gambler, so far as I have heard.
+I knew him even before he was a gambler.</p>
+
+<p>Well, my father and mother were very pious, my
+mother especially. She was a praying woman, and
+everybody knew her by the name of "Aunt Kittie,"
+and my father as "Uncle Billy." My father did not
+think it was any harm to play cards in the parlor every
+night. When I was young he loved to play whist. I
+had a sister older than I, sixteen or seventeen years
+old, and she used to invite young men, and father used
+to invite them, to come there and play cards; and the
+moment they commenced to fix the table, my father
+beckoned his head to me, and I knew what that meant&mdash;to
+get out. We had a young negro that used to wait
+on the ladies in the parlor, and he told me one time,
+"You steal a deck of cards and I will show you how
+to play cards." And I stole a deck of cards from the
+house and we went back in the stable; and that is the
+way I came to learn how to play cards. I was twelve
+or fifteen years old at that time&mdash;not any older than
+that&mdash;and I commenced playing cards for money, and I
+kept on playing cards for money with the boys; for
+money or for anything. I was sent off to school&mdash;to
+St. Mary's College, and we got to playing cards there
+<span class="pagenum">[197]</span>for money, and we were caught, and the oldest one
+was expelled from school, and I promised never to do
+it any more, and the other boys promised not to do it
+any more, and they did not. But I kept on and I was
+caught playing cards, and I was expelled from school.
+After that my father sent me to St. Joseph's College in
+Ohio. I ran off from that school and came home, and I
+was appointed a Deputy Marshal by my brother-in-law,
+W. S. D. McGowen; and I got to gambling then sure
+enough and running after women; and about that time
+the war came on, and I went off with my brother-in-law
+into the army, and I gambled all through the army&mdash;everywhere
+I could get five cents to play with. All I
+had I gambled away. I came back home and I
+gambled here; played in the faro banks all the time.
+And a proprietor of a gambling house by the name of
+Jo. Croxton came to me and said, "You are too good
+a man to be gambling around. I will give you an
+interest, and you can take charge of my house." I did
+not know much about gambling, but I knew how to
+take care of his house. He gave me the bank roll; and
+I went on down and down.</p>
+
+<p>I was married then and had a faithful, gentle and
+devoted wife, but I thought I was smarter than anybody
+about gambling, and I thought I could make big
+money, and so I would leave my wife, devoted and
+dependent as she was, and I kept traveling on around
+the country, going to different towns. I went to Nashville;
+from there I went to New Orleans. I came back
+to Nashville. I left Nashville and went to Huntsville,
+Ala.; came back here and went to St. Louis; then to
+Chicago and Lexington. After that I went back to<span class="pagenum">[198]</span>
+Nashville again. I made a good deal of money if I
+could have kept it; but the Lord would not let me
+have it. I averaged here for years and years $500
+a month. Sometimes I made more&mdash;made as much
+as $1,700 a month, and once I went up as high as
+$2,100 a month&mdash;made big winnings. As fast as I
+got this money I could not keep it&mdash;threw it away on
+women all the time and gambling against the bank
+and poker; would spit at a mark for money. I have
+lost hundreds and hundreds of dollars without getting
+off of my seat, with men I knew were robbing me all
+the time. It was a passion I had to gamble and I'd
+not stop. In one game of poker that I was in I bet
+and lost $900 on one hand, and I have never played
+at poker since that time.</p>
+
+<p>When the gambling-houses were broken up here
+in Louisville, I concluded I would go off to Chicago.
+I had some money and I went to Chicago; and as
+soon as I got there, I got broke, lost all the money I
+had. I was among strangers and I was dead broke.
+Finally I got another situation, and worked there for
+some time. I then got hold of some money again, and
+I came home and remained some time. My wife was
+begging me all the time not to go away&mdash;did not
+think I ought to go away; she said that I could stay
+here and get some work to do, and make an honest
+living. But I thought I had better go back to Chicago
+and make some money; and I made some money as
+soon as I got there by playing faro bank; and I did very
+well at that time, made a good deal of money; and you
+know how a man feels when he has five hundred dollars
+in his pocket; and yet all that time I did not send my<span class="pagenum">[199]</span>
+wife anything. I thought I would get about one thousand
+dollars and open some kind of a bar-room or cigar
+shop, or something of the kind. But the day before
+Christmas I got to playing against the faro bank, and
+got broke; and I was the most miserable man in the
+world, to think that I had lost the last chance I had.
+The day before Christmas my wife wrote me, "Why
+don't you come home? I had rather see you home than
+there again making money," I said, "Yesterday I got
+broke&mdash;I played to win. I had nothing to eat all day."
+But accidentally I found a twenty-five cent piece in my
+pocket; and I got up and went and bought a ten-cent
+dinner, and paid fifteen cents for a cigar. I have done
+that many times, I suppose, bought a quarter dinner and
+given the other quarter for a cigar. I just got to studying
+about it, studying about what I was to do. I said,
+"If I come back to Louisville, I will starve. I am not
+competent to keep a set of books, or clerk anywhere;
+but," I said, "I will go back if I do starve." So I wrote
+to my patient wife: "I have lost every cent I had in
+the world, I have got to work one week longer to make
+enough money to come home on, and I am coming.
+You may look for me the first of next week." As soon
+as they paid me off that evening I jumped on the cars
+and came home, having just the money to pay my
+fare.</p>
+
+<p>Before this Brother Holcombe had met me time and
+again after he had been converted. He used to come
+after me; and every time he would see me, may be I
+would be looking at something in the street&mdash;he would
+hit me on the shoulder and say, "How do you do, old
+boy?" and then he would talk to me about my salvation,<span class="pagenum">[200]</span>
+and about Jesus Christ. I used to hide from him;
+but it looked like every time he came around he would
+nail me, and talk to me about Jesus. That was when I
+was gambling here and prosperous. He told me about
+my mother and told me I ought to quit gambling.
+I said, "Brother Holcombe, what shall I do if I quit
+gambling? I have no way to make a living." He said,
+"Look to God, and He will help you." I went away
+about that time; and as soon as I came back, every
+time he would see me he would nail me again. After
+awhile I got interested in him. I would look for him
+and when I would catch him, I would say, "You can not
+get away from me now." That was after I came from
+Chicago. I had nowhere to go except to visit bar-rooms.
+So I began to go down around the old Mission
+every night. I heard the singing and praying down
+there. One night I said, "I am going to see Brother
+Holcombe." The clock struck eight, and I said "I am
+not going in to-night, it is too late. I will go to-morrow;"
+and to-morrow night came and I went down
+there and went in very early, before they commenced
+singing; and they sang and prayed and Brother Holcombe
+preached, and the next night I went, and the
+next night I went, and I went every night. And then
+they moved up here on Jefferson street and after they
+moved up here, I stayed away a week, and then
+I commenced coming again; and here I am now,
+thank God. I think God has been my friend all
+the way through. To think He has let me go as far as
+He could, and at last brought me home. I tell you it is
+a great thing for a man that has been living the life I
+have, to get up and say that he is now a child of God.<span class="pagenum">[201]</span></p>
+
+<p>It came gradually, a little bit of it at a time, but when
+I was down in the Mission that night, God came to me
+in full power, I felt that I did not care what happened
+to me. I was willing to go if God called on me. Whatever
+He said I was willing to do. After my conversion
+I got a place where I was making a dollar a day, at
+Robinson's, on Ninth, between Broadway and York
+streets, and I worked there until I went up on a new
+railroad. They promised to give me forty-five dollars
+a month. I thought at the time, and so did Brother
+Holcombe, I would get forty-five dollars a month. He
+said, "You will get forty-five dollars a month, and it
+is so much easier than the work you are doing." I
+thought they would pay all my expenses and I worked
+up there at forty-five dollars and I had to pay all my
+own expenses; and all I received was not a cent more
+or less than thirteen dollars a month. But I was
+happier a thousand times&mdash;I will say a hundred thousand
+times&mdash;than I was with six or seven hundred
+dollars a month.</p>
+
+<p>You may think gamblers are happy, and it looks
+like it; but they are not&mdash;they are miserable. Just
+to look back in our lives and think what we have done
+with all the money! It is nothing to be compared with
+the life of a Christian. If I could go back to-morrow
+and make a million dollars gambling, I would not do it.
+I would say, "Take your million of dollars. I will stay
+where I am." My wife is the best woman in the world.
+I leave her at home and she is reading the Bible. You
+can not go in there any time, when she is not at work,
+that she is not either singing or reading the Bible.
+She was raised a Catholic. She is now trying to help<span class="pagenum">[202]</span>
+me along. She has joined the Methodist church; she
+is with me. I do not think she was a Christian before
+we came in contact with Brother Holcombe. It was
+just her interest in me, and her patient, long-suffering
+love. She never went to church nor prayed nor
+knelt down. She prayed after she went to bed like I
+did, for I said prayers every day even then. I always
+said, "If I forget, God will forget me." Every day of
+my life I prayed; and if I forgot it, I asked the Lord to
+forgive me; but I never would kneel down. I prayed
+after I went to bed; but now I get down on my knees
+and pray. Do you know how we do at night? We
+get down on our knees and say the Lord's prayer; and
+after we get through, I pray; and after I get through, the
+old lady prays. You see the old lady was raising our
+little girl up to be a Catholic; and I said to her, after we
+were converted&mdash;maybe a month afterward&mdash;"I don't
+know whether I am right or wrong&mdash;I want you to say&mdash;do
+you not think it is right to teach Kittie to do the
+way we do in our prayers? I think it would be a sin to
+try to teach her any other way. Now, let us set her an
+example, and she will come over gradually and gradually
+until she will be one of us." She has asked her mother
+about Jesus. She said to her mother one day, "I can't
+pray like you all can." The old lady said to her, "You
+will learn after awhile." Last night I was out late, and
+when I came home she said, "We will all kneel down
+and pray." We started off, "Our Father, who art in
+heaven," and Kittie went along with us, repeating it.
+She knows all that, you know. After we were done
+saying that, I prayed; and after I got through the old
+lady prayed; and after we had prayed I said, "Kittie,<span class="pagenum">[203]</span>
+you must say your prayer." She said, "I can not
+pray like you do." But she did the best she could.</p>
+
+<p>If you ask me how I came to change my life, it was
+this way: I knew that Brother Holcombe was a good
+man, and knew that he was reformed and I had so much
+faith in him, and I studied about that so much that I
+just thought if he could be such a good man, why could
+not I be a good man; and that is the way it came. I
+tell you, backwardness is a fault with a good many
+preachers. If I was a preacher and I saw a man on
+the street that I saw was going wrong, I would go
+right up to him and touch him on the shoulder. I do
+it now&mdash;I never let him get away; I never let a
+friend of mine get away, I do not care who he is. I
+go to him and tell him what God has done for me. I
+say, "Why don't you come up to the Mission? Don't
+you know Brother Holcombe?" If he says "No; I
+don't live here," I say, "If you come up there, we
+will be pleased to see you. You don't know what
+good it might do your soul."</p>
+
+<p>I do wish I had an education. I reckon there has
+been more money spent on me than on all the rest of
+my family. I went to three colleges; was expelled
+from one and ran away from the other two. I was the
+worst boy on earth; there is no use talking. I would
+rather fight that eat; but no more fighting for me; I
+am done. You know that I have been trying to get
+work to do, and at last I have found a place. I am
+earnestly praying every day more and more&mdash;I <i>can</i> pray
+now. A man asked me the other day&mdash;I don't know
+whether I answered him right or not&mdash;he asked me,
+"Do you ever expect to go back to gambling?"<span class="pagenum">[204]</span>
+I said, "I would starve to death before I would
+gamble any more." He said, "What about your
+wife&mdash;if you knew your wife was going to starve,
+would you gamble?" I said, "Before I would let
+my wife and child starve, I would gamble&mdash;I
+would gamble to get them something to eat; but,"
+I said, "there is no danger of their starving. But
+you put that question to me so strong." I said,
+"I know that God would not censure me for that,
+but there is no danger of it."</p>
+
+<p>I wish I could say more. I know I mean what
+I have said, God knows I do, and it is all true as
+near as I can remember.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Mr. Price is a brother of the late Hon. J. Hop Price, for many
+years a well-known lawyer and judge in Louisville. He is now engaged as
+night watchman on Main street.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[205]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MILES TURPIN.</p>
+
+<p>I had the example of Christian parents, and, of
+course, I had the benefit of a Christian education;
+but, like all young men, I was rather inclined to be
+wild; and after I had served four years in the Confederate
+army, my habits were formed rather for the
+worse. After I had returned home, being without
+avocation, I naturally resorted to what all idle men do;
+that was the beginning. I contracted the habit of
+frolicing, gambling and drinking, in that early period
+of my life, which has followed me through all these
+years, up to March 14, 1886, when, after considerable
+journeying through North America and portions of
+Mexico, I happened in Cincinnati, and heard a great
+many times about Steve Holcombe's conversion. Having
+known Steve in his gambling days, it occurred to
+me, like all persons in pursuit of happiness, going
+from place to place and not finding it, that if there
+was such a change and improvement in Steve as the
+newspapers described, I would come to Louisville and
+see for myself concluding that if religion had done
+so much for him, it might do something for me. I
+was a dissipated man&mdash;dissipated in the extreme.
+I had contracted this habit of drinking, and was rarely
+ever sober. I have some capacity, as a business
+man, and I have had a great many positions, but
+I had to give them up from this habit of drinking.
+While a man would express his deep friendship
+for me, he would say his business would not tolerate
+my drinking; consequently, I have been frequently
+but politely dismissed.<span class="pagenum">[206]</span></p>
+
+<p>I had lived in I don't know how many places in the
+United States, I had lived in New Orleans, Savannah,
+Ga., Charleston, S. C., Birmingham, Montgomery,
+Selma, Vidalia, La., Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., Macon,
+Ga., Pensacola, Fla., Fernandina, Fla., throughout the
+length and breadth of Western Mexico, Lower California
+and the Pacific coast, and through the State of
+Texas, end to end. In all these tortuous windings I
+was searching for happiness; but a man who is more
+or less full of whisky and without the religion of Jesus
+Christ is of necessity unhappy, in himself, and, in
+consequence, shunned by his fellowmen. No man can
+wander around the world in that condition without
+feeling a void which human wisdom can not fill; and I
+was forced to this conclusion by a careful survey of
+my past career. The desperation of the case was such,
+that I resolved if I could not find employment, and if
+I could not find happiness, which I then knew nothing
+about, I would destroy myself. I have contemplated
+suicide many times with the utmost seriousness; and
+I certainly in my sinful life was not afraid of death.
+But then it was because I was in despair.</p>
+
+<p>I was in Cincinnati; had previously held a political
+position there, which paid me quite a handsome sum;
+but in the change of politics my pecuniary condition
+changed, and I found myself alone, poor and full of
+rum and corruption; as vile a sinner as ever lived. It
+was at that time that I heard of Steve. I was in a
+deplorable condition; I knew not where to turn for
+comfort, and it occurred to me that if I could go to
+Louisville and have these assertions verified about
+Steve's regeneration and if I could see and satisfy<span class="pagenum">[207]</span>
+myself. I would do so, as vile as I was, and ask
+God to have mercy upon me. Of course, I was
+an infidel (at least, I imagined myself an infidel), an
+atheist, if you please, and my chief delight was deriding
+all Christian work, and ridiculing the Bible; and to
+more thoroughly uphold my atheistical notions I went
+so far as to defame the Saviour of mankind, not in
+vulgar language or profane, but by a mode of expression
+that was plain and unmistakable. <i>Now</i>, I do not
+see how a man can be an infidel. When a man says
+he is an atheist, I believe he is a liar. A man must
+be insane who does not recognize a Supreme Power
+and the Master-hand that made the world, and who
+does not rely upon and give obedience to that Higher
+Power. I do not believe that any atheist is honest
+in the announcement that he does not believe in God
+or a Creator. I believe now, since my conversion,
+that no man is in his right mind unless he has the
+habit of prayer.</p>
+
+<p>All nature points to the existence of a Creator&mdash;every
+action of life, every hair of the head shows an
+unseen hand. If it is a mistake, it is a mistake man
+can never fathom; but if not and if, as we are told
+by the word of faith, you believe, you shall be saved.
+If you cast your burden upon Him, and there is a
+possibility of a hereafter, you lose nothing in this world.
+A man is wiser, purer, more companionable, more
+affectionate and more charitable. There must be immortality
+of the soul; there must be a future reward.
+Reflection upon these great facts induced me to
+become a Christian man. As I had served the devil
+so long as one of his allies, and had been treated so<span class="pagenum">[208]</span>
+badly by him. I deserted him and put my faith in God,
+where I intend to remain the remainder of my life.</p>
+
+<p>I got to Louisville a little over a year ago, the
+15th of March, and went immediately to find Mr. Holcombe.
+He was sitting by the fire. He knew me
+at once. I shook hands with him and sat down by
+the fire, and had a conversation with him. He immediately
+entered upon the subject of religion, and I
+told him my condition. I told him what I wanted to
+do&mdash;I wanted to see for myself if it was possible for
+a man like him to become regenerated&mdash;if it was
+possible for such a great scoundrel as I knew him to
+be to become a Christian man. I wanted to see for
+myself if it were possible to make, out of so vile a
+creature, such a good man as he was said to be. As
+I said last night, I came, like the conqueror of old, and
+saw, but, unlike the conqueror of old, I was conquered.
+I made up my mind that I was done with the old life.
+Steve's appearance convinced me that he was cured,
+and I confessed then and there that I was convinced.
+That was the starting point. There was only one
+thing I have never been thoroughly satisfied about; I
+find that the Christian influence grows gradually on
+me, and becomes stronger and stronger the longer I
+live. I confess myself, when I first became a Christian
+man, with the exception of drinking whisky, I was like
+I was before; but, encouraged by my experiences in
+the beginning, I gradually began to see that it was a
+better life. A man was purer, and there was some
+hope a man could be changed through and through,
+and take his place among men; and from that time
+forward I was continually growing in grace. From the
+very moment I resolved to quit, I did not drink any<span class="pagenum">[209]</span>
+more. After I saw Steve, I did not take a drop,
+though I had tried before to quit it many a time. I had
+oftentimes joined temperance societies, and made resolutions,
+which were of no avail. A man in that case
+was bound by no tie except his assertion&mdash;by his word:
+and might break it just as a man allows a note to be
+protested in bank. The moment I determined to
+change my life, this appetite for whisky left me. It
+was because my ideas were changed.</p>
+
+<p>I used to think that no drunken man could become
+a Christian; but now I hope, by the grace of God, I am
+a Christian, I could not explain it; I do not believe
+any man can explain it. He may attempt it, but he can
+not do it. A man who lives a Christian life can hardly
+calculate the advantages; it is a matter of impossibility.
+In the first place, his associates put an entirely different
+estimate on him. His ambitions are entirely changed,
+and certainly his hope is. It makes him a more charitable
+man, a more forbearing man with the faults of his
+neighbors, makes him a more tolerant man, makes him
+a better citizen; and if he were a politician&mdash;though it
+is scarcely within the bounds of possibility&mdash;it would
+make him an honest politician.</p>
+
+<p>I have had no trouble to get along in business since
+my conversion. Just as soon as I tried to get business,
+when I was once really in earnest about it, I had a number
+of offers. I have still a number of offers. When I
+became a Christian man I determined, in my own mind,
+I would live up to Christianity so far as I could in every
+particular, humbly and conscientiously. The opinions
+of man have no weight with me now. All I am I hold
+by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ.<span class="pagenum">[210]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">FRED ROPKE.</p>
+
+<p>I think it was on the 25th of June, 1883, I was
+stopping at Fifth and Jefferson. Previous to that time
+I had been tramping the country for about eight years,
+from 1874 until the middle of 1883. My father was a
+Louisville man. He gave me all the advantages that
+wealth could command. He sent me to Germany in
+1864, where I remained three years at school. In 1869
+or 1870, I went into the sheriff's office here in Louisville.
+Previous to that time I had been with Theodore
+Schwartz &amp; Co. I went from Theodore Schwartz &amp;
+Co. into the sheriff's office. I got that position from
+courtesy of the sheriff to my father, who was his
+bondsman. I contracted the habit of drinking right
+there, through the associations. And, being ashamed
+to remain among my friends as a drunkard, I went then
+from pillar to post all over the country.</p>
+
+<p>I left home just after my father's death, in 1872, not
+knowing whither I was going. I dragged around the
+country from that time until the summer of 1883&mdash;eleven
+years; and if there ever was a man sick and
+tired, it was I. I beat my way through Texas, Louisiana,
+Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado,
+Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
+Pennsylvania and New York.</p>
+
+<p>The box car was my home the greater part of the
+time. Of course, during those years, I came home off and
+on; but nothing could stop me in my downward course.
+As soon as I lost self-control I persuaded myself there<span class="pagenum">[211]</span>
+was no hereafter, no God and no devil. I took to that
+idea to console myself for what I was doing more than
+for anything else; and I had a perfect indifference as
+to what became of me, except at times when I was alone
+and sober and thoughtful. But I never had any aim;
+no ambition at all; in fact, I had given up all hope. I
+do not know what I wandered for. I would come home
+and stay for a month or so, and I would get drunk and
+get ashamed of myself and go away. I would walk all
+night to get out of Louisville.</p>
+
+<p>I had been brought up by religious parents. My
+father was a very religious man. He was considered
+by people as a fanatic because he was making money
+in the whisky business, and sold out rather than continue
+it. He lost money by selling out during the war.
+He saw what it was drifting to, and sold out. After
+that there was not a drop of whisky handled in his
+house on Main street until after his death. My mother
+also was a very religious woman, so that I had a careful
+religious training. But I had read a good deal of
+Ingersoll and Tom Paine. I heard Ingersoll lecture on
+one or two occasions; I wanted to get all the proof I
+could to sustain me. I wanted some consolation; I
+knew where I was drifting; there was a consciousness
+all this time that I was wrong; and I trembled at the
+thought of one day giving an account for the misdeeds
+of a wasted life; but I could not possibly help myself.
+From the mental anxiety I went through it is a wonder
+my hair is not gray to-day. It was terrible. I had two
+attacks of delirium tremens.</p>
+
+<p>What brought me to realize my condition more
+than anything else, took place just before the time I<span class="pagenum">[212]</span>
+first met Brother Holcombe. I was out on Second
+street mending umbrellas; for that was the way I made
+my living. I had become thoroughly hardened. I
+would have cut my throat, only cowardice kept me from
+it. Well, I was mending umbrellas out on Second
+street, and Mrs. Werne heard me as I was calling
+out, and knowing that Henry, her husband, and I had
+been to school together&mdash;had been boys together, she
+called me and said, "Fred, I want you to come in."
+She insisted on my coming to their house to dinner
+the next day. "Fix up," she said, "and come to dinner
+with us;" but I do not believe I had a stitch of
+clothes except what was on my back. She insisted
+however, on my coming; some of my friends would be
+there. That brought me to realize to what depths I
+had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>The next week I went to New Albany; and I was
+told to leave the town, and I left the town under
+the escort of two policemen. To such abject wretchedness
+was I reduced, I could not endure to stay
+among friends, and I was in such a plight strangers
+could not endure me among them. But once I was
+coming down the street, and heard the singing in the
+Holcombe Mission; and I was considerably touched
+to think that I had come through the religious training
+of a Christian home and of church and Sunday-school;
+and that is all it amounted to. I went that
+evening to the courthouse steps, and heard Mr. Holcombe
+preach there; and from that day to this I have
+not drank a single drop; and it is only through God's
+grace that I realize that I am able to resist temptation.
+I felt that I was not worth anything; I felt that there<span class="pagenum">[213]</span>
+was no power in myself. My skepticism all melted
+away. The view I took of it was that if God could
+help Holcombe, he could and would help such a one
+as I. I knew Mr. Holcombe very well. When I was
+deputy sheriff, I had a warrant for his arrest one time
+from Franklin county, and went there armed, knowing
+his dangerous reputation. I thought if Holcombe
+could be saved, there certainly was some hope for
+me, and under the inspiration of that hope I turned
+to God. It was my last and only hope. But it
+was not disappointed, for He has saved me.</p>
+
+<p>I remember the first time I went up to be prayed
+for; I felt that I would from that time have strength&mdash;I
+had no doubt that I would have it from that
+time on. It was in the back room of the old mission.
+I felt&mdash;I don't know why it was&mdash;I felt then and there
+that, by God's help, I would make a man of myself;
+and I went out with that feeling, although I had been
+under the influence of liquor for months before. I
+can not say that I had no appetite for it, but I had
+strength to resist it. That was the 25th of June,
+1883.</p>
+
+<p>I would do anything for whisky when I wandered
+around. I did not gamble, but I was licentious. I
+lived for nothing else; I had no other aim in life
+but to gratify my passions, and I would adopt any
+extreme to do it, and did do it. I left nothing untouched&mdash;I
+would sell my coat to gratify my passions.
+If I wanted a drink of whisky and my hat would pay
+for it, I would let it go. Once, on coming back from
+New Orleans, my mother gave me a suit of clothes;
+and I did not keep that suit of clothes three days.<span class="pagenum">[214]</span>
+All of the time I was tramping around, my mother
+was living in Louisville, worth seventy-five thousand
+dollars. She was willing to do anything for me, and
+suffered much because of my wicked ways. I remember
+on one occasion, when I left her to go to Denver,
+Colorado, she begged me to stay at home, and
+reminded me how she would suffer from anxiety about
+me, day and night, till I should return. But I had
+just been released from jail for drunkenness and I did
+not want to stay in Louisville. So I left my mother
+in sorrow and despair.</p>
+
+<p>One thing I am thankful for to-day; that after my
+conversion I did not get into anything right away;
+that I made a bare living with my umbrellas; and
+that continued two years before I got into a permanent
+situation. I believe those were the two happiest
+years of my life. I had a tough time to get something
+to eat sometimes, but that was good for me. I
+pegged away at an old umbrella for twenty-five or
+thirty cents down in the old mission; and I was
+thankful to get them to fix. It seemed to me it
+was sweeter; I enjoyed it more.</p>
+
+<p>There is no comparison between the new life and
+the old. I thought at one time that I was enjoying
+myself; but I have had to suffer in my new life for all
+the enjoyment that I had in the old&mdash;I have to suffer
+physically&mdash;even yet. I am an old man before my
+time. Even to-day on my coming in contact with it
+the influence of the old association will crop out.
+Sometimes my passions worry me considerably. The
+only relief I find is by keeping close to God. I
+realize that from day to day if I do not do that&mdash;pay<span class="pagenum">[215]</span>
+strict attention to my religious duties&mdash;I will fall. I
+know that if I neglect them for one week, I get away
+off. I am happy in being placed where I am. My
+place is a kind of rendezvous for religious people;
+and their society and conversation help to strengthen
+me. Since my conversion, I was offered a position
+in a liquor house, but I would not take it, because I
+was afraid of it, and the very next day I obtained
+a situation with the Finzer Brothers. I went to a
+minister and made it the subject of prayer as to
+whether I should accept the situation; and finally
+decided to decline it, and the next day I got a situation
+that I had filled in years gone by, with Finzer
+Brothers in this city. It is now the height of my
+ambition to have the opportunity to convince the
+people who were and are my friends in Louisville
+that there is something in me, and by the grace of
+God I am no longer the failure I was.<span class="pagenum">[216]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-258.jpg" width="290" height="396" alt="J. T. HOCKER." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">J. T. HOCKER.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">JAMES THOMPSON HOCKER.</p>
+
+<p>I was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1837,
+and no man had better advantages for being a Christian
+or becoming one than I had. I had a pious mother
+and father, and all the influences of my home were
+of that character. My father and mother were both
+members of the Baptist church, and I recollect that
+they used to have me go to Sunday-school, but I think
+now I went there because they asked me to go. Thinking
+over my condition, I did not have any other incentive
+at that time than to obey my mother's request. At
+about the age of fifteen I left my home, and it seems to
+me now when I did do so I left behind me all good
+impulses and all good feeling, and any religious inclination
+I might have had seemed to leave me when I
+stepped over the threshold; and I think the devil
+joined me then and told me he would keep me company
+all the rest of my life, and he did do it pretty
+closely for thirty years. I do not suppose that he had
+a better servant, or one who did his behests more
+faithfully than I.</p>
+
+<p>Whether I inherited the appetite for drink has been
+a question with me. On both sides of my house&mdash;the
+Old Virginia stock&mdash;I had several relatives who
+drank to excess; and it seems to me that the appetite
+must have passed through our family to me. I
+remember the first drink I ever took in my life; it was
+whisky, and I liked it. Most people don't like the
+first drink.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[217]</span></p><p>When I came to this city I went into business as a
+clerk. The devil and I dropped into company as hail
+fellows well met. He persuaded me to think it was
+proper for young men to take a drink before calling
+on their lady friends. He prompted me to go in with
+the boys. "This is the right way for you to do," he
+would say, "I am your friend." I had the usual compunctions
+of conscience that the young man feels when
+he goes into bar-rooms. I took wine at first, but the
+devil said: "That is not the thing; whisky is better."
+I obeyed him; I took whisky, until whisky pretty nearly
+took me forever.</p>
+
+<p>Along in 1871&mdash;March, 1871&mdash;I was working at a
+clothing house, and I married a lady who was thoroughly
+conversant with all my habits; who knew that
+the habit for drink had fastened itself on me; but
+who, with a woman's faithful, trusting heart, married
+me, hoping, as they generally do, that her influence
+might reform me. Perhaps for a year or so the devil
+and I rather separated, but he had me in sight all the
+while. This continued for six or seven months, until,
+on one occasion, I went out to a fishing party. We
+carried two or three gallons of whisky, and two or three
+pounds of solid food. I went fishing with two or three
+personal acquaintances, who prevailed on me to indulge
+with them in drinking, and from this time forward, until
+about one year ago, I was as fully devoted to my old
+ways as ever.</p>
+
+<p>The appetite for drink was on me, and dragged me
+down day by day, deeper and deeper into the mire;
+and still, through all this, my wife's loyal heart never
+faltered, unwavering as she was in her trust in me, that<span class="pagenum">[218]</span>
+I would yet reform. She still, when others failed me,
+remained my faithful friend. My wife was forced,
+however, by my conduct, to return to her mother's
+home, because, instead of supporting her, I was spending
+all my earnings for whisky and in debauchery of
+other kinds.</p>
+
+<p>I shall have to go back a little in my story. About
+eight years ago I was working in a clothing house at
+the corner of Third and Market streets. I noticed
+across the street, one morning, a man whom I knew
+setting out on the sidewalk a lot of vegetables, apples,
+etc. I looked at him, and recognized him as Steve
+Holcombe, a man who had recently reformed his way of
+living, and abandoned his old life. In the meantime, I
+had become an infidel, I had begun to doubt the divinity
+of Christ, and even doubted that there was a God. I
+read all of Ingersoll's books, and went back and read
+Paine's essay on Reason and Common Sense. I was
+thoroughly fortified with all the infidel batteries that I
+could bring to bear on Christian people. As soon as I
+laid eyes on Brother Holcombe I started across the
+street and opened on him; and I kept this up for
+months. I fortified myself with a couple of drinks, so
+as to be very brave, and went over and tackled him
+regularly every morning.</p>
+
+<p>At last, I stood and watched him one morning. I
+reasoned this way: "There is a man I have known for
+twenty-five years. I know of no man who was more
+thoroughly steeped in wickedness, who was a more
+persistent sinner, and I have tried to batter him down
+with my infidel batteries for months, and he is as solid
+as a stone wall;" and all this led me to think that there<span class="pagenum">[219]</span>
+was something in the religion of Jesus Christ; and,
+thinking this way, I rather refrained from my attacks
+upon him and his position; but I often thought of him
+afterward, and the thought occurred to me, there must
+be something in this thing, for no power living, or
+anything that I know of, could sustain that man in his
+position. It must be something beyond human.</p>
+
+<p>The 20th day of last April I was on a protracted
+debauch; had been for three weeks. My brain was
+thoroughly stunned with the effects of the liquor I had
+drunk. I was sitting in a bar-room at seven o'clock
+in the evening, as far as my memory now serves me,
+and I appeared to see the face of my wife and child;
+and then one of my boon companions said, "Join us in
+a drink." Just then I could no more have taken that
+drink than I could have transformed myself into an
+angel of light. At that moment I thought some impending
+calamity that neither I nor any human power
+could avert was about to crush me. The next thing
+that came into my mind was that I must see Mr. Holcombe;
+and I went out of that saloon into the night,
+scarcely knowing what I did, feeling that some terrible
+accident was going to happen; but still this impulse
+moved me to go to the man I had fought so long and
+so persistently. I happened to find him before the old
+Mission, on Jefferson street, near Fifth. He seemed to
+think that I had now some other object in view than to
+attack him as formerly, because, the first time in all my
+career, he was the only man who did reach out his hand
+and said, "God bless you, my brother." I said: "I
+want to talk to you; I want you to pray for me." He
+said, "God bless you, I am the happiest man to meet<span class="pagenum">[220]</span>
+you that I know of." He asked me to walk down to
+the Mission. The services were about to commence.
+I stayed with him that evening. In the morning he
+made a special prayer for me; and during all my
+wanderings, I had felt that, perhaps, the prayers of my
+mother and father would, in the end, reach the throne
+of grace; and I had never lost my faith in the efficacy
+of prayer. When he prayed for me, I felt my mother's
+hand on my head and heard her saying, "God bless
+and keep my boy." When I left him he said, "Won't
+you go to your room to-night and pray?" I had no
+room. He loaned me the money to get a room. I
+went to the hotel and procured lodging. He said to
+me, "Say any prayer you think of." The only prayer I
+could recall was one I had heard in my childhood,
+"Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!" When I
+made that prayer before the Christian's God, I did it
+with fear and trembling, for it seemed profanity for a
+wretch like me, who had defied God's laws, to prostrate
+himself at His feet and ask the Christian's God to have
+mercy on him; but I kept up that prayer in my weak,
+broken way. And to-day, having tried this life one
+year, you don't know of a man happier than I am. My
+wife, no longer broken-hearted as in those years of
+darkness and sorrow, now daily bids me welcome to our
+happy home. And we recognize together that nothing
+but this religion of Jesus Christ could have brought this
+about. I know, from the experiences I have had, that
+God has forgiven me, the sinner.</p>
+
+<p>I had from a child been the most inveterate swearer.
+Since my conversion I have not sworn an oath; I never
+have taken a drop of beer or anything that might<span class="pagenum">[221]</span>
+intoxicate me, and I have never had a return of the
+appetite. And I hope, by God's mercy, that when the
+last call shall come I shall be found fighting for God;
+and I feel I want to fall with "my back to the field
+and my feet to the foe." Immediately after my conversion
+I attached myself to the Fifth and Walnut-street
+church; and if you inquire of those who know me, they
+will tell you that, since I stepped out of the old life into
+this, I have walked consistently.</p>
+
+<p>I have told you a true story. I can think of no
+more to say. I may add, however, that since I have
+come into this new life, under God's mercy, I have been
+the humble instrument of bringing into the light three
+of my acquaintances, of whose conversion I know
+personally. I was the only wandering, wayward,
+prodigal son in my father's family; and there is
+probably not now a happier household in the State.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Mr. Hocker is at present engaged in business in one of the
+large clothing houses of Louisville.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[222]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-266.jpg" width="234" height="310" alt="S. P. DALTON." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">S. P. DALTON.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">SAMUEL P. DALTON.</p>
+
+<p>I was born in Shelbyville, Tenn., January 20, 1849,
+and am, therefore, thirty-nine years of age. My
+father and mother were both members of the church;
+and they tried to bring me up as a Christian. I went
+to Sunday-school and church almost all my life. My
+father has been dead twenty odd years. My mother
+is still living. As I say, I was brought up a Christian,
+and I was converted when I was about seventeen
+years of age, while a boy clerking in a brickyard
+alone. I was licensed soon afterward to exhort
+in the Methodist church. After that I married; I
+removed to Paducah, Ky., and I was a member of
+the church there for several years. After that I lost
+my wife, broke up housekeeping and went to traveling.
+I traveled awhile, and then moved to Louisville.
+I lived here seven years.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, I became indifferent to Christianity
+and formed the habit of moderate drinking; I
+was a moderate drinker for a couple of years, and
+gradually I drifted farther and farther away till at last
+I came to believe in Ingersoll's teachings. I formed
+this idea, that the world was made to enjoy, and that
+we had a right to enjoy it in any way we wished. I
+never would go to church and I would avoid meeting
+any of my church friends as much as possible. I
+became very unhappy and miserable in my irreligious
+life, and found that serving the devil was hard.</p>
+
+<p>One day while in this unhappy condition my attention
+was called to a crowd of people on Jefferson
+<span class="pagenum">[223]</span>street, near the courthouse. Going over to satisfy my
+curiosity, I found they were a Christian band from
+the Holcombe Mission preaching the Gospel. Of
+course, I would not go to church, and when I went
+over there to see what they were doing, I looked
+upon them as so many cranks; but there was one
+prayer that touched my heart. It was this: "Oh
+Lord, if there are any persons in this audience who
+are miserable or unhappy on account of their sins,
+I pray Thee to give them no peace until they give
+their hearts to God." And God answered the prayer
+in my case. I had no peace until I gave my heart to
+God and renewed my vows to the church. After hearing
+this prayer I went home very miserable and unhappy,
+and fought the feeling for six months afterward&mdash;tried
+to drive it away by drinking; but could not do so.
+Finally one night about midnight, in my room, I gave
+my heart to God and made new vows. I was again
+brought back to God on the 15th of October, 1882.</p>
+
+<p>Then I went to see Brother Morris, pastor of the
+Fifth and Walnut-street Methodist church, and told
+him what I had done. Of course, he met me with
+open arms, and invited me to the church, and on the
+following Sunday I joined the Methodist church.
+Directly afterward Mr. Morris introduced me to Brother
+Holcombe. He said: "Brother Dalton, here is a man
+you ought to know and be with. His Mission is the
+place for you to do Christian work." He saw, I suppose,
+that I ought to be doing some good, and he
+wanted me right there.</p>
+
+<p>I went, then, to Brother Holcombe's Mission, and
+remained with him for about two years, working there<span class="pagenum">[224]</span>
+almost every night for these two years, keeping door,
+and doing, to the best of my ability, all the good I
+could. I can say that my connection with the Mission,
+I have no doubt, has had all to do with strengthening
+me in the Christian life and leading me into usefulness,
+giving me strength and energy to engage in saving
+others, and confirming myself in Christian character.</p>
+
+<p>I have witnessed some of the most remarkable
+conversions at Holcombe's Mission that I think ever
+were known anywhere, and I regard Holcombe as one
+of the most remarkable men on earth for mission work.
+It seems that he can use more means to put men
+to thinking than any other man that I know of.</p>
+
+<p>I was always fond of going to the theater. After
+I had become a Christian, I had an idea that I could
+still continue going to theaters, and so stated to Brother
+Holcombe and Brother Alexander. They simply said
+this: "Brother Dalton, if you get the love of God in
+your heart you will find a great deal more pleasure
+in God's service than you will in attending theaters;"
+and from my own experience I have found it true.
+I have no desire to go to theaters; my own pleasure
+is in Christian work; and I do not think a man can
+make a practice of attending theaters regularly and
+exert the same influence for the salvation of others
+as if he did not attend.</p>
+
+<p>I believe as firmly as I do anything, that when
+I was a boy, God called me to some kind of Christian
+work; and I was the most miserable man in the
+world when I lost my religion. After meeting with
+Brother Holcombe, he seemed to be a great wall of
+protection to me&mdash;and he does yet. He has infused<span class="pagenum">[225]</span>
+into my life more Christian zeal than I ever had before.
+I am of a temperament that is easily led off&mdash;easily
+influenced; and I feel that God, in His wisdom, leads
+me into Christian work in order to save my own soul
+as well as others. Since I have been away from Louisville,
+in Cleveland, Ohio, in business, I think there
+has not been a day or night but what I have thought
+of Brother Holcombe and the Mission. It seems to
+have such an everlasting effect on me, that at all
+times I feel a restraining influence which comes out
+from that Mission. If at any time I am tempted to
+become discouraged, the remembrance of him and
+the mission work that he is engaged in, seems to
+be a protection, something that upholds me in my
+Christian faith; and I have learned to love Brother
+Holcombe as I never loved any man on earth who
+was no kin to me. He is a man whom I have watched
+very closely, and understand thoroughly; and believe
+he is one of the most honest, earnest and upright
+Christian men that I ever met in all my life, and
+one who will do more, and endure more, to lead a
+man to Christ than any one I ever knew.</p>
+
+<p>The result of that Christian experience which I
+had while associated with Brother Holcombe has been
+the means of my seeking an opportunity for Christian
+work in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where I am now
+residing. I joined the Franklin-avenue Methodist
+church, of Cleveland, a grand body of Christians,
+too, about 650 members; and it seemed that the
+Lord had opened the way into this church to harness
+me into Christian work there. Being a man from
+the South, I hardly expected them to receive me as<span class="pagenum">[226]</span>
+cordially as they did; but it seemed that, after watching
+me, and knowing me, when I was not expecting
+it, I was elected one of the stewards of that church
+a very short time after joining it; and I have been
+put on different committees, and have been treated
+as well as a Christian gentleman could possibly desire
+to be treated, and I have learned to love them. My
+aim and object in life now is to do all the good I
+possibly can in this new field of labor.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord has been very good to me since I
+reentered His service, and I have found complete happiness
+and contentment in this Christian life, and no man
+on earth is happier than I when I am doing Christian
+work, and I am quite unhappy when I am not, being
+fully convinced that the Lord has a Christian work of
+some kind for me to engage in, and always being blest
+in the least effort I make for the salvation of others.</p>
+
+<p>God has prospered me in business, too. I have
+been very successful in my business life, not getting
+rich, but making a good, honest living, having the confidence
+and respect of my employers, and the full
+confidence of those who work for me. I have endeavored,
+to the best of my ability, to use every means
+within my power to exert as good an influence over
+the men in my employ as I possibly can under the
+circumstances. I correspond with Brother Holcombe
+regularly, and have for the last three years, and I very
+often use his letters in endeavoring to bring others
+to Christ; and frequently in my talks and Christian
+work I take a great pride in referring to the Mission in
+Louisville, and believe there has been some good done
+in simply telling of these remarkable conversions that I<span class="pagenum">[227]</span>
+have witnessed there, convincing me that the Mission
+is not only exerting a good influence in the city of
+Louisville, but is being felt all over this country.</p>
+
+<p>After being away a little over three years, I returned
+to Kentucky on a visit to my mother and family in
+Paducah, and also to Brother Holcombe and my friends
+in Louisville, and stopped with Brother Holcombe. Of
+course, he received me with open arms and a hearty
+welcome, and I had the pleasure of meeting many of
+those men whom I had known when they were in their
+sinful lives, bound by the power of strong drink, and
+it did my heart good to look into their happy, shining
+faces, sober as they are, and active in business, and
+engaged in Christian work, thereby receiving new
+strength and stronger faith in the Blessed Gospel of
+Christ. I am fully persuaded there is no other power
+under heaven that would save men from these terrible
+habits except the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Coming into the presence of Brother Holcombe
+seemed to have a peculiar effect upon me. It seemed
+that I received a new baptism of the Holy Ghost. I
+do not know what it is; I know that God's blessing
+is just as rich and precious in Cleveland as it is in
+Louisville, but having been associated with Brother
+Holcombe in this Christian work, and witnessing such
+wonderful conversions, and God's blessings having
+been bestowed upon us so richly, it seems that the
+place is precious to my soul, and the remembrance of
+those things so cheers my heart that it gives me new
+strength and new zeal, and I never could, under any
+circumstances, in my future life, doubt the reality of
+the Christian religion.<span class="pagenum">[228]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">COLONEL MOSES GIBSON.</p>
+
+<p>My birthplace was Bowling Green, Rappahannock
+county, Virginia. I was born May 7, 1837. My ancestors
+were Quakers, and my grandfather a Hicksite
+Quaker. He married a Methodist, and was, consequently,
+turned out of the church. The family originally
+came from the north of Ireland, opposite Glasgow;
+non-conformists. They came to this country
+about the time Penn did, and got over into Loudon
+county, Virginia. On my mother's side I am descended
+from Nathaniel Pendleton, who is a brother of Edmund
+Pendleton, and aid-de-camp of General Green during
+the Revolutionary war. On both sides a considerable
+number of the men were in both legal and literary
+pursuits. My mother was raised in the Presbyterian
+church&mdash;joined the Presbyterian church. I was baptized
+by the Rev. Dr. Foot, one of the corner-stones
+of the old school church. My father was never a
+member of any church until very late in life. My
+mother had me baptized by the Rev. Dr. Foot when
+I was six years old.</p>
+
+<p>I was always, as a boy, religiously inclined; and
+never cared for those enjoyments and pleasures that
+boys indulge in so much, like playing ball, hunting
+and fishing, tobogganing, coasting and all such kind
+of sport. I was more of a house boy. I liked to
+stay at home and read, and was very affectionate in
+my disposition. Very early in life I started out in the
+world, and when I was fourteen years old I was a<span class="pagenum">[229]</span>
+store boy; and even with all that, my early training,
+to a certain extent, kept me out of bad company,
+although I slept in the store, and was really under no
+restraint from the time I was about fourteen. I generally,
+when I found I was too far gone, pulled up
+stakes and went somewhere else; and in that way I
+grew up. I very rarely failed to go to church twice
+every Sunday; and I looked upon religion more as a
+pleasure and a matter of pride for the respectability
+of it. I liked the church, even after I grew up to be a
+man. But during the latter part of the war, I became
+impressed. I believe it was in October, 1864, I professed
+religion in a little church in New Market, Virginia;
+and after the war, I went to Baltimore, and
+united myself there with the Episcopal church. I
+never was confirmed, however, until some time in
+1868, here in Calvary church in Louisville. But I
+always considered myself a member of the church,
+went to Sunday-school, and attended to my duties
+very particularly. I never drank anything, and never
+kept bad company. My association was always the
+most refined, principally that of ladies. I was fond
+of society, parties, theaters and things of that kind,
+which our church never objected to very particularly,
+but I kept myself in bounds.</p>
+
+<p>It was only about 1874 or 1875 that I became associated
+with some gentlemen here who were very
+learned, and who were very earnest men; and we got
+into the study of the Bible in search of truth. We
+got all the books of modern thought on the subject
+that we could. We conversed together and talked
+together a great deal. We got all the modern authors,<span class="pagenum">[230]</span>
+and studied them very thoroughly; and studied
+so much, that we finally studied ourselves into infidelity.
+We studied Draper, Max Muller, Ledyard, Bishop
+Colenzo and Judge Strange. Judge Strange's was the
+most powerful book, to me, of any. It was a reference
+to the Old Testament legends and the miracles of the
+New. I gradually by the association, and by reading
+these modern treatises on theology, etc., drifted into
+that thoughtful infidelity, which is the worst sort in
+the world, because I had a great respect for religion,
+but did not believe it. I believed in a God, but could
+not consistently believe that he was the God of the
+Bible, or that the Bible itself could be an inspired
+book, because so much of it was inconsistent with
+demands of human reason.</p>
+
+<p>Following these convictions, I gradually drifted into
+the most complete infidelity that a man ever did on
+earth. I did not believe anything, still I did not
+attempt in any way to have my associates and friends
+believe that I was an infidel. I never boasted of it,
+I never made light of religion. I continued to go to
+church, continued to keep in the church; and when
+Ingersoll was here I would not go to hear him. I
+was satisfied that Ingersoll's teachings were, to a
+great extent, what I believed; but I did not like to
+hear a man get up and ridicule my mother's God;
+and my answer to those who wanted me to go was
+that I would not listen to any man who tried to ridicule
+the religion of my mother.</p>
+
+<p>About 1878 I commenced drinking. I was then
+about forty-one years old. I got to taking a drink here
+and there, but do not suppose I took over a hundred<span class="pagenum">[231]</span>
+drinks during the year. In 1879 I got to drinking a
+little more. In 1880 I got to drinking pretty hard.
+During the year 1879 I took rarely less than three, and
+very often six to eight drinks, a day, and in 1881 I was
+a confirmed, genteel tippler. I rarely took less than
+three or more than I could stand, but in a genteel way
+and in a genteel saloon.</p>
+
+<p>I sold out my business and traveled seven or eight
+months for pleasure, and kept up the same thing everywhere.
+I seldom gambled. I played poker for twenty-five
+cents ante, and bet on horse races. I never was a
+profane man except when I was intoxicated; then I
+would be a little profane. I always remembered more
+than anything else the early teachings of my mother;
+they clung to me. I had respect not only for the church
+but respect for the ministry and respect for Christian
+people.</p>
+
+<p>After I commenced drinking I would have given
+anything in the world if I could have stopped. I would
+get up in the morning and I would feel a lassitude&mdash;feel
+debilitated. I would not care to eat anything&mdash;a biscuit
+and a cup of coffee&mdash;and by eleven o'clock that was all
+emptied, and my stomach would crave something.
+Probably if I had sat down at a restaurant and made a
+good dinner it would have helped me; but it was so
+much easier to get a toddy, and that toddy did away
+with the craving, and probably in an hour and a half I
+would want the same thing, and, instead of going to
+dinner, I would take another drink, and about three
+o'clock I would want this toning of the stomach again.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1883 I thought I would call a halt. I
+quit drinking in October, 1883, of my own will, and I<span class="pagenum">[232]</span>
+did not drink a drop of anything until July, 1884; and
+then I got at it in the same old way. I got to taking a
+toddy a day, and then I got to taking two, and for two
+months I was taking a toddy before every meal; and
+then my stomach got so I did not care to eat&mdash;I took
+the toddy without the dinner; and in the course of the
+year&mdash;probably by the first of October&mdash;I had got to
+drinking all the way from six drinks a day to about a
+dozen. I kept that up until I got to being genteelly
+intoxicated&mdash;always genteel, but always going to bed
+being pretty well intoxicated. When I got to bed, I
+would lie down and sleep; and when I got up in the
+morning I would have a toddy.</p>
+
+<p>About October we sold out our business here. The
+winter was beginning, and I had no money. I began to
+be a little reckless; and I commenced drinking the first
+of October, and I was full until the first of January. I
+do not think from the first of October, 1884, until the
+first of January, 1887, there was a day that I did
+not take six drinks, and generally ten or twelve&mdash;pretty
+stiff drinks, too. I generally drank about two
+ounces of whisky. It never affected my health at all.
+It stimulated my mind; it made me bright&mdash;exceedingly
+so&mdash;so much so that if there was anybody about the
+bar-room I was the center of attraction. I could
+discourse upon any subject; but I was very bright
+and vivacious. I never was afraid of anything on
+the face of the earth; I guess there never was a
+man more fearless than I was when under the influence
+of whisky; otherwise, I was very timid.</p>
+
+<p>I kept that thing up, and on the first of January
+I was walking down the street. I had gone to bed<span class="pagenum">[233]</span>
+pretty sober on the night before; and I got up on
+the morning of the first of January and dressed myself
+up nicely, intending to go to church. I met a friend
+of mine, who said he was going around to the office,
+and asked me to go with him. I said I would. On
+the way around there he suggested we should have
+a pint of whisky. I said, "I believe I will quit; I am
+getting tired of whisky." "Well," he said, "let us
+have a bottle anyway; it is the first of January."
+"Yes," I said, "as it is the first of January." We
+sat there and drank that, and sent out and got another
+pint and drank that. After that, I went down to Louis
+Roderer's and sat there, and some gentlemen came
+in and they got to throwing dice for the drinks, and
+I was invited to join them, and I did; and I took
+six drinks there with them. The weather was cold;
+the pavement covered with ice. As long as I stayed
+in the house, the liquor did not affect me, but as soon
+as I got out of the door, the cold coming right into
+contact with it, seemed to throw all the undigested
+alcohol into my brain. I went back to this friend
+of mine. He was not there. I walked up Market
+street, and went to my room and went to bed. It
+was there, I suppose, I mashed my nose and cut my
+face badly. The servant girl came up stairs and
+found me lying on the floor. She went down and
+got help, and they bathed my face, and they both
+together put me to bed. I had been unconscious from
+the moment I left the bar-room and was so up to
+five o'clock the next morning.</p>
+
+<p>They put me to bed, and I was totally unconscious
+until I woke up the next morning at five o'clock. It<span class="pagenum">[234]</span>
+occurred to me that something was the matter; I felt
+the wound on my face. I got up and lighted the
+candle and looked into the glass, and saw that my
+face was all bruised and bloody. I said, "I suppose
+I ran against something and mashed my face last
+night." The next morning I heard this servant girl
+in the next room. I heard her saying, "Poor man,
+poor man." Pretty soon she came in and said, "What
+in the world is the matter with you? How did you
+hurt your face?" She then told me the condition they
+had found me in; and if they had not found me I would
+have frozen to death. I said, "If this thing is going to
+work that way on me, I must call a halt." I could not
+eat anything but some milk. I lay in bed all day.</p>
+
+<p>I could not pray. I had got into that frame of
+mind I could not pray. I did not believe in the efficacy
+of prayer. I had lost sight of Christ as God, but I
+had great respect for Christ as a teacher. I lay there
+all that day, Monday. I was then thoroughly sober;
+and I said, "I will just see if there is any efficacy in
+religion, anyhow. I believe I will try it." I had gotten
+up and dressed myself. I had not eaten any breakfast.
+I drank some coffee. Not having taken anything
+to eat, I felt pretty weak, and I said, "I believe I will
+take a drink." I went around to a friend of mine on
+First street, and he was not there. Then I walked
+around to a saloon on Third street. Several gentlemen
+were there that I used to drink with. I stood around
+there for awhile, hoping that some one would ask me
+to take a drink, but nobody asked me.</p>
+
+<p>Finally I came up here to Mr. Holcombe's and
+found him here, and we got to talking the matter<span class="pagenum">[235]</span>
+over. I told him that I was tired of this kind of
+life. I wanted to take a pledge. "I do not give
+pledges to anybody to stop drinking." He said there
+was but one remedy&mdash;reliance upon Christ; that Christ
+was all&mdash;Christ and the love of God. If I determined
+to live up to the teachings of the Bible, if
+I was willing about it, that he believed I would be
+cured. Well, I told him that I thought that my mind
+was sufficiently prepared; that I had made up my mind
+to quit if I possibly could; that if the Lord wanted
+to take me the way I was, I had made up my mind
+to believe; that I had not believed anything for a long
+time, and that if I did believe I would have to take
+it by faith, and not by reason.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, after talking it over, Mr. Holcombe prayed,
+and after prayer I said I had better go down to my
+boarding-house. "No," he said, "you stay with me
+awhile." I said I could not do that; I had to go down
+to my boarding-house. He said, "No!" he thought
+I had better stay awhile; that I could stay with him
+just the same, as I was around there; that I might get
+out and get to drinking; that I was not strong enough.
+I concluded I would stay with him, and I stayed with
+him for three weeks.</p>
+
+<p>I went down stairs to the Mission meeting that
+night, and stood up for prayer. After the prayer, I
+felt a great deal better&mdash;in fact, I felt as much converted
+as I am now. Since then, I have had no trouble.</p>
+
+<p>I never had made a prayer in public in my life;
+I never had talked religion in my life, and I got up a
+week afterward and preached a sermon an hour long.
+The second or third night I made a prayer. Before<span class="pagenum">[236]</span>
+that night I had never prayed in public. The only
+prayer I would say was, "Our Father Who Art In
+Heaven."</p>
+
+<p>I have never taken a drink since then, and I do
+not now chew tobacco. I had either a cigar or a chew
+of tobacco in my mouth all the time during the last
+year. From the time I was fifteen years old, I used to
+smoke from three to a dozen cigars a day. My general
+average of cigars was six a day. I have not chewed
+tobacco, I have not smoked a cigar, I have not taken
+a drink of liquor since January. A man talking to me
+the other day said: "You have the strongest will
+power on earth. If I had the will power you have,
+I could do anything I wanted." I said, "I do not
+think so. I do not believe I ever would have stopped
+smoking and chewing without the change which has
+been produced in me through faith and prayer."</p>
+
+<p>I will tell you what broke me of chewing tobacco.
+It was Monday that I came here to the Mission, the 3d
+of January, and on Tuesday night I professed conversion.
+Wednesday morning I went out to see Mr.
+Minnegerode, and had my name again placed on the
+church record as a member of Calvary church. The
+first Sunday in the month was our communion, and I
+was very anxious that I should perform all the obligations
+necessary to fill out the measure of my conversion,
+and to do it as soon as possible; and I happened to
+be down in Cyrus Young's office, and he told me that
+they were going to have communion. They had quarterly
+meeting at the Broadway Methodist church. Dr.
+Brewer preached, and there I took my first communion.
+From there I went over to the house of a friend of<span class="pagenum">[237]</span>
+mine, who has since died, named Lewis. I took dinner
+with him, and stayed there until half-past three o'clock.
+Well, I took a chew of tobacco going down the street,
+and when I had just commenced chewing it, I said:
+"You are a pretty kind of a Christian. You have
+got your mouth full of that stuff that a hog would
+not eat, and immediately after taking the bread and
+wine commemorative of the death of Christ. It is not
+right for a Christian to take that after having partaken
+of these emblems." And I spit it out of my mouth. For
+two or three days it bothered me a great deal&mdash;much
+more than drinking. I never had a desire to take a
+drink since that Monday, although I have been asked
+repeatedly. I was down at a hotel with two or three
+gentlemen the other day, and somebody got up and
+suggested taking a drink. I said, "No; I have joined
+the church; I am a Christian, and I do not believe in
+Christians or church members drinking." Shortly after
+that they offered me a cigar, which I refused.</p>
+
+<p>I have now charge of a chapel, and have preached
+two sermons up there this week, one Sunday night and
+one Thursday night. I preached on the Prodigal Son
+the other night. I have held seven or eight services up
+there. I hold forth here at the Mission one night in the
+week&mdash;that is Tuesday night. I never killed anybody;
+have never won a thousand dollars at cards; and I
+never was in the gutter. I was a refined tippler. I was
+a leader of society all these years, as everybody who
+knows me is aware. I was prominent in social life
+and prominent in church life before I was an infidel,
+previous to 1874, and a member of the vestry of Advent
+church here. I kept up my acquaintances. All the<span class="pagenum">[238]</span>
+drinking I did was with the tony men, at the high-typed,
+tony saloons. I am now a communicant of Calvary
+church. I am a lay reader, and, for the present, have
+charge of Campbell-street chapel. I go up there two
+nights a week. I was going up to Campbell street, the
+other evening, to hold service and I met Bishop Dudley,
+who was going up to Trinity to confirm a class, and he
+asked me where I was going. I told him I was going
+over to Campbell street to hold service. He asked me
+who did my singing. I said I did all the preaching and
+singing myself.</p>
+
+<p>The sum of it is, I felt that mine was a bad case; I
+had been struggling for two years and a half to rid
+myself of this appetite, by making to myself all kinds of
+promises day after day, but was unable to do it; I said
+to myself, "Mine is a bad case&mdash;an aggravated case&mdash;and
+it needs heroic treatment. I can say I will quit
+drinking. I can go and kneel down and feel very well
+about it; but the question is, whether I would not go
+back to the same old way of living; and I reflected that
+I might be renewed or regenerated&mdash;if the Lord created
+me, He could re-create me&mdash;to the man He had
+made and created in His own image, if he believed, He
+could give back his manhood; would re-create him
+and give him a new birth." I felt that, and felt that I
+must make a public confession. Mine was a bad case,
+and there was only one way to cure me&mdash;a public confession
+before God and the world, and a prayer for
+strength to make me live up to that profession&mdash;and
+when I made that profession, I felt relieved.</p>
+
+<p>I have had more strength since then. I have not
+had the least desire for liquor. Last night was the first<span class="pagenum">[239]</span>
+time I ever dreamed about drinking since; and then I
+dreamed that I wanted a lemonade very badly and went
+to the saloon to get it; and my conscience pricked me
+even in my sleep for the desire for a lemonade and
+going into a saloon to get it. Before, I used to dream
+about going into drinking saloons. Instead of having a
+desire for a drink of whisky, I give you my word and
+honor, it was nauseating to me. That was not a qualm
+of conscience, but a physical sensation. It came when
+I picked up a glass that had had whisky in it. I
+smelled it, and set it down. And, by the grace of
+God, I am determined that I have drunk my last drop
+of intoxicating liquor.<span class="pagenum">[240]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-286.jpg" width="248" height="326" alt="CAPTAIN N. B. PECK." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">CAPTAIN N. B. PECK.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">CAPTAIN BEN PECK.</p>
+
+<p>I have had rather an eventful life; but I don't
+know that it would be interesting to the public.</p>
+
+<p>I certainly had less reason to be a bad boy, and
+worse man, than almost anybody ever had. I was surrounded
+by the very best Christian influences. My
+father was a prominent minister of the Baptist denomination
+in this State. He died, though, when I was
+quite young. My mother's people had been Christian
+people very far back. The male members on my
+father's side were Baptist ministers as far as I could
+trace it. I lost my father when I was about eight
+years old. My mother tried to raise me right&mdash;taught
+me right; but we were living out here in a little town&mdash;Hodgensville&mdash;and
+I was wild from the start. I was
+not worse than any other boys, but I was in all sorts
+of mischief. I was looked upon as a bad boy, and
+regarded as no exception to the general rule, that
+preacher's boys are worse than other boys.</p>
+
+<p>When about twelve years old, I joined the church
+at a revival. I believe I was truly converted, and for
+a short while I lived up to the duties of my church;
+but I soon neglected going to church&mdash;first I neglected
+going to prayer-meeting&mdash;and I got back so far that
+I would not be picked out as a Christian by any means.</p>
+
+<p>The war came up when I was fourteen years old,
+and I went into it; and the first night out I got to
+drinking and playing cards; and I suppose I was known
+as the leader in all the mischief got up in the brigade.
+<span class="pagenum">[241]</span>I was notorious throughout the command as a reckless,
+bad boy from the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>My mother had been opposed to my going into
+the army at all; but, if I was going, she would have
+preferred my serving on the other side. I never shall
+forget one thing she said to me at starting. When
+the time came to go, I would not have hesitated to back
+out if she had given me any encouragement at all.
+She said, "My son, you have determined; you have
+cast your lot with the South. I had rather you would
+do your duty and be a brave soldier." But she continued
+to pray for me.</p>
+
+<p>After the war I came back home, and found that
+our property was all gone. My mother had sent me
+to Georgetown college before the war, and my idea
+was to educate myself for a lawyer. When I came
+home the property was dissipated, and I did not
+have enough to finish my education; and the question
+was, what would be the best for me to do. I came
+here to Louisville and went to drumming; met with
+phenomenal success from the start; went up and up;
+was hail fellow, well met, with everybody; situations
+offered me on every side. But I continued to drink
+and play cards as I did in the army, and gambled
+all the time, although not a professional gambler.
+I played against Holcombe's bank many a time. I
+went from bad to worse. I continued to dissipate
+and gamble; and eleven years ago my health was
+very much shattered from my excesses, and I became
+soured with myself and everybody. I was as miserable
+as a man could be, in that condition, as a
+matter of course; and a gentleman who had been a<span class="pagenum">[242]</span>
+comrade in the army with me, and had taken a great
+deal of interest in me, Captain Cross, in a conversation
+with me, insisted that I should go with him to
+Texas, where he was doing a flourishing business.
+I had tried, time and again, to reform, always in my
+own strength, and got further away from God all
+the time. I tried to believe that Christ was not the
+Son of God; that he was not inspired; I denied the
+divinity of Christ, although I never denied that there
+was a Supreme Ruler. Captain Cross wanted me
+to go to Texas, thinking that if I got away from
+the surroundings here, it would help me. Accordingly,
+I went to Texas with him, where I made plenty
+of money.</p>
+
+<p>But I soon fell into the old ways, and found gambling
+houses as numerous there as they are here; I
+found dance-houses more accessible than the churches.
+I led a reckless life; and frequently did not hear from
+my family and friends for months at a time. Finally
+I drank until I drank myself into delirium tremens;
+tried to kill myself; went and bought morphine. But
+fortunately for me, they were watching me. That was
+in Paris, Texas. I was in bed for two or three weeks;
+and when I got up from that, I felt like I did not
+want to stay in Texas any longer.</p>
+
+<p>I went to St. Louis and went into business there;
+had success as a salesman; had a big trade; and I
+went there with a determination not to drink any more
+whisky; but I was there only a few days before I was
+drinking and playing cards&mdash;my old life, in fact. Finally
+I got into a difficulty with a man, shot him and got shot
+myself. I got into a great deal of trouble on account of<span class="pagenum">[243]</span>
+it. It cost me a great deal of money and my mother a
+great deal of sorrow. One time I went to Mexico to
+get out of the way, where I led a reckless life; went
+into the army; played cards and drank whisky. I
+neglected business for whisky a great deal of the time.
+Then I came here to Louisville, and kept up the same
+practice; went to Cincinnati and did the same thing
+there. I let up for a little while when I went to new
+places. When I got back from St. Louis, I met Steve
+Holcombe and shook hands with him. The first thing
+he said to me was, "I have changed my life." I had not
+heard anything of it. I asked him what he was doing.
+He said he was serving the Lord instead of the devil;
+that he had a little mission somewhere. I did not pay
+any attention to it. But one Sunday I was passing
+down Jefferson street, and there was a crowd on the
+courthouse steps, and I saw Steve talking to them. I
+listened to him, and after the crowd went away I asked
+him how he was getting along and he told me.</p>
+
+<p>I kept on drinking, however. Sometimes I had a
+situation and sometimes I did not. People did not want
+me; they did not know when I would be sober. If I
+got a situation, it was in the busy season. After the
+busy season was over, they would reduce my salary and
+give me to understand they wanted me to get a new
+place.</p>
+
+<p>One time I was drunk for a week or ten days, and
+as I passed I heard them singing in the Mission down
+stairs and went in. I thought that would be a good
+place to rest. I went back a night or two; and one
+night Mr. Holcombe delivered a powerful testimony
+and mentioned some circumstances that had occurred<span class="pagenum">[244]</span>
+in his life, at some of which I had been present&mdash;I
+don't know that he had particular reference to me.
+I went back the next night and went up for prayer. I
+went again sober; but I did not see my way clear.
+I went back and took "a nip," as he said. I sank lower
+and lower; but I still went to that Mission. Something
+impelled me, I know now what it was. I got a
+situation, and was traveling; but whenever I got off a
+trip the spirit of the Lord impelled me to go to that
+Mission. I talked with Steve frequently, and promised
+him that I was going to try and reform; but I did not,
+and toward the last, in fact, I had almost quit going to
+the Mission. I said, "It is not for me, it is for these
+other men. I have gone too far."</p>
+
+<p>I went in there in November. I was going away
+on a trip, and the next day I started. I met a friend
+on the street, and he asked me for a quarter. He
+wanted to get a drink and lunch. I told him it was
+about my time to get a drink, too, and we would
+go and get one together before I left. I was telling
+him about going to the Mission, and he hooted at the
+idea of a man of my sense going to the Mission.
+About two o'clock in the afternoon I was going down
+the street to take the boat, and I met another friend,
+and he certainly was the worst looking case I ever saw.
+I did not think he would live two weeks. He was a
+physical wreck, and almost a total mental wreck. After
+talking to him for a few minutes he asked me where
+I was going. I told him. And I told him, too, I did
+not care whether I ever got back or not. I told him
+it would be a relief to me if I never got back off of
+that trip. I had a family, saw them occasionally, and<span class="pagenum">[245]</span>
+sent them money when I could; but I never lived with
+them. After talking with him a little while, I said my
+time was up, and asked him if he would not go and
+take a parting drink with me. We went into the
+Opera House down there and took a drink. I never
+expected to see my friend alive again, even if I got
+back from that trip myself. That was the 30th day of
+November. I got back here the 18th day of December.</p>
+
+<p>The most of the night of the 18th I spent down
+here at the Grand Central&mdash;"made a night of it."
+The next morning, when I got up, the very first man
+I saw asked me if I had seen a certain friend of mine.
+I told him, "No." He said: "You would not know
+him." I said: "What is the matter with him?" He
+said: "He is reformed; he is a Christian, and he
+looks twenty years younger than you ever saw him."
+I said: "You are a liar." He said: "I am not a liar.
+You won't know him. He looks like a gentleman." I
+said: "It is pretty funny if he can look like a gentleman
+in this short time." I had not gone another
+square before some one asked me if I had seen
+another friend of mine. I said: "No." "Well,"
+he said, "you ought to see him. He has quit drinking,
+and looks like he used to look." I said "What
+is the matter with him?" He said: "He has joined
+the church." I took a drink, and thought about this
+thing; went down to the store, and knocked around
+there all day long, thinking about those two men. But
+here I was, drunk and wretched and trying to get sober,
+but could not.</p>
+
+<p>Somebody met me about four o'clock in the evening,
+and asked: "Where are you going?" I said: "I<span class="pagenum">[246]</span>
+am going around here to get a drink." He said: "How
+are you going to drink when your partners have quit
+drinking?" I asked him where they could be found;
+that I wanted to take a look at them. He told me
+that I could find them at the Mission. I concluded
+I would come up to the Mission, and did so, pretty
+full; and, honestly, I would not have known either of
+these men on the street. I never saw such a transformation
+as in them. After the services were over
+they came up and shook hands with me, and treated
+me as kindly as they used to do when we were drinking
+together. And I made up my mind if Christ could
+save them, I wanted some of it for myself.</p>
+
+<p>I came to the Mission, and stood up for prayers
+all the time, but came half drunk for four or five nights,
+but still with the determination to have salvation if
+it was to be found; but the more I came the darker the
+way grew. I think (on the 29th of December) Mrs.
+Clark came and talked to me, and Mr. Atmore came
+and talked to me, I was sober&mdash;comparatively so. I
+told them that I had given up all hope; that I had
+sinned away my day of grace, and there was no hope
+for me. They cheered me, and I promised them I
+would pray that night. I went out of the Mission and
+got blind, staving drunk; was hardly able to get up
+stairs to my bed at eleven o'clock, at night. I did
+it out of despair. The doctors had told me before
+that unless I quit drinking whisky I would go dead. I
+was tired of life, but afraid to commit suicide. I concluded
+that the sooner I died, the better. I got up at
+three o'clock in the morning to come down stairs and
+get a drink. The barkeeper was absent from his bar,<span class="pagenum">[247]</span>
+and I concluded that I would wash myself before I took
+a drink. I said to myself while I was washing: "You
+promised yourself you would not drink, and the very
+first night you get drunk, and get up in the morning
+to take another drink, and if you take it you will be
+drunk before night." I concluded I would stop. I
+took a seat by the stove, and very soon the barkeeper
+came back. He looked at me and said: "Are
+you broke this morning, or too stingy to drink, or
+what is the matter?" He added: "Come on. If you
+are too stingy to take a drink yourself, take one with
+me." I was just dying for a drink. I was shaking&mdash;suffering
+physically and mentally. I got up two or
+three times to go to that bar to take a drink, but I
+argued to myself: "If you can not keep from taking
+a drink, you had better go up stairs and kill yourself."
+After awhile the boys commenced dropping in, and, as
+was the custom, said: "Come on, Peck, and take a
+drink." I told them, "No; I have quit."</p>
+
+<p>I went around to the Mission that night, and went
+up to the front. I had a talk with some Christian
+people there about the matter, and talked with one
+of my converted friends. He said there was only one
+way to do&mdash;to give myself to God. I went to bed
+immediately after I left. I could not sleep. I continued
+to pray until somewhere along about three
+o'clock in the morning of the 2d of January; and
+the way was made clear for me. I don't know that
+there was any particular vision. I made up my mind
+that I would go and make my arrangements to join
+the church, and ask God's direction from that time
+on, and to lead another life&mdash;lead a Christian life as<span class="pagenum">[248]</span>
+much as it is possible for a sinful mortal like me
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>I came up to the Mission that night, and told
+Sister Clark and Brother Holcombe that I was as
+happy as I could be; I had found what I was seeking
+for, and I felt that I could trust God. The next
+Wednesday night I went down to the Fourth and
+Walnut-street Baptist church, and put myself under
+the care of the church. Since that time I have been
+leading a different life. I am in perfect peace and
+rest. Everything, of course, has not gone to suit me
+exactly; but I always have been able to say: "I
+know it is for the best." My faith grows stronger
+and my future brighter day by day. I think these
+people who have been moral and religious all of their
+lives can not enjoy religion like a hard customer, as
+I was&mdash;if they do, they do not show it.</p>
+
+<p>Friends and relatives who had forsaken and avoided
+me came to me at once and upheld and encouraged me.
+Business came to me without seeking it. I was encouraged
+on every hand. People that I thought despised
+me, I found did not. I had every encouragement, so
+far as this life is concerned, and I am, to-day, in a better
+fix, a long ways, than I have been for years.</p>
+
+<p>My appetite for whisky has troubled me three or
+four times since I came to Christ, but all I have to
+do is to get down on my knees, and ask for strength
+to resist it. And before I get through praying I forget
+about it. I have confidence that God will keep me
+to the end, and my confidence grows stronger every
+day. Things that were a great trial to me at first are
+no longer so.<span class="pagenum">[249]</span></p>
+
+<p>A very remarkable thing in my case is, that the
+thing that I expected to give me the most trouble
+has given me the least. I was certainly one of the
+most profane men that ever lived, and I was always
+afraid that the sin that I would have to guard against
+most would be profanity. But, if I have ever sworn
+an oath, it has been unconsciously, and I do not have
+to think about it&mdash;I do not have to guard against it;
+it horrifies me to hear a man swear now. I thought
+I could fight whisky easier than I could that. Strange
+to say, it has not bothered me in the least, but
+whisky has, on three or four occasions. A craving
+came on me yesterday. It was a terrible, miserable,
+bleak, rainy day. I was sitting in my room, writing,
+and all at once I concluded that I must have a stimulant.
+I have not recovered, and will not for months,
+from the effects of whisky. I said: "It is a cold, damp,
+miserable day. Go up there to the drug-store and
+get some port wine as a medicine. Do not go into
+a bar-room. There will be no harm in going there
+to get a little port wine. Bring it into your room.
+It will be the best thing you can do." I got up and
+put on my overcoat and my overshoes, and it struck
+me that it would not be the best thing for me; and I
+got down on my knees and prayed to God, and
+before I got through praying I forgot all about it.
+The devil had tempted me previously, but he put it
+that day in the shape of the port wine.</p>
+
+<p>Just about ten days after I joined the church, I
+was in the Ph&oelig;nix hotel. A friend of mine, a man
+that I had gambled and drunk with all my life, or at
+least, for a number of years, said to me, "You are<span class="pagenum">[250]</span>
+not drinking much from the way you look." I said,
+"No, I am not." He said he thought he would beckon
+me out, because he did not like to make that statement
+before the crowd, and had I been drinking as I
+did the last time he saw me, he would not have asked
+me. He wanted me to come in and take a drink
+with him. I said whisky had once got the upper
+hand of me, and he must excuse me. He said he
+knew I was a man, and could take a drink without
+getting drunk, and he wanted me to take it socially.
+I told him that might all be true. I might take the
+drink without getting drunk, and I might take it without
+its being a sin in his sight, or in the sight of
+other people; but that I had promised God that I
+would follow Him all my life, and walk in the way
+He wanted me to go; that I had joined the church,
+and our church rules forbade drinking. He then
+begged my pardon, with tears in his eyes, for having
+asked me, and bade me God speed.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-299.jpg" width="298" height="382" alt="J. C. WILSON." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">J. C. WILSON.</p>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[251]</span>
+
+<p class="h4">JAMES C. WILSON.</p>
+
+<p>I started out in gambling during the war&mdash;about
+1862. That was in New York State. I was born
+and raised there. I will be forty-five years of age the
+next eighth of July. I started out in New York in
+1862. My father kept a shoe store there then. He
+was pretty well to do. Having money, I cared nothing
+about getting any kind of business. I got in with a
+man by the name of Captain Brown, who was one of
+the principal gamblers there; and I began to be expert
+in short cards at first.</p>
+
+<p>From there I went into the army during the war,
+and stayed there until 1865, and then went to Texas.
+At Austin, Texas, I got into trouble in 1866, on account
+of my gambling. I believe it was about the 20th of
+January. Myself and a man by the name of Ryan
+had been playing together, and I had beaten him, which
+made him mad. He called me very insulting names.
+He slapped me and hit me, and I drew my pistol on
+him. I first struck him once and then shot him, and
+killed him instantly. I was put in jail. I had not been
+there long and was a stranger. The thing occurred
+down near the Colorado river. A mob assembled, and
+came down with ropes to hang me. But the sheriff
+and his posse, in order to save me, carried me out of
+the city, and ran me up to San Antonio. I stayed in
+jail six months and was tried; but there was nothing
+done with me&mdash;the witnesses testified that I was justified
+in doing what I did.<span class="pagenum">[252]</span></p>
+
+<p>After that I went to Rochester, New York, and
+from there to Toronto, Canada. I made my living by
+gambling; and, of course, gambled in all these places.
+I got broke very often, but always managed to get
+hold of a stake. I went from Canada back to New
+York City; and used to play on the falls steamers&mdash;Fisk's
+boats. I stayed there until I came to Louisville
+in 1870, when I went into the army again. I was here
+in the Taylor barracks with General Custer. I went
+out West with him, and was there discharged from
+the army, and went to gambling at Bismarck, Dakota.
+When I had got out of the army, I had made about
+six thousand dollars, and went to St. Paul, and from
+there to Chicago. I gambled there for awhile, and
+was unsuccessful; and from there I came to Louisville
+again.</p>
+
+<p>I have been here since 1873, I believe. Shortly
+after I commenced gambling here, the gambling houses
+were closed, but were re-opened in 1874 again, and I
+commenced gambling again, opening at the Richmond,
+the house on the South-west corner of Fifth and
+Market streets. Brother Holcombe before that, I think,
+was interested in the Richmond. That was the last
+house I dealt in, or worked in, until I opened for
+myself, which was at "84" Fifth street, between Main
+and Market. I was very unsuccessful there; had men
+working for me who did not attend to their business.</p>
+
+<p>During all this time I had a wife and family, whom
+I really loved but whom I neglected and allowed to
+suffer greatly through my passion for gambling, the
+uncertainty of making a living and my wanderings
+from place to place. About this time I used to think<span class="pagenum">[253]</span>
+of Holcombe; and we gamblers used to remark among
+ourselves how it was that he had become religious. I
+used to get to studying to myself how he got along,
+and ask myself how a man could be a Christian who
+had been a gambler so long as he had.</p>
+
+<p>About this time I met Dr. Jno. B. Richardson and
+Mr. Samuel B. Richardson. They talked with me in
+regard to swearing and gambling and the life I was
+leading. They influenced me as best they could and
+advised me to see Brother Holcombe, and together
+with Brother Holcombe they watched over my spiritual
+condition for a couple of years. I had become disgusted
+with the life I was leading; and came to
+Brother Holcombe for advice. I had quit "84"
+and was broke. I had some money when I quit, and
+bought the house which I am living in yet. I said to
+Brother Holcombe: "I am getting tired of this infernal
+gambling. How can I quit it? Show me something
+to do. How can I get out of this life?" He
+said, "Brother Wilson, come up stairs." He talked
+with me and prayed with me. He said, "Do not be
+discouraged. Take my advice. The first thing you
+do, commit yourself; take a stand and after that every
+night, and during the day, ask God for strength and
+help, and come to this mission and," he said, "I will
+help you to get something to do in every way I
+can." I never will forget the first night I got down
+on my knees and prayed. I laughed at myself, which
+showed how the devil was after me to lead me back
+to my old life. I actually laughed to think I was trying
+to pray in earnest. I came to the mission and
+told Steve. Brother Holcombe said, "Keep on in<span class="pagenum">[254]</span>
+that way, anyhow. Pray to God and ask for strength
+all the time. Keep away from gamblers and bad
+company, and do not mix with them," and I did so&mdash;I
+took his advice, and I began to get strength from
+Almighty God; He was helping me; He opened a
+way for me, though everything was new to me for
+awhile.</p>
+
+<p>When I least expected it, I got a situation with
+the Louisville City Railway Company, which I still
+hold. I am happy and my family are happy, and all
+my surroundings are good; and I know, with the help
+of God, I will never touch a card again. If we trust
+in God, I know we are kept from all temptation.
+When any temptation comes to me, I always look
+to God for help; and the help comes as naturally
+as my pay does when pay-day comes. I feel that the
+number of friends I have made, and everything I
+have, I owe to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
+Brother Holcombe; and I trust I may be kept and
+continue in the life I am leading. I am happy and
+contented and all my surroundings are happy; and I
+hope all good people will pray for me that I may
+continue the life I am now leading.</p>
+
+<p>I belong to the First Presbyterian Church, Dr.
+Witherspoon's church, and I am sorry I can not attend
+more regularly. My business occupies me so
+constantly that I can not get away.</p>
+
+<p>I get only a dollar and a half a day. When I was
+a gambler, some months I would make three or four
+thousand dollars, and sometimes five thousand dollars;
+and some months I believe I have made more than
+that, so far as that is concerned; but a gambler, you<span class="pagenum">[255]</span>
+know, has his ups and downs, I have been so hard
+up that I have been tempted to commit murder for
+money. In Texas I looked for a man to kill him for
+his money, but when I found him I did not have the
+heart to do it. It seemed as if I could not use my
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>It would take me from now until to-morrow morning
+to tell all of my experiences. I have been in
+Europe, California, Old and New Mexico, and I believe
+that God was with me even when I was wicked.
+I have a bad temper to this day, but, by God's grace,
+I can control it.</p>
+
+<p>My parents were church members&mdash;Presbyterians,
+and I was raised in the church. My father died when
+I was fifteen years old, and my mother died when I
+was eight years old. If I had been put to hard
+work, and had had something to do, it might have
+been different with me; but my father was well-to-do,
+and I had too much money to spend. My parents
+tried to give me a good education, and I went to
+school; but when I got to gambling I could not get
+anything in my head but cards. I did not care for
+anything else. But, thank God, it is now just the
+reverse; it just gives me the chills to think of playing
+cards.</p>
+
+<p>Three years ago, if a man had told me that I
+would quit gambling, I would have told him that he
+was crazy. I thank God and Brother Holcombe for
+what has been done for me. I am truly thankful
+there was such a man. I know if it had not been
+for him I would have been right in hell to-day. If I
+had not been helped and lifted up, just like a little<span class="pagenum">[256]</span>
+child in the new life, I think I would to-day be in
+hell. I never will forget Brother Holcombe.</p>
+
+<p>I drank liquor, but was not a regular drunkard,
+because it made me too sick. I used to drink and
+get drunk, but I would get so sick I could not stand
+it. The habit was there, but the constitution could
+not endure it.</p>
+
+<p>I have no trouble now; I am perfectly happy; I
+do not know what trouble is any more. Of course,
+we all have ups and downs; we can not have everything
+our own way; but I praise God and Brother
+Holcombe that I am able to bear them.</p>
+
+<p>You must show that you are willing for the Lord
+to help you before He will do so. It is like a man
+teaching his children; if the child keeps shoving him
+off, the parent can not help the child, and so it is
+with God. But when a man has seen and felt the
+effects of sin, and his pride is broken down so that
+he is willing, then God will help him and save him,
+no matter how far he has gone in wickedness.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Mr. Wilson is employed by the Louisville City Railway
+Company, at the corner of Eighteenth and Chestnut streets, where, day
+after day, for years, he has faithfully discharged his duties, and he has
+the respect and esteem of his employers and of all who know him.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-307.jpg" width="230" height="312" alt="WM. BIERLY." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">WM. BIERLY.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">WILLIAM BIERLY.</p>
+
+<p>I am thirty-two years of age. I was born at Louisville
+in 1856. My father was a Catholic then, but
+he is not now. My mother died when I was so small
+that I don't know what she was. I will tell you how
+it was: My mother died when I was quite young, my
+father went into the war, and I was kicked and cuffed
+about from one place to another, here and there, till
+I had no respect for myself, and felt that I was nobody.</p>
+
+<p>I was with my father in the soldiers' hospital for
+a long time. He was nurse in the soldiers' hospital.
+At this time I would drink whisky whenever I could
+get it, which appetite did not leave me until I was
+about eighteen years old.</p>
+
+<p>When I was about eleven years old I got to being
+bad&mdash;got to stealing. My father was a strictly honest
+man himself, and my pilfering was abhorrent to him;
+so he had me put in the house of refuge when I was
+eleven years old. I was to remain in the house of
+refuge until I was twenty-one years old, but I got out
+before I was twenty-one. When I was nineteen I got
+to be a guard there. But I got to misbehaving, and
+got discharged from there before I was twenty-one.</p>
+
+<p>When I came out of the house of refuge I boarded
+around at different places, first at one place and then
+another; and sometimes I had no place to board at
+all, and sometimes I could almost lie down on the
+ground and eat grass. I did not go to my father's,<span class="pagenum">[258]</span>
+but knocked about from one place to another. I got
+to stealing again, and I kept that up all the time. I
+never had a desire to do anything else wrong, but
+I always had the desire to steal; and while a boy I
+would steal anything I came across. I would go down
+to the river and steal a bag of peanuts, or burst in
+the head of a barrel of apples and take apples out&mdash;many
+a time have I done that. I worked in a tobacco
+shop for awhile, and would steal tobacco&mdash;I would
+steal anything.</p>
+
+<p>I never was arrested when I was a boy. The first
+time I ever was arrested I was sent to the work-house,
+and Mr. Steve Holcombe got me out. After I got out
+of the work-house I attended the Mission, and there
+was a good religious impression made on me. That
+was the first time I ever had any religious impression.</p>
+
+<p>I lived pretty straight for awhile, and after awhile
+my old desire to steal came back on me. Thank the
+Lord it does not bother me any more now, I was
+watching at the Louisville Exposition during the first
+year of the exposition, 1883, and I was boarding where
+there were some street car drivers boarding, and they
+had all their money boxes there at the boarding house.
+I was tempted to take a few of their boxes, and I did
+take two of them. I was arrested for it, tried, convicted
+and sentenced to six years in the penitentiary.</p>
+
+<p>While I was in the penitentiary it seemed that
+everything turned around the other way with me; it
+seemed like I had got enough of it. I saw so many
+bad men there, I got disgusted. It seemed to me if
+ever I got out and got my liberty any more, I would
+try to do right if it took my head off.<span class="pagenum">[259]</span></p>
+
+<p>During the time&mdash;two years&mdash;that I was in the
+penitentiary, I kept up a correspondence all the time
+with Mr. Holcombe; and Mr. Holcombe's Christian
+letters touched my heart, and I made up my mind by
+the grace of God I would lead a Christian life in the
+future. At the expiration of about two years, Mr.
+Holcombe, to my great surprise and delight, brought
+me a pardon from Governor Knott.</p>
+
+<p>Since I have been out of the penitentiary I have
+been leading a Christian life, and have had no inclination
+to steal. I have been at work for Hegan
+Brothers, as engineer and fireman, for some time, have
+got married to a sweet girl, and am now living happily
+in the Lord; and I shall never cease to be grateful
+to God and Mr. Holcombe. I never go to sleep at
+night without thanking the Lord&mdash;and my wife joins
+me in it.<span class="pagenum">[260]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-312.jpg" width="298" height="432" alt="MAC. PITTMAN." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">MAC. PITTMAN.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">CAPTAIN MAC PITTMAN.</p>
+
+<p>I was born in Baltimore in 1834. My ancestors
+were driven away from Arcadia by the English, on
+account of their Roman Catholic proclivities.</p>
+
+<p>I was educated at two Catholic colleges, St.
+Mary's, at Baltimore; and St. Mary's at Wilmington,
+Delaware. At eighteen years of age, on account of
+the tyranny of my father, I ran away from home, and
+shipped in the United States Navy as a common
+sailor. I went around to San Francisco, and there
+joined "the gray-eyed man of destiny," General
+Walker.</p>
+
+<p>I joined his expedition in September, 1885, and
+arrived in Nicaragua in October, the following month&mdash;the
+third day of October. There was a civil war
+then in progress in Nicaragua; and the pretense of
+this expedition was that we were hired by one of the
+parties to take part in it. Walker was to furnish
+three hundred Americans, who were to get one hundred
+dollars a month and five hundred acres of land,
+and their clothes and rations, of course. When I first
+arrived there, we were to escort specie trains across
+the isthmus&mdash;there are but twelve miles of land from
+water to water&mdash;from San Juan del Sur to Virgin
+Bay. I was one of the guard over the celebrated
+State prisoners, General Coral and the Secretary of
+War, whose name I forget, who were both executed.
+I was inside of the seventieth man who joined this
+expedition; when I joined him, Walker had but sixty
+<span class="pagenum">[261]</span>men. The re-enforcements that came over made just
+one hundred men. He had sixty men, I think, and we
+numbered forty. With this one hundred men we took
+the city of Grenada, which had a population of twelve
+thousand, on the morning of October 13, 1855. A
+small division of men was sent to the town of Leon
+on the Pacific coast. The natives of that section of
+the country were all in favor of Walker; that part&mdash;the
+western part&mdash;is the Democratic part of the
+country. On our return to Grenada, on the 11th day
+of April, 1856, we went into the Battle of Rivas, after
+marching sixty-five miles. We fought from eight
+o'clock in the morning until two the next morning,
+by the flash of guns. I lost my arm that morning;
+and was promoted from the rank of sergeant to that
+of first lieutenant for taking a cannon in advance of
+the army. I returned to Grenada, and lay there for
+several months, and then returned to America. I
+went back with the re-enforcements from New York
+in the following August. In October, 1856, I resigned,
+and came back to America.</p>
+
+<p>At the breaking out of the civil war, on the first
+call for troops, I refused a commission in the Federal
+army, and joined the Confederate forces.</p>
+
+<p>In 1861 we formed the First Maryland regiment.
+The last six months of the war I spent as a prisoner
+in Fort Delaware, charged with the murder of the
+eleven men who were killed in Baltimore during the
+riot, on the 19th of April, 1861. I was court-martialed
+in Washington City, in the latter part of 1864, and
+was sent in irons to Fort Delaware, and remained
+there until May, 1865, when I was released.<span class="pagenum">[262]</span></p>
+
+<p>From Fort Delaware I went to New York, and
+from there went to Virginia, where I married the great
+granddaughter of the illustrious patriot, Patrick Henry,
+at Danville. In January, 1866, I migrated to Texas,
+where I spent the little patrimony my grandfather had
+given me. When I left there, I took the position of
+commercial and marine editor of the Savannah <i>News</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I never had given a thought to religion or my
+hereafter before this time. To illustrate this: When
+they amputated my arm, they asked me distinctly if I
+had any religion. They told me afterward they expected
+me to die. I said: "Yes, I have been raised a Catholic."
+They wanted to send for a priest. I said: "No, I
+do not want you to send for a priest." They asked me
+why? "Well," I said, "as I have lived, thus will I die;
+I don't have much faith in the hereafter business." I
+did not have much faith in hell, I meant.</p>
+
+<p>I was interested, directly and indirectly, in several
+gambling establishments, and my proclivities were in
+that direction. The passion of gambling controlled
+me to such an extent that I was capable of all sins
+and crimes to indulge in it. It was one day up, one
+day down; one day with plenty, another day without
+a cent.</p>
+
+<p>I continued in this wild, reckless career, until fate
+turned my footsteps toward the city of Louisville. For
+it was fate, sure enough, or I don't know what it was.
+I was sitting one Sunday in front of the old Willard
+Hotel, Steve Holcombe was preaching that Sunday
+on the courthouse steps. His remarks were such as
+to elicit my closest attention; so impressive were they
+that he seemed to picture before me a panorama of<span class="pagenum">[263]</span>
+my whole life, in referring to his own career. When
+he got through with his sermon, I walked up to him,
+and said: "Mr. Holcombe, you are the first man that I
+ever heard in my life who impressed me with the
+importance of preparing for death and meeting God."
+I then commenced attending the Mission, on Jefferson
+street, near Fifth, daily. I was there nearly every day.</p>
+
+<p>I then went South, to New Orleans, and fell from
+grace again&mdash;commenced going through the same old
+routine&mdash;gambling, drinking, spreeing. In fact, I was
+a fearful periodical spreer; if I took one drink, I
+had to keep drinking for a month. As long as I kept
+away from it I was all right. I was very abusive when
+I was drinking; I would knock a man down with a
+club. I have been arrested, I guess, fifty times for
+fighting and drunken brawls.</p>
+
+<p>From New Orleans I again came back to Louisville,
+the 6th of August a year ago, still going on in
+the same reckless manner, getting drunk, and being
+drunk, as usual, a week at a time&mdash;sometimes a
+month; in fact, I lived in bar-rooms here. One night,
+while Mr. Murphy was here&mdash;I do not recollect the
+night, but at one of Mr. Murphy's meetings&mdash;he appealed
+to us all to try and reform and be sober men.
+I met Mr. Werne and Miles Turpin there, and while
+there, Mr. Werne asked me if I did not intend to
+reform, or something like that&mdash;that was the substance
+of the conversation of himself and his wife with me&mdash;and
+he told me that Miles Turpin had reformed. I
+said: "If Miles Turpin has reformed, I can, too. From
+this day henceforth I will be a sober man." And I
+signed the Murphy pledge a short time afterward,<span class="pagenum">[264]</span>
+and I have not taken anything intoxicating from that
+day to this.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Werne then asked me to come up to the
+Mission, and I have not missed attending this Mission
+but three nights since, and the benefits that I have
+derived&mdash;the satisfaction, the happiness of mind, the
+contentment of spirit&mdash;I would not exchange for my
+old life for anything in the world. I mean I would
+not exchange my present life for the old one for any
+earthly consideration. I attribute this reformation to
+the strong personal interest that Mr. Holcombe has
+taken in my welfare, and if he does not save but one
+soul, as he says, it would pay him for all the trouble
+he has gone through within the last ten years or
+more.<span class="pagenum">[265]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<blockquote><p>The two following letters, though in the nature of testimonies, are from
+men of high standing in the community, who preferred, on account of others,
+not to give their testimonies in the form in which the foregoing are given:</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<blockquote><p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, July 24, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rev. Gross Alexander</i>:</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Brother</span>&mdash;Yours of 21st is just received.
+I can not see how a sketch of my life can do "The Life
+of Brother Holcombe" any good. As I understand it,
+you are writing the life and conversion of Steve Holcombe
+and not of others. My past history is sufficiently
+sad and regretful without having it paraded
+before the public in book form. I am far from being
+proud of it. I am exceedingly anxious it should sink
+into the shades of forgetfulness. Having marked
+out a new and brighter life, I am only too glad to
+let "the dead past bury its dead."</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Most sincerely,</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, August 2, 1888.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dear Brother Alexander</i>:</p>
+
+<p>Your kind letter was received several days ago,
+but I have delayed answering, in the expectation of
+seeing you here in person.</p>
+
+<p>I am now anxious for the successful issue of the
+book, on account of the great moral influence it will
+have upon all classes of the community. But I can
+not consent to what you propose. I am endeavoring
+every day to blot out and forget the dark and cloudy<span class="pagenum">[266]</span>
+past of my life, keeping always a bright future in
+view. There are dark and painful episodes in the
+life of every man and though <i>he</i> may be willing to
+expose them to the eyes of the public, there are
+those who are bound to him by the ties of blood and
+relationship, who would blush at the recital. This is
+the position I occupy. I hope to see you here soon.</p>
+
+<p class="author1">Yours truly,</p>
+
+<p class="author">&mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+&nbsp;<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illo-321.jpg" width="466" height="292" alt="A NIGHT MEETING&mdash;MR. HOLCOMBE PREACHING." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">A NIGHT MEETING&mdash;MR. HOLCOMBE PREACHING.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+<h2 id="SERMONS">SERMONS.</h2>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[269]</span></p><p class="h4">MARK 1: 15.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe
+the Gospel."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Verse 14 says, the Lord Jesus came into Galilee
+preaching; and this was the announcement which He
+made, namely, that the kingdom of God was at hand
+and they were to enter it by repentance and faith.
+The kingdom was brought to them; they did not have
+to go and search for it. It was brought to them,
+opened for them and they were <i>urged</i> to go in and
+become members of it. And so it is now. God's messengers
+are sent everywhere to find sinners, and when
+they are found, to say to them: "Ho! everyone that
+thirsteth, come ye to the waters and drink, come buy
+and eat without money and without price" (Isaiah 55),
+and to cry, "All things are now ready; come ye, therefore,
+to the feast."</p>
+
+<p>And so it is to-day, God sends the same message
+of good news, of glad tidings to you&mdash;even to you.
+The kingdom of God is <i>here&mdash;here to-day and now</i>;
+and if you <i>will</i>, you may enter it and be saved.</p>
+
+<p>But what are men told to do in order that they
+may enter?</p>
+
+<p>How are they to enter?</p>
+
+<p>1. They are to <i>repent</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And what is it to repent?</p>
+
+<p>Some think that great sorrow of heart is a necessary
+part of repentance; and that tears and groans of
+agony must be a part of every repentance that is
+genuine, and they think that unless we feel deeply
+and keenly the baseness of our ingratitude to God we<span class="pagenum">[270]</span>
+are not truly penitent. Now, it is true that some people
+have <i>all these</i> marks of repentance, and it is very
+well to have them, but some men can not have them
+and never can get them. So that if all men are commanded
+to repent and can repent, these things are
+not an essential part of true repentance. To repent,
+then, is to turn unto God with the feeling that sin is
+wrong, and that, if we do not get rid of it, it will ruin
+us; and with the resolution and hope, by the help of
+God, to keep from sin and to live for Him during the
+rest of our lives. And if our repentance is genuine,
+we <i>will</i> leave off sin and practice righteousness. It
+will show itself by its <i>fruits</i>. Pretending or professing
+to repent without turning away from our sins and
+abandoning them is, as some one has said, like trying
+to pump the water out of a boat without stopping the
+leaks. If you have sorrow and regrets and tears,
+they are all right; but the <i>main thing</i> is to have
+such a feeling concerning sin as to turn <i>forever</i> away
+from it to God and to a life of righteousness. And
+if your repentance is genuine, you will not wait until
+you are converted before you begin to leave off all
+sin and to do all the good of every kind in your
+power. No; you will begin <i>at once and keep it up</i>,
+and the longer you keep at it the more you will feel
+that you must go on with it.</p>
+
+<p>2. But there is another thing to be done. The
+Lord says:</p>
+
+<p>"Repent and <i>believe</i> the Gospel."</p>
+
+<p>So you are to <i>believe</i>. You are to believe that
+God <i>does</i> accept you now through Jesus Christ <i>just
+because He says</i> He accepts and saves those who believe<span class="pagenum">[271]</span>
+in His Son. You may not receive the evidence of
+acceptance <i>at once</i> and so you are to hold on by faith
+till He does give you the evidence of your acceptance,
+even the witness of His spirit that your sins are forgiven
+and you made a child of God.</p>
+
+<p>You must not let the difficulty of believing without
+feeling keep you back from believing and you must
+not let the remembrance of your great sins keep you
+from believing. Poor, unhappy men, you who are
+bruised and sore on account of your sins, I beg you
+cease from your evil ways. Why will you die? "What
+fearful thing is there in Heaven which makes you flee
+from that world? What fascinating object in hell, that
+excites such frenzied exertion to break every band,
+and overleap every bound, and force your way downward
+to the chambers of death?" Stop, I beseech
+you, and repent, and Jesus Christ shall blot out your
+sins, and remember your transgressions no more. Stop,
+and the host who follow your steps shall turn, and
+take hold on the path of life. Stop, and the wide
+waste of sin shall cease, and the song of the angels
+shall be heard again, "glory to God in the highest;
+on earth, peace, good will to men." Stop, and instead
+of wailing with the lost, you shall join the multitude
+which no man can number, in the ascription of blessing
+and honor, and glory, and power, to Him that sitteth
+on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and forever.</p>
+
+<p>The kingdom of God is here to-night. Will you
+come in?</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Come humble sinner in whose breast," etc.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Come, angels invite you, we invite you, and, best of
+all, Christ invites you. O, do not, by your own actions,<span class="pagenum">[272]</span>
+bar this door forever against your immortal soul.
+What a fearful thing it will be to wake up in eternity
+to find this door, which to-day hangs wide open, barred
+against you and hung with crape. O, how fearful will
+be those words, too late! too late! All is lost.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Just as I am, without one plea,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But that Thy blood was shed for me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O! Lamb of God I come.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Just as I am, tho' tossed about,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With many a conflict, many a doubt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fightings and fears within, without,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O! Lamb of God I come."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[273]</span></div></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">JOHN III: 16</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
+Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
+have everlasting life."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Many of the glorious truths of the Gospel are both
+above the conception of man and altogether contrary
+to what his unrenewed nature would desire to publish.
+Heathen writers could tell of the cruelty and vengeful
+wrath of their imaginary gods. They could tell of
+deeds of daring, the exploits of Hercules, Hector,
+&AElig;neas and others; but it was foreign to their nature
+to write: "God so loved the world as to give His
+only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
+should not perish, but have everlasting life."</p>
+
+<p>1. The Gospel is glad tidings. It is the news that
+God is reconciled and wants to be at peace with man.
+Is this not good news? Have you never heard good
+news that made your heart leap for joy? Well, this
+is better news than any you have ever heard. God,
+not angry with you, but loving you, so as, at a great
+sacrifice, to make a way for the salvation of the world.</p>
+
+<p>2. What was that sacrifice? It was the gift of His
+own Son. Think of it, oh sinner! God consenteth to
+give up His Son, to leave His glory and come as a
+stranger into the world, and to be born in great
+poverty, and with all the conditions of us poor
+mortals. Think of God looking down on Jesus, His
+Son, living this poor earthly life, here among strangers
+who did not recognize His divinity&mdash;nay, who became
+jealous of Him, and persecuted Him trying to kill
+him; and at last, after unheard-of tortures inflicted<span class="pagenum">[274]</span>
+upon Him, did kill Him. Now, think of God giving
+up His Son to endure all this, and watching all this
+lonely and misunderstood and persecuted life of His
+only begotten Son, watching it and enduring it for
+thirty-three years, and then ask yourself how much
+God sacrificed to show His love for us sinners.
+Have you a son? If you have, don't you know how
+it stings you deeper for a man to mistreat or strike
+him than yourself? If a man should beat my little
+Pearl it would be harder for me to bear than anything,
+and yet this is what God endured for long
+years to show His love for you and me.</p>
+
+<p>Think of the arrest of Jesus, His being tied, handcuffed,
+beaten more than once with fearful lashes,
+knocked in the face, spit on, and then nailed with
+spikes to a cross with thieves, and think of God looking
+at all this while it was going on, and you have
+some idea of what it means when it says God <i>gave</i>
+His only begotten Son.</p>
+
+<p>3. And the way to get this friendship of God and
+profit by this love is merely to <i>believe</i> with all your
+heart on Jesus. It is hard to believe that God loves,
+really loves, such sinners as you are, and yet I am a
+living witness that He does; for I was as bad as any
+of you, and if God did not love me and take hold of
+me and save me, then I don't know what has happened
+to me, certain. So you must <i>believe</i> it, even if
+it is hard to believe it.</p>
+
+<p>4. But this glad tidings is for you and you and
+you&mdash;for <i>every one of you</i>. It is for <i>whosoever</i>, and
+that means everybody&mdash;everybody. A certain believing
+man in England said, "I rather it would <i>be whosoever</i><span class="pagenum">[275]</span>
+than to have my name there. For if my name
+was there, I could say there might be another man of
+my name in the world, but when it says <i>whosoever, I
+know it includes me</i>."</p>
+
+<p>5. It is to save us from <i>perishing</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, what an awful word is that, and what an awful
+thing it must be to perish. You have a taste of it
+now in your sins, and their saddening, darkening,
+hardening effect on you. You once had tender consciences.
+You once loved things and people that
+were pure and good and true, and you loved a Christian
+mother, wife, father or sister; but sin has so
+hardened you, that you care for none of these things
+now. Is it not so? Well, this is a little taste of
+what it is to finally and forever <i>perish</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But Christ was given that you might <i>not perish</i>.
+What, can Christ save me from my hardness of heart,
+from my black sins, from my uncleanness and debauchery,
+and from my awful darkness of mind and conscience?</p>
+
+<p>Yes; He can, glory to His name. I am a living
+witness. He has saved me. He can save others like
+me from all these awful effects of sin, even after
+they have lived in it for scores of years, as I did.
+Yes, and He saves from that awful <i>perishing</i> which
+comes after this little, short life is over, whatever it
+is. Yes; Jesus can shut and bar the door of hell,
+and no soul can enter there who believes in Him and
+lives for Him.</p>
+
+<p>6. But He not only saves from perishing, He
+gives them eternal <i>life</i>,</p>
+
+<p>What does that mean? Oh, I know not&mdash;only I<span class="pagenum">[276]</span>
+know it means life forever without death or decay or
+sickness or pain or sorrow or weakness or tiredness
+or parting or fear or anxiety. But what else it
+means I know not. This eternal life, this life forever
+in heaven, I expect&mdash;I fully expect&mdash;to get, though
+I was a poor gambler and swearer and adulterer, and
+all that I could be that was sinful, for forty years.
+Yes; I expect to get it. I know I am on my way
+thither, though I am not perfect. Won't you come and
+go with us? Oh, won't you come?<span class="pagenum">[277]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">TITUS II: 14.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us
+from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
+zealous of good works."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>This verse contains a comprehensive statement of
+the Gospel in few words. Let us ask God that His
+Holy Spirit may give us wisdom and insight to understand
+and profit by what we are here told.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, we are told that the ground of
+our salvation is through the self-surrender of Himself
+by Jesus, the Son of God.</p>
+
+<p>We saw, in a passage of Scripture a week or two
+ago, how great the condescension of Jesus Christ was.
+Though He was equal with God, yet He took upon himself
+the form of a servant; and being found in fashion as
+a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
+death&mdash;the death of the Cross. Our text now teaches
+us what this was for. "He gave Himself <i>for us</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Now, I will ask you, could God show His concern
+for us in a more striking and convincing way than in
+the <i>giving</i> of His Son to ignominy and death? Could
+Jesus, the Son of God, show His love for men in any
+more convincing way than in <i>giving Himself</i> for their
+recovery and salvation? Then, surely we ought to lay
+aside our habitual way of thinking of God as our
+enemy, and think of Him as our best friend. For no
+human friend ever did for us what God has done for
+us. And if we judge of one's love for us by the
+sacrifices he makes for us, then must we give the
+crown to Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh.
+He bore our sins; He would bear our burdens, if we<span class="pagenum">[278]</span>
+would throw them on Him; He would fill us with
+His spirit, and with power, if we would trust Him and
+believe His promise.</p>
+
+<p>But did He give Himself for us that we might
+remain <i>in sin</i>, and yet not be punished? This is
+what the Universalists say. But no! He gave Himself
+for us that He might redeem us <i>from</i> iniquity, and
+from <i>all</i> iniquity at that. He was manifested to deliver
+us from the <i>guilt</i> of our past sins; and, second, to
+deliver us from the dominion and power of sin, that
+being free from sin, we might live unto God.</p>
+
+<p>And that man who thinks he has been pardoned
+for past sins is mistaken, unless he also has been saved
+from the <i>power</i> of sin, so as no longer to be led captive
+by the devil.</p>
+
+<p>Let not what I say discourage anybody. If you
+have not been saved from the power of evil and of
+evil habits, you may be saved, and that here and now.
+The fact is, many of us are so selfish, we just want to
+be delivered from the danger, but not from the practice,
+of sin. Some of us enjoy sin.</p>
+
+<p>If some who are here could have <i>all</i> desire for
+liquor utterly taken away by raising a hand, they would,
+perhaps, not raise a hand, because they love liquor too
+well. If some could be utterly and forever freed from
+lust by bowing their heads, they would not be willing
+to bow their heads, because they find so much pleasure
+in lust and in lewd thoughts, feelings and acts, that
+they do not <i>desire</i> to be freed from that which gives
+them this low, animal pleasure. And yet these same
+men will profess to have great desires to be cleansed
+from their sins. But, if you are willing, Christ is ready
+and able to deliver you from all these base and beastly<span class="pagenum">[279]</span>
+passions and habits. What do you say? Do you want
+to be redeemed from all iniquity to-night?</p>
+
+<p>And when thus delivered from all iniquity, your
+soul being pure will desire nothing but to do good,
+and to bring other poor soiled and enslaved souls
+into the same liberty and purity. Since my conversion
+I have had no other desire and no other care but to do
+good and save others. And that is what the text says:
+"Zealous of good works."</p>
+
+<p>Now, you who have been saved here, I want to ask
+you: What are you doing for others? If you do
+<i>not</i> abound in good works, and do not try to save
+others, it will be difficult or <i>impossible</i> to keep yourself
+saved. Jesus said: "Every branch that beareth not
+fruit He taketh away."&mdash;John <span class="smcap">XV</span>: 1. And you will
+find your supply of grace running short and your faith
+growing weak and tottering, if you do not make it
+a point and business to do good to others&mdash;to their
+bodies and their souls. What do you say? Has anybody
+else heard from your lips of your great blessing
+and salvation? Do you tell your family and your
+friends about it? Do you tell others of their sins and
+their danger? Do you pray for others? Do you give
+your time (part of it at least) and your money in doing
+good to others? If you do, you will find your own cup
+gets fuller, your own faith stronger, your own heart
+more joyful. It is God's law and God's plan that
+you should give out to others. In so doing He will
+increase your own supply. Do you feel your weakness?
+It is right you should do so. But do the work, speak
+the word, and leave it to God who giveth the increase,
+and it shall abound to the salvation of others, the joy
+of your heart, and the glory of His blessed name.<span class="pagenum">[280]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ISAIAH LV: 6-7.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon
+Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way
+and let him return unto the Lord and He will abundantly
+pardon."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>If a father were to write a letter to a dissipated
+and rebellious son, far away from home, to persuade
+him to return, and to assure him of a cordial welcome,
+he could hardly fill it fuller of expressions of tenderness
+and love, expressions to inspire confidence, than
+the Bible is of such expressions from the great God.
+This chapter contains an invitation to seek God, and a
+precious promise of forgiveness to any who will do so.</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Seek</i> ye the Lord.</p>
+
+<p>Now, you know what it means when it says <i>seek</i>.
+You know what it means when a man says he is seeking
+employment. He goes from place to place, from
+man to man, and he does this from day to day, and
+from week to week if he does not succeed; and the
+reason is, there is a <i>necessity</i> upon him. He <i>must</i>
+have employment, or himself and family are without
+bread, without clothing, without shelter. So when we
+talk about a man seeking the Lord, we mean that he
+searches diligently for Him, and from day to day, and
+from week to week, because there is something worse
+than starvation to suffer if he does not find God. I
+tell you when a man has soul-hunger, it is worse than
+body-hunger if he does not find God. When a man
+is sick of sin and feels his loneliness and orphanage,
+and that he is without God and without hope in the
+world, and that he dare not go into eternity in his<span class="pagenum">[281]</span>
+condition of guilt and uncleanness, it is more fearful
+than hunger of the body, and it will make him seek
+for God with all his soul.</p>
+
+<p><i>How</i> am I to seek God? you say. Well, seek
+Him by prayer. "Call upon Him," as the text says.
+"Ask and it shall be given you." Go off to yourself.
+Shut out everybody. Be entirely alone. Then get
+down upon your knees and call upon God. Plead His
+promises. Tell Him you have heard that He receives
+and saves sinners, and that you are a sinner, and that
+you do not mean to let Him go until He blesses you.</p>
+
+<p>Seek Him by reading good, religious books and
+papers, and especially the Bible; and don't read any
+other sort of reading unless it is necessary till you find
+Him. Keep your mind on God all the time.</p>
+
+<p>Seek Him by going with good, Christian people,
+pious, godly men and women who walk with God, no
+matter what their name or denomination may be. If
+you say you don't know where to find such, come to
+our Mission rooms, to the Walnut-street church, to all
+our meetings, preaching, prayer-meeting, Sunday-school,
+class-meetings, ask us questions, use us in any way we
+can help you to find God.</p>
+
+<p>Seeking Him by putting out of the way those things
+which are <i>hindrances</i>. The text refers to this. It says,
+"Let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous
+man his thoughts and thus let him return unto God."</p>
+
+<p>The forsaking of sin is the main feature of what
+we call <i>repentance</i>.</p>
+
+<p>You can not come to God unless you come giving
+up your sins entirely or crying to God for help to
+give them up.<span class="pagenum">[282]</span></p>
+
+<p>You can, by God's grace, give up all your sins and
+all your sinful and slavish habits. A proof of this is
+my own deliverance from evil habits, as whisky, tobacco
+and evil passions, as lewdness, licentiousness.</p>
+
+<p>1. You must give up sin. You can not expect to
+retain it and please God or serve God. Do not question
+this. You must give up sin. There is no escape.
+Turn away from it with all your heart and soul.</p>
+
+<p>2. You must give up <i>all</i> sin, your besetting sin, the
+sin that has the most power over you.</p>
+
+<p>3. Give up all sin <i>now</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Do not wait. God will help you. You know not
+that you will be living to-morrow or next Sunday;
+and if you are, it will not be any easier then than it
+is to-day. Now is the day of salvation.</p>
+
+<p>4. Give up all sin, give it up <i>now</i>, and give it up
+<i>forever</i>. You can not give it up for awhile and then
+turn to it again. That will do you no good. You
+might as well not give it up at all as to turn back
+to it again.</p>
+
+<p>And look to God for help, for present help, for
+all-sufficient strength.</p>
+
+<p>Tell Him by His help you mean to be His, no
+matter what it costs; and believe on Jesus Christ, His
+Son, as the bearer of your past sins and the giver of
+the Holy Spirit, and very soon you will be happier
+than the men who own these hotels and business
+houses and Broadway palaces and hundreds of thousands
+of dollars. Yes; you will. I know from my
+experience and that of others.</p>
+
+<p>My text says, God will have mercy on you and
+will <i>abundantly</i> pardon you.<span class="pagenum">[283]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">LUKE VIII: 5-15.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus may have seen a farmer sowing seed, and,
+directing the attention of the people to him, uttered
+this parable. He took the commonest and most
+familiar facts and occurrences and made them the
+means of expressing the great truths of His kingdom.
+So His ministers should try to do now&mdash;teach the
+truth of God in language easily understood by the
+men addressed.</p>
+
+<p>He divides the hearers of the word into four
+classes: be ready then to decide in which class <i>you</i>
+are, for you are certainly in one.</p>
+
+<p>1. The seed which fell on the hard beaten path is
+the word preached to men who do not receive any
+impression at all from hearing it.</p>
+
+<p>They have forgotten it by the time the sound of
+the preacher's voice has died away. It does not
+enter their minds and produce any <i>thought</i>; nor their
+hearts, and produce any <i>feeling</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Are there not thousands of people who go to
+church, who hear preaching constantly, and yet it
+produces no effect? They are no better, and <i>they do
+not try to be</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But in the twelfth verse we find who is the cause
+of this astonishing indifference and hardness&mdash;it is the
+<i>devil</i> who causes them at once and forever to forget
+all that is said "lest they should <i>believe</i> and <i>be saved</i>."</p>
+
+<p>There is an unseen adversary, then, who keeps
+us from thinking about religion all he can. If you<span class="pagenum">[284]</span>
+do not think about it much, that is a proof that you
+are under his influence.</p>
+
+<p>2. The next class consists of those who from
+impulse become religious without counting the cost.</p>
+
+<p>They do not stop to reflect that to be godly
+requires self-denial, humility, patience, crucifying the
+flesh with all its lusts. And so, when temptation
+comes or trial, they give up in disgust. They are
+like Pliable in Bunyan's Pilgrims' Progress&mdash;easily
+persuaded to start on the way to heaven, but just as
+easily discouraged and disgusted. There are lots of
+such people now. They lack stability.</p>
+
+<p>3. The next class are those who hear, believe,
+receive and practice the word of God&mdash;who run well
+for a season, maybe for a <i>long season</i>, but are little by
+little, and in an unperceived way, drawn away from
+their first love, and then on to perdition.</p>
+
+<p>Three things are here mentioned as drawing them
+gradually away from their devotion to Christ:</p>
+
+<p>(<i>a</i>) <i>Cares.</i></p>
+
+<p>They have so much to attend to, they do not
+<i>have</i> time or <i>take</i> time for their religious duties, as
+prayer, going to meetings, etc., and missing these,
+they soon grow cold, and they are so occupied and
+worried with the multitude of things to be attended
+to, they have no <i>disposition</i> for religion. All this care
+may be about things that are lawful, as making a
+living, for example.</p>
+
+<p>(<i>b</i>) <i>Riches.</i></p>
+
+<p>Oh, how deceitful riches are. We think we don't
+love them, but let us be asked to part with them, as
+Christ asked the young man, and <i>we see</i>. John Wesley<span class="pagenum">[285]</span>
+said, "As wealth increases, religion decreases," and he
+was right.</p>
+
+<p>(<i>c.</i>) <i>Pleasure.</i></p>
+
+<p>The pleasure of fine, rich living, fashionable life,
+fine dress, theater-going, balls, parties, flirtations, the
+admiration and praise of others etc., etc.</p>
+
+<p>4. The last class are those who <i>count the cost</i>, go
+in with their eyes open, who <i>won't</i> let cares, riches or
+pleasures draw them off, but who work, and serve,
+and pray with <i>patience</i> even unto the end.<span class="pagenum">[286]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">II. CORINTHIANS, II: 11.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are
+not ignorant of his devices."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The New Testament everywhere teaches that there
+is a personal evil spirit of wonderful cunning and
+deep malignity toward God and the human race.
+Hence, our conflict is not with flesh and blood; not
+against our own inclinations to evil, nor against sin
+in the abstract, but it is against the god of this world,
+the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore, yielding to sin is no small matter, for it
+is yielding to an enemy of unfathomable hatred toward
+us, and of the deepest cunning, who, in everything,
+has for his purpose our ruin and God's disappointment,
+and who, however lightly he may let his chains lie upon
+us while we are led captive by him, at his will, always
+draws them so tight, when we attempt to escape from
+him, that only Almighty God can break them off and
+set us free.</p>
+
+<p>It makes a vast difference whether sin is only the
+indulgence of a passion which can have no intelligent
+design to damage and to ruin us, and which passes
+away when it is gratified, to trouble us no more, or
+whether it is the means adopted by an invisible but
+awfully real and hellish foe to lure us to an unforeseen
+ruin.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, sin is not a mere pleasure whose effects are
+ended when the enjoyment is over, but it is the bait
+that hides the cruel hook thrown out for us by the<span class="pagenum">[287]</span>
+artful fisherman of hell. And he is all the more dangerous
+because we can not see him and realize always
+his ultimate purpose.</p>
+
+<p>The skillful fisherman keeps himself out of sight
+and lets the fish see only the tempting bait, and so
+the poor, deceived creature is lured by a harmless
+looking pleasure on to agony and death.</p>
+
+<p>And Satan not only controls the world, but he
+continually tempts Christians; those who have just
+recently escaped out of his snares and are on their
+way to heaven.</p>
+
+<p>And now, what are some of his devices?</p>
+
+<p>1. He makes a grand effort to persuade young
+Christians that they have never been converted. He
+almost invariably attacks them with this temptation.
+He sometimes pursues them for years with this fear,
+that they have never really experienced a change of
+heart. And, if he succeeds in persuading them of this,
+he has gained a grand point toward their fall. For to
+find that one is mistaken in the belief that he has
+passed from death unto life, is the most discouraging,
+disheartening thing he could experience.</p>
+
+<p>I have known old ministers of the Gospel say that
+the first thing Satan ever tempted them with was this
+suggestion, that they were mistaken in believing that
+they had passed through that wonderful change which
+makes a sinner an heir of God, and fits him for
+heaven.</p>
+
+<p>So, my brother, you are in the line of God's true
+servants if the enemy has troubled you with this temptation.
+Don't, therefore, let it discourage you. And
+do not, by any means, give up to it. Say to your<span class="pagenum">[288]</span>
+tempter that your Lord says he is a liar from the
+beginning, and that you can not believe him, but you
+prefer to believe God.</p>
+
+<p>And the very fact that you are strongly tempted
+to believe you are not converted is one proof that you
+are. For if you were really <i>not</i> converted, but still in
+the flesh, the devil would tempt you to believe you
+<i>were</i> converted, in order to make you rest satisfied
+and deceived with your unsaved condition. As he <i>does</i>
+tempt many worldly-minded church members to believe
+they are changed enough to be safe, and so they rest
+satisfied in their unsaved condition, and perish.</p>
+
+<p>So, there are many church members who become
+irreconcilably offended if you dare to suggest to them
+that you don't believe they are really children of God.
+Their temptation then is to believe the falsehood,
+that they are really converted and in a safe condition.</p>
+
+<p>And if a man's temptation is to believe he is <i>not</i>
+converted, it is one proof that he <i>is</i> converted.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, if the devil tempts you to believe you are
+not converted, you can cut the matter short by saying:
+"Well, then, I can be in a moment. For whosoever
+believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ hath everlasting
+life, and I do here and now believe on Him, and will
+hold on to Him by faith in spite of earth and hell."
+Old Brother Bottomly, a preacher in the Louisville
+Conference, was tempted to doubt his conversion the
+night after it occurred, as he was lying on his bed. He
+recognized Satan at once as the author of his temptation,
+and he said: "Well, Satan, if I have not been
+converted, as you say, I will be." And he got out of
+his bed, and down on his knees, and he gave himself<span class="pagenum">[289]</span>
+to God, and he believed on Jesus, and prayed, and
+soon he was rejoicing in full assurance, and the devil
+fled away out of hearing with his harassing temptation.</p>
+
+<p>2. He tries to make them believe and feel, after
+the glow of the first love has subsided a little, that the
+service of God is hard and trying, and that it has
+nothing in it to satisfy the heart and to compensate for
+the pleasure of sin, which they have given up.</p>
+
+<p>And if you begin to yield and to slacken your
+earnestness or zeal, he gets a great advantage and
+you lose the joy of religion by letting yourself lag
+away at a doubting distance from Christ, and then it
+does seem like the devil is telling the truth, because
+you don't keep close enough to Christ and put soul
+and will enough into His service to get the joy of it.
+Christ says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is
+light." And if your heart or your enemy says the contrary,
+tell them that they are false.</p>
+
+<p>But don't allow yourself to be tempted to try if
+you can not find an easy way to heaven. It will get
+sweet and easy by a patient and whole-souled perseverance
+in it, but <i>not</i> by slackening your carefulness
+and experimenting with worldly pleasure to see how
+far you can go therein.</p>
+
+<p>3. But his grand scheme for ruining young Christians,
+and the one he generally succeeds with, is the
+suggestion that there is no need of being so particular
+and so regular in everything and so rigid in the performance
+of duty and in the avoiding of all appearances
+of evil.</p>
+
+<p>In other words, a sort of reaction comes, and a
+dangerous thing it often proves to be. Now, the temptation<span class="pagenum">[290]</span>
+is to give up the regular and rigid performance
+of duty because you don't <i>feel</i> as much like doing it
+as you did at first, or because some of your well-meaning,
+but unrenewed, friends say they can't see
+the need of being so particular and strict. There's
+no use of going to prayer-meeting every time, no use
+going to church twice every Sunday, no use having
+prayer at home every day, etc.</p>
+
+<p>But if you miss any duty once it will be much
+easier to miss it the second time and you will be much
+more likely to neglect it again. And you can't afford
+to take such a dangerous risk in so important a matter.</p>
+
+<p>And then we begin to think that there is no use
+being so particular about abstaining from the very
+beginnings of evil, or else we persuade ourselves that
+we have grown so strong and have been so changed
+we can be men now and enjoy things in moderation
+which formerly we could not use without going to
+excess.</p>
+
+<p>Ah, brother, you are walking right into one of
+Satan's unseen traps. O, beware! For your happiness'
+sake, beware! for your family's sake, beware!
+Satan says, "It's no harm to take a dram if you don't
+get drunk; no harm to go to the race track if you
+don't bet; no harm to go to the ball-room if you
+don't dance," etc.</p>
+
+<p>But we know that even in case of a youth who has
+never been in the habit of indulging in sins, they have
+a growing charm and power over him if he yields
+once or twice; how much greater the danger for one
+who has been the slave of these sins and has only
+recently broken off from them!<span class="pagenum">[291]</span></p>
+
+<p>I heard a recently converted man say to a friend
+who was starting away on a trip, "Dunc, don't let
+the devil say to you 'Now, just take one drink and
+then stop.' For I tell you, if you take one drink you
+are gone." Now, this man understood the case and
+the danger.</p>
+
+<p>There is no possibility of compromise. No possible
+middle ground in these things, especially for us
+who were once the slaves of our evil passions.</p>
+
+<p>I have heard of a man who <i>for years</i> had abstained
+from drinking and his father, thinking he was safe,
+invited him to drink toddies with him. The son did
+so, and he went back to his old habit of drunkenness,
+had delirium tremens, forced his wife to get a divorce
+and brought distress and disgrace and anguish on his
+family as well as himself. That was a Mr. D., who
+has several times been to our Mission.</p>
+
+<p>So, my brother, though you may think you would be
+safe to trifle with sin, and try to practice moderation,
+it is such an awful, awful risk you had better not
+make the experiment. Remember, it is only the bait
+of Satan to lure you to certain ruin.</p>
+
+<p>For your sake, for your father's sake, for your
+mother's sake, for your wife's sake, for your children's
+sake, for Christ's sake, don't do it.<span class="pagenum">[292]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">COMPARISON OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">PSALM I: 1-2.</p>
+
+<p>All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
+hence it is profitable for instruction and assistance to
+those who will attentively consider it. This Psalm is
+a part of the Scripture, and we may expect to find it
+instructive and helpful. It contains a description of
+the righteous man.</p>
+
+<p>1. It tells what he does <i>not</i> do. He does not
+walk in the counsel of the ungodly. This is the
+beginning of an evil life&mdash;to go among those who are
+ungodly and to listen to their opinions and views and
+counsels. There is no sin, our evil hearts suggest to
+us, in merely going with worldly people, if we do not
+pattern after their ways and do as they do. We can
+go with them and yet not do as they do. But the
+history, the sad history, of many a struggling soul,
+shows that this is a great mistake. We can't go
+with bad associates and not be harmed by them. The
+very fact that we want to go with wicked people
+shows that there is in us an inclination toward sin
+which is dangerous, and which ought to be severely
+watched and kept down rather than encouraged.
+More men have been ruined by their associations than
+by any other one cause. And let me say by way of
+warning that if any of you, my friends, are purposing
+and trying to lead a new life, you will have to give
+up the associations of your old life and choose new
+ones, as I had to do, and did do.<span class="pagenum">[293]</span></p>
+
+<p>But did you observe the word <i>walk</i> here in this
+verse? That word is intended to show that in the
+first part of a sinful life there is restlessness and
+uneasiness. The man who is just beginning to sin
+against light and conscience and God is uneasy about
+it. He can not be still. It is something new and
+strange, and his conscience rises up against his
+conduct; and till he goes on to the deadening of
+his conscience, it gives him distress and anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>But it says, the good man does not "stand in the
+way of sinners." This is the second stage. When
+a man passes through the first stage and gets to this
+second one, then he not only listens to the conversation
+and counsel of those who are ungodly&mdash;that is,
+who make no professions of religion&mdash;but he goes
+now with open <i>sinners, in the way</i> with evil doers,
+violators of law, criminals against God and man.
+And now observe he takes a "<i>stand</i>." It is no
+longer "walk," for the restlessness and uneasiness
+have about passed away, and he takes a deliberate
+<i>stand</i> among wicked men, who do not fear to commit
+any sort of crime. And, my young friend, this is
+always the way with sin. It grows upon a man;
+and before he is aware of it, he has grown
+fond of it, sees no evil or danger in it, and deliberately
+chooses it as his course of life. Beware, then,
+of <i>beginning</i> in the way of evil.</p>
+
+<p>But it says, in the third place, that he does not
+"sit in the seat of the scornful." Ah, here we have
+the third stage of the downward course of sin. First,
+there was a restlessness in even associating with
+ungodly people; second, a deliberate stand among<span class="pagenum">[294]</span>
+sinners, evil doers, as one of their number; and now
+it is <i>sitting down</i> in the seat of the <i>scornful</i>. When
+men have silenced the voice of conscience, and spent
+years in the practice of evil, they come at last to
+lose faith in everything&mdash;in God, in man, in virtue,
+in goodness; and they become cold and sneering
+scorners of everything that is called good. Have
+you not known men who have gone through this
+downward road? Nay, do you not know now some
+who are traveling this ruinous pathway? I have
+known young men to go among gamblers just to
+<i>look on</i>. They would have <i>feared</i> to touch the
+implements of sin, but they became familiarized with
+the sight, and then took part; and from bad to worse,
+have gone on and on, till it makes me shudder to
+know what they are to-day. I tell you, my friends,
+the course of sin is down, down, down. You may as
+soon expect to get in a boat on the current of
+Niagara above the falls and stand still, as to expect
+that you can launch yourself on the current of sin
+and not go down toward swift and certain ruin.
+Beware then! Hear the voice of warning before
+you have gone too far ever to return.</p>
+
+<p>2. In the next place, this Psalm tells what a <i>good</i>
+man does. His delight is in the law of the Lord.
+He is satisfied that in sin there is only ruin; and
+turning with fear and dread away from sin, he yearns
+to find God, who alone can deliver him from sin and
+keep him from it and furnish him a satisfying portion
+instead of it.</p>
+
+<p>But where can we find God, and how? Not
+in nature; for there is nothing clear enough in nature<span class="pagenum">[295]</span>
+to teach anything about God or how to come to
+His presence. But he can expect to find God in
+that revelation which God has made of Himself in His
+word. So he goes to that, and he finds there encouragement
+and instruction and tender invitations and
+promises of mercy and help; and the more he seeks
+the more he finds to draw him on, to satisfy his yearning
+heart and to charm his poor soul away from the
+love of sin. As he practices what he finds in God's
+word, he realizes the blessedness of it. It brings
+peace, purity, deliverance from darkness, uncertainty
+and fear; and so he longs to know more and more
+of it and he studies into it. Do you know that to
+one whose heart is changed the word of God is like a
+whole California of gold mines? He is <i>always</i> finding
+treasures there. Every time he reads it there is
+something new and rich and blessed. The deepest
+and most devout students of God's word say that
+there is no end to its wealth of instruction and consolation.
+If you want to know God and His salvation,
+you ought to set apart a certain time <i>every day</i>
+to prayerfully read and study into His word, always
+asking His guidance and help.</p>
+
+<p>And it will soon come to pass that, as the text
+says, you will "<i>delight</i> in the law of God." Do you
+ever deliberately, carefully, studiously, humbly and
+prayerfully read the Bible? You say, "No." Then
+how can you expect to know anything of God? How
+can a physician know anything of the nature of the
+human body unless he studies into it? And how can
+you know anything of God and His wonderful mercy
+unless you go and search where God has revealed<span class="pagenum">[296]</span>
+this for man? There are some men who will not
+read the Bible because they can't understand it. Of
+course they can't understand it all, but, if they can
+understand one verse in a chapter, let them take that
+and study on it and believe it, and keep reading,
+and soon more and more will open out to their understanding,
+and it will be a constant surprise and delight
+to find the undreamed-of beauties and comforts of the
+word of God. Promise God now that you will <i>patiently</i>
+read some every day. You will then find your desire
+for sin and sinful associations leaving you.<span class="pagenum">[297]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">PSALM I: 3-6.</p>
+
+<p>We propose to-day a continuance of the study of
+the first Psalm, which we begun Sunday last. Then
+we saw the downward course of sin and of the sinner,
+and of the great transformation of the nature of men
+when they are converted or become righteous.</p>
+
+<p>And now the inspired writer goes on to speak
+of the fruitfulness of such men. "He shall be like
+a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth
+forth its fruit in its season." You know a tree planted
+by a river draws moisture from below, and does not
+depend on the uncertain rains that may or may not
+come. And so in time of drought it shall bear its
+fruit at its proper season.</p>
+
+<p>So the man who is born of God, whose nature is
+transformed and made holy, is fruitful in good deeds,
+in benevolent works. Having himself been translated
+from the kingdom of darkness into the light, he has
+a desire, a strong desire, an unquenchable desire, that
+all others should know the same happiness, and he
+works by all means to persuade them, to get their
+good will and their confidence. He will feed and
+clothe them, take them up out of filth and rags and
+reclothe them and befriend them (as we are trying to
+do at the Mission) in order to get their good will
+and direct them to Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Not only so, but when a man has truly the Spirit
+of God, he has an inexpressible pity for his poor
+brother mortals, and a tender sympathy for their sufferings
+and sorrows. His heart is a fountain of compassion<span class="pagenum">[298]</span>
+for those who are in distress; and this leads him
+to labor that he may in some way, and in all possible
+ways, bring them relief and comfort.</p>
+
+<p>And, as the tree on the river is supplied with
+moisture from an unseen source, and without the
+showers, so the man whose heart is in communion
+with God never suffers a drought. When the benevolence
+of worldly men fails, his goes on and never
+fails. Men wonder that he does not get tired or grow
+weary or disappointed and discouraged. But no! he
+never does. His zeal not depending on changing
+influences from without, but supplied from an unseen
+and never-failing source&mdash;that is, God&mdash;never gives out.
+So he is always bearing fruit. Other men may be cold
+and selfish, and panics and famines may shut up their
+feelings of sympathy, but the man of God goes on
+working and bearing fruit in panics and famines, in
+cold and hot, in wet and dry, in plenty or in poverty,
+always and ever.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>The ungodly are not so.</i>" No; the ungodly
+greedily devour all they can get, and crave all they
+can't get. They want selfish pleasure no matter
+what sacrifice or pain it may cost others. They want
+the property of other people, though it leave a
+widow in poverty and orphans in want. They want
+honor and promotion and fame, if it be built on
+the downfall of their neighbors and fellows. They
+want the passing animal pleasure of licentiousness,
+if it blight the life and ruin the soul of an innocent
+being and turn a happy home into a very hell of
+anguish. Self! Self! Self! always and ever! and
+if there be some semblance of benevolence, it is for<span class="pagenum">[299]</span>
+the higher selfishness of getting the honor that men
+bestow on charity, or to appease an angry and tormenting
+conscience, that lashes them with fury for
+their misdeeds done in secret.</p>
+
+<p>"The ungodly are like the chaff." They have no
+stability, no steadfastness, no fixed purpose or plan in
+life&mdash;nothing to tie to; and so they are the victims of
+circumstances and changes and moods and tempers, and
+are driven hither and thither by every passing breeze.</p>
+
+<p>How I do pity the poor man who does not know
+or care what he is living for, and just pursues every
+day what <i>happens</i> to take his mind for that day.</p>
+
+<p>And because the ungodly are not steadfast and
+fixed in their devotion to God, neither shall they be
+able to <i>stand</i> in the <i>judgment</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Then, there is a judgment coming, is there? Oh,
+yes! All these things that men are doing are not
+done and then put away forever and forgotten. No!
+no! no! they are all to be brought into review again
+and exposed before God and all men assembled in
+judgment. All the midnight meanness you have
+done will then be brought to light. Where were you
+last night? What were you doing?</p>
+
+<p>How would you like for me to tell right here before
+all this crowd all the mean and filthy things you have
+done in the last week and kept them hidden from
+father, mother, wife, children and every other mortal
+except the accomplices of your guilt and shame?
+Ah! you could not <i>stand</i>; no, you could not <i>stand</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Then, how do you expect to stand when God is
+reciting to you all the misdoings of all the midnights
+of your whole lives before your father, mother, sisters,
+wife, neighbors and all the world?<span class="pagenum">[300]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">GOD'S LOVE FOR SINNERS.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">ROMANS V: 8.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"But God commendeth His love for us in that while we
+were yet sinners, Christ died for us."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There are many of us who <i>feel</i> that we are <i>sinners</i>,
+who know it, and who do not want any proof of it; but
+we can't be persuaded to believe that God has any
+love for us or interest in us. We have gotten to be
+such wicked sinners that maybe our friends have forsaken
+us, and we can not believe that God has any
+feeling of tenderness for us. We are willing to admit
+that God loves good people, those who are obedient,
+and that if <i>we</i> were good, He would <i>then</i> love us; but
+as it is, He can not love us, and there is no reason
+why He should love us. And then we go back and try
+to call up all our sins; all the times when we rejected
+Christ and the truth, and we find plenty of arguments
+to prove that God does not love us.</p>
+
+<p>But stop! You are judging the great God by yourself.
+You know you would not love one who would
+have treated you as you have treated God, and so you
+conclude He does not love you. You find it <i>exceedingly</i>
+hard to believe in the love of God. This is one of the
+sad effects of sin. It darkens our hearts and separates
+us far, far from God, so that when we come to feel our
+need of Him we have no confidence that He will accept
+us or help us.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, by your long service of sin, you have put
+yourself in the power of an enemy who makes it as difficult
+as possible for you to <i>believe</i> in God's love for you.<span class="pagenum">[301]</span></p>
+
+<p>But I come to you to-day with a declaration and
+assurance from God's own word, that though you have
+been a sinner all your life, and still feel that you are
+the greatest of sinners, the great God loves you with
+a true, deep, warm and yearning love.</p>
+
+<p>The great proof of it is the life and death of Jesus
+Christ, His Son.</p>
+
+<p>Have you read about it in the Gospel?</p>
+
+<p>Ah, if you had, and had seen Him delighting to be
+with the poor and the outcast, eating with them,
+choosing them for His friends, speaking words of
+heavenly cheer to them, pronouncing their sins forgiven
+and promising them heaven, then you would be
+moved and attracted and convinced. And then if you
+had read the pathetic story of His awful sufferings
+and death, and had reflected that "He was wounded
+for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities;
+all we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord
+hath laid on Him the iniquity of us <i>all</i>," then hope
+would begin to dawn in your breast, and faith in His
+love would not be so difficult. But you have neglected
+to read and reflect about it, and so I am come to bring
+the glad tidings to you where you are, and to beg you
+to believe it for your own sake.</p>
+
+<p>And now, here are some of the ways God has taken
+to tell you of His love: Psalm ciii., 13; Isaiah xlix.,
+15; Luke xi., 13; Luke xviii., 13, 14; Luke xv., 7, 10;
+Prodigal Son; Luke vii., 36 to end.</p>
+
+<p>"I came not to call the righteous but <i>sinners</i> to
+repentance."</p>
+
+<p>Why does God, in so many ways, express His love
+for sinners?<span class="pagenum">[302]</span></p>
+
+<p>Because He wants to touch their hearts and melt
+them by tenderness.</p>
+
+<p>A father whose son had gone away to California,
+and was a gambler in San Francisco, sent him word
+by a friend: "Your father loves you still." And it
+made him ashamed; it broke his heart; he repented,
+returned home and was saved.</p>
+
+<p>So God sends me to-day to say to you: "Your
+Father loves you still." Will you not believe it and
+come to Him for safety? He will not abuse you for
+your sins; He will save you from your sins, and make
+you as happy as you were when you were little children
+at your mother's knee.</p>
+
+<p>You know it is true that parents are more troubled
+about a wandering boy, and take more pains with him
+than with the good boys, and think more about him
+and pray more for him, because he is in danger and
+must be rescued or perish. So it is with God. Because
+you are lost, away from Him, on the road to ruin, He
+sends after you and He begs you to be reconciled.<span class="pagenum">[303]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">GODLINESS PROFITABLE FOR THIS LIFE.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">I. TIMOTHY IV: 8.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"But godliness is profitable unto all things having the
+promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There are not many who think this. Nearly everybody
+admits that religion is a good thing to have
+when he is about to die and to enter upon the future
+life; and all men, however hardened in vice, wickedness
+and crime, have a sure expectation and firm intention
+of making some preparation for death and what
+may follow death. They fully intend to make amends
+to conscience for the violations of it, of which they
+have been guilty.</p>
+
+<p>There are men here to-day who know that this is
+true of themselves, who feel that the coffin and the
+grave and the unknown future beyond are the most
+fearful of realities, and who are firmly persuaded that
+a day of reckoning is coming, maybe slowly, but
+surely, and they do mean to make peace in some way
+with conscience before that time draws near. And so
+I say all men agree that religion is good for death
+and what is to follow; but how it can be an advantage
+to one in <i>this life</i>, they can not see.</p>
+
+<p>1. But godliness is a help to a man in making a living.</p>
+
+<p>If a man is honest, industrious, faithful and conscientious,
+he will be in demand. Such men are always
+in demand; and, when they are known, can get employment
+and can keep employment; but a man who is
+a true Christian, <i>is</i> honest, industrious, careful, temperate,
+trustworthy and conscientious, because he works<span class="pagenum">[304]</span>
+and lives not to please men but God. Hence, such
+a one is always wanted. Employers, rather than give
+up such men, will increase their salaries and offer them
+extra inducements. A Main-street merchant found he
+could not do without Willie Holcombe conveniently, so
+he raised his salary twenty dollars a month rather than
+lose him.</p>
+
+<p>And, even if they are among strangers, and not
+known, yet God will turn the hearts of strangers toward
+them, as he turned the heart of the prison-keeper in
+Egypt toward Joseph. And when they have a chance
+to <i>try</i> and to show their value, their employers will
+not give them up.</p>
+
+<p>But then if a man is in business for himself, he
+will get a large custom if people find out that he
+does business as a Christian&mdash;that is, he does not
+charge an unjust and exorbitant price, his goods are
+only what he says they are, he gives full and honest
+measure, his word can be trusted, he will correct
+mistakes and take back an article if it is found not
+to be good. Show people such a man and they will
+all want to patronize him. William Kendrick was such
+a man here in Louisville.</p>
+
+<p>The Christian man has the <i>promise of God</i> that
+he shall be provided for&mdash;Matthew vi.: 32, 33&mdash;while
+the godless man has no such assurances at all.</p>
+
+<p>2. But religion keeps a man from those vices
+which destroy the health&mdash;as dissipation, debauchery,
+intemperance, etc.&mdash;and health is one of the chief elements
+in human happiness.</p>
+
+<p>3. Religion keeps men also from those crimes which
+bring men into ruin and disgrace and bitter remorse.<span class="pagenum">[305]</span></p>
+
+<p>Many a man has come to the jail or penitentiary or
+gallows who would have escaped it all if he had had
+religion to protect and shield and restrain and assist
+him. And many a good and happy man there is
+who might have been a guilty criminal and a wretched
+convict but for the grace of God and the lessons and
+blessings of true religion. He might gradually have
+been led off and on and on till he would have
+become capable of committing any crime.</p>
+
+<p>I might have been a drunkard or a murderer still,
+if God had not changed my heart and helped me
+mightily and constantly by His grace.</p>
+
+<p>4. But religion takes away the fear of death and
+the dread of the future and gives inward and constant
+peace&mdash;a heart happiness which poverty and disappointment
+and trials can not destroy. And nothing
+else can do this but true religion.</p>
+
+<p>5. Religion can release a man from the power of
+those evil habits which make a man's life miserable&mdash;from
+acquired appetites, as drinking, opium eating,
+debauchery, licentiousness, swearing, gambling and even
+from tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>6. Religion makes a good father, a good mother, a
+good husband, a good wife, good children, it makes
+the family happy, and the home bright, cheerful,
+joyous.</p>
+
+<p>7. It makes a man a good citizen. So he can get
+along in peace with his neighbors and even become
+a peace-maker among them when they quarrel.</p>
+
+<p>Thus have I tried to show you that, regardless of
+the future, godliness is profitable for this life. But if<span class="pagenum">[306]</span>
+this were not so, if the life of a Christian were an
+uninterrupted experience of pains and disappointments
+and sorrows, yet, in view of the interests of the
+soul, and the possibilities of the future, and the length
+of eternity, it would be the highest wisdom to cheerfully
+accept all these and endure them to the bitter
+end, in order to depart out of this world with a
+peaceful and unaccusing conscience and a sure preparation
+for heaven.</p>
+
+<p>O man, what will you do with eternity, <i>eternity</i>, if
+you go thither unprepared? Did you ever try to
+think of eternity? As John Wesley says, "If a bird
+were to come once in a million of years and take
+away one grain of the earth, when it had taken the
+whole earth away, that would not be eternity, nor the
+beginning of eternity." And it is certain that eternity
+is the period of the desolation and confusion and
+remorse and suffering of the lost.</p>
+
+<p>8. But even if we had to live in misery all this
+life, it would be better to do it and have religion; for
+it alone fits us for happiness in the life to come.</p>
+
+<p>Take away property, comforts, friends, family, reputation,
+health, but give me religion, and I shall have
+a passport into the kingdom of heaven and an eternity
+of rest and blessedness.</p>
+
+<p>O then, come to Jesus Christ and have all these
+things and heaven beside.<span class="pagenum">[307]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">PROVERBS XII: 15.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The way of transgressors is hard."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Our friend's career affords a striking example of
+the truth of the text. Most people do not think the text is
+true. But the Bible reverses nearly all of our notions
+about things, and when, in the light of experience and
+honest thought, we come to examine the Bible, we find
+it contains the truth on all subjects. The natural
+effects of a life of sin are injurious and destructive in
+every particular.</p>
+
+<p>1. In the first place, vice destroys health. If a
+man indulges in gluttony, he brings on dyspepsia
+with its accompanying pains and distress and torture.
+All this is increased by a life of idleness, laziness and
+inactivity. If he indulges in intemperance, he soon
+becomes a wretched slave, and is consumed by inward
+fires till delirium tremens ends the miserable career.
+If he indulges in sensuality, he is likely to contract
+loathsome and painful diseases&mdash;diseases which make
+life a burden that can hardly be borne; diseases
+which poison the blood and can not, by any art or
+remedy, be expelled from the system, but which are
+transmitted to the innocent offspring, if there be any.</p>
+
+<p>2. It brings disgrace and drives away friends who
+would otherwise rally around and help. This poor
+man spent two terms in the penitentiary, lost all his
+friends, and had to go to a <i>hospital</i> to die!</p>
+
+<p>3. In destroying one's good name and alienating
+one's friends, it becomes the cause of poverty and
+want.<span class="pagenum">[308]</span></p>
+
+<p>4. It destroys the happiness of families, and in
+this way adds to the wretchedness of the one who does
+all this mischief and damage.</p>
+
+<p>5. It often produces insanity.</p>
+
+<p>6. It produces remorse, uneasiness of mind, shame,
+hatred of self.</p>
+
+<p>7. It is what makes men shudder and shiver like
+convicts under the gallows, when they think of death
+and come near death. My own fear of death was
+something terrible.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The sting of death is sin."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>8. But this fear of death, this awful lashing of
+conscience on the verge of the grave, is but the intimation
+and the beginning of those awful experiences
+in the future world which the Bible describes in words
+of such dark and fearful import.</p>
+
+<p>But there is a remedy for sin, there is a fountain
+opened in the house of King David for sin and uncleanness.
+Yes</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"There is a fountain filled with blood<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Drawn from Immanuel's veins,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And sinners plunged beneath that flood<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lose all their guilty stains.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The dying thief rejoiced to see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That fountain in his day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And there may <i>you</i>, though vile as he,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wash all your sins away."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And beside that, when He gives salvation from
+the guilt of sin, He sends, also, the power to keep
+you from sin in the future. It is a full salvation and
+a <i>free</i> salvation.</p>
+
+<p>How much better to accept Christ while you are
+in health and let your life of holiness and purity and<span class="pagenum">[309]</span>
+devotion <i>prove</i> that the work is a genuine work and that
+you really have been saved. I have almost <i>no</i> faith
+in death-bed repentances and conversions. Hardly one
+in a hundred is genuine. And then there is no way
+of testing the genuineness of it; but if you turn to
+Christ <i>now</i> you can have time and opportunity to
+exemplify and manifest the fruits of regeneration in
+your life. Christ has power to forgive sins, to give
+peace and to keep from sin and sinful habits. An
+experience of five years on my part enables me to
+speak boldly and confidently on this point. God grant
+some of you may turn to Him to-day.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;This was delivered at the funeral of some man who died
+unsaved in a hospital. Mr. Holcombe is frequently called on to officiate
+at the funeral of such men, and of gamblers, and of strangers and unknown
+persons.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Ed.</span></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[310]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ROMANS XIV: 17.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"The kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but
+righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>We heard some time ago of the coming of the kingdom
+of heaven. Christ, at His coming, brought it
+near and proclaimed it to the people. At the time
+when our text was written, the kingdom had been set
+up, established among men, and many, very many, had
+entered into it. And now, St. Paul, finding that some
+of these had fallen into wrong notions as to what constituted
+citizenship in that kingdom, corrects these
+wrong notions, and sets before them the right and
+proper notions about the matter.</p>
+
+<p>1. In the first place, he tells them that religion
+does <i>not</i> consist in certain things. They had gotten
+into the notion that they must, as a matter of great
+importance, attend to certain outward things. But it
+is not so. They thought, as the Jews, from whose
+nation Jesus, the founder of the kingdom, arose, observed
+certain customs as to eating and drinking and
+keeping certain seasons and days, they also had to
+do the same; and gradually they allowed these outward
+things to become more important to them than the
+inward spiritual life.</p>
+
+<p>So now we (or some of us) have fallen into the
+notion that religion consists in certain outward things.</p>
+
+<p>There are those who believe that it consists in
+connecting one's self with some certain church, and
+that the sanctity and virtue of that church will be imparted
+to them as members, and they will be saved.
+But this is not true.<span class="pagenum">[311]</span></p>
+
+<p>Again, there are some who believe that some outward
+ceremony, and especially that of baptism by the
+proper authorities and in the proper mode, will procure
+salvation, and that it constitutes a man a member of
+the kingdom of heaven.</p>
+
+<p>Again, some think their own morality and effort
+to do and live justly will give them a place among
+those who are in the pale of the kingdom, forgetting
+that God, Himself, says that the righteousness
+of us miserable sinners is but as filthy rags in His
+sight.</p>
+
+<p>And there are many, very many, who think that if
+they are decent in their outward lives and attend the
+services of the house of God and contribute to the
+support of His church, they do all any man can require
+of them, and that, therefore, they may claim that they
+are also fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household
+of faith.</p>
+
+<p>But no, none of these outward things can make a
+man a new creature. He may comply with any one
+or all of these, and yet be really a bad man at heart,
+a rebel against God and His government. And the
+fact that there are many such in the church calling
+themselves Christians and performing the outward
+duties of religion, while those who see them every
+day and know their private walk see that they are not
+really better than many outsiders, is a great stumbling-block
+to serious and honest inquirers outside of the
+church. We admit it, and we are sorry for it, though,
+of course, it is no valid excuse for them, and will not
+stand in the trying hour of death or the ordeal of the
+judgment. But I want to say to you to-day, no matter<span class="pagenum">[312]</span>
+who it is, if they have no more than a performance of
+outward duties, ceremonies and services, they <i>are not</i>
+members of the kingdom of God.</p>
+
+<p>2. But, in the second place, the Apostle does tell
+us what true religion consists in, in the latter part of
+the text. "It is righteousness and joy and peace in the
+Holy Ghost."</p>
+
+<p>And, first, it is <i>righteousness</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In another place it is said that, "The wisdom that
+cometh from above is first <i>pure</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The object and aim of the Christian religion is to
+make men holy. That is <i>first</i>. The righteousness
+mentioned in the text is put first&mdash;before the joy and
+peace. And this is what the world demands of people
+who profess to be Christians, no less than God's law
+demands it. The world has no use or respect for
+Christians who are not righteous or for a Christianity
+that does not make men righteous.</p>
+
+<p>When God comes into a human heart, He comes
+with power, with the power of God, and that is greater
+than all other power, and before it all opposing forces
+fall. The sins of men, such as avarice, or love of
+money; the lust of the flesh, such as gluttony, licentiousness,
+the hatred of fellowmen and the hatred of
+God, all these are broken and driven out when the
+spirit and power of God come in. There is not only
+this demand of God, then, for righteousness, but also
+ample supply of strength to meet it, and to meet it
+fully. Come, then, to God, you who are in bondage
+to evil habits, and who have striven in vain to deliver
+yourselves. You can not retain your evil practices
+and be a child of God. His first demand, His imperative<span class="pagenum">[313]</span>
+demand, is righteousness, and if you have the <i>will</i>
+He gives the <i>grace</i> to attain it.</p>
+
+<p>But this is not all. When you believe with your
+heart in Christ, the Holy Ghost is given you, and
+He brings, with the righteousness and holiness which
+God requires, also joy and peace. Yes, when you
+surrender to Christ, He makes you happy.<span class="pagenum">[314]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MATTHEW XI: 28.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and
+I will give you rest."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>1. The cry of all hearts is for rest, for contentment.
+Not only does the heart of humanity cry out for rest,
+rest, rest; their busy and tired hands and feet <i>toil</i> for
+it day and night, year in and year out.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that men labor through the days and
+weeks of summer's heat and expose themselves to
+the severities of winter's cold.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that they plow and sow and reap
+and gather into barns.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that they blow the bellows and swing
+the heavy hammers from morn until night.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this they buy and sell and buy again to
+sell again.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that men will spend years of toil in
+schools and colleges, burning the midnight lamp till
+the eye is heavy and the brain is tired.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that they will leave wife and children to
+try their fortunes in some distant California or Australia.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this they will abandon their homes in time
+of war to brave the dangers of the battle-field.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that they will worry away the hours
+of night in games to get each other's money.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this they will devise schemes and lay plans
+to entrap their fellows, some times going to the length
+of committing murder.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that women will toil with the needle
+and bend over the sewing machine.<span class="pagenum">[315]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is for this they will stand for weary hours behind
+counters measuring off goods or waiting for customers
+to buy.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this that they work over the hot stove
+or wear out their hands in the wash-tub.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, it is for this that some of them, weary of
+work-life, will venture on the slippery paths of pleasure,
+turn their thoughts toward the gilded chambers
+of licentiousness, sell virtue and abandon home and
+family to go in the ways that in the end take hold
+on death and hell.</p>
+
+<p>We are a race of <i>toilers</i>. All over the world it
+is the same. We see it here in Louisville, It is work,
+work, work, go, go, go.</p>
+
+<p>And are we happy? Have we rest?</p>
+
+<p>But not only are we toiling, some in one way,
+some in another; some by innocent means, some by
+wicked means; some by what does no harm to ourselves
+or our neighbor, and some by what does harm
+to both, in order to obtain rest and happiness; it is
+also true that most of us are heavy laden, oppressed
+and saddened beneath burdens that we can not shake
+off, can not get rid of.</p>
+
+<p>Some of us are bowed down under our poverty.
+No good house to live in, no comfortable home to
+turn into after the battles and toils of outside life,
+no comfortable shelter for our families. No assurance
+as to where we are to get to-morrow's bread. No
+comfortable and respectable clothes to wear, and, of
+course, no friends. For when a poor fellow gets poor
+and shabby, his friends drop off and pass by on the
+other side. No friends, none of that sympathy and<span class="pagenum">[316]</span>
+communion of friendship which all human hearts so
+crave and which they find to be the best part of what
+this life can give.</p>
+
+<p>Yes; some of us have this burden to bear. And
+then some of us are bowed down beneath some great
+sorrow, which may be one thing in one case and
+another in another. In some cases it is domestic
+trouble, continual jars and broils in the family, no
+peace, no quiet, no love. Ah, if we could see into all
+the homes in this city, I fear we should find in many
+of them family trouble of some sort. Or it may be
+some dear one of yours is given to drink or to gambling
+and is wearing out his life as fast as vice can eat
+it away, with no hope beyond the grave.</p>
+
+<p>Ah, yes; no doubt some of <i>you</i> are yourselves the
+slaves of evil habits which you hate and would do anything
+to break off. You have tried by resolving and
+promising and all to no purpose; you have felt ashamed
+and degraded because you had no power to do what
+you felt you ought to do and what you knew would
+be infinitely better for you.</p>
+
+<p>Do you not know men who would willingly give a
+right arm for deliverance from some degrading and
+ruinous habit? But giving a right arm avails nothing,
+nor any human effort or means.</p>
+
+<p>Then, again, some of you are bowed down by the
+recollection of your past life and its dissipation and
+crimes.</p>
+
+<p>You may have mistreated father, mother, sister,
+and may have broken hearts by your cruelty that
+would gladly have bled for you. You may have crushed
+a loving and faithful wife by your selfishness and your<span class="pagenum">[317]</span>
+brutality and heartlessness. You may have driven your
+children to desperation and crime by your coldness and
+hardness to them.</p>
+
+<p>And may be some life, innocent until you came
+upon it with your hellish art, has been corrupted and
+embittered and darkened by your base passions and
+lusts.</p>
+
+<p>May be your hands have gone to that last extreme
+of human crime and have deprived a fellowman of
+life. And, oh, if any of these things be true, what
+must be the burden of remorse, remorse, remorse, that
+weighs upon your heart.</p>
+
+<p>But you are the very ones whom Jesus addresses
+and invites in this tender appeal. Do you believe it?</p>
+
+<p>2. In the second place, consider who it is that offers
+you rest. It is one who knows you and who knows
+what you need and one who has all power in heaven
+and in earth to give what you need.</p>
+
+<p>3. Lastly, consider what this rest means which Jesus
+offers to you burdened and toiling ones.</p>
+
+<p>1. It is rest from sin, both its guilt and power.</p>
+
+<p>2. It is rest from all care. For He has said, we
+should cast all our care upon Him because He cares
+for us.<span class="pagenum">[318]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MATTHEW V: 3.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
+heaven."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These words, as you know, are the beginning of
+the Sermon on the Mount as it is called. This Sermon
+on the Mount is the full exposition of the character of
+those who are members of Christ's kingdom. It is
+one of the most important parts of the Bible. At the
+time of Christ there were in the world many teachers
+and many schools of philosophy all trying to find
+what was best for men; or, thinking they had found it,
+were teaching their views to others. But, of course,
+none of them knew the truth and nearly every one
+taught a different thing from the others. There was
+no certainty. It all seemed like guess-work, and
+while the philosophers were guessing at what was
+best for men or trying to prove the views of each
+other to be false, the poor people were perishing in
+uncertainty and ignorance. But into this age of
+uncertainty and darkness and hunger, there came a
+Teacher from God Himself, who knew all things and
+who could without arguing or guessing tell with
+authority the simple and certain truth. What then
+does the Teacher say? He does not say that blessedness
+consists in any certain kind or degree of <i>knowledge</i>
+but in the <i>disposition</i> of the <i>mind and heart</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Listen then and hear and be prepared to believe
+and accept with all your heart what this Instructor
+from God says. Remember He makes no mistakes.
+He knows the end from the beginning. He knows
+eternity as well as time. He knows the future as<span class="pagenum">[319]</span>
+well as the past and present. He knows God as well
+as He knows man. He has been all through eternity
+and knows the nature and purposes of God. He then
+is competent to say what is good for man, what is
+best for man. Will you hear it? And, having heard
+it, will you believe it? "Blessed"&mdash;ah, what a sweet
+word to begin with! "Blessed." But who are
+blessed? It may be blessed are the great or the powerful
+or the good and some of us are sadly conscious
+that we are not great or good. But no, troubled
+heart, poor fearing heart, it is for you. "Blessed are
+the poor in spirit." That is what the Divine
+Teacher says. He brings it right down and home
+to your poor heart and leaves blessedness at your
+very door.</p>
+
+<p>And what is it to be poor in spirit? No doubt
+some of you poor sinners are ready to say "I know
+what it is, for I am so wretchedly poor that I feel
+unworthy to set my polluted foot down anywhere in
+God's universe." Yes, that is it&mdash;you are dissatisfied
+with yourself, disgusted with yourself, weary of yourself;
+and you know you can not make your condition
+any better, for you have tried it and failed till you are
+heart-sick and hopeless. You are satisfied that
+neither your education, nor your wisdom, nor your
+shrewdness, nor your money, if you have any, nor
+your family, nor your friends, nor your strength, nor
+your will, nor all these put together and multiplied a
+thousand times can deliver you from soul-bondage
+and soul-darkness and satisfy your aching and breaking
+heart. Is that your feeling, my brother? Then
+you are the one I am talking to; nay, you are the<span class="pagenum">[320]</span>
+one my Divine Master is talking to. But God said
+the same thing in other words away back yonder one
+thousand years before Jesus came to earth. Read it
+in Psalm xxxiv: 18: "The Lord is nigh unto them
+that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a
+contrite spirit." Have your sins broken your heart?
+Does the recollection of them cast down your spirit?
+You are not far from the kingdom of God then.
+Only believe on Jesus Christ who was not only Divine
+Teacher but also sin-bearer, and see God's willingness
+to save sinners, in the scene enacted on Calvary's
+trembling summit. What did Jesus suffer for
+if not for you and your sins? Say, what for, if not for
+you and all sinners? Answer that question. Do not
+turn it away or put it off but <i>answer</i> it.</p>
+
+<p>Did I say you were not far from the kingdom of
+heaven? My text says, if you have the spirit I have
+described that "yours is, <i>is now</i>, the kingdom of
+heaven." Read it again. Will you believe it?</p>
+
+<p>Oh, are you afraid to venture? Is it too good to
+be true? Well, I tell you I ventured and that with
+forty-two years of sin and crime on my heart to press
+me down and keep me back. Yes; I ventured and I
+found <i>such a welcome</i> that I was constrained in the joy
+of my heart to give up all other employment and
+spend my whole time and energy in telling of it to
+others who are in the condition I was in.</p>
+
+<p>But if there are any here who are satisfied with
+themselves, who do not feel their need of help and
+cleansing and deliverance, then this message of comfort
+is not for you. If you think you know enough
+about eternity to risk going into it as you are, if you<span class="pagenum">[321]</span>
+think you know enough about God to meet him as
+you are, then we have no message of consolation for
+you. It is not because we do not want you to have
+a message of consolation and salvation, but because
+<i>you</i> do not want it.</p>
+
+<p>It is said in one place that the "Word of God is
+a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
+And now I am sure this text of ours has to-night
+found you out and shown you to yourself. Where do
+you stand? And even if you are persuaded, the suggestion
+to put it off till to-morrow or next week will
+knock it all in the head.<span class="pagenum">[322]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MATTHEW V: 4-5.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"4. Blessed <i>are</i> they that mourn; for they shall be comforted."</p>
+
+<p>"5. Blessed <i>are</i> the meek; for they shall inherit the
+earth."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Our talk to-night follows right along in the line
+of the one preceding. We shall continue to speak
+of that wonderful address of Jesus which is called the
+Sermon on the Mount and which we began to speak
+of before. We were speaking of those who are poor
+in spirit and tried to describe such. Now we go on
+and we find the next words of Jesus, the Divine
+Teacher, just suited to those who are poor in spirit,
+who are dissatisfied with themselves and their condition,
+and who are wretched because they have not
+the grace and favor of God, and who, as the Psalm
+says, have a "broken heart and a contrite spirit."
+(Psalm xxxiv., 18.) And what are these comforting
+words of Jesus? "Blessed are they that <i>mourn</i>, for
+they shall be <i>comforted</i>." Of course, those who are
+poor in spirit and broken in heart <i>will mourn</i>. They
+are comfortless and they will mourn for comfort. They
+are in darkness and they will mourn for light. They are
+in sin and under condemnation and they will mourn
+till the power of sin is destroyed and they are set free
+and until the voice of forgiving love assures them that
+there is henceforth nothing against them. Ah, yes,
+when a man is under conviction for sin he is, above
+all men, a mourner. There is hardly any sorrow that
+strikes deeper or any suspense that is more intense or
+awful.<span class="pagenum">[323]</span></p>
+
+<p>But is there no one here who knows all about this,
+not because they have heard me describe it, but
+because they have felt it and groaned under it or, may
+be, <i>are</i> doing so now?</p>
+
+<p>Well, let me assure you, on the authority of Jesus,
+there is comfort for you as surely as Jesus will not lie.
+Does He say "Cursed are they who mourn?" Or "To
+be pitied are they that mourn?" No, He says, "<i>Blessed</i>
+are they."</p>
+
+<p>There, now, you are already comforted a little bit,
+are you not?</p>
+
+<p>But what is the rest of this sentence of Jesus?
+"For they <i>shall</i> be comforted." And, indeed, the fact
+that you <i>mourn</i> for a better condition and a better
+life and for God, is itself a ground for you to surely
+expect comfort. For only God's spirit could make
+you dissatisfied with yourself, tired of your sins and
+eager to find God.</p>
+
+<p>And if He began the work He will carry it on to
+completion, assuredly, if you do not hinder him by
+your turning back to sin or going with the vicious or
+refusing to have faith in Jesus as Saviour.</p>
+
+<p>And the next verse comes right along to fill out
+the one we are considering. "Blessed are the <i>meek</i>."</p>
+
+<p>If a man is truly poor in spirit, mourning because
+of his sins and his ignorance of God and his insecurity
+in view of death, then he will not be egotistic and
+ambitious and greedy of praise and pompous and self-sufficient
+and disposed to stand on <i>his honor</i> and his
+rights. But he will have the opposite feelings exactly.</p>
+
+<p>He feels his unworthiness so deeply and keenly
+that he is willing to give up his own rights and to<span class="pagenum">[324]</span>
+prefer others before himself. And Jesus adds, "the
+meek shall inherit the earth."</p>
+
+<p>A man who has this spirit of humility, deep consciousness
+of his unworthiness and a disposition to
+bear all things rather than be contentious, will win
+everybody and they will want to give up to him.</p>
+
+<p>You have perhaps read of the man who went to
+his neighbor to claim a piece of ground in his possession,
+and, contrary to his expectation, that neighbor
+said, "Well, then, if it is yours, I will not have a strife
+about it. I will move in my fence and let you have it."
+This gentle answer and this meek spirit made the
+other man so ashamed and so completely melted and
+won him that he said he would not take the land, and
+he went back home leaving it as it was.</p>
+
+<p>And so if you have this meek and yielding spirit,
+and this patient and forgiving spirit, you will make
+even your enemies to be at peace with you. But this
+meekness of spirit includes, also, cheerful submission
+to all the hard and disappointing and trying experiences
+of life, and perfect contentment with one's lot.</p>
+
+<p>A man who is always sour and bitter because things
+don't go to suit him is the opposite of a <i>meek</i> man.
+And one of the loveliest and most attractive and winning
+qualities of human character is this unfailing
+resignation, this <i>cheerful</i> acceptance of all that comes
+upon us. If the church were full of people of this
+description, they would soon win the world, and, as
+Jesus said, they would "inherit the earth."</p>
+
+<p>Now, let me ask, have we all who profess to be
+Christians this meek spirit and character? Are we
+gentle and cheerful at home and abroad, when we are<span class="pagenum">[325]</span>
+disappointed as well as when we are gratified, when we
+are treated with ingratitude and injury as well as when
+we are treated with kindness, consideration and honor?
+Or are we crabbed and cross and discontented and
+complaining against those who cross our wills and
+against the lot that God has given to us in life?
+If we are of this last sort we shall not draw many to
+Jesus and to the acceptance of our religion. You can't
+catch flies with vinegar.</p>
+
+<p>How disposed are we to lay our crossness and
+roughness to the charge of our health, our dyspepsia
+or neuralgia or nervousness. But it would be all the
+<i>more convincing</i> to men if, <i>in the midst</i> of bad health
+and nervousness, we should have a meek, quiet, patient,
+bright and cheerful spirit.</p>
+
+<p>And if you haven't it, the way to get it is to be
+filled with God's spirit, and the way to do that is to
+pray, to commune with God in secret, to patiently wait
+for Him, as David did (Psalms xl, 1), and to be with
+Him so much that He shall become more real to you
+than the objects of sight and sound and feeling that
+surround you.<span class="pagenum">[326]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MATTHEW V: 13.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost
+its savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth
+good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden
+under foot of men."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Jesus takes the most familiar facts and objects to
+convey the truths and doctrines which He wished to
+communicate. Here he uses for illustration an object,
+with the properties and uses of which everybody is
+familiar&mdash;namely, salt. It is good to prevent corruption
+and to preserve life. Without it life could not
+continue. I have heard of a party of travelers whose
+supply of salt almost gave out; and not having enough
+for themselves and their horses, the horses grew weak,
+would stagger, and finally fall and die, though they
+had food for them. Yet the lack of salt could not
+be supplied by any amount of food.</p>
+
+<p>So it is with Christianity. It prevents corruption,
+moral corruption, in the individual, and so prevents
+social corruption, political corruption, national corruption,
+and is the means of purification in all these
+respects. But it not only prevents corruption, it imparts
+spiritual life and vigor and sends its possessors on
+their way filled with an energy that goes out after
+others.</p>
+
+<p>Christianity is suited to be the salt of the earth.
+It demands a perfect morality, a perfect righteousness,
+and offers the highest motives to men to attain this.
+It teaches, with assurance, that there is a righteous
+God who demands holiness on our part, and, at the
+same time, it encourages men and inspires them with<span class="pagenum">[327]</span>
+hope because it declares that this God loves men, as
+sinners, and so it gets hold of men by the heart.</p>
+
+<p>If man will only compare those nations that are
+Christian with those that are not, he will find out what
+a difference there is.</p>
+
+<p>But the text refers to the holy lives of Christians
+as being the salt of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The savor of Christians is an unction from the
+spirit of God that produces purity, humility, patience,
+long-suffering, self-denial, tenderness, sympathy and
+unselfish love.</p>
+
+<p>And when men see a person whose daily life
+presents all these beauties, they are forced to pause
+and regard it. It is such an unnatural and such an
+unearthly thing that they can not help it. And it is
+far more convincing and eloquent than all logic and
+rhetoric put together. There is no way of getting
+around it. Men know that a gifted orator can dress
+things up so as to make any cause seem a fair and
+plausible one, but men know also that neither a gifted
+orator nor any one less than God can make men humble,
+pure, patient, gentle, long-suffering, unselfish and
+glad to spend and be spent for others than themselves.</p>
+
+<p>When men see such a life, they seek to know how
+it is realized, and finding that Christianity has done it,
+that faith in Jesus has done it, they are constrained
+to say: "We know that Christianity is from God.
+For nothing could do such wonderful miracles except
+God be in it," as Nicodemus said to Jesus.</p>
+
+<p>There are so many men who are anxiously inquiring
+about spiritual things and about God and a future
+life. And they say: "Show us something that Christianity<span class="pagenum">[328]</span>
+can do." And if we are living such lives,
+they find what they are seeking for and are satisfied.
+But there are many men who <i>won't</i> search the Bible
+to find out if it is true&mdash;and many who don't do so for
+want of time and of opportunity&mdash;and some who <i>can't</i>
+do so because they can't read or reason, and we <i>force</i>
+Christianity upon their attention by the beauty and
+unearthliness of holy Christian lives. Instead of waiting
+for them to come inquire and into Christianity,
+which they might never do, we carry it before their
+eyes in its loveliest and most attractive and powerful
+form when we live holy lives before them. And when
+men see many people living thus, it turns the tide of
+their feelings, reverses the current of their thoughts,
+and makes it easy instead of difficult to believe. Oh,
+that we had more of these entirely consecrated lives!
+They would do far more good than the preaching.
+When people see these consecrated women doing the
+work they do for the poor neglected children, they say:
+"Ah, now, that looks like something, sure enough, and
+we believe in that sort of religion." John Wesley
+said: "Give me one hundred men who love nothing
+but God, and who fear nothing but sin, and we will
+soon lay England at Jesus' feet."</p>
+
+<p>How can we get and keep this savour, this divine
+unction which produces such a life? Only by much
+communion with God.</p>
+
+<p>David knew no fear when he went to meet Goliath
+because he had communed so much with God in the
+sheep pastures that God was more of a reality to him
+than Goliath was. So it must be with us, my dear
+brothers, or we <i>lose this savour</i>.<span class="pagenum">[329]</span></p>
+
+<p>And that is what the text says. Let us read it
+again.</p>
+
+<p>You may retain outward forms of religion and perform
+outward duties, but the unction and zeal and
+power will be gone and men will find it out and see
+it and say that you are no better than they are.</p>
+
+<p>So the text says, "Good for nothing but to be
+cast out and trodden under foot of men." And sad it
+is that more harm is done to the cause of Christianity
+by hypocritical or wicked or inconsistent professors
+of it than by all the Ingersolls in the world.
+Men look at the church to see what Christianity can
+do; and seeing it does nothing extraordinary in the
+way of making men better, they say it must be false.
+So it is the wicked and worldly professors of religion
+that make more infidels than anything else. Oh, let
+us be sure that we are not the darkness of the
+world. For if we are not its light, we become darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The light in the lighthouse may be burning, but if
+the lights along the shore are not burning, too, the
+poor sailors may be lost.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Brightly beams our Father's mercy<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From <i>His</i> lighthouse evermore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But to <i>us</i> He gives the keeping<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the lights along the shore."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[330]</span></div></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">THE PRODIGAL SON,</p>
+
+<p class="h4">HIS SIN, HIS WRETCHEDNESS AND HIS RECOVERY.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">LUKE XV: 11-24.</p>
+
+<p>1. This younger son thought he was wiser than
+his father and wanted to manage his own affairs. So
+it is with men who think they can manage their own
+affairs without God. And as this young man wanted
+to get as far from his father's presence as possible
+(see verse 13, "into a far country") so the sinner,
+when he determines to give himself up to pleasure
+and sin, wants to get as far from God as possible.
+He does not want to hear about Him or even think
+about Him. Was not this so with <i>you</i>?</p>
+
+<p>2. The father did not <i>compel</i> the son to stay at
+home. He allowed him to choose what he preferred.
+So it is with God. He does not compel us to obedience.
+For my part I wish He did. But he lets us go
+and pursue sin with all our hearts, if we choose that
+above the innocence and joy of dwelling with Him.</p>
+
+<p>3. "He <i>wasted</i> his substance with riotous living,"
+verse 13, and so it is with the sinner&mdash;in the service
+of sin and Satan he wastes and destroys his property,
+his health, his reputation, his intellect, his conscience&mdash;all.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>And he began to be in want.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>That is what sin brings a man to&mdash;want, want,
+want and wretchedness, wretchedness, wretchedness.
+Has not sin done this for <i>you</i>?</p>
+
+<p>4. And it was this very wretchedness which brought
+him to his senses&mdash;"he came to himself" (verse 17).<span class="pagenum">[331]</span></p>
+
+<p>And when he does come to himself he can think
+of only one place where he can hope to find relief
+and he bravely determines to go straight to the very
+father he had so shamefully abandoned and to make
+a full confession of his sin and throw himself on that
+father's mercy with the hope of being taken back as
+a hired servant. He is willing to take the <i>humblest</i> and
+<i>meanest</i> place, if he can only get back to that home
+he was, a short time before, so eager to leave. Nor
+does he offer <i>any excuse</i>, he calls his sin by the right
+name and confesses it without trying to excuse it or
+justify it.</p>
+
+<p>5. And how did his father receive him?</p>
+
+<p>Why, he did not wait till his poor, ragged, worn
+and wasted boy got in and made his confession but
+he saw him a great way off (verse 20) and he knew
+what had passed in the poor boy's heart and life, and,
+moved with compassion toward him, he ran and fell
+on his neck and kissed him a glad welcome back to
+his heart and his home. But the son goes on to make
+his confession and his offer to be a hired servant anyhow,
+and yet the father says, "No! no! bring forth
+the <i>best</i> robe and put it on him." So, though we
+may go to God expecting to <i>work as servants</i> for
+Him and for His favor, He gives us far more than
+we ask and He makes us His own <i>sons</i>. And,
+poor wretched sinners, I come now with this message
+for <i>you</i>, bruised and sore and despairing and wretched
+as you are on account of your sins. May God help
+you believe it.<span class="pagenum">[332]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">II. PETER I: 5-6.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"5. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your
+faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;</p>
+
+<p>"6. And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance,
+patience; and to patience, godliness."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>I want to say something to you to-night about
+how to <i>grow</i> in the Christian life, and how to secure
+yourself from falling. And now, let me begin by
+saying what you, no doubt, have heard before, that
+there is no such thing as standing still in the Christian
+life. If you are not going forward, you are
+losing ground. See the Apostle here speaks of giving
+all diligence, to be adding something all the time.
+And why not exercise diligence in making sure of
+the salvation of your souls? Men use astonishing
+diligence in the affairs and pursuits of this life. The
+men of all professions and occupations use diligence
+and industry and toil and self-denial in order to make
+a little money or to gain a little honor. Why, you
+know there are thousands of men in this city who get
+up early in wet weather or dry, in summer's heat or
+winter's cold, and go hurrying up and down these
+streets to be at their places at the prescribed hour
+for beginning their day's toil; and they work, work,
+work, sometimes with tired hands and feet and weary
+hearts, till the sun goes down, because they know
+they must do it in order to get bread and meat and
+clothing for themselves and their families. They do
+not stop to think how they <i>feel</i>. No, no; feelings
+and preferences and all must be overlooked and forgotten;
+for they know that work must be done that<span class="pagenum">[333]</span>
+bread may be won. And we do not hear many complaining
+of this. They accept it as a matter of
+course. Why, I know how the gamblers will sit up
+late and do without sleep, and rack their brains, in
+order to devise some means of finding a poor victim
+and getting his money. Then why should not Christians,
+who are striving to avoid the danger and sorrow
+of sin and to gain eternal rest and reward&mdash;why should
+not they exercise diligence and self-denial and watchfulness
+also? And we are told in the text how to
+succeed in this. We are to <i>make up our minds</i> by
+God's grace to live a life of consecration and activity.</p>
+
+<p>You have begun with faith, have you not? If any
+man here has been truly converted, he knows what
+faith is. He came to Christ as a hell-deserving sinner,
+and believed in Christ's mercy for forgiveness and
+salvation. So faith is the first step; faith is the
+foundation. And let me stop to say to any one here
+who is not yet saved, that, if he wants to be, he must
+throw himself as a sinner on the mercy of God in
+Christ; and God will save him at once, if he will do
+so. But, having exercised faith and received forgiveness
+and strength, you must add virtue, which means
+courage or boldness. It is sometimes very hard for a
+man who has lived a sinner and taken pride in it, to
+come out before the world, and especially before his
+old companions, and let them know that henceforth
+and forever he is a humble follower of Jesus Christ.
+But it is necessary. No middle ground is safe at all.
+If you try to meet the world as a reformed man,
+concealing the fact that you are a Christian, you
+will weaken, and give the devil a great advantage,<span class="pagenum">[334]</span>
+and probably fall. I told gamblers in Denver I was
+a Christian, and they let me alone. But, not only
+that, you must be bold enough to try to persuade
+others to become Christians. There are some poor
+cowards who are not ashamed to let their friends and
+the world know that they have <i>reformed</i>; but they are
+too chicken-hearted to say that they have humbled
+themselves, surrendered their pride and become <i>Christians</i>.
+I know more than one of that sort. And, again,
+there are some men who are content to be saved
+themselves, but are afraid of being called fanatics if
+they are bold enough to go to talking and trying to
+persuade others to be so. Boldness in going out after
+others strengthened me and kept me from many a
+temptation.</p>
+
+<p>But, having this godly boldness, you must go on
+striving to get knowledge&mdash;knowledge of your own
+deceitful heart, knowledge of human nature, knowledge
+of the fullness of the gospel way of salvation.
+When a man is first converted, he is almost like a
+baby. Everything is new, and he hardly knows anything.
+So it was with me, but I trust I have grown
+in knowledge of myself and others and of the word of
+God and of the plan of salvation. Your knowledge
+will increase of itself if you are in earnest and if you
+will use all the means of growing better and stronger.
+Conversation with older Christians, when you get
+into a tight place, will help you. Earnest prayer to
+God will result in increase of knowledge. Reading
+His precious word, and studying short portions of it
+at a time, with prayer for guidance, will wonderfully
+enlighten you and increase your knowledge. You will<span class="pagenum">[335]</span>
+gain knowledge also by reading good books&mdash;the lives
+of very pious people, and the sermons of such men as
+Wesley, Spurgeon, etc. Why not have some good
+books to read? Could you invest your money to
+better advantage? In this way, having your mind
+always occupied with the subject of religion, you will
+have neither time nor temptation for sin or thoughts
+of sin.</p>
+
+<p>There are some selfish men who, when they find
+themselves delivered from their evil appetites and
+raised up again to respectability and their right mind,
+begin to think of reading all sorts of worldly and
+profane literature, and want to cultivate their "literary
+taste" and prepare to shine in society. Such men
+forget the pit from which they were taken, and in their
+selfishness and worldliness and pride become blind
+to the awful peril to which they expose themselves in
+neglecting to keep their minds occupied with religious
+thoughts and subjects as far as is practicable. Some
+of our converts have fallen in this way.</p>
+
+<p>But what is the next thing, to be added? It is
+<i>temperance</i>. This means entire self-control in things
+that are, in themselves, innocent and lawful. Of
+course, men understand that in things that are wrong
+and dangerous nothing is right or safe but an utter
+abstinence from them and abhorrence of them, (Read
+Romans xii., 9, second clause: "Abhor that which is
+evil.") Temperance means here what we spoke about
+when we considered Paul's saying that he kept his
+body under, and brought it into subjection, lest he
+should be a castaway (1 Corinthians, ix: 27). And
+as you grow in experience and in knowledge of yourself<span class="pagenum">[336]</span>
+you will find it absolutely necessary to keep down
+your body by denying it, and by asserting your entire
+mastery of it, through God's grace. Oh, be careful
+and be prayerful, and be self-denying, or some day,
+when you think all is secure, some sudden temptation
+will come and find you self-indulgent and careless, and,
+like David, you will fall before you are aware of it, and
+then, maybe, have not the heart and hope to ever try
+to be a Christian again. Men who have been addicted
+to bad habits before are especially in danger if they
+do not practice the strictest self-control in all things.
+But, with all this, you will often be provoked, and find
+your temper very troublesome. It troubled me long
+after conversion and troubles me now more than anything
+else. So it is necessary to bear all things,
+however unreasonable and provoking they may be; and
+this is exactly the next thing the Apostle puts down&mdash;namely,
+<i>patience</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, how I tremble for some of these men who are
+converted here. They do not know how necessary it
+is to keep right down in the dust, and not only to give
+diligence, but to <i>make it their chief business</i> for some
+time to watch and guard their thoughts and ways, and
+to pray always, and by all the means we have spoken
+of try to keep away&mdash;far, far away from temptation.
+I beg you to make up your minds to bear anything
+and everything. Always be ready for a disappointment,
+and determine not to let your contentment and
+happiness depend upon anything or anybody in this
+world. Then it won't make any difference what happens
+to you; it will come like water on a duck's back,
+and won't hurt you. Remember how humble you had<span class="pagenum">[337]</span>
+to get before you could get forgiveness and strength
+to resist your appetites. And did it kill you or did it
+damage you in any way? No! It killed your wretched
+sins, but not you. It robbed you of your bondage and
+darkness and despair and wretchedness. But it did
+not rob you of any good, did it? Then it won't hurt
+you to keep humble and in that same state of mind till
+you die. And you can afford to do so. How would
+you like to get back into bondage and darkness where
+you were? You say: "Not for the world!" But,
+if you knew you could, by diligence and watchfulness,
+gain the world, you would be diligent and watchful.
+And yet, by this diligence, you not only keep yourself
+secure from falling back, you make your family happy,
+you bless many others&mdash;and, best of all, you make
+<i>sure</i> of everlasting life, and escape the hell which we
+all fear more than all things else combined.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Since I must fight if I would reign,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Increase my courage, Lord;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Supported by Thy word."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[338]</span></div></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Let us bear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
+God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty
+of man."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The book of Ecclesiastes contains the experience
+of a man who had tried every phase of life, who had
+tasted every kind of pleasure, and who, also, had
+experience in the service of God, with its consolations
+and its sacrifices; and he had also made a study of
+the great questions that come up in considering the
+affairs of the world about him. And after his long
+and thorough experience, and his deep and life-long
+study of the facts of human life and history, he at last
+reaches a conclusion concerning it all, and this conclusion
+he has recorded in the text I have read, "Fear
+God and keep His commandments," etc.</p>
+
+<p>1. Fear God.</p>
+
+<p>The fear of God is natural to man until, by false
+teaching and evil association, it is destroyed. The
+severe things we see in nature about us lead us to
+have a dread of Him who is the author of all these
+things. And, then, death is an awful and a fear-inspiring
+thing, and the thought of what is to come after
+death, in that unknown country from which no traveler
+has ever returned to tell us of it, fills us with awe and
+sobers us whenever it comes to us. And most men
+even that are in their lives wicked, and seemingly have
+no thought of God or fear of Him, are often troubled
+with the fear of death and what is to come after death.
+This was my own experience.<span class="pagenum">[339]</span></p>
+
+<p>2. But merely to have this fear of God is not sufficient,
+and will do no good if it does not lead a man
+to obey God and keep His commandments, as the
+text says. For example, I knew a fireman in an
+engine-house here who had this fear of God; but he
+lived a swearing, drinking man, and, of course, he was
+not at all benefited by his fear of God. No doubt
+this fear of God was created in the human mind in
+order to lead men to keep God's commandments. But
+how are we to know His commandments? Why, my
+brothers, they are given with great plainness in His
+Holy Word&mdash;so plain that the wayfaring man, though
+he be a fool, need not miss them if only he is willing
+to know them and to do them. And, as St. John says,
+"His commandments are not grievous." They only
+require of us what is most just and reasonably due to
+Him who is the giver, the free and bountiful giver, of
+all the good things of this life, and the gracious
+promiser of perfect blessedness in the life to come.
+And, on the human side, His commandments require of
+us only that we keep from doing to others what they
+ought not do to us, and that we do for others that
+which they ought to do for us. In other words, the
+commandments of God are all embraced in two sentences,
+"Love God with all your heart, because He
+first loved you," and "Love your fellowmen, because
+they are commanded to love you," and when you
+submit to God's Spirit, and become renewed in mind
+and heart, born again, made a new creature, you will
+see the reasonableness of keeping God's commandments,
+and the desirableness of it, in such a light that
+you will go on in His ways with delight, desiring to
+know more and more of Him.<span class="pagenum">[340]</span></p>
+
+<p>3. And we are told that to do this is the <i>whole
+purpose</i> of man's existence, and when he does this he
+has fully answered the end of his existence, met all
+that is required of him and is secure amid the problems
+of life and the possibilities of the unknown future.</p>
+
+<p>This, also, brings rest to the human heart, a rest
+to be found nowhere else. I am in a position to speak
+with some confidence and positiveness on this point;
+for, like the man who uttered the text, I have tried life
+in all its phases. I have had all the kinds of pleasure,
+and I have tested them to the bottom. I have
+found out all there is in them. For forty years I gave
+myself to seeking and enjoying worldly pleasure, and
+I ought to know what it can do for a human soul.
+But I have another advantage, too; I have tried the
+doctrine of my text. I have surrendered myself, my
+life, my prospects, my all, to God, and live only to keep
+His commandments and to please Him. My mind
+has been renewed, transformed, my life entirely turned
+around. I have passed through the struggle and the
+sacrifice that were involved in becoming a Christian,
+and I have been passing through those that belong to
+the life of a Christian. But you may say I speak thus
+because it is a novelty to me. No, sir; it is no longer
+a novelty. I have been trying it now for ten years&mdash;surely
+a long enough time to know pretty well how it
+compares with the old life; and my testimony, from
+forty years' experience of the old life and ten years of
+the new life, is that of the writer of my text, "Fear God
+and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty
+of man."<span class="pagenum">[341]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">HEBREWS XII: 1, 2.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"1. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with
+so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,
+and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run
+with patience the race that is set before us.</p>
+
+<p>"2. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our
+faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
+cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
+of the throne of God."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The Apostle here speaks of a great number of
+witnesses, who, having tried God and His ways, are
+competent to testify as to what God can do for those
+who trust Him and serve Him. In the chapter just
+preceding he has spoken of Abraham and Joseph and
+Moses, and many others, and they, having lived the
+life of faith, were prepared to say whether it was a
+disappointment or not to trust God and to walk in
+His ways. And they were not disappointed. They
+obtained a good report, held fast to their faith in God,
+and were content to endure all sorts of trials and
+sufferings for the comfort and compensation of their
+religion. And so now there are witnesses, not a few,
+who have tested this matter, and tested it under circumstances
+the most adverse and trying, and they give
+no uncertain testimony as to the desirableness of religion.
+There are people who have none of the good
+things of this world; none of its honors; none of its
+pleasures; none of its wealth, and not many of its
+comforts, and yet they are contented, and even happy.
+Yes, far happier than many who have the best that
+this world can give. I am one of this class myself.
+Then the Apostle goes on to exhort them to hold fast,<span class="pagenum">[342]</span>
+and to go on, because others having tried it were
+conquerors.</p>
+
+<p>He exhorts to three things:</p>
+
+<p>1. To lay aside every weight, and especially every
+besetting sin that might have especial attraction and
+special power. And it is impossible to serve God
+and have peace of conscience and to overcome sin
+while the mind is divided and undecided. A man
+can not expect to win a race if he ties heavy weights
+upon his person; be must be unencumbered and free.
+So, in running the Christian race, we must free ourselves
+from everything we find to be a hindrance, no
+matter how desirable or how dear it may be to the
+flesh. So Jesus Himself says: "If anything so dear
+as a right arm or a right eye becomes a hindrance to
+to us, it must be given up." There are men who
+say they want to serve God, and expect to do so, but
+then they enjoy certain things they know to be wrong
+and hurtful, and they will indulge in them just a little,
+not enough to cause them to get clear away from God.
+I know and you know men who think they can enjoy
+sin just a little, or once in awhile. In the first place,
+this is ungrateful and mean. It is the same as to
+say: "I want to be just religious enough to escape hell,
+and yet I want to enjoy all the pleasure I can from sin,
+too." Such a feeling dishonors God. And, in the
+second place, it is exceedingly dangerous. It shows
+that the heart is not right. While you are trifling
+thus with sin, you may become so fascinated by it and
+led away as to be enslaved before you know it, and
+lose all your taste for heavenly things. Besides, God
+will not long bear with a man who has no better heart<span class="pagenum">[343]</span>
+and no more self-sacrificing spirit than that. For myself,
+I should tremble and shudder if I were so far
+gone as to feel that I could go and deliberately indulge
+in some pleasant sin for awhile and then come back to
+resume the service of God when I had satiated my
+evil desires. Be assured, you can not serve God and
+sin. They are as opposite as light and darkness; you
+must give up one or the other. "But," you say, "how
+can I give up sin?" If you are <i>willing</i> to do so, God
+will see that you have the <i>power</i> to do it. Give it up
+if it gives you pain&mdash;yes, if it breaks your heart! God
+Himself will pour in the oil of comfort and joy, and
+heal all your wounds.</p>
+
+<p>2. The Apostle exhorts to run with patience the
+race set before us. It is easy to do well for awhile;
+to abstain from sin while the excitement of novelty in
+the religious life is upon us; and how many there are
+who began well and did well for awhile, but when the
+novelty wore away, and the excitement of the change
+was gone, they grew weary and sought the old pleasures
+of sin again. Some have thus done in connection
+with our work here in this mission. Make up
+your mind before hand that when the time of temptation
+and loneliness comes, you will endure it and go
+through with it patiently, waiting for the removal of
+the temptation and the return of joy. And when
+temptation does come, pray, oh pray. Go alone and
+ask God to restore to you the joy of His salvation
+and trust Him until he does it. Go work for others;
+go mingle with Christian people, whether you feel like
+it or not, and you will soon find how to meet the
+enemy, and how to defeat his plans and purposes.<span class="pagenum">[344]</span></p>
+
+<p>3. But his last exhortation is to look to Jesus.
+He bore our sins on the cross, and therefore we are
+released from them, if we trust Him and accept Him
+as our sin-bearer. He is alive forevermore; and
+when earnestly asked, He gives spiritual life and joy
+and strength by sending the Holy Spirit into our
+hearts. Then again, His life is the pattern of
+patience in loneliness and trials, which you and I are
+to follow; and can we desire or aspire to be or to do
+any better than did He?</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Would you lose your load of sin?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fix your eyes upon Jesus.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Would you have God's peace within?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fix your eyes upon Jesus."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[345]</span></div></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ACTS II: 38.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized
+every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
+of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>We may not be able to understand how it is, but
+these inspired Scriptures represent the work of salvation
+as applied to human hearts by the Holy Spirit. We do
+not hear enough of the Holy Spirit. We do not know
+Him and speak of Him and pray for His help and
+guidance and power, as the Scriptures teach us to do.
+These Scriptures are our guide; what they say we do
+not question, nor can we subtract from them or add to
+them. Let us see, then, what they teach us as to the
+Holy Spirit. In the 14th, 15th and 16th chapters of St.
+John's Gospel Jesus distinctly promises His disciples
+that upon His departure He would send to them and
+to the world a divine agent whom He calls the Spirit of
+Truth, the Comforter, etc., and He tells them what that
+divine agent would do. Let us, then, fix our minds now
+intently on what He says, and be prepared to believe it.</p>
+
+<p>He said that this Spirit of Truth should "convince
+men of sin." Well, the fact is, we do see men convinced
+of sin as sin, and not merely because it is damaging
+and ruinous. But we see this only in connection
+with the Christian religion. So it must be by means of
+some power that belongs to the Christian religion. And
+if any of you here to-night see your sins and feel them
+to be, not only damaging and destructive, but mean and
+hateful and crimes against the good Father who has
+borne with you and blessed you through all these years
+of sin, then you may know that it is God's Holy Spirit<span class="pagenum">[346]</span>
+that has produced that feeling in you; and especially so
+if you feel that your ingratitude to God, who has provided
+for you a way of salvation at such great cost, and
+your cold and heartless neglect of Jesus Christ through
+all these years of sin are the most aggravated part of
+your guilt. And you may be sure if God is willing to
+begin a good work in you He is willing to carry it on to
+completion, and will do so if you do not hinder Him.
+"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for
+it is God that worketh in you." And since it is He
+who has begun this work, beware that you do not
+hinder it or stop it by your coldness, carelessness or sin.</p>
+
+<p>But, in the second place, Jesus says the Holy
+Spirit should reveal Him to sinners as their sin-bearer
+and life-giver. So the promise is to you. Hold on in
+prayer and patient expectation. You can not be disappointed,
+for God can not lie. I was ignorant of Christ
+to an astonishing and shameful degree; but I was told
+to pray and I did so. I shut myself up in my back
+room one evening and told God I was going to stay
+there until He blessed me, and I was blessed, and the
+only three words I uttered were "Jesus of Nazareth."
+By some power I was so illuminated and changed that
+I saw Jesus as the dearest and loveliest being I ever
+thought of. Was not this a fulfillment to me of the
+promise made in John xvi.: 14? And having received
+grace from my God, I continue to this day witnessing
+to small and to great the things I have experienced
+since becoming a Christian. Now, let us inquire what
+else this gracious divine agent working in man is to do.</p>
+
+<p>He it is who produces that change in men which we
+call conversion or regeneration or new birth. You<span class="pagenum">[347]</span>
+remember in John (3d chapter) the expression, "Born of
+the Spirit," and again in Titus iii.: 5, it is said we are
+saved by the "renewing of the Holy Ghost." When we
+know, then, that these changes are the immediate effect
+of the inworking of this divine agent, we need not be
+surprised that they are so sudden and so thorough as
+we see them to be in some cases that we know of. Let
+me say to those who have not yet experienced this
+wonderful deliverance from the power and love of sin
+and this inner revolution, that many of us have tested
+this matter who were in the deepest depths of sin and
+darkness, and God will do to depend on. Go ahead, go
+ahead; keep on praying and keep on hoping and trust
+yourself to Jesus, and you shall receive the gift of the
+Holy Ghost.</p>
+
+<p>But, after we have experienced this change which
+we call conversion, God's spirit abides with us and
+keeps on doing great things for us when we are converted.
+We are not made angels or gods, but are still
+human, and, though delivered from the guilt and power
+of sin, we are hampered by ignorance and depressed
+by sorrow and encompassed with temptations. But
+just anticipating these needs of ours, the Holy Spirit
+is to be our teacher and to guide us into the truth. So
+we need not fear if we are only humble and honest and
+teachable; we shall not go dangerously astray, for
+God Himself will thus open to our minds the wonderful
+things of Scripture, and cause us to understand as
+much of it as we need.</p>
+
+<p>But He, the Holy Spirit, is to be the comforter of
+God's people in their loneliness and trials and conflicts
+in this world of exile. I have been sustained by unseen<span class="pagenum">[348]</span>
+power in my trials as a Christian. But He enables
+them to overcome, and be more than conquerors, when
+they are assailed by temptation to sin. "He strengthens
+with might in the inner man" (Ephesians iii.: 16),
+and gives joy and peace; so that the soul, being content
+with these, does not need or desire the poor pleasures
+of sin. This has been my experience.</p>
+
+<p>He sanctifies God's people; He makes them holier
+and holier; He produces the fruit of love, joy, peace,
+long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance,
+faith; and He gives power to reach, by
+our poor words, the hearts and consciences of others,
+though they be dead in sin. Jesus says, "Ye shall
+receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you."
+(Acts 1.: 8.) There are some men who have this
+power to reach and awaken and interest sinners in
+the salvation of their souls. And they do have power to
+bring sinners into this new life of peace and purity and
+joy. And you and I might have this power, and far
+more of it than we do, if, like the Apostle, we would
+wait before God in patient, believing prayer till the
+Holy Spirit should come in fullness and power. Pentecost
+was a display of this power, and we may have
+another Pentecost when we are willing to wait for it and
+pray for it as did the little company in the upper room
+at Jerusalem.<span class="pagenum">[349]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">LUKE V: 32.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These words of Jesus were spoken to the Scribes
+and Pharisees, and combine in themselves a defense
+of His own course in mingling with sinners, and
+a keen rebuke of the spirit of those who brought
+against him an accusation of associating with sinners,
+as well as the declaration of the object of His mission
+into this poor darkened world. And does it not
+seem strange that a man should be required to defend
+himself for going to spend and be spent for the good
+of those who are most sorely in need of help and
+relief? But it has always been so. Men are so selfish,
+so utterly without concern for the interests of
+others that they want to monopolize and swallow up
+everything that is good. So when Jesus of Nazareth
+was revealed to the Jewish people, and made Himself
+conspicuous and famous by the daily performance of
+astonishing miracles, the Scribes and Pharisees, who
+thought that everything ought to be subservient to
+their own personal interests and aggrandizement, fell
+out with Jesus because He did not fall in with notions
+of what He ought to be and do. They did not care
+a baubee for the people, the rabble, the mob, the
+human cattle. Indeed they utterly despised them, and
+would have nothing to do with them. They might
+perish and rot so far as the Scribes and Pharisees were
+concerned, provided these latter could hold the places of
+honor and gain. And so utterly possessed were they
+by this feeling of all-consuming selfishness, that when<span class="pagenum">[350]</span>
+they saw this Jesus of Nazareth going with sinners,
+talking with sinners and eating with sinners, they set
+it down as a conclusion they would never give up
+that He was not, and could not be, and should not be,
+their Messiah. So that Jesus was thus forced to
+reason with them, and to make His defense before
+these self-constituted judges of His, and tell them why
+it was that He pursued the course He did. So it
+was in the time of John Wesley in England. He
+went among sinners, talked with them, taught them,
+and drew them by the magic force of his great love to
+follow him wherever he went to preach; and they so
+crowded the churches to hear the words of grace and
+tenderness that fell from his lips, that the doors were
+shut upon him, and he had to go out on the commons
+and into the fields beneath the sky of that God
+and Father whose words he was preaching, and whose
+lost children he was trying to save. This has been
+the experience of other zealous and earnest ministers
+of Christ. And they, too, have had to defend
+themselves for such a course. Our dear Brother
+Morris felt himself pressed to say why he went
+to the courthouse steps to try to lift up the fallen
+and save the wretched and the lost. But the words
+of Jesus contain also a scathing rebuke of the self-righteous
+spirit of those hard-headed, hard-hearted
+Scribes and Pharisees. It was the same as saying,
+"you claim that you are the righteous of the world.
+You are not willing to be classed with sinners, or to be
+called sinners, or to believe yourselves sinners. Therefore
+you have no need of me, and I have nothing for
+you; for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners,<span class="pagenum">[351]</span>
+to repentance." Let us beware then, my dear friends
+and brethren, of thinking or feeling that we are better
+than others, or that we are not sinners. Now, need
+I stop here to prove that any of you are sinners?
+Does any one here need to have arguments worked out
+and laid before him to prove to him that he is a poor,
+miserable, blind sinner? If there is any one here who
+thinks and feels that he is not, then he has no business
+here, he has no business with Christ, and we
+have nothing to tell him or give him here. We bid
+him farewell, and turn away from him, to work for and
+to talk to others. If I were to go to see a sick man
+concerned about his soul, and he were to begin to tell
+about his good deeds and his freedom from sins and
+vices, I would get my hat and tell him good-bye;
+that I knew nothing about salvation for anybody but
+sinners. But for sinners I have and hold up a
+Saviour, a divine Saviour, who, blessed be God, is
+able to save to the uttermost all who come to him,
+and to save them here and now. If you want to see
+a specimen of Christ's interest in sinners and feeling
+for sinners, look at His life. In the beginning of His
+ministry He chooses Matthew, one of the despised
+class of publicans, to be one of His disciples&mdash;nay, one
+of His Apostles. Then He went to Matthew's house
+to dinner. It was as if some leading minister of the
+Gospel here to-day would be seen walking down the
+street with some leading gambler, on his way to take
+dinner and spend the afternoon with him. It was as if
+Mr. Moody should come to Louisville to conduct one
+of his great meetings, and, instead of stopping with
+Mr. Carley or Mr. Carter or Judge Bullock, should<span class="pagenum">[352]</span>
+stop with John Young or Harry Johnson, and be his
+willing guest. So Jesus went to the house of another
+big gambler, so to speak, in his day. It was the publican
+Zaccheus (Luke xix., 1-10), and Jesus not only
+went there to dinner, but took salvation with Him to
+Zaccheus' house. So by His tenderness and grace,
+Jesus drew to Him the poor outcast women of His day.
+One wretched sinner of this class was so won by His
+concern for sinners, that she pressed her way into a
+rich man's house where Jesus was dining, and going
+to Him washed His feet with her tears, and anointed
+them with costly perfume, Jesus not only not forbidding
+her, but defending her for it (Luke 7). And
+Jesus spoke the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost
+Piece of Silver, the Lost Prodigal Son, and said&mdash;oh,
+hear it&mdash;"There is joy in heaven over one sinner
+that repenteth."<span class="pagenum">[353]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">JAMES I: 25, 26.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty,
+and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but
+a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.</p>
+
+<p>"26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and
+bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this
+man's religion is vain."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>James, the writer of this language, is that inspired
+servant of God, who gets impatient with mere professions
+of piety, and who wants to see action, action!
+not mere words, not dead faith, but also action. He
+speaks, in the text, of "forgetful hearers of the Word."
+Now, do you not know all about what that means?
+Have you not, many a time, read the Bible, or heard
+a sermon from it that, like a mirror, held up to your
+heart, showed you yourself even better than you knew
+yourself? And have you not said: "Well, I will
+change; that picture is true, and it is too dark to be
+endured any longer?" But, instead of carrying out
+your purpose and doing what you say, you went away
+and forgot all about it, and soon you were as dead
+as ever. And, instead of continuing to read the Bible
+and see yourself there; and instead of continuing to
+go where faithful ministers would uncover your poor,
+wicked heart and life to your eyes, you went on your
+accustomed ways of business or pleasure, and became
+a "forgetful hearer of the Word," and it did you no
+good. How, then, in the name of God, can a man
+keep himself from forgetting the things he reads or
+hears from the Bible? Why, it is very simple&mdash;to go
+to <i>doing</i> at once, without waiting even till to-morrow.<span class="pagenum">[354]</span>
+"Do what?" you say. Why, go to praying. Cut
+yourself off from retreat by coming out on the side of
+Christ and taking your place among those who are
+seeking His mercy and salvation, till you can take
+your place among those who have that salvation. But
+I want to say a very solemn word to those who profess
+to have already obtained salvation. Are <i>you doing</i>, as
+well as <i>hearing</i> the Word of God? Does your life
+exemplify "holiness to the Lord," and does it abound
+in good works and good words? Do you abstain from
+evil and keep yourself from evil associations? Do you
+turn away from dangerous and suspicious places and
+people? Do you obey readily and heartily what you
+find to be commanded in God's Word? If you do
+not do the things you hear, then you, too, will soon
+become "forgetful hearers," and little by little the
+world will re-assert its power over you, and the flesh
+will get the upper hand, and at the last you may
+wind up as our poor friend Eicheler did. Doing is
+as important a part of the Gospel as hearing. Read
+the last part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
+vii., 24-27). Notice that Jesus says the man who
+does His sayings is like one who buildeth on a solid
+and enduring foundation that can stand storms and
+temptations. Now, do you not find that if you do
+what you find in the Bible, then the Bible becomes
+sweeter and sweeter to you? You do not shut it up
+then and shove it aside for fear of finding yourself
+condemned, for when you do its biddings it will not
+condemn you, but commend you, and that makes you
+love it and keeps you from forgetting it. And thus
+you grow stronger and stronger, and sin will grow<span class="pagenum">[355]</span>
+weaker and weaker, and you will surely find that you
+have built on a strong foundation. But, in the last
+part of the text is a subject I want to talk about.
+Read verse 26. It is the tongue. If any man seems
+to be religious, and fails to control his tongue, then
+he is mistaken. Oh, have you not found your tongue
+to be one of the most troublesome things you have
+to contend with? If you want to see James' idea of
+the tongue, read chapter iii., 1-10. Do you watch
+your conversation? Do you guard the door of your
+lips? Do you? I am in earnest.</p>
+
+<p>Do you ever indulge in the least obscenity? Some
+so-called Christians do, and it is sickening and disgusting
+to others; and while it shows what their thoughts
+dwell on, it does themselves great harm, for it keeps
+temptation before their minds, and makes it a great
+deal more difficult to resist temptations when they
+come in their lives. Do you mean it only as innocent
+fun? It is not innocent. For if you are so hardened
+as to unclean thoughts, that they don't hurt <i>you</i>, they,
+will hurt others.</p>
+
+<p>What about swearing? If the devil can get you to
+swear a few times, then he will say: "Oh, you might as
+well confess that you are no Christian, and give up
+this hypocritical business." There is one of the Ten
+Commandments forbidding to take God's name in
+vain; the Sermon on the Mount forbids it still more
+strongly, and James, in chapter v., 12, condemns it in
+the strongest language. And yet there are some
+church members who practice it, especially when they
+get mad. That man's heart is not right, and he is
+treading on very dangerous ground who is not changed<span class="pagenum">[356]</span>
+enough to avoid swearing. And if a man, by God's
+grace, will turn away from it and from the thought of
+it, he will soon become so that it will make him
+shudder to hear others swear. I know this from
+my own experience.</p>
+
+<p>If you do not watch yourself in conversation, you
+will tell things that are not true; and so, in trying to
+be polite, you will have to watch or your tongue will
+tell a falsehood, and you will recollect it with shame
+and lose strength of faith in God.</p>
+
+<p>And then that tongue often indulges in gossip
+about your acquaintances that does them great harm.
+And have you not, in moments of temper and passion,
+said cruel and, perhaps, false things to your dear
+ones; to those who have worked for you, and maybe
+would die for you? It cut them to the heart, and
+you have not made acknowledgment of your sin to
+them.<span class="pagenum">[357]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">JAMES I: 8.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>One of the commonest and greatest faults and
+weaknesses of men is this that I am going to speak
+about to you to-night, and that is indecision. It is not
+only a weakness and a fault and a great hindrance in
+regard to religion, but in any and all the affairs of life.
+Do you not know men of competent ability and of good
+advantages and education who amount to very little in
+the world? And when you ask yourself why it is, is it
+not because they have not enough decision of character
+to keep at any one thing long enough to master the
+difficulties with which it is beset and to win success in
+spite of obstacles? Some of them are confused by the
+great number of ways that seem to open before them
+and are not decided as to which one they will pursue.
+And after embarking in one pursuit and continuing in it
+for awhile, they conclude they could do better at something
+else; and before they have studied and labored
+long enough to obtain success in this second enterprise,
+they conclude they could do better by changing for a
+third or going back to the first. And so, because study
+and time and labor are necessary to success in any
+occupation or profession and they do not bestow these,
+they do not succeed, and, in the nature of the case, can
+not succeed. Or, if they are not embarrassed by the
+number of openings before them, they are divided in
+their minds between a life of ease, indulgence and
+pleasure and a life of labor and self-denial, and, though
+they would be something and are not without ambition,<span class="pagenum">[358]</span>
+yet a life of indolence and rest offers so many inducements
+that they prefer it to a life of hard work and of
+discouragements and battles and anxieties, or, at least,
+if they do not positively prefer such a life, yet they
+hanker after it; and in their effort to have ease and
+pleasure and, at the same time, to pursue some honorable
+and profitable calling, <i>they miss both</i>, and have no
+satisfaction, but only a consciousness of their own
+weakness and uselessness and a contempt for themselves.
+But maybe I need not ask you if you know
+persons of this sort. You who listen to me to-night
+may be of just that kind. Possibly&mdash;nay, probably&mdash;there
+are men here to-night whose lives have been
+failures just because of the miserable weakness I have
+been trying to describe. But if this weakness of character
+is the cause of many failures and the utter disappointment
+that many lives have ended in, in worldly
+matters, how much more so is it in religious concerns
+and interests. If concentration of thought and fixedness
+of purpose and firmness of will are necessary
+to overcome obstacles and to master success in business
+or in the learned professions, they are more so in the
+matter of religion. If indecision and dividedness of
+mind and wavering of purpose cause men to fail in
+worldly matters, much more so will they cause men
+to fail in religion. Some men are forever wavering
+between accepting and rejecting Christianity. To-day
+they are satisfied that Christianity is true, and to-morrow
+they say they have found proof that Christianity is
+false. Then, again, they get into trouble and find
+that nothing can help them but Christianity, and they
+believe it until some man comes along and argues<span class="pagenum">[359]</span>
+against it, and away they go off after him. So they
+never believe in Christianity long enough at any time
+to get any good from it, and they will not utterly and
+finally reject it so as to be no longer troubled by it.
+But the trouble with most of the people who are in
+this wretched state of indecision is that they believe
+in Christianity, and are persuaded that it is far better
+to be a Christian and safer, but they love the world
+and the ways of the world and the honors of the
+world and the pleasures of the world; and it is impossible
+to love the world and partake of the pleasures
+of the world and at the same time to serve God with
+your whole heart. "Ye can not serve two masters,"
+and yet you see people who are trying to do it.
+So they do not make good Christians, for their hearts
+are in the world, and their lives and influence are
+not for Christianity, but for the world. Nor do they
+get the good and pleasure of a worldly life, for they
+are restrained and harassed by their fear of conscience,
+God and hell. And Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount,
+says, "Ye can not serve two masters." Many have
+tried it. Some whose histories are given in the Bible
+tried it. Saul, the first king of Israel, tried it. When
+God sent him to destroy the Amalekites, he obeyed
+the command in part, but not altogether. (I. Samuel
+xv., 13-25.) But God is not mocked, and because
+Saul trifled with Him He rejected Saul, and Saul
+went from bad to worse, until at last, in his abandonment
+to the power of evil, he committed murder after
+murder and finally died a suicide. The rich young
+man in the New Testament was another case of divided
+mind. He saw the desirableness of being good, and<span class="pagenum">[360]</span>
+the safety of being at peace with God, and showed
+a zeal in trying to be good; but when Jesus told
+him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, he
+refused. He wanted to do both, obey God and inherit
+the kingdom of heaven and have a fortune for selfish
+enjoyment or for miserable greed at the same time.
+But he could not do both. King Agrippa said "he
+was almost persuaded" to be a Christian. His mind
+was divided; he could not do both. He chose to
+keep his worldly possessions, and, of course, could
+not be a Christian (Acts xxvi., 28). But, on the other
+hand, those men who were decided and positive in
+their rejection of the pleasures of the world found
+no great trouble in serving God. Moses was a man
+of this sort (Hebrews xi., 25-27). He deliberately
+chose to suffer afflictions with the people of God rather
+than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Paul
+was another man of this positive character. When
+Jesus revealed Himself to Paul his surrender was
+immediate and complete. He said, "What wilt thou
+have me do?" And to the end of a long and laborious
+life, amid persecutions and sufferings and disgraces
+and loneliness and bonds, he continually cried, "None
+of these things move me." And his Christian life
+was victorious and glorious.<span class="pagenum">[361]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">II. TIMOTHY III: 5.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
+thereof; from such turn away."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>This text is a description of certain false teachers
+who had arisen in the midst of the church, or who
+would arise and assume the name of disciples of
+Christ, as well as authority to teach. They would
+assume the outward form of Christianity and adopt
+its expressions and conform to its usage in outward
+respects, but would deny that there was any supernatural
+power or divine unction in it. And there are
+such men to-day. But if Christianity be not attended
+by any supernatural agency and energy present in it
+and with it, then it is no better than any other of the
+so-called religions of the world. If it has only form
+and body, without a living and life-giving soul and
+divinity in it, it is on a level with the heathen religions,
+for they all have these. And, indeed, all men have a
+form of religion, and many of them are so devoted to
+it that they will suffer and some of them die before
+they will give it up. The ancient Jews held to the
+forms of their religion, and fought for it in bloody and
+bitter wars. And the Pharisees at the time of Christ
+were the most careful and scrupulous observers of all
+the forms of their religion, and yet Jesus denounced
+them as the wickedest sinners of His time. There
+are men of this kind in the Christian churches of
+to-day, men who go through the forms of religion, who
+perform the outward duties of religion, and who would
+not give these up for any consideration; and yet they<span class="pagenum">[362]</span>
+not only do not experience anything of the power of
+inward religion, but they go so far as to deny that
+there is any such inward power, and call those who
+claim to have it fanatical.</p>
+
+<p>But read the following passages, and see if we
+have not Scripture warrant for this power of religion:
+I. Corinthians ii., 4; I. Thessalonians i., 5; II. Timothy
+i., 7; Ephesians iii., 16; and our text, II. Timothy iii., 5.</p>
+
+<p>1. The power of Christianity is shown in the conviction
+for sin.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to get men to see and realize the
+sinfulness and hatefulness of sin. It is impossible for
+any power of men's eloquence to pierce through the
+deep native depravity of the heart&mdash;through the selfish
+motives, desires, ambitions and interests, and get men
+to see and feel the nature and danger of sin. Oh, the
+impossibility of making men feel guilt and danger by
+any human means while they are dead in sin! But
+under the power of this force, or, rather, this agent,
+who works in and through Christianity, the poor sinner
+sees and feels all this. He sees that, of all bitter
+and perilous things, sin is the most bitter and perilous
+and dreadful. He feels smitten with remorse. He
+feels that there is no beauty in the world, or in anything,
+because of the blackness and ugliness and foulness
+of his own evil heart and life. And he feels that,
+above all things, he must get rid of sin, and at whatever
+cost, and speedily at that, for the agony is unendurable.
+Everything seems as nothing compared with
+salvation from sin. "He will go and sell all he has
+to buy it," as Jesus says. This sense of sin and
+danger produces an earthquake in the spiritual nature<span class="pagenum">[363]</span>
+that upheaves the hidden depths of the soul. Like
+the pilgrim in Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress, he puts
+his fingers in his ears and flees from the City of Destruction.
+Like the murderers of Jesus when convicted
+by this power, he cries out, "What must I do
+to be saved?"</p>
+
+<p>2. It is shown in what we call conversion.</p>
+
+<p>But this power which belongs to Christianity, not
+only produces this awful sense of the guilt and danger
+of sin, it also delivers from the guilt and power of
+sin, and makes the man a new creature. The awful
+sense of condemnation and the fear of a just and endless
+retribution are taken away. He may not know
+how or just why, but he knows it is so, and he
+rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But,
+not only so, he finds to his amazement and joy that
+his whole inner nature is reversed, re-created, and he
+no longer is a slave of sinful habits and passions, but
+he is delivered from these, and now loves holiness
+and holy people and holy things and holy thoughts.
+The whole current of his nature is changed. "Old
+things are passed away, and behold all things are
+become new," and, instead of the old defilement and
+darkness and devilishness, there flows out and on a
+life of purity, consecration, self-forgetfulness and holiness.
+Now, do you not call that a power which
+can bring to pass such effects as this? Do you know
+of any other power that can do anything like it?</p>
+
+<p>And now, my brother, you who profess to be a
+follower of Jesus, have you experienced this power,
+or have you only the form of godliness without the
+power? That is what is the matter with most of the<span class="pagenum">[364]</span>
+church members of this day. They have a form of
+godliness, but in too many cases only a form. They
+do not know anything of the power of which I have
+been speaking. But let no one be discouraged who
+has not experienced this blessed deliverance from the
+power of the enemy, provided you are seeking for it.
+You shall not seek long in vain, if you seek it in
+earnest. May God reveal Himself to us all now and
+here.<span class="pagenum">[365]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">I. CORINTHIANS IX: 26, 27.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"I therefore so run not as uncertainly; so fight I, not
+as one that beateth the air:</p>
+
+<p>"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:
+lest that by any means, when I have preached to
+others, I myself should be a castaway."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>This Is the language of St. Paul, the Apostle.
+As we have already remarked of Jesus, that He took
+the most familiar facts and experiences of every-day
+life by which to teach His doctrines, so we may say
+of His great Apostle, Paul. The Grecian games, consisting
+of running matches and boxing matches, were
+well known among the people of St. Paul's day,
+and especially so at Corinth, and these furnished him
+the illustrations which he frequently used in his letters.
+In another place he speaks of laying aside all weights
+and running with patience the race set before us.
+In this place he speaks both of running and boxing.
+His object is to show that, as in these games the
+utmost attention and energy and self-denial were
+necessary to success, and that these would insure
+success, so it is in the Christian race and the Christian
+fight. He says: "I, for my part, run not as
+uncertainly," that is, I run no risk, I indulge in nothing
+that would make it in the least degree uncertain as
+to my gaining the desired object; I know what is
+required of me, and I know that if I do not fully
+observe all that is commanded me and required of
+me, I, to that extent, render my success uncertain,
+and this I am determined, by the grace of God, not
+to do. Then he says: "I fight not as one that beateth<span class="pagenum">[366]</span>
+the air." The boxers would frequently take exercise
+by striking into the air, as we see men practicing gymnastics
+now; but Paul meant to say that he was not
+taking exercise&mdash;he was facing an earnest and dangerous
+foe, and it was a life and death matter to him
+to know just what that foe was, and to know just
+how to attack it so as to conquer it. And what was
+that foe? Hear it, you who think you are safe and
+can just go smoothly to heaven as if you were sliding
+down hill. Hear what Paul's greatest foe was: It
+was his body&mdash;yes, his body, with its appetites and
+passions, its constant craving for gratification and
+pleasure. What! do you mean to say that Paul,
+the great Apostle, was in danger of being led away
+by the appetites of the body? Well, that is what
+he himself says. He was not in danger of falling
+because of doubt, for he had had such a wonderful
+conversion, and such an actual vision of Christ, that
+he could never, never doubt that, nor does he any
+where, in any of his epistles, show the slightest wavering
+in this respect, but he does show that he knew
+and felt there was danger of being, in some unguarded
+moment, misled and brought into sin by the
+appetites of an unmastered body. So, he says in the
+next verse: "I keep under my body and bring it into
+subjection, lest that when I have preached to others,
+I myself should be lost." He still keeps up the figure
+of the boxing matches in the games, and says: "The
+foe I have to contend with is my body," and as the
+winner in the fist fight of the games beats his foe
+black, till he cries "enough!" so do I deny my body
+till it ceases to have any desire or disposition toward<span class="pagenum">[367]</span>
+the objects of unholy passions, till it meekly gives up,
+and I feel that I am perfect master, and it is under my
+feet as it were. When the body is fed and gratified
+and pampered, its animal appetites and passions are
+nursed and become strong. So men who live high and
+eat to gluttony and drink wines and liquors are usually
+in a perfect strut of sensual passion. I guess that is
+why the Lord keeps me so poor, and why I have so
+little to live on and so little to feed on. It is that,
+by this necessary self-denial, I may keep my poor body
+down, out of danger of betraying me into sin.</p>
+
+<p>David was as great a man in some respects as Paul,
+he communed with God in the solitudes of Bethlehem's
+sheep pastures, till he became strong enough to overcome
+a giant and to put a whole army to flight. He
+composed most of the Psalms, the most spiritual songs
+in the world. He withstood all the temptations of
+honor, and endured, with matchless meekness, the
+hatred and persecution of Saul, the king (I. Samuel
+xxiv). But his poor body, with its sensual passions, got
+the better of him, and he committed the awful sin of
+adultery. Doubtless, when he had become king, he
+forgot the self-denial which he practiced when he was
+a shepherd, and when he was a persecuted and hunted
+fugitive, and instead of that he lived high, fed high,
+drank high, and so he fell, and fell very low.</p>
+
+<p>Solomon was a wise man. He knew all the secrets
+of the human heart. He wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,
+books full of profound knowledge, as well as of
+deepest piety. Yet Solomon was led away from God
+by indulging in sensuality. And if David and Solomon,
+with all their faith and wisdom and power and piety,<span class="pagenum">[368]</span>
+found that their bodies, because not kept down, led
+them into sin, we need not wonder that Paul saw and
+shunned this danger. But how is a man to keep his
+body under? By totally abstaining from everything
+that heats the blood and inflames passion, as drinking,
+etc., and high living; by fleeing from evil conversation,
+evil books, evil thoughts; by fasting and abstinence,
+frequently practiced. Moses fasted; Elijah, David,
+Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus, Paul, the early
+church and Wesley and the early Methodists&mdash;all these
+eminent servants of God fasted, and there must be
+something good and profitable in it. I am satisfied
+it is one of the ways of keeping the body under,
+and bringing it into subjection. And may God help
+us to use all the means in our power for securing
+ourselves from our greatest enemy.<span class="pagenum">[369]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ACTS XX: 21.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Testifying both to the Jews, and also the Greeks, repentance
+toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>This verse is a part of St. Paul's account of his
+own ministry at the city of Ephesus in Asia. He
+revisits them after having spent three years of labor
+among them, and in his address to them he reminds
+them of his manner of life among them, and recounts
+the substance of his preaching among them; and the
+burden of his preaching was as is stated in the text:
+"Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
+Jesus Christ."</p>
+
+<p>And the first point to be noticed is that St. Paul
+made no difference among men; he was no respecter
+of persons or classes. You all know the Jews were
+the church people of that day. They not only claimed
+to be the pious of that day, but they claimed to be the
+only pious people, and the only ones qualified to teach
+others. But Paul, finding their religion was altogether
+outward and formal, as is the religion of many of the
+church people to-day, preached to them just as he did
+to the vilest of the heathens around them, the necessity
+of repentance, of turning from their sins and passions
+to God, with self-abhorrence and hope of mercy and
+pardon. And in this he has only followed the example
+of his Divine Master; for Christ said to Nicodemus,
+a ruler of the Jews, a sort of reverend doctor of
+divinity, "Except ye be born again, ye can not enter
+into the kingdom of God." (John iii., 3.) And so
+now it makes no difference if you belong to the Catholic
+church or the Episcopal church or the Methodist<span class="pagenum">[370]</span>
+church, or any or all others, it will do you absolutely
+no good at all if you have not repented of your sins
+and evil doings and turned to God in prayer and hope
+for grace to enable you to live above the power of sin.
+But, in the next place, Paul said he preached "repentance
+toward God." It is God, then, whom you
+have offended by your sins. As David says in the
+fifty-first Psalm, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I
+sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." And because
+you have sinned against God, you must repent toward
+God, and as in the sight of Him who sees and knows
+all, even the secret thoughts and passions and purposes
+of the heart. God is judge, and God is a consuming
+fire. But what is it to repent? Ordinarily,
+when we hear persons speak of repentance, we think
+at once about being sorry and of feeling a deep grief
+because we have done wrong; and some of us think
+it means to weep and moan and to be afflicted with
+an awful bitterness of soul because of our sins, when
+we hear any one speak of repentance in a religious
+sense. And, indeed, this may be the kind of repentance
+which many people have, and doubtless do have.
+But there <i>may</i> be true repentance without this extreme
+sorrow for sin, provided there is enough sorrow for
+sin and hatred of sin and dread of sin to turn away
+from it, and to at once and forever forsake it. Nor
+must you wait for this extreme sorrow, which you
+may have heard others speak of, but if you are convinced
+of the evil of sin and the baseness of sin and
+the ruinousness of sin, then cease to follow it, cease
+to practice it, and cease at once, however much it
+may cost you to do so. The old prophet, speaking<span class="pagenum">[371]</span>
+to the Jews who came with sighs and groans and
+tears to God's altar, but without mending their ways,
+says, "Cease to do evil, learn to do right, put away
+the evil from you." And John the Baptist says, "Bring
+forth fruits worthy of repentance," that is, such fruit
+as will show that you have indeed and in heart turned
+away from evil and from sin. Meanwhile, ask God
+to help you repent, tell Him you are nothing but sin
+and that you look to Him for grace to repent right
+and to turn away from all sin. And as long as you
+cleave to one sin, you need not expect to get any
+relief. Many give up one thing and another, but
+think they can hold on to one sin&mdash;one darling sin,
+one idolized sin&mdash;and that God will excuse this one,
+if they give up all others. "But be not deceived;
+God is not mocked," nor can you trifle with Him.
+Having thus let go your hold of sin, of your secret
+darling sins, and turned away from them with hope
+of mercy from God, you can trust in Jesus Christ,
+His Son crucified for your sins, and in your stead,
+and you will surely have peace, and that quickly.</p>
+
+<p>Observe, Paul says he preached faith, not in God
+the Father, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It
+is in Jesus that God reconciles the world unto Himself,
+And if you do not accept Jesus and trust in God's
+mercy, as shown in Jesus, you will get no relief and
+no peace. God has promised nothing outside of Jesus.
+But He has promised everything to him who accepts
+Jesus Christ's suffering and sacrifice as the sufficient
+and satisfactory penalty due to his own sins, and
+believes that Jesus bore his sins in His body on the
+cross. If Jesus satisfied Paul, He ought to satisfy<span class="pagenum">[372]</span>
+you, and be worthy of your confidence and trust and
+worship. Turn from sin, then, with humility and shame
+that you have so long grieved God, and trust in Jesus,
+and Jesus alone, and keep doing so for days if necessary,
+and you can not, and shall not, fail to obtain
+salvation.<span class="pagenum">[373]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ON SELF-DENIAL.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">LUKE IX: 23.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And He said unto them all, if any man will come after
+Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and
+follow Me."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Religion depends on this more than on any other
+one thing. If we are willing to give up all our own
+preferences and to deny all our desires and inclinations,
+we shall not have much trouble at any other
+point. The greatest hindrance to getting religion
+or <i>keeping</i> religion is our own desire for ease, comfort
+and self-gratification, and our aversion to enduring
+any hardship or privation or suffering. The reason
+why self-denial is necessary is that our very nature is
+corrupted and diseased and we are blinded by sin.
+Once the will of man was the same as the will of
+God; but, since the fall, the will of man and that of
+God are directly opposed; and if we live according
+to God's will, we must go directly against our own.</p>
+
+<p>Self-denial is necessary in avoiding sin to which
+we are inclined and which we find give us pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>But it is necessary also, when no sin or temptation
+is present, to preserve that frame of mind which keeps
+us in readiness for temptation and enables us to resist
+it when it does come.</p>
+
+<p>A constant habit of self-denial is necessary to
+make us proof against the gradual and unperceived
+approach of sin either in the form of coldness and
+distaste for religion, or sloth, or a desire to gratify
+the flesh. So Paul (I. Cor. ix., 27) said he kept his<span class="pagenum">[374]</span>
+body under and brought it into subjection, lest <i>even
+he</i>, through the deceitfulness of sin, should become a
+castaway.</p>
+
+<p>It follows that self-denial is absolutely necessary to
+growing in grace. We are mistaken if we imagine
+we are growing in grace, when we are practicing no
+self-denial. Jesus said (Luke ix., 23): "If any man
+will come after Me let him deny himself and take up
+his cross <i>daily</i>." Now what does that word "daily"
+mean in this connection? Indeed growth in piety is
+a growing out of self so that self is <i>crucified</i>, as Paul
+says he was.</p>
+
+<p>Self-denial must be practiced then.</p>
+
+<p>1. In abstaining from sins of all kinds.</p>
+
+<p>2. In performing all our duties of religion, however
+hard and unpleasant they may be, as attending all
+church services, ordinances, etc., and giving according
+to your ability.</p>
+
+<p>3. In practicing private prayer however hard and
+distasteful it may be at first. Some men have prayed
+three hours a day in secret, as, for example, Luther.</p>
+
+<p>4. In abstinence from food, <i>i.e.</i>, fasting; and sometimes
+from sleep when it is necessary to have time
+to pray, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Get the upper hand of your animal nature and
+keep it by <i>daily</i> self-denial and you will mount up with
+wings as eagles, you will run and not be weary, you
+will walk and not faint.<span class="pagenum">[375]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">I. JOHN III: 5.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And ye know that He was manifested to take away our
+sins; and in Him is no sin."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These are Christmas days. This is the period of
+the year that is celebrated as the anniversary of the
+birth of Jesus. I fear that if some stranger from a
+foreign land, who knew nothing of the character of
+Jesus and His history and nothing of Christianity, were
+to happen in our midst during this Christmas time, he
+would think, from the character of our festivities and
+the kind of our demonstrations, that we were either, by
+our bonfires and guns and rockets and fireworks, celebrating
+some warlike hero who, in the midst of belching
+cannon and blazing musketry, had delivered his country
+from peril, or else that we were, by our revelry and
+dissipation and debauchery and riot, celebrating some
+heathen god of pleasure like Bacchus, the Roman god
+of the wine cup. And it is strange&mdash;unaccountably
+strange&mdash;that men should so pervert the sacred Christmas
+time into a season of unusual and disgraceful
+indulgence in sin. What does our text say? "He was
+manifested to take away our sins." "He was manifested;"
+what does that mean? Oh, it means more
+than you and I will give ourselves time to fully
+take in. It is said that the angels desire to look into
+the wonderful fact of the condescension of Jesus Christ,
+the prince of princes, in becoming man in order to save
+sinners. But though <i>angels</i> thus desire, very few of <i>us</i>,
+for whom this wonderful humiliation was suffered, give
+enough time or attention to it to either understand it or
+care much about it. We are too much occupied with<span class="pagenum">[376]</span>
+these lower things to take any special interest in things
+infinitely higher.</p>
+
+<p>Paul, in the second chapter of the Philippians, tells
+us how Jesus humbled himself. Let us see verse 5:
+"Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
+to be equal with God, but made <i>Himself</i> of <i>no reputation</i>
+and took on Him the form of a servant, and
+humbled Himself and became obedient unto <i>death</i>, yea
+even unto the death of the cross."</p>
+
+<p>Christ, then, was the equal of God, the Father,
+worshipped by angels; and yet He consented to become
+man, and so be made "a little lower than the angels."
+But He not only became man, He became a servant
+among men. So His life was one of lowly service and
+unremitting toil for others. He once girded Himself
+with a towel and washed the feet of His disciples. But
+He not only became man and servant to man, He went
+to a deeper depth of humiliation than any other ever
+descended to: He suffered as an evil-doer, though in
+fact He was the only good and pure man that ever lived.
+"He was numbered among the transgressors," though
+He was guilty of no transgression, and He descended
+down to the bottom floor of disgrace&mdash;He was nailed
+on a cross and left there to die as you hang the worst
+criminals by the neck till they are dead.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, He was born poor; He lived in toil and sorrow
+and died in shame: the Prince of Glory did all this.
+But, stop and ask, Why did He endure all this when
+He might and could have avoided it? Let God answer:
+"Surely He hath borne <i>our</i> griefs and carried <i>our</i> sorrows.
+He was wounded for <i>our</i> transgressions. He
+was bruised for <i>our</i> iniquities; all we like sheep had<span class="pagenum">[377]</span>
+gone astray, and the Lord laid on <i>Him</i> the iniquity of
+us all." (Isaiah lviii., 4, 6.) Yes, "He was manifested
+to take away our transgressions" in the sense that He
+suffered in our stead for those transgressions that are
+past. But what good would it do to forgive sinners if
+they were not changed and renewed, so that they could
+have the power in the future to abstain from sin? What
+good would it do for God to say to a drunkard, "Your
+sins are forgiven" if He did not at the same time so
+change that drunkard as to make him able to keep from
+drinking in the future? What good to forgive the past
+sins of a debauchee or a liar or a gambler or a thief or
+a murderer if, at the same time, their hearts were not so
+changed that they would and could keep from sinning
+again? It would do no good, for they would go
+straight into the sins they had been practicing. Well,
+does Jesus make provision for this? Yes, He does.
+He was manifested not only to take away the guilt of
+our transgressions, but also their <i>power</i> over us. Do
+we not read in the Scripture that if the Son shall
+make us free we shall be free indeed? Jesus promised
+a mighty agent which should work in the hearts of men
+and renew their natures. I, myself, am as different a
+man as if I had been blotted out of existence and born
+again a new creature. And these are the very expressions
+the Scripture uses for describing the wonderful
+change. This, then, is what Jesus was born in poverty,
+lived in sorrow and died in shame for, and at this time
+of remembrance and rejoicing He makes appeal to you:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That thou mightest ransomed be, and quickened from the dead.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My Father's house of light, my glory-circled throne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I left, for earthly night, far wanderings, sad and lone.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I've borne it all for thee; what hast thou borne for me?"<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[378]</span></div></div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">NEW YEAR'S SERMON.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">DEUTERONOMY VIII: 2-11.</p>
+
+<p>The people of Israel had journeyed long and
+wearily since leaving Egypt. For forty years they had
+wandered and now at last had come to the borders of
+the Promised Land. Only the narrow Jordan was
+between them and the Canaan of their hopes. They
+were encamped upon the eastern bank of this river
+and were only awaiting orders to pass over and
+possess the goodly land which lay before them. And
+Moses, who was not to cross over with them, but to
+be buried in the land of Moab, gives this parting
+address to them. They were just passing from one
+stage of their journey to another and they need to be
+reminded of the <i>past</i> and instructed and warned as to
+the <i>future</i>.</p>
+
+<p>So he says:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou shalt <i>remember</i> all the way which the Lord
+hath led thee these forty years."</p>
+
+<p>1. They were to remember the trials and temptations
+they had. The object of these, he says (verse 2),
+was to <i>humble</i> them and to <i>prove</i> them that they might
+know what was in their hearts. And so, my brother, if
+during the past year, or during your past life, you have
+had trials and temptations, it was that you might learn
+your own weakness, a hard lesson for proud mortals
+to learn, and so be humbled to distrust yourself and
+seek help from God. And if you have had sorrow or
+bereavement it was for the same purpose, that you
+might learn to give up seeking perfect happiness in<span class="pagenum">[379]</span>
+anything or any creature on earth and seek it in God.
+And have not some of you learned this lesson or are
+you not beginning to learn it at last? Have not the
+sins and the sorrows of your past life humbled you
+and at last brought you to feel your <i>need of God</i>?
+But another object of these past experiences of trial
+was to prove what was in your heart. A man does
+not know what there is in his heart till temptation
+brings it out. He does not know how bad it is. I
+thought I was patient; but when temptation came,
+I found my heart had much impatience in it. I
+thought I was humble and did not think highly of
+myself till people began to praise me and I found I
+enjoyed it and loved it and I was not humble.</p>
+
+<p>2. But they were to remember God's goodness to
+them also (see verses 3 and 4). He had fed them
+Himself with manna and kept their clothes from wearing
+out and their feet from swelling. And so <i>you</i> are
+to remember the goodness of God to you during the
+past year and during your past life. Remember how
+He has spared you in the midst of your wickedness
+as He spared me in my neglect of Him <i>for forty
+years</i>, and how He has furnished you many blessings
+and would have given you more, but you would not.
+And if He has allowed your wickedness to bring you
+into trouble and distress, it is to cause you to <i>stop</i> and
+<i>reflect</i> upon your ways and turn from them unto Him
+for deliverance and true happiness. Thus you are to
+recall, from the past year and from your past life, your
+sins and sorrows, and God's manifold mercies to you.</p>
+
+<p>II. But, just entering upon this new year, you are
+to look ahead also, even as the Israelites were to look<span class="pagenum">[380]</span>
+ahead to the goodly land into which the Lord was
+going to bring them (see verses 7, 8 and 9).</p>
+
+<p>1. God <i>promises</i> you much, my brother, on condition
+that you follow Him and obey Him. He promises
+to bless you temporally and spiritually, and to give you
+happiness&mdash;a goodly possession&mdash;if you, for your part,
+give yourself up, <i>unreservedly</i> to His directions. He
+has done much for <i>me</i>, since I began to follow and
+obey Him years ago.</p>
+
+<p>2. Moses ends his discourse with a solemn warning
+(verse 11). <i>Beware</i> that you forget not the Lord your
+God, and go at any time to trusting to yourself or
+any earthly help.<span class="pagenum">[381]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ON AFFLICTION AND SUFFERING.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">LAMENTATIONS, III: 32-33.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"32. But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion
+according to the multitude of His mercies.</p>
+
+<p>"33. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
+children of men."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There is a vast deal of suffering and of sorrow in
+the world, and the most of it, if not all, is due directly
+or indirectly to <i>sin</i> as the cause. Sin is followed by
+suffering, as for example, intemperance ruins the health
+and brings on a slavery worse in some cases than
+death; and sensuality is often followed by loathsome
+and painful diseases. Thus God declares His feeling
+towards sin in these sufferings that result from it.
+He has set up a barrier to keep men from the practice
+of it. But we will consider how afflictions and
+sufferings may all be overruled to the good of the
+sufferer and his deliverance from the evil of <i>sin</i>.</p>
+
+<p>1. Sufferings which are the direct effect of sin have
+a tendency to make us turn away from sin. For
+example, the poverty and distress of the Prodigal son
+were the cause of his returning to his Father. So it
+was with Jack Harrington and others whom we know.</p>
+
+<p>2. But sufferings and misfortunes which are not
+the direct effect of sin stir up the memory to a recollection
+of past sins, and excite a remorse for them.
+For example, a lady who is the wife of a whisky
+dealer told her husband she believed that their losses
+and misfortunes were judgments sent on them for being
+in that business.<span class="pagenum">[382]</span></p>
+
+<p>3. Sometimes it takes the greatest and most prolonged
+suffering to conquer man's stubbornness and
+independence of God. But suffering humbles him,
+and, his pride being out of the way, he has no more
+trouble.</p>
+
+<p>4. Sorrow that is too great for any earthly consolation
+leads the sorrowing one to seek comfort in
+God. One of the greatest and best preachers of
+Germany was thus led to God by the loss of his
+young wife. So parents are brought to God by the
+death of children and children by the death of parents.</p>
+
+<p>5. Sometimes suffering is necessary to wean us
+from some idol which we would not otherwise be willing
+to give up.</p>
+
+<p>6. Sometimes when we forget God and become
+absorbed in the world, nothing but some affliction will
+make us come to ourselves and turn again to God
+with repentance and consecration. Read Psalm cxix.,
+67-75.</p>
+
+<p>The case of Sister P&mdash;&mdash;, at Portland, was one of
+this kind. She was a backslider and put off her
+return to God and kept putting it off. But she had
+a great sorrow. Her son left home under a cloud,
+her son's wife lost her mind and then died, and her
+son was put in prison. To this was added her own
+bad health. These things broke the spell of the
+world, woke her up from her apathy and made her
+seek God with all her heart and she found Him again,
+and died in great peace and triumph.</p>
+
+<p>7. Then suffering purifies us and develops us and
+prepares us for work we could not otherwise do.
+"Tribulation worketh <i>patience</i>." What <i>excellent training</i><span class="pagenum">[383]</span>
+I got when I rubbed the engine for a dollar and
+a half a day. It brought patience and resignation
+and a better preparation for the work I am doing than
+any other sort of experience, perhaps, could have
+given me.<span class="pagenum">[384]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">REVELATIONS XXI: 3.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,
+the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with
+them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be
+with them, and be their God."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The subject suggested by the text is, the future
+and final conquest of the world by the Church of
+Christ, and the rest and reward of that church in
+Heaven.</p>
+
+<p>And the Scriptures do teach that, in time, all nations
+shall learn righteousness. The time is coming
+when neighbor shall not say to neighbor, "Know ye
+the Lord," but when all shall know Him, from the least
+to the greatest; and the knowledge of God shall cover
+the earth, as the waters cover the deep. When this
+blessed time is to be, and what are to be the signs of
+its approach, are not questions for us to attempt to
+discuss here to-day, though we may be allowed to say
+that the Gospel is being preached to more people
+to-day that at any former period in the history of the
+church. There is a missionary zeal in the church to-day
+that has not been paralleled in all her history.
+There is not only a readiness among heathen people
+to hear the Gospel, but there seems to be a positive
+hunger for it, and within the last few years the Gospel
+has penetrated to the interior of nations and continents
+that were previously inaccessible. Certainly the church
+is more aggressive and bold in her plans and operations
+to-day than ever before. And if it be a prophecy of
+the not distant conquest of the world to the reign of
+Christ, we take courage, and say: "God speed the
+day!" It is well for us to pause now, and to reflect<span class="pagenum">[385]</span>
+upon the reward promised to us in the end of our
+course. We do not give enough attention to this.
+To study about it; to learn what we do not know
+concerning it; to realize the unspeakable blessedness
+of that state would make us more patient in waiting,
+more cheerful in suffering, more earnest and active
+and untiring in our efforts to help others to the attainment
+and enjoyment of it.</p>
+
+<p>Heaven, then, is represented in the Bible as a place
+of <i>perfect beauty, perfect security, perfect rest and
+perfect joy</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is so represented as to appeal to the desires
+and longings of all classes of people. To the inhabitant
+of the city, what could be more pleasing than
+the freedom and freshness and beauty of the country?
+So heaven is described as having its landscapes, with
+its fruit-bearing trees, its crystal rivers and gurgling
+fountains. But for the rustic peasant, it is said to be
+a resplendent city, with walls of sapphire and gates
+of pearl and streets of gold.</p>
+
+<p>But in some respects we are all alike.</p>
+
+<p>We want to be free from sin and danger.</p>
+
+<p>To a Christian heart, sin is the most abhorred
+and dreadful of all things. It gives more pain and
+causes more darkness than any other cause; and the
+fear of it causes more suspense than the fear of all
+bodily suffering.</p>
+
+<p>But in heaven we shall be free from sin, and free
+from all fear of sin and all liability to sin. For nothing
+that defileth or maketh a lie can ever enter there;
+and they who are so happy as to gain heaven shall
+go out no more forever.<span class="pagenum">[386]</span></p>
+
+<p>We all dread sorrow and grief and pain. And
+truly we all have our share of it in this life. "Man
+is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." "Man
+is of few days and full of trouble," but we leave it
+all behind when we go in at the gate of the City of
+God. "And there shall be no more sorrow nor
+crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the
+former things are passed away." Christians in this
+world feel that they are pilgrims and strangers in a
+foreign land, away from their home and their Father's
+house. Their hearts have been so changed, and they
+have tasted of the powers of the world to come,
+and have come into communion with God, so that
+neither the pleasures of the world nor the friendships
+of earth can content them&mdash;their hearts are
+not here, but away in heaven.</p>
+
+<p>I heard a Christian man say, not long ago (though
+he has a sweet family and many friends), that he felt
+that day an unutterable loneliness, as if he were an
+exile. His heart had such a longing for his Father
+and his kindred and his home beyond the skies. Oh,
+the sympathy and love and tenderness we know we
+shall get at home! It makes us all feel a thrill that
+responds to the poet's immortal lines:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And all the sympathy and tenderness of father, mother,
+brother and sister are transcended by the sympathy
+and tenderness of God, for marvelous to tell it is
+said that "God <i>Himself</i> shall wipe away all tears
+from our eyes."</p>
+
+<p>And how we thirst for <i>knowledge</i> here. We know
+nothing now. We are surrounded on all sides by<span class="pagenum">[387]</span>
+things we do not understand. If we undertake to
+investigate, we soon reach the limit of our capacity
+and have to stop before we have learned anything.
+"But then we shall know as also we are known."</p>
+
+<p>What it means, when it says we shall "sit down
+at the marriage supper of the Lamb" we know not,
+nor what it implies when it says we are to "enter
+into the joy of our Lord;" nor do we understand that
+wonderful saying, "Thou hast been faithful over a
+few things, I will make thee ruler over many things."
+No, no; now we see through a glass darkly, but then
+face to face, and "it doth not yet appear what we
+shall be." But we know that "if we suffer with Him,
+we shall reign with Him." The suffering comes first,
+the humiliation first, the toil and weariness, the <i>cross</i>
+first, and then the crown. Peter the Great, of Russia,
+during one of his wars, was separated from his army
+and lost, and, to escape detection, took off his royal
+apparel and dressed in common garb. In his wanderings
+he came to a humble cottage, and was kindly
+received and ministered unto by the peasant woman,
+who knew not who he was. She gave him a home
+until danger was passed, and then helped him to get
+back to his capital. When the war was ended, Peter
+sent for this poor peasant woman, brought her to his
+splendid court, and, marrying her, made her the partner
+of his throne and his empire. She who had ministered
+to him in his sufferings now reigned with him
+as Queen Catherine, of Russia.</p>
+
+<p>So, my brethren, see that you serve Christ, suffer
+for Him; spend and be spent for His cause, and <i>then</i>,
+oh, then, how sweet to rest and reign forevermore.<span class="pagenum">[388]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear
+God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole
+duty of man.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>Now, boys, here is a piece of advice given by the
+wisest of men. Can any of you tell me who was the
+wisest man? (Solomon.) Well this Solomon was the
+son of a king. Can any of you tell me whose son
+Solomon was? (David's.) And, of course, Solomon
+had all that money could buy from his childhood up;
+and when his father died, he became king in his place.
+He lived to be an old man and he had a wide experience
+of life. In other words he tried everything that
+he thought he could get happiness from and his experience
+is given in the book of Ecclesiastes. He tried
+all sorts of pleasures and he tried them fully, because
+there was nothing to hinder or to check him. He
+denied himself nothing that his heart desired. He
+knew fully the effects of all sorts of enjoyment and
+when he had passed through it all he wrote it down
+as the lesson of his experience for all boys and young
+men to read. And what was it? Does he say "Young
+man, you have a long life before you. Now you must
+enjoy the pleasures of life while you are young?"
+Does he say you must run off from your father's
+house and presence like the Prodigal son did, so you
+can have a good time in the enjoyment of the pleasures
+of the world and then in your after life, when
+you get more settled, you can think about your
+Creator and death and heaven and hell and eternity?
+Was that the lesson which his long and extended<span class="pagenum">[389]</span>
+experience taught him? Ah, no. It was a far different
+one. He would say this: "Young men, boys, I
+have been all over the road you are traveling now.
+I have had your feelings, your hopes, your ambitions,
+your passions, your temptations. And in one
+part of my life I concluded I would give myself up to
+the enjoyment of pleasure of every kind and I did so.
+And I know all about it and this is what I would say
+to you all just starting out. Remember <i>now</i> your
+Creator in the days of your <i>youth</i> and give your
+hearts <i>and lives</i> to Him, if you want to be happy."</p>
+
+<p>1. In the first place by so doing you will avoid
+wretched poverty. For a man whose heart and life
+are given to God can not be a spendthrift. But just
+look at some young men how they spend their money
+or that of their fathers. However large a fortune they
+may have, they soon come to <i>poverty</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And a man whose life is given to God is industrious
+and loves to work. He can not bear to be idle,
+for he knows and <i>feels</i> it to be a great sin. Besides
+all this God promises to see that those who live for
+Him shall not want what is best for them. Jesus in
+the Sermon on the Mount declares that if God provides
+for sparrows and clothes lilies, He will be sure
+to see to the needs of His own children. So the way
+to get the best assurance that you will be blessed
+with things needful in this life is to give yourself up
+to God to be His, through thick and thin.</p>
+
+<p>2. If you give your heart to God <i>now</i>, you will be
+kept from the sins which bring men into <i>disgrace</i>. "A
+good name is rather to be chosen than riches." Ah!
+you know not into what awful sins your passions will<span class="pagenum">[390]</span>
+plunge you, if you do not get the control of yourself,
+which only religion can give. You may be led along
+little by little, almost without knowing it, till you may
+wake up to find that you can not, <i>can not</i>, break off
+from your sins&mdash;your hated and ruinous sins. But
+if you give God your heart to be changed, renewed,
+purified <i>now</i>, you will avoid all these awful dangers.</p>
+
+<p>3. But this verse says "the years will draw nigh
+in which thou shalt take no pleasure in these things
+that relate to God." My dear young friend, that
+is terribly true. The longer you live away from
+God the less and less will be your care for Him and
+for your soul. How few old men ever turn to God!
+Yes, very few, forty years of age and over, ever do so.
+I heard Dr. Munhall ask once, in a large congregation,
+that all who were converted after seventy years
+of age would stand up. Not one stood up. Then
+he asked that all who had been converted after they
+were sixty years of age would stand up. Not one
+stood up. Then he asked all who were converted
+after fifty years to stand up. Only one, I believe,
+did so. When he asked all who were converted after
+forty years to stand up, only three or four did so.
+When he asked all converted after thirty years to
+stand up, perhaps eight or ten did so. A few more
+had been converted after twenty years of age; but
+when he asked all who were converted <i>under</i> twenty
+years to stand, most of the congregation arose.</p>
+
+<p>True, I was converted after I was forty years of
+age, but it was a bare chance. And oh, how hard it
+was for me. And if I had not had the most patient
+of friends to sympathize with me, encourage me and<span class="pagenum">[391]</span>
+guide me, I should never have gotten along. I beg
+you do not follow my example in putting off your
+return to God.</p>
+
+<p>Look at the men <i>whom you know</i>. How little
+interest they take in religion and their interest grows
+less and less all the time. The years have already
+come when they have no pleasure in the things of
+God. They have encouraged all their feelings, desires
+and ambitions but this, and this has almost died out.
+They have devoted all their thought and affections
+to making money and enjoying it, to seeking pleasure
+and enjoying it, to acquiring fame and enjoying
+it, and so their hearts are completely hardened
+and insensible to the religion which they cast aside
+ten, twenty or thirty years ago. And they will probably
+<i>never</i> feel the all-absorbing interest in religion
+which is necessary to obtain it. Hence, they will go
+on blinder and blinder, colder and colder, more and
+more hardened down to old age and to the grave and
+to a hopeless eternity. I beg you, my young friends,
+all who hear me to put off your return to God not
+one day longer.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;The address, of which this is the outline, was delivered on
+a Sunday-school occasion and is a specimen of Mr. Holcombe's talks
+to young people.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Ed.</span></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[392]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">MARK II: 15.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his
+house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with
+Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed
+Him."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>1. This class of persons <i>feel</i> that they are outcast,
+and not recognized by those who are esteemed the
+good. Hence, they feel backward, and will not make
+advances toward the good for fear of being slighted.</p>
+
+<p>2. If those who are looked upon and honored as
+good and pious and pure, will show that they <i>want</i> to
+be friendly and sociable, it will take these persons by
+surprise, and will win their feelings&mdash;and this is nearly
+half the battle.</p>
+
+<p>3. Besides, if the good, instead of waiting for these
+sinners to make advances, which they will not do,
+will take pains to show their interest in the welfare
+of these, their unfortunate brothers, it will make them
+believe that the pious are sincere, and not hypocritical,
+and that religion is a reality and not a mere profession.
+This is a great step toward gaining them. Most of
+this class believe in the Gospel in some vague sense,
+but it is too vague to amount to anything. But
+when they see the grand principle of the Gospel&mdash;<i>Love</i>&mdash;embodied
+in the Christian, and coming after
+them in their lost condition, it makes an impression,
+and it moves them to <i>action</i>. You can not drive
+men, nor can you convince them by abusing them and
+by shutting them out as too vile to be your associates.
+This only drives them further away. But all men
+have a chord in their natures that can be touched by<span class="pagenum">[393]</span>
+love and kindness. It was this gentleness and sympathy
+that drew the thousands around John Wesley.
+It was this wonderful tenderness that made the publicans
+and sinners and harlots, the outcast and the low
+and the vile seek the company of the loving Jesus
+and press into His presence, even when He was the
+guest of the great and noble of His day. They knew
+Jesus would never repulse them&mdash;they knew He would
+love them, help them, save them.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Down in the human heart<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Crushed by the Tempter,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Touched by a loving hand, wakened by kindness,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Chords that were broken will vibrate once more."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>4. There has to be such an interest felt for those
+of this class as will make you cease to care for what
+people will say about your going among them and
+working with them. This was the sort of interest
+Jesus had for them.</p>
+
+<p>5. Imagine your own dear son to be one of this
+number, and see what feelings you would have, what
+earnestness and what planning. These are some of
+the ways and means of getting at this class of persons.
+For we have to use means and reason in all
+things.</p>
+
+<p>6. But the <i>agent</i>, the only one who can accomplish
+anything is <i>God's Holy Spirit</i>, and the Holy Spirit
+comes <i>only</i> in answer to prayer and trust. Prayer is
+to be first and second and third and everywhere and
+always, and then we may hope that our plans will
+succeed.<span class="pagenum">[394]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">PREPARATION FOR WINNING SOULS.</p>
+
+<p>I am sure, my dear brethren, that in the discussion
+of this topic we are to be allowed some liberty
+and some latitude; and, if I shall speak in a general
+way, I trust I shall not be counted out of order.
+And, not to detain you with preliminaries, I say that,
+to be a winner of souls, a man must have the anointing
+of the Holy One, reproducing the mind that was
+in Christ, who "though he was rich, yet for our
+sakes became poor, that we through His poverty
+might become rich," and who "being in the form of
+God, thought it not a usurpation to be equal with
+God, but He emptied Himself and took upon Him
+the form of a servant; and being found in fashion as
+a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient as
+far as unto death, even death on a cross."</p>
+
+<p>A sympathy that arises from any other motive, or
+comes from any other source, than His divine and
+supernatural anointing, will fall short of the mark,
+and will be found too shallow and weak to bear with
+the hardheartedness, the perversity and the ingratitude
+of sinful men.</p>
+
+<p>This anointing, on the other hand, brings with it
+a yearning love and a profound sympathy for those
+who are in the blindness and bondage of sin, which
+impels one to <i>seek out</i> the lost, to be at patient pains
+to save them, and to bear with all their dullness, slothfulness,
+selfishness, perverseness and thanklessness,
+while they are under training, so to speak.</p>
+
+<p>It makes a man as ready and anxious to save the
+soul of a solitary sinner, however humble and degraded<span class="pagenum">[395]</span>
+he may be, as to preach with power to the great
+congregations. It was this that made John Wesley
+as willing and careful and patient in talking to a
+negro servant girl as to a multitude. And it was
+this which lead a greater than John Wesley to lead
+with patient love along, the poor Samaritan adulteress
+whom He met at the well of Jacob.</p>
+
+<p>But what is more important and imperative for
+the immediate work of getting a dead soul to a living
+Saviour, this divine anointing imparts that peculiar
+and energetic pungency which pierces to the
+heart and conscience of a sinner, rouses his fears,
+and prepares him for the reception of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Not only so, this unction from the Holy One is
+accompanied with a practical wisdom and <i>insight</i>
+which discerns, if not all things, yet, at least, <i>many
+practical things</i>. It enables a man to see that the
+first thing to be done in the way of saving a sinner
+is to convict him of sin. To get him to admit theoretically
+that he is a sinner, is equal to zero, amounts to
+nothing. But, in a way not to repel him, he must be
+made to <i>feel</i> that he is sinful, and so, wretched. It is
+wonderful what tact some men have in this respect.
+Here lies, undoubtedly, the secret of Sam Jones' power.
+He turns all classes of men, Pharisees in the church
+and sinners out of it, inside out, and makes them
+see, in spite of all spiritual apathy and all self-deception,
+what they are. He shows them secrets which
+they thought nobody knew but themselves.</p>
+
+<p>But a greater than he did the same thing&mdash;Jesus
+touched the <i>sore spot</i> in the conscience of the Samaritan
+woman and compelled her to say: "He told me<span class="pagenum">[396]</span>
+all things that I have done." This revealing the
+secrets of the heart is a thing that fascinates and
+attracts and wins a sinner; and he feels, if you know
+so well without being told, all the particulars of his
+inner life and all the desperate trouble of his case,
+you surely can not make a mistake in pointing out
+the way of escape. Just as a patient yields immediate
+and unquestioning confidence to the physician
+who can tell him all his symptoms and describe his
+feelings better than he himself can do it.</p>
+
+<p>If preaching the love of Christ without convicting
+of sin would have saved people, then most people in
+the United States would have been saved long ago,
+for the love of Christ has been told and retold and
+preached and re-preached, and it does not bring sinners
+to repentance. To be sure there are some sinners
+who have found, by bitter experience, the ripe fruits of
+sin, and these may be already prepared to accept a
+deliverer and a deliverance as soon as offered to them.</p>
+
+<p>The possession of this unction presupposes that a
+man is correct, upright, holy in his life; for God would
+not give it to one who was not so. I believe Mr.
+Moody was right when he said: "If a man's life is
+not above reproach, the less he says the better." A
+friend of mine says he knows a minister who, though
+no doubt a good man and a fine talker, will <i>lie</i> now
+and then. Of course, he would not call it lying, nor
+would his admirers call it lying, but lying it is; and
+so he has no power. His preaching is like a sounding
+brass and a tinkling cymbal.</p>
+
+<p>There are some men who have some little success
+in soul-saving, but who would have much more<span class="pagenum">[397]</span>
+success, if their lives were thoroughly holy, and Christlike.
+And indeed some men would not have the success
+they do have, if the public knew their secret life.
+For example, there are some men who indulge evil
+thoughts (if they do not go further) and who are not
+chaste in their associations with women; and there
+are others who are ill-tempered, cross, fault-finding,
+sour and bitter in their home life. If these things
+were publicly and generally known, they would lose
+what power they have with the people. Brethren, we
+can hardly be too careful of these things. But a full
+and constant anointing of the Holy One would correct
+all these evils at the <i>source</i>, namely, in the heart.
+It makes a sober Christian man tremble to know how
+little some of the preachers and evangelists of the day
+<i>pray</i>. It would be no wonder if under stress of some
+sudden and strong temptation, they should fall into
+scandalous sin and disgrace themselves and the cause
+they represent. There is an old and true saying that
+"when a man's life is lightning, his words will be
+thunderbolts."</p>
+
+<p>We are advised to make ourselves familiar with
+the Scriptures, to equip ourselves with weapons from
+the armory of God's word; and excellent advice it is.</p>
+
+<p>No man can maintain a spiritual life who does
+not habitually and diligently study God's holy word.
+No man is prepared to understand the wants of
+souls or to deal with them who is not familiar with
+the Scriptures. It is a marked characteristic of our
+honored brother, D. L. Moody, that he can, not only
+discern the deeper, inner spiritual sense of all the
+Scriptures, both of the Old Testament and the New,<span class="pagenum">[398]</span>
+but he can handle and apply them with a skill, effectiveness
+and power that are truly wonderful. And,
+what is more, he is peculiarly apt in selecting just
+the right passages for any particular case or occasion.
+He is truly a masterly handler of the sword of the
+spirit, and his success is largely due to this fact.</p>
+
+<p>But there is a class of workers who seem to think
+that it is sufficient to know by heart some Scriptures,
+or to have a certain facility in referring to different
+passages, and they rely upon this, congratulating
+themselves that they are doing well. But it is all
+perfunctory and lifeless and dead. There is no
+charm, no warmth, no power in it. A man must be
+more than a mechanical text-peddler in order to
+impress, arouse, comfort and save the souls of men.
+You may pitch cold lead at a man all day long and
+never break his skin; but let a full charge of ignited
+gunpowder drive it out of a well-aimed rifle, and the
+effect is terrific. So these text-mongers may throw
+Scripture at people all day long, and they laugh at
+it. But let the same missile be hurled forth with the
+energy of a soul on fire of the Holy Ghost, and the
+slain of the Lord will be many.</p>
+
+<p>So, my brother, there is absolutely no substitute
+for this unction of the Holy Spirit. And this unction
+is given in answer to self-denying and daily prayer.</p>
+
+<p>If we would know the secret of power with men,
+we <i>must</i> spend much time in secret communion with
+God.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;This address is one of two delivered by Mr. Holcombe before
+the convention of Christian workers of United States and Canada in
+the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, September 21-28, 1887.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Ed.</span></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[399]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">THE MISSION&mdash;PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.</p>
+
+<p class="h4">I. THE PAST.</p>
+
+<p>Two years ago I was working in the Fire Department
+of the city, because I could get nothing else to
+do. The close and slavish confinement, the necessity
+of being always at my place, both of nights and
+Sundays, and the consequent lack of opportunity to
+do anything for the cause of my Master, made it
+almost intolerable for me, and several times I made
+up my mind I would give up the place, even though
+I had nothing else to fall back on for a living for
+myself and family. But through the advice of friends
+and the help of God, I was kept from that rash step.
+However, I determined I must do something for my
+Lord and for the men of my acquaintance and former
+occupation who would not, I knew, go inside of a
+church. So, though I was getting under sixty dollars
+a month, and had a large family to support, I determined
+to rent a room at my own expense in the
+central part of the city for holding Gospel meetings,
+and to hire a substitute to take my place in the Fire
+Department when I was absent and engaged in the
+work of my Lord.</p>
+
+<p>I made known my plans to my former pastor, and
+he became interested and promised to help me. He
+was living in the country, and hardly ever attended
+the preachers' meeting here on Mondays; but it happened
+on the next Monday after I told him of my
+purpose that he was at the preachers' meeting, and, on
+my name being mentioned by some one present, he took<span class="pagenum">[400]</span>
+occasion to speak at length of my conversion, trials,
+poverty; my intense yearning to engage entirely in
+the work of God, and my immediate purpose to commence
+Gospel meetings in entire dependence on God
+alone for help. He went so far as to ask the preachers
+present to speak of the matter to their members
+and make an effort to get assistance from them for
+the expenses of my proposed work. But one of the
+preachers present, though saying very little at the
+time, was moved to lay before his official board a
+proposition not to <i>assist</i> in paying the expenses of
+such a plan of work, but to take me from the Fire
+Department and pay me a regular salary and defray
+all the other necessary expenses of such a Mission
+work as my heart was set on doing. And his official
+members were <i>also moved</i> to agree to his proposition,
+and when he came to me and told me of what had
+taken place, I was constrained to say: "This is God's
+doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes." So the very
+thing I desired above all other things; the very thing
+I should have chosen if I could have had my wish,
+was brought to pass. And I saw that by waiting
+God's time, He rewarded me in granting me the desire
+of my heart, and meanwhile I had learned lessons
+of patience and preparation that I could not have
+learned so well anywhere else. (Mr. Holcombe went
+on to speak of the beginning of his work in the Tyler
+Block, with the assistance and co-operation of Rev.
+Mr. Morris; of the results accomplished during that
+first period; of the removal of the Mission to Jefferson
+street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, and the
+results accomplished there, and, lastly, of the removal
+to the present building, etc. See his life.)<span class="pagenum">[401]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">II. THE PRESENT.</p>
+
+<p>At present we have the house on Jefferson street.
+We have a Sunday-school of scholars who do not
+attend any other school, and would not. It is supplied
+with able and devoted teachers, such as Brother
+Atmore and others. The devotion of Brother Atmore
+is shown by his refusing to leave his class one Sunday
+to go to the Masonic Temple during Sam Jones'
+meetings. The children show a wonderful improvement
+since they have been coming to the Sunday-school.
+Brother Atmore's boys were almost unmanageable
+at first, but they are now so changed that it
+is very noticeable. This Sunday-school feature of the
+work is one of the most important and promising
+parts of it, and we believe the results to be accomplished
+by it <i>alone</i> will amply repay all the outlay of
+labor, time and means that has been made in the
+enterprise. We have also a reading-room in connection
+with the Mission-room, where we have papers,
+magazines, books, etc. The words of invitation and
+welcome painted on the door have drawn in some
+who, but for the reception, sympathy and help which
+they found there, might have gone on in their wretchedness
+to suicide.</p>
+
+<p>While we furnish lodging, food, etc., to those who
+are destitute, yet it is with a view to their spiritual
+welfare and ultimate salvation. And so soon as we
+find a man is availing himself of our charity with
+no intention or effort to become a Christian, we let
+him go.<span class="pagenum">[402]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">III. THE FUTURE.</p>
+
+<p>In looking at the past, we find there are several
+plain and striking results of the work. The most
+apparent is the radical and astonishing change for
+the better that has taken place in the cases of many
+unhappy men and their families. Two years ago
+these men "sat in darkness and in the shadow of
+death," being bound in affliction and iron, because they
+rebelled against the laws of God. Therefore He
+brought down their hearts. They fell down and
+there was none to help. And none but themselves
+and God knew the bitterness of their bondage and
+the depth of their dark and unrelieved despair. But
+they were brought into contact with a new force and
+a new agency by means of the efforts and sympathy
+and instructions of those engaged in this work, and
+to-day their old life with its bitterness and bondage
+and darkness is left behind from one to two years in
+a path that, it is hoped, is not to be retraced forever,
+and now these men are happy again, and some
+of them prosperous in business. And what shall be
+said of their families&mdash;their wives and children, innocent
+sufferers from the vices of husbands and fathers?</p>
+
+<p>Husband is husband again, father is father again,
+and the long dark night of hopeless sorrow and bitter
+tears has ended&mdash;ended at last, and ended, let us
+hope and pray, forever.</p>
+
+<p>But if it be also true, as He said, who spake as
+never man spake, that it profits nothing to gain the
+whole world and lose one's own soul; if there is for
+the unsaved an undying worm and an unquenchable<span class="pagenum">[403]</span>
+fire, and for the saved an inheritance of joy that is
+incorruptible and a glory that fadeth never more
+away, then where or how shall we <i>begin</i> to compute
+the result of this mission work? It is recorded in
+eternity, and only the unfolding of eternity can unfold
+the good that has thus far been done.</p>
+
+<p>But aside from these direct results, there is
+another one which can not be estimated, namely the
+demonstration of the power of the Gospel to do for
+helpless, enslaved, lost men what nothing else in the
+universe can do. There is naturally in the hearts of
+men a doubt as to the divinity of that religion which
+fails to do what it proposes to do, and so in times of
+religious deadness, men lose faith, and unbelief grows
+stronger and more stubborn in proportion as they see
+no actual instances of the power of the Gospel to
+save bad men. But when bad men have been reached
+and quickened and convicted and made holy by the
+Gospel, then the tide turns and faith becomes natural
+and easy and contagious, not to say necessary.
+Many of my old companions were brought to believe
+in the Gospel when I was changed by it; and now
+when scores of the worst cases in Louisville have
+been reached and saved, and have <i>stayed saved</i> so long,
+men are brought back from unbelief to faith, and
+naturally turn to the Gospel with increasing hope.</p>
+
+<p>But this return of faith has not only been noticeable
+in the case of the unsaved classes, the churches
+have seen this work, and have had their faith in
+the divine power of the Gospel to save all men
+increased, and a corresponding activity is witnessed
+among many of the churches in the city. They<span class="pagenum">[404]</span>
+have learned also that to save lost men we must,
+like Jesus, not wait for them to come to us, but
+we must go to them and after them, just as has
+been done in this work.</p>
+
+<p>There is a passage in Malachi which says, "Bring
+all the tithes into my storehouse and prove me herewith
+if I will not open the windows of heaven and
+pour you out such a blessing there shall not be room
+enough to receive it."</p>
+
+<p>This Walnut-street church, led by its devoted
+pastor, was willing to accept God's challenge, and
+they brought the tithes, they laid down their money,
+they made the venture, and God has given them a
+great blessing.</p>
+
+<p>But this is only the pledge of far greater blessings
+yet to be given them, if they will continue to
+honor God, by the faith that lays upon His altar, sacrifices
+that cost something and amount to something.</p>
+
+<p>Let us not stop to congratulate ourselves upon
+what has been done and rest satisfied with that, but
+accept it only as an indication of what He will do
+for us if we have faith to claim a deep wide-spread
+and continuous revival.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;The foregoing is the substance of an address delivered by
+request of the Directors of the Mission on the occasion of a reunion
+of the converts and mass-meeting of the Christian people of Louisville,
+in the Walnut-street Methodist Church, in April, 1886.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Ed.</span></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[405]</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="h4">CHRISTIAN WORKERS.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>From September 21st to 28th, the second convention of Christian
+Workers in the United States and Canada was held in Broadway Tabernacle,
+New York City. From the published report of the proceedings,
+this speech of the Rev. S. P. Holcombe is taken:</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>It would be presumptuous in me to stand up here
+and say how you should conduct a "Gospel Meeting."
+I do not propose to do that; but will simply tell you
+how, for six years, I have conducted one at Louisville,
+Kentucky, and with some success. I say some success,
+for we have succeeded in gaining the confidence
+and respect of all classes&mdash;preachers, Christians, gamblers,
+drunkards and infidels. Not only have we
+succeeded in reaching the hearts of the people, but
+also their pocket-books.</p>
+
+<p>Beginning in a basement room, at a rent of twenty
+dollars per month, we now own a building of thirty
+rooms. As an instance of the respect all classes have
+for our work, while we were negotiating for this property
+a German Singing Society also wanted it. This
+kept the price up above our figures.</p>
+
+<p>I called on the President of the Club, who is an
+infidel, told him I wanted that property for my Mission
+work. Said he: "Mr. Holcombe, I am not a
+Christian, neither do I believe in the churches, but I
+do believe in the kind of work that you are doing.
+I shall withdraw until the Holcombe Mission is done."
+We soon had the property.</p>
+
+<p>Since my conversion I have tried to be a man,
+just as much as before. As Dr. Pentecost said
+the other day: "When I put off the old man, I<span class="pagenum">[406]</span>
+did not put on the old woman," and by this I mean
+no disrespect to the dear old women, for many of them
+have more manhood in them than some of us men,
+and my wife is one of them. What I mean is, that
+since I have become a Christian I have not lost any
+of my manhood.</p>
+
+<p>When I was a gambler, I had gambling houses all
+over the country. The object was to get other
+people's money without giving them any equivalent,
+in order to gratify my base passion. I could not, of
+course, call on the police for protection, as my business
+was not legitimate. Hence, I had to protect
+myself, which I did at all hazards.</p>
+
+<p>So, when I opened a house for the Lord, to win
+souls for Him, I determined I would take care of it
+at any cost. I think some who are engaged in Christian
+work are too stilted, others are too lax. I have
+tried to be both stiff and limber; when it was a
+matter of no consequence, to bend like the willow;
+when it was something vital to my Master's cause,
+to be as stiff as steel. In other words I have tried
+to be "all things to all men" that I might win
+some.</p>
+
+<p>I think all Missions ought to have a leader. Ours
+has one. I am the leader of the meetings. Not
+that I do all the talking, but I look out for the
+details.</p>
+
+<p>I have a time for opening and a time for closing
+the meeting, and I always close at the time. If my
+opening time is 7:30, I begin the meeting if there
+is no one there but myself, which, however, has
+never occurred; and if my closing hour is at 9 o'clock,<span class="pagenum">[407]</span>
+I close at 9&mdash;not 9:30 or 10. We have in Louisville
+a class of poor people who attend the Mission and
+who work every day. They must be at their places
+of labor at an early hour in the morning. They love
+to be at the meeting, and when they know that they
+will be dismissed promptly, they will come. I feel
+that if I were to keep these men and women up till
+10, 11 or 12 o'clock, and let them get up at 5 and
+go to a hard day's work, while I lie in bed until 8 or
+9, that I would be a robber.</p>
+
+<p>Now, I do not say that I go home at 9 o'clock;
+for if there is a single one anxious enough about
+his soul's eternal salvation to stay till the dawning
+of the morning, I will remain with him. I simply
+say that I have a time for opening and a time for
+closing, and I keep promptly to it.</p>
+
+<p>I have no set way of conducting the meetings.
+I try to take advantage of the situation and do the
+best I can under the circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>We always have a Scripture lesson read and a
+few remarks by the leader. If I ask him to speak
+twenty minutes, I mean twenty minutes; and, if he
+is a bishop, I will stop him when his time is up. I
+don't ask you to agree that this is right&mdash;I am only
+telling you how I conduct a Gospel meeting. After
+this we have Christians to give their experience,
+never allowing more than three minutes, and I make
+it my business to know what kind of lives those who
+testify are living. If one gets up and begins to talk
+about the love of Jesus, who I know has that day
+been drinking, or in a house of prostitution, I stop
+him right there. I do not allow him to talk, and<span class="pagenum">[408]</span>
+injure the cause, and then tell him afterward. I say,
+"Brother, we don't want to hear from you to-night,"
+and so I stop him at once.</p>
+
+<p>I am very careful as to who testifies in my meetings
+and what they say. If a man who is not a
+Christian undertakes to exhort others to become
+Christians, I stop him, because he is trying to talk
+about something of which he knows nothing, and
+this is one of the hardest things in the world to do.</p>
+
+<p>Where everybody is invited to take part in a
+meeting, we are apt to have cranks to deal with.
+They must be checked and kept down rather than
+encouraged. By cranks I mean those who have
+eccentric and unsound views, and think that nobody
+else can know as well about these things as themselves.</p>
+
+<p>I was holding a series of Gospel meetings in
+Atlanta, Ga., on one occasion, and had been talking
+from Acts ii., 38, "And ye shall receive the gift of the
+Holy Ghost." In the address I undertook, as best
+I could, to show that He, the Holy Ghost, convinces
+men of sin, and that He reveals Jesus to poor sinners
+as their sin bearer and life giver, and that it is
+He that produces that change in men which we call
+conversion or regeneration or the new birth; and
+that He, the Holy Ghost, is the comforter of God's
+people, in their loneliness and trials and conflicts here
+in this world of exile, as well as our teacher to guide
+us into the truth. When I had gotten through, I
+said, "Now we will have short talks from others, and
+no one will talk more than three minutes." Up
+jumped a street preacher, who began saying that I<span class="pagenum">[409]</span>
+had been talking about the Holy Ghost, but I did
+not know what I was talking about. He knew all
+about Him, and would tell them about Him. (This
+was pretty trying, but I kept mum, however.) He
+then began a harangue. When his time was up, I
+stopped him. "You are going to limit the Holy
+Ghost, are you? You are going to take the responsibility
+of stopping Him, are you?" "No, but I am
+going to stop you, and that at once." And at once
+he stopped.</p>
+
+<p>I never allow those who testify to abuse others.
+Some will begin to talk about the gambling hells. I
+stop them and say: "No man will go farther to stop
+these things than I, but this is not the place for that
+kind of talk." Others, as soon as they are converted,
+begin to find fault with the churches, and abuse the
+ministers. I do not approve of this, and I discourage
+it. I am sorry to know that many who are conducting
+Gospel meetings are inclined to find fault with
+Christians, magnifying themselves and their work and
+underrating the churches and the work of their faithful
+pastors.</p>
+
+<p>Some of these Mission workers have spent the
+best part of their lives in sin, never looking into the
+Bible&mdash;have been converted only a short time; have
+had a little success; got the big-head, and think they
+know better how to do God's work than those dear
+men who have been good all their lives and made
+a study of God's Word.</p>
+
+<p>My dear brethren, in the Mission work, we must
+remember that all who have ever done any mighty
+work for God have been trained for it, and trained<span class="pagenum">[410]</span>
+slowly. Moses, you remember, when he was going
+to his work down in Egypt, commenced killing people.
+He was the great chieftain, and was going to deliver
+his brethren by killing his enemies. This was not
+the way God wanted it done. God saw that there
+was good material in Moses, and that He could use
+him, but he must be trained. So He sent him
+away to the solitudes of Horeb and Sinai, and kept
+him there forty years. Then when God called him
+to go down and bring His people out, he had learned
+the lesson God wanted him to learn, had gotten down
+in the dust, was humbled, and he said: "Who am I,
+Lord?" Moses had gotten more of the Holy Ghost.
+The more we get of the Holy Ghost the closer we
+get to God. The more we see of Him, and the more
+we see of God, the less we think of ourselves; the
+more insignificant we become in our own eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The Twelve had a grand work to do, but they
+were slowly trained for it. So, then, let us young converts,
+whose work God has honored and blessed, be
+very careful how we magnify ourselves, and underrate
+the regular ministry. These men are doing a noble
+work in their respective fields, and they are just as
+ready and willing to take hold of the poor outcast as
+we Mission workers are.</p>
+
+<p>There are preachers who are occupying pulpits,
+where they are getting twenty-five hundred or three
+thousand dollars a year, and they are doing just as
+much to save poor drunkards as we ignorant, humble
+Mission workers are.</p>
+
+<p>You who were at the Chicago Convention last year
+remember what Dr. Lawrence told us about taking<span class="pagenum">[411]</span>
+one of these poor, wretched drunkards to his beautiful
+home; how, notwithstanding he was full of vermin, he
+had him take a bath, burned his clothes, put clean
+ones on him, gave him a bed and took care of him
+as a brother. I tell you, my friends, I was touched by
+that story as well as taught a valuable lesson. I know
+of many instances of the same kind that I might tell.</p>
+
+<p>You remember Dr. John A. Broadus, a well-known
+Baptist minister in Louisville. I know him well. He
+has been one of my best friends. Not very long before
+I left home, a drunkard came to the Mission and
+showed me a note from Dr. Broadus, saying: "This
+man has called on me for help. I do not like to give
+him any money, as he is under the influence of liquor.
+Give him whatever you think best, and I will settle the
+bill." I asked the man, as I knew him well: "How
+did you happen to go to Dr. Broadus?" "Because I
+had heard so many say that he had helped them." I
+gave him nothing. My friends, we must not underrate
+the willingness of the preachers to help the poor outcast,
+for they are much interested in their very welfare.</p>
+
+<p>I love the Missions and the Mission work. Just
+at this present time, the Missions have got a boom
+over the country, but if we are not very careful how
+we talk and act, the Missions will suffer. And the
+only reason some of them have not quit already is
+because those who support them, for want of time
+to hunt up real results, have had to take printed
+reports.</p>
+
+<p>It is easy for us to find fault with Christians, rich
+Christians, and say they are cold and indifferent about
+the souls of men, but the history of the church proves<span class="pagenum">[412]</span>
+that this is a great mistake. These Missions have to
+be supported by rich Christians, and when you find
+a man that has got much money, you will find that
+he is not a fool. He is generally a man with a long
+head and farsightedness. He wants to see where his
+money is going, and what is being done with it. If
+you use it properly, he will give it liberally. If he
+finds that you are one of those fellows that want to
+give his money to every beggar that comes along, he
+will stop his subscription at once. These are simple
+facts. If we want this Mission work to succeed we
+have got to be very careful.</p>
+
+<p>I never allow any begging in my Mission, I don't
+care how pitiable the object may be. When tramps
+want food, I send them to the wood yard to work
+for it. If men will not work, neither shall they
+eat of the money intrusted to me for spiritual work.</p>
+
+<p>I have no indiscriminate praying. When I want
+a prayer, I want to know something about the man
+or woman who is to make it. I ask some one who,
+I have good reason to believe, is a true Christian,
+that is, who walks and talks with God. I do not
+care about their name or denomination. I feel that
+there is a great responsibility in going to God for
+these poor sinners, and I want the best man or
+woman that I can get to talk to God for them.
+I say: "I am going to call on some one to pray.
+I don't want you to pray for Africans, Chinese or
+any other of the heathen nations here. When you
+go home, you can pray for them all night if you
+want to, but now we want you to pray for this special
+work."<span class="pagenum">[413]</span></p>
+
+<p>I believe in good singing, and try to have it. I
+would like to have a hundred in the choir. I seldom
+have over two persons. I suppose the reason is that
+I will not allow any one to sit on my platform and
+sing these sweet hymns unless I have good reason to
+believe they are living pure, holy, consistent Christian
+lives. I think the man or woman who sits in
+the choir ought to be as good as he who stands in
+the pulpit.</p>
+
+<p>Some will come to me and say: "So-and-so is a
+fine singer; has such a fine voice." "What church
+does he or she belong to?" "Oh, they are not
+members." "Well, then, excuse me, if you please."
+"But that might save them!" "I shall not try the
+experiment."</p>
+
+<p>I have polite ushers to welcome the people, and
+to shake hands with them as they come in and also
+as they go out, and invite them back. They are also
+supplied with tracts for distribution, tracts that have
+passed under my observation, as I allow nobody to
+distribute tracts unless I know what they are.</p>
+
+<p>I try to keep the run of the converts; in fact, I
+try to know all about them. I try to get them into
+some church of their choice, that one which they will
+feel the most at home in and where they will get
+the right sort of care. It is a very easy thing to get
+one of these poor drunkards, who hasn't got any
+place to sleep or anything to eat, to say, "I am going
+to try and be a better man and follow Christ!" It
+is a very easy thing, I say, and the poor fellows
+mean it. But, oh! my friends, how hard it is to get
+them up to the sticking point. They want to be<span class="pagenum">[414]</span>
+watched over and given the very best nursing. If I
+had not had the very best care and nursing of one
+of the most godly of ministers, I do not think I
+should be standing before you to-day a Christian
+man.</p>
+
+<p>I try to follow them up and help the pastors to
+nurse them. In order to keep track of them we use
+a book, something like a bank check-book. When they
+want to unite with some church, we give them a certificate
+of introduction. In it I ask the pastor to let me
+know when it is presented. On the stub I take the
+man's name, age, residence, where from, to whom introduced,
+with space for remarks as to future career, etc.
+If he has a home, we visit him at his home, and if he
+has not, I invite him to visit me at my home at any
+time, day or night, which is in the same building over
+the Mission, and we talk together and pray together.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Question.</span> "Will you please state whether you ever
+recommend fasting as a means of keeping the body
+under?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Answer.</span> "I think it is a good idea. I think fasting
+a good thing to keep the body under. Owing to
+my poverty, since I have become a Christian, I have
+had little to feed on. This necessary self-denial has
+enabled me to keep my poor body down, and from
+betraying me into sin. No man was ever a greater
+slave to his passions than I. My passion for gambling
+was so great I would have committed murder to gratify
+it. I was very licentious. I just gave loose reins to
+my passions; but to-day, I thank God, I can stand up
+before you and say that I am complete master of
+myself. I know it is a help to live a plain life.<span class="pagenum">[415]</span>"</p>
+
+<p>Q. "How many meetings a week do you hold?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "We have them every night."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "Do the men go to the churches when you
+send them? Do you prepare them?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "I do not hurry them into the churches. And
+yet I don't say they must be converted before they
+go in. When a man is sick of sin, willing to give
+it up, I think he is about as ready for the church as
+we can get him."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "Do you have much or little Bible reading in
+the services?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "We do not have much Bible reading. I know
+that it is the power of God unto salvation; but the
+class of men who attend Missions, as a rule, are in
+no condition to be profited by a long Bible reading.
+The mission of the Missions is to stop these men in
+their downward course, put them to thinking, get
+them into churches; then have the Bible read and
+explained to them by those who are more competent
+than I am."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "How long do you hold service?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "Exactly one hour and a half; never more,
+sometimes a little less. The first half hour is taken
+up in prayer and singing, the other hour in exhortation
+and testimonies and prayers for the inquirers.
+After dismissing, we remain with any anxious ones."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "When do you have your converts' meeting?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "Every Sunday morning, beginning at 9:30
+o'clock and closing at 10:30, in time for them to get
+to church."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "Do the churches take good care of the converts?"<span class="pagenum">[416]</span></p>
+
+<p>A. "As a rule, yes. Some better than others."</p>
+
+<p>Q. "Do the converts come to your Mission after
+they have joined the church?"</p>
+
+<p>A. "Oh, yes, sir. They feel more at home in the
+Mission than they do in church, because it was there
+they entered upon the Christian life. Many of our
+Christian workers make a great mistake. They find
+fault with the churches because they don't receive
+these tramps&mdash;I must call them tramps&mdash;in their filthy
+condition and give them the best seats, etc. I want
+to say right here that a clean church, where clean
+people go, is no place for a body of tramps. We
+must remember, my friends, that people who are
+clean, who have good clothes and clean homes, also
+have some rights to be considered. I say it is not
+right to take these people into a fine church, and
+put them side by side with the clean ones until they
+themselves are thoroughly clean. I took fifty or sixty
+of them into a church once, but afterward I was aware
+that I had made a great mistake. The Mission is
+the place to clean them up, and then send them to a
+clean church, and they will feel better themselves, and
+be warmly welcomed by the members. I don't like
+dirt any better than other folks, but some one has to
+do this work, and I am perfectly willing to do it."</p>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted
+Gambler, by Rev. Gross Alexander
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+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STEVE P. HOLCOMBE, THE ***
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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@@ -0,0 +1,11647 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler, by
+Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted Gambler
+       His Life and Work
+
+Author: Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+Commentator: Rev. Sam P. Jones
+
+Release Date: October 30, 2011 [EBook #37883]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STEVE P. HOLCOMBE, THE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Garcia, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Kentuckiana Digital Library)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Steve P. Holcombe.]
+
+
+
+
+  STEVE P. HOLCOMBE,
+
+  THE CONVERTED GAMBLER:
+
+  HIS LIFE AND WORK.
+
+  BY REV. GROSS ALEXANDER.
+
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY
+
+  _REV. SAM P. JONES._
+
+
+  LOUISVILLE:
+
+  PRESS OF THE COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING COMPANY.
+
+  1888.
+
+
+   COPYRIGHTED, 1888.
+
+
+  TO
+
+  Mrs. S. P. Holcombe,
+
+  THE PATIENT WIFE,
+
+  THE FAITHFUL MOTHER,
+
+  THE FRIEND OF PUBLICANS AND SINNERS,
+
+  THIS ACCOUNT OF
+
+  THE LIFE AND WORK OF HER HUSBAND
+
+  IS DEDICATED.
+
+
+
+
+  TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY SAM. P. JONES
+  LETTER FROM DR. J. A. BROADUS
+  LIFE AND WORK OF STEVE P. HOLCOMBE--
+    CHAPTER I
+    CHAPTER II
+    CHAPTER III
+    CHAPTER IV
+    CHAPTER V
+    CHAPTER VI
+  LETTERS TESTIMONIALS OF CONVERTS
+  SERMONS
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+It has been thought and suggested by some of those having knowledge of
+Mr. Holcombe's history, that an account of his life and work in
+book-form would multiply his usefulness and do good. And since the
+narration of his experiences by himself has been of such great benefit
+to those who have been privileged to hear him, why may not others also
+be benefited by reading some account of his uncommon career?
+
+It is hoped that it will be of interest to the general reader as a
+revelation and record of the workings and struggles of some human hearts
+and the wretchedness and blessedness of some human lives. It is a sort
+of luxury to read about and sympathize with wretchedness, as it is a joy
+to see that wretchedness turned to blessedness. It will show to those
+who are unwillingly the slaves of sin what God has done for such as
+they. It will possibly interest and encourage those who are engaged in
+Christian work. It may furnish suggestions as to practical methods to be
+pursued in working among poor and needy classes, whether in towns or
+cities. Even ministers of the Gospel may find encouragement and
+instruction in the experience of Mr. Holcombe's life and the methods and
+successes of his work.
+
+What few letters of Mr. Holcombe's could be found are put in as showing
+phases of this interesting character that could be shown as well no
+other way, and some letters written _to_ him are selected out of
+several hundred of like character to show how he touches all classes of
+people.
+
+The "Testimonies" are from men who have been rescued under Mr.
+Holcombe's ministry, and will give some idea of the work that is being
+done. These are only a few of the men who have been brought to a better
+and happier life through Mr. Holcombe's efforts. If any should feel that
+there is a sameness in these testimonies, which it is believed very few
+will do, perhaps others will feel the cumulative effect of line upon
+line, example upon example.
+
+The sermons or addresses are inserted because they have been the means
+of awakening and guiding many to salvation, and they may be of interest
+and possibly of benefit to some who have not heard Mr. Holcombe. They
+contain much of the history of his inner life in statements of
+experience introduced by way of illustration. They are given in outline
+only, as will be seen.
+
+The book lays no claim to literary excellence. The position and work of
+the man make his life worth writing and reading apart from the style of
+the book.
+
+The accounts here given of Mr. Holcombe's character and work are not
+written for the purpose of glorifying him. Many of these pages are
+profoundly painful and humiliating to him. But they are written that
+those who read them may know from what depths he has been brought, and
+to what blessedness he has been raised, through Jesus Christ, to whose
+name the glory is given and to whose blessing the book is commended.
+
+     AUGUST, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+BY REV. SAM P. JONES.
+
+
+The author of this volume, the Rev. Gross Alexander, Professor of
+Theology in Vanderbilt University, was surely the man to give to the
+world the Life of Steve Holcombe. The warm heart and clear head of the
+author, and the consecrated, self-denying life of the subject of the
+volume, assure the reader ample compensation for the time given to the
+book.
+
+Mr. Alexander has known Brother Holcombe from the beginning of his
+Christian life, and tells the story of his fidelity to Christ and
+loyalty to duty as no other could.
+
+I first met Brother Holcombe at Louisville, in the year 1882, when I was
+preaching in the church of his pastor, Rev. J. C. Morris. It was from
+Brother Morris that I learned of this consecrated layman. He often told
+me with joy of many incidents connected with the conversion and work of
+Brother Holcombe. My acquaintance with him soon grew into a warm
+friendship. It has always been an inspiration to me to talk with him,
+and a source of gratitude to me to know that I have his affection and
+prayers.
+
+The work he is doing now in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, is very
+much like Jerry Macauley's work in New York City years ago. No man has
+experienced more vividly the power of Christ to save, and no man has a
+stronger faith in Christ's ability to save. Brother Holcombe's humility
+and fidelity have made him a power in the work of rescuing the
+perishing and saving the fallen. I have been charmed by the purity of
+soul manifested by him on all occasions, and his continual efforts to
+bring back those who have been overtaken in a fault. Hundreds of men who
+have felt his sympathizing arms about them and listened to his brotherly
+words have grown strong, because they had a friend and brother in Steve
+Holcombe, who, in spite of their failures and faults, has clung to them
+with a love like that which Christ Himself manifested toward those who
+were as bruised reeds and smoking flax.
+
+Brother Holcombe, rescued himself by the loving hand of Christ, has
+extended the hand from a heart full of love for Christ and men, and has
+done his best to save all who have come under his influence.
+
+This volume will be especially instructive to those who are interested
+in the salvation of the non-churchgoers of the great cities. For surely
+Brother Holcombe's Mission is a place where the worst sinners hear of
+Christ's power to save, and where they see, in Brother Holcombe himself,
+with his rich experience, one of the greatest triumphs of the Gospel.
+
+I heartily commend this volume to all Christian people, because it tells
+of the life of a saved man. It tells also what a saved man can do for
+others, and it will inspire many hearts with sympathy for such work and
+prepare many hands to help in it. I heartily commend this book because
+it is the biography of one whom I love and whom all men would love, if
+they knew him in his devotion to God and duty. Brother Holcombe has
+frequently been with me in my meetings and in my private room; I have
+frequently been with him in his Mission, in his family circle, on the
+streets of the great cities, and he is one man of whom it may be said:
+"His conversation is in heaven." I frequently feel that my own life
+would have been more successful with such a fervent consecration to my
+work as Brother Steve Holcombe exemplifies.
+
+The sermons contained in this volume will be read with interest. They
+are his sermons. They come from his heart, and they have reached the
+hearts of hundreds and thousands who have heard him gladly.
+
+I bespeak for the book a circulation which will put it into the library
+of all pastors and into thousands of homes.
+
+     SAM P. JONES.
+
+     CARTERSVILLE, GA., October 18, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+
+I have read with very great interest the "Life of Steve Holcombe," and
+have carefully looked through the letters, testimonies and sermons to be
+included in the proposed volume, and I rejoice that it is to be
+published. Professor Alexander, who was Mr. Holcombe's first pastor, has
+written the life with the best use of his fine literary gifts, and with
+sound judgment and good taste. It is a wonderful story. I have long felt
+interest in Mr. Holcombe and his work, for after beginning his Mission
+he attended my seminary lessons in the New Testament through a session
+and more; but this record of his life warms my heart still more toward
+him and his remarkable labors of love. I think the book will be very
+widely read. It will stir Christians to more hopeful efforts to save the
+most wicked. It will encourage many a desperate wanderer to seek the
+grace of God in the Gospel. Such a book makes a real addition to the
+"evidences of Christianity." No one can read it without feeling that
+Christian piety is something real and powerful and delightful. Much may
+be learned from Mr. Holcombe's recorded methods and discourses, and from
+the testimonies of his converts, as to the best means of carrying on
+religious work of many kinds. The book will, doubtless, lead to the
+establishment of like Missions in other cities, and put new heart and
+hope into the pastors, missionaries and every class of Christian
+workers. It will show that zeal and love and faith must be supported by
+ample common sense and force of character, as in Mr. Holcombe's case,
+if great results are to hoped for. Many persons can be induced to read
+his brief outline sermons who would never look at more elaborate
+discourses. As to two or three slight touches of doctrinal statement,
+some of us might not agree with the speaker, but all must see that his
+sermons are very practical, pervaded by good sense and true feeling, and
+adapted to do much good.
+
+     JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., September 25, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE AND WORK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Steve P. Holcombe, known in former years as a gambler and doer of all
+evil, no less known in these latter days as a preacher of the Gospel and
+doer of all good, was born at Shippingsport, Kentucky, in 1835. The
+place, as well as the man, has an interesting history. An odd,
+straggling, tired, little old town, it looks as if it had been left
+behind and had long ago given up all hope of ever catching up. It is in
+this and other respects in striking contrast with its surroundings. The
+triangular island, upon which it is situated, lies lazily between the
+Ohio river, which flows like a torrent around two sides of it, and the
+Louisville canal, which stretches straight as an arrow along the third.
+On its northeast side it commands a view of the most picturesque part of
+La Belle Riviere. This part embraces the rapids, or "Falls," opposite
+the city of Louisville, which gets its surname of "Falls City" from this
+circumstance. In the midst of the rapids a lone, little island of bare
+rocks rises sheer out of the dashing waters to the height of several
+feet, and across the wide expanse, on the other side of the river, loom
+up the wooded banks of the Indiana side, indented with many a romantic
+cove, and sweeping around with a graceful curve, while the chimneys and
+towers and spires of Jeffersonville and New Albany rise in the
+distance, with the blue Indiana "Knobs" in the deep background beyond.
+From this same point on the island, and forming part of the same
+extensive view, one may see the two majestic bridges, each a mile in
+length, one of which spans the river directly over the Falls and
+connects the city of Louisville with Jeffersonville, Indiana, while the
+other joins the western portion of Louisville with the thriving city of
+New Albany. Across the canal from the island, on the south, lies the
+city of Louisville with its near 200,000 population, its broad avenues,
+its palatial buildings.
+
+In the very midst of all this profusion of beauty and all this hum and
+buzz and rush of commercial and social life, lies the dingy, sleepy old
+town of Shippingsport with its three hundred or four hundred people, all
+unheeded and unheeding, uncared for and uncaring. There are five or six
+fairly good houses, and all the rest are poor. There is a good brick
+school-house, built and kept up by the city of Louisville, of which,
+since 1842, Shippingsport is an incorporated part. There is one
+dilapidated, sad looking, little old brick church, which seldom suffers
+any sort of disturbance. On the northeast shore of the island directly
+over the rushing waters stands the picturesque old mill built by
+Tarascon in the early part of the century. It utilizes the fine
+water-power of the "Falls" in making the famous Louisville cement. Part
+of the inhabitants are employed as laborers in this mill, and part of
+them derive their support from fishing in the river, for which there are
+exceptional opportunities all the year around in the shallows, where
+the rushing waters dash, with eddying whirl, against the rocky shores of
+their island.
+
+There are, at this time, some excellent people in Shippingsport, who
+faithfully maintain spiritual life and good moral character amid
+surrounding apathy and immorality. "For except the Lord had left unto
+them a very small remnant, they should have been as Sodom, and they
+should have been like unto Gomorrah."
+
+And yet, Shippingsport was not always what it is now. Time was when it
+boasted the aristocracy of the Falls. "The house is still standing,"
+says a recent writer in Harper's Monthly Magazine, "where in the early
+part of the century the Frenchman, Tarascon, offered border hospitality
+to many distinguished guests, among whom were Aaron Burr and
+Blennerhasset, and General Wilkinson, then in command of the armies of
+the United States." He might have added that Shippingsport was once
+honored with a visit from LaFayette, and later also from President
+Jackson. But in other respects also Shippingsport was, in former years,
+far different from what it is to-day. In business importance it rivaled
+the city of Louisville itself. In that early day, before the building of
+the canal, steamboats could not, on account of the Falls, pass up the
+river except during high water, so that for about nine months in the
+year Shippingsport was the head of navigation. Naturally, it became a
+place of considerable commercial importance, as the shrewd Frenchman who
+first settled there saw it was bound to be. Very soon it attracted a
+population of some hundreds, and grew into a very busy little mart.
+"Every day," says one of the old citizens still living, "steamboats were
+landing with products and passengers from the South, or leaving with
+products and passengers from Kentucky and the upper country." The
+freight which was landed at Shippingsport was carried by wagons and
+drays to Louisville, Lexington and other places in Kentucky and Indiana.
+This same old citizen, Mr. Alex. Folwell, declares that he has seen as
+many as five hundred wagons in one day in and around the place. There
+were three large warehouses and several stores, and what seems hard to
+believe, land sold in some instances for $100 per foot.
+
+The canal was begun in 1824, the first spadeful of dirt being taken out
+by DeWitt Clinton, of New York. During the next six years from five
+hundred to a thousand men were employed on it. They were, as a general
+thing, a rough set. Sometimes, while steamboats were lying at the place,
+the unemployed hands would annoy the workmen on the canal so that
+gradually there grew up a feeling of enmity between the two classes
+which broke out occasionally in regular battles.
+
+In 1830, when the canal was finished, the days of Shippingsport's
+prosperity were numbered. Thenceforth steamboats, independent of
+obstructions in the river, passed on up through the canal, and
+Shippingsport found her occupation was gone. The better classes lost no
+time in removing to other places, and only the poorer and rougher
+classes remained. Many of the workmen who had been engaged in building
+the canal settled down there to live; unemployed and broken-down
+steamboatmen gravitated to the place where they always had such good
+times; shiftless and thriftless poor people from other places came
+flocking in as to a poor man's paradise. Within easy reach of
+Louisville, the place became a resort for the immoral young men, the
+gamblers and all the rough characters of that growing city.
+
+Such was the place to which Steve Holcombe's parents removed from
+Central Kentucky in 1835, the year of his birth; and, though coming into
+the midst of surroundings so full of moral perils, they did not bring
+that strength of moral character, that fixedness of moral habit and that
+steadfastness of moral purpose which were necessary to guard against the
+temptations of every sort which were awaiting them.
+
+The father, though an honest and well disposed sort of man and very kind
+to his family, was already a drunkard. His son says of him: "My poor
+father had gotten to be a confirmed drunkard before I was born, and
+after he had settled at Shippingsport, my mother would not let him stay
+about the house, so that most of his time was spent in lying around
+bar-rooms or out on the commons, where he usually slept all times of the
+year." It is not surprising that as a consequence of such dissipation
+and such exposure he died at the early age of thirty-three, when his son
+Steve was eleven years old. Dead, he sleeps in an unmarked grave on the
+commons where formerly he slept when drunk and shut out by his wife from
+his home.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe, the mother of Steve, a woman five feet ten inches in
+height and one hundred and ninety pounds in weight, was as strong in
+passion as in physical power. "When aroused," says her son, "she was as
+fierce as a tigress and fearless of God, man or devil, although she was
+a woman of quick sympathy and impulsive kindheartedness toward those who
+were in distress, and would go further to help such than almost any one
+I have ever known." She was a woman of more than ordinary mind, though
+entirely without education. In the government of her children she was
+extremely severe. "Though my father," says Mr. Holcombe, "never whipped
+me but once in my life, and that slightly, my mother has whipped me
+hundreds of times, I suppose, and with as great severity as frequency.
+She has, at times, almost beaten me to death. She would use a switch, a
+cane, a broom-stick or a club, whichever happened to be at hand when she
+became provoked. She whipped me oftener for going swimming than for
+anything else, I believe. If I told her a lie about it she would whip
+me, and if I told her the truth, she would whip me."
+
+From neglect and other causes little Steve was very sickly and puny in
+his babyhood, so that he did not walk till he was four years old; but
+from the beginning his temper was as violent as his body was weak, and
+from his earliest recollection, he says, he loved to fight. At the same
+time he had his mother's tenderheartedness for those who were in
+distress. Once a stranger stopped for a few days at the tavern in
+Shippingsport, and the roughs of the place caught him out on one
+occasion and beat him so severely that he was left for dead; but he
+crawled afterward into an old shed where little Holcombe, between five
+and six years old, found him and took him food every day for about two
+weeks.
+
+The boys with whom he associated in childhood were addicted to petty
+stealing, and he learned from them to practice the same. When about
+seven years old his mother, on account of their poverty, provided him
+with a supply of cakes, pies and fruits to peddle out on the steamers
+while they were detained in passing the locks of the canal. Instead of
+returning the money to his mother, however, he would often lose it in
+gambling with the bad boys of the place, and sometimes even with his
+half-brothers, so that he seldom got home with his money, but always got
+his beating.
+
+At eight years of age he played cards for money in bar-rooms with grown
+men. At ten he began to explore those parts of the river about the
+falls, in a skiff alone looking for articles of various kinds lost in
+wrecks, that he might get means for gambling. This, together with the
+fact that his hair was very light in color, gained for him the
+distinction of the "Little White-headed Pirate."
+
+In 1842 Shippingsport was taken into the city of Louisville, and a
+school was established, which he attended about three months during this
+period of his life, and he never attended school afterward. The
+brown-haired, black-eyed little girl who afterward became his wife,
+attended this school at the same time. Her parents had lately removed to
+Shippingsport from Jeffersonville, Indiana. They were people of
+excellent character and were so careful of their children that they
+would not allow them to associate with the children of Shippingsport any
+farther than was necessary and unavoidable. But, notwithstanding these
+restrictions, their little Mary saw just enough of Steve Holcombe in
+school to form a strange liking for him, as he did also for her--an
+attachment which has lasted through many and varying experiences up to
+the present. At that time he had grown to be "a heavy set little boy,"
+as Mrs. Holcombe describes him, and was "very good looking," indeed,
+"very handsome," as she goes on to say, "with his deep blue eyes and his
+golden hair." She did not know that she was in love with a boy who was
+to become one of the worst of men in all forms of wickedness, and as
+little did she know that she was in love with a boy who was to become
+one of the best of men in all forms of goodness and usefulness. Nor did
+he foresee that he was forming an attachment then and there for one who
+was to love him devotedly and serve him patiently through all phases of
+infidelity and wickedness, and through years of almost unexampled trials
+and sufferings, who was to cling to him amid numberless perils and
+scandals, who was to train and restrain his children so as to lead them
+in ways of purity and goodness in spite of the father's bad example, who
+was to endure for his sake forms of ill treatment that have killed many
+a woman, and who was in long distant years to be his most patient
+encourager and helper in a singularly blessed and successful work for
+God and the most abandoned and hopeless class of sinful men, and to
+develop, amid all and in spite of all and by means of all, one of the
+truest and strongest and most devoted of female characters. A singular
+thing it seems, indeed, that an attachment begun so early and tested so
+severely should have lasted so late. And yet it is perhaps at this
+moment stronger than ever it was before.
+
+[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF MR. HOLCOMBE. SHIPPINGSPORT.]
+
+Notwithstanding young Holcombe's lack of religious instruction and his
+extraordinary maturity in wickedness, he declares that at times he had,
+even before his tenth year, very serious thoughts. He says:
+
+"I always believed there was a God and that the Bible was from God, but
+for the most part my belief was very vague and took hold of nothing
+definite. Hence, nearly all my thoughts were evil, only evil and evil
+continually. I am sure, however, that I believed there was a hell. When
+a child, I used to dream, it seems to me, almost every night, that the
+devil had me, and sometimes my dreams were so real that I would say to
+myself while dreaming, 'Now this is no dream; he has got me this time,
+sure enough.' I remember that one text which I heard a preacher read
+troubled me more than anything else, when I thought about dying and
+going to judgment. It was this: 'And they hid themselves in the dens and
+rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us
+and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne.' I always
+had a fear of death and a dread of the future. The rattling of clods on
+a coffin filled me with awe and dread. When I thought about my soul, I
+would always say to myself, 'I am going to get good before I go into the
+presence of God; but now I want to keep these thoughts out of mind so I
+can do as I please and not have to suffer and struggle and fight against
+sin--till I get consumption. When I get consumption I will have plenty
+of warning as to death's approach and plenty of time to prepare for it.'
+But I had gotten such an admiration for gamblers and such a passion for
+gambling that I had a consuming ambition to become a regular blackleg,
+as gamblers were called in those days. I made up my mind that this was
+to be my business, and I began to look about for some way to get loose
+from everything else, so I could do nothing but gamble, with nobody to
+molest or make me afraid."
+
+It is hard enough for a boy to keep from doing wrong and to do right
+always, even when he has inherited a good disposition, enjoyed good
+advantages and had the best of training. But our little friend, Steve
+Holcombe, poor fellow, inherited from his father an appetite for drink
+and from his mother a savage temper. To balance these, he had none of
+the safeguards of a careful, moral or religious education, and none of
+those sweet and helpful home associations which follow a man through
+life and hold him back from wrong doing.
+
+Thus unprepared, unshielded, unguarded, at the tender age of eleven
+years he left home to work his own way in the world. No mother's prayers
+had hitherto helped him, and no mother's prayers from henceforth
+followed him. No hallowed home influences had blessed and sweetened his
+miserable childhood and no tender recollections of sanctified home life
+were to follow him into the great wicked world. On the contrary, he was
+fleeing from his home to find some refuge, he knew not what, he knew not
+where. He was going out, boy as he was, loaded down with the vices and
+hungry with the passions of a man. He did not seek employment among
+people that were good or in circumstances encouraging to goodness, but
+just where of all places he would find most vice and learn most
+wickedness--on a steamboat. One knowing his antecedents and looking out
+into his future could easily have foreseen his career in vice and
+crime, but would hardly have predicted for him that life of goodness and
+usefulness which now for eleven wonderful years he has been leading.
+
+He was employed on a steamboat which ran on the Tennessee river, and his
+first trip was to Florence, Alabama. His mother did not know what had
+become of him. He was employed in some service about the kitchen. He
+slept on deck with the hands and ate with the servants. Hungry as he was
+for some word or look of sympathy which, given him and followed up,
+might have made him a different character, nobody showed him any
+kindness. The steward of the boat on the contrary showed him some
+unkindness, and was in the act of kicking him on one occasion for
+something, when young Holcombe jumped at him like an enraged animal and
+frightened him so badly that he was glad to drop the matter for the
+present and to respect the boy for the future. On this trip he found
+five dollars in money on the boat, and was honest enough to take it to
+the steward for the owner.
+
+When he returned home from this trip, strange to say, his mother so far
+from giving him a severer beating than usual, as might have been
+expected, did not punish him at all. She was probably too glad to get
+him back and too afraid of driving him away again. But nothing could
+restrain him now that he had once seen the world and made the successful
+experiment of getting on in the world without anybody's help. So that he
+soon went on another trip and so continued, going on four or five long
+steamboat runs before he was fourteen years of age, and spending his
+unoccupied time in gambling with either white men or negroes, as he
+found opportunity.
+
+After he was fourteen years old he went on the upper Mississippi river
+and traveled to and from St. Louis. On the Mississippi steamers of those
+days gambling was common, not only among the servants and deck-hands, it
+was the pastime or the business of some of the first-class passengers
+also. Sometimes when a rich planter had lost all his ready money in
+gambling, he would put up a slave, male or female, that he might happen
+to have with him, and after losing, would borrow money to win or buy
+again the slave. Professional gamblers, luxuriously dressed and living
+like princes, frequented the steamers of those days for the purpose of
+entrapping and fleecing the passengers. All this only increased the
+fascination of gambling for young Holcombe, and he studied and practiced
+it with increasing zeal.
+
+About this time, when he was in the neighborhood of fourteen years of
+age, his mother, awaking all too late to his peril and to her duty, got
+him a situation as office-boy in the office of Dr. Mandeville Thum, of
+Louisville, hoping to keep him at home and rescue him from the perilous
+life he had entered upon. Dr. Thum was much pleased with him, took great
+interest in him, and treated him with unusual kindness. He even began
+himself to teach him algebra, with the intention of making a civil
+engineer of the boy. And he was making encouraging progress in his
+studies and would, doubtless, have done well, had he continued.
+
+During the time he spent in the service of Dr. Thum, he attended a
+revival meeting held by the Rev. Mr. Crenshaw, at Shippingsport, and was
+much impressed by what he heard. He became so awakened and interested
+that he responded to the appeals that were made by this devoted and
+zealous preacher and sought interviews with him. He tried his level
+best, as he expresses it, to work himself up to a point where he could
+feel that he was converted, a not rare, but very wrong, view of this
+solemn matter. But he could not _feel_ it. While, however, he could not
+get the feeling, he _determined_ to be a Christian, anyhow, a rarer and
+better, but not altogether correct, view of the subject either. For a
+week or ten days he succeeded in overcoming evil impulses, and in living
+right, but he was led away by evil companions. Soon after this he tried
+it again, and this time he succeeded for a longer time than before in
+resisting temptations and following his sense of right, but was one day
+persuaded to go on a Sunday steamboat-excursion to New Albany, with some
+young folks from Shippingsport, which proved the occasion of his fall.
+On returning home he and two other boys went part of the way on foot.
+They heard a man, not far away, crying for water, and Holcombe's quick
+impulse of sympathy led him to propose to go to the relief of the
+sufferer. When they found he was not so bad off as they thought, the two
+other boys began to abuse and mistreat the stranger. He was an unequal
+match for the two, however, and as he was about to get the best of them,
+young Holcombe knocked the poor man down, and they all kicked him so
+severely over the head and face that when they left him he was nearly
+dead. Holcombe went back the next day, and half a mile away he found the
+coroner holding an inquest over the man. He was preparing to flee to
+Indiana when he heard that the verdict of the jury was: "Death from
+exposure to the sun."
+
+This cowardly and wicked deed wrought in him such shame, such
+self-loathing and such discouragement that he abandoned all hope and
+purpose of living a better life. With a sort of feeling of desperation
+and of revenge against his better nature for allowing him to yield and
+stoop to such meanness, he left his position in Louisville and shipped
+on a steamboat again for St. Louis. While the boat was lying at the
+wharf at St. Louis he got into a difficulty with one of the deck-hands
+who applied to him a very disgraceful name. Instantly young Holcombe
+seized a heavy meat-cleaver and would have split the man's head in two
+if the cook had not caught his arm as he swung it back for the stroke.
+From St. Louis he went up the Missouri river to Omaha, engaging, as
+usual, in gambling and other nameless vices.
+
+On his second trip from Omaha to St. Louis he innocently provoked the
+anger of the steward of the boat, who abused him in such a way that
+Holcombe ran at him with an ice-pick, when the terrified man rushed into
+the office and took refuge behind the captain. It was decided that
+Holcombe should be discharged and put ashore. When the clerk called him
+up to pay him off, he volunteered some reproof and abuse of the
+seventeen-year-old boy. But, upon finding he was dealing with one who,
+when aroused, knew neither fear nor self-control, he was glad to quiet
+down and pay him his dues, as Holcombe remarked: "You may discharge me
+and put me ashore, but you shall not abuse me." And they put him ashore
+at Kansas City, then a small village. While waiting at Kansas City for
+the next boat to St. Louis (all traveling being done in those days and
+regions by water), he spent his time around bar-rooms and
+gambling-houses. There he saw a different and more extensive kind of
+gaming than he had ever seen before. Great quantities of money were on
+the tables before the players, greater than he had ever seen, and he saw
+it change hands and pass from one to another. Such a sight increased his
+desire to follow such a life. So he put up his money, the wages of his
+labor on the boat, and lost it--all. He spent the remainder of his stay
+in Kansas City wandering around, destitute, hungry, lonely, with various
+reflections on the fortunes and misfortunes of a gambler's life, till at
+last he got deck-passage on a boat to St. Louis, and paid his fare by
+sawing wood. During this trip his violent and revengeful temper led him
+to commit an act that nearly resulted in murder. One of the deck-hands
+threw down some wood which he had piled up, and Holcombe protested,
+whereupon the deck-hand cursed him and said: "You little rat, I will
+throw you overboard!" Mr. Holcombe replied: "I guess you won't," and
+said nothing more at the time. After the man had lain down and gone to
+sleep, Mr. Holcombe got a cord-stick, slipped upon him, and hit him on
+the skull with all his might, completely stunning the man. "Now," says
+Mr. Holcombe, speaking of this incident, "I can not understand how a man
+could do so cruel a thing, but _then_ I felt I must have revenge some
+way, and _I could not keep from it_."
+
+At St. Louis he got a position on a boat for New Orleans, and soon after
+arriving in that city he shipped on board a steamship for Galveston,
+Texas, but returned immediately to New Orleans. Here, however, he soon
+lost, in gambling, all the money he had made on the trip, and was so
+entirely without friends or acquaintances that he could find no place to
+sleep, and wandered about on the levee until one or two o'clock in the
+morning. To add to the loneliness and dismalness of his situation, it
+was during an epidemic of yellow fever in the city, and people were
+dying so fast they could not bury them, but had to plow trenches and
+throw the corpses in, as they bury soldiers on a battle-field. About one
+or two o'clock, a colored man, on a steamboat seeing him walking around
+alone, called him, and finding out his condition, took him on board the
+steamer and gave him a bed. But Holcombe was so afraid the negro had
+some design upon him, as there were no others on board, that he stole
+away from the boat and wandered around, alone, all the rest of the
+night.
+
+On that awful night the great deep of his heart was broken up and he
+felt a sense of loneliness that he had never felt before in his life. He
+was in a strange city among a strange people. He had no friends, he had
+no means. He had not where to lay his head. The darkness of the night
+shut off the sight of those objects which in the day would have diverted
+his mind and relieved his painful reflections; and the awful stillness,
+broken only by the rattling of wheels that bore away the dead, made it
+seem to him as if his thoughts were spoken to him by some audible voice.
+His past life came up before him, but there was in it nothing pleasant
+for him to remember. It had been from his earliest recollection one
+constant experience of pain and sin. He was uneasy about himself. He was
+frightened at the past, and the recollection of his hard, but vain,
+struggle to get his evil nature changed and bettered, cast a dark cloud
+over his future. What could he do? Where could he go? Who was there
+could help him? Who was there that loved him? At his own home, if home
+it could be called, there was nothing but strife and cruelty and sin.
+Father, he had none. He that was his father had lived a drunkard's life,
+had died a drunkard's death and was buried in a drunkard's grave. And
+his mother--she had no power to help him or even love him as most
+mothers love their children, and as on that lone dismal night he would
+have given the world to be loved. Of God's mercy and love he did not
+know, he thought only of his wrath, nor had he learned how to approach
+him in prayer. Alone, alone, he felt himself to be shut up between a
+past that was full of sin and crime and a future that promised nothing
+better. But he did think of one who had loved him and who had said she
+would always love him and he felt there was truth in her soul and in her
+words. It was the brown-haired, sweet-faced, strong-hearted little girl
+he had left in Shippingsport. He would go back to her. She alone of all
+people in the world seemed able to help him and this seemed his last,
+his only hope. If she had remained true to him, and if she would love
+him, the world would not seem so dreary and the future would not seem so
+dark, and maybe she could help him to be a better man. "On the next
+day," says Mr. Holcombe, "an acquaintance of mine from Louisville ran
+across me as I was strolling about the streets, took me aboard a steamer
+and made me go home with him."
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MILL AT SHIPPINGSPORT.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+As has already been said, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the parents of Mrs.
+Holcombe, were people of excellent moral character and were so careful
+of their children that as long as they could prevent it, they did not
+allow them to associate freely with the Shippingsport children. But of
+Steve Holcombe, the worst of them all, they had a special dread. Mr.
+Evans could not endure to see him or to hear his name called. And yet,
+this same Steve Holcombe was in love with their own precious child, and
+had now come home to ask her to marry him. Of course, he did not visit
+her at her own home but he managed to see her elsewhere. He found that
+she had not wavered during his absence, but that the bond of their
+childhood had grown with her womanhood. And yet she knew full well his
+past career and his present character. She went into it "with her eyes
+open," to quote her own words. Against the will of her parents and
+against the advice of her friends she adhered to her purpose to marry
+Steve Holcombe when the time should come. Even his own mother, moved
+with pity at the thought of the sufferings and wretchedness which this
+marriage would bring the poor girl, tried to dissuade her from it and
+warned her that she was going to marry "the very devil." She replied
+that she knew all about it, and when asked why she then did it, her
+simple answer was "because I love him."
+
+He promised her that he would try to be a better man and _she_, as well
+as _he, believed it_, though not because she expected he would some time
+become a Christian and not because she had the Christian's faith and
+hope. Her simple belief was that the outcome of her love would be his
+reformation and return to a better life. It was not thus definitely
+stated to herself by herself. It was an unconscious process of reasoning
+or rather it was the deep instinct of her strong and deeply-rooted love.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe was recently asked if, during all the years of her
+husband's recklessness and disgraceful dissipation, his sins and crimes,
+his cruel neglect and heartless mistreatment of herself, her love ever
+faltered? She answered: "No; never. There never was a time, even when
+Mr. Holcombe was at his worst, that I did not love him. It pained me, of
+course, that some things should come _through_ him, but I never loved
+_him_ any less." A rare and wonderful love it surely was. When she was
+asked if during those dark and bitter years she ever gave up her belief
+that her husband would change his life and become a good man, she
+answered, "No; I never gave it up." A woman of deep Insight, of large
+reading and wide observation, on hearing these replies of Mrs. Holcombe,
+said: "It is the most wonderful case of love and patience and faith I
+have ever known."
+
+He had come home then to marry Mary Evans. He met her at the house of a
+mutual friend and proposed an elopement. She was frightened and refused.
+But he pleaded and besought her, and, wounded and vexed at what seemed a
+disregard of his feelings and rights, he ended by saying, "It must be
+to-night or never." Whereupon she consented, though with great
+reluctance, and they went together to the house of his mother, in the
+city of Louisville. But his own mother would not consent to their
+marriage under such circumstances until she could first go and see if
+she could get the consent of the girl's parents. Accordingly, she went
+at once to Shippingsport, night as it was, and laid the case before
+them. They did not consent, but saw it would do no good to undertake to
+put a stop to it. So that, at the house of his mother in Louisville,
+they were married, Steve Holcombe and Mary Evans, the hardened gambler
+and the timid girl.
+
+After his marriage he quit running on the river, settled down at
+Shippingsport and went to fishing for a living. And it did seem for a
+time that his hope was to be realized and that through the helpful
+influences of his young wife he was to become a better man. He grew
+steadily toward better purposes and toward a higher standard of
+character, and within two or three months after their marriage they
+joined the church together. Mrs. Holcombe says, however, that she does
+not now believe that she was a Christian at the time. They thought in a
+general way that it was right to join the church, and that it would do
+them good and somehow help them to be good. If they had had some one,
+wise and patient and faithful, to teach them and advise them and
+sympathize with them at this time of awakening and of honest endeavor
+after a spiritual life, they would probably have gone on happily and
+helpfully together in it. But alas! as is true in so many, many cases
+to-day, nobody understood or seemed to understand them, nobody tried or
+cared to understand them; nobody cared for their souls. It was taken for
+granted, then as now, that when people are gotten into the church,
+nothing special is to be done for them any further, though, in fact, the
+most difficult and delicate part of training a soul and developing
+Christian character comes after conversion and after joining the church.
+Mr. Holcombe attributes his present success in the helping and guidance
+of inquiring and struggling souls to his lack on the one hand of careful
+and sympathetic training in his earlier efforts to be a Christian and on
+the other hand to the great benefit of such training in his later
+efforts. In such a nature as his, especially, no mere form of religion
+and no external bond of union with the church was sufficient. The
+strength of his will, the tenacity of his old habits, the intensity of
+his nature and the violence of his passions were such that only an
+extraordinary power would suffice to bring him under control. It was not
+long, therefore, before he was overcome by his evil nature, and he soon
+gave over the ineffectual struggle and fell back into his old ways. His
+poor wife soon found to her sorrow that reforming a bad man was a
+greater undertaking than she had dreamed of, and was often reminded of
+her mother-in-law's remark that she had married "the very devil." And
+Mr. Holcombe found out, too, that his wife, good as she was, could not
+make him good. Some men there are so hungry-hearted and so dependent,
+that they can not endure life without the supreme and faithful and
+submissive affection of a wife, but who know not how to appreciate or
+treat a wife and soon lose that consideration and love for her which
+are her due. Then marriage becomes tyranny on the one side and slavery
+on the other.
+
+Perhaps the reader will conclude later that this description applies all
+too well to the married life of Steve Holcombe and his faithful and
+brave-hearted young wife; for it was not long before he returned, in
+spite of all his solemn vows and his earnest resolutions, to his old
+habit of gambling and to all his evil ways. On a certain occasion not
+long after he married, in company with a friend, who is at this moment
+lying in the jail in Louisville for the violation of the law against
+gambling, he went on a fishing excursion to Mound City, Illinois. Having
+returned to the landing one night about midnight they found a
+fierce-looking man sitting on the wharf-boat who said to them on
+entering, "I understand there are some gamblers here and I have come to
+play them, and I can whip any two men on the Ohio river," at the same
+time exposing a large knife which he carried in his boot. He was
+evidently a bully who thought he could intimidate these strangers and in
+some underhanded way get from them their money. Mr. Holcombe did not
+reply but waited till the next morning when he "sized up the man" and
+determined to play against him. After they had been playing some time
+Mr. Holcombe discovered that the man was "holding cards out of the pack"
+on him. He said nothing, however, till the man had gotten out all the
+cards he wanted, when Mr. Holcombe made a bet. The other man "raised
+him," that is, offered to increase the amount. Mr. Holcombe raised him
+back and so on till each one had put up all the money he had. Then the
+man "showed down his hand" as the saying is, and he had the four aces.
+Mr. Holcombe replied "That is a good hand, but here is a better one;"
+and with that struck him a quick heavy blow that sent the man to the
+floor, Mr. Holcombe took all the money and the other man began to cry
+like a child and beg for it. Mr. Holcombe was instantly touched with
+pity and wanted to give him back his money but his partner objected. He
+did, however, give the man enough for his immediate wants and left him
+some the wiser for his loss of the rest.
+
+At the same place the owner of the storeboat left a young man in charge,
+who, during the absence of his proprietor, offered to play against Mr.
+Holcombe and lost all the money he had. Then he insisted on Mr.
+Holcombe's playing for the clothing which he had in the store and Mr.
+Holcombe won all that from him, leaving him a sadder, but it is to be
+hoped a wiser, man.
+
+Having thus once again felt the fascination of gambling and the
+intoxication of success, Mr. Holcombe was impelled by these and by his
+naturally restless disposition to give up altogether his legitimate
+business and to return to the old life. So without returning to visit
+his wife and child or even informing them of his whereabouts, he shipped
+on a steamer for Memphis and thence to New Orleans.
+
+On his return trip from New Orleans he played poker and won several
+hundred dollars. On landing in Louisville, his half-brother, Mr. Wm.
+Sowders, the largest fish and oyster dealer in Louisville, gave him a
+partnership in his business, but they soon fell out and he quit the
+firm.
+
+He removed to Nashville, Tennessee, and opened a business of the same
+kind there in connection with his brother's house in Louisville, Mr.
+Holcombe shipping his vegetables and produce in return for fish and
+oysters. This was early in 1860. It was a great trial for his young wife
+to be taken from among her relatives and friends and put down among
+people who were entire strangers, especially that she had found out in
+four or five years of married life that her husband had grown away from
+her, that his heart and life were in other people than his family, in
+other places than his home and in others pleasures than his duty. She
+knew that she could not now count on having his companionship day or
+night, in sickness or in health, in poverty or in wealth. And to make
+the outlook all the more gloomy for her, she had just passed through one
+of the severest trials that had come into her life.
+
+When an intense woman finds that she is deceived and disappointed in her
+husband, and the hopes of married bliss are brought to naught, she finds
+some compensation and relief in the love of her children. So it was with
+Mrs. Holcombe. But just before the time came for them to remove to
+Nashville, death came and took from her arms her second-born child. This
+made it all the harder to leave her home to go among strangers. But
+already, as a wife, she had learned that charity which suffereth long
+and is kind, which seeketh not her own and which endureth all things.
+
+Mr. Holcombe's business in Nashville was very profitable and he made
+sometimes as much as fifty dollars a day, so that in a short time he had
+accumulated a considerable amount of money. But his passion for
+gambling remained. His wife had hoped that the sufferings and death of
+their little child might soften his heart and lead him to a better life.
+But it seemed to have no effect on him whatever. Though he did not
+follow gambling as a profession, he engaged in it at night and in a
+private way with business men.
+
+When the active hostilities of the war came on, his communication with
+Louisville was cut off and so his business was at an end. Leaving his
+wife and only remaining child alone in Nashville he went to Clarksville
+and engaged in the ice business. While he was there, the Kentucky
+troops, who were encamped near that place, moved up to Bowling Green,
+Kentucky. The sound of fife and drum and the sight of moving columns of
+soldiers stirred either his patriotism or his enthusiasm so that he got
+rid of his business and followed them on up to Green river in Kentucky,
+and went into camp with them where he spent some time, without, however,
+being sworn into service. But this short time sufficed for him and he
+became satisfied that "lugging knap-sack, box and gun was harder work
+than" gambling.
+
+He quit the camp, settled down at Bowling Green, and opened a grocery
+and restaurant, doing a very prosperous business. While there, he had a
+severe spell of sickness and came near dying, but did not send for his
+wife and child, who were still alone in Nashville. Just before the
+Federal troops took possession of Bowling Green, he sold his grocery for
+a large claim on the Confederate Government which a party held for some
+guns sold to the Confederacy. He then rode horseback from Bowling Green
+to Nashville, where he rejoined his wife and child. After another
+severe spell of sickness through which his wife nursed him, he left his
+family again in those trying and fearful times and went South to collect
+his claim on the Confederate Government. Having succeeded in getting it
+he returned to Nashville with a large sum of money.
+
+As he had no legitimate business to occupy his time and his mind, he
+returned to gambling and this is his own account of it: "Then I began
+playing poker with business men in private rooms; and one of those
+business men being familiar with faro banks, roped us around to a faro
+room to play poker; and while we were playing, the faro dealer, who had
+cappers around, opened up a brace game, and the game of poker broke up,
+and I drifted over to the faro table, and did not look on long until I
+began to bet, and soon lost two or three hundred dollars which I had in
+my pockets, and lost a little on credit, which I paid the next morning.
+I lost what I had the next day, and kept up that same racket until I was
+broke. During this time I had been very liberal with the gamblers,
+treated them to oyster stews and other good things; and when I got broke
+I got to sitting around the gambling-house, and heard them say to each
+other, 'We will have to make Steve one of the boys,' and thus it was I
+became familiar with faro."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The initiation of Mr. Holcombe into the game of faro was an epoch in his
+life. He was so fascinated with it, and saw so much money in it, that he
+now finally and deliberately gave up all attempts at any other business
+or occupation, and, removing again to Louisville, in partnership with a
+gambling friend he "opened up a game" or established a house of his own
+for playing faro in that city. He sent for his family thinking he was
+settled for life. Alas! how little he knew of that heart of his that
+knew so little of God. He found out later what St. Augustine has so
+beautifully said for all humanity: "Thou hast made us for Thyself and
+our hearts find no repose till they repose in Thee." It was not long
+before he had lost all his money and was "dead broke" again. It was
+about this time and during this residence at Louisville, that,
+uncontrolled by the grace and power of God, and untouched by the love
+that can forgive as it hopes to be forgiven, he committed the greatest
+crime of his life.
+
+A young man was visiting and courting a half-sister of his at
+Shippingsport, and, under promise of marriage, had deceived her. When
+Mr. Holcombe found it out, he felt enraged, and thought it his duty to
+compel him to marry her. But knowing himself so well, and being afraid
+to trust himself to speak to the young man about it, he asked his two
+older half-brothers to see him and get the affair settled. They refused
+to do so. Mr. Holcombe then got a pistol and looked the man up with the
+deliberate intention of having the affair settled according to his
+notion of what was right, or killing him. He met him at Shippingsport,
+near the bank of the canal, and told him who he was--for they scarcely
+knew each other. Then he reminded him of what had occurred, and said
+that the only thing to be done was to marry the girl. This the man
+declined to do, saying: "We are as good as married now." He had scarcely
+uttered the words when Mr. Holcombe drew his derringer and shot him.
+When he fell, Mr. Holcombe put his hand under the poor man's neck,
+raised him up and held him until a doctor could be called. He was
+touched with a great feeling of pity for his victim, and would have done
+anything in his power for him. But all his pity and repentance could not
+bring back the dying man. He went into a neighboring house and washed
+the blood from his hands, but he could not wash the blood from his
+conscience. In after years the cry of another murderer, "Deliver me from
+blood-guiltiness, O, God!" was to burst from his lips, and faith in the
+blood of a murdered Christ was to bring the answer of peace to his long
+troubled soul. But alas! alas! he was to add crime to crime and multiply
+guilt manifold before that time should come.
+
+He was soon arrested and taken to jail, where, after some hours, he was
+informed that the man was dead. Some time afterward he was tried by a
+jury and acquitted, though the Commonwealth's Attorney, assisted by
+paid counsel, did all he could to procure his conviction. But no human
+sentence or approval of public opinion can quiet a guilty human
+conscience when awakened by the God whose sole prerogative of executing
+justice is guarded by His own solemn and awful words, "Vengeance is
+mine; I will repay," saith the Lord. When the conscience is pressed with
+a great sense of guilt, it seeks relief by the way of contrition and
+repentance, or it seeks relief by a deeper plunge into sin and guilt, as
+if the antidote to a poison were a larger dose of poison. There is no
+middle ground unless it be insanity. Nor did Mr. Holcombe find any
+middle ground, though he declares that he never allowed himself to think
+about the killing of Martin Mohler, and could not bear to hear his name.
+He had to _keep very busy_ in a career of sin, however, to _keep from_
+thinking about it, and that is exactly the second alternative of the two
+described above.
+
+"After this," says Mr. Holcombe, "I continued gambling, traveling around
+from place to place, and at last I settled down at Nashville and dealt
+faro there. I took my family with me to Nashville. I gambled there for
+awhile, and then came back to Louisville, where I opened a game for
+working men. But when I looked at their hard hands and thought of their
+suffering families, I could not bear to take their money. Then I turned
+my steps toward the South and landed in Augusta, Georgia. I went to
+Augusta in 1869 in connection with a man named Dennis McCarty. We opened
+there a big game of faro, where I did some of the biggest gambling I
+ever did in my life. On one occasion I played seven-up with a man and
+beat him out of five thousand dollars, which broke him up entirely."
+
+Let us now take a peep into his home-life: Mrs. Holcombe says that in
+Augusta he was in the habit of staying out for several days and nights
+at a time, a thing which he had never done before. They lived in Augusta
+something over two years, and during all that time she had not one day
+of peace. He was more reckless than he had ever been before. She
+suffered most from his drunkenness and his ungovernable temper.
+Sometimes he would come into the house in a bad humor and proceed to
+vent his wrath on her and the furniture; for he was never harsh to his
+children, but on the contrary, excessively indulgent, especially to his
+sons. During his outbursts of anger, Mrs. Holcombe always sat perfectly
+still, not in fear, but in grief; for she knew as little of fear as he.
+Many a time he has come into the house in a bad humor and proceeded to
+upset the dining-table, emptying all the food onto the floor and
+breaking all the dishes. On one occasion he came home angry and found
+his wife sitting on a sofa in the parlor. He began to complain of her
+and to find fault with her, and as her silence seemed to provoke him, he
+began to curse her; and as she sat and wept in silence, he grew worse
+and worse, using the most dreadful oaths she ever heard. When he had
+fully vented his passion, he walked out and stood awhile at the front
+gate as if in a study. Then he walked back into the house where she sat,
+still weeping, and said, in a mild and gentle tone: "Well, Mary, I was
+pretty mad awhile ago, wasn't I?" Then he began to apologize and to
+tell her how sorry he was for having talked to her so harshly, and wound
+up by petting her. He was at times almost insanely jealous of his wife,
+and if he saw her even talking with a man, no matter whom, it put him in
+a rage which ended only when he had vented it in the most abusive
+language to her.
+
+On another occasion, while they were living in Augusta, an incident
+occurred which illustrates at once her unexampled devotion and his
+unexampled depravity. On the night in question she had gone to bed, but
+not to sleep. About midnight he came staggering in and fell full length
+on the floor at the foot of the stairway. She tried to help him up, but
+he was so dead drunk she could not lift him. She left him lying at the
+foot of the stairway and went back to bed. But, though she was very
+tired, she could not endure the thought of lying in a comfortable bed
+while her husband was on the floor. She got up, therefore, and went down
+stairs again and sat on the floor beside him in her night-dress till
+morning. Then she left him and went up stairs to dress, that she might
+be prepared for the duties of the day. When, some time afterward, she
+came back to where he was lying, he abused and cursed her for leaving
+him alone, and, before his tirade was ended he was sorry, and tried to
+smooth it over by saying: "I did not think _you_ would leave me."
+
+Mrs. Holcombe says concerning her life at this period: "I usually walked
+the floor, after the children were in bed, till past midnight waiting
+for him to come home. One night in particular, between eleven and
+twelve o'clock, I heard a shot fired and I heard a man cry out not far
+from the house. I thought it was Mr. Holcombe, and my agony was almost
+more than I could bear while waiting for day to come, for I was sure
+somebody had shot him. But between three and four o'clock In the morning
+he came in, and his coming brought me great relief." "Then another
+time," she goes on to say, "I was sitting by the window when an express
+wagon drove up with a coffin in it. The driver said to me, 'Does this
+coffin belong here?' I understood him to say, 'Does Mr. Holcombe live
+here?' I thought it was Mr. Holcombe and that he had been killed and
+sent home to me in his coffin. The driver repeated his question twice,
+but I was so paralyzed I could not answer him a word."
+
+From Augusta Mr. Holcombe removed with his family to Atlanta, where he
+made a good deal of money. Mrs. Holcombe says concerning their stay in
+Atlanta, "My life at Atlanta was no better than it had been at Augusta.
+Much of my time was spent in walking the floor and grieving. Often in my
+loneliness and sorrow my lips would cry out, 'How can I endure this life
+any longer?' I had not then become a Christian and did not know what I
+do now about taking troubles and burdens to God. And yet I believe that
+it was God who comforted my heart more than once when my sorrow was more
+than I could bear. I cried to Him without knowing Him. All these years I
+tried to raise my children right, and I taught them to respect their
+father. I hid his sins from them when I could, and when I could not, I
+always excused him to them the best I could." But Mr. Holcombe instead
+of aiding his wife's efforts to bring up their children in the right
+path, often perversely put obstacles in her way and increased her
+difficulties, though he did try to conceal his drinking from them, and
+would never allow his boys to have or handle cards. So in many things he
+was a combination of contradictions. He could not endure, however, for
+his wife to punish the children, and especially the boys. On one
+occasion he came home and the younger son was still crying from the
+punishment inflicted by his mother for wading in a pond of water with
+his shoes on. Mr. Holcombe asked him what was the matter, and when he
+found out, he was so angry he made the boy go and wade in the pond again
+with his shoes on. And yet Mrs. Holcombe's love for her husband "never
+wavered," and she loved him "when he was at his worst."
+
+While Mr. Holcombe was living in Atlanta he attended the races in
+Nashville, and while there, two men came along that had a new thing on
+cards, and they beat him out of five or six thousand dollars--broke him,
+in fact. After he was broke, he went to one of the men by the name of
+Buchanan and said, "I see that you have got a new trick on cards, and as
+I am well acquainted through the South, if you will give it away to me,
+we can go together and make money." The man, after some hesitation,
+agreed to do so. They went in partnership and traveled through the South
+as far as Key West, Florida, stopping at the principal cities and making
+money everywhere. At Key West he and his partner had a split and
+separated. From Key West Mr. Holcombe crossed over to Cuba, and spent
+some time in Havana. In seeking adventures in that strange city he made
+some very narrow escapes, and was glad to get away. On landing at New
+Orleans, though he had a good deal of money, the accumulations of his
+winnings on his late tour through the South, he got to playing against
+faro bank and lost all he had. But he fell in with a young man about
+twenty years of age, from Georgia, on his way to Texas, and became very
+intimate with him. Finding that this young man had a draft for $1,050,
+by the most adroit piece of maneuvering he got another man, a third
+party, to win it from him for himself, and gave this third party $50 for
+doing it. Then he took charge of the young man in his destitution and
+distress, paid his bill for a day or two at a hotel in New Orleans, and
+gave him enough to pay his way on to Texas. The young man departed
+thinking Mr. Holcombe was one of the kindest men he had ever met. The
+gentle reader, if he be a young man who thinks himself wise enough to be
+intimate with strangers, might learn a useful little lesson from this
+young Georgian's experience as herein detailed.
+
+From New Orleans, Mr. Holcombe went by river to Shreveport, Louisiana,
+where he met again with his former partner, Buchanan. They made up their
+differences and went into partnership again, and were successful in
+winning a good deal of money together. But afterward their fortunes
+changed and they both lost all they had. This soured Buchanan, who had
+never cordially liked Holcombe since their quarrel and separation at Key
+West. Mr. Holcombe himself shall narrate what took place afterward:
+"During this time we had been sleeping in a room together. Buchanan knew
+that I had two derringer pistols. He got Phil Spangler to borrow one,
+and I feel satisfied he had snaked the other. A friend of mine, John
+Norton, asked me to deal faro bank, and I got broke, and the night that
+I did, I put the box in the drawer pretty roughly, and made some pretty
+rough remarks. Buchanan was present, but took no exception to what I
+said that night. The next morning, however, in the bar-room he began to
+abuse me, and we abused each other backward and forward until I had
+backed clear across the street. During this time I had my derringer
+pistol out in my hand. He had a big stick in his hand and a knife in his
+bosom. When we got across the street I made this remark, 'Mr. Buchanan,
+I do not want to kill you,' He was then about ten feet from me, and made
+a step toward me. I took deliberate aim at his heart and pulled the
+trigger, but the pistol snapped. He walked away from me then. I ran up
+to the hotel where Aleck Doran was, knowing that his six-shooter was
+always in good condition. I borrowed it and started to hunt Buchanan up,
+and when I found him, he came up to me with his hand out. We made up and
+have been good friends ever since. After we left there, these parties
+with whom we had been playing, got to quarreling among themselves about
+the different games, and the result was that John Norton killed Phil
+Spangler and another one of the men. And such is the life of the
+gambler." And such is too often, alas! the death of the gambler.
+
+From Shreveport he went back to Atlanta where his family, consisting now
+of his wife, two sons and two daughters, had remained. But he could not
+be contented at any one place. It seemed impossible for him to be
+quiet, no matter how much money he was making. Indeed, the more he got
+the more disquieted he seemed, and yet it was his passion to win money.
+Sometimes he would go to his home with his pockets full of it and would
+pour it out on the floor and tell the children to take what they wanted.
+He was so restless when he had won largely that he could not sleep; and
+his wife says she has known him to get up after having retired late and
+walk back to the city to his gambling house to find somebody to play
+with. He seemed to want to lose his money again. In fact, he seemed
+happier when he was entirely without money than when he had a great
+deal.
+
+Not contented, then, at Atlanta, he went from there to Beaufort, South
+Carolina, to gamble with the officers of the navy. He got into a game of
+poker with some of them and won all the money. Then he was ready to quit
+and leave the place, but he got into a difficulty with a man there whose
+diamond pin he had in pawn for money lent him, and though it be at the
+risk of taxing the reader's patience with these details, yet, in order
+to show vividly what a gambler's life is, we shall let Mr. Holcombe give
+his own account of the affair:
+
+"This man was the bully of the place. I had his diamond pin in pawn for
+seventy-five dollars, and another little fellow owed me eighteen
+dollars, or something like that, and I wanted him to pay me. Instead of
+paying me, however, he began to curse and abuse me; and I hit him on the
+nose, knocked him over and bloodied it, and he was bleeding like
+everything. He got over into the crowd; and under the excitement of the
+moment, I drew my pistol and started toward him. This big bully caught
+me gently by the vest, and asked me quietly to put up my pistol. I did
+so. Then he said, 'You can't shoot anybody here,' I said 'I do not want
+to shoot anybody.' I then asked him to turn me loose. He again said 'You
+can't shoot anybody here.' I then said, 'What is the matter with you?
+Are we not friends?' And he said 'No,' and made the remark, 'I will take
+your pistol away from you and beat your brains out.' I struck him and
+knocked him over on a lounge, but he rose up and came at me, and we had
+quite a tussle around the room. The others all ran and left the house,
+and the barkeeper hid.
+
+"When we separated, the big fellow had quite a head on him; was all
+beaten up. He then went into the other room and sat down, and the
+barkeeper came in where I was. I was willing to do or say anything to
+reconcile this man, and I said to the barkeeper that I was sorry of the
+difficulty, as I liked the man, which was a lie, and a square one, for I
+hated him from the moment I saw him. When he heard what I said, he came
+sauntering into the room, and I said to him, 'I am sorry this occurred,
+but you called me such a name that I was compelled to do as I did. You
+know that you are a brave man; and if any man had called you such a
+name, you would have done just as I did.' He called me a liar, and at it
+we went again. We separated ourselves every time. I got the best of the
+round. After that he stepped up to the sideboard and got a tumbler; but
+I looked him in the eye so closely that he could not throw it at me, and
+he put it down. After a little more conversation, he started to lift up
+a heavy spittoon of iron. I stepped back a foot or two, drew my pistol,
+and told him if he did not put that down, I would kill him. He put it
+down. I then told the barkeeper he must come in there and witness this
+thing, because I expected to have to kill him. After the barkeeper came
+in, the man went out, saying, 'You had a gun on me to-night, and I will
+have one on you to-morrow.' Feeling satisfied if I remained, one of us
+would have to be killed; and feeling that I did not want to kill him,
+neither did I want to get killed on a cold collar, I concluded to walk
+out of the place. I got the barkeeper to promise to ship my trunk to
+Atlanta, and walked through the swamps to a station fourteen miles away,
+arriving there some time next day." Other such experiences Mr. Holcombe
+had enough to fill a volume perhaps, but these are sufficient to give an
+impression of what a gambler's life is and to show what _was_ the life
+of that same Steve Holcombe who now for eleven years has been a pattern
+of Christian usefulness and zeal.
+
+After spending a short time at Atlanta, he went to Hot Springs,
+Arkansas, and then again to Louisville, where he opened a faro bank and
+once more settled down for life, as he thought. _At any rate for the
+first time in his life he thought of saving a little money_, and he did
+so, investing it in some houses in the West End. Poor man! he had
+wandered _nearly_ enough. He had almost found that rest can not be
+found, at least in the way he was seeking it, and the time was
+approaching when he would be _prepared_ to hear of another sort and
+source of rest. Until he should be prepared, it would be vain to send
+him the message. To give the truth to some people to-day would be to
+cast pearls before swine, to give it to them to-morrow may be
+re-clothing banished princes with due tokens of welcome and of royalty.
+To have told Steve Holcombe of Christ yet awhile would probably have
+excited his wonder and disgust; to tell him a little later will be to
+welcome a long-lost, long-enslaved and perishing child to his Father's
+house and to all the liberty of the sons of God.
+
+So _he thought_ of saving a little money and of investing in some
+cottages in the west end of Louisville. And God was thinking, too, and
+He was thinking thoughts of kindness and of love for the poor wicked
+outcast. He was _more_ than thinking, He was getting things ready. But
+the time was not yet. A few more wanderings and the sinning one,
+foot-sore, heart-sore and weary will be willing to come to the Father's
+house and rest. Truth and God are always ready, but man is not always
+ready. "I have many things to say to you, but you can not bear them
+now."
+
+His income at Louisville at this time was between five and seven
+thousand dollars a year. He had a large interest in the bank and some
+nights he would take in hundreds of dollars. But he could not be
+contented. The roving passion seized him again, and in company with a
+young man of fine family in Louisville, who had just inherited five
+thousand dollars, he set out on a circuit of the races. But in
+Lexington, the very first place they visited, they lost all they had,
+including the young man's jewelry, watch and diamond pin. They got more
+money and other partners and started again on the circuit and they made
+money. At Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Holcombe withdrew from the party,
+just for the sake of change, just because he was tired of them; and in
+playing against the faro banks at Kalamazoo he lost all he had again.
+Then he traveled around to different places playing against faro banks
+and "catching on" when he could. He visited Fort Wayne, Cleveland,
+Utica, Saratoga and New York. At New York he was broke and he had become
+so disgusted with traveling around and so weary of the world that he
+determined he _would_ go back to Louisville and settle down for life. He
+did return to Louisville and got an interest in two gambling houses,
+making for him an income again of five thousand dollars a year.
+
+During all these years his faithful wife, though not professing to be a
+Christian herself, endeavored in all possible ways to lead her children
+to become Christians. She taught them to pray the best she could, and
+sent them to Sunday-school. After her first child was born she gave up
+those worldly amusements which before she had, to please her husband,
+participated in with him--a good example for Christian mothers. She was
+in continual dread lest the children should grow up to follow the
+father's example. She always tried to conceal from them the fact of his
+being a gambler. The two daughters, Mamie and Irene, did not, when
+good-sized girls and going to school, know their father's business. They
+were asked at school what his occupation was, and could not tell. More
+than once they asked their mother, but she evaded the question by
+saying, "He isn't engaged in any work just now," or in some such way.
+Mrs. Holcombe begged her husband again and again not to continue
+gambling. She says, "I told him I was willing to live on bread and
+water, if he would quit it." And she would not lay up any of the money
+he would give her, nor use any more of it than was necessary for herself
+and the children, for she felt that it was not rightly gotten. And
+because she would neither lay it up nor use it lavishly, she had nothing
+to do but let the children take it to play with and to give away. Under
+the training of such a mother with such patience, love and faith, it is
+no great marvel, and yet perhaps it is a great marvel, that Willie, the
+eldest child, notwithstanding the father's example, grew up to discern
+good, to desire good and to be good. While he was still a child, when
+his father came home drunk, the wounded and wondering child would beg
+him not to drink any more. Mrs. Holcombe says of him further, "When
+Willie would see his father on the street drinking, I have seen him,
+when twelve years old, jump off the car, go to his father and beg him
+with tears to go home with him. And I never saw Mr. Holcombe refuse to
+go."
+
+In this way the boy grew up with a disgust and horror of drunkenness and
+drinking, and when in the year 1877 the great temperance movement was
+rolling over the country and meetings were held everywhere, and in
+Louisville also, though the boy had never drunk any intoxicating liquor
+in his life, he signed the pledge. He took his card home with his name
+signed to it, and when his father saw it, he was very angry about it.
+And yet, strange to say, on that very evening the father himself
+attended the meeting; and on the next evening he went again, in company
+with his wife. During the progress of the meeting he turned to his wife
+and said, "Mary, shall I go up and sign the pledge?" Concealing her
+emotions as best she could, lest the show of it might disgust and repel
+him, she replied, "Yes, Steve, Willie and I would be very glad if you
+would," and he did so.
+
+Some time after that, Willie asked his father and mother if they would
+accompany him to the Broadway Baptist church in the city to see him
+baptized. While witnessing the baptism of his son, Mr. Holcombe made up
+his mind that he would quit gambling, and as he went out of the church,
+he said to his wife, "_I will never play another card_."
+
+Some friend of his who overhead the remark said to him, "Steve, you had
+better study about that." He answered, "No, I have made up my mind. I
+wish you would tell the boys for me that they may count me out. They may
+stop my interest in the banks. I am done."
+
+His wife, who was hanging on his arm, could no longer now conceal her
+emotions, nor did she try. She laughed and cried for joy. God was saying
+to her, "Mary, thy toils and tears, thy sufferings and patience have
+come up for a memorial before me, and I will send a man who will tell
+thee what thou oughtest to do, and speak to thee words whereby thou and
+all thy house shall be saved."
+
+Mr. Holcombe was as good as his word. He did give up gambling from that
+time. But he had had so little experience in business that he was at a
+great loss what to do. Finally, however, he decided to go into the
+produce and commission business as he had had some experience in that
+line years before in Nashville, and as that required no great outlay of
+money for a beginning. All the money he had was tied up in the houses
+which he had bought in Portland, the western suburb of Louisville. He
+was living in one of these himself, but he now determined to rent it out
+and to remove to the city that he might be nearer his business.
+
+One day in October, 1877, a stranger entered his place of business, on
+Main street, and, calling for Mr. Holcombe, said: "I see you have a
+house for rent in Portland."
+
+"Yes," said he, "I have."
+
+"Well," said the stranger, "I like your house; but as my income is not
+large, I should be glad to get it at as low a rent as you can allow."
+
+Mr. Holcombe replied: "I am rather pressed for money now myself, but
+maybe we can make a trade. What is your business?"
+
+"I am a Methodist minister, and am just sent to the church in Portland,
+and you know it can not pay very much of a salary."
+
+"That settles it then, sir," said Mr. Holcombe, with that abruptness and
+positiveness which are so characteristic of him, "I am a notorious
+gambler, and, of course, you would not want to live in a house of mine."
+
+He expected that would be the end of the matter, and he looked to see
+the minister shrink from him and leave at once his presence and his
+house. On the contrary, the minister, though knowing nothing of Mr.
+Holcombe's recent reformation, yet seeing his sensitiveness, admiring
+his candor and hoping to be able to do him some good, laid his hand
+kindly on his shoulder and said:
+
+"Oh no, my brother; I do not object to living in your house; and who
+knows but that this interview will result in good to us both, in more
+ways than one?"
+
+Mr. Holcombe's impression was that ministers of the Gospel were, in
+their own estimation, and in fact, too good for gamblers to touch the
+hem of their garments, and that ministers had, for this reason, as
+little use and as great contempt for gamblers as the average gambler
+has, on the very same account, for ministers. But he found, to his
+amazement, that he was mistaken, and when the minister invited him to
+come to his church he said, not to the minister, yet he said:
+
+"Yes, I will go, I never had a good man to call me 'brother' before. And
+he knows what I am, for I told him. I am so tired; I am so spent. Maybe
+he can tell me what to do and how to go. If Sunday ever comes, I will go
+to that man's church."
+
+And when Sunday came the minister and the gambler faced each other
+again. With a great sense of his responsibility and insufficiency the
+preacher declared the message of his Lord, not as he wished, but as he
+could. To the usual invitation to join the church nobody responded.
+After the benediction, however, Mr. Holcombe walked down the aisle to
+the pulpit and said to the minister: "How does a man join the church?"
+He had not attended church for twenty-three years, and had been engaged
+in such a life that he had forgotten what little he knew. The minister
+informed him.
+
+"Then," said he, "may I join your church?"
+
+"You are welcome, and more than welcome," replied the minister, and the
+people wondered.
+
+"From the day I joined his church," says Mr. Holcombe, "that minister
+seemed to understand me better than I understood myself. He seemed to
+know and did tell me my own secrets. He led me into an understanding of
+myself and my situation. I saw now what had been the cause of my
+restlessness, my wanderings, my weariness and my woe. I saw what it was
+I needed, and I prayed as earnestly as I knew how from that time. I
+attended all the services--preaching, Sunday-school, prayer-meeting,
+class-meeting in any and all kinds of weather, walking frequently all
+the way from Second street to Portland, a distance of three miles,
+because I was making too little to allow me to ride on the street-cars.
+But with all this, I felt something was yet wanting. I began to see that
+I could not make any advance in goodness and happiness so long as I was
+burdened with the unforgiven guilt of forty years of sin and crime. It
+grew worse and heavier until I felt I must have relief, if relief could
+be had. One day I went in the back office of my business house, after
+the others had all gone home, and shut myself up and determined to stay
+there and pray until I should find relief. The room was dark, and I had
+prayed, I know not how long, when such a great sense of relief and
+gladness and joy came to me that it seemed to me as if a light had
+flooded the room, and the only words I could utter or think of were
+these three: 'Jesus of Nazareth.' It seemed to me they were the sweetest
+words I had ever heard. Never, till then, did the feeling of
+blood-guiltiness leave me. It was only the blood of Christ that could
+wash from my conscience the blood of my fellowman."
+
+As in his case, so always, in proportion as a man is in earnest about
+forsaking sin, will he desire the assurance of the forgiveness of past
+sins, and _vice versa_. But Mr. Holcombe did not find this an end of
+difficulty and trial and conflict--far from it. Indeed, it was the
+preparation for conflict, and the entrance upon it. Hitherto, in his old
+life, he had made no resistance to his evil nature, and there was no
+conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. But such a nature as
+his was not to be conquered and subjected to entire and easy control in
+a day. His passions would revive, his old habits would re-assert
+themselves, poverty pinched him, people misunderstood him, failure after
+failure in business discouraged him. Hence, he needed constant and
+careful guidance and an unfailing sympathy. And he thus refers to the
+help he received from his pastor in those trying days:
+
+"Seeing the great necessity of giving me much attention and making me
+feel at home in his presence and in the presence of his wife, he spent
+much time in my company, and with loving patience bore with my
+ignorance, dullness and slowness. In this way I became so much attached
+to him that I had no need or desire for my old associations. He led me
+along till I was entirely weaned from all desire for my old sinful life
+and habits. I think he gave me this close attention for about two years,
+when he felt that it was best for me to lean more upon God and less upon
+him."
+
+Mr. Holcombe received continual kindness and encouragement from the
+minister's wife also, who not only had for him always a cordial greeting
+and a kindly word of cheer, but who took great pleasure in entertaining
+him frequently in their home. It was a perpetual benediction to him to
+know her, to see the daily beauty of her faithful life, to feel the
+influence of her heavenly spirit. With quick intuition she recognized
+the sincerity and intensity of Mr. Holcombe's desires and efforts to be
+a Christian man; with ready insight she comprehended the situation and
+saw his difficulties and needs, and with a very Christlike
+self-forgetfulness and joy she ministered to this struggling soul. Not
+only Mr. Holcombe, but all who ever knew her, whether in adversity or
+prosperity, whether in sickness or in health, admired the beauty and
+felt the quiet unconscious power of her character. As for Mr. Holcombe
+himself, his mingled feeling of reverence for her saintliness and of
+gratitude for her sisterliness led him always to speak of her in terms
+that he did not apply to any other person whom he knew. He could never
+cease to marvel that one of her education, position and tender
+womanliness should take such pains and have such pleasure in helping,
+entertaining and serving such as he. A few years only was he blessed
+with the helpfulness of her friendship. In 1885, when she was just past
+the age of thirty-one, her tender feet grew so tired that she could go
+no further in this rough world, and Christ took her away. Few were more
+deeply bereaved than the poor converted gambler, and when he was asked
+if he would serve as one of the pallbearers on the occasion of her
+funeral, he burst into tears and replied, "I am not worthy, I am not
+worthy." If those who knew her--little children of tender years, young
+men and women, perplexed on life's threshold and desiring to enter in
+at the strait gate, people of rank and wealth, people in poverty and
+ignorance, worldly-minded people whom she had unconsciously attracted,
+experienced Christians whom she unconsciously helped, and, most of all,
+her husband and children who knew her best--if all these should be
+asked, all these would agree that St. Paul has written her fitting
+epitaph:
+
+    "Well reported of for good works;
+    If she have brought up children,
+    If she have lodged strangers,
+    If she have washed the saints' feet,
+    If she have relieved the afflicted,
+    If she have diligently followed every good work."
+
+It was not long after Mr. Holcombe's conversion before his entire family
+became members of the church. Though this was to him cause of
+unspeakable joy and gratitude, it did not mark the limit of his love and
+zeal. From the time of his conversion he had a deep and brotherly
+sympathy for all who were without the knowledge and joy he had come into
+the possession of, but he felt a special interest in the salvation of
+the wretched and the outcast, and of the men of his own class and former
+occupation who were as ignorant as he was of these higher things and as
+shut out from opportunities of knowing them. So that from the very
+beginning of his Christian life he undertook to help others, and when
+they were in need, not stopping to think of any other way, he took them
+to his own house. This, with the support of his own family, increased
+the cost of his living to such an extent that he was soon surprised and
+pained to find that he could not carry on his business. He had taken to
+his home, also, the father of his wife, whom he cared for till his
+death. And in a short time he was so pressed for means that he had to
+mortgage his property for money to go into another kind of business.
+
+When it was first reported that Steve Holcombe, one of the most
+successful, daring and famous gamblers in the South, had been converted
+and had joined the church, the usual predictions were made that in less
+than three months, etc., he would see his mistake or yield to
+discouragements and return to his old life of self-indulgence and ease.
+But when men passed and repassed the corner where this man had a little
+fruit store and was trying to make an honest living for his family,
+their thoughts became more serious and their questions deepen Steve had
+got something or something had got him. He was not the man of former
+times. And most of his friends, the gamblers included, when they saw
+this, were glad, and while they wondered wished him well. But there was
+one man engaged in business just across the street from the little fruit
+store, who with a patronizing air bought little fruits from Mr.
+Holcombe, and then spent his leisure in discussions and arguments to
+prove not only that he had made a big blunder in becoming a Christian,
+but that religion was all a sham, the Bible a not very cunningly devised
+fable and that Mr. Ingersoll was the greatest man of the day, because he
+had shattered these delusions. Mr. Holcombe patiently heard it all, and
+perhaps did not frame as cogent or logical an answer to this man's
+sophistries as he could do now, but he felt in his own heart and he saw
+in his own life that he was a new man. He felt a profound pity for his
+friend who knew not nor cared for any of these things, and he lived on
+his humble, patient, uncomplaining Christian life. It may not be out of
+place to add as the sequel of this little episode that the testimony of
+this man across the way, who was such an unbeliever and scoffer, is
+given elsewhere in this volume, and doubtless will be recognized by the
+reader. Mr. Holcombe's life was too much for his logic.
+
+When Mr. Holcombe had failed in every kind of business that he
+undertook, his property was forced on the market and nothing was left
+him from the sale of it. Christian men of means might have helped him
+and ought to have helped him, but for reasons known to themselves they
+did not. Perhaps they were afraid to take hold of so tough a case as
+Steve Holcombe was known to have been, perhaps they saw he was not an
+experienced business man, perhaps they felt indisposed to help a man who
+was so incapable of economy and so generous in entertaining his friends
+and helping the needy. Greatly pressed, he went at last to his
+half-brother with whom in former years he had been associated as partner
+in business, and putting his case and condition before him asked for
+employment. But his half-brother declined on the spot, giving as his
+short and sole reason that he believed Mr. Holcombe was a hypocrite and
+was making believe that he was a Christian for some sinister purpose.
+
+This was "the most unkindest cut" of all and for days the poor wounded
+man felt the iron in his soul. During his former life he would have
+cared nothing for such treatment. A ruined character is benumbed like a
+paralyzed limb, but a revived and repentant soul is full of sensitive
+nerves and feels the slightest slight or the smallest wound. He found
+out months afterward, however, that his half-brother was already losing
+his mind and was not responsible for this extraordinary behavior. He
+tried and his friends tried everywhere and every way to find employment
+for him, but he could get nothing to do. His money was all gone, his
+property was all gone, he sold his piano, he sold his Brussels carpets,
+he removed from place to place, following cheaper rent till at last he
+took his family to a garret. It was now two years since his conversion.
+During these two years he had done nothing to bring reproach on his
+profession or to give ground for a doubt of his sincerity. He had not
+only lived a consistent life himself, he had striven earnestly to help
+others to do so. He assisted in holding meetings in Shippingsport, and
+the people marveled and magnified the grace of God in him. But he was
+with his family on the point of starvation. When at last everything had
+been tried and no relief was found, in his desperation he thought of the
+improbable possibility of finding something, at least something to do,
+in the West, and he decided to go to Colorado.
+
+In Louisville, where he was suffering and where his family was
+suffering, he could have returned to gambling and have been independent
+in a month. He could have been living in a comfortable house; he could
+have had, as he was wont, the best the market afforded for his table, he
+could have decked himself with jewelry and diamonds, he could soon have
+been once more in position to spend, as he had regularly done, from two
+to ten dollars a day for the mere luxuries of life. He could have done
+all this and he could do all this even yet; for even yet he is in the
+prime of life and power. But he did not, and he does not. He did not
+turn Christian because he had played out as a gambler. He did not turn
+to Christianity because fortune had turned away from him. But he turned
+away himself from fortune when he was fortune's pet, in order to turn to
+a better and worthier life.
+
+When he had decided to go to Colorado, he went to his pastor and told
+him. The pastor was astonished, alarmed. After two years and more of
+faithful and self-denying service was his friend and brother about to
+give away? Was this a plan to get away into a "far country" where he
+might turn again to sin? He reasoned with him, he appealed to him, he
+besought him. He tried to picture the perils of the journey and the
+perils of the place. He reminded Mr. Holcombe of the condition, as far
+as he knew it, of his family. But all to no purpose. He committed his
+friend trustfully to God and gave it up.
+
+"But," said the pastor, "how are you going to get there?"
+
+"I am going to walk from place to place and work my way out. I can not
+stay here, I can get nothing to do and I must try elsewhere. I am
+desperate."
+
+"Then," said the pastor, "if your mind is made up and you are going, I
+can let you have some money. I have about sixty-one dollars in bank
+which I laid aside when a single man, to use for Christ, and if that
+will pay your way out, you can have it. Christ has called for his own."
+
+He accepted it with tears, left a few dollars of it with his wife and,
+with the rest, started for Leadville.
+
+When he first landed at Denver, he met an old friend, John Chisholm,
+with whom he had gambled in Atlanta. This man had left Atlanta on
+account of having killed somebody there, and had made a considerable
+amount of money in California. He had now come to Denver and opened a
+game of faro. When he saw Mr. Holcombe on the street, he said: "You are
+just the man I want. I have opened a game of faro here, and I am afraid
+I can not protect myself. I will give you a good interest if you will go
+in with me."
+
+Mr. Holcombe replied: "Yes, John; but I am a Christian now, and can not
+deal faro."
+
+"I know," said the man, "you were a Christian in Louisville, but you are
+a long ways from there."
+
+"Yes," Mr. Holcombe said, "but a true Christian is a Christian
+everywhere."
+
+Notwithstanding, he insisted on Mr. Holcombe's going to his room to see
+another old Atlanta friend. He did so, but felt so much out of place
+there that he did not remain ten minutes.
+
+From Denver he concluded to go to Silver Cliff instead of Leadville.
+When he arrived in that strange village, his money was all gone and he
+lacked fifteen cents of having enough to pay the stage-driver. "It was
+about sundown," says he, "when I got there. I did not know a living
+soul. I had not a cent of money. My courage failed me. I broke down and
+wept like a child."
+
+Having a good trunk he knew he would not be asked to pay in advance, and
+he went to a hotel and spent the night. In the morning he walked out
+after breakfast to see what sort of a place he had gotten into. As he
+stood at the post-office, he saw across the street what he recognized as
+a gambling-house, "everything wide open," no attempt at concealment or
+privacy. He asked some one out of curiosity who was the proprietor, and
+found that two of his old acquaintances were running the house. He could
+easily, and at once, have gotten a situation with them, and could soon
+have had money to relieve his own wants and the wants of his family. But
+he had already stood severe tests, and had now arrived at a point where
+he had no inclination whatever to gamble and felt no temptation to
+procure money in that way or from that source. He did not even look for
+the proprietors of the establishment or let them know he was in the
+village. But while he was standing there, thinking of his condition and
+wondering what he should do, he overheard a man say that a dining-room
+waiter was wanted at the Carbonate hotel, the one at which he had spent
+the night. He went at once to the hotel, made application for the place,
+and was accepted at a salary of twenty-five dollars a month and board.
+
+He was filled with thankfulness and joy, and he has declared since, that
+though, on one night during his gambling life, he had won three thousand
+dollars in money, the satisfaction which he felt then could not be
+compared with that which he felt now when the hotel-proprietor gave him
+this position of dining-room waiter _at a salary of twenty-five dollars
+a month_. He entered at once upon his duties. To his great surprise he
+found several Louisville gentlemen stopping at the hotel, some of whom
+had known him in other days and circumstances, and whom he had boarded
+with at hotels where he paid five dollars a day, with two to four
+dollars a day, extra, for wine and cigars. But, notwithstanding that, he
+was not ashamed of his present position. On the contrary, he was very
+thankful for it and happy in it. He did such faithful service there that
+the proprietor became interested in him and showed him much kindness.
+
+During his stay at Silver Cliff he did not neglect any opportunity of
+doing good to others.
+
+One day, when he was standing in the door of the post-office, a man,
+whose name he afterward found to be James Lewis, came in, got a letter
+and sat down on the step right under Mr. Holcombe to read it. As he read
+it, he was much affected and tears were running down his hardened face.
+Mr. Holcombe became so interested that he read the man's letter over his
+shoulder. It was from his wife, who, with her three children, had left
+her husband on account of his drunkenness. Mr. Holcombe made up his mind
+he would see if he could do something for the poor man to better his
+condition, and, if possible, bring about the reunion of the family. He
+did not like to approach him then and there. He watched him till he got
+up and moved away and started down through an alley. As he emerged from
+the alley, at the farther end, Mr. Holcombe, who had gone around another
+way, met him. Little did the man suspect that the stranger who accosted
+him knew his trouble and his family secrets. Mr. Holcombe, with that
+tact which his knowledge of men had given him, spoke to him kindly, but
+in a way that would not arouse his suspicions. He told him, after a
+little while, his own condition in that far-off land away from his
+family and friends. He found out from the man where he stayed. He went
+to see him, found that he slept in a stable, provided him with some
+things he needed, and then got down on his knees there in the stable and
+prayed for him.
+
+Finally, when the proper time had come, Mr. Holcombe showed him a Murphy
+pledge and asked him if he would not sign it. He told him what he
+himself had been before, and what he had become, since signing that
+pledge. The man gave Mr. Holcombe his confidence, unbosomed himself to
+him and eagerly sought counsel. He signed the pledge also and said he
+would, by God's help, give up his sins that had separated him from a
+loving wife, and would try to live a better life. Mr. Holcombe wrote to
+the man's wife informing her of the change in her husband and the effort
+he was making to do right. She came at once to Silver Cliff and Mr.
+Holcombe had the pleasure of seeing them reunited and ate with them in
+their humble cabin.
+
+When he had been some time at the Carbonate hotel, he found a position
+where he could make more money and worked there till he had saved enough
+to buy an outfit for "prospecting" in the mountains. This outfit
+consisted of a little donkey, several "agricultural implements for
+subverting _terra firma_" such as spade, pick, etc., and provisions for
+two or three weeks. Having procured these and packed his burro, as the
+donkey is called out West, he and his partner started for the
+mountains. Mr. Holcombe kept a sort of diary of this part of his Western
+trip, and we give it here, including the time from his leaving Silver
+Cliff to his return to Denver.
+
+
+DIARY.
+
+Tuesday, May 27, 1879.--I entered into partnership with a man by the
+name of J. E. White from Wisconsin for prospecting in the mountains. He
+had some blankets at Oak Creek, a distance of thirty miles from Silver
+Cliff. We walked out there one day and returned the next. The road was
+very full of dust and gravel. My shoes would get full of it. Every
+little mountain stream we came to I would stop and wash my feet, which
+was very refreshing. This made me think of the blessed Son of God and
+why, when he was a guest at different places, they brought him water for
+his feet,
+
+    "Those blessed feet
+    Which, eighteen hundred years ago, were nailed
+    For our advantage on the bitter cross."
+
+Wednesday, May 28.--After having bought a burro and a two weeks'
+grub-stake, J. E. White and myself started for the Sangre de Christo
+mountain, a wild, high range of the Rockies. We paid for our burro
+twenty-one dollars, and for our grub seven dollars. It consisted of
+flour, coffee, sugar, bacon, salt, pepper, potatoes and baking powder.
+We had a coffee-pot, frying-pan, tin cups. We used our pocket-knives
+instead of table-knives. We had a butcher-knife and some teaspoons. With
+these and some other things we packed our burro and started. It was a
+funny sight. It all looked like a house on top of the poor little
+animal which was not much larger than a good sized Newfoundland dog. But
+it was strong, faithful and sure-footed and could go anywhere in the
+mountains that a man could. We traveled this first day about ten miles
+and camped in a gulch at night. Had a hard storm. Our only shelter was a
+hut made of boughs of trees, Indian fashion.
+
+Thursday, May 29.--We moved up the gulch as far as we could for the
+snow. Did some little prospecting of which neither of us knew very much,
+and, of course, we found nothing. Every once in awhile, White would pick
+up a rock, look at it wisely and say "This is good float. I think there
+is a paying lode up on this mountain somewhere." Up the mountain we go
+about 9,000 feet above the sea level. We turned over all the stones and
+dug up the earth every now and then and toward night we went to work to
+make our hut which we got about half finished. During the night snow
+fell about three inches. We were on the side of the mountain. Could
+hardly keep the fire from rolling down the side of the mountain. Could
+hardly keep our victuals from upsetting. This and the snow made me
+weaken considerably, and I did say in my heart I wished I was back home.
+
+Friday, May 30.--We prospected the second ridge, south of Horn's Peak,
+going up about 300 feet above timber line, or about 12,000 feet above
+the sea-level. There were no indications of minerals. About five miles
+off we could see a beautiful lake. I was very anxious to go to it, but
+White objected. Said it would be dangerous, might be caught in a
+snow-storm. The sun was shining brightly. Weather was very pleasant. I
+could not conceive of a snow-storm on the 30th of May. So I persuaded
+him to go. After we had gone some distance, all of a sudden it began to
+blow up cold and in a little while to snow. We turned our faces toward
+camp. Just then we saw one of those beautiful Rocky mountain spotted
+grouse. We were so hungry for something fresh to eat, we took several
+shots at it with White's pistol. But the blinding snow made it
+impossible for us to hit it. We had no grouse for supper.
+
+It grew cold very rapidly and in a very short time it seemed to me as
+cold as I ever felt it in my life. My moustache froze stiff. At last the
+storm got so heavy, and, the evening coming on, we could hardly see our
+way. The side of the mountain was full of dead timber, which was slick
+like glass and, as everything was covered with snow, we could not always
+see where to put our feet down, and to have slipped would have been
+almost certain death. Once White did slip and but for having the pick
+and sticking it in a soft place, he would have been killed. We got lost
+and wandered about over the mountain side till late in the evening when
+we providentially struck on our camp. We were hungry, tired and wet. Our
+bedding was covered with snow. Before going to bed I read the first
+chapter of Romans.
+
+Saturday, May 31.--Cloudy morning. Four inches of snow. No wind. Felt
+very well. We moved our camp. Stopped at a deserted cabin. Found a
+grindstone and ground our hatchet. We pitched camp about three miles
+South-east. Built a hut of boughs. We got wet. I had but one pair of
+pants and one pair of socks. My feet were soaking wet. At bedtime I
+read Romans, second chapter.
+
+Sunday, June 1, 1879.--Snowed Saturday night. When I awoke our blankets
+were wet. I had symptoms of rheumatism in knees and wrists. I read
+Romans, third chapter, and we had prayer together. White sang "Tell Me
+the Old, Old Story" and "Safe in the Arms of Jesus." It made me think of
+my family so far away, of my dear pastor, Brother----, and the dear old
+Portland church, and the tears streamed down my face. Spent the day in
+camp.
+
+Monday, June 2.--Woke up very cold. Our hut of pine boughs was not
+sufficient to keep us warm. So much snow on the mountains that we
+prospected the foot-hills and found what we thought were indications of
+mineral. At night read Romans, fourth chapter. Much encouraged by
+Abraham's faith. So cold I had to get my hat in the night and put it on
+my head to keep warm. Dreamed that I was at home with my precious wife.
+Tried to wake her up, but she was dead. What awful feelings!
+
+Tuesday, June 3.--A beautiful bright morning. Read Romans v. Partner
+wanted to go deer hunting with a pistol. Seemed to me so foolish I would
+not go. I stayed at camp and was very lonesome.
+
+Wednesday, June 4.--Bright, clear morning. Read Romans vi. Had our
+breakfast, bread, bacon, coffee and potatoes, early, so as to prospect
+on third mountain south of Horn's Peak. Started for the mountains. Went
+up above timber line. Ate lunch up there. Too much snow to go any
+higher. Found what we thought were indications of mineral. Saw a gray
+eagle sailing around. It looked very grand away up above that lonely
+mountain. Suppose its nest was near. In evening returned to camp very
+tired. Read Romans vii., and it did me a great deal of good.
+
+Thursday, June 5.--Clear morning. Prospected some around the foot-hills.
+Found nothing. Began to get disgusted with prospecting. Struck camp
+about ten or eleven o'clock A. M. Packed our burro and crossed valley
+about fifteen miles. Very hot crossing. Pack slipped out of place
+several times. Very troublesome. White got out of humor. Was inclined to
+quarrel, but I would not quarrel with him. After getting across the
+valley we had trouble finding a place to camp convenient to water, but
+found it at last. While we were unpacking a big rabbit jumped up. White
+fired three or four shots at him with his revolver. Followed him up the
+side of the mountain. At last he killed him. He came down the mountain
+swinging old Brer Rabbit, and I think he was as happy looking a man as I
+ever saw. No doubt a smile of satisfaction might have been seen on your
+Uncle Remus' face, too, when I saw that rabbit. That was the first thing
+in shape of fresh meat we had had for about ten days.
+
+    SUPPER--BILL OF FARE.
+
+    _Fried Rabbit,              Fried Bread,
+             Potatoes,    Coffee._
+
+After supper we raised a few poles and threw our blankets over them for
+shelter. Read Romans viii., and went to sleep, feeling satisfied that if
+I died before morning, I would wake up in heaven.
+
+Friday, June 6.--Bright morning. Fine appetite. Good breakfast. Read
+Romans ix. We moved from the foot-hills and went up into the mountain.
+White went prospecting while I built us a hut for the night. When he
+came back he said he had found some very good float. Very cold night.
+Our burro got loose in the night and made considerable noise moving
+around. We were sure it was a mountain lion, but, of course, we were not
+afraid. I had my hatchet under my head and he had his pistols. Of
+course, we were not afraid.
+
+Saturday, June 7.--Very cold morning. Prospected. Found a lode of black
+rock. Felt sure we had struck it rich. Dug a whole in the ground and
+staked a claim. Read Romans x, at night. Slept cold. Got to thinking.
+Thought it was easier to find a needle in a haystack than a paying mine
+in the Rocky mountains.
+
+Sunday, June 8.--Morning clear and bright. Owing to the disagreeable
+place in which we were camped, we thought our health justified us in
+moving even on the Lord's day. Found an old cabin. It was worse than any
+horse stable, but we cleaned it out. Made a bed of poles, which we cut
+and carried some distance. This was on the Pueblo and Rosita road.
+
+Monday, June 9.--Bright, cold morning. Ice on the spring branch. After
+breakfast we started prospecting. Found nothing, except another old
+deserted cabin of the Arkansaw Traveler's style. Returned to camp in the
+evening. Read Romans xii. and xiii. and slept like a prince.
+
+Tuesday, June 10--Another bright, clear, cold morning. We prospected
+some. Staked off a claim, more in fun than anything else, for we knew it
+was worth nothing. The locality is called Hardscrabble. And it was the
+right name. Our provisions had about given out, and it was a hard
+scrabble for us to get along. Concluded to return to Silver Cliff, go to
+work, get another grub stake, and take another fresh start. In the
+afternoon we rested. Read Romans xiv., xv. and xvi.
+
+Wednesday, June 11.--Another beautiful Colorado morning. Read 1 Cor., i.
+Started for Silver Cliff about 7:00 A. M. I carried White's pistol. On
+the way I killed two doves. Had them for dinner about 3:00 P. M. How
+sweet they did taste! Arrived at Silver Cliff about dark.
+
+Thursday, June 12.--Concluded the best thing I could do was to get home
+as soon as possible. We sold our burro for $15.00, and with my part
+($7.50) I started with a friend by the name of Hall for home. We got a
+cheap ride in a freight wagon from Silver Cliff to Pueblo. The country
+through which we passed is the wildest and grandest I ever saw anywhere
+in my life. Hardscrabble canon is one of the most picturesque in the
+world, and then the beautiful mountain stream all the way, winding like
+a serpent down the valley. We crossed and re-crossed it several times.
+That night we slept in the wagon. I never neglected praying any day
+while I was on the prospecting tour.
+
+Friday, June 13.--Arrived at Pueblo about 2:00 P. M. Had a little money.
+Got a bite to eat. At that time there was a railroad war. Men were
+killing each other for three dollars a day for corporations. The
+excitement about this, and the moving bodies of men all anxious for
+news, kept me from thinking of my condition till night. At night I went
+out to the commons, on the edge of the city, and, with other tramps,
+went to sleep on the cold ground.
+
+Saturday, June 14.--Had a little money. Some others of the tramps had a
+little. We pooled it, bought a little grub, and at 12:00 o'clock started
+on a tramp to Denver, a distance of about one hundred and twenty-five
+miles. I felt fresh and strong. We walked about six miles and slept on
+the ground at night.
+
+Sunday, June 15.--Got up early. Had a little breakfast. Started about
+6:00 A. M. Walked about three miles when, two of our party having such
+sore feet, we stopped. I had a voracious appetite. Went to cooking. We
+had some canned tomatoes and canned syrup. I cooked some tomatoes and
+ate them. Then I went to a ranch, bought a nickel's worth of milk, fried
+some cakes, ate them with the syrup, drank the milk and was--sick. Did
+not feel strong again all the time. I had had no experience in tramping
+and tried to carry too much luggage. My feet got sore. Every day's tramp
+after that was a drag. One of the party left us and went on ahead by
+himself. We never saw him again. Another was so broken down we had to
+leave him. Hall and I went on sick and tired. About dark we went up to
+the house of a ranchman, and I told him my story. He took us in. I found
+out he was a professing Christian. I read Romans vii., and prayed with
+the family. His name is John Irvine, El Paso, Colorado.
+
+Monday, June 16.--Left John Irvine's soon after breakfast. Walked five
+miles to a water-tank where the train had to stop for water. We waited
+till the train came along, and boarded her. The conductor did not see
+us till we had passed Colorado Springs some distance. When he did see
+us, I made the appeal of my life on account of myself and my friend,
+whose feet were so sore he could, with difficulty, hobble along. I told
+the conductor my own condition, and of my anxiety to get home to a
+suffering family. When I saw he would not believe what I said, I offered
+him my pocket-knife, a very fine and costly one, to let us ride a short
+distance further, but he was like a stone. At the next stop he put us
+off without a cent of money or a bite to eat. We walked about six miles,
+lay down on the ground, with the sky for a covering, and slept like
+logs.
+
+Tuesday, June 17.--We started about daybreak, without anything to eat.
+Walked about eight miles to a little place called Sedalia. Saw a German
+boarding house. Sent Hall in to see if we could get anything to eat. Had
+no money, but told him to tell her I would give her a butcher-knife and
+a silver teaspoon, which I had brought from home, for something to eat.
+
+She said to him so I could hear her: "Breakfast is over, but I will give
+you what I have." That was enough for me. In I went. Sat down to a real
+German lunch, and never did a breakfast taste sweeter to me than that.
+God bless that good old German woman, not only for her good breakfast,
+but for her kind, motherly words to two strangers in want. It taught me
+a lesson which I have not forgotten yet, and I pray God I never may.
+
+I left Sedalia feeling comfortable. Walked about four miles. Hall was
+about done. He could go no further. While we were sitting there, a
+Christian man by the name of Jennings came along, took pity on us, took
+us in his wagon, gave us something to eat and brought us to Denver. We
+arrived there about 6:00 P. M., without one cent, nothing to eat, no
+place to go. Slept that night in a stable-yard under Jennings' wagon.
+
+Wednesday, June 18.--Got up next morning about daybreak. Had a little
+cold breakfast with Jennings. Knocked about town a little. Had a baker's
+blackberry pie and a cup of water for dinner.
+
+Here the diary of the prospecting tour and the tramp to Denver ends.
+
+Mr. Holcombe continued the next day to knock about town, not knowing
+what to do, when his old friend, Frank Jones, by nature one of the
+kindest-hearted men in the world, chanced to meet him and insisted on
+sharing his room with him. As his friend Jones, however, was himself
+broke, he could render Mr. Holcombe no further assistance and it was
+necessary for Mr. Holcombe to look about for something to do. He spent a
+week in this occupation, or want of occupation, and at the end of that
+time found employment in a brickyard. But the work was so hard, at the
+end of three weeks, he had to give it up. After some time what little
+money he had was expended and again he was destitute. And at one time he
+was so pressed that he went into a grocery store and offered his fine
+pocket-knife again for something to eat, but it was refused. Several
+times he passed the Young Men's Christian Association rooms. Each time
+he stopped, looked wistfully in and debated with himself whether they
+would probably believe him and help him if he ventured to go in and
+make his condition known. But he had never been used to asking favors,
+and he did not know how to approach Christian people, and so his heart
+failed him.
+
+At that time and in that condition he was assailed by a sore temptation.
+The devil, he says, suggested these thoughts to him: "This is a fine
+condition for Steve Holcombe to be in. Before you heard of God and this
+religion, you could stop at first-class hotels, wear fine clothes, live
+like a gentleman, have a good home and all that money could buy for your
+family. Now, you say you are serving God. You say He is your father and
+that He owns everything in the world. Yet here you are without food and
+clothing and your family is at home in want. You have not enough to buy
+a meal for them or for yourself. Can you afford to trust and serve such
+a master as that?"
+
+But he had not been serving God two years and more for naught. He had
+learned some things in that time. One of them was that trials and
+privations are a part of the Christian's heritage, and that if any man
+will live godly in this present world, he must expect to suffer. So his
+reply was ready and he met the temptation with decision. "Yea, and
+though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." And the sequel will show
+whether he made a mistake in trusting Him.
+
+When he saw it was useless for him to remain longer away from home, he
+informed his friend, Mr. Jones, of his purpose to leave at once for
+Louisville. Mr. Jones got him money enough to buy a ticket to Kansas
+City, and there the great temperance lecturer, Francis Murphy, having
+found out his character and condition, gave him enough to get home.
+
+Whether God can or not, at any rate He does not pour wisdom into a man
+as we pour water into a bottle. He does not so favor even His own
+children, if favor it could be called. But He gives a man opportunities
+of self-discipline, and if, aided by His divine help and grace, the man
+is willing to go through the process, he comes out with larger knowledge
+and better equipment for life and service and usefulness.
+
+Without the experiences and lessons of this Colorado trip, Mr. Holcombe
+could not have been the efficient man he is to-day. That season of
+loneliness and self-searching and severe testing and humiliation was to
+him, though a painful, yet a helpful, and perhaps necessary, stage in
+his Christian life.
+
+Indeed, all the trying experiences that had come to him since his
+conversion were helpful to him in one way or another. He needed to learn
+patience, he needed to learn economy, he needed to learn self-control.
+The disposition to practice all these was given him at the time of his
+conversion, he needed now to be put to the test and to "learn obedience,
+practically, by the things which he suffered." Moreover, if he was to
+serve efficiently the poor and the tempted, he needed to become
+acquainted with their condition, their sorrows, their conflicts, by
+passing through them himself.
+
+The endurance of the evils which give occasion for the exercise of
+self-denial and for the acquisition of self-control is a far less evil
+than the want of self-denial and of self-control. So Mr. Holcombe was
+willing to suffer all these things rather than to decline them and be
+without the blessing which comes through them. This reflection justified
+his past sufferings and prepared him for any that might come in the
+future. He knew what he had been and he had learned that he was to be
+purified by fire. So he felt that if God would be patient with him, he
+would be patient with God's dealings. When he arrived at home he found
+his family in a very needy condition. Shortly after his departure for
+Colorado, his wife had to remove from the house she was occupying,
+because she could not pay the rent. She had never taken care of herself
+before or done any sort of work, for he always provided well for his
+family; but now she saw it was necessary for her to support the family.
+Accordingly, she took in sewing, and in that way did support them till
+Mr. Holcombe's return. For six weeks after his return he could find
+nothing to do, and Mrs. Holcombe, brave, noble woman, continued to
+support the family with her needle. The time of her full deliverance was
+coming, but it was not yet. Nor did she know when it would come, or that
+it would ever come. But all the same she waited, and while she waited,
+she served, and with a glad heart, too, for had not her husband turned
+his face heavenward? And poverty seemed now a small thing.
+
+Some time after Mr. Holcombe's return, his friend, Major Ed Hughes, was
+elected Chief of the Fire Department in Louisville, and he made
+application to him at once for a position. Major Hughes gave it to him
+unhesitatingly; but, as Mr. Holcombe was entirely without experience, it
+had to be a subordinate one, in which the salary was not large, being
+only a dollar and a half per day. It was impossible for him to support
+his family on so little, and though Mrs. Holcombe undertook to help him
+out by keeping boarders and doing all the work herself, they got
+behind all the time he was in the fire department. Finding that keeping
+boarders after Mrs. Holcombe's liberal fashion was entirely
+unprofitable, she gave that up and commenced taking in sewing again. She
+even learned to make coats for clothing stores in Louisville, and
+continued that for some time.
+
+[Illustration: ENGINE HOUSE.]
+
+Meanwhile, he was having a hard time in his subordinate position in the
+fire department. In the first place he was required to be at the
+engine-house night and day and Sundays, with the bare exception of a
+half hour or such a matter at meal time. For a man of his nature and
+habits this confinement was almost intolerable, and would have been
+quite so, if he had not been radically changed. In the second place he
+was subject to the orders of his superiors, though he had never been
+obliged to obey anybody, and as a matter of fact never had obeyed
+anybody since he was a mere infant. In the third place, notwithstanding
+his experience, his knowledge of the world and his capacity for higher
+work, he was required to do work which a well-trained idiot might have
+done just as well. One of his duties was to rub the engine and keep it
+polished. In order to clean some parts of it, he would have to lie down
+on the floor under it flat on his back; and in order to clean other more
+delicate parts of the machinery, he had to work in such places that he
+was always bruising and skinning his hands.
+
+If repeated failure in business in Louisville was hard, if starving in
+Colorado was harder, the confinement and drudgery of his position at the
+engine-house were hardest. It would require some effort to think of a
+position more thoroughly disagreeable and trying than this one which Mr.
+Holcombe filled to the satisfaction of his superiors for two mortal
+years. But he was learning some things he needed to know. He was passing
+through a necessary apprenticeship, though he did not know it, for
+something vastly higher. It perhaps should be added that Mr. Holcombe
+was practically isolated and alone at the engine-house, for none of the
+men there employed were congenial companions. However, to their credit,
+be it said, they showed great respect for him and for his Christian
+profession; they quit gambling, they refrained from using obscene or
+profane language in his presence, and, in general, were very kind to
+him.
+
+Nothing could lessen Mr. Holcombe's sympathy for the outcast and the
+lost, and nothing destroy his zeal for their salvation. Though he was
+not allowed to leave his post even on Sunday, without hiring, at his own
+expense, a substitute, yet he frequently went to Shippingsport and other
+places to hold services among the poor "with the hope," as he says, "of
+helping and blessing them." He incurred the expense of a substitute that
+he might, once in awhile, go out bearing light and blessing to others,
+and he even took to his own home men who were trying to reform and live
+better lives. In view of the condition of his family, this was doubtless
+more than he ought to have done, and in after years he saw it was a
+mistake, but such was his insatiable longing to help and bless others,
+he let his zeal, perhaps, go beyond his prudence in that single
+particular. Most of us err very far on the other side. He did not
+hesitate to take to his home in some instances men who had gone in
+their dissipation to the extent of delirium tremens. One such case was
+that of a fine young fellow who belonged to an excellent family in
+Louisville, but who through drink had gone down, down, down, until he
+had struck bottom. During his drinking sprees he was the most forlorn
+and wretched looking man in Louisville. He was at this time, by Mr.
+Holcombe's invitation, staying at his house. He ate there, he slept
+there; it was his home. But on one occasion, some time after midnight,
+he was attacked with a frightful spell of delirium tremens, or, as he
+said, the devils got after him. They told him, he said, that if he did
+not kill Mr. and Mrs. Holcombe and their baby, they would kill him. He
+heard them. They told him to go and get his razor, and he did it. Then
+they advanced on him and he backed from them, his razor in hand. As they
+advanced he retreated. He opened Mr. Holcombe's door (for he had hired a
+substitute and remained at home on the night in question in order to
+help his man through his spell). He backed to the bed in which Mr. and
+Mrs. Holcombe were sleeping. He struck the bed as he retreated from the
+devils, and Mrs. Holcombe awoke to find a demonized man standing over
+them with a drawn razor. She woke her husband. He jumped out of bed,
+caught the man's arm and took the razor from him. After that Mr.
+Holcombe sat up with him the remainder of the night, and during most of
+the time the man was talking to imaginary devils. About daylight he
+snatched up a brickbat out of the hearth and rushed toward the door
+saying there were three big men out there who had come to kill him. Mr.
+Holcombe kept him with himself all next day. The next night while they
+were walking together in the open air, the man imagined that a woman
+whom he knew to be dead was choking him to death, and he was on the
+point of dying with suffocation when Mr. Holcombe called a physician to
+his aid.
+
+Such was the kind of men Mr. Holcombe, even in those days of poverty and
+discouragement, was trying to help and rescue, and such were his efforts
+and trials and perils in rescuing them.
+
+When Mr. Holcombe's pastor saw the grace of God that abounded in him, it
+was plain to him that he might, in future, when a suitable opening
+should come, make a very useful helper in the work of the church. In
+order, therefore, that Mr. Holcombe might be prepared for an enlarged
+sphere, if it should ever come, the pastor proposed to teach him in
+certain lines and did so, visiting him regularly at the engine house for
+that purpose. Mr. Holcombe studied very industriously, but it was with
+extreme difficulty that he could apply himself to books at that time.
+Later, however, he overcame to a great extent this difficulty and has
+gotten now to be quite a student. He has attended also, for two years,
+with great profit, the lectures of Dr. Broadus in the Baptist Seminary
+in Louisville.
+
+As has been said elsewhere, Mr. Holcombe remained in the fire department
+for two years, enduring the confinement, performing the drudgery and
+trying, as best he could, to help and bless others. Four years and more
+had now elapsed since his conversion. It was a long stretch and at times
+a heavy strain. But he endured it, and grew strong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+The time had now come for such an extraordinary career and such an
+extraordinary man to be recognized, and he was. He had made an
+impression and his work, humble as it was, had made an impression.
+Moreover, Mr. Holcombe himself was now growing impatient to get into a
+position more favorable to his usefulness. It was not the selfish
+impatience that could not longer endure the humiliation and manifold
+disagreeablenesses of his position at the engine house. He had overcome
+all that. It was the noble impatience of love and zeal. Oh, how he did
+long to get into a place where he could help somebody and serve somebody
+and love somebody.
+
+He had been very kindly treated by his old friends, the gamblers, during
+all this time; and though he was loath to allow it and at first declined
+it, yet fearing lest his refusal might alienate them, he had, more than
+once, accepted substantial help from one or two particular friends among
+them. Encouraged by assurances from some of these and by the promise of
+all the help his pastor could possibly give him, financially and
+otherwise, he had made up his mind to rent a room in the central part of
+the city and to open a meeting for the outcast classes. But on the very
+day when he was engaged in making these arrangements, his remarkable
+conversion and character and career were the subject of discussion at
+the Methodist Ministers' meeting. The result was that before the week
+had passed, the Rev. Jas. C. Morris, pastor of the Walnut-street
+Methodist church, visited him at the engine-house and informed him that
+the Official Board of his church had authorized him to take measures for
+the establishment of a mission in the central part of the city and to
+employ Mr. Holcombe to take charge of it at an assured salary sufficient
+to meet the wants of his family. He at once accepted it as a call from
+God and gave up his position in the fire department, with no great
+degree of reluctance.
+
+A vacant store in the Tyler Block, on Jefferson street between Third and
+Fourth, was offered free of rent. Regular noon-day meetings were held
+there in charge of Rev. Mr. Morris and Mr. Holcombe. It was a
+phenomenon. Within two blocks of the two faro banks which Steve Holcombe
+used to own and run, he was now every day at high noon declaring the
+Gospel of the grace of God. The people came to see and hear. They found
+it was no mushroom fanatic, but a man who for forty years was a leader
+in wickedness and for four years had been almost a pattern of
+righteousness. He spoke no hot words of excitement, but narrated facts
+with truth and soberness. Many of his old time friends, the gamblers,
+their timidity overcome by their curiosity, joined the crowd and heard
+the man. Poor drunkards, too far gone for timidity or curiosity, dragged
+themselves to the place where the famous gambler was telling about his
+conversion and his new life. And the power of God was present to heal,
+and great grace was upon them all. Among those who were saved at that
+time and place were Mr. Ben Harney, son of the distinguished editor of
+the old _Louisville Democrat_, who lives again in happiness and
+prosperity with his beloved family, and Mr. D. C. Chaudoin, at one time
+a Main-street merchant, who remained faithful until death.
+
+When the supporters of the movement saw that it promised so much, they
+took steps at once to make larger provision for it and to secure its
+permanence. They sought a suitable house in a convenient place, and
+finally decided to take the room at No. 436 Jefferson street, between
+Fourth and Fifth streets, which had formerly been used as a
+gambling-house. Mr. Holcombe took possession of it, and found some of
+the gambling implements still there. A Board of Managers was elected,
+consisting of John L. Wheat, James G. Carter, P. H. Tapp, C. P. Atmore
+and George W. Wicks. Some friends from the Walnut-street church and
+others volunteered as singers; the room was supplied with hymn-books, an
+organ was secured, and the meetings commenced under the most promising
+circumstances. At first, meetings were held three nights in the week,
+and the attendance was large. Soon after, meetings were held every night
+and on Sundays. People of all classes came. The services consisted of
+singing, prayers, reading of Scripture, a short, earnest address from
+Mr. Holcombe, and sometimes testimonies from the men who had been helped
+and saved--among whom were drunkards, gamblers, pick-pockets, thieves,
+burglars, tramps, men who had fallen from high positions in business and
+social circles, and in short, men of all classes and kinds. Many of
+these gave unquestionable proofs of conversion, "of whom the greater
+part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep," faithful
+unto death. Among those who were converted during that period were
+Robert Denny, Fred Ropke, Captain B. F. Davidson and Charles Wilson,
+whose testimonies will be found elsewhere in this book--besides others,
+some of whom are residents of Louisville and some of other places.
+
+By request, the Rev. James C. Morris, D. D., now of Kansas City, Mo.,
+has written a brief account of Mr. Holcombe's work from the beginning to
+the point which we have now reached in this narrative. And, as no part
+of it can well be omitted or changed for the better, it is here
+introduced entire, with a part of the genial letter which accompanied
+it:
+
+    "KANSAS CITY, MO., August 14, 1888.
+
+    "_My Dear Brother_:
+
+    "I inclose the notes for which you ask. You see they are in a
+    crude state. But do not judge from that that I have no interest
+    in the work you have in hand. My Father in heaven knows I keep
+    it very near my heart. I felt it would be sufficient for me to
+    furnish you the matter in a crude state, and let you work it
+    into your plan rather than give it any literary shape myself.
+    Besides, I am pressed, pressed to my utmost, and I therefore
+    send you this imperfect sketch with an apology. I am glad you
+    are doing the work. It will surely do good. Brother Holcombe's
+    work ought to be known. I wish in my heart of hearts that every
+    city and town had such a man in it to work for God and souls.
+    Praying God to bless you and your work, I am,
+
+    "Yours affectionately,
+
+    "JAMES C. MORRIS."
+
+"In the year 1881, while I was pastor of the Walnut-street Methodist
+church, in Louisville, Ky., I heard of Steve Holcombe, the converted
+gambler; of his remarkable career; of his remarkable conversion, and of
+his unusual devotion and zeal in the cause of religion. I heard also of
+his efforts in the line of Christian work and of his desire for better
+opportunities. I mentioned his case to the Official Board of the
+Walnut-street church, and suggested that he might be usefully employed
+by our churches in the city in doing missionary work. The matter was
+kindly received, but the suggestion took no practical shape. As I walked
+home from the meeting one of the stewards said to me: 'Why could not we,
+of the Walnut-street church, employ Brother Holcombe ourselves?' This
+question put me upon a course of thought about the work we might be able
+to do, and at the next meeting of the Board I made the suggestion that
+we organize some work of the kind and employ Brother Holcombe to take
+charge of it. They unanimously accepted the suggestion and directed me
+to investigate the case. If anything could be done, they were ready to
+enter upon the work and support it. I lost no time in seeing Brother
+Holcombe. He was then employed at the engine-house, on Portland avenue.
+I found him rubbing the engine. It took but a moment to introduce
+myself, and in a short time we were up-stairs, alone, talking about
+religion and work for Christ. He told me how his heart was drawn out in
+solicitude for the classes who never attended church--the gamblers,
+drunkards and the like. It was easy to see that the movement
+contemplated was of God. We talked and rejoiced together; we knelt down
+and prayed together for God's guidance in all our plans and
+undertakings. I then told him how I came to call on him, and laid before
+him our plan. His eyes filled with tears--tears of joy--at the thought
+of having an opportunity to do the work that was on his heart.
+
+"At once I reported to the Board, and recommended that Brother Holcombe
+be at once employed and the work set on foot without delay. God breathed
+on them the same spirit that he had breathed on us together at the
+engine-house. With unanimity and enthusiasm they entered into the plan
+and pledged their support. They fixed his salary at nine hundred dollars
+a year and authorized me to do all that was necessary to carry the plan
+into effect.
+
+"Early the next morning Brother Holcombe gave up his place at the
+engine-house, and we went out to look for a house in which to domicile
+our work. I can never forget that day. What joy there was in that heart
+that had waited so long and prayed so fervently for an open door of
+opportunity. Now the door was opened wide, and a song was put in his
+heart and in his mouth. We walked miles to find a suitable place, while
+we talked much by the way as our hearts burned within us.
+
+"At length we found a vacant storeroom on Jefferson street, between
+Third and Fourth, and as we looked in the window, we said: 'This
+would make a grand place to begin in.' We went to see Mr. Isaac Tyler,
+the owner, and he gave us a favorable answer and the key. The next day
+we began a meeting which continued through three months. And who can
+write the history of that work? Only the All-seeing God; and He has the
+record of it in His book. We had a noon-day service every day, except
+Sunday, and a Saturday evening service every week.
+
+"The services were advertised and men stationed at the door invited the
+passer-by to come in. At the meetings all classes of men were
+represented. There were strong, wise, honorable business-men and there
+were tramps and drunkards with all the classes that lie between these
+two. No man was slighted. Many a man was brought in who was too drunk to
+sit alone in his seat. Many were there who had not slept in a bed for
+months. There were gamblers and drunkards and outcast men from every
+quarter of the city. The gathering looked more like that in the police
+courts of a great city on Monday morning than like a religious meeting.
+The workers did literally go out into the highways and into the lowways
+and compel them to come in. And marvelous things took place there.
+
+"Steve Holcombe was known all over the city, and such a work done by
+such a man who had lately been a noted gambler in the community drew men
+who, for years, had had no thought of attending church. The old
+companions of his worldly life came, the worst elements of the city
+came, good men from all the churches came. Brother Holcombe was in his
+element. His soul was as free to the work as that of an Apostle. Daily
+he trod the streets inviting people to come, and daily, as they came, he
+spoke words of deep feeling to them, urging them to be saved. No man
+ever had a more respectful hearing than he had. No man ever devoted
+himself more fully in the spirit of the Master to doing men good than
+did he. His devotion to the poor outcast who showed any willingness to
+listen or any wish to be saved was as marvelous as his own conversion. I
+never saw such in any other worker for Christ.
+
+"In the progress of the work we often spoke of keeping a record of those
+who professed conversion there. I am sorry it was not done. Hardly a day
+passed without some case of exceptional interest. Men were saved who had
+been for years in the very lowest stages of dissipation and vagrancy.
+Not a few of those who were thus saved were men who had belonged to the
+very best social, and business circles of the city. Many of them are
+bright and blessed lights in Christian circles to-day. Many homes were
+built up out of wrecks where only ashes and tears remained. Many
+scattered families were brought together after long separation. God only
+knows the results of that three months' work. I remember some
+conversions that were as marvelous as that of Saul of Tarsus. I could
+tell of some of them but perhaps this is not the place.
+
+"This meeting in the Tyler block was a feature of a meeting which was in
+progress at the Walnut-street church and to this it was tributary. In
+the evening those who had been reached by the services at the mission
+were invited to the church. They were largely of a class not often seen
+in the church but they came, and when they came the church welcomed
+them.
+
+"Then there was rejoicing in the presence of the angels, for many
+sinners were repenting and returning. I saw the Gospel net dragged to
+the shore enclosing fish that no one would have been willing to take out
+of the net except Steve Holcombe. But it is far different with them
+to-day. Changed by the power of God, these repulsive creatures are
+honored members of the various churches, heads of happy families and
+respected and useful citizens of the community.
+
+"At the end of three months the meetings in the storeroom were
+discontinued. Mr. Holcombe had won thousands of friends, hundreds had
+been put in the way of a new life and the whole city was in sympathy
+with the work.
+
+"We were now to select and secure a suitable place for the permanent
+home of the mission. Another search brought us to the room on the south
+side of Jefferson between Fourth and Fifth streets, No. 436. It had been
+occupied as a gambling room, and the gambling apparatus was still there
+when we took possession of it. In a few days the house was fitted up and
+the 'Gospel-Mission' was opened.
+
+"The work was now thoroughly organized. There was, in addition to the
+regular services, a Sunday-school for the children whose parents never
+went to church. Colonel C. P. Atmore was superintendent. The 'Industrial
+School' also was organized, where Christian women taught the girls to
+sew, furnishing them the materials and giving them the finished
+garments. It is especially worthy of remark that the old associates of
+Mr. Holcombe, the gamblers, contributed more than $500 toward the
+expenses of this work.
+
+"This house became an open home for any weary, foot-sore wanderer who
+was willing to come in, and through the years many were the hearts made
+happy in a new life.
+
+"The year following the organization of the work, Rev. Sam P. Jones
+conducted a meeting at the Walnut-street church, and his heart was
+strangely drawn to that mission. He himself conducted many services
+there and he was more impressed with the character of the work and of
+the man who was in charge of it than with any Christian work he had ever
+seen. During this meeting of Mr. Jones a programme of street-preaching
+was carried out by Mr. Holcombe and his fellow-workers. Mr. Holcombe
+himself preached several times on the courthouse steps, and, even in the
+midst of the tumult, souls were converted to God."
+
+This is the end of Dr. Morris' account of the beginnings of Mr.
+Holcombe's work, though the reader will probably wish it were longer,
+and even more circumstantial.
+
+Mr. Holcombe's family lived in the same building, over the mission room,
+and whenever men in need or distress applied, he gave them board and
+lodging. Mrs. Holcombe says that for three months they had never less
+than twenty men eating two meals a day. Of course, among so many there
+were, doubtless, some imposters, but it took a pretty keen man to play
+imposter without being spotted by the keen man who was in charge of the
+enterprise. Mr. Holcombe had mixed with men long enough to know them. He
+had spent most of his life among bad men. He had studied their ways and
+he knew their tricks. And it is not necessary to say to the reader who
+has perused the foregoing pages, that Mr. Holcombe was not afraid of any
+man. His former experience in sin and his former association with
+sinners of every sort led him to see that it was necessary for him
+rigidly to protect the work he was now engaged in and he determined to
+do so. Men would come into the meetings, sometimes, in a state of
+intoxication; sometimes lewd fellows of the baser sort would come in for
+the purpose of interrupting the service and still others for other
+purposes; but when Mr. Holcombe had put a few of them out, they saw that
+this man in getting religion had lost neither common sense nor courage,
+and that Steve Holcombe, the converted gambler, was not a man to be
+fooled with any more than Steve Holcombe, the unconverted gambler; so
+that all such interruptions soon ceased. But nobody should get the
+impression that Mr. Holcombe was harsh or unsympathetic. On the
+contrary, he is one of the most tenderhearted of men, and few men living
+would go farther, do more or make greater sacrifices to save a drunkard
+or a gambler or an outcast of any sort, than Steve Holcombe. For days he
+has gone without meat for himself and his family that he might have
+something to help a poor drunkard who was trying to reform. Indeed, his
+pitying love for wretched men and women of every class and degree,
+manifested in his efforts to look them up and to do them good in any
+possible way, is the chief secret of his wonderful success in dealing
+with hardened and apparently inaccessible cases. The following account
+of his last and perhaps most desperate case is taken from one of the
+Louisville daily papers and will illustrate what has been said:
+
+[Illustration: JAMES WILLIAMS AS HE WAS.]
+
+
+    DRUNK TWENTY-THREE YEARS.
+
+    REMARKABLE STORY OF "WHISKY JIM'S" WASTED LIFE AND FINAL
+    CONVERSION. HOW THE WORK WAS EFFECTED.
+
+The work that Steve Holcombe is doing is well known, in a general way,
+but the public understand but little of the wonderful good that man is
+doing. The reformations he has brought about may be numbered by the
+hundred, and the drunkards he has reclaimed would make a regiment.
+
+But of all the wonderful and truly startling examples of what Mr.
+Holcombe is doing, the case of James Williams is the climax. Williams
+has been known for years as "Whisky Jim" and "Old Hoss," and there is
+not a more familiar character in the city. Until the last two or three
+weeks no man in Louisville ever remembers to have seen Jim free from the
+influence of liquor. He was always drunk, and was looked upon as an
+absolutely hopeless case, that would be able to stand the terrible life
+he was leading but a year or two longer.
+
+The story of his life and reformation as related to a _Times_ reporter
+is very interesting. He had asked Mr. Holcombe when his protege could be
+seen, and was told at nine o'clock at the mission. Williams was seen
+coming up the steps, his face clean shaven, his eyes bright and his gait
+steady. Mr. Holcombe said: "There he is now, God bless him; I could just
+kiss him. I knew he'd be here. One thing I've learned about Jim is, that
+he is an honest man, and another is that he will not tell a lie. I feel
+that I can trust him. He has had the hardest struggle to overcome the
+drinking habit I ever saw, and I feel sure that he has gained the
+victory. I began on him quietly about one month ago and got him to
+attend our meetings. But here he is." The reporter was introduced, and
+Mr. Williams readily consented to tell anything concerning himself that
+would be of interest to the public and calculated to do good in the
+cause of temperance. He said: "I was born in Paducah, Ky., and am
+forty-eight years old. My father's name was Rufus A. Williams. While a
+boy I was sent to school, and picked up a little education. I was put at
+work in a tobacco manufactory, and am a tobacco-twister by trade. My
+father died when I was nine years old, after which our family consisted
+of my mother, now seventy-five years of age, my sister and myself. We
+now live on the east side of Floyd street, near Market. Shortly after I
+grew up I found work on the river and have been employed on nearly every
+boat between Louisville and New Orleans. That is what downed me. I began
+to drink little by little, and the appetite and habit began to grow on
+me until I gave up all idea of resistance. Up to yesterday a week ago, I
+can truthfully say that I have been drunk twenty-three years, day and
+night.
+
+"In 1862 I got a job on the 'Science,' Number 2, a little Government
+boat running the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. Coming down the Cumberland
+on one trip I was too sick to work, and the boat put me ashore about
+twenty miles above Clarksville. The woods where I was dumped out were
+full of guerrillas, but I managed to secure a little canoe in which I
+paddled down to Clarksville. There I sold it for three dollars and with
+the small sum I had already I came to this city, where we were then
+living. I then drank up every cent I could rake and scrape. I could get
+all sorts of work, but could keep no job because I couldn't keep sober.
+I finally depended on getting odd jobs along the river front, such as
+loading and unloading freight, etc. But the work was so hard I could
+scarcely do it, and finally I had to give that up, especially after
+falling and breaking my leg while at work on the old 'United States'
+several years ago. That accident laid me up in the Marine Hospital for
+several months, and just as I felt able to get out I broke the same leg
+again at the same place. After recovering I yielded entirely to the
+appetite for strong drink and cared for nothing else. As I say, for
+twenty-three years I have not known what it is to be sober until a few
+days ago.
+
+"For the past six years I have earned my drinks and some free lunch by
+picking up old boxes and barrel staves which I would dispose of to the
+saloon-keepers along the river front who knew me. I did not often ask
+any one for money with which to buy whisky, for I could always earn it
+in this manner. I usually slept at my mother's house. As to eating I did
+not eat much and was getting so I could scarcely eat at all. I am
+getting over that now, and have a good appetite, as Mr. Holcombe can
+testify.
+
+"Well, about one month ago Mr. Holcombe came to me and gave me a little
+talk. He did not say much, but he set me to thinking as far as I was
+capable of thinking. He saw me the second time, and then several times.
+Of course, I was always drunk but I understood him. Finally he said
+to me 'Jim, if you're bound to have whisky, come around to the Mission
+and let me give it to you.' I promised him I'd come around, and I did
+so, for I wanted some o' the liquor. After I had gone around several
+times and he had given me a few drinks, not to make me drunk, of course,
+but to help me get sober, if possible; he invited me to go in and attend
+the religious services. I did so and he invited me to come again, which
+I did. At last he insisted that I should take my meals at the mission,
+and I have been doing so for some days. Finally I made up my mind to
+quit drinking altogether, and I intend to stick to the pledge I have
+taken. I was full last Sunday week for the last time. I was trying to
+taper off then, but a saloon-keeper on Market, just below Jackson,
+knowing my condition and knowing that I was trying to quit, gave me a
+bucket of bock beer. I knew he meant no good to me, but I couldn't help
+drinking it. Other saloon-keepers have been trying to get me to drink
+again, and I think they are trying to get me to do a great wrong.
+
+"I went to church yesterday for the first time since I was a boy. Heard
+Dr. Eaton preach.
+
+"My poor old mother is greatly rejoiced at the change in me, for I have
+given her a great deal of torment and misery. As soon as the Murphy
+meetings are over Mr. Holcombe and I will spend a couple of weeks at
+French Lick Springs."
+
+[Illustration: JAMES WILLIAMS, AS HE IS]
+
+During this period, when the mission occupied rooms at No. 436 Jefferson
+street, the meetings were not confined to that single place, but
+services were held in other parts of the city, on the streets and even
+on the courthouse steps. Many strangers, as well as citizens of
+Louisville, attended these, and some were so powerfully impressed that
+after going away to their distant homes they wrote back to Mr. Holcombe
+acknowledging the good they had received, and in some instances giving
+an account of their conviction, repentance and conversion. The Holcombe
+Mission became one of the "sights" of the city, so that strangers
+visiting the city would look it up and attend services there.
+
+In 1884 a new feature was added which, in turn, added much to the
+efficiency and usefulness of the mission. It was suggested by the sight
+of the poorly clad children who attended the mission with their parents,
+and who seemed willing and anxious themselves to do better and be
+better. This new feature was the Industrial School, an account of the
+origin, history and methods of which is furnished by Mrs. Clark, the
+Superintendent. A Sunday-school was organized also, with C. P. Atmore,
+Esq., as Superintendent, and some of the most earnest Christian people
+of the city as teachers and helpers. A little later the Kindergarten was
+also organized and is now in successful operation.
+
+[Illustration: THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 1. CUTTING GARMENTS. 2. BOYS
+MAKING CARPETS. 3. GIRLS SEWING.]
+
+
+THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND THE KINDERGARTEN.
+
+In order to enlarge the mission work and better reach the homes of the
+needy, both spiritually and temporally, the Union Gospel Industrial
+School was opened in April, 1884, with six little girls and three
+teachers in attendance. In May following it was formally organized as
+The Union Gospel Mission Industrial School with
+
+    Mrs. J. R. Clark, Superintendent;
+    Mrs. L. G. Herndon, Assistant Superintendent;
+    Miss Ella Downing, Secretary;
+    Miss Ella Harding, Treasurer.
+
+In June, 1884, it closed for the summer with twenty-two pupils and five
+teachers. In September following it opened for the fall and winter term
+with the same teachers and a small increase in the number of pupils, all
+from the neglected classes. The school was organized in the old mission
+room, at No. 436 Jefferson street, between Fourth and Fifth, and
+continued there for three winters. The children came, however, from all
+parts of the city, some of them from garrets and cellars. Their ages
+ranged from five to eighteen years.
+
+In May, 1886, the school was removed to its present spacious rooms in
+the Union Gospel Mission building on Jefferson street, above First. The
+work has steadily increased, each year bringing in a larger number of
+the neglected children. Those who come are so interested and benefited,
+they become missionaries, so to speak, to other poor and neglected
+children. There is one class of girls, however, who are not
+charity-scholars, but come for the purpose of learning to sew. Their
+work is done, not for themselves, but for the younger children of the
+poorer class who are not yet old enough to sew. For this reason, the
+class just mentioned is called The Missionary Class, and it is one of
+which the school is justly proud. They not only do their work for
+others, they do good in other ways and in general exert a good influence
+over the other children who are less fortunate.
+
+The children are first taught all the different stitches that are used
+in sewing. Then work is cut out for them by a committee of ladies who
+attend for that purpose, and the children are taught to make all kinds
+of garments. When the garment is completed and passes examination, it is
+given to the child who made it.
+
+There is a class of boys, sixty in number, ranging from five to twelve
+years of age. These are first taught to sew on buttons and to mend rents
+in their own clothes and then other things follow. They are at present
+engaged in making a carpet for Mr. Holcombe's office. The teachers in
+charge of them endeavor to train them to habits of industry,
+self-reliance, cleanliness, truthfulness, etc. Some of the boys are very
+bright and promising and some of them seem hopelessly cowed and broken.
+Their histories would, doubtless, be full of pathos and of pain, if they
+were known.
+
+The school meets every Saturday morning at 9:15. The opening services
+consist of--
+
+1. Singing (Gospel Hymns).
+
+2. Responsive recitation of a Psalm, or the Beatitudes or the Ten
+Commandments.
+
+3. Prayer.
+
+4. Distribution of work-baskets.
+
+The sewing continues for one hour and a half, then, at the tap of the
+bell, the work is folded nicely, replaced in the basket and taken to
+another room. The children then return to the large room and join in the
+closing exercises, which consist of--
+
+5. Singing.
+
+6. Repeating of Scripture texts, each teacher and child repeating a
+verse; or this is sometimes replaced with a chalk-talk, sometimes with a
+short address on the Sunday-school lesson for the following Sunday,
+sometimes with a short earnest appeal to the children by some visitor
+who is known to be an effective speaker for such occasions.
+
+7. The Lord's Prayer is recited in concert.
+
+8. Dismissal.
+
+The teachers, besides instructing the children in the art of sewing,
+converse with them on pleasant and profitable topics and upon the
+subject of religion in seasonable times and ways.
+
+Quite a number of families have been brought under Christian influence
+through the pupils of the Industrial School. Several parents as well as
+children have been converted. Mr. Robert Denny, the account of whose
+conversion is given by himself in another part of this volume, was
+induced to attend the meetings of the Holcombe Mission by what his
+children told him of the things they learned at the Industrial School.
+One of the members of the first class of six and her mother are now
+acceptable members of the First Presbyterian church. The daughter has
+become an artist and is employed in retouching pictures in one of the
+city photograph galleries. Three or four of the girls connected with the
+school have died. Two of them, one aged twelve and the other fourteen,
+gave every evidence of being Christians. One of these when asked when
+she learned to love God and to pray, answered, "At the sewing school;
+Jesus is always there."
+
+Many when they began to attend did not even know the little prayer
+beginning:
+
+    "Now I lay me down to sleep."
+
+The ignorance of these poor children led the superintendent to open a
+"Mothers' Meeting," for the mothers of these children and any others who
+might wish to attend. The results have been wonderful. So many homes
+have become changed, and are now neat, clean, orderly and happy. In the
+rounds of the superintendent's visits she found a very sick woman who
+said to her:
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad you have come, Mrs. Clark. I want you to pray with me."
+
+Mrs. Clark said, "Can't you pray yourself?"
+
+She replied, "I don't know what to say. I did not know 'Now I lay me
+down to sleep,' till my little Jennie learned it at the sewing school,
+and I learned it from her."
+
+"But can't you say 'Our Father who art in heaven?'" asked Mrs. Clark.
+
+"No; not all of it, I know only a little of it."
+
+Mrs. Clark was much moved at the ignorance, helplessness and need of the
+poor woman, and was praying with her when the husband came in. She
+talked with him and he was deeply impressed, and before she left
+promised he would try to live a better life. A position as street car
+driver was gotten for him, and for a while he did well, but after a time
+he fell into his old ways and was dismissed. But, through the
+intervention of the friends who had helped him before, he was restored
+to his place, and to-day he is a sober industrious man and a member of
+the First Christian church in the city.
+
+[Illustration: KINDERGARTEN, THANKSGIVING DAY]
+
+Perhaps a score of similar instances could be cited.
+
+The sewing school closed May 12, 1888, with the annual picnic. The
+following is the report for the year just past:
+
+Average weekly attendance of girls, 162; average weekly attendance of
+boys, 21; total average attendance of pupils, 183; average attendance of
+officers and teachers, 32; average attendance of visitors, 4; total
+average attendance, 219; total number of garments made by, and given to,
+the children, 848.
+
+The officers for the past year were as follows: Mrs. J. R. Clark,
+superintendent; Miss Mary L. Graham, assistant superintendent; Mrs. L.
+G. Herndon, superintendent of work; Miss Lithgow, treasurer; Miss Ella
+Gardiner, secretary.
+
+
+THE KINDERGARTEN.
+
+In January, 1885, there were so many little boys and girls between the
+ages of three and five years that the teachers did not know what to do
+with them. The superintendent, who had some knowledge of the
+kindergarten system, believed that its introduction here was what was
+needed. She could not see her way clear, however, to incur any more
+expense. But in answer to prayer the way was opened. Money was given for
+the appliances and Miss Graham, an excellent teacher, offered her
+services freely. The class at first averaged twenty-four pupils, met
+each Saturday morning in connection with the sewing school, and was
+called the Kindergarten class.
+
+The interest increased till February, 1886, when the board of directors
+of the Holcombe Mission consented that the superintendent should open a
+regular kindergarten for every day in the week except Saturday. More
+money was raised and a trained kindergarten teacher from Cincinnati was
+employed. In June, 1886, the school closed with sixty little children in
+attendance and four young ladies training for kindergarten teachers.
+Arrangements were made for the following year and several hundred
+dollars pledged. In September, 1887, the kindergarten was re-opened with
+Miss Bryan, of Chicago, as teacher of training class and superintendent
+of the school. In the following October a large and enthusiastic meeting
+was held in the Warren Memorial church and the Free Kindergarten
+Association was formally organized. In February, 1888, a second free
+kindergarten was opened in another part of the city. The year's work
+closed in June, 1888, five young ladies graduating as kindergarten
+teachers. The number of children enrolled for the year was one hundred.
+The kindergarten, it will be noticed, is thus distinct from the
+industrial school.
+
+In 1885, another department still was added to meet a want which had
+been developed in the progress of the work. The great number of
+broken-down men and tramps that came to Mr. Holcombe for food and help
+of one sort or another made it impossible for him to give them lodging
+in the mission rooms or board in his own family. And it encouraged
+indolence in unworthy men to feed and lodge them as a mere charity. And
+yet, if anything was to be done for their souls, they had for a time to
+be cared for. Mr. Holcombe conceived the idea, therefore, of
+establishing some sort of a place in connection with his work, where
+these men might earn their food and lodging by the sweat of their brows
+and at the same time be brought under the powerful religious influences
+of the Mission.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. J. M. CLARK.]
+
+The result was the establishment of the "Wayfarers' Rest." Mayor Reed
+and Chief of Police Whallen gave Mr. Holcombe a police station building
+free of rent and Mr. J. T. Burghard gave the money to furnish it with
+bunks, stove, cooking utensils, facilities for bathing, etc., and it
+became at once an established feature, and a very admirable one, of the
+Union Gospel Mission.
+
+When Mayor Jacob came into office he gladly continued the use of the
+building free of rent, and the institution has continued in successful
+operation up to the present time--a space of three years.
+
+The rooms are arranged for the accommodation of sixty men. All who come
+are required to do some sort of work for whatever they receive, whether
+it be food or lodging. The men do various kinds of work, according to
+their several ability, but the chief employment is sawing kindling wood
+out of material provided by the superintendent. Each man is required to
+work an hour for one night's lodging or for a meal. The kindling wood is
+sold all over the city, and under the excellent management of Mr. W. H.
+Black, the present superintendent, the enterprise has become more than
+self-supporting, bringing in enough to pay the salary of the
+superintendent and the book-keeper, and leaving a surplus. It should,
+perhaps, in justice be added, that donations of food are made daily and
+have been from the beginning, by the Alexander Hotel Company.
+
+During the winter of 1887 Mr. Black fed and lodged an average of fifty
+men a day. He has never turned one away. The average income per day from
+the sale of kindling wood is, in winter, ten dollars. The rules for the
+government of the inmates requiring registration, cleanliness, bathing,
+etc., are wisely conceived and strictly carried out.
+
+This institution has proved in Louisville the solution of the vexed
+question as to the proper treatment of tramps and beggars. The citizens,
+instead of encouraging indolence and pauperism by feeding tramps at
+their houses, some of whom are burglars in disguise, can now send them
+to the Wayfarers' Rest, where they are always sure of finding food and
+lodging, and, what is better, the opportunity of earning what they get
+by honest work. And Mr. Holcombe's experience as a tramp in Colorado
+leads him to take a brotherly interest in all these unfortunate men.
+
+In 1886, the work had expanded beyond its quarters and beyond all
+expectations. It was predicted that Steve Holcombe would hold out three
+months. He had now held out three times three years, and that through
+unprecedented trials and discouragements. During these nine years he had
+helped many and many a man, almost as bad as he, into the blessed life
+that he was living. He had established a unique institution in the city
+of Louisville which had been the means of helping and uplifting and
+blessing men and women and whole families. But the end was not yet. The
+man and his work had so won the confidence of the people of the city
+that in 1886, a formal request was made by the Evangelical churches of
+the city that they be allowed to share with the Walnut-street Methodist
+church in the expense and the care and the usefulness of the Mission. It
+was changed then into a Union Mission, and representatives from the
+Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal, Christian and Lutheran churches were
+added to the board of directors.
+
+In the same year, when Mr. Holcombe was feeling the need of more
+spacious quarters for his expanding work, the large and elegant house on
+Jefferson street above First, known as the "Smith Property," was
+advertised for sale. Mr. Holcombe saw it and liked it. It was the very
+sort of a building he needed for his work and all its various
+departments.
+
+He procured the keys and went through the building alone, from cellar to
+garret, stopping in every room to pray that, in some way, God would put
+it into his hands, with a firm persuasion, moreover, that his prayer
+would be answered. An interesting letter written by Mr. Holcombe in
+February, 1886, contains a reference to the project of purchasing the
+new house. It is addressed to one of the converts of the Mission, Mr. S.
+P. Dalton, of Cleveland, Ohio, and, as it shows also Mr. Holcombe's
+interest in his spiritual children, it is given entire:
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., February 3, 1886.
+
+     _Dear Brother Dalton_:
+
+     Your welcome and encouraging letter is just received. I
+     acknowledge your claim, so gently urged, to something better
+     than a hasty postal in reply. When I write you briefly, it is
+     because my work compels it. My soul delights to commune with
+     spirits like yours, consecrated to God, and with brothers who
+     live in my memory as associates in our humble work here. Our
+     mission is being abundantly blessed of God, although meeting,
+     from time to time, with those drawbacks which remind us of our
+     dependence and the need of constant prayer. We are having good
+     meetings and conversions are numerous, and, as a rule, of such
+     a character as to make us believe they are genuine and
+     permanent. As I write, our friends are canvassing the city for
+     the collection of means to purchase the old Smith mansion on
+     Jefferson street, for our use, and believing all our work to be
+     of God I have no doubt that it will be ours within a week. Then
+     shall we do a great work for Louisville and for souls. Our
+     sewing-school and our Sunday-school, having outgrown our
+     present quarters, will be greatly enlarged, and every
+     department of our work also.
+
+     I am truly glad you are having such opportunities of doing
+     good in Cleveland. May God bless you and your dear wife, my
+     dear brother, and in His own time bring you back to us and to
+     the work which always needs such help, is the prayer of
+
+     Your brother,
+     S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+
+An incident that occurred in connection with the purchase of this
+elegant property will show how Mr. Holcombe and his work were looked
+upon in Louisville even by those who were not Christians.
+
+[Illustration: THE WAYFARER'S REST. 1. EXTERIOR. 2. OFFICE. 3. SLEEPING
+APARTMENT. 4. TAKING MEALS. 5. AT WORK. 6. ON THE LEVEE.]
+
+A German singing society was negotiating for the building at the same
+time, and had offered a higher price than the friends of the Mission
+thought they could give. Mr. Holcombe went to the leader of the society
+and told him he desired the building for the Mission, and, though the
+man was an unbeliever, he said: "Mr. Holcombe, though I am not a
+Christian and do not believe in Christianity, I do believe in the work
+you are doing. I will not be in the way of your getting that building."
+He withdrew his bid at once, and the Directors of the Holcombe Mission
+purchased it for $12,500.
+
+Mr. Holcombe at once took possession. He fitted up the rooms of the
+lower floor for the various departments of the mission work. The large
+and elegant double-parlors were thrown into one and arranged for the
+audience-room. This has a seating capacity of two hundred or more. The
+other rooms of the lower floor are used, one for Mr. Holcombe's office,
+two others for the Kindergarten, another for a cloak-room, and so on.
+The second floor, with its seven large, bright, airy rooms, is occupied
+by Mr. Holcombe's family, and, for the first time since his conversion,
+they are in comfortable quarters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+At last after years of love and faith and faithfulness Mrs. Holcombe has
+her full reward and joy. The long twenty-five years of sorrow and
+suspense passed by and her husband is what she unconsciously believed
+her love had the power of waiting for him to become--a good man. And
+more than a good man. He is consumed with the desire and somehow clothed
+with the power of making other men good, of making bad men good, of
+making the worst of bad men good. This he has now been doing, by God's
+grace, for seven faithful years and more--and continues to do. Her
+husband is honored and beloved for his character, his work and his
+usefulness--no man, no minister in Louisville more so.
+
+All her children are members of the church even down to little Pearl,
+the latest-born. Her oldest son, her Willie, is happily married,
+occupies the position of book-keeper with the Sievers Hardware Company
+on Main street, and is an efficient officer of the church of God. Her
+second daughter is happily married to a Christian man, "one of the best
+of husbands," who is book-keeper in the old Kentucky Woolen Mills, of
+Louisville. Her oldest daughter is a devoted Christian and serves with
+equal efficiency as organist of the Mission and teacher in the
+Kindergarten. Her baby-boy now eighteen years old and the rise of six
+feet in height is a member of the church and a good boy. He also is
+in business with the Sievers Hardware Company on Main street. And Pearl,
+the blue-eyed, golden-haired, eight-year-old girl baby is, nobody dare
+question, the flower of the flock. Her dead children are in heaven all,
+for they died before they knew sin, and her living children are on the
+way to heaven, all, for they trust in and serve Him who was manifested
+to take away sin.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. S. P. HOLCOMBE.]
+
+Mrs. Holcombe helps her husband in his noble work and the "converts"
+look on her as their spiritual mother as they regard him as their
+spiritual father. She _might_ say with Simeon, the _Nunc dimittis_, "Now
+lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy
+salvation;" but instead of that she says with St. Paul, "Nevertheless to
+abide in the flesh is more needful" for my husband, my children and the
+work of Christ.
+
+Mrs. Holcombe still has trials, but they are few and small, while her
+blessings are many and great. She still has faults, perhaps, as most of
+mortals have; but they are few and small, while her virtues are very
+many and very great. Many daughters have done virtuously but few have
+excelled this one in those qualities which constitute a noble womanly
+character.
+
+The following letter, written to her by her husband during a short visit
+in the country, will show how that after so long a time of waiting, the
+hope of her earliest love is realized at last.
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., May 29, 1888.
+
+     My Dear Wife:
+
+     Your letter to hand. I am so happy to know that you are having
+     a good time. Isn't God good to us? When we look back over our
+     past lives and see how good God has been to us, how thankful we
+     should be. Very little sickness in our immediate family and no
+     death in thirty years. The two babes that we lost thirty years
+     ago are safe in the arms of Jesus, and all the living ones are
+     sweetly trusting in Him. Let us from this hour be more earnest
+     and untiring in our efforts to save the children of others.
+     Kiss Mamie for me and then look in the glass and kiss yourself
+     a thousand times for him who loves you with a true, deep love.
+     Yours in life, yours in death,
+
+     STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+Those who are familiar with Mr. Holcombe's career as a Christian worker
+would regard any sketch of his life incomplete which did not contain
+some account of the assault made upon him by three strange men in the
+winter of 1887. A few months after his removal to the new quarters that
+had been purchased by the Mission, he was attacked by three men in his
+own house and severely injured. On a Sunday afternoon in January, 1887,
+he heard some one walking in the hall on the second floor of the
+building, and went out to see who it was. He found a man there whom he
+had never seen before, and asked him who he was and what he wanted. The
+man replied in an insolent, manner that he had come to visit a servant
+girl who was at the time working in Mr. Holcombe's family. When Mr.
+Holcombe asked him why he came into his private family apartments, the
+man became more impudent and defiant, and gave utterance to some abusive
+language. Already provoked at the man's audacity and alarmed at the
+thought of what such a ruffian might have done to some one of his family
+if he had been absent, Mr. Holcombe's quick nature now became so
+exasperated that he forgot himself for a moment and thrust the man
+violently down the stairway and out of the house. The man left the place
+and Mr. Holcombe thought that was the end of it. But an hour or two
+later some one knocked at his room door on the same floor, and as he
+opened it, he saw himself confronted by three men, one of whom he
+recognized as the man he had put out of the house. The two others
+professed to be policemen who had come to arrest Mr. Holcombe, but when
+he asked to see their badges of authority they seized him. One against
+three, he resisted them with all his might, uttering no cry of distress
+or call for help. In the struggle Mr. Holcombe's leg was broken, both
+bones of it, and as he fell, with all his weight, the men thought he was
+badly hurt and fled, leaving him lying helpless on the floor. He was
+taken up by those whom he called and laid on his bed. Physicians were
+sent for. The news spread in a few minutes all over the neighborhood,
+and before night, all over the city. The Chief of Police, Colonel
+Whallen, set his detectives to work looking for the men, and many
+citizens, self-constituted detectives, inquired concerning the
+appearance of the men and kept a sharp lookout for them. But they
+succeeded in escaping, and it was, perhaps, well for them they did.
+Before night Mr. Holcombe's room was crowded with friends filled with
+sympathy and indignation. Drs. Kelly and Alexander set the broken limb
+and gave Mr. Holcombe the unwelcome bit of information that he would
+have to lie in his bed for some five or six weeks, a sore trial to his
+restless spirit; but by the help of God he accepted it and settled down
+to endure it, not knowing, however, what good he was to get out of it.
+It was an opportunity for the people of Louisville to show their
+estimation and appreciation of him, and it is safe to say that no man in
+Louisville would have received the attentions and favors which this poor
+converted gambler, Steve Holcombe, did receive. It reminds one of a
+passage in Dr. Prime's account of the funeral of Jerry McAuley in the
+Broadway Tabernacle in New York. Dr. Prime himself was to conduct the
+funeral service, and this is what he says:
+
+"We are going to-day to the tabernacle to talk of what Jerry McAuley was
+and what he has done, to the little congregation that will gather there.
+If it were Dr. Taylor, the beloved and honored pastor, the house would
+be crowded and the streets full of mourners, but poor Jerry, he is dead
+and who will be there to weep with us over his remains? Ah, how little
+did I know the place poor Jerry held in the hearts of the people of this
+vast city! I was to conduct the funeral and went early to complete all
+arrangements. As I turned down from Fifth avenue through Thirty-fourth
+street, I saw a vast multitude standing in the sunshine, filling the
+streets and the square in front of the tabernacle. Astonished at the
+spectacle and wondering why they did not go and take seats in the
+church, I soon found that the house was packed with people so that it
+was impossible for me to get within the door. Proclamation was made that
+the clergy who were to officiate were on the outside, and a passage was
+made for us to enter. What could be more impressive and what more
+expressive of the estimate set upon the man and his work? There is no
+other Christian worker in the city who would have called out these
+uncounted thousands in a last tribute of love and in honor of his
+memory."
+
+The tribute which the people of Louisville paid to the work and worth of
+Steve Holcombe _before_ his death was hardly less.
+
+On Monday, the day following his misfortune, Mr. Holcombe's room was,
+nearly all the day long, full of people of every grade, from the mayor
+and the richest and finest people on Broadway and Fourth avenue, down to
+the poor drunkard and outcast, who forgot his shabby dress and pressed
+in among those fine people in order to see "Brother Holcombe," and find
+out how he was. The ministers of the leading churches of every
+Protestant denomination came with words of sympathy and prayer. Fine
+ladies came in their carriages, bringing baskets of fruit and all sorts
+of delicacies. Those who could not go sent letters and messages. And Mr.
+Holcombe lay in his bed and wept--not for pain, but for gratitude and
+humble joy. "Why," said he, "I would be willing to have half a dozen
+legs broken to know that these people think so much of me and of my poor
+efforts to be useful."
+
+This, then, was the first compensation and blessing.
+
+He learned also that it would be absolutely necessary for him to watch
+more closely his impulsive and fiery temper, and get a better control of
+it. For he does not deny that he was inexcusably hasty and severe in his
+treatment of the impudent intruder.
+
+And then he was temporarily relieved from the incessant demands and the
+constant strain of his daily activity and his nightly anxiety. He had
+time and opportunity, as far as the importunity and kindness of his
+friends would allow, to get calmed, to look down into his own heart, to
+analyze his motives, to study his own nature, to see his own faults, to
+find out his own needs and to pray. He had been told by one of his
+friends, that while he did not work too much, he did not pray _enough_,
+and that he was, therefore, liable to be overtaken by some sudden
+temptation and be betrayed into sin.
+
+That same friend, in conducting service in one of the churches of the
+city on that very Sunday morning, had offered special public prayer for
+Mr. Holcombe and his work. He prayed specifically that if Brother
+Holcombe needed a thorn in the flesh, to keep him humble, God would send
+it. It was thought to be a special and speedy answer, that before
+sundown of that very day, Mr. Holcombe did receive almost literally a
+thorn in the flesh; a messenger of Satan it was withal to buffet him.
+And Mr. Holcombe was the first to acknowledge that he needed this trial
+and the threefold blessing which came with it.
+
+The perpetrators of the cowardly deed were, some time afterward, caught
+and imprisoned--every one of them. One of them has been pardoned and
+released, and through Mr. Holcombe's kindly intervention the other two
+probably will be, while through his friendly counsels one of them has
+been brought to realize his own sinfulness, and has promised to live a
+better life.
+
+It would be out of the question to reproduce here all the written
+messages of sympathy which Mr. Holcombe received during his confinement
+from the injury he received. But one of them is too touching and
+beautiful to be left out. It was written by Miss Jennie Casseday, a lady
+of culture and refinement, who has, for eighteen years, been confined to
+her "sick bed." She is well known as the originator of the "Flower
+Missions," which, all over this country, have been the bearers of
+blessing to many unblessed and unloved ones:
+
+
+    "SICK BED, January 18, 1887.
+
+     "_Dear Christian Friend_:
+
+     "I send you some lines which have been a great blessing to me:
+
+            "'I can not say,
+    Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day,
+            I joy in these;
+            But I _can_ say
+    That I _had rather_ walk this rugged way
+            If Him it please.
+
+           "'I can not feel
+    That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal
+            The shining sun;
+            But then I know
+    God lives and loves, and say, since that is so,
+            "Thy will be done."
+
+            "'I can not speak
+    In happy tones; the tear-drops on my cheek
+            Show I am sad;
+            But I _can_ speak
+    _Of grace to suffer_ with submission meek,
+            Until made glad.
+
+            "'I do not see
+    Why God should e'en permit _some things_ to be;
+            When He is Love;
+            But I _can_ see,
+    Though often dimly, through the mystery,
+            His hand above.
+
+            "'I do not know
+    Where falls the seed that I have tried to sow
+            With greatest care;
+            But I shall know
+    The meaning of each waiting hour below
+            Sometime, somewhere.'
+
+     "Selected with tender sympathy.
+
+    "Your friend,
+    "JENNIE CASSEDAY."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+In conclusion it will not be out of place to glance for a moment
+backward and to call attention definitely to some plain facts.
+
+Mr. Holcombe inherited from his parents a diversely perverse and bad
+nature. Already in his childhood he was cross, irritable, spiteful. In
+his boyhood his temper was savage and revengful. In his manhood he took
+the life of a fellowman. He inherited the love of drink from his father,
+who was a confirmed drunkard before the child was born; and the child
+himself was drunk before he was twelve years old. He was given to
+sensuality from his boyhood.
+
+His education was not good--as far as the educating power of daily
+example goes, it was bad, positively bad, continually bad. His
+associations outside of home were, for the most part, of the worst sort.
+His boyish companions were given to gambling, pilfering, fighting, and
+in all these things they called him chief. But the companionship of boys
+did not long satisfy him and already before he was fifteen, he drank and
+gambled with grown men in the bar-rooms of the village.
+
+He had an impulsive sympathy for helpless suffering when it was before
+his eyes. He had a vague, faint fear of the Power that makes for
+righteousness, so that in his youth he made three or four ineffectual
+efforts to get the mastery of his evil nature and to become better. He
+provided well for his family in meat and drink and the like. He was
+generous to his friends. When this is said, about all is said on that
+side. Apart from these things he gave himself up for forty years to the
+indulgence of all his passions without let or hinderance from parental
+authority, domestic bonds, fear of God or regard for man. So that the
+adverse power of evil habit, strengthened by forty years of indulgence,
+was superimposed upon the moral helplessness of an inherited bad nature
+made worse by bad education and bad associations.
+
+Such he _was_. The preceding pages have described in part what he _is_.
+And only in part. The uttermost details of the purity of his life since
+October, 1877, could not be stated without violating delicacy any more
+than the uttermost details of his sinful life could be uncurtained
+without injuring the innocent and offending the public. The candid
+reader will bridge for himself the past and present of Mr. Holcombe's
+life. These are the facts. And these facts are freely and fully
+recognized by all classes of the community in which he lives his daily
+life. Thousands of eyes have watched him for years and no one has
+detected any immoral practice or act or found any fault of a serious
+nature in him.
+
+Candor requires us to say that he is sometimes over-sensitive, that he
+has his own views as to the best methods of conducting his work and is
+sometimes a little domineering in carrying them out; that he sometimes
+uses unnecessary harshness in his public addresses in dealing with the
+sins and shortcomings of people, especially of the converts of the
+Mission, a thing which is probably due to his over-anxiety for them;
+that he has not yet learned economy and the best way of conducting his
+financial affairs, and that owing to his own former wicked life he would
+be a trifle too severe in the control of his family but for the good
+sense and prudent firmness of his wife. But these are minor matters and
+when they are said, about all is said on _that_ side.
+
+And Mr. Holcombe has come to occupy a unique and commanding position in
+the city of Louisville. All classes respect him, all classes look up to
+him and people from all classes seek his counsel and aid in certain
+emergencies.
+
+Mothers in distress over the sins of their sons, sisters in sorrow over
+the dissipation of their brothers, wives in despair over the wickedness
+of their husbands, all these go to Steve Holcombe for advice, comfort,
+encouragement and help; and when they can not go, they write; sometimes
+from distant places, as far away as Canada. The ministers of Louisville
+refer to him those extreme cases which they meet with in their ministry,
+and which they feel his experience and his knowledge of the ways and
+temptations of dissipated men enable him to handle, as a letter from Dr.
+Broadus and one from Dr. Willits, elsewhere reproduced, will show. And
+the dissipated men themselves, the drunkards, the gamblers, the outcast,
+the lost--all these feel that Steve Holcombe is their friend, a friend
+who has the willingness and the power to help them up, and they go to
+him when they are in distress or when they awake to a sense of their
+wretched condition and desire to rise again. And through his
+instrumentality many a one _has_ risen again, and to many a mother,
+wife, sister, family, has come through him a resurrection of buried hope
+and joy.
+
+And those gamblers who have never yet come to distress or to religion
+regard him with admiration and affection. The following letter from Mr.
+A. M. Waddill, one of the leading sporting men of the South, was written
+in answer to an inquiry as to how Mr. Holcombe is looked upon by the
+gamblers:
+
+     LOUISVILLE, KY., August 13, 1888.
+     _Rev. Gross Alexander_:
+
+     DEAR SIR: In writing of my friend, Steve P. Holcombe, I will
+     say that his adoption of the pulpit has not lowered him in the
+     esteem of his former associates--the gamblers. Far from it.
+     They are his admirers and his friends, and, when they have the
+     funds, are as willing supporters of his work as any. They can
+     not show him too much respect and can not exhibit a more
+     profound love than is shown him every day by some one of his
+     old companions. He has wielded a wonderful influence over them
+     for good, both here and elsewhere, and has made many converts
+     from their ranks, who could not have been influenced probably
+     by any other minister of the Gospel. I myself have been, I am
+     happy to say, wonderfully benefited by the influence of his
+     benevolent character.
+
+     Very respectfully yours,
+     A. M. WADDILL.
+
+The esteem in which he is held by the leading business men of the city
+is shown by the fact that the Board of Directors of the Mission is
+composed of such men as John A. Carter, J. P. Torbitt, L. Richardson, J.
+B. McFerran, R. J. Menefee, J. T. Burghard, H. V. Loving, Arthur Peter,
+John T. Moore, J. K. Goodloe, P. Meguiar, C. McClarty, W. T. Rolph, John
+Finzer, with P. H. Tapp as Treasurer.
+
+He has the confidence and esteem of the officers both of the city and
+State, and he has a large influence with them.
+
+The Mayor, the Chief of Police, and the Judges of the Courts recognize
+his usefulness, his ability and his efficiency by co-operating with him,
+as far as may be, and by adopting his views and suggestions as to the
+treatment of criminals charged with lesser crimes and misdemeanors.
+
+The Governor, J. Proctor Knott, readily granted pardon to the only man
+for whom Mr. Holcombe ever asked it, and the testimony of this now happy
+man is given in this volume.
+
+Not only is Mr. Holcombe thus in honor and demand at home; he is in
+demand all over the country. Until it came to be known that he would not
+leave his own work in Louisville, he was constantly receiving requests
+to attend or conduct meetings of one sort or another in all parts of
+Kentucky and in several other States.
+
+Year before last, in the summer of 1886, he was, by appointment of the
+Governor of the State, a Commissioner from Kentucky in the National
+Convention of Corrections and Charities at Washington.
+
+In the fall of 1887 he attended, by request, the Convention of Christian
+Workers of the United States and Canada, in the Broadway Tabernacle in
+New York City, and made two addresses, both of which are printed among
+his sermons in this book. He was appointed a member of the Executive
+Committee of that body, in which capacity he now serves.
+
+But not only in direct results has the power of God been manifested
+through this instrument. Mr. Holcombe's conversion and work have had the
+effect of quickening the faith and zeal of all the churches of the city.
+It has not only drawn them nearer together in fostering and furthering a
+common enterprise into which they entered of their own motion, and
+without solicitation, but it has revived the languishing faith of all
+classes. Not only has the Gospel saved Steve Holcombe and others, he
+(let it be said reverently and understood rightly) has, in one sense,
+saved the Gospel. Many had lost faith in it. They thought it was an old,
+worn-out story. It had lost its novelty and vitality, and it had not the
+power it claimed to have. Its achievements were not equal to its
+pretensions. Some of the men who have been brought to a better life
+through Mr. Holcombe's instrumentality have said that, though they did
+not, out of respect for other people, publish the fact, they had lost
+all faith and were, at heart, utter infidels. Some of them continued to
+attend church and to give to the church of their means, and to give
+respectful attention to the preaching, but it was out of deference to
+relatives or respect for custom, or for mere Sunday pastime. But the
+conversion of Steve Holcombe, and the life he was living, arrested
+their thought, awakened inquiry and revived their faith, and many of
+these have been saved.
+
+The conversion of these has in turn resulted in the conviction of others
+and so the stream has broadened and deepened. As Mr. Holcombe says in
+one of his addresses, "There is naturally in the minds of men a doubt as
+to the truth and divinity of the religion which fails to do what it
+proposes to do, and so in times of religious deadness men lose faith and
+unbelief gets stronger and more stubborn while they see no examples of
+the power of the Gospel to save bad men. But when bad men have been
+reached and quickened and made better through the Gospel, and this
+continues year after year, then the tide turns, and faith becomes
+natural and easy not to say contagious and inevitable."
+
+These effects have demonstrated the reality of conversion in opposition
+to the view that it is an effect of the excitement of the imagination.
+"One hears," it is said, "the narration of the experience of others who
+claim to be converted, and he works at himself till he works himself up
+to the persuasion that he also has got it." But, as one of the converts
+in narrating his experience said, "Imagination could not take the whisky
+habit out of a man. It never did take it out of me. But the power of
+this Gospel which Steve Holcombe preaches has taken it out root and
+branch."
+
+Another thing is shown also by the history of this work. A distinguished
+minister said once, "We must get the top of society converted and then
+we may expect to reach the lower classes." Mr. Holcombe, on the
+contrary, in accordance with the example and words of Jesus and of Paul,
+of Luther and of Wesley, has given his time and labor primarily and
+largely to the lower classes and the lost classes, and through these he
+has reached also the higher classes, exemplifying again what was said by
+the most apostolic man since the Apostles, that the Gospel "works not
+from the top down but from the bottom up."
+
+If you should ask what is the explanation of Mr. Holcombe's success, it
+may be answered that it is due to three things. The extraordinary change
+which has taken place in his character and in his life arrests attention
+and produces conviction.
+
+In the second place is his intense and pitying love for those who are
+not saved, and especially for those who, besides being most utterly
+lost, are, either by their own suspicions and fears or by the customs
+and coldheartedness of society, or both, shut out from all sympathy and
+opportunity. He has a very mother's love for poor, sinful, struggling
+souls, and he shows this not in words only or chiefly, but in service.
+Some account has already been given from one of the Louisville papers
+concerning his rescue of a man who had been drunk continuously for
+twenty-three years. To have preached temperance and morality and duty to
+this wild and degraded man would have been useless, to have _told_ him
+of the love of God would, perhaps, have been no better. But when this
+far off love of God took concrete form in the person of Steve Holcombe
+and was brought nigh and made real in his brotherliness and gentleness
+and patience and service, it proved stronger than a twenty-three years'
+whisky habit and to-day this man, who lately dwelt apart from men like
+the man among the tombs and who was possessed by the demon of drink so
+that no man could bind him with bonds of morality or duty--this man is
+to-day clothed and in his right mind. And though he has not fully
+apprehended the way of salvation, he says, yet a transfiguration has
+taken place in him which is little short of miraculous. He says also
+that he has got some light on the question of personal religion. He is
+thoroughly honest and will not claim or profess what he has not. He says
+a man who has always gone slow in everything else can't go fast in
+getting religion.[1]
+
+[1] This man has, since the above was written, been brought into a clear
+experience of conversion, and is now a clean and happy Christian man.
+
+In the third place, Mr Holcombe's success is due to the character of his
+preaching. It is the simple Gospel, wherein two points are continually
+made and emphasized, the reality and tenderness of God's love for sinful
+men, even the worst, and the absolute necessity of regeneration and a
+holy life. Both these great truths he illustrates with fitness and force
+from his own life and that of the men who have been converted under his
+ministry. His sermons are so striking in their directness and
+simplicity, and so helpful withal, that some of them have been
+reproduced in outline in the present volume, and the reader who has
+never heard him may get some idea of his preaching from these, and, it
+is hoped, some profit as well.
+
+Whatever men may say, the fact remains that when the Gospel is preached
+on apostolic conditions, it has still apostolic success.
+
+In 1886, when Rev. Sam P. Jones was holding a meeting in Cincinnati, he
+said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"Mr. Holcombe's work is finer than anything done since the death of
+Jerry McAuley. He is fully consecrated to the work of rescuing the
+perishing and saving the fallen. Hundreds of men, dug by him from the
+deepest depths of dissipation and degradation, are to-day clothed in
+their right minds. Some of the most efficient Christian men have passed
+through his Mission, at No. 436 Jefferson street, in Louisville. I feel
+that in helping Steve Holcombe, I shall be able to say, at least: 'Lord,
+if I did not do much when I was on earth, I did what I could to help
+Steve Holcombe, the converted gambler, in his mission work among men who
+never hear preaching, and to whom a helping hand is never extended.'
+
+"There are mighty few men like Steve Holcombe to take hold of poor
+fellows and bring them back to a purer and better life."
+
+In 1888, during a great temperance meeting in Louisville, Mr. Francis
+Murphy said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"Of all the noble men I know, he is one of the noblest, and Louisville
+may well be proud of the grand, big-hearted Christian man, who, in his
+quiet, unassuming manner is doing such a world of good here."
+
+Mr. D. L. Moody, during his great meeting in Louisville, in the months
+of January and February, 1888, said of Mr. Holcombe:
+
+"I have got very much interested in a work in your city conducted by a
+man you call Steve Holcombe. I don't know when I met a man who so struck
+my heart. I went up and saw his headquarters and how he works. He is
+doing the noblest work I know of. I want you to help him with money and
+words of cheer. Remember, here in Louisville you make so many drunkards
+that you must have a place to take care of the wrecks. Steve Holcombe
+rescues them. Let us help him all we can."
+
+And Mr. Holcombe's work is not done. He is in the vigor of life, with
+fifteen or twenty years of life and service, God willing, before him. He
+is only beginning to reap the results of these ten years of study and
+these ten years of Christian living and working. He knows the Gospel
+better than he ever did before, and he preaches it better. He knows
+himself and God better than he ever did before, and he lives nearer the
+Source of Power. He knows men good and bad, better than he ever did
+before, and he deals with them in all states and stages more wisely and
+successfully.
+
+He is of that nervous and Intense temperament which can not rest without
+getting something done, and he is always doing something to advance his
+work. And though so intensely in earnest, he is singularly, it is not at
+all too strong to say, entirely free from fanaticism. He is in high
+esteem, with large influence at home and abroad, and this he does not
+prostitute to selfishness, but uses for usefulness.
+
+And, best of all, he has tokens, not a few, in the form of discipline on
+the one hand, and success on the other, that God is guarding and guiding
+his Life and Work.
+
+[Illustration: THE UNION GOSPEL MISSION.]
+
+
+
+
+LETTERS.
+
+
+    TO HIS FIRST PASTOR.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 6, 1883.
+
+    _My Dear Brother_:
+
+    Our meetings continue in interest. Last night the Holy Ghost was
+    with us in great power. At the close of the talk, we invited
+    backsliders to come forward and kneel. Six responded. Then we
+    invited all others who wanted to become Christians to come
+    forward and nine others responded, most of them the most
+    hardened sinners in the city. I am sure nothing but the power of
+    God could have lifted them from their seats. Men who have fought
+    each other actually embraced last night. Continue to pray for
+    us.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 19, 1883.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Last night about two hundred persons were present, most of them
+    non-churchgoers. About forty stood up for prayers. And oh, such
+    good testimonies, no harangues but living testimonies as to what
+    God can and will do for those who will let him.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 21, 1883.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    How grateful I am to you for all your kindness God alone knows.
+    I may and do lack education and refinement, but I will not allow
+    myself under any circumstances to lack gratitude. The results of
+    our meetings prove to me that it is the work of the Holy Ghost.
+    Of course, I could hardly believe you would come to Louisville
+    even for a little while and not come to see me, one who has cost
+    you so much of time and care. There was a time when I could not
+    have stood it. But thanks to God I am now above letting small
+    things or great things upset me. Give my love to your dear
+    family.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 3, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    How I do wish you could have been where you could have looked in
+    on us last night. The room was full. They had to be turned away
+    from the door. And they were so anxious to hear the glad
+    tidings. No carpet, nothing to deaden the sound and yet you
+    could have heard a pin drop. All the churches are feeling the
+    results of our work. Yesterday G. H. joined the Christian
+    church. He seems to be a thoroughly converted man, if I know
+    one. P. D., whom you know, came in here about a week ago under
+    the influence of liquor. Said "I am an infidel and a drunkard.
+    Pray for me." We did pray for him. He has been coming ever
+    since. He is now perfectly sober and says he was never so moved
+    before. These are two out of many cases.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 7, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Your kind favor received. P. D. comes every night and sometimes
+    speaks. He is not drinking. He says he can not believe. He does
+    so pitifully and pleadingly ask for the prayers of Christian
+    people. He is in earnest. Pray for him.
+
+    C. T. testified last night. He was a schoolmate of yours. He
+    said: "For the last five years, when I would meet Brother
+    Holcombe, I would say to myself: 'I wish he would say good day,
+    and pass on.' But he would not. He generally had something to
+    say about the way I was living. Of late, every time he has met
+    me he has invited me to the Mission. I would promise to go, but
+    went, instead, to some bar-room, until I wound up by losing my
+    position, being sent to the work-house, and being left by a
+    loving wife. Two weeks ago he met me again, and this time I kept
+    my promise. I have been coming every night since, and have not
+    touched liquor since, and by God's help I do not expect to do so
+    any more. I enjoy the meetings so much. The two hours I spend
+    here seem so short."
+
+    G. H. never misses a night. He is in the room with me now
+    singing, "Happy Day, When Jesus Washed My Sins Away." And he is
+    happy. Although in the last four years he has spent thirty
+    thousand dollars in riotous living, and although his wife has
+    left him, he said to me: "Brother Holcombe, I believe I am as
+    happy as I ever was in my life." I asked him, why? He said:
+    "Because I have something which I never had when I had wife,
+    child and money. I have the forgiveness of sins and the
+    friendship of God."
+
+    I said: "You will have to watch the devil or he will get you in
+    his power again."
+
+    "Yes," he replied, "the devil told me when I first began to come
+    to this Mission that I was too mean, and my heart was too dead
+    ever to get religion; but I fought him on my knees and I got the
+    victory. I know how hard it was to get, and by the help of God I
+    am going to keep it, whether I ever have wife or child or money
+    again."
+
+    Pray for me, that I may make no mistake in my difficult work.
+    Yours, as ever,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., February 13, 1884.
+
+_Dear Brother_:
+
+    I did just what you suggested; though I was disappointed I did
+    not show it. God is helping me to give up my preferences. I am
+    trusting in the Lord, and sweetly singing
+
+    "Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
+      Only as led by His hand;
+    A messenger at His gateway,
+      Only waiting for His command."
+
+I am willing to preach on the streets, at the Mission, at Walnut-street
+church, or I am willing to be door-keeper--anything for Christ.
+
+So you heard that I am improving in preaching. Well, I do believe that I
+shall yet learn how to preach.
+
+I had a letter requesting me to go to Nicholasville to preach. But I can
+not go. I feel I have a little, humble work to do in Louisville, and I
+am going to do it. The mission men are all doing well. Though to you I
+may seem very weak, I am to them what you are to me. Yours, etc.,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 1, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother_:
+
+    Yours to hand. I do not think you negligent. I know you love me,
+    and I know you love the cause of Christ for which I am laboring,
+    and I know you will do all you can to help me to help it. I am
+    surprised, not at what you don't do, but at what you do do.
+
+    I suppose you saw in the paper what a handsome thing they did
+    for us in the way of giving us a fifty-dollar parlor set, a fine
+    Brussels carpet, a large walnut book-case and many other
+    articles, including a fine portrait of dear Brother Morris.
+
+    Even for this donation and for all the love shown me by these
+    good people I am indebted to you. "Jesus must needs go through
+    Samaria" to save the woman at the well. You must needs be sent
+    to Portland church to save and instruct and guide Steve
+    Holcombe. This morning I prayed nearly an hour before breakfast,
+    and it was lucky for me I did. Something came up at noon that
+    would have completely upset me, but I was fortified and
+    withstood the temptation successfully.
+
+    I am improving every way. My health is better, my memory is
+    better. I can read my Bible more profitably than ever and I can
+    pray better.
+
+    God grant you may have good health, length of days and all of
+    this world's goods that may be good for you.
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 23, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of the 16th to hand. God is so good to me. Certain
+    temptations have come to me lately and I could not have borne
+    them but for His help. I talked at the church last Sunday night
+    in the absence of Dr. Messick. I felt so humble, it seemed a
+    privilege to be treated shamefully that I might have an
+    opportunity of showing that a Christian can give up his own
+    rights for the good of others. I have grown in grace since you
+    showed me the necessity of secret prayer and of getting so well
+    acquainted with God that he would become more real to me than my
+    own father ever was.
+
+    You have seen in the papers poor D. T.'s attempt at suicide. But
+    God has spared him yet another season. He will recover. Pray for
+    him. May God bless you and strengthen you and keep you is the
+    prayer of
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 23, 1884.
+
+    _My Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours received this A. M. I am so pressed for means I can not
+    now buy the book you speak of, but will do so as soon as I can.
+    I am _taking time_ to study. I am getting much better acquainted
+    with God and the better I know him the more I love him.
+
+    Yours in love,
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 25, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    The men are all doing tolerably well. The attendance at the
+    meetings is increasing. Sunday-school holds up well. My great
+    desire now is to be able to study the Bible better. The more I
+    think of what you have been to me, the more grateful I feel. I
+    wish I could in some substantial way show you how I appreciate
+    your care. But God will reward you.
+
+    Yours, etc.,  S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 30, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    The Bible is becoming very sweet to me. I can study it all day
+    long and not get tired. I am sure the Holy Ghost is helping me.
+    I have read the book you gave me. It is very helpful.
+
+    Brother Davidson has gone to housekeeping. He has his son and
+    daughter with him. Oh, the love and power of God. Praise His
+    name!
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    CHICAGO, ILL., September 5, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of the 2d to hand. Think of you? The sun may forget to
+    shine, but poor Steve Holcombe can never forget the man who has
+    done so much for his soul. Never has a day passed since my
+    conversion that I have not prayed God's blessing on you, your
+    family and your work.
+
+    Well, Chicago is a great city, a grand field for Christian work.
+    I find many earnest Christian men and women laboring for the
+    Master. I am not idle either. I talked four times last
+    Sunday--three times on the street and once at a Mission.
+
+    I am having a royal time, sailing on the lake, riding on
+    street-cars, taking in the town. I wish you were here.
+
+    God bless you always. STEVE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 1, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours of June 25th received. I do hope you will get Brother
+    C.[2] those books to sell. These men must have employment. They
+    can not live, as some Christian people seem to think, on
+    promises. It is all right to say, "Oh, let go and trust in the
+    Lord," to a man who knows the way, but it is all not right when
+    it is said to a poor struggling gambler, who, in faith, is as
+    weak as a baby. I know of Brother L.'s troubles. My heart goes
+    out to him. All well.
+
+    Yours,  S. P. H.
+
+[2] A converted gambler.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 15, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Since writing my card this morning I have learned that D. McC.,
+    the boss Nashville gambler, and an old partner of mine, is
+    attending Sam Jones' meetings. I want you to go to see him.
+    Don't be afraid to go right up to him and introduce yourself.
+    Tell him you and I are old friends, and that I love him, and
+    requested you to see him. But you know better how to approach
+    him than I can tell you. But you must see him. Take Sam Jones to
+    see him. Visit him at his home, with Sam Jones. He is worthy of
+    concentration. If you can get him converted, he will be a power
+    for good. Most of your members know him, I guess. If you don't
+    like to call on him, alone, get some of them to go along and
+    introduce you. May God help us save poor D. McC.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    STEVE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 20, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Your favor to hand. I have had a terrible battle with self, but
+    by the grace of God I have come out conquerer. I praise God now
+    that I had the struggle, because it has enabled me to realize
+    the emptiness of all that is earthly. It has convinced me that
+    to depend on men is "like a foot out of joint." I make more
+    miles toward my haven of rest during a night of storm than in
+    days of calm weather. Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy
+    New Year, I am as ever,
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 29, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours was received a few days ago. Yes, I thank God I am almost
+    rid of my love of praise. I am willing to do the dirty and
+    disagreeable work and let others have the picnics and the
+    praise. "Who am I that I should be a leader of the Lord's
+    people?" But I confess I did not get to this point without a
+    struggle. How I did have to wrestle with God. He showed me the
+    envy that was in my heart, that is my jealousy of any one who
+    did more work or had more attention paid them than I had. But
+    glory to God I hope I am rid of it at last.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 26, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Yours just received. I hardly think it would be worth while to
+    ask Mr. Moody to visit our Mission, as his time is so completely
+    occupied. I think our work is as much thought of as ever. It is
+    quiet but I think deep. I have kept it out of the papers,
+    because too much newspaper notoriety is calculated to cause a
+    poor little-brained fellow to exaggerate his own importance. And
+    then there is such sweetness in the work when you are sure it is
+    not for praise but for Christ. I am afraid that many of us on
+    analyzing our hearts will find first, self; second, self; and
+    almost all for self in one way or another. May God deliver me
+    from self.
+
+    Yours as ever,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 10, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother:_
+
+    Your letter to hand. There is nothing so comforting as true
+    friendship. Alas! how little of it there is in this world. Happy
+    the man who can claim _one true friend_. I know a man that has a
+    true friend. I am that man and you are that friend. How do I
+    know it? You are so faithful in telling me the truth about
+    myself and showing me my faults and mistakes. Who but a true
+    friend that had your best interest at heart would have written
+    such a letter as this last one from you? I want you to know that
+    while I loved you much before, I love you more now. I have been
+    going through the fire lately, but I think I shall come out all
+    right. Doesn't God sift a fellow? I believe I can say I rejoice
+    in tribulation. I find I can not expect to be understood in this
+    world or always have sympathy, but I do expect, if "I meekly
+    wait and murmur not," to find it is all right in my Father's
+    house.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO S. P. DALTON (one of the converts).
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 17, 1883.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Your good letter to hand. It is, as you say, so sweet to be
+    bound together by the ties of Christian love, and there is no
+    tie which binds men more closely than the religion of Christ. It
+    breaks down every barrier, and all are alike to the true
+    Christian man; rich, poor, halt, lame, blind, there is no
+    difference. And the Christian is happiest when he is denying
+    himself to help others.
+
+    In order to convince the world of the truth and power of our
+    religion, our own standard must be very high. We must deny
+    ourselves of things which in themselves would be innocent, but
+    which, if practiced by us, would lessen our influence for good.
+    And how comforting to think that if we _suffer_ with Him, we
+    shall also reign with Him. The suffering comes first, the
+    humiliation first, the toil and weariness first. Yes, we may
+    _expect_ troubles and crosses here, but we leave it all behind
+    when we enter within the gates into the city. I thank God that
+    your heart has been changed and that you have tasted of the
+    powers of the world to come. I am glad you find more pleasure in
+    my poor company and lame words than in the follies and
+    friendships of the world. Hoping for you all good things, I am
+    with much love,
+
+    Your brother in Christ,
+
+    STEVE HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 23, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Your letter from the great Falls is to hand. It is very
+    gratifying to me to know that in the midst of so much excitement
+    you could and did think of one so humble and obscure as myself.
+    I have been at the Falls and have seen many wonderful and grand
+    things, but the most beautiful thing I have ever seen is an old
+    hardened sinner picking up his grip-sack and bidding the devil
+    farewell forever. And, praise the Lord, that is my privilege
+    almost daily in the dear old mission. Though the weather is very
+    hot, we have glorious meetings; new converts testifying almost
+    nightly. Two professional gamblers have just been converted. One
+    of them was one of the sweetest conversions I ever saw. The old
+    converts are nearly all doing well. Don't grow, cold, but be in
+    some work for the Master every day, and you will not miss the
+    time or regret the service. God bless you.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., April 17, 1886.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Yours of the 6th to hand. We have purchased the property for our
+    new home, and we shall move in in about a month. Our work is
+    moving like a thing of life. It was never so prosperous before.
+    I wish you could be here to work with us. Sister Clark is in her
+    glory. She is one of the grandest Christian women I have ever
+    seen. Nearly all the converts are doing well.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., November 15, 1886.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    I receive no letters that touch my heart more deeply than those
+    I receive from you. Our work is more quiet now. The papers do
+    not notice it so much, but we are doing a good work. It is now
+    more among the unfortunate business men of the city some of
+    whom, were fallen very low. Some who have recently been
+    reclaimed are now first-class business men. The old converts are
+    all right and doing well, but they don't stand by me in the work
+    as I wish they would. Oh, for "consecration and concentration."
+    That is my motto.
+
+    My married daughter has got one of the best of husbands and I
+    think they are the happiest couple I know. The rest are all
+    well. I hope you will be blown back this way by some favoring
+    breeze, so we can have your help in our work.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 6, 1887.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Our work is going on grandly again. You can see from the papers
+    I am kept as busy as a bee. You must know from the number that
+    come that my time is all taken up in nursing them. Hence, I can
+    not write long letters, however much I would like to.
+
+    Hope to see you soon.
+
+    Yours,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., October 28, 1887.
+
+    _S.P. Dalton, Cleveland, Ohio:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER DALTON: Yours of the 17th is received. I am glad
+    you are an active worker in the church, and that they have shown
+    their appreciation of you by making you a steward in the church.
+
+    I believe you will render a good account of your stewardship.
+    The main thing for you to guard against is _care_. Remember,
+    always when you think you are too busy to pray in secret, read
+    the Bible, go to the meetings, etc., what Jesus said to Martha:
+    "Thou art careful and troubled about many things."
+
+    I am trying to be a faithful servant. God is blessing my humble
+    efforts. The converts are sticking and the work is growing. Most
+    of the converts are prospering in business. Some that were in
+    the gutter are now making from fifty to two hundred dollars a
+    month.
+
+    Your friend and brother in Christ,
+
+    S. P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TO THE SAME.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 11, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Dalton:_
+
+    Yours of the 9th to hand. Glad to hear of your continued success
+    in business. You are a great man, but a man who is so prosperous
+    in business must keep his eyes open.
+
+    Remember to give to the Lord all that belongs to Him of every
+    dollar you earn. John Wesley's motto is hard to improve on:
+    "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can." And oh!
+    what sweetness there is in giving. Never get too busy to do some
+    Christian work. We have just had Murphy at Louisville, for a
+    month.
+
+    Good-bye,
+
+    STEVE P. HOLCOMBE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[3]LETTERS TO MR. HOLCOMBE.
+
+[3] A few of the letters to Mr. Holcombe have been selected out of
+several hundreds.
+
+    _Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    I have heard and read so much of your influence and prayers for
+    men leading dissolute lives, that I am going to ask you if you
+    won't find my husband and stay and pray with him until he is
+    saved. The other night, when he was drinking very hard, he
+    appealed to me to send for you to pray for him. He has much
+    confidence in your prayers, and believes in your life; I have
+    often heard him say so. He has a noble, loving disposition, and
+    forgiving; so you need not be afraid of offending him. His whole
+    heart would forever offer thanksgivings for his delivery from
+    drink; for it is that that he prays for. I have thought that,
+    perhaps, God intended salvation to come to him through you; and
+    how earnestly I pray that it may. So much has been done, and so
+    many prayers offered for him, won't you please, at your next
+    opportunity, find him and talk and pray with him? You would make
+    a miserable, lonely woman's life happy again. We have been so
+    happy together, so congenial, so well mated; and if God will
+    answer all our united prayers, happiness will return to our
+    hearts tenfold. Oh, Mr. Holcombe, pray the prayer of faith, and
+    my heart will ever turn in grateful acknowledgment to God for
+    making you the humble instrument of my much-loved husband's
+    salvation. Won't you go now immediately and wrestle for and with
+    him in prayer?
+
+    Believe me, most earnestly, your co-worker in prayer for his
+    salvation.
+
+    MRS. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BIRMINGHAM, ALA., May 12, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    I hope you will not think hard of me for asking you to write
+    once more to my husband. I feel so confident it will stir up a
+    remembrance of his conversion. Oh, brother, don't give up
+    helping me. Try to save my husband. It nearly kills me to see
+    him come home full of the destroying thing called whisky; and it
+    seems to have such a strong hold on him. All the imploring I can
+    do will not change him at all. I have grieved until my life is
+    almost grieved away. But oh, God will surely hear my cry after a
+    while. If I could give my life to save my husband's soul, I
+    would willingly, yes, gladly, do it. Brother Holcombe, what do
+    you think about this plan? If you can get one of the converts
+    whom my husband knows, and one who has been a great drunkard, to
+    write a friendly, brotherly letter to him, don't you think that
+    might do some good? Oh, I have thought of so many plans and ways
+    to try and get him back to the Lord. I am sorry to say that the
+    city of Birmingham is the most wicked place I have ever seen; so
+    few Christians, and they are not working. I do fervently hope
+    God will send some one here who is like yourself, not ashamed to
+    work for the lost. I hope you will write, Brother Holcombe. Pray
+    for me; and oh, do ask all the friends there to pray for my
+    husband.
+
+    Mrs. P.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., December 3d.
+
+    _Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you ask the prayers of your people in behalf of my
+    skeptical son-in-law. He is a talented man, but he is using his
+    influence against his best friend. My poor child is suffering
+    the penalty for marrying an infidel. If I dared tell you how
+    desperate the case, I am sure your heart would be troubled to
+    its depths. Do pray that this man may be led into the light of
+    the Gospel, and become a better husband, father and citizen.
+
+    A SUFFERING MOTHER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BOWLING GREEN, November 10, 1884.
+
+    _Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you please go and see my son L., and try to persuade him to
+    live a better life? He has great faith in what you say. When you
+    wrote to him last spring he seemed very much affected, and said
+    to me. "That is one of the best men in the world." Oh, for
+    heaven's sake, pray for him. If you can go and talk to him,
+    advise him to leave Kentucky and go away off and reform his
+    life. If he comes back here, _danger awaits him_. I feel sure
+    you can influence him, for he believes you are sincere. He is
+    not mean and sinful at heart, but oh, the accursed demon Drink
+    causes him all his trouble. If he could get some respectable
+    work and some one to encourage him and lift him above his
+    darkened life, I believe he would be all right. He has relatives
+    there, but they are the last to apply to for assistance. He is
+    in jail in your city now. God only knows the pang it causes me
+    to say he is in jail. He was such a good Sunday-school boy and a
+    good Templar. Is it possible that he is to be lost? I can't yet
+    give up all hope. While my Father in heaven has so sorely
+    afflicted me, I can't help believing that after awhile the
+    change will come. Oh, how I wish Brother Morris could go to him
+    to-day. He took more interest in him than any one else ever did.
+    Please do what you can. I know God _will hear your prayer_ and
+    help you to save him. Yours with a mother's aching heart for her
+    boy,
+
+    ---- ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CHICAGO, May 24th.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    MY DEAR FRIEND: I have just received a letter from my son, who
+    has almost ruined himself and broken my heart by his
+    intemperance. I have been always praying for his reformation,
+    but felt almost hopeless, as he would not go to church and
+    seemed hardened, and I know very well he could not rely on his
+    own strength and would not look to a stronger arm for help. Do
+    you know when I received a letter from him to-day making a full
+    confession of all his past course, and saying he had been to
+    hear you and asked for your prayers, I could not realize it? How
+    we are surprised when God hears us. I write this to thank you
+    for anything you may have said to help him, and to beg you to
+    follow him with your prayers and advice. Oh, won't you try to
+    help him all you can? It will be a hard battle with him, poor
+    fellow, as he has been for some time indulging freely. Will you
+    look after him as much as you can and if he should fall, help
+    him up? I am praying for you and your work, and have been doing
+    so for a long time. Your friend,
+
+    MRS. P. W. M.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
+
+    _Dear Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    Will you please come out to my home on Third street in the
+    morning as early as you can? I dislike to trouble you in this
+    way; but I am in great trouble with Mr. L. He has been drinking,
+    and I feel that you can be the means of bringing him back to
+    God. I have prayed with him, and done all I could for him. I
+    feel crushed to the earth with this deep sorrow and
+    mortification. Don't let him know that I sent for you. He is
+    quite sick to-night. Pray that God may sustain us and lift us
+    out of this deep dark sorrow, and cast out the demon that seems
+    to possess my poor dear husband. God bless you, our dear good
+    friend, and keep us all this night.
+
+    Sincerely your friend,
+
+    MRS. L.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., April 12, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. S. P. Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER: It is with grief in my heart I must write you
+    again. Mr. L. went on a business trip three weeks since, but
+    fell into bad company, and has been on a protracted spree. He
+    came home last night utterly discouraged--will not even try to
+    pray again. I am almost discouraged myself; can only wait and
+    trust. I think if you could make it convenient to call to see
+    him to-day, perhaps God will put words into your mouth that will
+    help him. I leave it with you; and would not ask you to leave
+    your duties, except I know your willingness to work for the
+    Master. He will not know that I have sent for you. Oh, help me
+    to pray that God will help my husband.
+
+    Your friend,
+
+    MRS. L.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    OCTOBER 28TH.
+
+    _Friend Holcombe:_
+
+    I am locked up, and go to the work-house this morning. Oh, can
+    anything be done to help me; I want to become a different man.
+    Try and save me.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CITY WORK-HOUSE, November 1, 1882.
+
+    _Rev. Stephen P. Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: You kindly requested me to write you in event I
+    reached the conclusion that under a change of condition I might
+    become a different man. My knowledge of your own career inspires
+    me with more confidence than anything that has ever fallen under
+    my notice. Coupled with the impression made upon me by the
+    sermon on Sunday afternoon, I firmly believe if you will come
+    and see me, and allow me to state to you fully my convictions as
+    to your ability to make a sober man of me, you will do one of
+    the greatest and noblest acts of your life; and, in keeping me
+    from the slavery of drink, rescue one who has suffered, and who
+    has caused, and now is causing, much suffering to others. I
+    stand ready to unite with you in any manner you may suggest, and
+    pray God Almighty to bless you.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    CITY WORK-HOUSE, November 2, 1882.
+
+    _Friend Holcombe:_
+
+    When I penned the few lines to you yesterday, I had to do it in
+    so short a space of time, that in all probability I omitted to
+    state specifically why I desired to see you. Heretofore, I have
+    never entertained any settled plan of operations to restrain my
+    appetite for liquor other than the mere will power I deemed in
+    my own possession and control, and, as a result, would
+    invariably find myself in the very midst of violating every
+    previously conceived resolution. Your kindness in pointing out a
+    course of discipline and conduct, and extending to me a welcome
+    among those who have made, and who are making, successful battle
+    against the great destroyer of happiness, awakened within me an
+    entirely different current of thought; and when I stated I would
+    unite with you in any manner you would suggest, to effect the
+    object in view, I meant it with all my heart and mind; and I
+    appeal to an all-wise and merciful Creator to attest the
+    sincerity of my declaration in this matter. Again, my resolve is
+    to attend strictly to any suggestions you may make. The accursed
+    appetite has beggared me. I do not ask charity from any mortal
+    toward me. I am not deserving of either sympathy or pity; and
+    while the embracing of the cause of religion and temperance can
+    not of itself work reformation, it places a man in a position
+    where he can climb upward and go forward, instead of forever
+    traveling the broad way that leads to destruction. Holcombe, I
+    want to redeem myself. I only crave this one last opportunity,
+    and if God will help me no man shall ever know of me using
+    either intoxicating drink or profane language as long as breath
+    is in my body. When released, I do not want to be idle a day. I
+    have mouths to feed whose entry into this troubled life is
+    chargeable solely to me. I will work for a dollar a day to do my
+    duty towards them. Judge W. L. Jackson, Judge H. H. Bruee, Gary
+    B. Blackburn or Major Tom Hays, would, I am sure, put in a good
+    word for me; and Judge Price himself, I think has some hope for
+    me. I had a violent chill to-day, and am in the hospital
+    department, and my fingers are somewhat stiff from researches in
+    the geological department.[4] Hence this cramped writing. Come
+    and see me, and do not give me up as hopeless.
+
+    Truly, ---- ----.
+
+[4] He means the rock-pile.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    BOWLING GREEN, KY., March 27, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: I am so much obliged to you for the kind letter you
+    were pleased to write me. You no doubt think ere this that the
+    seed has fallen on stony ground, and, perhaps, among thorns; but
+    I can assure you that I made up my mind when in your city to
+    lead a different life, and to devote the remainder of my life to
+    the service of my God. I have so often thought of you, and have
+    wished to see you. Pray for me, and I do hope we may meet again.
+    If ever convenient, call and see me. Our doors will be open,
+    yes, wide open, to you. Thanking you again for your remembrance
+    of me, I am, yours truly,
+
+    ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    SICK BED, February 5th.
+
+    _Dear Christian Brother:_
+
+    I have a tenant in a little house, a grocery, on Sixth street,
+    right next to the First Presbyterian church, who is a fearfully
+    wicked man, a common drunkard, and steeped in sin; and I come to
+    you to-day to beg you to seek him out and try to rescue him. He
+    has four or five little motherless children, whose lives are
+    full of the bitterest sorrow; they are so dirty and unkempt that
+    the public school teacher had to send them home. They are under
+    no control; have no one to train them for God, and ought to be
+    where some one would save them from themselves and ruin. When I
+    leased my house to him, he was a very handsome, well-to-do man;
+    young, apparently honest, paid his rent regularly, and had a
+    very nice little wife, who has since died--I think with a broken
+    heart. Will you not look him up at once? Or, if you are too full
+    of other cases, will you not get some one of your workers to try
+    to lead him back to good paths? He is a very desperate case, I
+    know, and seems almost past saving now; but you know God's grace
+    can reach any heart. I would lay this poor dissolute creature,
+    lost to all sense of honor, shame or manliness, on your soul, my
+    brother, and beseech you, for Christ's sake, for the sake of
+    these poor motherless children, whose souls are worth saving for
+    Christ, do try to bring your influence and your prayers for
+    God's help, to this miserable man's case, and see if you can
+    help. If he is past God's mercy--and I can not believe
+    that--will you not see what can be done for the little ones?
+    The oldest boy is a bright little fellow, and may become a great
+    light in our Father's work. I hear that this man has been to
+    hear Mr. Moody. I do not know if it helped him. Will you not
+    send after him, and try to get him to go to-night? I will meet
+    you in prayer there for him.
+
+    In bonds of Christian friendship,
+
+    JENNIE CASSEDAY.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    ALEXANDER'S HOTEL,
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., May 30, 1888.
+
+    _My Dear Mr. Holcombe:_
+
+    I am struggling as hard as ever a poor wretch did against my
+    appetite for liquor. I have asked the good Lord to help me
+    overcome the habit, but I feel that my prayers amount to
+    nothing. May I ask you to ask the Great Controller of us all to
+    give me strength to overcome this habit? Save me, or help save
+    me, I beg and implore you. Please give me your prayers.
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    OCTOBER 16, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your kind favor of the 7th instant reached me in due time. I
+    was, of course, delighted to hear from you, and inexpressibly
+    glad to hear of the improved state of your health. I also note
+    with much pleasure what you say in regard to the pleasant and
+    extensive trip that you have just finished. It gratifies and
+    pleases me beyond expression to know that the people of
+    Louisville are at last awakened to your worth, and are willing
+    to manifest some substantial recognition of the same. "All
+    things work well for those who love the Lord." I believe the
+    quotation is correct. Oh, had I continued in the way you pointed
+    out to me, how different my situation and circumstances would
+    be. Instead of being broken in health and bankrupt in purse,
+    separated from all that I love and hold most dear, I would be, I
+    am sure, what I was while I was endeavoring to lead a Christian
+    life--a happy husband and father and a respectable citizen. Oh,
+    Steve, my dear friend, I am wretched, miserable, broken hearted.
+    When I reflect upon what I was and what I might have been, and
+    consider what I am and how little I have to look forward to, I
+    simply get desperate. But I will not weary you with my troubles.
+    As regards myself and habits, I may say, without exaggeration,
+    that I am in better health and my mode of living is plainer and
+    more regular than it has ever been. I rise every morning between
+    four and five o'clock, and retire between eight and nine. My
+    food is of the plainest and coarsest kind. My companions are, I
+    regret to say, cowboys. You know, I presume, what they are, so I
+    will say nothing about them. I neither drink nor smoke; I chew
+    tobacco very moderately, and expect to quit that. I suffer
+    terribly at times for the want of congenial company. You must
+    excuse this effort, as I am surrounded by a lot of boys who are
+    making a terrible lot of noise. Give my love to all of your
+    family. God bless you, my dear Steve. Pray for me and mine.
+
+    Your friend, ---- ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    NOVEMBER 2, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your letter of the 27th is before me. It is just such a letter
+    as I expected--so full of sympathy, love and good, wholesome
+    advice. I wish it were possible, or, rather, expedient, to
+    listen to your advice and return home, for I am heartily sick
+    and tired of the life I am now living. Don't you know that my
+    life out here reminds me, in a measure, of your western
+    experience? Of course, I am not subjected to the hardships and
+    deprivations that you were forced to undergo. But, as far as
+    bodily comfort and companionship are concerned, I must say that
+    your experience must have been rather "tough," if it was worse
+    than mine. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have plenty to eat,
+    such as it is, I have a fairly good bed, in a fairly good room.
+    My companions are, as you know, cowboys. That they are rough and
+    all that, goes without saying, but let me tell you, my dear
+    friend, I have received better treatment and more consideration
+    from these wild, half-civilized cowboys, upon whom I have no
+    earthly claim, than I ever received from some from whom I had a
+    right to expect, if not fair treatment, at least some
+    consideration. The people one meets out here are always willing
+    to give a fellow a "white man's chance." When you write, tell me
+    something about the dear old Mission and its workers. What has
+    become of Davidson, Peck, Booker and all of the boys? I would be
+    extremely sorry to hear that any of them had forsaken the narrow
+    for the broad way. The dear old Mission! What a train of happy
+    memories is connected with it. I almost forgot to inquire about
+    Clay Price. Tell me about all of them. I am about to change my
+    quarters. Don't know where I will go. You had better wait until
+    you hear from me again before answering. With much love to
+    yourself and family, I am, as ever,
+
+    Your friend,
+
+    ---- ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    DECEMBER 10, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your letter, or rather note, of November 29th, reached me in due
+    course. You advise me to keep up a brave heart. Steve, old
+    fellow, my heart is broken. I know you will smile and shake your
+    head; but I honestly believe that if there is such a thing as a
+    broken heart, mine is broken. Haven't I suffered enough? Well,
+    how is the Mission getting along? I noticed in the
+    _Courier-Journal_ the other day that George Kerr had been
+    reclaimed. Well, well, who would have thought it? I know him
+    well. He is a fellow of some parts. If he can only keep sober,
+    he is abundantly qualified to do well. Write me something about
+    the boys. I would be mighty glad to hear good reports of them.
+    Have you seen the ----s lately. Give them my regards when you
+    see them; and remind them for me, that they are in debt to me a
+    letter. They and you, old fellow, are about all the friends I
+    have left. What a sad commentary upon human nature is the
+    mutability of so-called friendship! When I was prosperous, I had
+    all the friends I wanted, and more, too. Now, I can count them
+    upon the fingers of one hand. Ah, well, I suppose it has been
+    the same time out of mind; I am not an exception. Now, Steve,
+    write me a long letter, and tell me all the news.
+
+    Very truly your friend, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    KANSAS CITY, MO., May 30, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve P. Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:_
+
+    Yours received. Would have written sooner but I have been away
+    and busy. I have been at Fulton, Mo., since the tenth instant.
+    Brother Jones left Monday morning. I tell you I just had a
+    glorious time. Steve, I love the work! and God is blessing me
+    wonderfully; everything is prosperous; business is getting
+    better; my health is getting better. In short, everything is
+    just glorious. Of course, I feel gloomy sometimes; but, blessed
+    be God, he will not allow us to be tempted above that we are
+    able to bear; and, with every temptation there is a way of
+    escape. I feel just that way. Every time temptation comes to me,
+    I flee to God for help, and I never yet failed. I have gone into
+    this for life; and, God helping me, I will stick. I have not
+    tasted drink of any kind since about January 9th, and I tell you
+    I was a slave to it. I never think of drinking now; my thought
+    is all in a different channel; bless God for it. Our little
+    mission is gradually growing, and we hope for grand things from
+    it. Pray for us. Brother Morris wishes to be remembered to
+    yourself and family. I am a member of his church, and I love
+    him. He is a grand man. I am going to Chillicothe, Missouri, the
+    12th of June--Brother Jones will be there for ten days. Give my
+    regards to all who know me; and tell them I am trusting Jesus
+    for everything. May God bless you in your good work. I shall
+    never forget you. Write as soon as convenient.
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    HARRY CHAPMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    CHICAGO, July 21, 1884.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Steve:_
+
+    Your kind postal of the 21st to hand this P. M. I must really
+    beg your pardon for having neglected your cards; but I have no
+    excuse to offer. It has been nothing but carelessness. I was
+    absent from Chicago a week with my friend D., and had a very
+    pleasant time. It is probable that he will start into business
+    in Chicago. He will know in the next few weeks. The Lord has
+    taken wonderfully good care of me since I have been here,
+    although on one or two occasions I have had to do with only one
+    meal a day. He has blessed me all the time. He has kept me
+    cheerful through all, and I feel to-day that I am nearer to Him
+    than I have ever been. I have put myself into His hands
+    unreservedly, and I feel that He is taking care of me. Yesterday
+    I got a letter from my brother. He asked me to pray for him, and
+    I shall certainly continue to do so as long as I live. Whenever
+    you see him, speak to him about the salvation of his soul. I
+    have written to him about it, and he wants to try and become a
+    Christian. Pray for him. Sunday I saw Dr. S. He is better
+    dressed than I ever saw him. I notice he wears the Murphy ribbon
+    in his button-hole. I am glad he is looking so well. This was
+    the first time I had seen him for weeks. Steve, there is only
+    one thing lacking to make my happiness complete, and that is to
+    have my mother think more favorably of my reformation. I have
+    written to her twice, and she has not even deigned to answer. I
+    feel, however, that the Lord will bring this about all right. As
+    to my getting into a situation, it will be some time yet, as
+    business hardly ever starts up here until about September. Then
+    the Lord will put me into something permanent, I know. The
+    captain is indeed happy with his family reunited with him. He
+    ought to shout God's praises from morning till night; but he is
+    not the only one that can shout--_my_ heart is forever full.
+    Neither hard times, nor anything else, can keep me down as long
+    as I have Jesus with me. I must close; it is time to go to
+    convert's meeting. My prayers are for you and the Mission. I
+    humbly ask you, as well as all the good Christians there, to
+    pray for me. May God bless you and yours.
+
+    Your brother in Christ,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+Remember me to Mrs. Holcombe and the rest of the family, as well as to
+all inquiring friends.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FROM THE SAME.
+
+    CHICAGO, August 3, 1884.
+
+    _Dear Steve:_
+
+    Your kind letter to hand. I feel ashamed of myself for not
+    answering your letters more promptly. It does my heart good to
+    think that you at last have confidence in me, and that my going
+    to Chicago must not necessarily round up in my going to hell. It
+    seems to me, although I have not been in the service of our
+    glorious Master as long as you have, yet I have, or rather had,
+    more faith in His power to keep me than you had; but your remark
+    has often been recalled to my mind. Do you remember saying "that
+    if I went to Chicago, I was certainly bound for hell?" Was this
+    charity or placing much faith in God's word? Well, let the
+    matter drop. I have just come home from a glorious meeting. Oh,
+    how I thank God this morning for a lightness of heart and a
+    buoyancy of spirit that lift me above surrounding trials and
+    troubles! I am poor in purse; but, bless His holy name, I am
+    rich in promises and faith. My temporal affairs are not in a
+    very prosperous condition, but notwithstanding all this, I have
+    the confidence He will take care of me. He has done this in a
+    wonderful manner to this time, and He certainly has not changed
+    since I have become one of His. Captain Davidson keeps me pretty
+    well posted as to your meetings. I am glad they are well
+    attended. The Lord willing, I will be with you on a visit this
+    coming winter, and I will bring a friend. You will then see in
+    what style they conduct their meetings here in Chicago. I have
+    as yet received no answer to my long letter to H., but I praise
+    God that my humble words have set him to thinking. My prayers
+    ascend to heaven daily that he may be saved. Your friend, Frank
+    Jones, is here in Chicago. I saw him once on Clark street, but
+    had no chance to talk to him. This has been some two weeks ago.
+    Remember me in Christian love to the Millers, Captain Denny,
+    Dalton, Ben Harney, Tom Watts--in fact, all; but especially give
+    my regards to Mrs. Holcombe. Don't forget Mulligan, and my
+    prayers are that God may bless you as abundantly as he is
+    blessing your brother in Christ,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., September 12, 1887.
+
+    _Rev, S. P. Holcombe, New York City:_
+
+    MY DEAR OLD FRIEND: You do not know the pleasure your letter
+    gave me, I have wanted to write you ever since my return, but
+    did not know where a letter would reach you, nor do I know where
+    to direct this, but suppose I can get your address from Will. I
+    was at the Mission last night, and missed you sadly. We all
+    missed you in many ways. Your good, hard, common horse sense is
+    sadly needed. It is the same old story; we never appreciate a
+    man until it is too late. I used to think I could pick many
+    flaws in your management of the mission work, but I have now
+    come to the conclusion that you can't be downed in that line,
+    and hereafter I shall not even think a thought against your
+    management. Last night we had some ignoramus to preach, and his
+    grammar and ways of expressing himself were (to say the least)
+    tiresome; but we had testimonies afterward, and I said to
+    myself, "Well, Brother Steve is away, and I have been on the
+    quiet lay for a long time; I think, for the sake of Christ and
+    old Steve, I will give a red-hot testimony right from the
+    shoulder," and I did. I was followed by Hocker in a like strain,
+    and others chiming in, we made the welkin ring from turret to
+    foundation-stone. But the banner-bearer was not there; so the
+    good intended to be done fell short. Only one stood up for
+    prayer. But never mind, we will have our old veteran leader with
+    us soon, when we will unfurl our battle-flag anew and carry
+    terror and dismay into old Beelzebub's camp. I think if our
+    winter campaign is well organized, there will be no "Indians on
+    the warpath next spring." I miss you and want to see you so bad,
+    that you may give me a hundred lectures and I won't shirk. Your
+    true blues are all holding fast. Your Old Guard is a true and
+    tried one. I think they all can be depended on both on dress
+    parade and under fire. Your family are all well. May our
+    heavenly Father bless you, my dear friend, both here and
+    hereafter. Your sins have been great; but oh, what would I not
+    give to know that, after life's fitful fever is over, I would be
+    permitted to occupy a seat in the beautiful land of the blest
+    alongside of you. Truly your faith has made you whole. Good-bye,
+    and once more, God bless you.
+
+    Your sincere friend,
+
+    P. B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CONVERT.
+
+    ATLANTA, GA., February 3, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Your letter of December 17th was received in due time. Your
+    postal card was also received a few days ago. I have no lawful
+    excuse to offer but pure procrastination, from time to time, for
+    not answering. You are not forgotten by me or my wife and
+    daughter. We often speak of you, and the question is often
+    asked, "Will he come and see us this year and hold another
+    mission meeting?" You did so much good in Atlanta. The meetings
+    were kept up until the bad weather broke us up; they were well
+    attended nearly every night, and the good seed you sowed
+    germinated; and, by Brother Barclay's good tilling and the
+    assistance and the goodness of God, has brought forth much fruit
+    of repentance; and, thank God, we all bless the day He sent you
+    to us. If your Mission managers could see the great good you
+    accomplished while with us, I do not think they would say no to
+    your making Atlanta another visit; and we look forward to the
+    day as not being far distant when you will do so. I am trying my
+    best to live right. I know I am changed; I feel very different
+    from what I did before you visited us. You have known me fifteen
+    years; and you know how bad and sinful I was, and how
+    dissipated. I have not even wanted a drink of anything since
+    your visit. You know I told you I had put my foot on the serpent
+    and I intended to keep it there. I do not go with any of my old
+    associates who drink or who visit bar rooms. I select good
+    company; I keep up the family altar, and we are a happy little
+    family now. Can you appreciate that you saved one of your old
+    lost friends by your good work? When I met you and saw and heard
+    of the great blessing God had bestowed upon you and your dear
+    family, I set about obtaining the like blessing for myself; and
+    I feel in my heart that I have received it. God has been very
+    merciful to me and blesses all my undertakings and I am so
+    thankful for all of His kind mercies. Brother Barclay told me he
+    wrote you a few days ago, and I suppose he gave you all the
+    news. I have not been to the mission Sunday-school for some time
+    on account of the bad weather, and you know I live a long way
+    off. But, God willing, I shall go next Sunday. My wife and
+    daughter join in much love to you and your family, and wish you
+    a happy and successful year in the Master's cause.
+
+    Yours truly, ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM AN OFFENDED GENTLEMAN.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 13, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Sir:_
+
+    Your letter surprises me. You came to me unintroduced; I was
+    glad to see you, and, I hope, treated you with the consideration
+    which I think your merit demands. You again approached me
+    to-day. Tonight I received a letter from you which is to me
+    offensive and impolite. I am not coming to your place, and I
+    will thank you to abate your interest in my behalf. I believe in
+    your work, and wish you success; but I hope you will let me
+    alone. My self-constituted friends have done me more injury than
+    _even_ my own indiscretions. Very truly,
+
+    To Rev. Steve P. Holcombe. ----- -----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A GAMBLER.
+
+    FEBRUARY 4, 1884.
+
+    _Mr. Steve Holcombe, Esq., Lewisville, Ky.:_
+
+    DEAR FRIEND: I take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines, as I
+    haven't heard of you for a long time, I learnt from a friend, of
+    your whereabouts, and that you had forever Retired from
+    Gambling, I want to accumulate a few hundred dollars and Retire
+    from the Business in the future, and as we have long Been
+    friends, I hope you will not Refuse giving me your sure system
+    of winning at the Game of Poker. From your friend,
+
+    DAVID W. MILLER,
+
+    _Ridgeville, Randolph Co., Ind._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    849 SEVENTH ST., LOUISVILLE, May 28, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: I have a large family Bible, which has been in my
+    family a number of years. You will do me a personal favor by
+    accepting it as a souvenir of my late son, Charles A. Gill. It
+    was through your Christian instrumentality and kindness that my
+    dear son embraced his Saviour and died a Christian.
+
+    Hoping that God will add many stars to your crown, I am your
+    sincere friend,
+
+    HANNAH GILL.
+
+    Two more Bibles will be given you by the same hand for
+    distribution.
+
+    H. G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM A CHRISTIAN BROTHER.
+
+    MEMPHIS, TENN., May 6, 1887.
+
+    _My Dear Friend and Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    Your card well received, but I have been so busy that I have
+    waited for a time to write to you. I am in good health and have
+    a good situation, thank God. Am always alone. My children in
+    Switzerland are well. When I passed through Louisville, as I
+    wrote you from New York, I wished I had been able to stop for
+    twenty-four hours, but had a through sleeper to Memphis, and
+    could not stay over. I heard of your great trial lately. Hope
+    God did sustain you, and that good will come out of it for your
+    soul. The more I live, the more I am separated from this world.
+    My body is in it, but my mind and spirit are longing for a
+    better state, where evil shall not be present, within or
+    without. The Bible becomes clearer to my soul every day, and
+    with the grace of God I hope to come to the end a faithful and
+    obedient child of the Almighty Father in heaven. I suffer very
+    much mentally; it is a constant agony. I am absolutely,
+    completely broken down in my own will; have given up entirely
+    all worldly pleasures; have no pleasure except in doing the will
+    of God the best I can. My old enemy, myself, with my passions
+    and self-indulgence, I pay no more attention to. May God use me
+    according to His good will, and make me so as to be worthy of
+    His service. Everything of this world has been taken away from
+    me; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" is my daily bread. I
+    often wish to be in Louisville. Maybe I shall return there
+    later, to have some Christian friends around me. I have here
+    $150.00 a month, and the finest situation that can be wished in
+    my line of business. What are you doing? I suppose always the
+    same--taking care of the lost and neglected. Your reward shall
+    be great, as you come nearer fulfilling the Master's teaching
+    than brilliant preachers who do not touch the burdens of poor
+    sinners. How is your family, especially your sweet little
+    daughter? I hope you are all well. This world is nothing but a
+    tremendous deception to all who are attached to it; everything
+    is corrupt, and has the sting of death and sin. It is a constant
+    warfare with evil and evil forces around you. It is only worth
+    living for the good we can do to others. I can not understand at
+    all the joy that some find in it, except in doing entirely, to
+    the best of your ability, the will of God. There is surely no
+    other source of life in the universe. I am writing now to dear
+    Brother A. A few months ago he wrote to me. He, also, has had
+    great sorrows. It is very strange that alone pain and suffering
+    can make us wise and pure in heart. How antagonistic are the
+    ways of God and those of men? Absolutely opposed in all things.
+    Oh, let us be true to God, even unto death, cutting mercilessly
+    all that is worldly and carnal, so as to live for the spirit and
+    not lose eternal life. My dear brother, please do pray for your
+    lonely brother, that God may bring His presence into my worried
+    soul and help me in the battle. The enemy is very powerful, and
+    shows no mercy. His mission is to destroy and to lie, and he
+    knows how to do it. May God bless you and keep you forever.
+
+    Your true friend,
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM SAM P. JONES.
+
+    CHICAGO, ILL., March 16, 1886.
+
+    _Rev. Steve Holcombe, Louisville, Ky.:_
+
+    DEAR BROTHER HOLCOMBE: Yours of March 10th received. I thought
+    you were wise enough to know, when you wanted to plant yourself
+    in permanent quarters, that the devil would do his best to
+    prevent it. The devil don't like you anyway; but keep your
+    equilibrium--God is with you; and He is more than all that can
+    be against you. I have just passed through the most terrific
+    storm of criticism almost of my life; and thank God I have
+    witnessed in Chicago, within the last twenty-four hours, the
+    grandest triumph of the Gospel I ever saw. I wish you could be
+    here a few days and see the power of God, and rejoice with us in
+    the work.
+
+    I enclose an article, which you can take to the
+    _Courier-Journal_ if you like.
+
+    Kindest regards to your loved ones and all the brethren, and may
+    God's blessing be upon your work.
+
+    Fraternally yours,
+
+    SAM P. JONES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM THE SAME.
+
+    GIBSON HOUSE,
+    CINCINNATI, OHIO, June 13, 1886.
+
+    _My Dear Brother Holcombe:_
+
+    I received your message sent by Brother Cleveland. I would like
+    you to come over about the middle of next week. I think we will
+    have some of the slain of the Lord for you to look after by that
+    time. Our meeting moves off gloriously. I have never seen a
+    better start anywhere. Thank God for the prospect of a glorious
+    victory in this wicked city. The house is packed day and night,
+    and the preachers and people stand shoulder to shoulder with me.
+    Love to your family. Affectionately,
+
+    SAM P. JONES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM REV. DR. WILLITS (Warren Memorial Church).
+
+    _Mr. Steve Holcombe:_
+
+    DEAR SIR: The bearer, Ch. H., is a stranger to me; but he will
+    tell you his story. It is the old story of fight with appetite,
+    and you will be better able to advise him than myself.
+
+    Truly yours,
+
+    A. A. WILLITS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    FROM DR. JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+    MARCH 23, 1885.
+
+    _Dear Brother Holcombe_:
+
+    The bearer is Mr. B., once a merchant in Richmond, Va., fallen
+    by drinking habits, separated from wife and children, _lost_. He
+    spoke to me after sermon yesterday morning, and came to my house
+    this morning. He does not ask immediate relief, having some
+    money; but wants to find employment, and thinks he can stop
+    drinking. He is evidently an intelligent man, and earnestly
+    desirous of regaining himself. He used to be an Episcopal
+    communicant. Now, if you can in any way help Mr. B., I shall be
+    exceedingly glad.
+
+    Your friend and brother,
+
+    JOHN A. BROADUS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     The following letter is from one of the converts whose
+     testimony is given elsewhere, but it is interesting as an
+     independent account given soon after his conversion.
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., January 28, 1884.
+
+    _Rev. G. Alexander_:
+
+DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: The few brotherly words you spoke to me during our
+short acquaintance, and your kindness toward me, a poor drunken outcast
+at the time, will ever be remembered. Often I make inquiries of Brother
+Holcombe regarding you and your health. At his suggestion, I write you
+and give a brief history of my life, in hope it may encourage some poor
+fellow whom you are seeking to save for a better life, and give him
+renewed courage to battle against sin; and for the glory of our Saviour
+Jesus Christ.
+
+My father, as a wealthy man, determined to give his children the benefit
+of a good education. With this end in view, he left my younger brother
+and myself in Germany in 1864, after a visit there with the family. We
+stayed until 1867, when we returned to Louisville, I to enter the
+banking house of Theodore Schwartz & Co. With them I stayed until 1869,
+when my father became bondsman for the sheriff, Captain John A. Martin.
+Out of courtesy, Captain Martin made me, although only nineteen years of
+age, one of his deputies. From that time I date my downfall. Money
+flowed in freely; and, being young and inexperienced, I spent it just as
+freely, if not more so. In two years, at the age of twenty-one, I was
+considered about as reckless a young man as there was in the city. My
+father was always proud of his oldest son, and indulged me in almost
+everything. The habit of intemperance was gaining a sure hold; and when
+he died, in 1872, I was considered by some a confirmed drunkard.
+
+Gradually I sank lower and lower, until I became what I was when you
+first saw me eight months ago--a poor miserable outcast from society,
+and a burden to myself and friends. I was forsaken and despised by all.
+I shudder to think that my life should ever flow in the same channel
+again. During all these years of dissipation I wandered all over this
+country--from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic almost
+to the Pacific. I drifted aimlessly with no other object in view but to
+gratify a terrible longing for strong drink. I had been in the city but
+a short while when I heard of Brother Holcombe's efforts to redeem the
+fallen. Having known him before his conversion, curiosity led me to
+listen to him. During all this time I knew and felt that a day of
+reckoning would come, but whenever such thoughts entered my mind, I
+dismissed them, as they made me tremble at the very idea of having to
+give an account of the misdeeds of a wasted life. On the 25th of last
+June I was passing up Jefferson street, and heard singing in the
+basement at No. 436. My first impulse was to turn and go away, as I was
+in no suitable dress to go into a place of worship. Then the thought
+came into my mind, "This is Steve Holcombe's place; I'll go in and see
+what it looks like." Thank God, I did go in. The songs of those
+Sunday-school children awakened chords in my heart which I thought had
+died long ago. Tears came into my eyes, and then and there I vowed, if
+by God's help salvation was possible for me, I certainly would make the
+trial. Glorious have been the results. That evening I heard Brother
+Holcombe once more; introduced myself to him and promised him I would
+attend evening service, which I did.
+
+From that day to this I have been growing in grace. The Lord has blessed
+me wonderfully. My worldly affairs have prospered; and, what is worth
+more than all the world to me, I am continually happy. Nothing disturbs
+my peace, and I allow nothing to interfere with it. My trust is in my
+Saviour; He has promised to care for those who trust Him, and I have
+implicit faith in that promise. My old appetite and desires are all
+taken away and I find pleasure and joy in things that in former years I
+considered ridiculous.
+
+    Very truly yours,
+
+    FRED ROPKE.
+
+
+
+
+TESTIMONIALS.
+
+
+CAPTAIN EGBERT J. MARTIN.
+
+I was born in Louisville in 1842; was educated in New York and Virginia;
+served in General Lee's army during the war on the staff of my uncle,
+General Edward Johnson. The only commission I received was received on
+the third day of July, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg.
+
+My first drinking commenced in Georgia, where I was planting rice with
+General Gordon. That was in 1867. I did not drink during the war at all
+except that I might have taken a drink occasionally when I met with
+friends. My uncle would not permit liquor about his headquarters. On
+leaving Georgia, I went to New York, and went into business. I acquired
+quite a reputation there, and had a good income. My periodical drinking
+continued, however, and each year became greater and greater. Nothing
+was said about it for seven years and a half. I would not drink around
+my place of business. When I felt the spell coming on me, I would quit
+and go off, and be gone seven or eight days, and be back to business
+again when I had straightened up, and nothing was said about it; but the
+thing will increase on a man, and, of course, with each succeeding year
+the habit became stronger, and the intervals shorter.
+
+I conceived the idea that a change of climate would do me good. Visits
+to the mountains seemed to benefit me, and I thought I would go West,
+and the change would effect a cure. I went to Colorado, made friends
+there, went into business, and was successful. I was married to my wife
+in Denver, Colorado. I believed as my wife did, that my drinking was a
+matter under my control. I had been leading an aimless life, with no
+family ties; and after I was married, I thought a strong effort on my
+part would stop it. I wanted to get back to salt water again, and have
+everything in my favor; and the next morning after we were married, I
+started for California. I was very successful there. I was in a short
+time made special agent of the California Electric Light Company, at a
+salary of three thousand dollars a year. They wanted to make a contract
+with me for five years, giving me three thousand dollars a year, if I
+would bind myself not to drink during the five years. I found it was not
+such an easy thing to quit drinking. I consulted physicians there. There
+was a doctor in Oakland who said he had a specific for drunkenness; and
+he gave it to me. The result was that when I wanted a drink, I threw the
+medicine away and got the drink. What I always wanted, and tried to get,
+was something to take away the appetite for drink. There were times when
+I had no more desire for drink than you or any other man; but when it
+seized me, it seized me in an uncontrollable way, and I would drink for
+the deliberate purpose of making myself sick and getting over it as
+quick as possible. I knew it had to be gone through with, and I drank
+until I made myself sick.
+
+I never attended to business when I drank liquor. I never mixed up my
+business affairs with my drinking. Everybody I had anything to do with
+knew I was thoroughly reliable. I never lied about being drunk. I never
+said I was sick or had the cholera infantum or anything of that sort.
+Everybody who employed me knew as much about it as I did.
+
+When my little boy was born, I felt a sacred duty was imposed upon me;
+and I tried to encourage my ideas of morality. I had always been a moral
+man, and, although an infidel, had never sought to break down the
+religious opinions of any one, because I had nothing to give them
+instead. My rationalism satisfied me. It was a belief, an opinion, with
+which I was willing to face my Maker, because I believed I was right. I
+believed in the existence of a Supreme Being, but I did not believe that
+the great Ruler of the universe thought enough of us insignificant human
+beings to interest Himself in our affairs. I did not believe in the
+Christians' God. There in Virginia I had been surrounded by members of
+the church. Everybody was either a Baptist, a Methodist, or a member of
+some other denomination; drunkards and saloon-keepers and all belonged
+to the church. They could do wrong and afterward go straight to church.
+That kind of religion disgusted me, and that kind of religion confirmed
+my skepticism. I wanted to get away and I even planned to go to
+Australia. After my little boy was born, I stayed sober for six months,
+and then I commenced drinking again. I did not conceal the truth from
+myself. I said, "You are false to everything that is manly; you are a
+disgrace to yourself." I decided to go back to Virginia (my wife had
+never been there) and settle up a lawsuit I had pending in the courts.
+
+But after a short stay in Virginia I had an offer to return to New York
+and go to work, and went to New York; and after I had been there a
+month, I received a dispatch stating that a compromise had been agreed
+upon without consulting me at all. I went back to Richmond and rejected
+the compromise.
+
+A decision was made in my favor, but the case was taken to the Court of
+Appeals. I had used up everything I had in litigation; and when, at
+last, I got a telegram that the Court of Appeals had reversed the case,
+and we had lost everything, it just broke me down. It took me more than
+a month to realize that it was a fact--I could not get it into my head;
+and it broke me down completely. I loved my wife and I loved my child,
+and was troubled about them, and for the two years I was fighting these
+Virginia gentlemen I was in a state of high excitement. I had nothing to
+do except to worry, and I drank more than ever in my life. I said, "My
+God! it is awful. I have lost everything. I know I am a drunkard; it is
+no use denying it, because the appetite is on me all the time." And many
+a time I threw myself down in the woods and sobbed aloud if Fate would
+have mercy on me. I had given up all hope. I thought the good fortune
+which had followed me all my life would never return. I had sent my wife
+off; so I had lost her, too. She went to her sister's, in Ohio; and I
+arranged that my mother should remain at the old place. I wrote to a
+cousin of mine whom I had not met since the war. He used, frequently, to
+come to our home, a delightful and healthful place, thirteen miles from
+Richmond. I thought I would write him that I desired to get out of
+Virginia, and had not the means, and would make Louisville my objective
+point. So I wrote him, but received no reply. I wrote to another man,
+stating the circumstances--that I wanted to get out of Virginia and go
+to work; but I received no answer from him; and I came to the conclusion
+if I wanted to get out of Virginia I would have to walk. I had secured
+my wife and child, and as for myself it little mattered what befell me
+or how I fared.
+
+I was walking through the woods one day and saw a man getting out
+railroad ties. He told me of a place near by, called the "Lost Land." A
+year before that, my uncle's executor gave me a deed that was taken from
+the old house at my oldest uncle's death. It was for a little slip of
+land--an avenue--that my grandfather had bought in 1815. Well, I thought
+nothing of it. I told the old negro woman that when everything was
+settled up, I was going to give her that land; and I put the deed away
+with other papers and forgot all about it. When I was worrying about the
+means, and making efforts to get the means to get out of Virginia, this
+man, who was hewing in the woods, told me about the little piece of
+woodland that had so much sill timber on it, and he spoke of it as the
+"Lost Land," and his speaking of the "Lost Land" reminded me of this
+deed, and I hurried home, found the deed, and saw that it located the
+land at about where he mentioned. I went to the County Surveyor, who had
+succeeded his father and grandfather in the office, and we found that
+the property of which this formed a part had been sold in large lots,
+and it was there between the lines of the other property, unclaimed by
+any one, and for seventy-three years had escaped taxation, because the
+deed conveying it had never been recorded in the county books, and it
+was supposed by the county officials that all of the original tract had
+been divided off in the larger subdivisions. We found it, ran the lines
+around it, and I sold ten acres for one hundred dollars--enough to pay a
+grocery bill, buy me a suit of clothes and land me in Louisville.
+
+I had loved the old place--loved it all my life, because I had spent
+many days there when a happy, careless boy. My mother was born there, my
+grandmother and my great-grandfather lie buried there. It was bought in
+1782 by my great-grandfather, who was not only a gentleman but a
+scholar. He graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
+Edinburgh, and afterward spent seven years in Europe. I was very much
+attached to the old place, and on leaving it I drank to deaden the pain.
+
+I came here to Louisville, and I drank after I got here to keep from
+thinking. I tell you things looked blue, and I tell you the fact, the
+liquor I drank every day made me feel worse and worse, and my brain was
+affected from the excitement I had passed through. I found myself in a
+second or third-class hotel which stood nearly on the spot where I was
+born. I lay in my room for three days. I came to the conclusion there
+was no use kicking; the end was at hand. Fate had brought me back here,
+where I was born, to die. I even said it to myself, "Destiny has brought
+you back here, to the city where you were born, to die; and to die by
+your own hands. You have no respect for yourself, nor have others
+respect for you. You know by living you will bring further disgrace upon
+the wife and child you love so well. If you will commit suicide people
+will say, 'He was an unfortunate man, but a brave one; his only fault
+was his drinking.'" I tried to shut out all thoughts of my wife and
+child, but I could not. I said to myself, "I was born here; I have not
+outraged the law; I have done nothing dishonorable; nothing why any man
+related to me should shun me. But I have lost everything; I am accursed;
+I am alone here. My wife's people know I am here, but do not communicate
+with me. And they tell me there is a God." A man came to my room in the
+hotel and said they wanted the room. "You say you have no money and no
+friends, so we can not keep you here any longer. You must give us the
+room." Under these circumstances I was coming nearer and nearer the
+final determination to commit suicide when a man, a stranger, came into
+my room who was himself a drunkard. I told him my condition and my
+determination. He said, "Wait till I send that man Holcombe down to see
+you. Maybe he can help you." Mr. Holcombe dropped everything and came to
+me at once. I did not know who he was. He said, "My name is Holcombe: I
+am from the Mission." Well, sir, if he had commenced at me as most
+preachers would have done, and told me in a sort of mechanical way that
+I had brought it all on myself, I would have said, "I am much obliged to
+you for your politeness and your well-meant efforts, but it does me no
+good, and I am very much distressed and would much prefer to be alone."
+He said, "There is no use trusting in yourself; you can not save
+yourself." That struck me at once as a correct diagnosis of my case, and
+I said, "That is just the conclusion I have come to myself." Then he
+told me what had been done for him, and he got down on his knees and
+prayed. And when he prayed for me and my wife and child, that is what
+reached my heart. I said "There is _something_ in that man's religion at
+any rate. I do not believe in this stuff I have seen in the churches;
+but there is something in that sort of religion. It is the last straw I
+have to catch at. I will try it." I got up out of bed where I had been
+for three wretched days, and came up to the Mission. There I came in
+contact with some influence I had never felt before. I came to the
+conclusion that there was truth in the Christian religion, and I said,
+"That is all right, but that is not what I want. I want that inward
+consciousness that I am not going to drink." I might get up and say, "I
+am ready to confess I am wrong; I believe religion is right; I have seen
+evidences of it; I believe you are right and I am wrong. But I had no
+inward consciousness of any change in me, and I did not feel secure or
+in any way protected against the habit of drinking." I knew if there was
+anything in religion, there must be something a man would be conscious
+of. I said, "There is something in this religion, but I have not got the
+hang of it." It occurred to me that perhaps after all, my chief motive
+and desire in all this was the welfare of my wife and child and the
+recovery of our domestic happiness. And lying on that bed I said, "I am
+willing to do anything. There is nothing that I am not willing to do, if
+I can only get rid of this appetite. I will get up and state that I was
+a drunkard; I will acknowledge every tramp as my brother; and, although
+I have no desire to do it, I will go out and preach. Just let me know
+that I am free from this thing and that I can go on in life;" and all at
+once--I could not connect the thought and result together--there came
+upon me a perfect sense of relief. I was just as conscious then of
+divine interposition as I ever was afterward; and I said to myself,
+"This is what they call regeneration," and turned over and went to
+sleep. From that time I commenced a new sober life; and I never have
+wanted liquor; I never have had a desire for it since, and it is now
+going on two years.
+
+I think many men are called, but few are chosen. There are a great many
+men who get far enough in the surrender to feel good and change their
+opinions; but they do not get down to the bed-rock of regeneration. I do
+not believe in any change, or in any doctrine that says there is
+regeneration through anything except a complete surrender. Men are ready
+to believe that Christ was the son of God, but go straight home and
+continue their old way of life. They must say, "I will not only quit
+serving the devil, but I will commence serving God." "Thou shall love
+the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy
+strength."
+
+I do not let theological opinions disturb me now. My simple faith and
+theology is this: That I have the peace of God and He keeps me. I have
+knowledge of God's power and mercy, and feel that God keeps me.
+
+My wife and child have come back and are now with me, and are as happy
+as they can be; and there is not a man in this country with less money
+and more happiness than I. I am happier than I ever was in my life.
+
+     NOTE.--Captain Martin is now engaged in business in the house
+     of Bayless Bros. & Co., Louisville.
+
+
+R. N. DENNY.
+
+I was born in 1846 in the State of Illinois. At that time, before there
+were many railroads, it was a comparatively backwoods country where I
+was raised. Our nearest market was St. Louis, sixty miles from where we
+lived. My father kept a country store there, and hauled his produce to
+St. Louis. My father was a professed Christian, so also was my
+grandfather, yet each of them kept a demijohn of whisky in the house.
+They would prepare roots and whisky, and herbs and whisky, which was
+used for all kinds of medical purposes and for all kinds of ills that
+flesh is heir to; and I believe at that time I got the appetite for
+whisky, if I did not inherit it. I have drunk whisky as far back as I
+can remember. I had a great many relatives who were Christians; but I
+gloried in my obstinacy and would have nothing to do with Christianity.
+
+In my seventeenth year I went into the army. Of course, being among the
+Romans, I had to be a Roman, too; and consequently, the drinking habit
+grew upon me; and I acquired also a passion for gambling. After the war
+I did not do much good. I drifted about from place to place for
+something over a year, and then joined the regular army. I belonged to
+the Seventh Regular Cavalry, Custer's command, which was massacred on
+the Little Big Horn. At that time I did not belong to the command, as my
+time had expired some time before.
+
+I came to Louisville in 1871, and commenced working as a restaurant and
+hotel cook. I was very apt at the business, and was soon able to command
+the best situations to be had, having been _chef_ at the Galt House.
+During all this time I had been a drunkard in different stages. I was
+what is called a "periodical drunkard." I often braced up and went
+without a drink for six months or a year--something like that length of
+time--and always had work when I was not drinking; but I became so
+unreliable, that I could get no employment when another man could be
+had. It was said of me everywhere, "Denny is a good man, but he drinks."
+About 1873 I got married, and up to 1883 I had four children. Of course,
+my drinking, and everything of that kind, brought my family to want--in
+fact, to beggary. For a long time I always took my wages home on
+pay-day, and my wife, in her good-heartedness, always offered me money;
+would often ask me of a morning if I did not feel bad, and would give me
+fifteen cents or a quarter, not knowing that she was giving me money for
+my own damnation, until the year of the first Exposition here--1882. I
+had a position there at twelve dollars a week. I stayed there ten weeks;
+and I do not believe I got home with five dollars in the whole ten
+weeks. The man with whom I worked had a bar attachment to his
+restaurant, and I could get what credit I wanted there; and on Saturday
+night when I found my wages were short, I would get drunk, and conclude
+to try and win something at gambling, but I invariably lost.
+
+At the close of the Exposition, it was on the verge of winter, and times
+were very dull. I was behind with my rent and in debt to everybody I
+could get in debt to, my family were without decent clothing, had no
+fire, and I was almost naked myself, with no prospects of a situation. A
+short time afterward I got a position on a steamboat, which paid me
+fairly well, and which I believe I kept two, maybe three, weeks, and got
+drunk as usual. I failed to take my money home, and, of course, told my
+wife some lie. I had to say something. Sometimes my wife believed me,
+and sometimes she did not. At that time it was winter, it must have been
+in December, and very cold. My children were barefooted, and I was just
+about to be set out on the street because I had not paid my rent. I woke
+up one very cold morning very early, and we had not a morsel of food in
+the house or coal to make a fire with. I walked down toward the river
+and met the same man I had been working with a few weeks before. He
+stopped and asked me if I did not want to go back on the boat. I told
+him I would be glad to go back. He asked me how long before I would get
+drunk; and I said, as I had said a thousand times before, "I will never
+drink again." I made one trip, which was three days, and got drunk. It
+was on the second day of January, 1883, that I shipped, and I came back
+on the fifth, which was the coldest day I ever saw in Louisville. The
+thermometer was twenty-six degrees below zero between New Albany and the
+mouth of Salt river. There were during these dark days a few charitable
+people that used to give my family some of the necessaries of life--and
+but for that I can not see how they would have kept from starvation. I
+appreciated my situation nearly all the time, knew how wrong I was
+doing, would admit it to myself but would not admit it to anybody else.
+If a man had called me a drunkard, I would have called him a liar.
+
+In the providence of God the Fifth and Walnut-street church established
+the Holcombe Mission near where I lived, and among other waifs picked up
+on the street and taken to the Sunday-school were my children. While I
+had always been pretty bad myself, I had always tried to teach my
+children better. I shuddered at the thought of my boys going on in the
+way that I was going. When they went to Sunday-school and learned the
+songs there and came home and sang them, it broke me all to pieces. I
+had nothing left to do but to go and get drunk in self-defense. The
+Sunday-school teacher (Mrs. J. R. Clarke), who taught my children, had
+been trying to find me for a long time. She must have thought from
+seeing my children at Sunday-school that there was some good in me; and
+after awhile she sent me a Bible with a great many passages marked in
+it. She was looking for me and had sent for me to come and see her, and
+I had been trying to keep out of her way for a long time. Finally she
+found me at home one day, and would take no excuse, but insisted that I
+must come to Holcombe's Mission; and, of course, I promised to go,
+because I could not help myself. I could not get out of it; and if I had
+a redeeming trait in the world, it was that I would not break a positive
+promise.
+
+I promised her to come, and that day I did go. They were holding
+noon-day meetings at the time. I do not remember just now that I was
+very deeply impressed. I was of a skeptical turn of mind and very
+critical. I well remember I criticised all the testimonies given there;
+but the thing was so strange to me, so different from anything that I
+was used to, that I was very considerably impressed in a strange kind of
+way, which is unaccountable to me even now. I had taken a seat near the
+door, so that I might get out very quick; but Brother Holcombe headed me
+off, and caught me before I got to the door. I did not know him
+personally at that time, but had known of him for a long time. Of
+course, I could not get out of the Mission without promising to come
+again. After having come two or three times, I was asked to say
+something, but did not feel like saying anything. Finally I stood up one
+day, perhaps the third or fourth day I was there. It was not a time when
+they were asking people if they wanted an interest in their prayers. I
+got up and said I wanted an interest in their prayers that I might be
+saved from myself. I had known for a long time that I was helpless, so
+far as delivering myself from drink was concerned. I knew nothing about
+Christianity, in fact, I did not care much about it, because I had not
+studied on the subject, and would not study on the subject. For many
+years I had not dared to stop and think seriously about such a subject,
+but when I heard that the Gospel of Christ was able to deliver such a
+man as I, I heard it gladly, because I had found there was no earthly
+power that could deliver such a man as I was. In the meantime, I had
+been reading my Bible, and had committed some of it to memory; and there
+was a good deal of mystery attached to the whole thing--things that I
+could not understand. When they asked me to speak, I quoted a passage
+from the Bible. One day I quoted the passage about a man having put his
+hand to the plow and looking back, not being worthy of the kingdom of
+God. Brother Messick, pastor of the church which I afterward joined,
+prayed directly afterward, and in his prayer he quoted this passage of
+Scripture, and prayed in such an encouraging and helpful way, that I
+rose from my knees satisfied in my heart that I was changed.
+
+Well, from that time until now I have never drunk anything. That was in
+January or February, 1883. I have never had a desire for liquor but once
+since. Last summer I went to Crab Orchard. I was _chef_ down there, and
+I had to handle very choice wines and liquors in my business, and I
+handled one brand of wine that I was particularly fond of in old times.
+I was tempted that time to drink wine. It seemed the tempter said to me:
+"You are way down here where nobody knows anything about you. It is
+good, and you know it won't hurt you. It don't cost you anything and it
+is nothing but wine, and you need not take too much." At that time I
+could get all the liquor I wanted. If I wanted it, I could order a
+hogshead of it just by a scratch of the pen. With that single exception,
+I have never had a temptation to drink. I don't know that I had an
+appetite to drink then. It was a clear cut temptation from without, and
+not from within.
+
+I have had no trouble about getting positions since my conversion and
+deliverance from the appetite for drink. My family are well housed, well
+clothed and well fed, and have everything they need, and have had since
+the time I became a Christian man. They themselves are the greatest
+evidences in the world of what Christianity can do for a man. A short
+time ago--six months ago--I established myself in business, and have
+been doing a thriving, prosperous business from that time until now.
+
+I might say something about my going to the work-house: Two years ago,
+or a little over, I was asked to go to the work-house one Sunday
+evening. I was very much impressed with the necessity for working for
+the poor men there. I was at that time identified with the Mission work,
+and the services at the work-house were all under the auspices of the Y.
+M. C. A. I continued going to the work-house for some length of
+time--three or four months. The Y. M. C. A. very kindly divided time
+with me and other Mission workers. After having gone to the work-house
+three or four months, I stopped going. The Chairman of the Devotional
+Committee of the Y. M. C. A. sent for me and gave me charge of the
+work-house and jail, which, of course, I accepted in the name of the
+Mission; and from that time until now both of them have been under
+Mission workers. I was very anxious to return to the work-house, but our
+head decided that I should take the jail, where I have continued to go
+for a year and a half--I suppose about that length of time--every Sunday
+when I was in the city, with possibly one or two exceptions.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Denny is at present the joint-proprietor, with Mr.
+     Ropke, of a thriving restaurant on Third street, between
+     Jefferson and Green, Louisville.
+
+[Illustration: B. F. DAVIDSON.]
+
+
+B. F. DAVIDSON.
+
+Twenty years ago I resided in the city of Cincinnati; was President of a
+Boatman's Insurance Company, proprietor of a ship chandlery, and
+interested largely in some twenty odd steamboats; and also interested
+largely in other insurance companies, and was rated as worth half a
+million of dollars. Through depreciation in property, bad debts, and
+indorsing for other parties largely, in four years I had lost all my
+money. To retrieve my fortune, I then started West, not being willing,
+of course, to accept a position where I had been a proprietor. While
+there, associating with the miners and Western people generally, I
+contracted the habit of drinking. This grew upon me and was continued,
+with short intermissions of soberness, up to four years ago--about last
+January. I was brought very low as a consequence of my dissipation, and
+I have traveled as a tramp from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from
+the lakes to the Gulf, spending my time in alternately fighting and
+yielding to the demon of drink. For five years previous to my coming to
+Louisville, I had given up all hope of ever being able to make anything
+of myself, as I had tried, in vain, every known remedy to cure me of the
+appetite. My pride was effectually humbled, and I was in despair.
+
+From the time that I went West--which was in 1872--until my arrival in
+1884, my children, a daughter and son, knew not whether I was dead or
+alive--knew nothing of me whatever. After I took to drink, I lost all
+interest in them and everything else.
+
+As soon as I got off the ferry-boat in Louisville, in as sad a plight as
+any wretched man was ever in, I met an old friend, who had known me in
+years previous, and who handed me two dollars, requesting me to call at
+his office the next morning, when he would give me such assistance as I
+needed. The two dollars I spent that day for whisky. That night I begged
+a quarter to pay for my lodging. The next day, by begging, I filled up
+pretty well on whisky again. Toward evening I went into a Main-street
+house and asked a gentleman for a quarter to pay for a night's lodging,
+I had lost all pride, all self-respect, and could beg with a brazen
+face. The gentleman handed me a card of Holcombe's Mission. As I did not
+know or care anything about missions or churches, I merely stuck the
+card in my pocket and went on my way. After walking around for some time
+I heard the remark: "There goes that old man now." Upon looking up I
+recognized the gentleman whom I last asked for a quarter to pay for a
+night's lodging, and another man, engaged in conversation. The other
+gentleman, who proved to be the Rev. Steve Holcombe, of Holcombe's
+Mission, took me by the hand and invited me up to the Mission rooms,
+where I told him my story. He asked me if I ever had asked God through
+Jesus Christ to assist me in my endeavors to become a sober man. I told
+him I had not, as I had made up my mind years ago that God had no use
+for me. I felt as though I had sinned beyond redemption.
+
+I had left home very early in life. My mother was the best Christian
+woman I had ever seen. She was a Methodist, but she never could preach
+Christianity to me--I fell back on my own righteousness. I did not
+drink, I did not smoke, I did not chew, I did not swear, I did not run
+after women, I did not loaf around saloons like other young men. When my
+mother was after me to join the church, I told her that would not make
+me any better: "Look at your church members; is that man any better than
+I am?" My sister, along toward the last, having joined the Episcopal
+church, I took two pews in that church; was a lay member, but I did not
+attend it. That was in Newport--St. Paul's Episcopal church, Newport.
+When the minister insisted on my going to church, I told him that while
+he would be preaching sermons I would be building steamboats, so his
+sermons would not do me any good.
+
+After I got to drinking, my poor daughter did not see me. I did not go
+to my children at all. I never got but one letter from them during that
+time, from 1872 to 1884, and that was a letter that went to Cincinnati,
+and they held it there, I believe, for two years. I was at Cincinnati a
+good many times; but they could never get me to stay there long enough
+to get my children down to see me. As soon as I had an idea that they
+were manoeuvring for anything of that kind, I would get out of town at
+once, and they would not know where I had gone.
+
+During my life as a tramp, there is no kind of work that can be thought
+of that I did not work at more or less, and the money I
+earned--sometimes I earned as much as eight dollars a day--eventually
+went to the barkeepers; I could not even buy my clothes.
+
+After a long talk with Brother Holcombe, I told him that, having tried
+everything else, I was perfectly willing to try God. That night I went
+to church, and went up to be prayed for. There was no regular meeting at
+the Mission then, from the fact that the church that was running the
+Mission had a revival. So, with Brother Holcombe, I went around to the
+revival meeting at the Fifth and Walnut-street church. When the
+invitation was given for those who wanted to be prayed for to come
+forward, I was among the first to accept it, and went up clothed in all
+my rags. After prayer I felt much better than I had for many years. That
+night I went back and lay on the floor in the Mission, having refused an
+invitation from Brother Holcombe to go to a boarding-house, telling him
+if God, in His mercy, would take from me the appetite for strong drink,
+I had still strength and will enough left to make my own living. The
+next morning I asked Brother Holcombe to go with me to the paper-mill of
+Bremaker-Moore Company, where they were building a dam to prevent an
+overflow from stopping the engines in the paper-mill. I secured a
+position there, at a dollar and a quarter a day, to shovel mud. As soon
+as the river commenced to fall that occupation was gone; but the
+superintendent of the mill, becoming in the meantime somewhat acquainted
+with my history, offered me a situation inside, which I held for three
+weeks, when I was sent for to see the business manager of the _Post_. I
+accepted a position on the _Post_ as advertising solicitor at fifteen
+dollars a week, which was afterward increased to twenty-five. I was then
+made business manager, at thirty dollars, which position I now hold.
+
+I can say this: That while I had an abundance of means to find
+happiness, pleasure and contentment, and had sought it in every possible
+way that a man could, I failed to find it until I accepted Christ as my
+Saviour, and gave myself into His hands. Since then I have had a
+happiness I never knew before. My life has been one of constant peace
+and uninterrupted prosperity. My children are both happily married, and
+I have married myself.
+
+Though I was before so proud that I could not accept my mother's
+teaching, I was at a point where I would have accepted anything. They
+would tell me that doctor so-and-so would cure me; which was no kindness
+to me, because it kept me from asking God's help. But nothing would do
+me any good. So I said, "God, here I am; accept me. If there is any good
+in me, bring it out. I am down, down, down; I can not help myself."
+
+Brother Holcombe had told me what God had done for him. I had confidence
+in him from the start, from the fact of his having told me he was a
+gambler so long; and when he told me God had redeemed him from the
+desire for gambling, I thought he might take away the appetite for drink
+from me; and He has done so, I am very thankful to say. I expect I was
+the worst-looking sight you ever saw, but I do not take a back seat now
+for any one--I look as well as anybody. As I told a man last week: "With
+the Lord on my side, I do not fear anything!" I had had charge of men,
+and had succeeded in managing them. I did not accept religion because I
+was a weak-minded man. As evidence of that, I have proved it since as I
+had proved it before. I proved that when I was trying to be a good man
+in my own way. I have proved since that I was not a weak-minded man
+from the responsible positions I have held and do hold.
+
+But, as I was going to say, I had not shaved for two years, and had not
+had my hair cut, I am satisfied, for one year. My hair was hanging down
+on my shoulders; my face, of course, not very clean; my clothes were
+rags. My shoes were simply tops, and the gentleman who gave me these two
+dollars, told me: "Captain, you are the hardest-looking man I ever saw
+in my life. I do not know how I recognized you." I said: "This is the
+condition I am in, and drinking has brought me to it."
+
+I have been asked by several prominent men how it is I get up night
+after night and tell people how bad I have been. I told them it was like
+this; if they had been sick nigh unto death and were going to die, and a
+physician came and gave them some medicine and made whole men out of
+them, would they not be going around the streets telling people about
+that physician? I said that is the reason I get up every night and tell
+people about it. Christ was the physician that healed me. That is the
+remedy I have for all evil now--the blood of Jesus Christ. It was
+utterly impossible for a man to exist and be in a worse condition than I
+was. I was physically and mentally a wreck; and now by accepting
+Christ--becoming a Christian--I am physically, morally, mentally and
+spiritually restored and well. That is the reason why I do not hesitate
+to tell anybody--even people coming into my office. An editor of a paper
+said to me: "Is it possible you were a tramp?" I told him it was; and he
+was talking something about attacking me through his paper, about what
+I had been. I said, "Blaze away; it won't hurt me. I do not deny having
+been a tramp and a drunkard--everything that was mean. But what am I
+now?" I do not care what they bring back of my past record; they can not
+hurt me, for I do not deny it. It is what I am now. I think now that I
+was as bad and mean as a man could possibly be. But I am no longer what
+I was, by the grace of Him who called me out of the former darkness into
+His light.
+
+[Illustration: H. C. PRICE.]
+
+
+H. CLAY PRICE.
+
+I used to know Brother Holcombe in those days; knew him to be a gambler.
+He was considered one of the best of gamblers, but I always looked upon
+him as being an honorable gambler, so far as I have heard. I knew him
+even before he was a gambler.
+
+Well, my father and mother were very pious, my mother especially. She
+was a praying woman, and everybody knew her by the name of "Aunt
+Kittie," and my father as "Uncle Billy." My father did not think it was
+any harm to play cards in the parlor every night. When I was young he
+loved to play whist. I had a sister older than I, sixteen or seventeen
+years old, and she used to invite young men, and father used to invite
+them, to come there and play cards; and the moment they commenced to fix
+the table, my father beckoned his head to me, and I knew what that
+meant--to get out. We had a young negro that used to wait on the ladies
+in the parlor, and he told me one time, "You steal a deck of cards and I
+will show you how to play cards." And I stole a deck of cards from the
+house and we went back in the stable; and that is the way I came to
+learn how to play cards. I was twelve or fifteen years old at that
+time--not any older than that--and I commenced playing cards for money,
+and I kept on playing cards for money with the boys; for money or for
+anything. I was sent off to school--to St. Mary's College, and we got to
+playing cards there for money, and we were caught, and the oldest one
+was expelled from school, and I promised never to do it any more, and
+the other boys promised not to do it any more, and they did not. But I
+kept on and I was caught playing cards, and I was expelled from school.
+After that my father sent me to St. Joseph's College in Ohio. I ran off
+from that school and came home, and I was appointed a Deputy Marshal by
+my brother-in-law, W. S. D. McGowen; and I got to gambling then sure
+enough and running after women; and about that time the war came on, and
+I went off with my brother-in-law into the army, and I gambled all
+through the army--everywhere I could get five cents to play with. All I
+had I gambled away. I came back home and I gambled here; played in the
+faro banks all the time. And a proprietor of a gambling house by the
+name of Jo. Croxton came to me and said, "You are too good a man to be
+gambling around. I will give you an interest, and you can take charge of
+my house." I did not know much about gambling, but I knew how to take
+care of his house. He gave me the bank roll; and I went on down and
+down.
+
+I was married then and had a faithful, gentle and devoted wife, but I
+thought I was smarter than anybody about gambling, and I thought I could
+make big money, and so I would leave my wife, devoted and dependent as
+she was, and I kept traveling on around the country, going to different
+towns. I went to Nashville; from there I went to New Orleans. I came
+back to Nashville. I left Nashville and went to Huntsville, Ala.; came
+back here and went to St. Louis; then to Chicago and Lexington. After
+that I went back to Nashville again. I made a good deal of money if I
+could have kept it; but the Lord would not let me have it. I averaged
+here for years and years $500 a month. Sometimes I made more--made as
+much as $1,700 a month, and once I went up as high as $2,100 a
+month--made big winnings. As fast as I got this money I could not keep
+it--threw it away on women all the time and gambling against the bank
+and poker; would spit at a mark for money. I have lost hundreds and
+hundreds of dollars without getting off of my seat, with men I knew were
+robbing me all the time. It was a passion I had to gamble and I'd not
+stop. In one game of poker that I was in I bet and lost $900 on one
+hand, and I have never played at poker since that time.
+
+When the gambling-houses were broken up here in Louisville, I concluded
+I would go off to Chicago. I had some money and I went to Chicago; and
+as soon as I got there, I got broke, lost all the money I had. I was
+among strangers and I was dead broke. Finally I got another situation,
+and worked there for some time. I then got hold of some money again, and
+I came home and remained some time. My wife was begging me all the time
+not to go away--did not think I ought to go away; she said that I could
+stay here and get some work to do, and make an honest living. But I
+thought I had better go back to Chicago and make some money; and I made
+some money as soon as I got there by playing faro bank; and I did very
+well at that time, made a good deal of money; and you know how a man
+feels when he has five hundred dollars in his pocket; and yet all that
+time I did not send my wife anything. I thought I would get about one
+thousand dollars and open some kind of a bar-room or cigar shop, or
+something of the kind. But the day before Christmas I got to playing
+against the faro bank, and got broke; and I was the most miserable man
+in the world, to think that I had lost the last chance I had. The day
+before Christmas my wife wrote me, "Why don't you come home? I had
+rather see you home than there again making money," I said, "Yesterday I
+got broke--I played to win. I had nothing to eat all day." But
+accidentally I found a twenty-five cent piece in my pocket; and I got up
+and went and bought a ten-cent dinner, and paid fifteen cents for a
+cigar. I have done that many times, I suppose, bought a quarter dinner
+and given the other quarter for a cigar. I just got to studying about
+it, studying about what I was to do. I said, "If I come back to
+Louisville, I will starve. I am not competent to keep a set of books, or
+clerk anywhere; but," I said, "I will go back if I do starve." So I
+wrote to my patient wife: "I have lost every cent I had in the world, I
+have got to work one week longer to make enough money to come home on,
+and I am coming. You may look for me the first of next week." As soon as
+they paid me off that evening I jumped on the cars and came home, having
+just the money to pay my fare.
+
+Before this Brother Holcombe had met me time and again after he had been
+converted. He used to come after me; and every time he would see me, may
+be I would be looking at something in the street--he would hit me on the
+shoulder and say, "How do you do, old boy?" and then he would talk to me
+about my salvation, and about Jesus Christ. I used to hide from him;
+but it looked like every time he came around he would nail me, and talk
+to me about Jesus. That was when I was gambling here and prosperous. He
+told me about my mother and told me I ought to quit gambling. I said,
+"Brother Holcombe, what shall I do if I quit gambling? I have no way to
+make a living." He said, "Look to God, and He will help you." I went
+away about that time; and as soon as I came back, every time he would
+see me he would nail me again. After awhile I got interested in him. I
+would look for him and when I would catch him, I would say, "You can not
+get away from me now." That was after I came from Chicago. I had nowhere
+to go except to visit bar-rooms. So I began to go down around the old
+Mission every night. I heard the singing and praying down there. One
+night I said, "I am going to see Brother Holcombe." The clock struck
+eight, and I said "I am not going in to-night, it is too late. I will go
+to-morrow;" and to-morrow night came and I went down there and went in
+very early, before they commenced singing; and they sang and prayed and
+Brother Holcombe preached, and the next night I went, and the next night
+I went, and I went every night. And then they moved up here on Jefferson
+street and after they moved up here, I stayed away a week, and then I
+commenced coming again; and here I am now, thank God. I think God has
+been my friend all the way through. To think He has let me go as far as
+He could, and at last brought me home. I tell you it is a great thing
+for a man that has been living the life I have, to get up and say that
+he is now a child of God.
+
+It came gradually, a little bit of it at a time, but when I was down in
+the Mission that night, God came to me in full power, I felt that I did
+not care what happened to me. I was willing to go if God called on me.
+Whatever He said I was willing to do. After my conversion I got a place
+where I was making a dollar a day, at Robinson's, on Ninth, between
+Broadway and York streets, and I worked there until I went up on a new
+railroad. They promised to give me forty-five dollars a month. I thought
+at the time, and so did Brother Holcombe, I would get forty-five dollars
+a month. He said, "You will get forty-five dollars a month, and it is so
+much easier than the work you are doing." I thought they would pay all
+my expenses and I worked up there at forty-five dollars and I had to pay
+all my own expenses; and all I received was not a cent more or less than
+thirteen dollars a month. But I was happier a thousand times--I will say
+a hundred thousand times--than I was with six or seven hundred dollars a
+month.
+
+You may think gamblers are happy, and it looks like it; but they are
+not--they are miserable. Just to look back in our lives and think what
+we have done with all the money! It is nothing to be compared with the
+life of a Christian. If I could go back to-morrow and make a million
+dollars gambling, I would not do it. I would say, "Take your million of
+dollars. I will stay where I am." My wife is the best woman in the
+world. I leave her at home and she is reading the Bible. You can not go
+in there any time, when she is not at work, that she is not either
+singing or reading the Bible. She was raised a Catholic. She is now
+trying to help me along. She has joined the Methodist church; she is
+with me. I do not think she was a Christian before we came in contact
+with Brother Holcombe. It was just her interest in me, and her patient,
+long-suffering love. She never went to church nor prayed nor knelt down.
+She prayed after she went to bed like I did, for I said prayers every
+day even then. I always said, "If I forget, God will forget me." Every
+day of my life I prayed; and if I forgot it, I asked the Lord to forgive
+me; but I never would kneel down. I prayed after I went to bed; but now
+I get down on my knees and pray. Do you know how we do at night? We get
+down on our knees and say the Lord's prayer; and after we get through, I
+pray; and after I get through, the old lady prays. You see the old lady
+was raising our little girl up to be a Catholic; and I said to her,
+after we were converted--maybe a month afterward--"I don't know whether
+I am right or wrong--I want you to say--do you not think it is right to
+teach Kittie to do the way we do in our prayers? I think it would be a
+sin to try to teach her any other way. Now, let us set her an example,
+and she will come over gradually and gradually until she will be one of
+us." She has asked her mother about Jesus. She said to her mother one
+day, "I can't pray like you all can." The old lady said to her, "You
+will learn after awhile." Last night I was out late, and when I came
+home she said, "We will all kneel down and pray." We started off, "Our
+Father, who art in heaven," and Kittie went along with us, repeating it.
+She knows all that, you know. After we were done saying that, I prayed;
+and after I got through the old lady prayed; and after we had prayed I
+said, "Kittie, you must say your prayer." She said, "I can not pray
+like you do." But she did the best she could.
+
+If you ask me how I came to change my life, it was this way: I knew that
+Brother Holcombe was a good man, and knew that he was reformed and I had
+so much faith in him, and I studied about that so much that I just
+thought if he could be such a good man, why could not I be a good man;
+and that is the way it came. I tell you, backwardness is a fault with a
+good many preachers. If I was a preacher and I saw a man on the street
+that I saw was going wrong, I would go right up to him and touch him on
+the shoulder. I do it now--I never let him get away; I never let a
+friend of mine get away, I do not care who he is. I go to him and tell
+him what God has done for me. I say, "Why don't you come up to the
+Mission? Don't you know Brother Holcombe?" If he says "No; I don't live
+here," I say, "If you come up there, we will be pleased to see you. You
+don't know what good it might do your soul."
+
+I do wish I had an education. I reckon there has been more money spent
+on me than on all the rest of my family. I went to three colleges; was
+expelled from one and ran away from the other two. I was the worst boy
+on earth; there is no use talking. I would rather fight that eat; but no
+more fighting for me; I am done. You know that I have been trying to get
+work to do, and at last I have found a place. I am earnestly praying
+every day more and more--I _can_ pray now. A man asked me the other
+day--I don't know whether I answered him right or not--he asked me, "Do
+you ever expect to go back to gambling?" I said, "I would starve to
+death before I would gamble any more." He said, "What about your
+wife--if you knew your wife was going to starve, would you gamble?" I
+said, "Before I would let my wife and child starve, I would gamble--I
+would gamble to get them something to eat; but," I said, "there is no
+danger of their starving. But you put that question to me so strong." I
+said, "I know that God would not censure me for that, but there is no
+danger of it."
+
+I wish I could say more. I know I mean what I have said, God knows I do,
+and it is all true as near as I can remember.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Price is a brother of the late Hon. J. Hop Price,
+     for many years a well-known lawyer and judge in Louisville. He
+     is now engaged as night watchman on Main street.
+
+
+MILES TURPIN.
+
+I had the example of Christian parents, and, of course, I had the
+benefit of a Christian education; but, like all young men, I was rather
+inclined to be wild; and after I had served four years in the
+Confederate army, my habits were formed rather for the worse. After I
+had returned home, being without avocation, I naturally resorted to what
+all idle men do; that was the beginning. I contracted the habit of
+frolicing, gambling and drinking, in that early period of my life, which
+has followed me through all these years, up to March 14, 1886, when,
+after considerable journeying through North America and portions of
+Mexico, I happened in Cincinnati, and heard a great many times about
+Steve Holcombe's conversion. Having known Steve in his gambling days, it
+occurred to me, like all persons in pursuit of happiness, going from
+place to place and not finding it, that if there was such a change and
+improvement in Steve as the newspapers described, I would come to
+Louisville and see for myself concluding that if religion had done so
+much for him, it might do something for me. I was a dissipated
+man--dissipated in the extreme. I had contracted this habit of drinking,
+and was rarely ever sober. I have some capacity, as a business man, and
+I have had a great many positions, but I had to give them up from this
+habit of drinking. While a man would express his deep friendship for me,
+he would say his business would not tolerate my drinking; consequently,
+I have been frequently but politely dismissed.
+
+I had lived in I don't know how many places in the United States, I had
+lived in New Orleans, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S. C., Birmingham,
+Montgomery, Selma, Vidalia, La., Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., Macon,
+Ga., Pensacola, Fla., Fernandina, Fla., throughout the length and
+breadth of Western Mexico, Lower California and the Pacific coast, and
+through the State of Texas, end to end. In all these tortuous windings I
+was searching for happiness; but a man who is more or less full of
+whisky and without the religion of Jesus Christ is of necessity unhappy,
+in himself, and, in consequence, shunned by his fellowmen. No man can
+wander around the world in that condition without feeling a void which
+human wisdom can not fill; and I was forced to this conclusion by a
+careful survey of my past career. The desperation of the case was such,
+that I resolved if I could not find employment, and if I could not find
+happiness, which I then knew nothing about, I would destroy myself. I
+have contemplated suicide many times with the utmost seriousness; and I
+certainly in my sinful life was not afraid of death. But then it was
+because I was in despair.
+
+I was in Cincinnati; had previously held a political position there,
+which paid me quite a handsome sum; but in the change of politics my
+pecuniary condition changed, and I found myself alone, poor and full of
+rum and corruption; as vile a sinner as ever lived. It was at that time
+that I heard of Steve. I was in a deplorable condition; I knew not where
+to turn for comfort, and it occurred to me that if I could go to
+Louisville and have these assertions verified about Steve's regeneration
+and if I could see and satisfy myself. I would do so, as vile as I was,
+and ask God to have mercy upon me. Of course, I was an infidel (at
+least, I imagined myself an infidel), an atheist, if you please, and my
+chief delight was deriding all Christian work, and ridiculing the Bible;
+and to more thoroughly uphold my atheistical notions I went so far as to
+defame the Saviour of mankind, not in vulgar language or profane, but by
+a mode of expression that was plain and unmistakable. _Now_, I do not
+see how a man can be an infidel. When a man says he is an atheist, I
+believe he is a liar. A man must be insane who does not recognize a
+Supreme Power and the Master-hand that made the world, and who does not
+rely upon and give obedience to that Higher Power. I do not believe that
+any atheist is honest in the announcement that he does not believe in
+God or a Creator. I believe now, since my conversion, that no man is in
+his right mind unless he has the habit of prayer.
+
+All nature points to the existence of a Creator--every action of life,
+every hair of the head shows an unseen hand. If it is a mistake, it is a
+mistake man can never fathom; but if not and if, as we are told by the
+word of faith, you believe, you shall be saved. If you cast your burden
+upon Him, and there is a possibility of a hereafter, you lose nothing in
+this world. A man is wiser, purer, more companionable, more affectionate
+and more charitable. There must be immortality of the soul; there must
+be a future reward. Reflection upon these great facts induced me to
+become a Christian man. As I had served the devil so long as one of his
+allies, and had been treated so badly by him. I deserted him and put my
+faith in God, where I intend to remain the remainder of my life.
+
+I got to Louisville a little over a year ago, the 15th of March, and
+went immediately to find Mr. Holcombe. He was sitting by the fire. He
+knew me at once. I shook hands with him and sat down by the fire, and
+had a conversation with him. He immediately entered upon the subject of
+religion, and I told him my condition. I told him what I wanted to do--I
+wanted to see for myself if it was possible for a man like him to become
+regenerated--if it was possible for such a great scoundrel as I knew him
+to be to become a Christian man. I wanted to see for myself if it were
+possible to make, out of so vile a creature, such a good man as he was
+said to be. As I said last night, I came, like the conqueror of old, and
+saw, but, unlike the conqueror of old, I was conquered. I made up my
+mind that I was done with the old life. Steve's appearance convinced me
+that he was cured, and I confessed then and there that I was convinced.
+That was the starting point. There was only one thing I have never been
+thoroughly satisfied about; I find that the Christian influence grows
+gradually on me, and becomes stronger and stronger the longer I live. I
+confess myself, when I first became a Christian man, with the exception
+of drinking whisky, I was like I was before; but, encouraged by my
+experiences in the beginning, I gradually began to see that it was a
+better life. A man was purer, and there was some hope a man could be
+changed through and through, and take his place among men; and from that
+time forward I was continually growing in grace. From the very moment I
+resolved to quit, I did not drink any more. After I saw Steve, I did
+not take a drop, though I had tried before to quit it many a time. I had
+oftentimes joined temperance societies, and made resolutions, which were
+of no avail. A man in that case was bound by no tie except his
+assertion--by his word: and might break it just as a man allows a note
+to be protested in bank. The moment I determined to change my life, this
+appetite for whisky left me. It was because my ideas were changed.
+
+I used to think that no drunken man could become a Christian; but now I
+hope, by the grace of God, I am a Christian, I could not explain it; I
+do not believe any man can explain it. He may attempt it, but he can not
+do it. A man who lives a Christian life can hardly calculate the
+advantages; it is a matter of impossibility. In the first place, his
+associates put an entirely different estimate on him. His ambitions are
+entirely changed, and certainly his hope is. It makes him a more
+charitable man, a more forbearing man with the faults of his neighbors,
+makes him a more tolerant man, makes him a better citizen; and if he
+were a politician--though it is scarcely within the bounds of
+possibility--it would make him an honest politician.
+
+I have had no trouble to get along in business since my conversion. Just
+as soon as I tried to get business, when I was once really in earnest
+about it, I had a number of offers. I have still a number of offers.
+When I became a Christian man I determined, in my own mind, I would live
+up to Christianity so far as I could in every particular, humbly and
+conscientiously. The opinions of man have no weight with me now. All I
+am I hold by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ.
+
+
+FRED ROPKE.
+
+I think it was on the 25th of June, 1883, I was stopping at Fifth and
+Jefferson. Previous to that time I had been tramping the country for
+about eight years, from 1874 until the middle of 1883. My father was a
+Louisville man. He gave me all the advantages that wealth could command.
+He sent me to Germany in 1864, where I remained three years at school.
+In 1869 or 1870, I went into the sheriff's office here in Louisville.
+Previous to that time I had been with Theodore Schwartz & Co. I went
+from Theodore Schwartz & Co. into the sheriff's office. I got that
+position from courtesy of the sheriff to my father, who was his
+bondsman. I contracted the habit of drinking right there, through the
+associations. And, being ashamed to remain among my friends as a
+drunkard, I went then from pillar to post all over the country.
+
+I left home just after my father's death, in 1872, not knowing whither I
+was going. I dragged around the country from that time until the summer
+of 1883--eleven years; and if there ever was a man sick and tired, it
+was I. I beat my way through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee,
+Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois,
+Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
+
+The box car was my home the greater part of the time. Of course, during
+those years, I came home off and on; but nothing could stop me in my
+downward course. As soon as I lost self-control I persuaded myself
+there was no hereafter, no God and no devil. I took to that idea to
+console myself for what I was doing more than for anything else; and I
+had a perfect indifference as to what became of me, except at times when
+I was alone and sober and thoughtful. But I never had any aim; no
+ambition at all; in fact, I had given up all hope. I do not know what I
+wandered for. I would come home and stay for a month or so, and I would
+get drunk and get ashamed of myself and go away. I would walk all night
+to get out of Louisville.
+
+I had been brought up by religious parents. My father was a very
+religious man. He was considered by people as a fanatic because he was
+making money in the whisky business, and sold out rather than continue
+it. He lost money by selling out during the war. He saw what it was
+drifting to, and sold out. After that there was not a drop of whisky
+handled in his house on Main street until after his death. My mother
+also was a very religious woman, so that I had a careful religious
+training. But I had read a good deal of Ingersoll and Tom Paine. I heard
+Ingersoll lecture on one or two occasions; I wanted to get all the proof
+I could to sustain me. I wanted some consolation; I knew where I was
+drifting; there was a consciousness all this time that I was wrong; and
+I trembled at the thought of one day giving an account for the misdeeds
+of a wasted life; but I could not possibly help myself. From the mental
+anxiety I went through it is a wonder my hair is not gray to-day. It was
+terrible. I had two attacks of delirium tremens.
+
+What brought me to realize my condition more than anything else, took
+place just before the time I first met Brother Holcombe. I was out on
+Second street mending umbrellas; for that was the way I made my living.
+I had become thoroughly hardened. I would have cut my throat, only
+cowardice kept me from it. Well, I was mending umbrellas out on Second
+street, and Mrs. Werne heard me as I was calling out, and knowing that
+Henry, her husband, and I had been to school together--had been boys
+together, she called me and said, "Fred, I want you to come in." She
+insisted on my coming to their house to dinner the next day. "Fix up,"
+she said, "and come to dinner with us;" but I do not believe I had a
+stitch of clothes except what was on my back. She insisted however, on
+my coming; some of my friends would be there. That brought me to realize
+to what depths I had fallen.
+
+The next week I went to New Albany; and I was told to leave the town,
+and I left the town under the escort of two policemen. To such abject
+wretchedness was I reduced, I could not endure to stay among friends,
+and I was in such a plight strangers could not endure me among them. But
+once I was coming down the street, and heard the singing in the Holcombe
+Mission; and I was considerably touched to think that I had come through
+the religious training of a Christian home and of church and
+Sunday-school; and that is all it amounted to. I went that evening to
+the courthouse steps, and heard Mr. Holcombe preach there; and from that
+day to this I have not drank a single drop; and it is only through God's
+grace that I realize that I am able to resist temptation. I felt that I
+was not worth anything; I felt that there was no power in myself. My
+skepticism all melted away. The view I took of it was that if God could
+help Holcombe, he could and would help such a one as I. I knew Mr.
+Holcombe very well. When I was deputy sheriff, I had a warrant for his
+arrest one time from Franklin county, and went there armed, knowing his
+dangerous reputation. I thought if Holcombe could be saved, there
+certainly was some hope for me, and under the inspiration of that hope I
+turned to God. It was my last and only hope. But it was not
+disappointed, for He has saved me.
+
+I remember the first time I went up to be prayed for; I felt that I
+would from that time have strength--I had no doubt that I would have it
+from that time on. It was in the back room of the old mission. I felt--I
+don't know why it was--I felt then and there that, by God's help, I
+would make a man of myself; and I went out with that feeling, although I
+had been under the influence of liquor for months before. I can not say
+that I had no appetite for it, but I had strength to resist it. That was
+the 25th of June, 1883.
+
+I would do anything for whisky when I wandered around. I did not gamble,
+but I was licentious. I lived for nothing else; I had no other aim in
+life but to gratify my passions, and I would adopt any extreme to do it,
+and did do it. I left nothing untouched--I would sell my coat to gratify
+my passions. If I wanted a drink of whisky and my hat would pay for it,
+I would let it go. Once, on coming back from New Orleans, my mother gave
+me a suit of clothes; and I did not keep that suit of clothes three
+days. All of the time I was tramping around, my mother was living in
+Louisville, worth seventy-five thousand dollars. She was willing to do
+anything for me, and suffered much because of my wicked ways. I remember
+on one occasion, when I left her to go to Denver, Colorado, she begged
+me to stay at home, and reminded me how she would suffer from anxiety
+about me, day and night, till I should return. But I had just been
+released from jail for drunkenness and I did not want to stay in
+Louisville. So I left my mother in sorrow and despair.
+
+One thing I am thankful for to-day; that after my conversion I did not
+get into anything right away; that I made a bare living with my
+umbrellas; and that continued two years before I got into a permanent
+situation. I believe those were the two happiest years of my life. I had
+a tough time to get something to eat sometimes, but that was good for
+me. I pegged away at an old umbrella for twenty-five or thirty cents
+down in the old mission; and I was thankful to get them to fix. It
+seemed to me it was sweeter; I enjoyed it more.
+
+There is no comparison between the new life and the old. I thought at
+one time that I was enjoying myself; but I have had to suffer in my new
+life for all the enjoyment that I had in the old--I have to suffer
+physically--even yet. I am an old man before my time. Even to-day on my
+coming in contact with it the influence of the old association will crop
+out. Sometimes my passions worry me considerably. The only relief I find
+is by keeping close to God. I realize that from day to day if I do not
+do that--pay strict attention to my religious duties--I will fall. I
+know that if I neglect them for one week, I get away off. I am happy in
+being placed where I am. My place is a kind of rendezvous for religious
+people; and their society and conversation help to strengthen me. Since
+my conversion, I was offered a position in a liquor house, but I would
+not take it, because I was afraid of it, and the very next day I
+obtained a situation with the Finzer Brothers. I went to a minister and
+made it the subject of prayer as to whether I should accept the
+situation; and finally decided to decline it, and the next day I got a
+situation that I had filled in years gone by, with Finzer Brothers in
+this city. It is now the height of my ambition to have the opportunity
+to convince the people who were and are my friends in Louisville that
+there is something in me, and by the grace of God I am no longer the
+failure I was.
+
+[Illustration: J. T. HOCKER.]
+
+
+JAMES THOMPSON HOCKER.
+
+I was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1837, and no man had better
+advantages for being a Christian or becoming one than I had. I had a
+pious mother and father, and all the influences of my home were of that
+character. My father and mother were both members of the Baptist church,
+and I recollect that they used to have me go to Sunday-school, but I
+think now I went there because they asked me to go. Thinking over my
+condition, I did not have any other incentive at that time than to obey
+my mother's request. At about the age of fifteen I left my home, and it
+seems to me now when I did do so I left behind me all good impulses and
+all good feeling, and any religious inclination I might have had seemed
+to leave me when I stepped over the threshold; and I think the devil
+joined me then and told me he would keep me company all the rest of my
+life, and he did do it pretty closely for thirty years. I do not suppose
+that he had a better servant, or one who did his behests more faithfully
+than I.
+
+Whether I inherited the appetite for drink has been a question with me.
+On both sides of my house--the Old Virginia stock--I had several
+relatives who drank to excess; and it seems to me that the appetite must
+have passed through our family to me. I remember the first drink I ever
+took in my life; it was whisky, and I liked it. Most people don't like
+the first drink.
+
+When I came to this city I went into business as a clerk. The devil
+and I dropped into company as hail fellows well met. He persuaded me to
+think it was proper for young men to take a drink before calling on
+their lady friends. He prompted me to go in with the boys. "This is the
+right way for you to do," he would say, "I am your friend." I had the
+usual compunctions of conscience that the young man feels when he goes
+into bar-rooms. I took wine at first, but the devil said: "That is not
+the thing; whisky is better." I obeyed him; I took whisky, until whisky
+pretty nearly took me forever.
+
+Along in 1871--March, 1871--I was working at a clothing house, and I
+married a lady who was thoroughly conversant with all my habits; who
+knew that the habit for drink had fastened itself on me; but who, with a
+woman's faithful, trusting heart, married me, hoping, as they generally
+do, that her influence might reform me. Perhaps for a year or so the
+devil and I rather separated, but he had me in sight all the while. This
+continued for six or seven months, until, on one occasion, I went out to
+a fishing party. We carried two or three gallons of whisky, and two or
+three pounds of solid food. I went fishing with two or three personal
+acquaintances, who prevailed on me to indulge with them in drinking, and
+from this time forward, until about one year ago, I was as fully devoted
+to my old ways as ever.
+
+The appetite for drink was on me, and dragged me down day by day, deeper
+and deeper into the mire; and still, through all this, my wife's loyal
+heart never faltered, unwavering as she was in her trust in me, that I
+would yet reform. She still, when others failed me, remained my faithful
+friend. My wife was forced, however, by my conduct, to return to her
+mother's home, because, instead of supporting her, I was spending all my
+earnings for whisky and in debauchery of other kinds.
+
+I shall have to go back a little in my story. About eight years ago I
+was working in a clothing house at the corner of Third and Market
+streets. I noticed across the street, one morning, a man whom I knew
+setting out on the sidewalk a lot of vegetables, apples, etc. I looked
+at him, and recognized him as Steve Holcombe, a man who had recently
+reformed his way of living, and abandoned his old life. In the meantime,
+I had become an infidel, I had begun to doubt the divinity of Christ,
+and even doubted that there was a God. I read all of Ingersoll's books,
+and went back and read Paine's essay on Reason and Common Sense. I was
+thoroughly fortified with all the infidel batteries that I could bring
+to bear on Christian people. As soon as I laid eyes on Brother Holcombe
+I started across the street and opened on him; and I kept this up for
+months. I fortified myself with a couple of drinks, so as to be very
+brave, and went over and tackled him regularly every morning.
+
+At last, I stood and watched him one morning. I reasoned this way:
+"There is a man I have known for twenty-five years. I know of no man who
+was more thoroughly steeped in wickedness, who was a more persistent
+sinner, and I have tried to batter him down with my infidel batteries
+for months, and he is as solid as a stone wall;" and all this led me to
+think that there was something in the religion of Jesus Christ; and,
+thinking this way, I rather refrained from my attacks upon him and his
+position; but I often thought of him afterward, and the thought occurred
+to me, there must be something in this thing, for no power living, or
+anything that I know of, could sustain that man in his position. It must
+be something beyond human.
+
+The 20th day of last April I was on a protracted debauch; had been for
+three weeks. My brain was thoroughly stunned with the effects of the
+liquor I had drunk. I was sitting in a bar-room at seven o'clock in the
+evening, as far as my memory now serves me, and I appeared to see the
+face of my wife and child; and then one of my boon companions said,
+"Join us in a drink." Just then I could no more have taken that drink
+than I could have transformed myself into an angel of light. At that
+moment I thought some impending calamity that neither I nor any human
+power could avert was about to crush me. The next thing that came into
+my mind was that I must see Mr. Holcombe; and I went out of that saloon
+into the night, scarcely knowing what I did, feeling that some terrible
+accident was going to happen; but still this impulse moved me to go to
+the man I had fought so long and so persistently. I happened to find him
+before the old Mission, on Jefferson street, near Fifth. He seemed to
+think that I had now some other object in view than to attack him as
+formerly, because, the first time in all my career, he was the only man
+who did reach out his hand and said, "God bless you, my brother." I
+said: "I want to talk to you; I want you to pray for me." He said, "God
+bless you, I am the happiest man to meet you that I know of." He asked
+me to walk down to the Mission. The services were about to commence. I
+stayed with him that evening. In the morning he made a special prayer
+for me; and during all my wanderings, I had felt that, perhaps, the
+prayers of my mother and father would, in the end, reach the throne of
+grace; and I had never lost my faith in the efficacy of prayer. When he
+prayed for me, I felt my mother's hand on my head and heard her saying,
+"God bless and keep my boy." When I left him he said, "Won't you go to
+your room to-night and pray?" I had no room. He loaned me the money to
+get a room. I went to the hotel and procured lodging. He said to me,
+"Say any prayer you think of." The only prayer I could recall was one I
+had heard in my childhood, "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!" When I
+made that prayer before the Christian's God, I did it with fear and
+trembling, for it seemed profanity for a wretch like me, who had defied
+God's laws, to prostrate himself at His feet and ask the Christian's God
+to have mercy on him; but I kept up that prayer in my weak, broken way.
+And to-day, having tried this life one year, you don't know of a man
+happier than I am. My wife, no longer broken-hearted as in those years
+of darkness and sorrow, now daily bids me welcome to our happy home. And
+we recognize together that nothing but this religion of Jesus Christ
+could have brought this about. I know, from the experiences I have had,
+that God has forgiven me, the sinner.
+
+I had from a child been the most inveterate swearer. Since my conversion
+I have not sworn an oath; I never have taken a drop of beer or anything
+that might intoxicate me, and I have never had a return of the
+appetite. And I hope, by God's mercy, that when the last call shall come
+I shall be found fighting for God; and I feel I want to fall with "my
+back to the field and my feet to the foe." Immediately after my
+conversion I attached myself to the Fifth and Walnut-street church; and
+if you inquire of those who know me, they will tell you that, since I
+stepped out of the old life into this, I have walked consistently.
+
+I have told you a true story. I can think of no more to say. I may add,
+however, that since I have come into this new life, under God's mercy, I
+have been the humble instrument of bringing into the light three of my
+acquaintances, of whose conversion I know personally. I was the only
+wandering, wayward, prodigal son in my father's family; and there is
+probably not now a happier household in the State.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Hocker is at present engaged in business in one of
+     the large clothing houses of Louisville.
+
+[Illustration: S. P. DALTON.]
+
+
+SAMUEL P. DALTON.
+
+I was born in Shelbyville, Tenn., January 20, 1849, and am, therefore,
+thirty-nine years of age. My father and mother were both members of the
+church; and they tried to bring me up as a Christian. I went to
+Sunday-school and church almost all my life. My father has been dead
+twenty odd years. My mother is still living. As I say, I was brought up
+a Christian, and I was converted when I was about seventeen years of
+age, while a boy clerking in a brickyard alone. I was licensed soon
+afterward to exhort in the Methodist church. After that I married; I
+removed to Paducah, Ky., and I was a member of the church there for
+several years. After that I lost my wife, broke up housekeeping and went
+to traveling. I traveled awhile, and then moved to Louisville. I lived
+here seven years.
+
+In the meantime, I became indifferent to Christianity and formed the
+habit of moderate drinking; I was a moderate drinker for a couple of
+years, and gradually I drifted farther and farther away till at last I
+came to believe in Ingersoll's teachings. I formed this idea, that the
+world was made to enjoy, and that we had a right to enjoy it in any way
+we wished. I never would go to church and I would avoid meeting any of
+my church friends as much as possible. I became very unhappy and
+miserable in my irreligious life, and found that serving the devil was
+hard.
+
+One day while in this unhappy condition my attention was called to a
+crowd of people on Jefferson street, near the courthouse. Going over
+to satisfy my curiosity, I found they were a Christian band from the
+Holcombe Mission preaching the Gospel. Of course, I would not go to
+church, and when I went over there to see what they were doing, I looked
+upon them as so many cranks; but there was one prayer that touched my
+heart. It was this: "Oh Lord, if there are any persons in this audience
+who are miserable or unhappy on account of their sins, I pray Thee to
+give them no peace until they give their hearts to God." And God
+answered the prayer in my case. I had no peace until I gave my heart to
+God and renewed my vows to the church. After hearing this prayer I went
+home very miserable and unhappy, and fought the feeling for six months
+afterward--tried to drive it away by drinking; but could not do so.
+Finally one night about midnight, in my room, I gave my heart to God and
+made new vows. I was again brought back to God on the 15th of October,
+1882.
+
+Then I went to see Brother Morris, pastor of the Fifth and Walnut-street
+Methodist church, and told him what I had done. Of course, he met me
+with open arms, and invited me to the church, and on the following
+Sunday I joined the Methodist church. Directly afterward Mr. Morris
+introduced me to Brother Holcombe. He said: "Brother Dalton, here is a
+man you ought to know and be with. His Mission is the place for you to
+do Christian work." He saw, I suppose, that I ought to be doing some
+good, and he wanted me right there.
+
+I went, then, to Brother Holcombe's Mission, and remained with him for
+about two years, working there almost every night for these two years,
+keeping door, and doing, to the best of my ability, all the good I
+could. I can say that my connection with the Mission, I have no doubt,
+has had all to do with strengthening me in the Christian life and
+leading me into usefulness, giving me strength and energy to engage in
+saving others, and confirming myself in Christian character.
+
+I have witnessed some of the most remarkable conversions at Holcombe's
+Mission that I think ever were known anywhere, and I regard Holcombe as
+one of the most remarkable men on earth for mission work. It seems that
+he can use more means to put men to thinking than any other man that I
+know of.
+
+I was always fond of going to the theater. After I had become a
+Christian, I had an idea that I could still continue going to theaters,
+and so stated to Brother Holcombe and Brother Alexander. They simply
+said this: "Brother Dalton, if you get the love of God in your heart you
+will find a great deal more pleasure in God's service than you will in
+attending theaters;" and from my own experience I have found it true. I
+have no desire to go to theaters; my own pleasure is in Christian work;
+and I do not think a man can make a practice of attending theaters
+regularly and exert the same influence for the salvation of others as if
+he did not attend.
+
+I believe as firmly as I do anything, that when I was a boy, God called
+me to some kind of Christian work; and I was the most miserable man in
+the world when I lost my religion. After meeting with Brother Holcombe,
+he seemed to be a great wall of protection to me--and he does yet. He
+has infused into my life more Christian zeal than I ever had before. I
+am of a temperament that is easily led off--easily influenced; and I
+feel that God, in His wisdom, leads me into Christian work in order to
+save my own soul as well as others. Since I have been away from
+Louisville, in Cleveland, Ohio, in business, I think there has not been
+a day or night but what I have thought of Brother Holcombe and the
+Mission. It seems to have such an everlasting effect on me, that at all
+times I feel a restraining influence which comes out from that Mission.
+If at any time I am tempted to become discouraged, the remembrance of
+him and the mission work that he is engaged in, seems to be a
+protection, something that upholds me in my Christian faith; and I have
+learned to love Brother Holcombe as I never loved any man on earth who
+was no kin to me. He is a man whom I have watched very closely, and
+understand thoroughly; and believe he is one of the most honest, earnest
+and upright Christian men that I ever met in all my life, and one who
+will do more, and endure more, to lead a man to Christ than any one I
+ever knew.
+
+The result of that Christian experience which I had while associated
+with Brother Holcombe has been the means of my seeking an opportunity
+for Christian work in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where I am now
+residing. I joined the Franklin-avenue Methodist church, of Cleveland, a
+grand body of Christians, too, about 650 members; and it seemed that the
+Lord had opened the way into this church to harness me into Christian
+work there. Being a man from the South, I hardly expected them to
+receive me as cordially as they did; but it seemed that, after watching
+me, and knowing me, when I was not expecting it, I was elected one of
+the stewards of that church a very short time after joining it; and I
+have been put on different committees, and have been treated as well as
+a Christian gentleman could possibly desire to be treated, and I have
+learned to love them. My aim and object in life now is to do all the
+good I possibly can in this new field of labor.
+
+The Lord has been very good to me since I reentered His service, and I
+have found complete happiness and contentment in this Christian life,
+and no man on earth is happier than I when I am doing Christian work,
+and I am quite unhappy when I am not, being fully convinced that the
+Lord has a Christian work of some kind for me to engage in, and always
+being blest in the least effort I make for the salvation of others.
+
+God has prospered me in business, too. I have been very successful in my
+business life, not getting rich, but making a good, honest living,
+having the confidence and respect of my employers, and the full
+confidence of those who work for me. I have endeavored, to the best of
+my ability, to use every means within my power to exert as good an
+influence over the men in my employ as I possibly can under the
+circumstances. I correspond with Brother Holcombe regularly, and have
+for the last three years, and I very often use his letters in
+endeavoring to bring others to Christ; and frequently in my talks and
+Christian work I take a great pride in referring to the Mission in
+Louisville, and believe there has been some good done in simply telling
+of these remarkable conversions that I have witnessed there, convincing
+me that the Mission is not only exerting a good influence in the city of
+Louisville, but is being felt all over this country.
+
+After being away a little over three years, I returned to Kentucky on a
+visit to my mother and family in Paducah, and also to Brother Holcombe
+and my friends in Louisville, and stopped with Brother Holcombe. Of
+course, he received me with open arms and a hearty welcome, and I had
+the pleasure of meeting many of those men whom I had known when they
+were in their sinful lives, bound by the power of strong drink, and it
+did my heart good to look into their happy, shining faces, sober as they
+are, and active in business, and engaged in Christian work, thereby
+receiving new strength and stronger faith in the Blessed Gospel of
+Christ. I am fully persuaded there is no other power under heaven that
+would save men from these terrible habits except the religion of the
+Lord Jesus Christ.
+
+Coming into the presence of Brother Holcombe seemed to have a peculiar
+effect upon me. It seemed that I received a new baptism of the Holy
+Ghost. I do not know what it is; I know that God's blessing is just as
+rich and precious in Cleveland as it is in Louisville, but having been
+associated with Brother Holcombe in this Christian work, and witnessing
+such wonderful conversions, and God's blessings having been bestowed
+upon us so richly, it seems that the place is precious to my soul, and
+the remembrance of those things so cheers my heart that it gives me new
+strength and new zeal, and I never could, under any circumstances, in my
+future life, doubt the reality of the Christian religion.
+
+
+COLONEL MOSES GIBSON.
+
+My birthplace was Bowling Green, Rappahannock county, Virginia. I was
+born May 7, 1837. My ancestors were Quakers, and my grandfather a
+Hicksite Quaker. He married a Methodist, and was, consequently, turned
+out of the church. The family originally came from the north of Ireland,
+opposite Glasgow; non-conformists. They came to this country about the
+time Penn did, and got over into Loudon county, Virginia. On my mother's
+side I am descended from Nathaniel Pendleton, who is a brother of Edmund
+Pendleton, and aid-de-camp of General Green during the Revolutionary
+war. On both sides a considerable number of the men were in both legal
+and literary pursuits. My mother was raised in the Presbyterian
+church--joined the Presbyterian church. I was baptized by the Rev. Dr.
+Foot, one of the corner-stones of the old school church. My father was
+never a member of any church until very late in life. My mother had me
+baptized by the Rev. Dr. Foot when I was six years old.
+
+I was always, as a boy, religiously inclined; and never cared for those
+enjoyments and pleasures that boys indulge in so much, like playing
+ball, hunting and fishing, tobogganing, coasting and all such kind of
+sport. I was more of a house boy. I liked to stay at home and read, and
+was very affectionate in my disposition. Very early in life I started
+out in the world, and when I was fourteen years old I was a store boy;
+and even with all that, my early training, to a certain extent, kept me
+out of bad company, although I slept in the store, and was really under
+no restraint from the time I was about fourteen. I generally, when I
+found I was too far gone, pulled up stakes and went somewhere else; and
+in that way I grew up. I very rarely failed to go to church twice every
+Sunday; and I looked upon religion more as a pleasure and a matter of
+pride for the respectability of it. I liked the church, even after I
+grew up to be a man. But during the latter part of the war, I became
+impressed. I believe it was in October, 1864, I professed religion in a
+little church in New Market, Virginia; and after the war, I went to
+Baltimore, and united myself there with the Episcopal church. I never
+was confirmed, however, until some time in 1868, here in Calvary church
+in Louisville. But I always considered myself a member of the church,
+went to Sunday-school, and attended to my duties very particularly. I
+never drank anything, and never kept bad company. My association was
+always the most refined, principally that of ladies. I was fond of
+society, parties, theaters and things of that kind, which our church
+never objected to very particularly, but I kept myself in bounds.
+
+It was only about 1874 or 1875 that I became associated with some
+gentlemen here who were very learned, and who were very earnest men; and
+we got into the study of the Bible in search of truth. We got all the
+books of modern thought on the subject that we could. We conversed
+together and talked together a great deal. We got all the modern
+authors, and studied them very thoroughly; and studied so much, that we
+finally studied ourselves into infidelity. We studied Draper, Max
+Muller, Ledyard, Bishop Colenzo and Judge Strange. Judge Strange's was
+the most powerful book, to me, of any. It was a reference to the Old
+Testament legends and the miracles of the New. I gradually by the
+association, and by reading these modern treatises on theology, etc.,
+drifted into that thoughtful infidelity, which is the worst sort in the
+world, because I had a great respect for religion, but did not believe
+it. I believed in a God, but could not consistently believe that he was
+the God of the Bible, or that the Bible itself could be an inspired
+book, because so much of it was inconsistent with demands of human
+reason.
+
+Following these convictions, I gradually drifted into the most complete
+infidelity that a man ever did on earth. I did not believe anything,
+still I did not attempt in any way to have my associates and friends
+believe that I was an infidel. I never boasted of it, I never made light
+of religion. I continued to go to church, continued to keep in the
+church; and when Ingersoll was here I would not go to hear him. I was
+satisfied that Ingersoll's teachings were, to a great extent, what I
+believed; but I did not like to hear a man get up and ridicule my
+mother's God; and my answer to those who wanted me to go was that I
+would not listen to any man who tried to ridicule the religion of my
+mother.
+
+About 1878 I commenced drinking. I was then about forty-one years old. I
+got to taking a drink here and there, but do not suppose I took over a
+hundred drinks during the year. In 1879 I got to drinking a little
+more. In 1880 I got to drinking pretty hard. During the year 1879 I took
+rarely less than three, and very often six to eight drinks, a day, and
+in 1881 I was a confirmed, genteel tippler. I rarely took less than
+three or more than I could stand, but in a genteel way and in a genteel
+saloon.
+
+I sold out my business and traveled seven or eight months for pleasure,
+and kept up the same thing everywhere. I seldom gambled. I played poker
+for twenty-five cents ante, and bet on horse races. I never was a
+profane man except when I was intoxicated; then I would be a little
+profane. I always remembered more than anything else the early teachings
+of my mother; they clung to me. I had respect not only for the church
+but respect for the ministry and respect for Christian people.
+
+After I commenced drinking I would have given anything in the world if I
+could have stopped. I would get up in the morning and I would feel a
+lassitude--feel debilitated. I would not care to eat anything--a biscuit
+and a cup of coffee--and by eleven o'clock that was all emptied, and my
+stomach would crave something. Probably if I had sat down at a
+restaurant and made a good dinner it would have helped me; but it was so
+much easier to get a toddy, and that toddy did away with the craving,
+and probably in an hour and a half I would want the same thing, and,
+instead of going to dinner, I would take another drink, and about three
+o'clock I would want this toning of the stomach again.
+
+In the fall of 1883 I thought I would call a halt. I quit drinking in
+October, 1883, of my own will, and I did not drink a drop of anything
+until July, 1884; and then I got at it in the same old way. I got to
+taking a toddy a day, and then I got to taking two, and for two months I
+was taking a toddy before every meal; and then my stomach got so I did
+not care to eat--I took the toddy without the dinner; and in the course
+of the year--probably by the first of October--I had got to drinking all
+the way from six drinks a day to about a dozen. I kept that up until I
+got to being genteelly intoxicated--always genteel, but always going to
+bed being pretty well intoxicated. When I got to bed, I would lie down
+and sleep; and when I got up in the morning I would have a toddy.
+
+About October we sold out our business here. The winter was beginning,
+and I had no money. I began to be a little reckless; and I commenced
+drinking the first of October, and I was full until the first of
+January. I do not think from the first of October, 1884, until the first
+of January, 1887, there was a day that I did not take six drinks, and
+generally ten or twelve--pretty stiff drinks, too. I generally drank
+about two ounces of whisky. It never affected my health at all. It
+stimulated my mind; it made me bright--exceedingly so--so much so that
+if there was anybody about the bar-room I was the center of attraction.
+I could discourse upon any subject; but I was very bright and vivacious.
+I never was afraid of anything on the face of the earth; I guess there
+never was a man more fearless than I was when under the influence of
+whisky; otherwise, I was very timid.
+
+I kept that thing up, and on the first of January I was walking down the
+street. I had gone to bed pretty sober on the night before; and I got
+up on the morning of the first of January and dressed myself up nicely,
+intending to go to church. I met a friend of mine, who said he was going
+around to the office, and asked me to go with him. I said I would. On
+the way around there he suggested we should have a pint of whisky. I
+said, "I believe I will quit; I am getting tired of whisky." "Well," he
+said, "let us have a bottle anyway; it is the first of January." "Yes,"
+I said, "as it is the first of January." We sat there and drank that,
+and sent out and got another pint and drank that. After that, I went
+down to Louis Roderer's and sat there, and some gentlemen came in and
+they got to throwing dice for the drinks, and I was invited to join
+them, and I did; and I took six drinks there with them. The weather was
+cold; the pavement covered with ice. As long as I stayed in the house,
+the liquor did not affect me, but as soon as I got out of the door, the
+cold coming right into contact with it, seemed to throw all the
+undigested alcohol into my brain. I went back to this friend of mine. He
+was not there. I walked up Market street, and went to my room and went
+to bed. It was there, I suppose, I mashed my nose and cut my face badly.
+The servant girl came up stairs and found me lying on the floor. She
+went down and got help, and they bathed my face, and they both together
+put me to bed. I had been unconscious from the moment I left the
+bar-room and was so up to five o'clock the next morning.
+
+They put me to bed, and I was totally unconscious until I woke up the
+next morning at five o'clock. It occurred to me that something was the
+matter; I felt the wound on my face. I got up and lighted the candle and
+looked into the glass, and saw that my face was all bruised and bloody.
+I said, "I suppose I ran against something and mashed my face last
+night." The next morning I heard this servant girl in the next room. I
+heard her saying, "Poor man, poor man." Pretty soon she came in and
+said, "What in the world is the matter with you? How did you hurt your
+face?" She then told me the condition they had found me in; and if they
+had not found me I would have frozen to death. I said, "If this thing is
+going to work that way on me, I must call a halt." I could not eat
+anything but some milk. I lay in bed all day.
+
+I could not pray. I had got into that frame of mind I could not pray. I
+did not believe in the efficacy of prayer. I had lost sight of Christ as
+God, but I had great respect for Christ as a teacher. I lay there all
+that day, Monday. I was then thoroughly sober; and I said, "I will just
+see if there is any efficacy in religion, anyhow. I believe I will try
+it." I had gotten up and dressed myself. I had not eaten any breakfast.
+I drank some coffee. Not having taken anything to eat, I felt pretty
+weak, and I said, "I believe I will take a drink." I went around to a
+friend of mine on First street, and he was not there. Then I walked
+around to a saloon on Third street. Several gentlemen were there that I
+used to drink with. I stood around there for awhile, hoping that some
+one would ask me to take a drink, but nobody asked me.
+
+Finally I came up here to Mr. Holcombe's and found him here, and we got
+to talking the matter over. I told him that I was tired of this kind of
+life. I wanted to take a pledge. "I do not give pledges to anybody to
+stop drinking." He said there was but one remedy--reliance upon Christ;
+that Christ was all--Christ and the love of God. If I determined to live
+up to the teachings of the Bible, if I was willing about it, that he
+believed I would be cured. Well, I told him that I thought that my mind
+was sufficiently prepared; that I had made up my mind to quit if I
+possibly could; that if the Lord wanted to take me the way I was, I had
+made up my mind to believe; that I had not believed anything for a long
+time, and that if I did believe I would have to take it by faith, and
+not by reason.
+
+Finally, after talking it over, Mr. Holcombe prayed, and after prayer I
+said I had better go down to my boarding-house. "No," he said, "you stay
+with me awhile." I said I could not do that; I had to go down to my
+boarding-house. He said, "No!" he thought I had better stay awhile; that
+I could stay with him just the same, as I was around there; that I might
+get out and get to drinking; that I was not strong enough. I concluded I
+would stay with him, and I stayed with him for three weeks.
+
+I went down stairs to the Mission meeting that night, and stood up for
+prayer. After the prayer, I felt a great deal better--in fact, I felt as
+much converted as I am now. Since then, I have had no trouble.
+
+I never had made a prayer in public in my life; I never had talked
+religion in my life, and I got up a week afterward and preached a sermon
+an hour long. The second or third night I made a prayer. Before that
+night I had never prayed in public. The only prayer I would say was,
+"Our Father Who Art In Heaven."
+
+I have never taken a drink since then, and I do not now chew tobacco. I
+had either a cigar or a chew of tobacco in my mouth all the time during
+the last year. From the time I was fifteen years old, I used to smoke
+from three to a dozen cigars a day. My general average of cigars was six
+a day. I have not chewed tobacco, I have not smoked a cigar, I have not
+taken a drink of liquor since January. A man talking to me the other day
+said: "You have the strongest will power on earth. If I had the will
+power you have, I could do anything I wanted." I said, "I do not think
+so. I do not believe I ever would have stopped smoking and chewing
+without the change which has been produced in me through faith and
+prayer."
+
+I will tell you what broke me of chewing tobacco. It was Monday that I
+came here to the Mission, the 3d of January, and on Tuesday night I
+professed conversion. Wednesday morning I went out to see Mr.
+Minnegerode, and had my name again placed on the church record as a
+member of Calvary church. The first Sunday in the month was our
+communion, and I was very anxious that I should perform all the
+obligations necessary to fill out the measure of my conversion, and to
+do it as soon as possible; and I happened to be down in Cyrus Young's
+office, and he told me that they were going to have communion. They had
+quarterly meeting at the Broadway Methodist church. Dr. Brewer preached,
+and there I took my first communion. From there I went over to the house
+of a friend of mine, who has since died, named Lewis. I took dinner
+with him, and stayed there until half-past three o'clock. Well, I took a
+chew of tobacco going down the street, and when I had just commenced
+chewing it, I said: "You are a pretty kind of a Christian. You have got
+your mouth full of that stuff that a hog would not eat, and immediately
+after taking the bread and wine commemorative of the death of Christ. It
+is not right for a Christian to take that after having partaken of these
+emblems." And I spit it out of my mouth. For two or three days it
+bothered me a great deal--much more than drinking. I never had a desire
+to take a drink since that Monday, although I have been asked
+repeatedly. I was down at a hotel with two or three gentlemen the other
+day, and somebody got up and suggested taking a drink. I said, "No; I
+have joined the church; I am a Christian, and I do not believe in
+Christians or church members drinking." Shortly after that they offered
+me a cigar, which I refused.
+
+I have now charge of a chapel, and have preached two sermons up there
+this week, one Sunday night and one Thursday night. I preached on the
+Prodigal Son the other night. I have held seven or eight services up
+there. I hold forth here at the Mission one night in the week--that is
+Tuesday night. I never killed anybody; have never won a thousand dollars
+at cards; and I never was in the gutter. I was a refined tippler. I was
+a leader of society all these years, as everybody who knows me is aware.
+I was prominent in social life and prominent in church life before I was
+an infidel, previous to 1874, and a member of the vestry of Advent
+church here. I kept up my acquaintances. All the drinking I did was
+with the tony men, at the high-typed, tony saloons. I am now a
+communicant of Calvary church. I am a lay reader, and, for the present,
+have charge of Campbell-street chapel. I go up there two nights a week.
+I was going up to Campbell street, the other evening, to hold service
+and I met Bishop Dudley, who was going up to Trinity to confirm a class,
+and he asked me where I was going. I told him I was going over to
+Campbell street to hold service. He asked me who did my singing. I said
+I did all the preaching and singing myself.
+
+The sum of it is, I felt that mine was a bad case; I had been struggling
+for two years and a half to rid myself of this appetite, by making to
+myself all kinds of promises day after day, but was unable to do it; I
+said to myself, "Mine is a bad case--an aggravated case--and it needs
+heroic treatment. I can say I will quit drinking. I can go and kneel
+down and feel very well about it; but the question is, whether I would
+not go back to the same old way of living; and I reflected that I might
+be renewed or regenerated--if the Lord created me, He could re-create
+me--to the man He had made and created in His own image, if he believed,
+He could give back his manhood; would re-create him and give him a new
+birth." I felt that, and felt that I must make a public confession. Mine
+was a bad case, and there was only one way to cure me--a public
+confession before God and the world, and a prayer for strength to make
+me live up to that profession--and when I made that profession, I felt
+relieved.
+
+I have had more strength since then. I have not had the least desire for
+liquor. Last night was the first time I ever dreamed about drinking
+since; and then I dreamed that I wanted a lemonade very badly and went
+to the saloon to get it; and my conscience pricked me even in my sleep
+for the desire for a lemonade and going into a saloon to get it. Before,
+I used to dream about going into drinking saloons. Instead of having a
+desire for a drink of whisky, I give you my word and honor, it was
+nauseating to me. That was not a qualm of conscience, but a physical
+sensation. It came when I picked up a glass that had had whisky in it. I
+smelled it, and set it down. And, by the grace of God, I am determined
+that I have drunk my last drop of intoxicating liquor.
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN N. B. PECK.]
+
+
+CAPTAIN BEN PECK.
+
+I have had rather an eventful life; but I don't know that it would be
+interesting to the public.
+
+I certainly had less reason to be a bad boy, and worse man, than almost
+anybody ever had. I was surrounded by the very best Christian
+influences. My father was a prominent minister of the Baptist
+denomination in this State. He died, though, when I was quite young. My
+mother's people had been Christian people very far back. The male
+members on my father's side were Baptist ministers as far as I could
+trace it. I lost my father when I was about eight years old. My mother
+tried to raise me right--taught me right; but we were living out here in
+a little town--Hodgensville--and I was wild from the start. I was not
+worse than any other boys, but I was in all sorts of mischief. I was
+looked upon as a bad boy, and regarded as no exception to the general
+rule, that preacher's boys are worse than other boys.
+
+When about twelve years old, I joined the church at a revival. I believe
+I was truly converted, and for a short while I lived up to the duties of
+my church; but I soon neglected going to church--first I neglected going
+to prayer-meeting--and I got back so far that I would not be picked out
+as a Christian by any means.
+
+The war came up when I was fourteen years old, and I went into it; and
+the first night out I got to drinking and playing cards; and I suppose I
+was known as the leader in all the mischief got up in the brigade. I
+was notorious throughout the command as a reckless, bad boy from the
+beginning.
+
+My mother had been opposed to my going into the army at all; but, if I
+was going, she would have preferred my serving on the other side. I
+never shall forget one thing she said to me at starting. When the time
+came to go, I would not have hesitated to back out if she had given me
+any encouragement at all. She said, "My son, you have determined; you
+have cast your lot with the South. I had rather you would do your duty
+and be a brave soldier." But she continued to pray for me.
+
+After the war I came back home, and found that our property was all
+gone. My mother had sent me to Georgetown college before the war, and my
+idea was to educate myself for a lawyer. When I came home the property
+was dissipated, and I did not have enough to finish my education; and
+the question was, what would be the best for me to do. I came here to
+Louisville and went to drumming; met with phenomenal success from the
+start; went up and up; was hail fellow, well met, with everybody;
+situations offered me on every side. But I continued to drink and play
+cards as I did in the army, and gambled all the time, although not a
+professional gambler. I played against Holcombe's bank many a time. I
+went from bad to worse. I continued to dissipate and gamble; and eleven
+years ago my health was very much shattered from my excesses, and I
+became soured with myself and everybody. I was as miserable as a man
+could be, in that condition, as a matter of course; and a gentleman who
+had been a comrade in the army with me, and had taken a great deal of
+interest in me, Captain Cross, in a conversation with me, insisted that
+I should go with him to Texas, where he was doing a flourishing
+business. I had tried, time and again, to reform, always in my own
+strength, and got further away from God all the time. I tried to believe
+that Christ was not the Son of God; that he was not inspired; I denied
+the divinity of Christ, although I never denied that there was a Supreme
+Ruler. Captain Cross wanted me to go to Texas, thinking that if I got
+away from the surroundings here, it would help me. Accordingly, I went
+to Texas with him, where I made plenty of money.
+
+But I soon fell into the old ways, and found gambling houses as numerous
+there as they are here; I found dance-houses more accessible than the
+churches. I led a reckless life; and frequently did not hear from my
+family and friends for months at a time. Finally I drank until I drank
+myself into delirium tremens; tried to kill myself; went and bought
+morphine. But fortunately for me, they were watching me. That was in
+Paris, Texas. I was in bed for two or three weeks; and when I got up
+from that, I felt like I did not want to stay in Texas any longer.
+
+I went to St. Louis and went into business there; had success as a
+salesman; had a big trade; and I went there with a determination not to
+drink any more whisky; but I was there only a few days before I was
+drinking and playing cards--my old life, in fact. Finally I got into a
+difficulty with a man, shot him and got shot myself. I got into a great
+deal of trouble on account of it. It cost me a great deal of money and
+my mother a great deal of sorrow. One time I went to Mexico to get out
+of the way, where I led a reckless life; went into the army; played
+cards and drank whisky. I neglected business for whisky a great deal of
+the time. Then I came here to Louisville, and kept up the same practice;
+went to Cincinnati and did the same thing there. I let up for a little
+while when I went to new places. When I got back from St. Louis, I met
+Steve Holcombe and shook hands with him. The first thing he said to me
+was, "I have changed my life." I had not heard anything of it. I asked
+him what he was doing. He said he was serving the Lord instead of the
+devil; that he had a little mission somewhere. I did not pay any
+attention to it. But one Sunday I was passing down Jefferson street, and
+there was a crowd on the courthouse steps, and I saw Steve talking to
+them. I listened to him, and after the crowd went away I asked him how
+he was getting along and he told me.
+
+I kept on drinking, however. Sometimes I had a situation and sometimes I
+did not. People did not want me; they did not know when I would be
+sober. If I got a situation, it was in the busy season. After the busy
+season was over, they would reduce my salary and give me to understand
+they wanted me to get a new place.
+
+One time I was drunk for a week or ten days, and as I passed I heard
+them singing in the Mission down stairs and went in. I thought that
+would be a good place to rest. I went back a night or two; and one night
+Mr. Holcombe delivered a powerful testimony and mentioned some
+circumstances that had occurred in his life, at some of which I had
+been present--I don't know that he had particular reference to me. I
+went back the next night and went up for prayer. I went again sober; but
+I did not see my way clear. I went back and took "a nip," as he said. I
+sank lower and lower; but I still went to that Mission. Something
+impelled me, I know now what it was. I got a situation, and was
+traveling; but whenever I got off a trip the spirit of the Lord impelled
+me to go to that Mission. I talked with Steve frequently, and promised
+him that I was going to try and reform; but I did not, and toward the
+last, in fact, I had almost quit going to the Mission. I said, "It is
+not for me, it is for these other men. I have gone too far."
+
+I went in there in November. I was going away on a trip, and the next
+day I started. I met a friend on the street, and he asked me for a
+quarter. He wanted to get a drink and lunch. I told him it was about my
+time to get a drink, too, and we would go and get one together before I
+left. I was telling him about going to the Mission, and he hooted at the
+idea of a man of my sense going to the Mission. About two o'clock in the
+afternoon I was going down the street to take the boat, and I met
+another friend, and he certainly was the worst looking case I ever saw.
+I did not think he would live two weeks. He was a physical wreck, and
+almost a total mental wreck. After talking to him for a few minutes he
+asked me where I was going. I told him. And I told him, too, I did not
+care whether I ever got back or not. I told him it would be a relief to
+me if I never got back off of that trip. I had a family, saw them
+occasionally, and sent them money when I could; but I never lived with
+them. After talking with him a little while, I said my time was up, and
+asked him if he would not go and take a parting drink with me. We went
+into the Opera House down there and took a drink. I never expected to
+see my friend alive again, even if I got back from that trip myself.
+That was the 30th day of November. I got back here the 18th day of
+December.
+
+The most of the night of the 18th I spent down here at the Grand
+Central--"made a night of it." The next morning, when I got up, the very
+first man I saw asked me if I had seen a certain friend of mine. I told
+him, "No." He said: "You would not know him." I said: "What is the
+matter with him?" He said: "He is reformed; he is a Christian, and he
+looks twenty years younger than you ever saw him." I said: "You are a
+liar." He said: "I am not a liar. You won't know him. He looks like a
+gentleman." I said: "It is pretty funny if he can look like a gentleman
+in this short time." I had not gone another square before some one asked
+me if I had seen another friend of mine. I said: "No." "Well," he said,
+"you ought to see him. He has quit drinking, and looks like he used to
+look." I said "What is the matter with him?" He said: "He has joined the
+church." I took a drink, and thought about this thing; went down to the
+store, and knocked around there all day long, thinking about those two
+men. But here I was, drunk and wretched and trying to get sober, but
+could not.
+
+Somebody met me about four o'clock in the evening, and asked: "Where are
+you going?" I said: "I am going around here to get a drink." He said:
+"How are you going to drink when your partners have quit drinking?" I
+asked him where they could be found; that I wanted to take a look at
+them. He told me that I could find them at the Mission. I concluded I
+would come up to the Mission, and did so, pretty full; and, honestly, I
+would not have known either of these men on the street. I never saw such
+a transformation as in them. After the services were over they came up
+and shook hands with me, and treated me as kindly as they used to do
+when we were drinking together. And I made up my mind if Christ could
+save them, I wanted some of it for myself.
+
+I came to the Mission, and stood up for prayers all the time, but came
+half drunk for four or five nights, but still with the determination to
+have salvation if it was to be found; but the more I came the darker the
+way grew. I think (on the 29th of December) Mrs. Clark came and talked
+to me, and Mr. Atmore came and talked to me, I was sober--comparatively
+so. I told them that I had given up all hope; that I had sinned away my
+day of grace, and there was no hope for me. They cheered me, and I
+promised them I would pray that night. I went out of the Mission and got
+blind, staving drunk; was hardly able to get up stairs to my bed at
+eleven o'clock, at night. I did it out of despair. The doctors had told
+me before that unless I quit drinking whisky I would go dead. I was
+tired of life, but afraid to commit suicide. I concluded that the sooner
+I died, the better. I got up at three o'clock in the morning to come
+down stairs and get a drink. The barkeeper was absent from his bar, and
+I concluded that I would wash myself before I took a drink. I said to
+myself while I was washing: "You promised yourself you would not drink,
+and the very first night you get drunk, and get up in the morning to
+take another drink, and if you take it you will be drunk before night."
+I concluded I would stop. I took a seat by the stove, and very soon the
+barkeeper came back. He looked at me and said: "Are you broke this
+morning, or too stingy to drink, or what is the matter?" He added: "Come
+on. If you are too stingy to take a drink yourself, take one with me." I
+was just dying for a drink. I was shaking--suffering physically and
+mentally. I got up two or three times to go to that bar to take a drink,
+but I argued to myself: "If you can not keep from taking a drink, you
+had better go up stairs and kill yourself." After awhile the boys
+commenced dropping in, and, as was the custom, said: "Come on, Peck, and
+take a drink." I told them, "No; I have quit."
+
+I went around to the Mission that night, and went up to the front. I had
+a talk with some Christian people there about the matter, and talked
+with one of my converted friends. He said there was only one way to
+do--to give myself to God. I went to bed immediately after I left. I
+could not sleep. I continued to pray until somewhere along about three
+o'clock in the morning of the 2d of January; and the way was made clear
+for me. I don't know that there was any particular vision. I made up my
+mind that I would go and make my arrangements to join the church, and
+ask God's direction from that time on, and to lead another life--lead a
+Christian life as much as it is possible for a sinful mortal like me to
+do.
+
+I came up to the Mission that night, and told Sister Clark and Brother
+Holcombe that I was as happy as I could be; I had found what I was
+seeking for, and I felt that I could trust God. The next Wednesday night
+I went down to the Fourth and Walnut-street Baptist church, and put
+myself under the care of the church. Since that time I have been leading
+a different life. I am in perfect peace and rest. Everything, of course,
+has not gone to suit me exactly; but I always have been able to say: "I
+know it is for the best." My faith grows stronger and my future brighter
+day by day. I think these people who have been moral and religious all
+of their lives can not enjoy religion like a hard customer, as I was--if
+they do, they do not show it.
+
+Friends and relatives who had forsaken and avoided me came to me at once
+and upheld and encouraged me. Business came to me without seeking it. I
+was encouraged on every hand. People that I thought despised me, I found
+did not. I had every encouragement, so far as this life is concerned,
+and I am, to-day, in a better fix, a long ways, than I have been for
+years.
+
+My appetite for whisky has troubled me three or four times since I came
+to Christ, but all I have to do is to get down on my knees, and ask for
+strength to resist it. And before I get through praying I forget about
+it. I have confidence that God will keep me to the end, and my
+confidence grows stronger every day. Things that were a great trial to
+me at first are no longer so.
+
+A very remarkable thing in my case is, that the thing that I expected to
+give me the most trouble has given me the least. I was certainly one of
+the most profane men that ever lived, and I was always afraid that the
+sin that I would have to guard against most would be profanity. But, if
+I have ever sworn an oath, it has been unconsciously, and I do not have
+to think about it--I do not have to guard against it; it horrifies me to
+hear a man swear now. I thought I could fight whisky easier than I could
+that. Strange to say, it has not bothered me in the least, but whisky
+has, on three or four occasions. A craving came on me yesterday. It was
+a terrible, miserable, bleak, rainy day. I was sitting in my room,
+writing, and all at once I concluded that I must have a stimulant. I
+have not recovered, and will not for months, from the effects of whisky.
+I said: "It is a cold, damp, miserable day. Go up there to the
+drug-store and get some port wine as a medicine. Do not go into a
+bar-room. There will be no harm in going there to get a little port
+wine. Bring it into your room. It will be the best thing you can do." I
+got up and put on my overcoat and my overshoes, and it struck me that it
+would not be the best thing for me; and I got down on my knees and
+prayed to God, and before I got through praying I forgot all about it.
+The devil had tempted me previously, but he put it that day in the shape
+of the port wine.
+
+Just about ten days after I joined the church, I was in the Phoenix
+hotel. A friend of mine, a man that I had gambled and drunk with all my
+life, or at least, for a number of years, said to me, "You are not
+drinking much from the way you look." I said, "No, I am not." He said he
+thought he would beckon me out, because he did not like to make that
+statement before the crowd, and had I been drinking as I did the last
+time he saw me, he would not have asked me. He wanted me to come in and
+take a drink with him. I said whisky had once got the upper hand of me,
+and he must excuse me. He said he knew I was a man, and could take a
+drink without getting drunk, and he wanted me to take it socially. I
+told him that might all be true. I might take the drink without getting
+drunk, and I might take it without its being a sin in his sight, or in
+the sight of other people; but that I had promised God that I would
+follow Him all my life, and walk in the way He wanted me to go; that I
+had joined the church, and our church rules forbade drinking. He then
+begged my pardon, with tears in his eyes, for having asked me, and bade
+me God speed.
+
+[Illustration: J. C. WILSON.]
+
+
+JAMES C. WILSON.
+
+I started out in gambling during the war--about 1862. That was in New
+York State. I was born and raised there. I will be forty-five years of
+age the next eighth of July. I started out in New York in 1862. My
+father kept a shoe store there then. He was pretty well to do. Having
+money, I cared nothing about getting any kind of business. I got in with
+a man by the name of Captain Brown, who was one of the principal
+gamblers there; and I began to be expert in short cards at first.
+
+From there I went into the army during the war, and stayed there until
+1865, and then went to Texas. At Austin, Texas, I got into trouble in
+1866, on account of my gambling. I believe it was about the 20th of
+January. Myself and a man by the name of Ryan had been playing together,
+and I had beaten him, which made him mad. He called me very insulting
+names. He slapped me and hit me, and I drew my pistol on him. I first
+struck him once and then shot him, and killed him instantly. I was put
+in jail. I had not been there long and was a stranger. The thing
+occurred down near the Colorado river. A mob assembled, and came down
+with ropes to hang me. But the sheriff and his posse, in order to save
+me, carried me out of the city, and ran me up to San Antonio. I stayed
+in jail six months and was tried; but there was nothing done with
+me--the witnesses testified that I was justified in doing what I did.
+
+After that I went to Rochester, New York, and from there to Toronto,
+Canada. I made my living by gambling; and, of course, gambled in all
+these places. I got broke very often, but always managed to get hold of
+a stake. I went from Canada back to New York City; and used to play on
+the falls steamers--Fisk's boats. I stayed there until I came to
+Louisville in 1870, when I went into the army again. I was here in the
+Taylor barracks with General Custer. I went out West with him, and was
+there discharged from the army, and went to gambling at Bismarck,
+Dakota. When I had got out of the army, I had made about six thousand
+dollars, and went to St. Paul, and from there to Chicago. I gambled
+there for awhile, and was unsuccessful; and from there I came to
+Louisville again.
+
+I have been here since 1873, I believe. Shortly after I commenced
+gambling here, the gambling houses were closed, but were re-opened in
+1874 again, and I commenced gambling again, opening at the Richmond, the
+house on the South-west corner of Fifth and Market streets. Brother
+Holcombe before that, I think, was interested in the Richmond. That was
+the last house I dealt in, or worked in, until I opened for myself,
+which was at "84" Fifth street, between Main and Market. I was very
+unsuccessful there; had men working for me who did not attend to their
+business.
+
+During all this time I had a wife and family, whom I really loved but
+whom I neglected and allowed to suffer greatly through my passion for
+gambling, the uncertainty of making a living and my wanderings from
+place to place. About this time I used to think of Holcombe; and we
+gamblers used to remark among ourselves how it was that he had become
+religious. I used to get to studying to myself how he got along, and ask
+myself how a man could be a Christian who had been a gambler so long as
+he had.
+
+About this time I met Dr. Jno. B. Richardson and Mr. Samuel B.
+Richardson. They talked with me in regard to swearing and gambling and
+the life I was leading. They influenced me as best they could and
+advised me to see Brother Holcombe, and together with Brother Holcombe
+they watched over my spiritual condition for a couple of years. I had
+become disgusted with the life I was leading; and came to Brother
+Holcombe for advice. I had quit "84" and was broke. I had some money
+when I quit, and bought the house which I am living in yet. I said to
+Brother Holcombe: "I am getting tired of this infernal gambling. How can
+I quit it? Show me something to do. How can I get out of this life?" He
+said, "Brother Wilson, come up stairs." He talked with me and prayed
+with me. He said, "Do not be discouraged. Take my advice. The first
+thing you do, commit yourself; take a stand and after that every night,
+and during the day, ask God for strength and help, and come to this
+mission and," he said, "I will help you to get something to do in every
+way I can." I never will forget the first night I got down on my knees
+and prayed. I laughed at myself, which showed how the devil was after me
+to lead me back to my old life. I actually laughed to think I was trying
+to pray in earnest. I came to the mission and told Steve. Brother
+Holcombe said, "Keep on in that way, anyhow. Pray to God and ask for
+strength all the time. Keep away from gamblers and bad company, and do
+not mix with them," and I did so--I took his advice, and I began to get
+strength from Almighty God; He was helping me; He opened a way for me,
+though everything was new to me for awhile.
+
+When I least expected it, I got a situation with the Louisville City
+Railway Company, which I still hold. I am happy and my family are happy,
+and all my surroundings are good; and I know, with the help of God, I
+will never touch a card again. If we trust in God, I know we are kept
+from all temptation. When any temptation comes to me, I always look to
+God for help; and the help comes as naturally as my pay does when
+pay-day comes. I feel that the number of friends I have made, and
+everything I have, I owe to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
+Brother Holcombe; and I trust I may be kept and continue in the life I
+am leading. I am happy and contented and all my surroundings are happy;
+and I hope all good people will pray for me that I may continue the life
+I am now leading.
+
+I belong to the First Presbyterian Church, Dr. Witherspoon's church, and
+I am sorry I can not attend more regularly. My business occupies me so
+constantly that I can not get away.
+
+I get only a dollar and a half a day. When I was a gambler, some months
+I would make three or four thousand dollars, and sometimes five thousand
+dollars; and some months I believe I have made more than that, so far as
+that is concerned; but a gambler, you know, has his ups and downs, I
+have been so hard up that I have been tempted to commit murder for
+money. In Texas I looked for a man to kill him for his money, but when I
+found him I did not have the heart to do it. It seemed as if I could not
+use my hands.
+
+It would take me from now until to-morrow morning to tell all of my
+experiences. I have been in Europe, California, Old and New Mexico, and
+I believe that God was with me even when I was wicked. I have a bad
+temper to this day, but, by God's grace, I can control it.
+
+My parents were church members--Presbyterians, and I was raised in the
+church. My father died when I was fifteen years old, and my mother died
+when I was eight years old. If I had been put to hard work, and had had
+something to do, it might have been different with me; but my father was
+well-to-do, and I had too much money to spend. My parents tried to give
+me a good education, and I went to school; but when I got to gambling I
+could not get anything in my head but cards. I did not care for anything
+else. But, thank God, it is now just the reverse; it just gives me the
+chills to think of playing cards.
+
+Three years ago, if a man had told me that I would quit gambling, I
+would have told him that he was crazy. I thank God and Brother Holcombe
+for what has been done for me. I am truly thankful there was such a man.
+I know if it had not been for him I would have been right in hell
+to-day. If I had not been helped and lifted up, just like a little
+child in the new life, I think I would to-day be in hell. I never will
+forget Brother Holcombe.
+
+I drank liquor, but was not a regular drunkard, because it made me too
+sick. I used to drink and get drunk, but I would get so sick I could not
+stand it. The habit was there, but the constitution could not endure it.
+
+I have no trouble now; I am perfectly happy; I do not know what trouble
+is any more. Of course, we all have ups and downs; we can not have
+everything our own way; but I praise God and Brother Holcombe that I am
+able to bear them.
+
+You must show that you are willing for the Lord to help you before He
+will do so. It is like a man teaching his children; if the child keeps
+shoving him off, the parent can not help the child, and so it is with
+God. But when a man has seen and felt the effects of sin, and his pride
+is broken down so that he is willing, then God will help him and save
+him, no matter how far he has gone in wickedness.
+
+     NOTE.--Mr. Wilson is employed by the Louisville City Railway
+     Company, at the corner of Eighteenth and Chestnut streets,
+     where, day after day, for years, he has faithfully discharged
+     his duties, and he has the respect and esteem of his employers
+     and of all who know him.
+
+[Illustration: WM. BIERLY.]
+
+
+WILLIAM BIERLY.
+
+I am thirty-two years of age. I was born at Louisville in 1856. My
+father was a Catholic then, but he is not now. My mother died when I was
+so small that I don't know what she was. I will tell you how it was: My
+mother died when I was quite young, my father went into the war, and I
+was kicked and cuffed about from one place to another, here and there,
+till I had no respect for myself, and felt that I was nobody.
+
+I was with my father in the soldiers' hospital for a long time. He was
+nurse in the soldiers' hospital. At this time I would drink whisky
+whenever I could get it, which appetite did not leave me until I was
+about eighteen years old.
+
+When I was about eleven years old I got to being bad--got to stealing.
+My father was a strictly honest man himself, and my pilfering was
+abhorrent to him; so he had me put in the house of refuge when I was
+eleven years old. I was to remain in the house of refuge until I was
+twenty-one years old, but I got out before I was twenty-one. When I was
+nineteen I got to be a guard there. But I got to misbehaving, and got
+discharged from there before I was twenty-one.
+
+When I came out of the house of refuge I boarded around at different
+places, first at one place and then another; and sometimes I had no
+place to board at all, and sometimes I could almost lie down on the
+ground and eat grass. I did not go to my father's, but knocked about
+from one place to another. I got to stealing again, and I kept that up
+all the time. I never had a desire to do anything else wrong, but I
+always had the desire to steal; and while a boy I would steal anything I
+came across. I would go down to the river and steal a bag of peanuts, or
+burst in the head of a barrel of apples and take apples out--many a time
+have I done that. I worked in a tobacco shop for awhile, and would steal
+tobacco--I would steal anything.
+
+I never was arrested when I was a boy. The first time I ever was
+arrested I was sent to the work-house, and Mr. Steve Holcombe got me
+out. After I got out of the work-house I attended the Mission, and there
+was a good religious impression made on me. That was the first time I
+ever had any religious impression.
+
+I lived pretty straight for awhile, and after awhile my old desire to
+steal came back on me. Thank the Lord it does not bother me any more
+now, I was watching at the Louisville Exposition during the first year
+of the exposition, 1883, and I was boarding where there were some street
+car drivers boarding, and they had all their money boxes there at the
+boarding house. I was tempted to take a few of their boxes, and I did
+take two of them. I was arrested for it, tried, convicted and sentenced
+to six years in the penitentiary.
+
+While I was in the penitentiary it seemed that everything turned around
+the other way with me; it seemed like I had got enough of it. I saw so
+many bad men there, I got disgusted. It seemed to me if ever I got out
+and got my liberty any more, I would try to do right if it took my head
+off.
+
+During the time--two years--that I was in the penitentiary, I kept up a
+correspondence all the time with Mr. Holcombe; and Mr. Holcombe's
+Christian letters touched my heart, and I made up my mind by the grace
+of God I would lead a Christian life in the future. At the expiration of
+about two years, Mr. Holcombe, to my great surprise and delight, brought
+me a pardon from Governor Knott.
+
+Since I have been out of the penitentiary I have been leading a
+Christian life, and have had no inclination to steal. I have been at
+work for Hegan Brothers, as engineer and fireman, for some time, have
+got married to a sweet girl, and am now living happily in the Lord; and
+I shall never cease to be grateful to God and Mr. Holcombe. I never go
+to sleep at night without thanking the Lord--and my wife joins me in
+it.
+
+[Illustration: MAC. PITTMAN.]
+
+
+CAPTAIN MAC PITTMAN.
+
+I was born in Baltimore in 1834. My ancestors were driven away from
+Arcadia by the English, on account of their Roman Catholic proclivities.
+
+I was educated at two Catholic colleges, St. Mary's, at Baltimore; and
+St. Mary's at Wilmington, Delaware. At eighteen years of age, on account
+of the tyranny of my father, I ran away from home, and shipped in the
+United States Navy as a common sailor. I went around to San Francisco,
+and there joined "the gray-eyed man of destiny," General Walker.
+
+I joined his expedition in September, 1885, and arrived in Nicaragua in
+October, the following month--the third day of October. There was a
+civil war then in progress in Nicaragua; and the pretense of this
+expedition was that we were hired by one of the parties to take part in
+it. Walker was to furnish three hundred Americans, who were to get one
+hundred dollars a month and five hundred acres of land, and their
+clothes and rations, of course. When I first arrived there, we were to
+escort specie trains across the isthmus--there are but twelve miles of
+land from water to water--from San Juan del Sur to Virgin Bay. I was one
+of the guard over the celebrated State prisoners, General Coral and the
+Secretary of War, whose name I forget, who were both executed. I was
+inside of the seventieth man who joined this expedition; when I joined
+him, Walker had but sixty men. The re-enforcements that came over
+made just one hundred men. He had sixty men, I think, and we numbered
+forty. With this one hundred men we took the city of Grenada, which had
+a population of twelve thousand, on the morning of October 13, 1855. A
+small division of men was sent to the town of Leon on the Pacific coast.
+The natives of that section of the country were all in favor of Walker;
+that part--the western part--is the Democratic part of the country. On
+our return to Grenada, on the 11th day of April, 1856, we went into the
+Battle of Rivas, after marching sixty-five miles. We fought from eight
+o'clock in the morning until two the next morning, by the flash of guns.
+I lost my arm that morning; and was promoted from the rank of sergeant
+to that of first lieutenant for taking a cannon in advance of the army.
+I returned to Grenada, and lay there for several months, and then
+returned to America. I went back with the re-enforcements from New York
+in the following August. In October, 1856, I resigned, and came back to
+America.
+
+At the breaking out of the civil war, on the first call for troops, I
+refused a commission in the Federal army, and joined the Confederate
+forces.
+
+In 1861 we formed the First Maryland regiment. The last six months of
+the war I spent as a prisoner in Fort Delaware, charged with the murder
+of the eleven men who were killed in Baltimore during the riot, on the
+19th of April, 1861. I was court-martialed in Washington City, in the
+latter part of 1864, and was sent in irons to Fort Delaware, and
+remained there until May, 1865, when I was released.
+
+From Fort Delaware I went to New York, and from there went to Virginia,
+where I married the great granddaughter of the illustrious patriot,
+Patrick Henry, at Danville. In January, 1866, I migrated to Texas, where
+I spent the little patrimony my grandfather had given me. When I left
+there, I took the position of commercial and marine editor of the
+Savannah _News_.
+
+I never had given a thought to religion or my hereafter before this
+time. To illustrate this: When they amputated my arm, they asked me
+distinctly if I had any religion. They told me afterward they expected
+me to die. I said: "Yes, I have been raised a Catholic." They wanted to
+send for a priest. I said: "No, I do not want you to send for a priest."
+They asked me why? "Well," I said, "as I have lived, thus will I die; I
+don't have much faith in the hereafter business." I did not have much
+faith in hell, I meant.
+
+I was interested, directly and indirectly, in several gambling
+establishments, and my proclivities were in that direction. The passion
+of gambling controlled me to such an extent that I was capable of all
+sins and crimes to indulge in it. It was one day up, one day down; one
+day with plenty, another day without a cent.
+
+I continued in this wild, reckless career, until fate turned my
+footsteps toward the city of Louisville. For it was fate, sure enough,
+or I don't know what it was. I was sitting one Sunday in front of the
+old Willard Hotel, Steve Holcombe was preaching that Sunday on the
+courthouse steps. His remarks were such as to elicit my closest
+attention; so impressive were they that he seemed to picture before me a
+panorama of my whole life, in referring to his own career. When he got
+through with his sermon, I walked up to him, and said: "Mr. Holcombe,
+you are the first man that I ever heard in my life who impressed me with
+the importance of preparing for death and meeting God." I then commenced
+attending the Mission, on Jefferson street, near Fifth, daily. I was
+there nearly every day.
+
+I then went South, to New Orleans, and fell from grace again--commenced
+going through the same old routine--gambling, drinking, spreeing. In
+fact, I was a fearful periodical spreer; if I took one drink, I had to
+keep drinking for a month. As long as I kept away from it I was all
+right. I was very abusive when I was drinking; I would knock a man down
+with a club. I have been arrested, I guess, fifty times for fighting and
+drunken brawls.
+
+From New Orleans I again came back to Louisville, the 6th of August a
+year ago, still going on in the same reckless manner, getting drunk, and
+being drunk, as usual, a week at a time--sometimes a month; in fact, I
+lived in bar-rooms here. One night, while Mr. Murphy was here--I do not
+recollect the night, but at one of Mr. Murphy's meetings--he appealed to
+us all to try and reform and be sober men. I met Mr. Werne and Miles
+Turpin there, and while there, Mr. Werne asked me if I did not intend to
+reform, or something like that--that was the substance of the
+conversation of himself and his wife with me--and he told me that Miles
+Turpin had reformed. I said: "If Miles Turpin has reformed, I can, too.
+From this day henceforth I will be a sober man." And I signed the Murphy
+pledge a short time afterward, and I have not taken anything
+intoxicating from that day to this.
+
+Mr. Werne then asked me to come up to the Mission, and I have not missed
+attending this Mission but three nights since, and the benefits that I
+have derived--the satisfaction, the happiness of mind, the contentment
+of spirit--I would not exchange for my old life for anything in the
+world. I mean I would not exchange my present life for the old one for
+any earthly consideration. I attribute this reformation to the strong
+personal interest that Mr. Holcombe has taken in my welfare, and if he
+does not save but one soul, as he says, it would pay him for all the
+trouble he has gone through within the last ten years or more.
+
+     The two following letters, though in the nature of testimonies,
+     are from men of high standing in the community, who preferred,
+     on account of others, not to give their testimonies in the form
+     in which the foregoing are given:
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., July 24, 1888.
+
+    _Rev. Gross Alexander_:
+
+    MY DEAR BROTHER--Yours of 21st is just received. I can not see
+    how a sketch of my life can do "The Life of Brother Holcombe"
+    any good. As I understand it, you are writing the life and
+    conversion of Steve Holcombe and not of others. My past history
+    is sufficiently sad and regretful without having it paraded
+    before the public in book form. I am far from being proud of it.
+    I am exceedingly anxious it should sink into the shades of
+    forgetfulness. Having marked out a new and brighter life, I am
+    only too glad to let "the dead past bury its dead."
+
+    Most sincerely,
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LOUISVILLE, KY., August 2, 1888.
+
+    _Dear Brother Alexander_:
+
+    Your kind letter was received several days ago, but I have
+    delayed answering, in the expectation of seeing you here in
+    person.
+
+    I am now anxious for the successful issue of the book, on
+    account of the great moral influence it will have upon all
+    classes of the community. But I can not consent to what you
+    propose. I am endeavoring every day to blot out and forget the
+    dark and cloudy past of my life, keeping always a bright future
+    in view. There are dark and painful episodes in the life of
+    every man and though _he_ may be willing to expose them to the
+    eyes of the public, there are those who are bound to him by the
+    ties of blood and relationship, who would blush at the recital.
+    This is the position I occupy. I hope to see you here soon.
+
+    Yours truly,
+
+    ---- ----.
+
+[Illustration: A NIGHT MEETING--MR. HOLCOMBE PREACHING.]
+
+
+
+
+SERMONS.
+
+MARK 1: 15.
+
+     "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel."
+
+
+Verse 14 says, the Lord Jesus came into Galilee preaching; and this was
+the announcement which He made, namely, that the kingdom of God was at
+hand and they were to enter it by repentance and faith. The kingdom was
+brought to them; they did not have to go and search for it. It was
+brought to them, opened for them and they were _urged_ to go in and
+become members of it. And so it is now. God's messengers are sent
+everywhere to find sinners, and when they are found, to say to them:
+"Ho! everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters and drink, come buy
+and eat without money and without price" (Isaiah 55), and to cry, "All
+things are now ready; come ye, therefore, to the feast."
+
+And so it is to-day, God sends the same message of good news, of glad
+tidings to you--even to you. The kingdom of God is _here--here to-day
+and now_; and if you _will_, you may enter it and be saved.
+
+But what are men told to do in order that they may enter?
+
+How are they to enter?
+
+1. They are to _repent_.
+
+And what is it to repent?
+
+Some think that great sorrow of heart is a necessary part of repentance;
+and that tears and groans of agony must be a part of every repentance
+that is genuine, and they think that unless we feel deeply and keenly
+the baseness of our ingratitude to God we are not truly penitent. Now,
+it is true that some people have _all these_ marks of repentance, and it
+is very well to have them, but some men can not have them and never can
+get them. So that if all men are commanded to repent and can repent,
+these things are not an essential part of true repentance. To repent,
+then, is to turn unto God with the feeling that sin is wrong, and that,
+if we do not get rid of it, it will ruin us; and with the resolution and
+hope, by the help of God, to keep from sin and to live for Him during
+the rest of our lives. And if our repentance is genuine, we _will_ leave
+off sin and practice righteousness. It will show itself by its _fruits_.
+Pretending or professing to repent without turning away from our sins
+and abandoning them is, as some one has said, like trying to pump the
+water out of a boat without stopping the leaks. If you have sorrow and
+regrets and tears, they are all right; but the _main thing_ is to have
+such a feeling concerning sin as to turn _forever_ away from it to God
+and to a life of righteousness. And if your repentance is genuine, you
+will not wait until you are converted before you begin to leave off all
+sin and to do all the good of every kind in your power. No; you will
+begin _at once and keep it up_, and the longer you keep at it the more
+you will feel that you must go on with it.
+
+2. But there is another thing to be done. The Lord says:
+
+"Repent and _believe_ the Gospel."
+
+So you are to _believe_. You are to believe that God _does_ accept you
+now through Jesus Christ _just because He says_ He accepts and saves
+those who believe in His Son. You may not receive the evidence of
+acceptance _at once_ and so you are to hold on by faith till He does
+give you the evidence of your acceptance, even the witness of His spirit
+that your sins are forgiven and you made a child of God.
+
+You must not let the difficulty of believing without feeling keep you
+back from believing and you must not let the remembrance of your great
+sins keep you from believing. Poor, unhappy men, you who are bruised and
+sore on account of your sins, I beg you cease from your evil ways. Why
+will you die? "What fearful thing is there in Heaven which makes you
+flee from that world? What fascinating object in hell, that excites such
+frenzied exertion to break every band, and overleap every bound, and
+force your way downward to the chambers of death?" Stop, I beseech you,
+and repent, and Jesus Christ shall blot out your sins, and remember your
+transgressions no more. Stop, and the host who follow your steps shall
+turn, and take hold on the path of life. Stop, and the wide waste of sin
+shall cease, and the song of the angels shall be heard again, "glory to
+God in the highest; on earth, peace, good will to men." Stop, and
+instead of wailing with the lost, you shall join the multitude which no
+man can number, in the ascription of blessing and honor, and glory, and
+power, to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and
+forever.
+
+The kingdom of God is here to-night. Will you come in?
+
+     "Come humble sinner in whose breast," etc.
+
+Come, angels invite you, we invite you, and, best of all, Christ invites
+you. O, do not, by your own actions, bar this door forever against your
+immortal soul. What a fearful thing it will be to wake up in eternity to
+find this door, which to-day hangs wide open, barred against you and
+hung with crape. O, how fearful will be those words, too late! too late!
+All is lost.
+
+    "Just as I am, without one plea,
+    But that Thy blood was shed for me,
+    And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,
+    O! Lamb of God I come.
+
+    "Just as I am, tho' tossed about,
+    With many a conflict, many a doubt,
+    Fightings and fears within, without,
+    O! Lamb of God I come."
+
+
+JOHN III: 16
+
+     "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
+     that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
+     everlasting life."
+
+Many of the glorious truths of the Gospel are both above the conception
+of man and altogether contrary to what his unrenewed nature would desire
+to publish. Heathen writers could tell of the cruelty and vengeful wrath
+of their imaginary gods. They could tell of deeds of daring, the
+exploits of Hercules, Hector, AEneas and others; but it was foreign to
+their nature to write: "God so loved the world as to give His only
+begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
+have everlasting life."
+
+1. The Gospel is glad tidings. It is the news that God is reconciled and
+wants to be at peace with man. Is this not good news? Have you never
+heard good news that made your heart leap for joy? Well, this is better
+news than any you have ever heard. God, not angry with you, but loving
+you, so as, at a great sacrifice, to make a way for the salvation of the
+world.
+
+2. What was that sacrifice? It was the gift of His own Son. Think of it,
+oh sinner! God consenteth to give up His Son, to leave His glory and
+come as a stranger into the world, and to be born in great poverty, and
+with all the conditions of us poor mortals. Think of God looking down on
+Jesus, His Son, living this poor earthly life, here among strangers who
+did not recognize His divinity--nay, who became jealous of Him, and
+persecuted Him trying to kill him; and at last, after unheard-of
+tortures inflicted upon Him, did kill Him. Now, think of God giving up
+His Son to endure all this, and watching all this lonely and
+misunderstood and persecuted life of His only begotten Son, watching it
+and enduring it for thirty-three years, and then ask yourself how much
+God sacrificed to show His love for us sinners. Have you a son? If you
+have, don't you know how it stings you deeper for a man to mistreat or
+strike him than yourself? If a man should beat my little Pearl it would
+be harder for me to bear than anything, and yet this is what God endured
+for long years to show His love for you and me.
+
+Think of the arrest of Jesus, His being tied, handcuffed, beaten more
+than once with fearful lashes, knocked in the face, spit on, and then
+nailed with spikes to a cross with thieves, and think of God looking at
+all this while it was going on, and you have some idea of what it means
+when it says God _gave_ His only begotten Son.
+
+3. And the way to get this friendship of God and profit by this love is
+merely to _believe_ with all your heart on Jesus. It is hard to believe
+that God loves, really loves, such sinners as you are, and yet I am a
+living witness that He does; for I was as bad as any of you, and if God
+did not love me and take hold of me and save me, then I don't know what
+has happened to me, certain. So you must _believe_ it, even if it is
+hard to believe it.
+
+4. But this glad tidings is for you and you and you--for _every one of
+you_. It is for _whosoever_, and that means everybody--everybody. A
+certain believing man in England said, "I rather it would _be
+whosoever_ than to have my name there. For if my name was there, I
+could say there might be another man of my name in the world, but when
+it says _whosoever, I know it includes me_."
+
+5. It is to save us from _perishing_.
+
+Oh, what an awful word is that, and what an awful thing it must be to
+perish. You have a taste of it now in your sins, and their saddening,
+darkening, hardening effect on you. You once had tender consciences. You
+once loved things and people that were pure and good and true, and you
+loved a Christian mother, wife, father or sister; but sin has so
+hardened you, that you care for none of these things now. Is it not so?
+Well, this is a little taste of what it is to finally and forever
+_perish_.
+
+But Christ was given that you might _not perish_. What, can Christ save
+me from my hardness of heart, from my black sins, from my uncleanness
+and debauchery, and from my awful darkness of mind and conscience?
+
+Yes; He can, glory to His name. I am a living witness. He has saved me.
+He can save others like me from all these awful effects of sin, even
+after they have lived in it for scores of years, as I did. Yes, and He
+saves from that awful _perishing_ which comes after this little, short
+life is over, whatever it is. Yes; Jesus can shut and bar the door of
+hell, and no soul can enter there who believes in Him and lives for Him.
+
+6. But He not only saves from perishing, He gives them eternal _life_,
+
+What does that mean? Oh, I know not--only I know it means life forever
+without death or decay or sickness or pain or sorrow or weakness or
+tiredness or parting or fear or anxiety. But what else it means I know
+not. This eternal life, this life forever in heaven, I expect--I fully
+expect--to get, though I was a poor gambler and swearer and adulterer,
+and all that I could be that was sinful, for forty years. Yes; I expect
+to get it. I know I am on my way thither, though I am not perfect. Won't
+you come and go with us? Oh, won't you come?
+
+
+TITUS II: 14.
+
+     "Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all
+     iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of
+     good works."
+
+This verse contains a comprehensive statement of the Gospel in few
+words. Let us ask God that His Holy Spirit may give us wisdom and
+insight to understand and profit by what we are here told.
+
+In the first place, we are told that the ground of our salvation is
+through the self-surrender of Himself by Jesus, the Son of God.
+
+We saw, in a passage of Scripture a week or two ago, how great the
+condescension of Jesus Christ was. Though He was equal with God, yet He
+took upon himself the form of a servant; and being found in fashion as a
+man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death--the death of the
+Cross. Our text now teaches us what this was for. "He gave Himself _for
+us_."
+
+Now, I will ask you, could God show His concern for us in a more
+striking and convincing way than in the _giving_ of His Son to ignominy
+and death? Could Jesus, the Son of God, show His love for men in any
+more convincing way than in _giving Himself_ for their recovery and
+salvation? Then, surely we ought to lay aside our habitual way of
+thinking of God as our enemy, and think of Him as our best friend. For
+no human friend ever did for us what God has done for us. And if we
+judge of one's love for us by the sacrifices he makes for us, then must
+we give the crown to Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh. He bore
+our sins; He would bear our burdens, if we would throw them on Him; He
+would fill us with His spirit, and with power, if we would trust Him and
+believe His promise.
+
+But did He give Himself for us that we might remain _in sin_, and yet
+not be punished? This is what the Universalists say. But no! He gave
+Himself for us that He might redeem us _from_ iniquity, and from _all_
+iniquity at that. He was manifested to deliver us from the _guilt_ of
+our past sins; and, second, to deliver us from the dominion and power of
+sin, that being free from sin, we might live unto God.
+
+And that man who thinks he has been pardoned for past sins is mistaken,
+unless he also has been saved from the _power_ of sin, so as no longer
+to be led captive by the devil.
+
+Let not what I say discourage anybody. If you have not been saved from
+the power of evil and of evil habits, you may be saved, and that here
+and now. The fact is, many of us are so selfish, we just want to be
+delivered from the danger, but not from the practice, of sin. Some of us
+enjoy sin.
+
+If some who are here could have _all_ desire for liquor utterly taken
+away by raising a hand, they would, perhaps, not raise a hand, because
+they love liquor too well. If some could be utterly and forever freed
+from lust by bowing their heads, they would not be willing to bow their
+heads, because they find so much pleasure in lust and in lewd thoughts,
+feelings and acts, that they do not _desire_ to be freed from that which
+gives them this low, animal pleasure. And yet these same men will
+profess to have great desires to be cleansed from their sins. But, if
+you are willing, Christ is ready and able to deliver you from all these
+base and beastly passions and habits. What do you say? Do you want to
+be redeemed from all iniquity to-night?
+
+And when thus delivered from all iniquity, your soul being pure will
+desire nothing but to do good, and to bring other poor soiled and
+enslaved souls into the same liberty and purity. Since my conversion I
+have had no other desire and no other care but to do good and save
+others. And that is what the text says: "Zealous of good works."
+
+Now, you who have been saved here, I want to ask you: What are you doing
+for others? If you do _not_ abound in good works, and do not try to save
+others, it will be difficult or _impossible_ to keep yourself saved.
+Jesus said: "Every branch that beareth not fruit He taketh away."--John
+XV: 1. And you will find your supply of grace running short and your
+faith growing weak and tottering, if you do not make it a point and
+business to do good to others--to their bodies and their souls. What do
+you say? Has anybody else heard from your lips of your great blessing
+and salvation? Do you tell your family and your friends about it? Do you
+tell others of their sins and their danger? Do you pray for others? Do
+you give your time (part of it at least) and your money in doing good to
+others? If you do, you will find your own cup gets fuller, your own
+faith stronger, your own heart more joyful. It is God's law and God's
+plan that you should give out to others. In so doing He will increase
+your own supply. Do you feel your weakness? It is right you should do
+so. But do the work, speak the word, and leave it to God who giveth the
+increase, and it shall abound to the salvation of others, the joy of
+your heart, and the glory of His blessed name.
+
+
+ISAIAH LV: 6-7.
+
+     "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while
+     He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and let him
+     return unto the Lord and He will abundantly pardon."
+
+If a father were to write a letter to a dissipated and rebellious son,
+far away from home, to persuade him to return, and to assure him of a
+cordial welcome, he could hardly fill it fuller of expressions of
+tenderness and love, expressions to inspire confidence, than the Bible
+is of such expressions from the great God. This chapter contains an
+invitation to seek God, and a precious promise of forgiveness to any who
+will do so.
+
+1. _Seek_ ye the Lord.
+
+Now, you know what it means when it says _seek_. You know what it means
+when a man says he is seeking employment. He goes from place to place,
+from man to man, and he does this from day to day, and from week to week
+if he does not succeed; and the reason is, there is a _necessity_ upon
+him. He _must_ have employment, or himself and family are without bread,
+without clothing, without shelter. So when we talk about a man seeking
+the Lord, we mean that he searches diligently for Him, and from day to
+day, and from week to week, because there is something worse than
+starvation to suffer if he does not find God. I tell you when a man has
+soul-hunger, it is worse than body-hunger if he does not find God. When
+a man is sick of sin and feels his loneliness and orphanage, and that he
+is without God and without hope in the world, and that he dare not go
+into eternity in his condition of guilt and uncleanness, it is more
+fearful than hunger of the body, and it will make him seek for God with
+all his soul.
+
+_How_ am I to seek God? you say. Well, seek Him by prayer. "Call upon
+Him," as the text says. "Ask and it shall be given you." Go off to
+yourself. Shut out everybody. Be entirely alone. Then get down upon your
+knees and call upon God. Plead His promises. Tell Him you have heard
+that He receives and saves sinners, and that you are a sinner, and that
+you do not mean to let Him go until He blesses you.
+
+Seek Him by reading good, religious books and papers, and especially the
+Bible; and don't read any other sort of reading unless it is necessary
+till you find Him. Keep your mind on God all the time.
+
+Seek Him by going with good, Christian people, pious, godly men and
+women who walk with God, no matter what their name or denomination may
+be. If you say you don't know where to find such, come to our Mission
+rooms, to the Walnut-street church, to all our meetings, preaching,
+prayer-meeting, Sunday-school, class-meetings, ask us questions, use us
+in any way we can help you to find God.
+
+Seeking Him by putting out of the way those things which are
+_hindrances_. The text refers to this. It says, "Let the wicked forsake
+his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts and thus let him return
+unto God."
+
+The forsaking of sin is the main feature of what we call _repentance_.
+
+You can not come to God unless you come giving up your sins entirely or
+crying to God for help to give them up.
+
+You can, by God's grace, give up all your sins and all your sinful and
+slavish habits. A proof of this is my own deliverance from evil habits,
+as whisky, tobacco and evil passions, as lewdness, licentiousness.
+
+1. You must give up sin. You can not expect to retain it and please God
+or serve God. Do not question this. You must give up sin. There is no
+escape. Turn away from it with all your heart and soul.
+
+2. You must give up _all_ sin, your besetting sin, the sin that has the
+most power over you.
+
+3. Give up all sin _now_.
+
+Do not wait. God will help you. You know not that you will be living
+to-morrow or next Sunday; and if you are, it will not be any easier then
+than it is to-day. Now is the day of salvation.
+
+4. Give up all sin, give it up _now_, and give it up _forever_. You can
+not give it up for awhile and then turn to it again. That will do you no
+good. You might as well not give it up at all as to turn back to it
+again.
+
+And look to God for help, for present help, for all-sufficient strength.
+
+Tell Him by His help you mean to be His, no matter what it costs; and
+believe on Jesus Christ, His Son, as the bearer of your past sins and
+the giver of the Holy Spirit, and very soon you will be happier than the
+men who own these hotels and business houses and Broadway palaces and
+hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes; you will. I know from my
+experience and that of others.
+
+My text says, God will have mercy on you and will _abundantly_ pardon
+you.
+
+
+THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.
+
+LUKE VIII: 5-15.
+
+Jesus may have seen a farmer sowing seed, and, directing the attention
+of the people to him, uttered this parable. He took the commonest and
+most familiar facts and occurrences and made them the means of
+expressing the great truths of His kingdom. So His ministers should try
+to do now--teach the truth of God in language easily understood by the
+men addressed.
+
+He divides the hearers of the word into four classes: be ready then to
+decide in which class _you_ are, for you are certainly in one.
+
+1. The seed which fell on the hard beaten path is the word preached to
+men who do not receive any impression at all from hearing it.
+
+They have forgotten it by the time the sound of the preacher's voice has
+died away. It does not enter their minds and produce any _thought_; nor
+their hearts, and produce any _feeling_.
+
+Are there not thousands of people who go to church, who hear preaching
+constantly, and yet it produces no effect? They are no better, and _they
+do not try to be_.
+
+But in the twelfth verse we find who is the cause of this astonishing
+indifference and hardness--it is the _devil_ who causes them at once and
+forever to forget all that is said "lest they should _believe_ and _be
+saved_."
+
+There is an unseen adversary, then, who keeps us from thinking about
+religion all he can. If you do not think about it much, that is a proof
+that you are under his influence.
+
+2. The next class consists of those who from impulse become religious
+without counting the cost.
+
+They do not stop to reflect that to be godly requires self-denial,
+humility, patience, crucifying the flesh with all its lusts. And so,
+when temptation comes or trial, they give up in disgust. They are like
+Pliable in Bunyan's Pilgrims' Progress--easily persuaded to start on the
+way to heaven, but just as easily discouraged and disgusted. There are
+lots of such people now. They lack stability.
+
+3. The next class are those who hear, believe, receive and practice the
+word of God--who run well for a season, maybe for a _long season_, but
+are little by little, and in an unperceived way, drawn away from their
+first love, and then on to perdition.
+
+Three things are here mentioned as drawing them gradually away from
+their devotion to Christ:
+
+(_a_) _Cares._
+
+They have so much to attend to, they do not _have_ time or _take_ time
+for their religious duties, as prayer, going to meetings, etc., and
+missing these, they soon grow cold, and they are so occupied and worried
+with the multitude of things to be attended to, they have no
+_disposition_ for religion. All this care may be about things that are
+lawful, as making a living, for example.
+
+(_b_) _Riches._
+
+Oh, how deceitful riches are. We think we don't love them, but let us be
+asked to part with them, as Christ asked the young man, and _we see_.
+John Wesley said, "As wealth increases, religion decreases," and he was
+right.
+
+(_c._) _Pleasure._
+
+The pleasure of fine, rich living, fashionable life, fine dress,
+theater-going, balls, parties, flirtations, the admiration and praise of
+others etc., etc.
+
+4. The last class are those who _count the cost_, go in with their eyes
+open, who _won't_ let cares, riches or pleasures draw them off, but who
+work, and serve, and pray with _patience_ even unto the end.
+
+
+II. CORINTHIANS, II: 11.
+
+     "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not
+     ignorant of his devices."
+
+The New Testament everywhere teaches that there is a personal evil
+spirit of wonderful cunning and deep malignity toward God and the human
+race. Hence, our conflict is not with flesh and blood; not against our
+own inclinations to evil, nor against sin in the abstract, but it is
+against the god of this world, the spirit that now worketh in the
+children of disobedience.
+
+Therefore, yielding to sin is no small matter, for it is yielding to an
+enemy of unfathomable hatred toward us, and of the deepest cunning, who,
+in everything, has for his purpose our ruin and God's disappointment,
+and who, however lightly he may let his chains lie upon us while we are
+led captive by him, at his will, always draws them so tight, when we
+attempt to escape from him, that only Almighty God can break them off
+and set us free.
+
+It makes a vast difference whether sin is only the indulgence of a
+passion which can have no intelligent design to damage and to ruin us,
+and which passes away when it is gratified, to trouble us no more, or
+whether it is the means adopted by an invisible but awfully real and
+hellish foe to lure us to an unforeseen ruin.
+
+Yes, sin is not a mere pleasure whose effects are ended when the
+enjoyment is over, but it is the bait that hides the cruel hook thrown
+out for us by the artful fisherman of hell. And he is all the more
+dangerous because we can not see him and realize always his ultimate
+purpose.
+
+The skillful fisherman keeps himself out of sight and lets the fish see
+only the tempting bait, and so the poor, deceived creature is lured by a
+harmless looking pleasure on to agony and death.
+
+And Satan not only controls the world, but he continually tempts
+Christians; those who have just recently escaped out of his snares and
+are on their way to heaven.
+
+And now, what are some of his devices?
+
+1. He makes a grand effort to persuade young Christians that they have
+never been converted. He almost invariably attacks them with this
+temptation. He sometimes pursues them for years with this fear, that
+they have never really experienced a change of heart. And, if he
+succeeds in persuading them of this, he has gained a grand point toward
+their fall. For to find that one is mistaken in the belief that he has
+passed from death unto life, is the most discouraging, disheartening
+thing he could experience.
+
+I have known old ministers of the Gospel say that the first thing Satan
+ever tempted them with was this suggestion, that they were mistaken in
+believing that they had passed through that wonderful change which makes
+a sinner an heir of God, and fits him for heaven.
+
+So, my brother, you are in the line of God's true servants if the enemy
+has troubled you with this temptation. Don't, therefore, let it
+discourage you. And do not, by any means, give up to it. Say to your
+tempter that your Lord says he is a liar from the beginning, and that
+you can not believe him, but you prefer to believe God.
+
+And the very fact that you are strongly tempted to believe you are not
+converted is one proof that you are. For if you were really _not_
+converted, but still in the flesh, the devil would tempt you to believe
+you _were_ converted, in order to make you rest satisfied and deceived
+with your unsaved condition. As he _does_ tempt many worldly-minded
+church members to believe they are changed enough to be safe, and so
+they rest satisfied in their unsaved condition, and perish.
+
+So, there are many church members who become irreconcilably offended if
+you dare to suggest to them that you don't believe they are really
+children of God. Their temptation then is to believe the falsehood, that
+they are really converted and in a safe condition.
+
+And if a man's temptation is to believe he is _not_ converted, it is one
+proof that he _is_ converted.
+
+Besides, if the devil tempts you to believe you are not converted, you
+can cut the matter short by saying: "Well, then, I can be in a moment.
+For whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ hath everlasting life,
+and I do here and now believe on Him, and will hold on to Him by faith
+in spite of earth and hell." Old Brother Bottomly, a preacher in the
+Louisville Conference, was tempted to doubt his conversion the night
+after it occurred, as he was lying on his bed. He recognized Satan at
+once as the author of his temptation, and he said: "Well, Satan, if I
+have not been converted, as you say, I will be." And he got out of his
+bed, and down on his knees, and he gave himself to God, and he believed
+on Jesus, and prayed, and soon he was rejoicing in full assurance, and
+the devil fled away out of hearing with his harassing temptation.
+
+2. He tries to make them believe and feel, after the glow of the first
+love has subsided a little, that the service of God is hard and trying,
+and that it has nothing in it to satisfy the heart and to compensate for
+the pleasure of sin, which they have given up.
+
+And if you begin to yield and to slacken your earnestness or zeal, he
+gets a great advantage and you lose the joy of religion by letting
+yourself lag away at a doubting distance from Christ, and then it does
+seem like the devil is telling the truth, because you don't keep close
+enough to Christ and put soul and will enough into His service to get
+the joy of it. Christ says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."
+And if your heart or your enemy says the contrary, tell them that they
+are false.
+
+But don't allow yourself to be tempted to try if you can not find an
+easy way to heaven. It will get sweet and easy by a patient and
+whole-souled perseverance in it, but _not_ by slackening your
+carefulness and experimenting with worldly pleasure to see how far you
+can go therein.
+
+3. But his grand scheme for ruining young Christians, and the one he
+generally succeeds with, is the suggestion that there is no need of
+being so particular and so regular in everything and so rigid in the
+performance of duty and in the avoiding of all appearances of evil.
+
+In other words, a sort of reaction comes, and a dangerous thing it often
+proves to be. Now, the temptation is to give up the regular and rigid
+performance of duty because you don't _feel_ as much like doing it as
+you did at first, or because some of your well-meaning, but unrenewed,
+friends say they can't see the need of being so particular and strict.
+There's no use of going to prayer-meeting every time, no use going to
+church twice every Sunday, no use having prayer at home every day, etc.
+
+But if you miss any duty once it will be much easier to miss it the
+second time and you will be much more likely to neglect it again. And
+you can't afford to take such a dangerous risk in so important a matter.
+
+And then we begin to think that there is no use being so particular
+about abstaining from the very beginnings of evil, or else we persuade
+ourselves that we have grown so strong and have been so changed we can
+be men now and enjoy things in moderation which formerly we could not
+use without going to excess.
+
+Ah, brother, you are walking right into one of Satan's unseen traps. O,
+beware! For your happiness' sake, beware! for your family's sake,
+beware! Satan says, "It's no harm to take a dram if you don't get drunk;
+no harm to go to the race track if you don't bet; no harm to go to the
+ball-room if you don't dance," etc.
+
+But we know that even in case of a youth who has never been in the habit
+of indulging in sins, they have a growing charm and power over him if he
+yields once or twice; how much greater the danger for one who has been
+the slave of these sins and has only recently broken off from them!
+
+I heard a recently converted man say to a friend who was starting away
+on a trip, "Dunc, don't let the devil say to you 'Now, just take one
+drink and then stop.' For I tell you, if you take one drink you are
+gone." Now, this man understood the case and the danger.
+
+There is no possibility of compromise. No possible middle ground in
+these things, especially for us who were once the slaves of our evil
+passions.
+
+I have heard of a man who _for years_ had abstained from drinking and
+his father, thinking he was safe, invited him to drink toddies with him.
+The son did so, and he went back to his old habit of drunkenness, had
+delirium tremens, forced his wife to get a divorce and brought distress
+and disgrace and anguish on his family as well as himself. That was a
+Mr. D., who has several times been to our Mission.
+
+So, my brother, though you may think you would be safe to trifle with
+sin, and try to practice moderation, it is such an awful, awful risk you
+had better not make the experiment. Remember, it is only the bait of
+Satan to lure you to certain ruin.
+
+For your sake, for your father's sake, for your mother's sake, for your
+wife's sake, for your children's sake, for Christ's sake, don't do it.
+
+
+COMPARISON OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED.
+
+PSALM I: 1-2.
+
+All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and hence it is profitable
+for instruction and assistance to those who will attentively consider
+it. This Psalm is a part of the Scripture, and we may expect to find it
+instructive and helpful. It contains a description of the righteous man.
+
+1. It tells what he does _not_ do. He does not walk in the counsel of
+the ungodly. This is the beginning of an evil life--to go among those
+who are ungodly and to listen to their opinions and views and counsels.
+There is no sin, our evil hearts suggest to us, in merely going with
+worldly people, if we do not pattern after their ways and do as they do.
+We can go with them and yet not do as they do. But the history, the sad
+history, of many a struggling soul, shows that this is a great mistake.
+We can't go with bad associates and not be harmed by them. The very fact
+that we want to go with wicked people shows that there is in us an
+inclination toward sin which is dangerous, and which ought to be
+severely watched and kept down rather than encouraged. More men have
+been ruined by their associations than by any other one cause. And let
+me say by way of warning that if any of you, my friends, are purposing
+and trying to lead a new life, you will have to give up the associations
+of your old life and choose new ones, as I had to do, and did do.
+
+But did you observe the word _walk_ here in this verse? That word is
+intended to show that in the first part of a sinful life there is
+restlessness and uneasiness. The man who is just beginning to sin
+against light and conscience and God is uneasy about it. He can not be
+still. It is something new and strange, and his conscience rises up
+against his conduct; and till he goes on to the deadening of his
+conscience, it gives him distress and anxiety.
+
+But it says, the good man does not "stand in the way of sinners." This
+is the second stage. When a man passes through the first stage and gets
+to this second one, then he not only listens to the conversation and
+counsel of those who are ungodly--that is, who make no professions of
+religion--but he goes now with open _sinners, in the way_ with evil
+doers, violators of law, criminals against God and man. And now observe
+he takes a "_stand_." It is no longer "walk," for the restlessness and
+uneasiness have about passed away, and he takes a deliberate _stand_
+among wicked men, who do not fear to commit any sort of crime. And, my
+young friend, this is always the way with sin. It grows upon a man; and
+before he is aware of it, he has grown fond of it, sees no evil or
+danger in it, and deliberately chooses it as his course of life. Beware,
+then, of _beginning_ in the way of evil.
+
+But it says, in the third place, that he does not "sit in the seat of
+the scornful." Ah, here we have the third stage of the downward course
+of sin. First, there was a restlessness in even associating with ungodly
+people; second, a deliberate stand among sinners, evil doers, as one of
+their number; and now it is _sitting down_ in the seat of the
+_scornful_. When men have silenced the voice of conscience, and spent
+years in the practice of evil, they come at last to lose faith in
+everything--in God, in man, in virtue, in goodness; and they become cold
+and sneering scorners of everything that is called good. Have you not
+known men who have gone through this downward road? Nay, do you not know
+now some who are traveling this ruinous pathway? I have known young men
+to go among gamblers just to _look on_. They would have _feared_ to
+touch the implements of sin, but they became familiarized with the
+sight, and then took part; and from bad to worse, have gone on and on,
+till it makes me shudder to know what they are to-day. I tell you, my
+friends, the course of sin is down, down, down. You may as soon expect
+to get in a boat on the current of Niagara above the falls and stand
+still, as to expect that you can launch yourself on the current of sin
+and not go down toward swift and certain ruin. Beware then! Hear the
+voice of warning before you have gone too far ever to return.
+
+2. In the next place, this Psalm tells what a _good_ man does. His
+delight is in the law of the Lord. He is satisfied that in sin there is
+only ruin; and turning with fear and dread away from sin, he yearns to
+find God, who alone can deliver him from sin and keep him from it and
+furnish him a satisfying portion instead of it.
+
+But where can we find God, and how? Not in nature; for there is nothing
+clear enough in nature to teach anything about God or how to come to
+His presence. But he can expect to find God in that revelation which God
+has made of Himself in His word. So he goes to that, and he finds there
+encouragement and instruction and tender invitations and promises of
+mercy and help; and the more he seeks the more he finds to draw him on,
+to satisfy his yearning heart and to charm his poor soul away from the
+love of sin. As he practices what he finds in God's word, he realizes
+the blessedness of it. It brings peace, purity, deliverance from
+darkness, uncertainty and fear; and so he longs to know more and more of
+it and he studies into it. Do you know that to one whose heart is
+changed the word of God is like a whole California of gold mines? He is
+_always_ finding treasures there. Every time he reads it there is
+something new and rich and blessed. The deepest and most devout students
+of God's word say that there is no end to its wealth of instruction and
+consolation. If you want to know God and His salvation, you ought to set
+apart a certain time _every day_ to prayerfully read and study into His
+word, always asking His guidance and help.
+
+And it will soon come to pass that, as the text says, you will
+"_delight_ in the law of God." Do you ever deliberately, carefully,
+studiously, humbly and prayerfully read the Bible? You say, "No." Then
+how can you expect to know anything of God? How can a physician know
+anything of the nature of the human body unless he studies into it? And
+how can you know anything of God and His wonderful mercy unless you go
+and search where God has revealed this for man? There are some men who
+will not read the Bible because they can't understand it. Of course they
+can't understand it all, but, if they can understand one verse in a
+chapter, let them take that and study on it and believe it, and keep
+reading, and soon more and more will open out to their understanding,
+and it will be a constant surprise and delight to find the undreamed-of
+beauties and comforts of the word of God. Promise God now that you will
+_patiently_ read some every day. You will then find your desire for sin
+and sinful associations leaving you.
+
+
+PSALM I: 3-6.
+
+We propose to-day a continuance of the study of the first Psalm, which
+we begun Sunday last. Then we saw the downward course of sin and of the
+sinner, and of the great transformation of the nature of men when they
+are converted or become righteous.
+
+And now the inspired writer goes on to speak of the fruitfulness of such
+men. "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that
+bringeth forth its fruit in its season." You know a tree planted by a
+river draws moisture from below, and does not depend on the uncertain
+rains that may or may not come. And so in time of drought it shall bear
+its fruit at its proper season.
+
+So the man who is born of God, whose nature is transformed and made
+holy, is fruitful in good deeds, in benevolent works. Having himself
+been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the light, he has a
+desire, a strong desire, an unquenchable desire, that all others should
+know the same happiness, and he works by all means to persuade them, to
+get their good will and their confidence. He will feed and clothe them,
+take them up out of filth and rags and reclothe them and befriend them
+(as we are trying to do at the Mission) in order to get their good will
+and direct them to Christ.
+
+Not only so, but when a man has truly the Spirit of God, he has an
+inexpressible pity for his poor brother mortals, and a tender sympathy
+for their sufferings and sorrows. His heart is a fountain of compassion
+for those who are in distress; and this leads him to labor that he may
+in some way, and in all possible ways, bring them relief and comfort.
+
+And, as the tree on the river is supplied with moisture from an unseen
+source, and without the showers, so the man whose heart is in communion
+with God never suffers a drought. When the benevolence of worldly men
+fails, his goes on and never fails. Men wonder that he does not get
+tired or grow weary or disappointed and discouraged. But no! he never
+does. His zeal not depending on changing influences from without, but
+supplied from an unseen and never-failing source--that is, God--never
+gives out. So he is always bearing fruit. Other men may be cold and
+selfish, and panics and famines may shut up their feelings of sympathy,
+but the man of God goes on working and bearing fruit in panics and
+famines, in cold and hot, in wet and dry, in plenty or in poverty,
+always and ever.
+
+"_The ungodly are not so._" No; the ungodly greedily devour all they can
+get, and crave all they can't get. They want selfish pleasure no matter
+what sacrifice or pain it may cost others. They want the property of
+other people, though it leave a widow in poverty and orphans in want.
+They want honor and promotion and fame, if it be built on the downfall
+of their neighbors and fellows. They want the passing animal pleasure of
+licentiousness, if it blight the life and ruin the soul of an innocent
+being and turn a happy home into a very hell of anguish. Self! Self!
+Self! always and ever! and if there be some semblance of benevolence, it
+is for the higher selfishness of getting the honor that men bestow on
+charity, or to appease an angry and tormenting conscience, that lashes
+them with fury for their misdeeds done in secret.
+
+"The ungodly are like the chaff." They have no stability, no
+steadfastness, no fixed purpose or plan in life--nothing to tie to; and
+so they are the victims of circumstances and changes and moods and
+tempers, and are driven hither and thither by every passing breeze.
+
+How I do pity the poor man who does not know or care what he is living
+for, and just pursues every day what _happens_ to take his mind for that
+day.
+
+And because the ungodly are not steadfast and fixed in their devotion to
+God, neither shall they be able to _stand_ in the _judgment_.
+
+Then, there is a judgment coming, is there? Oh, yes! All these things
+that men are doing are not done and then put away forever and forgotten.
+No! no! no! they are all to be brought into review again and exposed
+before God and all men assembled in judgment. All the midnight meanness
+you have done will then be brought to light. Where were you last night?
+What were you doing?
+
+How would you like for me to tell right here before all this crowd all
+the mean and filthy things you have done in the last week and kept them
+hidden from father, mother, wife, children and every other mortal except
+the accomplices of your guilt and shame? Ah! you could not _stand_; no,
+you could not _stand_.
+
+Then, how do you expect to stand when God is reciting to you all the
+misdoings of all the midnights of your whole lives before your father,
+mother, sisters, wife, neighbors and all the world?
+
+
+GOD'S LOVE FOR SINNERS.
+
+ROMANS V: 8.
+
+     "But God commendeth His love for us in that while we were yet
+     sinners, Christ died for us."
+
+There are many of us who _feel_ that we are _sinners_, who know it, and
+who do not want any proof of it; but we can't be persuaded to believe
+that God has any love for us or interest in us. We have gotten to be
+such wicked sinners that maybe our friends have forsaken us, and we can
+not believe that God has any feeling of tenderness for us. We are
+willing to admit that God loves good people, those who are obedient, and
+that if _we_ were good, He would _then_ love us; but as it is, He can
+not love us, and there is no reason why He should love us. And then we
+go back and try to call up all our sins; all the times when we rejected
+Christ and the truth, and we find plenty of arguments to prove that God
+does not love us.
+
+But stop! You are judging the great God by yourself. You know you would
+not love one who would have treated you as you have treated God, and so
+you conclude He does not love you. You find it _exceedingly_ hard to
+believe in the love of God. This is one of the sad effects of sin. It
+darkens our hearts and separates us far, far from God, so that when we
+come to feel our need of Him we have no confidence that He will accept
+us or help us.
+
+Besides, by your long service of sin, you have put yourself in the power
+of an enemy who makes it as difficult as possible for you to _believe_
+in God's love for you.
+
+But I come to you to-day with a declaration and assurance from God's own
+word, that though you have been a sinner all your life, and still feel
+that you are the greatest of sinners, the great God loves you with a
+true, deep, warm and yearning love.
+
+The great proof of it is the life and death of Jesus Christ, His Son.
+
+Have you read about it in the Gospel?
+
+Ah, if you had, and had seen Him delighting to be with the poor and the
+outcast, eating with them, choosing them for His friends, speaking words
+of heavenly cheer to them, pronouncing their sins forgiven and promising
+them heaven, then you would be moved and attracted and convinced. And
+then if you had read the pathetic story of His awful sufferings and
+death, and had reflected that "He was wounded for our transgressions; He
+was bruised for our iniquities; all we like sheep have gone astray, and
+the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us _all_," then hope would
+begin to dawn in your breast, and faith in His love would not be so
+difficult. But you have neglected to read and reflect about it, and so I
+am come to bring the glad tidings to you where you are, and to beg you
+to believe it for your own sake.
+
+And now, here are some of the ways God has taken to tell you of His
+love: Psalm ciii., 13; Isaiah xlix., 15; Luke xi., 13; Luke xviii., 13,
+14; Luke xv., 7, 10; Prodigal Son; Luke vii., 36 to end.
+
+"I came not to call the righteous but _sinners_ to repentance."
+
+Why does God, in so many ways, express His love for sinners?
+
+Because He wants to touch their hearts and melt them by tenderness.
+
+A father whose son had gone away to California, and was a gambler in San
+Francisco, sent him word by a friend: "Your father loves you still." And
+it made him ashamed; it broke his heart; he repented, returned home and
+was saved.
+
+So God sends me to-day to say to you: "Your Father loves you still."
+Will you not believe it and come to Him for safety? He will not abuse
+you for your sins; He will save you from your sins, and make you as
+happy as you were when you were little children at your mother's knee.
+
+You know it is true that parents are more troubled about a wandering
+boy, and take more pains with him than with the good boys, and think
+more about him and pray more for him, because he is in danger and must
+be rescued or perish. So it is with God. Because you are lost, away from
+Him, on the road to ruin, He sends after you and He begs you to be
+reconciled.
+
+
+GODLINESS PROFITABLE FOR THIS LIFE.
+
+I. TIMOTHY IV: 8.
+
+     "But godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise
+     of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
+
+There are not many who think this. Nearly everybody admits that religion
+is a good thing to have when he is about to die and to enter upon the
+future life; and all men, however hardened in vice, wickedness and
+crime, have a sure expectation and firm intention of making some
+preparation for death and what may follow death. They fully intend to
+make amends to conscience for the violations of it, of which they have
+been guilty.
+
+There are men here to-day who know that this is true of themselves, who
+feel that the coffin and the grave and the unknown future beyond are the
+most fearful of realities, and who are firmly persuaded that a day of
+reckoning is coming, maybe slowly, but surely, and they do mean to make
+peace in some way with conscience before that time draws near. And so I
+say all men agree that religion is good for death and what is to follow;
+but how it can be an advantage to one in _this life_, they can not see.
+
+1. But godliness is a help to a man in making a living.
+
+If a man is honest, industrious, faithful and conscientious, he will be
+in demand. Such men are always in demand; and, when they are known, can
+get employment and can keep employment; but a man who is a true
+Christian, _is_ honest, industrious, careful, temperate, trustworthy and
+conscientious, because he works and lives not to please men but God.
+Hence, such a one is always wanted. Employers, rather than give up such
+men, will increase their salaries and offer them extra inducements. A
+Main-street merchant found he could not do without Willie Holcombe
+conveniently, so he raised his salary twenty dollars a month rather than
+lose him.
+
+And, even if they are among strangers, and not known, yet God will turn
+the hearts of strangers toward them, as he turned the heart of the
+prison-keeper in Egypt toward Joseph. And when they have a chance to
+_try_ and to show their value, their employers will not give them up.
+
+But then if a man is in business for himself, he will get a large custom
+if people find out that he does business as a Christian--that is, he
+does not charge an unjust and exorbitant price, his goods are only what
+he says they are, he gives full and honest measure, his word can be
+trusted, he will correct mistakes and take back an article if it is
+found not to be good. Show people such a man and they will all want to
+patronize him. William Kendrick was such a man here in Louisville.
+
+The Christian man has the _promise of God_ that he shall be provided
+for--Matthew vi.: 32, 33--while the godless man has no such assurances
+at all.
+
+2. But religion keeps a man from those vices which destroy the
+health--as dissipation, debauchery, intemperance, etc.--and health is
+one of the chief elements in human happiness.
+
+3. Religion keeps men also from those crimes which bring men into ruin
+and disgrace and bitter remorse.
+
+Many a man has come to the jail or penitentiary or gallows who would
+have escaped it all if he had had religion to protect and shield and
+restrain and assist him. And many a good and happy man there is who
+might have been a guilty criminal and a wretched convict but for the
+grace of God and the lessons and blessings of true religion. He might
+gradually have been led off and on and on till he would have become
+capable of committing any crime.
+
+I might have been a drunkard or a murderer still, if God had not changed
+my heart and helped me mightily and constantly by His grace.
+
+4. But religion takes away the fear of death and the dread of the future
+and gives inward and constant peace--a heart happiness which poverty and
+disappointment and trials can not destroy. And nothing else can do this
+but true religion.
+
+5. Religion can release a man from the power of those evil habits which
+make a man's life miserable--from acquired appetites, as drinking, opium
+eating, debauchery, licentiousness, swearing, gambling and even from
+tobacco.
+
+6. Religion makes a good father, a good mother, a good husband, a good
+wife, good children, it makes the family happy, and the home bright,
+cheerful, joyous.
+
+7. It makes a man a good citizen. So he can get along in peace with his
+neighbors and even become a peace-maker among them when they quarrel.
+
+Thus have I tried to show you that, regardless of the future, godliness
+is profitable for this life. But if this were not so, if the life of a
+Christian were an uninterrupted experience of pains and disappointments
+and sorrows, yet, in view of the interests of the soul, and the
+possibilities of the future, and the length of eternity, it would be the
+highest wisdom to cheerfully accept all these and endure them to the
+bitter end, in order to depart out of this world with a peaceful and
+unaccusing conscience and a sure preparation for heaven.
+
+O man, what will you do with eternity, _eternity_, if you go thither
+unprepared? Did you ever try to think of eternity? As John Wesley says,
+"If a bird were to come once in a million of years and take away one
+grain of the earth, when it had taken the whole earth away, that would
+not be eternity, nor the beginning of eternity." And it is certain that
+eternity is the period of the desolation and confusion and remorse and
+suffering of the lost.
+
+8. But even if we had to live in misery all this life, it would be
+better to do it and have religion; for it alone fits us for happiness in
+the life to come.
+
+Take away property, comforts, friends, family, reputation, health, but
+give me religion, and I shall have a passport into the kingdom of heaven
+and an eternity of rest and blessedness.
+
+O then, come to Jesus Christ and have all these things and heaven
+beside.
+
+
+PROVERBS XII: 15.
+
+     "The way of transgressors is hard."
+
+Our friend's career affords a striking example of the truth of the text.
+Most people do not think the text is true. But the Bible reverses nearly
+all of our notions about things, and when, in the light of experience
+and honest thought, we come to examine the Bible, we find it contains
+the truth on all subjects. The natural effects of a life of sin are
+injurious and destructive in every particular.
+
+1. In the first place, vice destroys health. If a man indulges in
+gluttony, he brings on dyspepsia with its accompanying pains and
+distress and torture. All this is increased by a life of idleness,
+laziness and inactivity. If he indulges in intemperance, he soon becomes
+a wretched slave, and is consumed by inward fires till delirium tremens
+ends the miserable career. If he indulges in sensuality, he is likely to
+contract loathsome and painful diseases--diseases which make life a
+burden that can hardly be borne; diseases which poison the blood and can
+not, by any art or remedy, be expelled from the system, but which are
+transmitted to the innocent offspring, if there be any.
+
+2. It brings disgrace and drives away friends who would otherwise rally
+around and help. This poor man spent two terms in the penitentiary, lost
+all his friends, and had to go to a _hospital_ to die!
+
+3. In destroying one's good name and alienating one's friends, it
+becomes the cause of poverty and want.
+
+4. It destroys the happiness of families, and in this way adds to the
+wretchedness of the one who does all this mischief and damage.
+
+5. It often produces insanity.
+
+6. It produces remorse, uneasiness of mind, shame, hatred of self.
+
+7. It is what makes men shudder and shiver like convicts under the
+gallows, when they think of death and come near death. My own fear of
+death was something terrible.
+
+     "The sting of death is sin."
+
+8. But this fear of death, this awful lashing of conscience on the verge
+of the grave, is but the intimation and the beginning of those awful
+experiences in the future world which the Bible describes in words of
+such dark and fearful import.
+
+But there is a remedy for sin, there is a fountain opened in the house
+of King David for sin and uncleanness. Yes
+
+    "There is a fountain filled with blood
+    Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
+    And sinners plunged beneath that flood
+    Lose all their guilty stains.
+
+    "The dying thief rejoiced to see
+    That fountain in his day,
+    And there may _you_, though vile as he,
+    Wash all your sins away."
+
+And beside that, when He gives salvation from the guilt of sin, He
+sends, also, the power to keep you from sin in the future. It is a full
+salvation and a _free_ salvation.
+
+How much better to accept Christ while you are in health and let your
+life of holiness and purity and devotion _prove_ that the work is a
+genuine work and that you really have been saved. I have almost _no_
+faith in death-bed repentances and conversions. Hardly one in a hundred
+is genuine. And then there is no way of testing the genuineness of it;
+but if you turn to Christ _now_ you can have time and opportunity to
+exemplify and manifest the fruits of regeneration in your life. Christ
+has power to forgive sins, to give peace and to keep from sin and sinful
+habits. An experience of five years on my part enables me to speak
+boldly and confidently on this point. God grant some of you may turn to
+Him to-day.
+
+     NOTE.--This was delivered at the funeral of some man who died
+     unsaved in a hospital. Mr. Holcombe is frequently called on to
+     officiate at the funeral of such men, and of gamblers, and of
+     strangers and unknown persons.--ED.
+
+
+ROMANS XIV: 17.
+
+     "The kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but righteousness
+     and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."
+
+We heard some time ago of the coming of the kingdom of heaven. Christ,
+at His coming, brought it near and proclaimed it to the people. At the
+time when our text was written, the kingdom had been set up, established
+among men, and many, very many, had entered into it. And now, St. Paul,
+finding that some of these had fallen into wrong notions as to what
+constituted citizenship in that kingdom, corrects these wrong notions,
+and sets before them the right and proper notions about the matter.
+
+1. In the first place, he tells them that religion does _not_ consist in
+certain things. They had gotten into the notion that they must, as a
+matter of great importance, attend to certain outward things. But it is
+not so. They thought, as the Jews, from whose nation Jesus, the founder
+of the kingdom, arose, observed certain customs as to eating and
+drinking and keeping certain seasons and days, they also had to do the
+same; and gradually they allowed these outward things to become more
+important to them than the inward spiritual life.
+
+So now we (or some of us) have fallen into the notion that religion
+consists in certain outward things.
+
+There are those who believe that it consists in connecting one's self
+with some certain church, and that the sanctity and virtue of that
+church will be imparted to them as members, and they will be saved. But
+this is not true.
+
+Again, there are some who believe that some outward ceremony, and
+especially that of baptism by the proper authorities and in the proper
+mode, will procure salvation, and that it constitutes a man a member of
+the kingdom of heaven.
+
+Again, some think their own morality and effort to do and live justly
+will give them a place among those who are in the pale of the kingdom,
+forgetting that God, Himself, says that the righteousness of us
+miserable sinners is but as filthy rags in His sight.
+
+And there are many, very many, who think that if they are decent in
+their outward lives and attend the services of the house of God and
+contribute to the support of His church, they do all any man can require
+of them, and that, therefore, they may claim that they are also
+fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of faith.
+
+But no, none of these outward things can make a man a new creature. He
+may comply with any one or all of these, and yet be really a bad man at
+heart, a rebel against God and His government. And the fact that there
+are many such in the church calling themselves Christians and performing
+the outward duties of religion, while those who see them every day and
+know their private walk see that they are not really better than many
+outsiders, is a great stumbling-block to serious and honest inquirers
+outside of the church. We admit it, and we are sorry for it, though, of
+course, it is no valid excuse for them, and will not stand in the trying
+hour of death or the ordeal of the judgment. But I want to say to you
+to-day, no matter who it is, if they have no more than a performance of
+outward duties, ceremonies and services, they _are not_ members of the
+kingdom of God.
+
+2. But, in the second place, the Apostle does tell us what true religion
+consists in, in the latter part of the text. "It is righteousness and
+joy and peace in the Holy Ghost."
+
+And, first, it is _righteousness_.
+
+In another place it is said that, "The wisdom that cometh from above is
+first _pure_."
+
+The object and aim of the Christian religion is to make men holy. That
+is _first_. The righteousness mentioned in the text is put first--before
+the joy and peace. And this is what the world demands of people who
+profess to be Christians, no less than God's law demands it. The world
+has no use or respect for Christians who are not righteous or for a
+Christianity that does not make men righteous.
+
+When God comes into a human heart, He comes with power, with the power
+of God, and that is greater than all other power, and before it all
+opposing forces fall. The sins of men, such as avarice, or love of
+money; the lust of the flesh, such as gluttony, licentiousness, the
+hatred of fellowmen and the hatred of God, all these are broken and
+driven out when the spirit and power of God come in. There is not only
+this demand of God, then, for righteousness, but also ample supply of
+strength to meet it, and to meet it fully. Come, then, to God, you who
+are in bondage to evil habits, and who have striven in vain to deliver
+yourselves. You can not retain your evil practices and be a child of
+God. His first demand, His imperative demand, is righteousness, and if
+you have the _will_ He gives the _grace_ to attain it.
+
+But this is not all. When you believe with your heart in Christ, the
+Holy Ghost is given you, and He brings, with the righteousness and
+holiness which God requires, also joy and peace. Yes, when you surrender
+to Christ, He makes you happy.
+
+
+MATTHEW XI: 28.
+
+     "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will
+     give you rest."
+
+1. The cry of all hearts is for rest, for contentment. Not only does the
+heart of humanity cry out for rest, rest, rest; their busy and tired
+hands and feet _toil_ for it day and night, year in and year out.
+
+It is for this that men labor through the days and weeks of summer's
+heat and expose themselves to the severities of winter's cold.
+
+It is for this that they plow and sow and reap and gather into barns.
+
+It is for this that they blow the bellows and swing the heavy hammers
+from morn until night.
+
+It is for this they buy and sell and buy again to sell again.
+
+It is for this that men will spend years of toil in schools and
+colleges, burning the midnight lamp till the eye is heavy and the brain
+is tired.
+
+It is for this that they will leave wife and children to try their
+fortunes in some distant California or Australia.
+
+It is for this they will abandon their homes in time of war to brave the
+dangers of the battle-field.
+
+It is for this that they will worry away the hours of night in games to
+get each other's money.
+
+It is for this they will devise schemes and lay plans to entrap their
+fellows, some times going to the length of committing murder.
+
+It is for this that women will toil with the needle and bend over the
+sewing machine.
+
+It is for this they will stand for weary hours behind counters measuring
+off goods or waiting for customers to buy.
+
+It is for this that they work over the hot stove or wear out their hands
+in the wash-tub.
+
+Yes, it is for this that some of them, weary of work-life, will venture
+on the slippery paths of pleasure, turn their thoughts toward the gilded
+chambers of licentiousness, sell virtue and abandon home and family to
+go in the ways that in the end take hold on death and hell.
+
+We are a race of _toilers_. All over the world it is the same. We see it
+here in Louisville, It is work, work, work, go, go, go.
+
+And are we happy? Have we rest?
+
+But not only are we toiling, some in one way, some in another; some by
+innocent means, some by wicked means; some by what does no harm to
+ourselves or our neighbor, and some by what does harm to both, in order
+to obtain rest and happiness; it is also true that most of us are heavy
+laden, oppressed and saddened beneath burdens that we can not shake off,
+can not get rid of.
+
+Some of us are bowed down under our poverty. No good house to live in,
+no comfortable home to turn into after the battles and toils of outside
+life, no comfortable shelter for our families. No assurance as to where
+we are to get to-morrow's bread. No comfortable and respectable clothes
+to wear, and, of course, no friends. For when a poor fellow gets poor
+and shabby, his friends drop off and pass by on the other side. No
+friends, none of that sympathy and communion of friendship which all
+human hearts so crave and which they find to be the best part of what
+this life can give.
+
+Yes; some of us have this burden to bear. And then some of us are bowed
+down beneath some great sorrow, which may be one thing in one case and
+another in another. In some cases it is domestic trouble, continual jars
+and broils in the family, no peace, no quiet, no love. Ah, if we could
+see into all the homes in this city, I fear we should find in many of
+them family trouble of some sort. Or it may be some dear one of yours is
+given to drink or to gambling and is wearing out his life as fast as
+vice can eat it away, with no hope beyond the grave.
+
+Ah, yes; no doubt some of _you_ are yourselves the slaves of evil habits
+which you hate and would do anything to break off. You have tried by
+resolving and promising and all to no purpose; you have felt ashamed and
+degraded because you had no power to do what you felt you ought to do
+and what you knew would be infinitely better for you.
+
+Do you not know men who would willingly give a right arm for deliverance
+from some degrading and ruinous habit? But giving a right arm avails
+nothing, nor any human effort or means.
+
+Then, again, some of you are bowed down by the recollection of your past
+life and its dissipation and crimes.
+
+You may have mistreated father, mother, sister, and may have broken
+hearts by your cruelty that would gladly have bled for you. You may have
+crushed a loving and faithful wife by your selfishness and your
+brutality and heartlessness. You may have driven your children to
+desperation and crime by your coldness and hardness to them.
+
+And may be some life, innocent until you came upon it with your hellish
+art, has been corrupted and embittered and darkened by your base
+passions and lusts.
+
+May be your hands have gone to that last extreme of human crime and have
+deprived a fellowman of life. And, oh, if any of these things be true,
+what must be the burden of remorse, remorse, remorse, that weighs upon
+your heart.
+
+But you are the very ones whom Jesus addresses and invites in this
+tender appeal. Do you believe it?
+
+2. In the second place, consider who it is that offers you rest. It is
+one who knows you and who knows what you need and one who has all power
+in heaven and in earth to give what you need.
+
+3. Lastly, consider what this rest means which Jesus offers to you
+burdened and toiling ones.
+
+1. It is rest from sin, both its guilt and power.
+
+2. It is rest from all care. For He has said, we should cast all our
+care upon Him because He cares for us.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 3.
+
+     "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
+     heaven."
+
+These words, as you know, are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount
+as it is called. This Sermon on the Mount is the full exposition of the
+character of those who are members of Christ's kingdom. It is one of the
+most important parts of the Bible. At the time of Christ there were in
+the world many teachers and many schools of philosophy all trying to
+find what was best for men; or, thinking they had found it, were
+teaching their views to others. But, of course, none of them knew the
+truth and nearly every one taught a different thing from the others.
+There was no certainty. It all seemed like guess-work, and while the
+philosophers were guessing at what was best for men or trying to prove
+the views of each other to be false, the poor people were perishing in
+uncertainty and ignorance. But into this age of uncertainty and darkness
+and hunger, there came a Teacher from God Himself, who knew all things
+and who could without arguing or guessing tell with authority the simple
+and certain truth. What then does the Teacher say? He does not say that
+blessedness consists in any certain kind or degree of _knowledge_ but in
+the _disposition_ of the _mind and heart_.
+
+Listen then and hear and be prepared to believe and accept with all your
+heart what this Instructor from God says. Remember He makes no mistakes.
+He knows the end from the beginning. He knows eternity as well as time.
+He knows the future as well as the past and present. He knows God as
+well as He knows man. He has been all through eternity and knows the
+nature and purposes of God. He then is competent to say what is good for
+man, what is best for man. Will you hear it? And, having heard it, will
+you believe it? "Blessed"--ah, what a sweet word to begin with!
+"Blessed." But who are blessed? It may be blessed are the great or the
+powerful or the good and some of us are sadly conscious that we are not
+great or good. But no, troubled heart, poor fearing heart, it is for
+you. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That is what the Divine Teacher
+says. He brings it right down and home to your poor heart and leaves
+blessedness at your very door.
+
+And what is it to be poor in spirit? No doubt some of you poor sinners
+are ready to say "I know what it is, for I am so wretchedly poor that I
+feel unworthy to set my polluted foot down anywhere in God's universe."
+Yes, that is it--you are dissatisfied with yourself, disgusted with
+yourself, weary of yourself; and you know you can not make your
+condition any better, for you have tried it and failed till you are
+heart-sick and hopeless. You are satisfied that neither your education,
+nor your wisdom, nor your shrewdness, nor your money, if you have any,
+nor your family, nor your friends, nor your strength, nor your will, nor
+all these put together and multiplied a thousand times can deliver you
+from soul-bondage and soul-darkness and satisfy your aching and breaking
+heart. Is that your feeling, my brother? Then you are the one I am
+talking to; nay, you are the one my Divine Master is talking to. But
+God said the same thing in other words away back yonder one thousand
+years before Jesus came to earth. Read it in Psalm xxxiv: 18: "The Lord
+is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a
+contrite spirit." Have your sins broken your heart? Does the
+recollection of them cast down your spirit? You are not far from the
+kingdom of God then. Only believe on Jesus Christ who was not only
+Divine Teacher but also sin-bearer, and see God's willingness to save
+sinners, in the scene enacted on Calvary's trembling summit. What did
+Jesus suffer for if not for you and your sins? Say, what for, if not for
+you and all sinners? Answer that question. Do not turn it away or put it
+off but _answer_ it.
+
+Did I say you were not far from the kingdom of heaven? My text says, if
+you have the spirit I have described that "yours is, _is now_, the
+kingdom of heaven." Read it again. Will you believe it?
+
+Oh, are you afraid to venture? Is it too good to be true? Well, I tell
+you I ventured and that with forty-two years of sin and crime on my
+heart to press me down and keep me back. Yes; I ventured and I found
+_such a welcome_ that I was constrained in the joy of my heart to give
+up all other employment and spend my whole time and energy in telling of
+it to others who are in the condition I was in.
+
+But if there are any here who are satisfied with themselves, who do not
+feel their need of help and cleansing and deliverance, then this message
+of comfort is not for you. If you think you know enough about eternity
+to risk going into it as you are, if you think you know enough about
+God to meet him as you are, then we have no message of consolation for
+you. It is not because we do not want you to have a message of
+consolation and salvation, but because _you_ do not want it.
+
+It is said in one place that the "Word of God is a discerner of the
+thoughts and intents of the heart." And now I am sure this text of ours
+has to-night found you out and shown you to yourself. Where do you
+stand? And even if you are persuaded, the suggestion to put it off till
+to-morrow or next week will knock it all in the head.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 4-5.
+
+     "4. Blessed _are_ they that mourn; for they shall be
+     comforted."
+
+     "5. Blessed _are_ the meek; for they shall inherit the earth."
+
+Our talk to-night follows right along in the line of the one preceding.
+We shall continue to speak of that wonderful address of Jesus which is
+called the Sermon on the Mount and which we began to speak of before. We
+were speaking of those who are poor in spirit and tried to describe
+such. Now we go on and we find the next words of Jesus, the Divine
+Teacher, just suited to those who are poor in spirit, who are
+dissatisfied with themselves and their condition, and who are wretched
+because they have not the grace and favor of God, and who, as the Psalm
+says, have a "broken heart and a contrite spirit." (Psalm xxxiv., 18.)
+And what are these comforting words of Jesus? "Blessed are they that
+_mourn_, for they shall be _comforted_." Of course, those who are poor
+in spirit and broken in heart _will mourn_. They are comfortless and
+they will mourn for comfort. They are in darkness and they will mourn
+for light. They are in sin and under condemnation and they will mourn
+till the power of sin is destroyed and they are set free and until the
+voice of forgiving love assures them that there is henceforth nothing
+against them. Ah, yes, when a man is under conviction for sin he is,
+above all men, a mourner. There is hardly any sorrow that strikes deeper
+or any suspense that is more intense or awful.
+
+But is there no one here who knows all about this, not because they have
+heard me describe it, but because they have felt it and groaned under it
+or, may be, _are_ doing so now?
+
+Well, let me assure you, on the authority of Jesus, there is comfort for
+you as surely as Jesus will not lie. Does He say "Cursed are they who
+mourn?" Or "To be pitied are they that mourn?" No, He says, "_Blessed_
+are they."
+
+There, now, you are already comforted a little bit, are you not?
+
+But what is the rest of this sentence of Jesus? "For they _shall_ be
+comforted." And, indeed, the fact that you _mourn_ for a better
+condition and a better life and for God, is itself a ground for you to
+surely expect comfort. For only God's spirit could make you dissatisfied
+with yourself, tired of your sins and eager to find God.
+
+And if He began the work He will carry it on to completion, assuredly,
+if you do not hinder him by your turning back to sin or going with the
+vicious or refusing to have faith in Jesus as Saviour.
+
+And the next verse comes right along to fill out the one we are
+considering. "Blessed are the _meek_."
+
+If a man is truly poor in spirit, mourning because of his sins and his
+ignorance of God and his insecurity in view of death, then he will not
+be egotistic and ambitious and greedy of praise and pompous and
+self-sufficient and disposed to stand on _his honor_ and his rights. But
+he will have the opposite feelings exactly.
+
+He feels his unworthiness so deeply and keenly that he is willing to
+give up his own rights and to prefer others before himself. And Jesus
+adds, "the meek shall inherit the earth."
+
+A man who has this spirit of humility, deep consciousness of his
+unworthiness and a disposition to bear all things rather than be
+contentious, will win everybody and they will want to give up to him.
+
+You have perhaps read of the man who went to his neighbor to claim a
+piece of ground in his possession, and, contrary to his expectation,
+that neighbor said, "Well, then, if it is yours, I will not have a
+strife about it. I will move in my fence and let you have it." This
+gentle answer and this meek spirit made the other man so ashamed and so
+completely melted and won him that he said he would not take the land,
+and he went back home leaving it as it was.
+
+And so if you have this meek and yielding spirit, and this patient and
+forgiving spirit, you will make even your enemies to be at peace with
+you. But this meekness of spirit includes, also, cheerful submission to
+all the hard and disappointing and trying experiences of life, and
+perfect contentment with one's lot.
+
+A man who is always sour and bitter because things don't go to suit him
+is the opposite of a _meek_ man. And one of the loveliest and most
+attractive and winning qualities of human character is this unfailing
+resignation, this _cheerful_ acceptance of all that comes upon us. If
+the church were full of people of this description, they would soon win
+the world, and, as Jesus said, they would "inherit the earth."
+
+Now, let me ask, have we all who profess to be Christians this meek
+spirit and character? Are we gentle and cheerful at home and abroad,
+when we are disappointed as well as when we are gratified, when we are
+treated with ingratitude and injury as well as when we are treated with
+kindness, consideration and honor? Or are we crabbed and cross and
+discontented and complaining against those who cross our wills and
+against the lot that God has given to us in life? If we are of this last
+sort we shall not draw many to Jesus and to the acceptance of our
+religion. You can't catch flies with vinegar.
+
+How disposed are we to lay our crossness and roughness to the charge of
+our health, our dyspepsia or neuralgia or nervousness. But it would be
+all the _more convincing_ to men if, _in the midst_ of bad health and
+nervousness, we should have a meek, quiet, patient, bright and cheerful
+spirit.
+
+And if you haven't it, the way to get it is to be filled with God's
+spirit, and the way to do that is to pray, to commune with God in
+secret, to patiently wait for Him, as David did (Psalms xl, 1), and to
+be with Him so much that He shall become more real to you than the
+objects of sight and sound and feeling that surround you.
+
+
+MATTHEW V: 13.
+
+     "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its
+     savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for
+     nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of
+     men."
+
+Jesus takes the most familiar facts and objects to convey the truths and
+doctrines which He wished to communicate. Here he uses for illustration
+an object, with the properties and uses of which everybody is
+familiar--namely, salt. It is good to prevent corruption and to preserve
+life. Without it life could not continue. I have heard of a party of
+travelers whose supply of salt almost gave out; and not having enough
+for themselves and their horses, the horses grew weak, would stagger,
+and finally fall and die, though they had food for them. Yet the lack of
+salt could not be supplied by any amount of food.
+
+So it is with Christianity. It prevents corruption, moral corruption, in
+the individual, and so prevents social corruption, political corruption,
+national corruption, and is the means of purification in all these
+respects. But it not only prevents corruption, it imparts spiritual life
+and vigor and sends its possessors on their way filled with an energy
+that goes out after others.
+
+Christianity is suited to be the salt of the earth. It demands a perfect
+morality, a perfect righteousness, and offers the highest motives to men
+to attain this. It teaches, with assurance, that there is a righteous
+God who demands holiness on our part, and, at the same time, it
+encourages men and inspires them with hope because it declares that
+this God loves men, as sinners, and so it gets hold of men by the heart.
+
+If man will only compare those nations that are Christian with those
+that are not, he will find out what a difference there is.
+
+But the text refers to the holy lives of Christians as being the salt of
+the earth.
+
+The savor of Christians is an unction from the spirit of God that
+produces purity, humility, patience, long-suffering, self-denial,
+tenderness, sympathy and unselfish love.
+
+And when men see a person whose daily life presents all these beauties,
+they are forced to pause and regard it. It is such an unnatural and such
+an unearthly thing that they can not help it. And it is far more
+convincing and eloquent than all logic and rhetoric put together. There
+is no way of getting around it. Men know that a gifted orator can dress
+things up so as to make any cause seem a fair and plausible one, but men
+know also that neither a gifted orator nor any one less than God can
+make men humble, pure, patient, gentle, long-suffering, unselfish and
+glad to spend and be spent for others than themselves.
+
+When men see such a life, they seek to know how it is realized, and
+finding that Christianity has done it, that faith in Jesus has done it,
+they are constrained to say: "We know that Christianity is from God. For
+nothing could do such wonderful miracles except God be in it," as
+Nicodemus said to Jesus.
+
+There are so many men who are anxiously inquiring about spiritual things
+and about God and a future life. And they say: "Show us something that
+Christianity can do." And if we are living such lives, they find what
+they are seeking for and are satisfied. But there are many men who
+_won't_ search the Bible to find out if it is true--and many who don't
+do so for want of time and of opportunity--and some who _can't_ do so
+because they can't read or reason, and we _force_ Christianity upon
+their attention by the beauty and unearthliness of holy Christian lives.
+Instead of waiting for them to come inquire and into Christianity, which
+they might never do, we carry it before their eyes in its loveliest and
+most attractive and powerful form when we live holy lives before them.
+And when men see many people living thus, it turns the tide of their
+feelings, reverses the current of their thoughts, and makes it easy
+instead of difficult to believe. Oh, that we had more of these entirely
+consecrated lives! They would do far more good than the preaching. When
+people see these consecrated women doing the work they do for the poor
+neglected children, they say: "Ah, now, that looks like something, sure
+enough, and we believe in that sort of religion." John Wesley said:
+"Give me one hundred men who love nothing but God, and who fear nothing
+but sin, and we will soon lay England at Jesus' feet."
+
+How can we get and keep this savour, this divine unction which produces
+such a life? Only by much communion with God.
+
+David knew no fear when he went to meet Goliath because he had communed
+so much with God in the sheep pastures that God was more of a reality to
+him than Goliath was. So it must be with us, my dear brothers, or we
+_lose this savour_.
+
+And that is what the text says. Let us read it again.
+
+You may retain outward forms of religion and perform outward duties, but
+the unction and zeal and power will be gone and men will find it out and
+see it and say that you are no better than they are.
+
+So the text says, "Good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under
+foot of men." And sad it is that more harm is done to the cause of
+Christianity by hypocritical or wicked or inconsistent professors of it
+than by all the Ingersolls in the world. Men look at the church to see
+what Christianity can do; and seeing it does nothing extraordinary in
+the way of making men better, they say it must be false. So it is the
+wicked and worldly professors of religion that make more infidels than
+anything else. Oh, let us be sure that we are not the darkness of the
+world. For if we are not its light, we become darkness.
+
+The light in the lighthouse may be burning, but if the lights along the
+shore are not burning, too, the poor sailors may be lost.
+
+    "Brightly beams our Father's mercy
+      From _His_ lighthouse evermore,
+    But to _us_ He gives the keeping
+      Of the lights along the shore."
+
+
+THE PRODIGAL SON,
+
+HIS SIN, HIS WRETCHEDNESS AND HIS RECOVERY.
+
+LUKE XV: 11-24.
+
+1. This younger son thought he was wiser than his father and wanted to
+manage his own affairs. So it is with men who think they can manage
+their own affairs without God. And as this young man wanted to get as
+far from his father's presence as possible (see verse 13, "into a far
+country") so the sinner, when he determines to give himself up to
+pleasure and sin, wants to get as far from God as possible. He does not
+want to hear about Him or even think about Him. Was not this so with
+_you_?
+
+2. The father did not _compel_ the son to stay at home. He allowed him
+to choose what he preferred. So it is with God. He does not compel us to
+obedience. For my part I wish He did. But he lets us go and pursue sin
+with all our hearts, if we choose that above the innocence and joy of
+dwelling with Him.
+
+3. "He _wasted_ his substance with riotous living," verse 13, and so it
+is with the sinner--in the service of sin and Satan he wastes and
+destroys his property, his health, his reputation, his intellect, his
+conscience--all.
+
+"_And he began to be in want._"
+
+That is what sin brings a man to--want, want, want and wretchedness,
+wretchedness, wretchedness. Has not sin done this for _you_?
+
+4. And it was this very wretchedness which brought him to his
+senses--"he came to himself" (verse 17).
+
+And when he does come to himself he can think of only one place where he
+can hope to find relief and he bravely determines to go straight to the
+very father he had so shamefully abandoned and to make a full confession
+of his sin and throw himself on that father's mercy with the hope of
+being taken back as a hired servant. He is willing to take the
+_humblest_ and _meanest_ place, if he can only get back to that home he
+was, a short time before, so eager to leave. Nor does he offer _any
+excuse_, he calls his sin by the right name and confesses it without
+trying to excuse it or justify it.
+
+5. And how did his father receive him?
+
+Why, he did not wait till his poor, ragged, worn and wasted boy got in
+and made his confession but he saw him a great way off (verse 20) and he
+knew what had passed in the poor boy's heart and life, and, moved with
+compassion toward him, he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him a glad
+welcome back to his heart and his home. But the son goes on to make his
+confession and his offer to be a hired servant anyhow, and yet the
+father says, "No! no! bring forth the _best_ robe and put it on him."
+So, though we may go to God expecting to _work as servants_ for Him and
+for His favor, He gives us far more than we ask and He makes us His own
+_sons_. And, poor wretched sinners, I come now with this message for
+_you_, bruised and sore and despairing and wretched as you are on
+account of your sins. May God help you believe it.
+
+
+II. PETER I: 5-6.
+
+     "5. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith
+     virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
+
+     "6. And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience;
+     and to patience, godliness."
+
+I want to say something to you to-night about how to _grow_ in the
+Christian life, and how to secure yourself from falling. And now, let me
+begin by saying what you, no doubt, have heard before, that there is no
+such thing as standing still in the Christian life. If you are not going
+forward, you are losing ground. See the Apostle here speaks of giving
+all diligence, to be adding something all the time. And why not exercise
+diligence in making sure of the salvation of your souls? Men use
+astonishing diligence in the affairs and pursuits of this life. The men
+of all professions and occupations use diligence and industry and toil
+and self-denial in order to make a little money or to gain a little
+honor. Why, you know there are thousands of men in this city who get up
+early in wet weather or dry, in summer's heat or winter's cold, and go
+hurrying up and down these streets to be at their places at the
+prescribed hour for beginning their day's toil; and they work, work,
+work, sometimes with tired hands and feet and weary hearts, till the sun
+goes down, because they know they must do it in order to get bread and
+meat and clothing for themselves and their families. They do not stop to
+think how they _feel_. No, no; feelings and preferences and all must be
+overlooked and forgotten; for they know that work must be done that
+bread may be won. And we do not hear many complaining of this. They
+accept it as a matter of course. Why, I know how the gamblers will sit
+up late and do without sleep, and rack their brains, in order to devise
+some means of finding a poor victim and getting his money. Then why
+should not Christians, who are striving to avoid the danger and sorrow
+of sin and to gain eternal rest and reward--why should not they exercise
+diligence and self-denial and watchfulness also? And we are told in the
+text how to succeed in this. We are to _make up our minds_ by God's
+grace to live a life of consecration and activity.
+
+You have begun with faith, have you not? If any man here has been truly
+converted, he knows what faith is. He came to Christ as a hell-deserving
+sinner, and believed in Christ's mercy for forgiveness and salvation. So
+faith is the first step; faith is the foundation. And let me stop to say
+to any one here who is not yet saved, that, if he wants to be, he must
+throw himself as a sinner on the mercy of God in Christ; and God will
+save him at once, if he will do so. But, having exercised faith and
+received forgiveness and strength, you must add virtue, which means
+courage or boldness. It is sometimes very hard for a man who has lived a
+sinner and taken pride in it, to come out before the world, and
+especially before his old companions, and let them know that henceforth
+and forever he is a humble follower of Jesus Christ. But it is
+necessary. No middle ground is safe at all. If you try to meet the world
+as a reformed man, concealing the fact that you are a Christian, you
+will weaken, and give the devil a great advantage, and probably fall. I
+told gamblers in Denver I was a Christian, and they let me alone. But,
+not only that, you must be bold enough to try to persuade others to
+become Christians. There are some poor cowards who are not ashamed to
+let their friends and the world know that they have _reformed_; but they
+are too chicken-hearted to say that they have humbled themselves,
+surrendered their pride and become _Christians_. I know more than one of
+that sort. And, again, there are some men who are content to be saved
+themselves, but are afraid of being called fanatics if they are bold
+enough to go to talking and trying to persuade others to be so. Boldness
+in going out after others strengthened me and kept me from many a
+temptation.
+
+But, having this godly boldness, you must go on striving to get
+knowledge--knowledge of your own deceitful heart, knowledge of human
+nature, knowledge of the fullness of the gospel way of salvation. When a
+man is first converted, he is almost like a baby. Everything is new, and
+he hardly knows anything. So it was with me, but I trust I have grown in
+knowledge of myself and others and of the word of God and of the plan of
+salvation. Your knowledge will increase of itself if you are in earnest
+and if you will use all the means of growing better and stronger.
+Conversation with older Christians, when you get into a tight place,
+will help you. Earnest prayer to God will result in increase of
+knowledge. Reading His precious word, and studying short portions of it
+at a time, with prayer for guidance, will wonderfully enlighten you and
+increase your knowledge. You will gain knowledge also by reading good
+books--the lives of very pious people, and the sermons of such men as
+Wesley, Spurgeon, etc. Why not have some good books to read? Could you
+invest your money to better advantage? In this way, having your mind
+always occupied with the subject of religion, you will have neither time
+nor temptation for sin or thoughts of sin.
+
+There are some selfish men who, when they find themselves delivered from
+their evil appetites and raised up again to respectability and their
+right mind, begin to think of reading all sorts of worldly and profane
+literature, and want to cultivate their "literary taste" and prepare to
+shine in society. Such men forget the pit from which they were taken,
+and in their selfishness and worldliness and pride become blind to the
+awful peril to which they expose themselves in neglecting to keep their
+minds occupied with religious thoughts and subjects as far as is
+practicable. Some of our converts have fallen in this way.
+
+But what is the next thing, to be added? It is _temperance_. This means
+entire self-control in things that are, in themselves, innocent and
+lawful. Of course, men understand that in things that are wrong and
+dangerous nothing is right or safe but an utter abstinence from them and
+abhorrence of them, (Read Romans xii., 9, second clause: "Abhor that
+which is evil.") Temperance means here what we spoke about when we
+considered Paul's saying that he kept his body under, and brought it
+into subjection, lest he should be a castaway (1 Corinthians, ix: 27).
+And as you grow in experience and in knowledge of yourself you will
+find it absolutely necessary to keep down your body by denying it, and
+by asserting your entire mastery of it, through God's grace. Oh, be
+careful and be prayerful, and be self-denying, or some day, when you
+think all is secure, some sudden temptation will come and find you
+self-indulgent and careless, and, like David, you will fall before you
+are aware of it, and then, maybe, have not the heart and hope to ever
+try to be a Christian again. Men who have been addicted to bad habits
+before are especially in danger if they do not practice the strictest
+self-control in all things. But, with all this, you will often be
+provoked, and find your temper very troublesome. It troubled me long
+after conversion and troubles me now more than anything else. So it is
+necessary to bear all things, however unreasonable and provoking they
+may be; and this is exactly the next thing the Apostle puts
+down--namely, _patience_.
+
+Oh, how I tremble for some of these men who are converted here. They do
+not know how necessary it is to keep right down in the dust, and not
+only to give diligence, but to _make it their chief business_ for some
+time to watch and guard their thoughts and ways, and to pray always, and
+by all the means we have spoken of try to keep away--far, far away from
+temptation. I beg you to make up your minds to bear anything and
+everything. Always be ready for a disappointment, and determine not to
+let your contentment and happiness depend upon anything or anybody in
+this world. Then it won't make any difference what happens to you; it
+will come like water on a duck's back, and won't hurt you. Remember how
+humble you had to get before you could get forgiveness and strength to
+resist your appetites. And did it kill you or did it damage you in any
+way? No! It killed your wretched sins, but not you. It robbed you of
+your bondage and darkness and despair and wretchedness. But it did not
+rob you of any good, did it? Then it won't hurt you to keep humble and
+in that same state of mind till you die. And you can afford to do so.
+How would you like to get back into bondage and darkness where you were?
+You say: "Not for the world!" But, if you knew you could, by diligence
+and watchfulness, gain the world, you would be diligent and watchful.
+And yet, by this diligence, you not only keep yourself secure from
+falling back, you make your family happy, you bless many others--and,
+best of all, you make _sure_ of everlasting life, and escape the hell
+which we all fear more than all things else combined.
+
+    "Since I must fight if I would reign,
+      Increase my courage, Lord;
+    I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
+      Supported by Thy word."
+
+
+ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.
+
+     "Let us bear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and
+     keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man."
+
+The book of Ecclesiastes contains the experience of a man who had tried
+every phase of life, who had tasted every kind of pleasure, and who,
+also, had experience in the service of God, with its consolations and
+its sacrifices; and he had also made a study of the great questions that
+come up in considering the affairs of the world about him. And after his
+long and thorough experience, and his deep and life-long study of the
+facts of human life and history, he at last reaches a conclusion
+concerning it all, and this conclusion he has recorded in the text I
+have read, "Fear God and keep His commandments," etc.
+
+1. Fear God.
+
+The fear of God is natural to man until, by false teaching and evil
+association, it is destroyed. The severe things we see in nature about
+us lead us to have a dread of Him who is the author of all these things.
+And, then, death is an awful and a fear-inspiring thing, and the thought
+of what is to come after death, in that unknown country from which no
+traveler has ever returned to tell us of it, fills us with awe and
+sobers us whenever it comes to us. And most men even that are in their
+lives wicked, and seemingly have no thought of God or fear of Him, are
+often troubled with the fear of death and what is to come after death.
+This was my own experience.
+
+2. But merely to have this fear of God is not sufficient, and will do no
+good if it does not lead a man to obey God and keep His commandments, as
+the text says. For example, I knew a fireman in an engine-house here who
+had this fear of God; but he lived a swearing, drinking man, and, of
+course, he was not at all benefited by his fear of God. No doubt this
+fear of God was created in the human mind in order to lead men to keep
+God's commandments. But how are we to know His commandments? Why, my
+brothers, they are given with great plainness in His Holy Word--so plain
+that the wayfaring man, though he be a fool, need not miss them if only
+he is willing to know them and to do them. And, as St. John says, "His
+commandments are not grievous." They only require of us what is most
+just and reasonably due to Him who is the giver, the free and bountiful
+giver, of all the good things of this life, and the gracious promiser of
+perfect blessedness in the life to come. And, on the human side, His
+commandments require of us only that we keep from doing to others what
+they ought not do to us, and that we do for others that which they ought
+to do for us. In other words, the commandments of God are all embraced
+in two sentences, "Love God with all your heart, because He first loved
+you," and "Love your fellowmen, because they are commanded to love you,"
+and when you submit to God's Spirit, and become renewed in mind and
+heart, born again, made a new creature, you will see the reasonableness
+of keeping God's commandments, and the desirableness of it, in such a
+light that you will go on in His ways with delight, desiring to know
+more and more of Him.
+
+3. And we are told that to do this is the _whole purpose_ of man's
+existence, and when he does this he has fully answered the end of his
+existence, met all that is required of him and is secure amid the
+problems of life and the possibilities of the unknown future.
+
+This, also, brings rest to the human heart, a rest to be found nowhere
+else. I am in a position to speak with some confidence and positiveness
+on this point; for, like the man who uttered the text, I have tried life
+in all its phases. I have had all the kinds of pleasure, and I have
+tested them to the bottom. I have found out all there is in them. For
+forty years I gave myself to seeking and enjoying worldly pleasure, and
+I ought to know what it can do for a human soul. But I have another
+advantage, too; I have tried the doctrine of my text. I have surrendered
+myself, my life, my prospects, my all, to God, and live only to keep His
+commandments and to please Him. My mind has been renewed, transformed,
+my life entirely turned around. I have passed through the struggle and
+the sacrifice that were involved in becoming a Christian, and I have
+been passing through those that belong to the life of a Christian. But
+you may say I speak thus because it is a novelty to me. No, sir; it is
+no longer a novelty. I have been trying it now for ten years--surely a
+long enough time to know pretty well how it compares with the old life;
+and my testimony, from forty years' experience of the old life and ten
+years of the new life, is that of the writer of my text, "Fear God and
+keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
+
+
+HEBREWS XII: 1, 2.
+
+     "1. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great
+     a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
+     sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
+     the race that is set before us.
+
+     "2. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith;
+     who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
+     despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
+     throne of God."
+
+The Apostle here speaks of a great number of witnesses, who, having
+tried God and His ways, are competent to testify as to what God can do
+for those who trust Him and serve Him. In the chapter just preceding he
+has spoken of Abraham and Joseph and Moses, and many others, and they,
+having lived the life of faith, were prepared to say whether it was a
+disappointment or not to trust God and to walk in His ways. And they
+were not disappointed. They obtained a good report, held fast to their
+faith in God, and were content to endure all sorts of trials and
+sufferings for the comfort and compensation of their religion. And so
+now there are witnesses, not a few, who have tested this matter, and
+tested it under circumstances the most adverse and trying, and they give
+no uncertain testimony as to the desirableness of religion. There are
+people who have none of the good things of this world; none of its
+honors; none of its pleasures; none of its wealth, and not many of its
+comforts, and yet they are contented, and even happy. Yes, far happier
+than many who have the best that this world can give. I am one of this
+class myself. Then the Apostle goes on to exhort them to hold fast, and
+to go on, because others having tried it were conquerors.
+
+He exhorts to three things:
+
+1. To lay aside every weight, and especially every besetting sin that
+might have especial attraction and special power. And it is impossible
+to serve God and have peace of conscience and to overcome sin while the
+mind is divided and undecided. A man can not expect to win a race if he
+ties heavy weights upon his person; be must be unencumbered and free.
+So, in running the Christian race, we must free ourselves from
+everything we find to be a hindrance, no matter how desirable or how
+dear it may be to the flesh. So Jesus Himself says: "If anything so dear
+as a right arm or a right eye becomes a hindrance to to us, it must be
+given up." There are men who say they want to serve God, and expect to
+do so, but then they enjoy certain things they know to be wrong and
+hurtful, and they will indulge in them just a little, not enough to
+cause them to get clear away from God. I know and you know men who think
+they can enjoy sin just a little, or once in awhile. In the first place,
+this is ungrateful and mean. It is the same as to say: "I want to be
+just religious enough to escape hell, and yet I want to enjoy all the
+pleasure I can from sin, too." Such a feeling dishonors God. And, in the
+second place, it is exceedingly dangerous. It shows that the heart is
+not right. While you are trifling thus with sin, you may become so
+fascinated by it and led away as to be enslaved before you know it, and
+lose all your taste for heavenly things. Besides, God will not long bear
+with a man who has no better heart and no more self-sacrificing spirit
+than that. For myself, I should tremble and shudder if I were so far
+gone as to feel that I could go and deliberately indulge in some
+pleasant sin for awhile and then come back to resume the service of God
+when I had satiated my evil desires. Be assured, you can not serve God
+and sin. They are as opposite as light and darkness; you must give up
+one or the other. "But," you say, "how can I give up sin?" If you are
+_willing_ to do so, God will see that you have the _power_ to do it.
+Give it up if it gives you pain--yes, if it breaks your heart! God
+Himself will pour in the oil of comfort and joy, and heal all your
+wounds.
+
+2. The Apostle exhorts to run with patience the race set before us. It
+is easy to do well for awhile; to abstain from sin while the excitement
+of novelty in the religious life is upon us; and how many there are who
+began well and did well for awhile, but when the novelty wore away, and
+the excitement of the change was gone, they grew weary and sought the
+old pleasures of sin again. Some have thus done in connection with our
+work here in this mission. Make up your mind before hand that when the
+time of temptation and loneliness comes, you will endure it and go
+through with it patiently, waiting for the removal of the temptation and
+the return of joy. And when temptation does come, pray, oh pray. Go
+alone and ask God to restore to you the joy of His salvation and trust
+Him until he does it. Go work for others; go mingle with Christian
+people, whether you feel like it or not, and you will soon find how to
+meet the enemy, and how to defeat his plans and purposes.
+
+3. But his last exhortation is to look to Jesus. He bore our sins on the
+cross, and therefore we are released from them, if we trust Him and
+accept Him as our sin-bearer. He is alive forevermore; and when
+earnestly asked, He gives spiritual life and joy and strength by sending
+the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Then again, His life is the pattern of
+patience in loneliness and trials, which you and I are to follow; and
+can we desire or aspire to be or to do any better than did He?
+
+    "Would you lose your load of sin?
+      Fix your eyes upon Jesus.
+    Would you have God's peace within?
+      Fix your eyes upon Jesus."
+
+
+ACTS II: 38.
+
+     "Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of
+     you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
+     ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
+
+We may not be able to understand how it is, but these inspired
+Scriptures represent the work of salvation as applied to human hearts by
+the Holy Spirit. We do not hear enough of the Holy Spirit. We do not
+know Him and speak of Him and pray for His help and guidance and power,
+as the Scriptures teach us to do. These Scriptures are our guide; what
+they say we do not question, nor can we subtract from them or add to
+them. Let us see, then, what they teach us as to the Holy Spirit. In the
+14th, 15th and 16th chapters of St. John's Gospel Jesus distinctly
+promises His disciples that upon His departure He would send to them and
+to the world a divine agent whom He calls the Spirit of Truth, the
+Comforter, etc., and He tells them what that divine agent would do. Let
+us, then, fix our minds now intently on what He says, and be prepared to
+believe it.
+
+He said that this Spirit of Truth should "convince men of sin." Well,
+the fact is, we do see men convinced of sin as sin, and not merely
+because it is damaging and ruinous. But we see this only in connection
+with the Christian religion. So it must be by means of some power that
+belongs to the Christian religion. And if any of you here to-night see
+your sins and feel them to be, not only damaging and destructive, but
+mean and hateful and crimes against the good Father who has borne with
+you and blessed you through all these years of sin, then you may know
+that it is God's Holy Spirit that has produced that feeling in you; and
+especially so if you feel that your ingratitude to God, who has provided
+for you a way of salvation at such great cost, and your cold and
+heartless neglect of Jesus Christ through all these years of sin are the
+most aggravated part of your guilt. And you may be sure if God is
+willing to begin a good work in you He is willing to carry it on to
+completion, and will do so if you do not hinder Him. "Work out your
+salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you."
+And since it is He who has begun this work, beware that you do not
+hinder it or stop it by your coldness, carelessness or sin.
+
+But, in the second place, Jesus says the Holy Spirit should reveal Him
+to sinners as their sin-bearer and life-giver. So the promise is to you.
+Hold on in prayer and patient expectation. You can not be disappointed,
+for God can not lie. I was ignorant of Christ to an astonishing and
+shameful degree; but I was told to pray and I did so. I shut myself up
+in my back room one evening and told God I was going to stay there until
+He blessed me, and I was blessed, and the only three words I uttered
+were "Jesus of Nazareth." By some power I was so illuminated and changed
+that I saw Jesus as the dearest and loveliest being I ever thought of.
+Was not this a fulfillment to me of the promise made in John xvi.: 14?
+And having received grace from my God, I continue to this day witnessing
+to small and to great the things I have experienced since becoming a
+Christian. Now, let us inquire what else this gracious divine agent
+working in man is to do.
+
+He it is who produces that change in men which we call conversion or
+regeneration or new birth. You remember in John (3d chapter) the
+expression, "Born of the Spirit," and again in Titus iii.: 5, it is said
+we are saved by the "renewing of the Holy Ghost." When we know, then,
+that these changes are the immediate effect of the inworking of this
+divine agent, we need not be surprised that they are so sudden and so
+thorough as we see them to be in some cases that we know of. Let me say
+to those who have not yet experienced this wonderful deliverance from
+the power and love of sin and this inner revolution, that many of us
+have tested this matter who were in the deepest depths of sin and
+darkness, and God will do to depend on. Go ahead, go ahead; keep on
+praying and keep on hoping and trust yourself to Jesus, and you shall
+receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
+
+But, after we have experienced this change which we call conversion,
+God's spirit abides with us and keeps on doing great things for us when
+we are converted. We are not made angels or gods, but are still human,
+and, though delivered from the guilt and power of sin, we are hampered
+by ignorance and depressed by sorrow and encompassed with temptations.
+But just anticipating these needs of ours, the Holy Spirit is to be our
+teacher and to guide us into the truth. So we need not fear if we are
+only humble and honest and teachable; we shall not go dangerously
+astray, for God Himself will thus open to our minds the wonderful things
+of Scripture, and cause us to understand as much of it as we need.
+
+But He, the Holy Spirit, is to be the comforter of God's people in their
+loneliness and trials and conflicts in this world of exile. I have been
+sustained by unseen power in my trials as a Christian. But He enables
+them to overcome, and be more than conquerors, when they are assailed by
+temptation to sin. "He strengthens with might in the inner man"
+(Ephesians iii.: 16), and gives joy and peace; so that the soul, being
+content with these, does not need or desire the poor pleasures of sin.
+This has been my experience.
+
+He sanctifies God's people; He makes them holier and holier; He produces
+the fruit of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
+meekness, temperance, faith; and He gives power to reach, by our poor
+words, the hearts and consciences of others, though they be dead in sin.
+Jesus says, "Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon
+you." (Acts 1.: 8.) There are some men who have this power to reach and
+awaken and interest sinners in the salvation of their souls. And they do
+have power to bring sinners into this new life of peace and purity and
+joy. And you and I might have this power, and far more of it than we do,
+if, like the Apostle, we would wait before God in patient, believing
+prayer till the Holy Spirit should come in fullness and power. Pentecost
+was a display of this power, and we may have another Pentecost when we
+are willing to wait for it and pray for it as did the little company in
+the upper room at Jerusalem.
+
+
+LUKE V: 32.
+
+     "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
+
+These words of Jesus were spoken to the Scribes and Pharisees, and
+combine in themselves a defense of His own course in mingling with
+sinners, and a keen rebuke of the spirit of those who brought against
+him an accusation of associating with sinners, as well as the
+declaration of the object of His mission into this poor darkened world.
+And does it not seem strange that a man should be required to defend
+himself for going to spend and be spent for the good of those who are
+most sorely in need of help and relief? But it has always been so. Men
+are so selfish, so utterly without concern for the interests of others
+that they want to monopolize and swallow up everything that is good. So
+when Jesus of Nazareth was revealed to the Jewish people, and made
+Himself conspicuous and famous by the daily performance of astonishing
+miracles, the Scribes and Pharisees, who thought that everything ought
+to be subservient to their own personal interests and aggrandizement,
+fell out with Jesus because He did not fall in with notions of what He
+ought to be and do. They did not care a baubee for the people, the
+rabble, the mob, the human cattle. Indeed they utterly despised them,
+and would have nothing to do with them. They might perish and rot so far
+as the Scribes and Pharisees were concerned, provided these latter could
+hold the places of honor and gain. And so utterly possessed were they by
+this feeling of all-consuming selfishness, that when they saw this
+Jesus of Nazareth going with sinners, talking with sinners and eating
+with sinners, they set it down as a conclusion they would never give up
+that He was not, and could not be, and should not be, their Messiah. So
+that Jesus was thus forced to reason with them, and to make His defense
+before these self-constituted judges of His, and tell them why it was
+that He pursued the course He did. So it was in the time of John Wesley
+in England. He went among sinners, talked with them, taught them, and
+drew them by the magic force of his great love to follow him wherever he
+went to preach; and they so crowded the churches to hear the words of
+grace and tenderness that fell from his lips, that the doors were shut
+upon him, and he had to go out on the commons and into the fields
+beneath the sky of that God and Father whose words he was preaching, and
+whose lost children he was trying to save. This has been the experience
+of other zealous and earnest ministers of Christ. And they, too, have
+had to defend themselves for such a course. Our dear Brother Morris felt
+himself pressed to say why he went to the courthouse steps to try to
+lift up the fallen and save the wretched and the lost. But the words of
+Jesus contain also a scathing rebuke of the self-righteous spirit of
+those hard-headed, hard-hearted Scribes and Pharisees. It was the same
+as saying, "you claim that you are the righteous of the world. You are
+not willing to be classed with sinners, or to be called sinners, or to
+believe yourselves sinners. Therefore you have no need of me, and I have
+nothing for you; for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to
+repentance." Let us beware then, my dear friends and brethren, of
+thinking or feeling that we are better than others, or that we are not
+sinners. Now, need I stop here to prove that any of you are sinners?
+Does any one here need to have arguments worked out and laid before him
+to prove to him that he is a poor, miserable, blind sinner? If there is
+any one here who thinks and feels that he is not, then he has no
+business here, he has no business with Christ, and we have nothing to
+tell him or give him here. We bid him farewell, and turn away from him,
+to work for and to talk to others. If I were to go to see a sick man
+concerned about his soul, and he were to begin to tell about his good
+deeds and his freedom from sins and vices, I would get my hat and tell
+him good-bye; that I knew nothing about salvation for anybody but
+sinners. But for sinners I have and hold up a Saviour, a divine Saviour,
+who, blessed be God, is able to save to the uttermost all who come to
+him, and to save them here and now. If you want to see a specimen of
+Christ's interest in sinners and feeling for sinners, look at His life.
+In the beginning of His ministry He chooses Matthew, one of the despised
+class of publicans, to be one of His disciples--nay, one of His
+Apostles. Then He went to Matthew's house to dinner. It was as if some
+leading minister of the Gospel here to-day would be seen walking down
+the street with some leading gambler, on his way to take dinner and
+spend the afternoon with him. It was as if Mr. Moody should come to
+Louisville to conduct one of his great meetings, and, instead of
+stopping with Mr. Carley or Mr. Carter or Judge Bullock, should stop
+with John Young or Harry Johnson, and be his willing guest. So Jesus
+went to the house of another big gambler, so to speak, in his day. It
+was the publican Zaccheus (Luke xix., 1-10), and Jesus not only went
+there to dinner, but took salvation with Him to Zaccheus' house. So by
+His tenderness and grace, Jesus drew to Him the poor outcast women of
+His day. One wretched sinner of this class was so won by His concern for
+sinners, that she pressed her way into a rich man's house where Jesus
+was dining, and going to Him washed His feet with her tears, and
+anointed them with costly perfume, Jesus not only not forbidding her,
+but defending her for it (Luke 7). And Jesus spoke the parables of the
+Lost Sheep, the Lost Piece of Silver, the Lost Prodigal Son, and
+said--oh, hear it--"There is joy in heaven over one sinner that
+repenteth."
+
+
+JAMES I: 25, 26.
+
+     "25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
+     continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer
+     of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
+
+     "26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth
+     not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's
+     religion is vain."
+
+James, the writer of this language, is that inspired servant of God, who
+gets impatient with mere professions of piety, and who wants to see
+action, action! not mere words, not dead faith, but also action. He
+speaks, in the text, of "forgetful hearers of the Word." Now, do you not
+know all about what that means? Have you not, many a time, read the
+Bible, or heard a sermon from it that, like a mirror, held up to your
+heart, showed you yourself even better than you knew yourself? And have
+you not said: "Well, I will change; that picture is true, and it is too
+dark to be endured any longer?" But, instead of carrying out your
+purpose and doing what you say, you went away and forgot all about it,
+and soon you were as dead as ever. And, instead of continuing to read
+the Bible and see yourself there; and instead of continuing to go where
+faithful ministers would uncover your poor, wicked heart and life to
+your eyes, you went on your accustomed ways of business or pleasure, and
+became a "forgetful hearer of the Word," and it did you no good. How,
+then, in the name of God, can a man keep himself from forgetting the
+things he reads or hears from the Bible? Why, it is very simple--to go
+to _doing_ at once, without waiting even till to-morrow. "Do what?" you
+say. Why, go to praying. Cut yourself off from retreat by coming out on
+the side of Christ and taking your place among those who are seeking His
+mercy and salvation, till you can take your place among those who have
+that salvation. But I want to say a very solemn word to those who
+profess to have already obtained salvation. Are _you doing_, as well as
+_hearing_ the Word of God? Does your life exemplify "holiness to the
+Lord," and does it abound in good works and good words? Do you abstain
+from evil and keep yourself from evil associations? Do you turn away
+from dangerous and suspicious places and people? Do you obey readily and
+heartily what you find to be commanded in God's Word? If you do not do
+the things you hear, then you, too, will soon become "forgetful
+hearers," and little by little the world will re-assert its power over
+you, and the flesh will get the upper hand, and at the last you may wind
+up as our poor friend Eicheler did. Doing is as important a part of the
+Gospel as hearing. Read the last part of the Sermon on the Mount
+(Matthew vii., 24-27). Notice that Jesus says the man who does His
+sayings is like one who buildeth on a solid and enduring foundation that
+can stand storms and temptations. Now, do you not find that if you do
+what you find in the Bible, then the Bible becomes sweeter and sweeter
+to you? You do not shut it up then and shove it aside for fear of
+finding yourself condemned, for when you do its biddings it will not
+condemn you, but commend you, and that makes you love it and keeps you
+from forgetting it. And thus you grow stronger and stronger, and sin
+will grow weaker and weaker, and you will surely find that you have
+built on a strong foundation. But, in the last part of the text is a
+subject I want to talk about. Read verse 26. It is the tongue. If any
+man seems to be religious, and fails to control his tongue, then he is
+mistaken. Oh, have you not found your tongue to be one of the most
+troublesome things you have to contend with? If you want to see James'
+idea of the tongue, read chapter iii., 1-10. Do you watch your
+conversation? Do you guard the door of your lips? Do you? I am in
+earnest.
+
+Do you ever indulge in the least obscenity? Some so-called Christians
+do, and it is sickening and disgusting to others; and while it shows
+what their thoughts dwell on, it does themselves great harm, for it
+keeps temptation before their minds, and makes it a great deal more
+difficult to resist temptations when they come in their lives. Do you
+mean it only as innocent fun? It is not innocent. For if you are so
+hardened as to unclean thoughts, that they don't hurt _you_, they, will
+hurt others.
+
+What about swearing? If the devil can get you to swear a few times, then
+he will say: "Oh, you might as well confess that you are no Christian,
+and give up this hypocritical business." There is one of the Ten
+Commandments forbidding to take God's name in vain; the Sermon on the
+Mount forbids it still more strongly, and James, in chapter v., 12,
+condemns it in the strongest language. And yet there are some church
+members who practice it, especially when they get mad. That man's heart
+is not right, and he is treading on very dangerous ground who is not
+changed enough to avoid swearing. And if a man, by God's grace, will
+turn away from it and from the thought of it, he will soon become so
+that it will make him shudder to hear others swear. I know this from my
+own experience.
+
+If you do not watch yourself in conversation, you will tell things that
+are not true; and so, in trying to be polite, you will have to watch or
+your tongue will tell a falsehood, and you will recollect it with shame
+and lose strength of faith in God.
+
+And then that tongue often indulges in gossip about your acquaintances
+that does them great harm. And have you not, in moments of temper and
+passion, said cruel and, perhaps, false things to your dear ones; to
+those who have worked for you, and maybe would die for you? It cut them
+to the heart, and you have not made acknowledgment of your sin to them.
+
+
+JAMES I: 8.
+
+     "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."
+
+One of the commonest and greatest faults and weaknesses of men is this
+that I am going to speak about to you to-night, and that is indecision.
+It is not only a weakness and a fault and a great hindrance in regard to
+religion, but in any and all the affairs of life. Do you not know men of
+competent ability and of good advantages and education who amount to
+very little in the world? And when you ask yourself why it is, is it not
+because they have not enough decision of character to keep at any one
+thing long enough to master the difficulties with which it is beset and
+to win success in spite of obstacles? Some of them are confused by the
+great number of ways that seem to open before them and are not decided
+as to which one they will pursue. And after embarking in one pursuit and
+continuing in it for awhile, they conclude they could do better at
+something else; and before they have studied and labored long enough to
+obtain success in this second enterprise, they conclude they could do
+better by changing for a third or going back to the first. And so,
+because study and time and labor are necessary to success in any
+occupation or profession and they do not bestow these, they do not
+succeed, and, in the nature of the case, can not succeed. Or, if they
+are not embarrassed by the number of openings before them, they are
+divided in their minds between a life of ease, indulgence and pleasure
+and a life of labor and self-denial, and, though they would be something
+and are not without ambition, yet a life of indolence and rest offers
+so many inducements that they prefer it to a life of hard work and of
+discouragements and battles and anxieties, or, at least, if they do not
+positively prefer such a life, yet they hanker after it; and in their
+effort to have ease and pleasure and, at the same time, to pursue some
+honorable and profitable calling, _they miss both_, and have no
+satisfaction, but only a consciousness of their own weakness and
+uselessness and a contempt for themselves. But maybe I need not ask you
+if you know persons of this sort. You who listen to me to-night may be
+of just that kind. Possibly--nay, probably--there are men here to-night
+whose lives have been failures just because of the miserable weakness I
+have been trying to describe. But if this weakness of character is the
+cause of many failures and the utter disappointment that many lives have
+ended in, in worldly matters, how much more so is it in religious
+concerns and interests. If concentration of thought and fixedness of
+purpose and firmness of will are necessary to overcome obstacles and to
+master success in business or in the learned professions, they are more
+so in the matter of religion. If indecision and dividedness of mind and
+wavering of purpose cause men to fail in worldly matters, much more so
+will they cause men to fail in religion. Some men are forever wavering
+between accepting and rejecting Christianity. To-day they are satisfied
+that Christianity is true, and to-morrow they say they have found proof
+that Christianity is false. Then, again, they get into trouble and find
+that nothing can help them but Christianity, and they believe it until
+some man comes along and argues against it, and away they go off after
+him. So they never believe in Christianity long enough at any time to
+get any good from it, and they will not utterly and finally reject it so
+as to be no longer troubled by it. But the trouble with most of the
+people who are in this wretched state of indecision is that they believe
+in Christianity, and are persuaded that it is far better to be a
+Christian and safer, but they love the world and the ways of the world
+and the honors of the world and the pleasures of the world; and it is
+impossible to love the world and partake of the pleasures of the world
+and at the same time to serve God with your whole heart. "Ye can not
+serve two masters," and yet you see people who are trying to do it. So
+they do not make good Christians, for their hearts are in the world, and
+their lives and influence are not for Christianity, but for the world.
+Nor do they get the good and pleasure of a worldly life, for they are
+restrained and harassed by their fear of conscience, God and hell. And
+Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, says, "Ye can not serve two masters."
+Many have tried it. Some whose histories are given in the Bible tried
+it. Saul, the first king of Israel, tried it. When God sent him to
+destroy the Amalekites, he obeyed the command in part, but not
+altogether. (I. Samuel xv., 13-25.) But God is not mocked, and because
+Saul trifled with Him He rejected Saul, and Saul went from bad to worse,
+until at last, in his abandonment to the power of evil, he committed
+murder after murder and finally died a suicide. The rich young man in
+the New Testament was another case of divided mind. He saw the
+desirableness of being good, and the safety of being at peace with God,
+and showed a zeal in trying to be good; but when Jesus told him to sell
+all he had and give it to the poor, he refused. He wanted to do both,
+obey God and inherit the kingdom of heaven and have a fortune for
+selfish enjoyment or for miserable greed at the same time. But he could
+not do both. King Agrippa said "he was almost persuaded" to be a
+Christian. His mind was divided; he could not do both. He chose to keep
+his worldly possessions, and, of course, could not be a Christian (Acts
+xxvi., 28). But, on the other hand, those men who were decided and
+positive in their rejection of the pleasures of the world found no great
+trouble in serving God. Moses was a man of this sort (Hebrews xi.,
+25-27). He deliberately chose to suffer afflictions with the people of
+God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Paul was
+another man of this positive character. When Jesus revealed Himself to
+Paul his surrender was immediate and complete. He said, "What wilt thou
+have me do?" And to the end of a long and laborious life, amid
+persecutions and sufferings and disgraces and loneliness and bonds, he
+continually cried, "None of these things move me." And his Christian
+life was victorious and glorious.
+
+
+II. TIMOTHY III: 5.
+
+     "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;
+     from such turn away."
+
+This text is a description of certain false teachers who had arisen in
+the midst of the church, or who would arise and assume the name of
+disciples of Christ, as well as authority to teach. They would assume
+the outward form of Christianity and adopt its expressions and conform
+to its usage in outward respects, but would deny that there was any
+supernatural power or divine unction in it. And there are such men
+to-day. But if Christianity be not attended by any supernatural agency
+and energy present in it and with it, then it is no better than any
+other of the so-called religions of the world. If it has only form and
+body, without a living and life-giving soul and divinity in it, it is on
+a level with the heathen religions, for they all have these. And,
+indeed, all men have a form of religion, and many of them are so devoted
+to it that they will suffer and some of them die before they will give
+it up. The ancient Jews held to the forms of their religion, and fought
+for it in bloody and bitter wars. And the Pharisees at the time of
+Christ were the most careful and scrupulous observers of all the forms
+of their religion, and yet Jesus denounced them as the wickedest sinners
+of His time. There are men of this kind in the Christian churches of
+to-day, men who go through the forms of religion, who perform the
+outward duties of religion, and who would not give these up for any
+consideration; and yet they not only do not experience anything of the
+power of inward religion, but they go so far as to deny that there is
+any such inward power, and call those who claim to have it fanatical.
+
+But read the following passages, and see if we have not Scripture
+warrant for this power of religion: I. Corinthians ii., 4; I.
+Thessalonians i., 5; II. Timothy i., 7; Ephesians iii., 16; and our
+text, II. Timothy iii., 5.
+
+1. The power of Christianity is shown in the conviction for sin.
+
+It is impossible to get men to see and realize the sinfulness and
+hatefulness of sin. It is impossible for any power of men's eloquence to
+pierce through the deep native depravity of the heart--through the
+selfish motives, desires, ambitions and interests, and get men to see
+and feel the nature and danger of sin. Oh, the impossibility of making
+men feel guilt and danger by any human means while they are dead in sin!
+But under the power of this force, or, rather, this agent, who works in
+and through Christianity, the poor sinner sees and feels all this. He
+sees that, of all bitter and perilous things, sin is the most bitter and
+perilous and dreadful. He feels smitten with remorse. He feels that
+there is no beauty in the world, or in anything, because of the
+blackness and ugliness and foulness of his own evil heart and life. And
+he feels that, above all things, he must get rid of sin, and at whatever
+cost, and speedily at that, for the agony is unendurable. Everything
+seems as nothing compared with salvation from sin. "He will go and sell
+all he has to buy it," as Jesus says. This sense of sin and danger
+produces an earthquake in the spiritual nature that upheaves the hidden
+depths of the soul. Like the pilgrim in Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress, he
+puts his fingers in his ears and flees from the City of Destruction.
+Like the murderers of Jesus when convicted by this power, he cries out,
+"What must I do to be saved?"
+
+2. It is shown in what we call conversion.
+
+But this power which belongs to Christianity, not only produces this
+awful sense of the guilt and danger of sin, it also delivers from the
+guilt and power of sin, and makes the man a new creature. The awful
+sense of condemnation and the fear of a just and endless retribution are
+taken away. He may not know how or just why, but he knows it is so, and
+he rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But, not only so, he
+finds to his amazement and joy that his whole inner nature is reversed,
+re-created, and he no longer is a slave of sinful habits and passions,
+but he is delivered from these, and now loves holiness and holy people
+and holy things and holy thoughts. The whole current of his nature is
+changed. "Old things are passed away, and behold all things are become
+new," and, instead of the old defilement and darkness and
+devilishness, there flows out and on a life of purity, consecration,
+self-forgetfulness and holiness. Now, do you not call that a power which
+can bring to pass such effects as this? Do you know of any other power
+that can do anything like it?
+
+And now, my brother, you who profess to be a follower of Jesus, have you
+experienced this power, or have you only the form of godliness without
+the power? That is what is the matter with most of the church members
+of this day. They have a form of godliness, but in too many cases only a
+form. They do not know anything of the power of which I have been
+speaking. But let no one be discouraged who has not experienced this
+blessed deliverance from the power of the enemy, provided you are
+seeking for it. You shall not seek long in vain, if you seek it in
+earnest. May God reveal Himself to us all now and here.
+
+
+I. CORINTHIANS IX: 26, 27.
+
+     "I therefore so run not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one
+     that beateth the air:
+
+     "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
+     that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
+     should be a castaway."
+
+This Is the language of St. Paul, the Apostle. As we have already
+remarked of Jesus, that He took the most familiar facts and experiences
+of every-day life by which to teach His doctrines, so we may say of His
+great Apostle, Paul. The Grecian games, consisting of running matches
+and boxing matches, were well known among the people of St. Paul's day,
+and especially so at Corinth, and these furnished him the illustrations
+which he frequently used in his letters. In another place he speaks of
+laying aside all weights and running with patience the race set before
+us. In this place he speaks both of running and boxing. His object is to
+show that, as in these games the utmost attention and energy and
+self-denial were necessary to success, and that these would insure
+success, so it is in the Christian race and the Christian fight. He
+says: "I, for my part, run not as uncertainly," that is, I run no risk,
+I indulge in nothing that would make it in the least degree uncertain as
+to my gaining the desired object; I know what is required of me, and I
+know that if I do not fully observe all that is commanded me and
+required of me, I, to that extent, render my success uncertain, and this
+I am determined, by the grace of God, not to do. Then he says: "I fight
+not as one that beateth the air." The boxers would frequently take
+exercise by striking into the air, as we see men practicing gymnastics
+now; but Paul meant to say that he was not taking exercise--he was
+facing an earnest and dangerous foe, and it was a life and death matter
+to him to know just what that foe was, and to know just how to attack it
+so as to conquer it. And what was that foe? Hear it, you who think you
+are safe and can just go smoothly to heaven as if you were sliding down
+hill. Hear what Paul's greatest foe was: It was his body--yes, his body,
+with its appetites and passions, its constant craving for gratification
+and pleasure. What! do you mean to say that Paul, the great Apostle, was
+in danger of being led away by the appetites of the body? Well, that is
+what he himself says. He was not in danger of falling because of doubt,
+for he had had such a wonderful conversion, and such an actual vision of
+Christ, that he could never, never doubt that, nor does he any where, in
+any of his epistles, show the slightest wavering in this respect, but he
+does show that he knew and felt there was danger of being, in some
+unguarded moment, misled and brought into sin by the appetites of an
+unmastered body. So, he says in the next verse: "I keep under my body
+and bring it into subjection, lest that when I have preached to others,
+I myself should be lost." He still keeps up the figure of the boxing
+matches in the games, and says: "The foe I have to contend with is my
+body," and as the winner in the fist fight of the games beats his foe
+black, till he cries "enough!" so do I deny my body till it ceases to
+have any desire or disposition toward the objects of unholy passions,
+till it meekly gives up, and I feel that I am perfect master, and it is
+under my feet as it were. When the body is fed and gratified and
+pampered, its animal appetites and passions are nursed and become
+strong. So men who live high and eat to gluttony and drink wines and
+liquors are usually in a perfect strut of sensual passion. I guess that
+is why the Lord keeps me so poor, and why I have so little to live on
+and so little to feed on. It is that, by this necessary self-denial, I
+may keep my poor body down, out of danger of betraying me into sin.
+
+David was as great a man in some respects as Paul, he communed with God
+in the solitudes of Bethlehem's sheep pastures, till he became strong
+enough to overcome a giant and to put a whole army to flight. He
+composed most of the Psalms, the most spiritual songs in the world. He
+withstood all the temptations of honor, and endured, with matchless
+meekness, the hatred and persecution of Saul, the king (I. Samuel xxiv).
+But his poor body, with its sensual passions, got the better of him, and
+he committed the awful sin of adultery. Doubtless, when he had become
+king, he forgot the self-denial which he practiced when he was a
+shepherd, and when he was a persecuted and hunted fugitive, and instead
+of that he lived high, fed high, drank high, and so he fell, and fell
+very low.
+
+Solomon was a wise man. He knew all the secrets of the human heart. He
+wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, books full of profound knowledge, as
+well as of deepest piety. Yet Solomon was led away from God by indulging
+in sensuality. And if David and Solomon, with all their faith and wisdom
+and power and piety, found that their bodies, because not kept down,
+led them into sin, we need not wonder that Paul saw and shunned this
+danger. But how is a man to keep his body under? By totally abstaining
+from everything that heats the blood and inflames passion, as drinking,
+etc., and high living; by fleeing from evil conversation, evil books,
+evil thoughts; by fasting and abstinence, frequently practiced. Moses
+fasted; Elijah, David, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus, Paul, the
+early church and Wesley and the early Methodists--all these eminent
+servants of God fasted, and there must be something good and profitable
+in it. I am satisfied it is one of the ways of keeping the body under,
+and bringing it into subjection. And may God help us to use all the
+means in our power for securing ourselves from our greatest enemy.
+
+
+ACTS XX: 21.
+
+     "Testifying both to the Jews, and also the Greeks, repentance
+     toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+This verse is a part of St. Paul's account of his own ministry at the
+city of Ephesus in Asia. He revisits them after having spent three years
+of labor among them, and in his address to them he reminds them of his
+manner of life among them, and recounts the substance of his preaching
+among them; and the burden of his preaching was as is stated in the
+text: "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+And the first point to be noticed is that St. Paul made no difference
+among men; he was no respecter of persons or classes. You all know the
+Jews were the church people of that day. They not only claimed to be the
+pious of that day, but they claimed to be the only pious people, and the
+only ones qualified to teach others. But Paul, finding their religion
+was altogether outward and formal, as is the religion of many of the
+church people to-day, preached to them just as he did to the vilest of
+the heathens around them, the necessity of repentance, of turning from
+their sins and passions to God, with self-abhorrence and hope of mercy
+and pardon. And in this he has only followed the example of his Divine
+Master; for Christ said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a sort of
+reverend doctor of divinity, "Except ye be born again, ye can not enter
+into the kingdom of God." (John iii., 3.) And so now it makes no
+difference if you belong to the Catholic church or the Episcopal church
+or the Methodist church, or any or all others, it will do you
+absolutely no good at all if you have not repented of your sins and evil
+doings and turned to God in prayer and hope for grace to enable you to
+live above the power of sin. But, in the next place, Paul said he
+preached "repentance toward God." It is God, then, whom you have
+offended by your sins. As David says in the fifty-first Psalm, "Against
+Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." And
+because you have sinned against God, you must repent toward God, and as
+in the sight of Him who sees and knows all, even the secret thoughts and
+passions and purposes of the heart. God is judge, and God is a consuming
+fire. But what is it to repent? Ordinarily, when we hear persons speak
+of repentance, we think at once about being sorry and of feeling a deep
+grief because we have done wrong; and some of us think it means to weep
+and moan and to be afflicted with an awful bitterness of soul because of
+our sins, when we hear any one speak of repentance in a religious sense.
+And, indeed, this may be the kind of repentance which many people have,
+and doubtless do have. But there _may_ be true repentance without this
+extreme sorrow for sin, provided there is enough sorrow for sin and
+hatred of sin and dread of sin to turn away from it, and to at once and
+forever forsake it. Nor must you wait for this extreme sorrow, which you
+may have heard others speak of, but if you are convinced of the evil of
+sin and the baseness of sin and the ruinousness of sin, then cease to
+follow it, cease to practice it, and cease at once, however much it may
+cost you to do so. The old prophet, speaking to the Jews who came with
+sighs and groans and tears to God's altar, but without mending their
+ways, says, "Cease to do evil, learn to do right, put away the evil from
+you." And John the Baptist says, "Bring forth fruits worthy of
+repentance," that is, such fruit as will show that you have indeed and
+in heart turned away from evil and from sin. Meanwhile, ask God to help
+you repent, tell Him you are nothing but sin and that you look to Him
+for grace to repent right and to turn away from all sin. And as long as
+you cleave to one sin, you need not expect to get any relief. Many give
+up one thing and another, but think they can hold on to one sin--one
+darling sin, one idolized sin--and that God will excuse this one, if
+they give up all others. "But be not deceived; God is not mocked," nor
+can you trifle with Him. Having thus let go your hold of sin, of your
+secret darling sins, and turned away from them with hope of mercy from
+God, you can trust in Jesus Christ, His Son crucified for your sins, and
+in your stead, and you will surely have peace, and that quickly.
+
+Observe, Paul says he preached faith, not in God the Father, but faith
+in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that God reconciles the world
+unto Himself, And if you do not accept Jesus and trust in God's mercy,
+as shown in Jesus, you will get no relief and no peace. God has promised
+nothing outside of Jesus. But He has promised everything to him who
+accepts Jesus Christ's suffering and sacrifice as the sufficient and
+satisfactory penalty due to his own sins, and believes that Jesus bore
+his sins in His body on the cross. If Jesus satisfied Paul, He ought to
+satisfy you, and be worthy of your confidence and trust and worship.
+Turn from sin, then, with humility and shame that you have so long
+grieved God, and trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, and keep doing so for
+days if necessary, and you can not, and shall not, fail to obtain
+salvation.
+
+
+ON SELF-DENIAL.
+
+LUKE IX: 23.
+
+     "And He said unto them all, if any man will come after Me, let
+     him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
+
+Religion depends on this more than on any other one thing. If we are
+willing to give up all our own preferences and to deny all our desires
+and inclinations, we shall not have much trouble at any other point. The
+greatest hindrance to getting religion or _keeping_ religion is our own
+desire for ease, comfort and self-gratification, and our aversion to
+enduring any hardship or privation or suffering. The reason why
+self-denial is necessary is that our very nature is corrupted and
+diseased and we are blinded by sin. Once the will of man was the same as
+the will of God; but, since the fall, the will of man and that of God
+are directly opposed; and if we live according to God's will, we must go
+directly against our own.
+
+Self-denial is necessary in avoiding sin to which we are inclined and
+which we find give us pleasure.
+
+But it is necessary also, when no sin or temptation is present, to
+preserve that frame of mind which keeps us in readiness for temptation
+and enables us to resist it when it does come.
+
+A constant habit of self-denial is necessary to make us proof against
+the gradual and unperceived approach of sin either in the form of
+coldness and distaste for religion, or sloth, or a desire to gratify the
+flesh. So Paul (I. Cor. ix., 27) said he kept his body under and
+brought it into subjection, lest _even he_, through the deceitfulness of
+sin, should become a castaway.
+
+It follows that self-denial is absolutely necessary to growing in grace.
+We are mistaken if we imagine we are growing in grace, when we are
+practicing no self-denial. Jesus said (Luke ix., 23): "If any man will
+come after Me let him deny himself and take up his cross _daily_." Now
+what does that word "daily" mean in this connection? Indeed growth in
+piety is a growing out of self so that self is _crucified_, as Paul says
+he was.
+
+Self-denial must be practiced then.
+
+1. In abstaining from sins of all kinds.
+
+2. In performing all our duties of religion, however hard and unpleasant
+they may be, as attending all church services, ordinances, etc., and
+giving according to your ability.
+
+3. In practicing private prayer however hard and distasteful it may be
+at first. Some men have prayed three hours a day in secret, as, for
+example, Luther.
+
+4. In abstinence from food, _i.e._, fasting; and sometimes from sleep
+when it is necessary to have time to pray, etc.
+
+Get the upper hand of your animal nature and keep it by _daily_
+self-denial and you will mount up with wings as eagles, you will run and
+not be weary, you will walk and not faint.
+
+
+I. JOHN III: 5.
+
+     "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and
+     in Him is no sin."
+
+These are Christmas days. This is the period of the year that is
+celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. I fear that if some
+stranger from a foreign land, who knew nothing of the character of Jesus
+and His history and nothing of Christianity, were to happen in our midst
+during this Christmas time, he would think, from the character of our
+festivities and the kind of our demonstrations, that we were either, by
+our bonfires and guns and rockets and fireworks, celebrating some
+warlike hero who, in the midst of belching cannon and blazing musketry,
+had delivered his country from peril, or else that we were, by our
+revelry and dissipation and debauchery and riot, celebrating some
+heathen god of pleasure like Bacchus, the Roman god of the wine cup. And
+it is strange--unaccountably strange--that men should so pervert the
+sacred Christmas time into a season of unusual and disgraceful
+indulgence in sin. What does our text say? "He was manifested to take
+away our sins." "He was manifested;" what does that mean? Oh, it means
+more than you and I will give ourselves time to fully take in. It is
+said that the angels desire to look into the wonderful fact of the
+condescension of Jesus Christ, the prince of princes, in becoming man in
+order to save sinners. But though _angels_ thus desire, very few of
+_us_, for whom this wonderful humiliation was suffered, give enough time
+or attention to it to either understand it or care much about it. We are
+too much occupied with these lower things to take any special interest
+in things infinitely higher.
+
+Paul, in the second chapter of the Philippians, tells us how Jesus
+humbled himself. Let us see verse 5: "Who being in the form of God,
+thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made _Himself_ of _no
+reputation_ and took on Him the form of a servant, and humbled Himself
+and became obedient unto _death_, yea even unto the death of the cross."
+
+Christ, then, was the equal of God, the Father, worshipped by angels;
+and yet He consented to become man, and so be made "a little lower than
+the angels." But He not only became man, He became a servant among men.
+So His life was one of lowly service and unremitting toil for others. He
+once girded Himself with a towel and washed the feet of His disciples.
+But He not only became man and servant to man, He went to a deeper depth
+of humiliation than any other ever descended to: He suffered as an
+evil-doer, though in fact He was the only good and pure man that ever
+lived. "He was numbered among the transgressors," though He was guilty
+of no transgression, and He descended down to the bottom floor of
+disgrace--He was nailed on a cross and left there to die as you hang the
+worst criminals by the neck till they are dead.
+
+Yes, He was born poor; He lived in toil and sorrow and died in shame:
+the Prince of Glory did all this. But, stop and ask, Why did He endure
+all this when He might and could have avoided it? Let God answer:
+"Surely He hath borne _our_ griefs and carried _our_ sorrows. He was
+wounded for _our_ transgressions. He was bruised for _our_ iniquities;
+all we like sheep had gone astray, and the Lord laid on _Him_ the
+iniquity of us all." (Isaiah lviii., 4, 6.) Yes, "He was manifested to
+take away our transgressions" in the sense that He suffered in our stead
+for those transgressions that are past. But what good would it do to
+forgive sinners if they were not changed and renewed, so that they could
+have the power in the future to abstain from sin? What good would it do
+for God to say to a drunkard, "Your sins are forgiven" if He did not at
+the same time so change that drunkard as to make him able to keep from
+drinking in the future? What good to forgive the past sins of a
+debauchee or a liar or a gambler or a thief or a murderer if, at the
+same time, their hearts were not so changed that they would and could
+keep from sinning again? It would do no good, for they would go straight
+into the sins they had been practicing. Well, does Jesus make provision
+for this? Yes, He does. He was manifested not only to take away the
+guilt of our transgressions, but also their _power_ over us. Do we not
+read in the Scripture that if the Son shall make us free we shall be
+free indeed? Jesus promised a mighty agent which should work in the
+hearts of men and renew their natures. I, myself, am as different a man
+as if I had been blotted out of existence and born again a new creature.
+And these are the very expressions the Scripture uses for describing the
+wonderful change. This, then, is what Jesus was born in poverty, lived
+in sorrow and died in shame for, and at this time of remembrance and
+rejoicing He makes appeal to you:
+
+    "I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed
+    That thou mightest ransomed be, and quickened from the dead.
+    My Father's house of light, my glory-circled throne,
+    I left, for earthly night, far wanderings, sad and lone.
+    I've borne it all for thee; what hast thou borne for me?"
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S SERMON.
+
+DEUTERONOMY VIII: 2-11.
+
+The people of Israel had journeyed long and wearily since leaving Egypt.
+For forty years they had wandered and now at last had come to the
+borders of the Promised Land. Only the narrow Jordan was between them
+and the Canaan of their hopes. They were encamped upon the eastern bank
+of this river and were only awaiting orders to pass over and possess the
+goodly land which lay before them. And Moses, who was not to cross over
+with them, but to be buried in the land of Moab, gives this parting
+address to them. They were just passing from one stage of their journey
+to another and they need to be reminded of the _past_ and instructed and
+warned as to the _future_.
+
+So he says:
+
+"Thou shalt _remember_ all the way which the Lord hath led thee these
+forty years."
+
+1. They were to remember the trials and temptations they had. The object
+of these, he says (verse 2), was to _humble_ them and to _prove_ them
+that they might know what was in their hearts. And so, my brother, if
+during the past year, or during your past life, you have had trials and
+temptations, it was that you might learn your own weakness, a hard
+lesson for proud mortals to learn, and so be humbled to distrust
+yourself and seek help from God. And if you have had sorrow or
+bereavement it was for the same purpose, that you might learn to give up
+seeking perfect happiness in anything or any creature on earth and seek
+it in God. And have not some of you learned this lesson or are you not
+beginning to learn it at last? Have not the sins and the sorrows of your
+past life humbled you and at last brought you to feel your _need of
+God_? But another object of these past experiences of trial was to prove
+what was in your heart. A man does not know what there is in his heart
+till temptation brings it out. He does not know how bad it is. I thought
+I was patient; but when temptation came, I found my heart had much
+impatience in it. I thought I was humble and did not think highly of
+myself till people began to praise me and I found I enjoyed it and loved
+it and I was not humble.
+
+2. But they were to remember God's goodness to them also (see verses 3
+and 4). He had fed them Himself with manna and kept their clothes from
+wearing out and their feet from swelling. And so _you_ are to remember
+the goodness of God to you during the past year and during your past
+life. Remember how He has spared you in the midst of your wickedness as
+He spared me in my neglect of Him _for forty years_, and how He has
+furnished you many blessings and would have given you more, but you
+would not. And if He has allowed your wickedness to bring you into
+trouble and distress, it is to cause you to _stop_ and _reflect_ upon
+your ways and turn from them unto Him for deliverance and true
+happiness. Thus you are to recall, from the past year and from your past
+life, your sins and sorrows, and God's manifold mercies to you.
+
+II. But, just entering upon this new year, you are to look ahead also,
+even as the Israelites were to look ahead to the goodly land into which
+the Lord was going to bring them (see verses 7, 8 and 9).
+
+1. God _promises_ you much, my brother, on condition that you follow Him
+and obey Him. He promises to bless you temporally and spiritually, and
+to give you happiness--a goodly possession--if you, for your part, give
+yourself up, _unreservedly_ to His directions. He has done much for
+_me_, since I began to follow and obey Him years ago.
+
+2. Moses ends his discourse with a solemn warning (verse 11). _Beware_
+that you forget not the Lord your God, and go at any time to trusting to
+yourself or any earthly help.
+
+
+ON AFFLICTION AND SUFFERING.
+
+LAMENTATIONS, III: 32-33.
+
+     "32. But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion
+     according to the multitude of His mercies.
+
+     "33. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children
+     of men."
+
+There is a vast deal of suffering and of sorrow in the world, and the
+most of it, if not all, is due directly or indirectly to _sin_ as the
+cause. Sin is followed by suffering, as for example, intemperance ruins
+the health and brings on a slavery worse in some cases than death; and
+sensuality is often followed by loathsome and painful diseases. Thus God
+declares His feeling towards sin in these sufferings that result from
+it. He has set up a barrier to keep men from the practice of it. But we
+will consider how afflictions and sufferings may all be overruled to the
+good of the sufferer and his deliverance from the evil of _sin_.
+
+1. Sufferings which are the direct effect of sin have a tendency to make
+us turn away from sin. For example, the poverty and distress of the
+Prodigal son were the cause of his returning to his Father. So it was
+with Jack Harrington and others whom we know.
+
+2. But sufferings and misfortunes which are not the direct effect of sin
+stir up the memory to a recollection of past sins, and excite a remorse
+for them. For example, a lady who is the wife of a whisky dealer told
+her husband she believed that their losses and misfortunes were
+judgments sent on them for being in that business.
+
+3. Sometimes it takes the greatest and most prolonged suffering to
+conquer man's stubbornness and independence of God. But suffering
+humbles him, and, his pride being out of the way, he has no more
+trouble.
+
+4. Sorrow that is too great for any earthly consolation leads the
+sorrowing one to seek comfort in God. One of the greatest and best
+preachers of Germany was thus led to God by the loss of his young wife.
+So parents are brought to God by the death of children and children by
+the death of parents.
+
+5. Sometimes suffering is necessary to wean us from some idol which we
+would not otherwise be willing to give up.
+
+6. Sometimes when we forget God and become absorbed in the world,
+nothing but some affliction will make us come to ourselves and turn
+again to God with repentance and consecration. Read Psalm cxix., 67-75.
+
+The case of Sister P----, at Portland, was one of this kind. She was a
+backslider and put off her return to God and kept putting it off. But
+she had a great sorrow. Her son left home under a cloud, her son's wife
+lost her mind and then died, and her son was put in prison. To this was
+added her own bad health. These things broke the spell of the world,
+woke her up from her apathy and made her seek God with all her heart and
+she found Him again, and died in great peace and triumph.
+
+7. Then suffering purifies us and develops us and prepares us for work
+we could not otherwise do. "Tribulation worketh _patience_." What
+_excellent training_ I got when I rubbed the engine for a dollar and a
+half a day. It brought patience and resignation and a better preparation
+for the work I am doing than any other sort of experience, perhaps,
+could have given me.
+
+
+REVELATIONS XXI: 3.
+
+     "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
+     tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and
+     they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them,
+     and be their God."
+
+The subject suggested by the text is, the future and final conquest of
+the world by the Church of Christ, and the rest and reward of that
+church in Heaven.
+
+And the Scriptures do teach that, in time, all nations shall learn
+righteousness. The time is coming when neighbor shall not say to
+neighbor, "Know ye the Lord," but when all shall know Him, from the
+least to the greatest; and the knowledge of God shall cover the earth,
+as the waters cover the deep. When this blessed time is to be, and what
+are to be the signs of its approach, are not questions for us to attempt
+to discuss here to-day, though we may be allowed to say that the Gospel
+is being preached to more people to-day that at any former period in the
+history of the church. There is a missionary zeal in the church to-day
+that has not been paralleled in all her history. There is not only a
+readiness among heathen people to hear the Gospel, but there seems to be
+a positive hunger for it, and within the last few years the Gospel has
+penetrated to the interior of nations and continents that were
+previously inaccessible. Certainly the church is more aggressive and
+bold in her plans and operations to-day than ever before. And if it be a
+prophecy of the not distant conquest of the world to the reign of
+Christ, we take courage, and say: "God speed the day!" It is well for us
+to pause now, and to reflect upon the reward promised to us in the end
+of our course. We do not give enough attention to this. To study about
+it; to learn what we do not know concerning it; to realize the
+unspeakable blessedness of that state would make us more patient in
+waiting, more cheerful in suffering, more earnest and active and
+untiring in our efforts to help others to the attainment and enjoyment
+of it.
+
+Heaven, then, is represented in the Bible as a place of _perfect beauty,
+perfect security, perfect rest and perfect joy_.
+
+It is so represented as to appeal to the desires and longings of all
+classes of people. To the inhabitant of the city, what could be more
+pleasing than the freedom and freshness and beauty of the country? So
+heaven is described as having its landscapes, with its fruit-bearing
+trees, its crystal rivers and gurgling fountains. But for the rustic
+peasant, it is said to be a resplendent city, with walls of sapphire and
+gates of pearl and streets of gold.
+
+But in some respects we are all alike.
+
+We want to be free from sin and danger.
+
+To a Christian heart, sin is the most abhorred and dreadful of all
+things. It gives more pain and causes more darkness than any other
+cause; and the fear of it causes more suspense than the fear of all
+bodily suffering.
+
+But in heaven we shall be free from sin, and free from all fear of sin
+and all liability to sin. For nothing that defileth or maketh a lie can
+ever enter there; and they who are so happy as to gain heaven shall go
+out no more forever.
+
+We all dread sorrow and grief and pain. And truly we all have our share
+of it in this life. "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward."
+"Man is of few days and full of trouble," but we leave it all behind
+when we go in at the gate of the City of God. "And there shall be no
+more sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the
+former things are passed away." Christians in this world feel that they
+are pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land, away from their home and
+their Father's house. Their hearts have been so changed, and they have
+tasted of the powers of the world to come, and have come into communion
+with God, so that neither the pleasures of the world nor the friendships
+of earth can content them--their hearts are not here, but away in
+heaven.
+
+I heard a Christian man say, not long ago (though he has a sweet family
+and many friends), that he felt that day an unutterable loneliness, as
+if he were an exile. His heart had such a longing for his Father and his
+kindred and his home beyond the skies. Oh, the sympathy and love and
+tenderness we know we shall get at home! It makes us all feel a thrill
+that responds to the poet's immortal lines:
+
+    "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
+
+And all the sympathy and tenderness of father, mother, brother and
+sister are transcended by the sympathy and tenderness of God, for
+marvelous to tell it is said that "God _Himself_ shall wipe away all
+tears from our eyes."
+
+And how we thirst for _knowledge_ here. We know nothing now. We are
+surrounded on all sides by things we do not understand. If we undertake
+to investigate, we soon reach the limit of our capacity and have to stop
+before we have learned anything. "But then we shall know as also we are
+known."
+
+What it means, when it says we shall "sit down at the marriage supper of
+the Lamb" we know not, nor what it implies when it says we are to "enter
+into the joy of our Lord;" nor do we understand that wonderful saying,
+"Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
+many things." No, no; now we see through a glass darkly, but then face
+to face, and "it doth not yet appear what we shall be." But we know that
+"if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him." The suffering comes
+first, the humiliation first, the toil and weariness, the _cross_ first,
+and then the crown. Peter the Great, of Russia, during one of his wars,
+was separated from his army and lost, and, to escape detection, took off
+his royal apparel and dressed in common garb. In his wanderings he came
+to a humble cottage, and was kindly received and ministered unto by the
+peasant woman, who knew not who he was. She gave him a home until danger
+was passed, and then helped him to get back to his capital. When the war
+was ended, Peter sent for this poor peasant woman, brought her to his
+splendid court, and, marrying her, made her the partner of his throne
+and his empire. She who had ministered to him in his sufferings now
+reigned with him as Queen Catherine, of Russia.
+
+So, my brethren, see that you serve Christ, suffer for Him; spend and be
+spent for His cause, and _then_, oh, then, how sweet to rest and reign
+forevermore.
+
+
+ECCLESIASTES XII: 13.
+
+     Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and
+     keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
+
+Now, boys, here is a piece of advice given by the wisest of men. Can any
+of you tell me who was the wisest man? (Solomon.) Well this Solomon was
+the son of a king. Can any of you tell me whose son Solomon was?
+(David's.) And, of course, Solomon had all that money could buy from his
+childhood up; and when his father died, he became king in his place. He
+lived to be an old man and he had a wide experience of life. In other
+words he tried everything that he thought he could get happiness from
+and his experience is given in the book of Ecclesiastes. He tried all
+sorts of pleasures and he tried them fully, because there was nothing to
+hinder or to check him. He denied himself nothing that his heart
+desired. He knew fully the effects of all sorts of enjoyment and when he
+had passed through it all he wrote it down as the lesson of his
+experience for all boys and young men to read. And what was it? Does he
+say "Young man, you have a long life before you. Now you must enjoy the
+pleasures of life while you are young?" Does he say you must run off
+from your father's house and presence like the Prodigal son did, so you
+can have a good time in the enjoyment of the pleasures of the world and
+then in your after life, when you get more settled, you can think about
+your Creator and death and heaven and hell and eternity? Was that the
+lesson which his long and extended experience taught him? Ah, no. It
+was a far different one. He would say this: "Young men, boys, I have
+been all over the road you are traveling now. I have had your feelings,
+your hopes, your ambitions, your passions, your temptations. And in one
+part of my life I concluded I would give myself up to the enjoyment of
+pleasure of every kind and I did so. And I know all about it and this is
+what I would say to you all just starting out. Remember _now_ your
+Creator in the days of your _youth_ and give your hearts _and lives_ to
+Him, if you want to be happy."
+
+1. In the first place by so doing you will avoid wretched poverty. For a
+man whose heart and life are given to God can not be a spendthrift. But
+just look at some young men how they spend their money or that of their
+fathers. However large a fortune they may have, they soon come to
+_poverty_.
+
+And a man whose life is given to God is industrious and loves to work.
+He can not bear to be idle, for he knows and _feels_ it to be a great
+sin. Besides all this God promises to see that those who live for Him
+shall not want what is best for them. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
+declares that if God provides for sparrows and clothes lilies, He will
+be sure to see to the needs of His own children. So the way to get the
+best assurance that you will be blessed with things needful in this life
+is to give yourself up to God to be His, through thick and thin.
+
+2. If you give your heart to God _now_, you will be kept from the sins
+which bring men into _disgrace_. "A good name is rather to be chosen
+than riches." Ah! you know not into what awful sins your passions will
+plunge you, if you do not get the control of yourself, which only
+religion can give. You may be led along little by little, almost without
+knowing it, till you may wake up to find that you can not, _can not_,
+break off from your sins--your hated and ruinous sins. But if you give
+God your heart to be changed, renewed, purified _now_, you will avoid
+all these awful dangers.
+
+3. But this verse says "the years will draw nigh in which thou shalt
+take no pleasure in these things that relate to God." My dear young
+friend, that is terribly true. The longer you live away from God the
+less and less will be your care for Him and for your soul. How few old
+men ever turn to God! Yes, very few, forty years of age and over, ever
+do so. I heard Dr. Munhall ask once, in a large congregation, that all
+who were converted after seventy years of age would stand up. Not one
+stood up. Then he asked that all who had been converted after they were
+sixty years of age would stand up. Not one stood up. Then he asked all
+who were converted after fifty years to stand up. Only one, I believe,
+did so. When he asked all who were converted after forty years to stand
+up, only three or four did so. When he asked all converted after thirty
+years to stand up, perhaps eight or ten did so. A few more had been
+converted after twenty years of age; but when he asked all who were
+converted _under_ twenty years to stand, most of the congregation arose.
+
+True, I was converted after I was forty years of age, but it was a bare
+chance. And oh, how hard it was for me. And if I had not had the most
+patient of friends to sympathize with me, encourage me and guide me, I
+should never have gotten along. I beg you do not follow my example in
+putting off your return to God.
+
+Look at the men _whom you know_. How little interest they take in
+religion and their interest grows less and less all the time. The years
+have already come when they have no pleasure in the things of God. They
+have encouraged all their feelings, desires and ambitions but this, and
+this has almost died out. They have devoted all their thought and
+affections to making money and enjoying it, to seeking pleasure and
+enjoying it, to acquiring fame and enjoying it, and so their hearts are
+completely hardened and insensible to the religion which they cast aside
+ten, twenty or thirty years ago. And they will probably _never_ feel the
+all-absorbing interest in religion which is necessary to obtain it.
+Hence, they will go on blinder and blinder, colder and colder, more and
+more hardened down to old age and to the grave and to a hopeless
+eternity. I beg you, my young friends, all who hear me to put off your
+return to God not one day longer.
+
+     NOTE.--The address, of which this is the outline, was delivered
+     on a Sunday-school occasion and is a specimen of Mr. Holcombe's
+     talks to young people.--ED.
+
+
+MARK II: 15.
+
+     "And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house,
+     many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His
+     disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him."
+
+1. This class of persons _feel_ that they are outcast, and not
+recognized by those who are esteemed the good. Hence, they feel
+backward, and will not make advances toward the good for fear of being
+slighted.
+
+2. If those who are looked upon and honored as good and pious and pure,
+will show that they _want_ to be friendly and sociable, it will take
+these persons by surprise, and will win their feelings--and this is
+nearly half the battle.
+
+3. Besides, if the good, instead of waiting for these sinners to make
+advances, which they will not do, will take pains to show their interest
+in the welfare of these, their unfortunate brothers, it will make them
+believe that the pious are sincere, and not hypocritical, and that
+religion is a reality and not a mere profession. This is a great step
+toward gaining them. Most of this class believe in the Gospel in some
+vague sense, but it is too vague to amount to anything. But when they
+see the grand principle of the Gospel--_Love_--embodied in the
+Christian, and coming after them in their lost condition, it makes an
+impression, and it moves them to _action_. You can not drive men, nor
+can you convince them by abusing them and by shutting them out as too
+vile to be your associates. This only drives them further away. But all
+men have a chord in their natures that can be touched by love and
+kindness. It was this gentleness and sympathy that drew the thousands
+around John Wesley. It was this wonderful tenderness that made the
+publicans and sinners and harlots, the outcast and the low and the vile
+seek the company of the loving Jesus and press into His presence, even
+when He was the guest of the great and noble of His day. They knew Jesus
+would never repulse them--they knew He would love them, help them, save
+them.
+
+    "Down in the human heart
+    Crushed by the Tempter,
+    Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
+    Touched by a loving hand, wakened by kindness,
+    Chords that were broken will vibrate once more."
+
+4. There has to be such an interest felt for those of this class as will
+make you cease to care for what people will say about your going among
+them and working with them. This was the sort of interest Jesus had for
+them.
+
+5. Imagine your own dear son to be one of this number, and see what
+feelings you would have, what earnestness and what planning. These are
+some of the ways and means of getting at this class of persons. For we
+have to use means and reason in all things.
+
+6. But the _agent_, the only one who can accomplish anything is _God's
+Holy Spirit_, and the Holy Spirit comes _only_ in answer to prayer and
+trust. Prayer is to be first and second and third and everywhere and
+always, and then we may hope that our plans will succeed.
+
+
+PREPARATION FOR WINNING SOULS.
+
+I am sure, my dear brethren, that in the discussion of this topic we are
+to be allowed some liberty and some latitude; and, if I shall speak in a
+general way, I trust I shall not be counted out of order. And, not to
+detain you with preliminaries, I say that, to be a winner of souls, a
+man must have the anointing of the Holy One, reproducing the mind that
+was in Christ, who "though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor,
+that we through His poverty might become rich," and who "being in the
+form of God, thought it not a usurpation to be equal with God, but He
+emptied Himself and took upon Him the form of a servant; and being found
+in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient as far as
+unto death, even death on a cross."
+
+A sympathy that arises from any other motive, or comes from any other
+source, than His divine and supernatural anointing, will fall short of
+the mark, and will be found too shallow and weak to bear with the
+hardheartedness, the perversity and the ingratitude of sinful men.
+
+This anointing, on the other hand, brings with it a yearning love and a
+profound sympathy for those who are in the blindness and bondage of sin,
+which impels one to _seek out_ the lost, to be at patient pains to save
+them, and to bear with all their dullness, slothfulness, selfishness,
+perverseness and thanklessness, while they are under training, so to
+speak.
+
+It makes a man as ready and anxious to save the soul of a solitary
+sinner, however humble and degraded he may be, as to preach with power
+to the great congregations. It was this that made John Wesley as willing
+and careful and patient in talking to a negro servant girl as to a
+multitude. And it was this which lead a greater than John Wesley to lead
+with patient love along, the poor Samaritan adulteress whom He met at
+the well of Jacob.
+
+But what is more important and imperative for the immediate work of
+getting a dead soul to a living Saviour, this divine anointing imparts
+that peculiar and energetic pungency which pierces to the heart and
+conscience of a sinner, rouses his fears, and prepares him for the
+reception of Christ.
+
+Not only so, this unction from the Holy One is accompanied with a
+practical wisdom and _insight_ which discerns, if not all things, yet,
+at least, _many practical things_. It enables a man to see that the
+first thing to be done in the way of saving a sinner is to convict him
+of sin. To get him to admit theoretically that he is a sinner, is equal
+to zero, amounts to nothing. But, in a way not to repel him, he must be
+made to _feel_ that he is sinful, and so, wretched. It is wonderful what
+tact some men have in this respect. Here lies, undoubtedly, the secret
+of Sam Jones' power. He turns all classes of men, Pharisees in the
+church and sinners out of it, inside out, and makes them see, in spite
+of all spiritual apathy and all self-deception, what they are. He shows
+them secrets which they thought nobody knew but themselves.
+
+But a greater than he did the same thing--Jesus touched the _sore spot_
+in the conscience of the Samaritan woman and compelled her to say: "He
+told me all things that I have done." This revealing the secrets of the
+heart is a thing that fascinates and attracts and wins a sinner; and he
+feels, if you know so well without being told, all the particulars of
+his inner life and all the desperate trouble of his case, you surely can
+not make a mistake in pointing out the way of escape. Just as a patient
+yields immediate and unquestioning confidence to the physician who can
+tell him all his symptoms and describe his feelings better than he
+himself can do it.
+
+If preaching the love of Christ without convicting of sin would have
+saved people, then most people in the United States would have been
+saved long ago, for the love of Christ has been told and retold and
+preached and re-preached, and it does not bring sinners to repentance.
+To be sure there are some sinners who have found, by bitter experience,
+the ripe fruits of sin, and these may be already prepared to accept a
+deliverer and a deliverance as soon as offered to them.
+
+The possession of this unction presupposes that a man is correct,
+upright, holy in his life; for God would not give it to one who was not
+so. I believe Mr. Moody was right when he said: "If a man's life is not
+above reproach, the less he says the better." A friend of mine says he
+knows a minister who, though no doubt a good man and a fine talker, will
+_lie_ now and then. Of course, he would not call it lying, nor would his
+admirers call it lying, but lying it is; and so he has no power. His
+preaching is like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
+
+There are some men who have some little success in soul-saving, but who
+would have much more success, if their lives were thoroughly holy, and
+Christlike. And indeed some men would not have the success they do have,
+if the public knew their secret life. For example, there are some men
+who indulge evil thoughts (if they do not go further) and who are not
+chaste in their associations with women; and there are others who are
+ill-tempered, cross, fault-finding, sour and bitter in their home life.
+If these things were publicly and generally known, they would lose what
+power they have with the people. Brethren, we can hardly be too careful
+of these things. But a full and constant anointing of the Holy One would
+correct all these evils at the _source_, namely, in the heart. It makes
+a sober Christian man tremble to know how little some of the preachers
+and evangelists of the day _pray_. It would be no wonder if under stress
+of some sudden and strong temptation, they should fall into scandalous
+sin and disgrace themselves and the cause they represent. There is an
+old and true saying that "when a man's life is lightning, his words will
+be thunderbolts."
+
+We are advised to make ourselves familiar with the Scriptures, to equip
+ourselves with weapons from the armory of God's word; and excellent
+advice it is.
+
+No man can maintain a spiritual life who does not habitually and
+diligently study God's holy word. No man is prepared to understand the
+wants of souls or to deal with them who is not familiar with the
+Scriptures. It is a marked characteristic of our honored brother, D. L.
+Moody, that he can, not only discern the deeper, inner spiritual sense
+of all the Scriptures, both of the Old Testament and the New, but he
+can handle and apply them with a skill, effectiveness and power that are
+truly wonderful. And, what is more, he is peculiarly apt in selecting
+just the right passages for any particular case or occasion. He is truly
+a masterly handler of the sword of the spirit, and his success is
+largely due to this fact.
+
+But there is a class of workers who seem to think that it is sufficient
+to know by heart some Scriptures, or to have a certain facility in
+referring to different passages, and they rely upon this, congratulating
+themselves that they are doing well. But it is all perfunctory and
+lifeless and dead. There is no charm, no warmth, no power in it. A man
+must be more than a mechanical text-peddler in order to impress, arouse,
+comfort and save the souls of men. You may pitch cold lead at a man all
+day long and never break his skin; but let a full charge of ignited
+gunpowder drive it out of a well-aimed rifle, and the effect is
+terrific. So these text-mongers may throw Scripture at people all day
+long, and they laugh at it. But let the same missile be hurled forth
+with the energy of a soul on fire of the Holy Ghost, and the slain of
+the Lord will be many.
+
+So, my brother, there is absolutely no substitute for this unction of
+the Holy Spirit. And this unction is given in answer to self-denying and
+daily prayer.
+
+If we would know the secret of power with men, we _must_ spend much time
+in secret communion with God.
+
+     NOTE.--This address is one of two delivered by Mr. Holcombe
+     before the convention of Christian workers of United States and
+     Canada in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, September 21-28,
+     1887.--ED.
+
+
+THE MISSION--PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
+
+I. THE PAST.
+
+Two years ago I was working in the Fire Department of the city, because
+I could get nothing else to do. The close and slavish confinement, the
+necessity of being always at my place, both of nights and Sundays, and
+the consequent lack of opportunity to do anything for the cause of my
+Master, made it almost intolerable for me, and several times I made up
+my mind I would give up the place, even though I had nothing else to
+fall back on for a living for myself and family. But through the advice
+of friends and the help of God, I was kept from that rash step. However,
+I determined I must do something for my Lord and for the men of my
+acquaintance and former occupation who would not, I knew, go inside of a
+church. So, though I was getting under sixty dollars a month, and had a
+large family to support, I determined to rent a room at my own expense
+in the central part of the city for holding Gospel meetings, and to hire
+a substitute to take my place in the Fire Department when I was absent
+and engaged in the work of my Lord.
+
+I made known my plans to my former pastor, and he became interested and
+promised to help me. He was living in the country, and hardly ever
+attended the preachers' meeting here on Mondays; but it happened on the
+next Monday after I told him of my purpose that he was at the preachers'
+meeting, and, on my name being mentioned by some one present, he took
+occasion to speak at length of my conversion, trials, poverty; my
+intense yearning to engage entirely in the work of God, and my immediate
+purpose to commence Gospel meetings in entire dependence on God alone
+for help. He went so far as to ask the preachers present to speak of the
+matter to their members and make an effort to get assistance from them
+for the expenses of my proposed work. But one of the preachers present,
+though saying very little at the time, was moved to lay before his
+official board a proposition not to _assist_ in paying the expenses of
+such a plan of work, but to take me from the Fire Department and pay me
+a regular salary and defray all the other necessary expenses of such a
+Mission work as my heart was set on doing. And his official members were
+_also moved_ to agree to his proposition, and when he came to me and
+told me of what had taken place, I was constrained to say: "This is
+God's doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes." So the very thing I
+desired above all other things; the very thing I should have chosen if I
+could have had my wish, was brought to pass. And I saw that by waiting
+God's time, He rewarded me in granting me the desire of my heart, and
+meanwhile I had learned lessons of patience and preparation that I could
+not have learned so well anywhere else. (Mr. Holcombe went on to speak
+of the beginning of his work in the Tyler Block, with the assistance and
+co-operation of Rev. Mr. Morris; of the results accomplished during that
+first period; of the removal of the Mission to Jefferson street, between
+Fourth and Fifth streets, and the results accomplished there, and,
+lastly, of the removal to the present building, etc. See his life.)
+
+
+II. THE PRESENT.
+
+At present we have the house on Jefferson street. We have a
+Sunday-school of scholars who do not attend any other school, and would
+not. It is supplied with able and devoted teachers, such as Brother
+Atmore and others. The devotion of Brother Atmore is shown by his
+refusing to leave his class one Sunday to go to the Masonic Temple
+during Sam Jones' meetings. The children show a wonderful improvement
+since they have been coming to the Sunday-school. Brother Atmore's boys
+were almost unmanageable at first, but they are now so changed that it
+is very noticeable. This Sunday-school feature of the work is one of the
+most important and promising parts of it, and we believe the results to
+be accomplished by it _alone_ will amply repay all the outlay of labor,
+time and means that has been made in the enterprise. We have also a
+reading-room in connection with the Mission-room, where we have papers,
+magazines, books, etc. The words of invitation and welcome painted on
+the door have drawn in some who, but for the reception, sympathy and
+help which they found there, might have gone on in their wretchedness to
+suicide.
+
+While we furnish lodging, food, etc., to those who are destitute, yet it
+is with a view to their spiritual welfare and ultimate salvation. And so
+soon as we find a man is availing himself of our charity with no
+intention or effort to become a Christian, we let him go.
+
+
+III. THE FUTURE.
+
+In looking at the past, we find there are several plain and striking
+results of the work. The most apparent is the radical and astonishing
+change for the better that has taken place in the cases of many unhappy
+men and their families. Two years ago these men "sat in darkness and in
+the shadow of death," being bound in affliction and iron, because they
+rebelled against the laws of God. Therefore He brought down their
+hearts. They fell down and there was none to help. And none but
+themselves and God knew the bitterness of their bondage and the depth of
+their dark and unrelieved despair. But they were brought into contact
+with a new force and a new agency by means of the efforts and sympathy
+and instructions of those engaged in this work, and to-day their old
+life with its bitterness and bondage and darkness is left behind from
+one to two years in a path that, it is hoped, is not to be retraced
+forever, and now these men are happy again, and some of them prosperous
+in business. And what shall be said of their families--their wives and
+children, innocent sufferers from the vices of husbands and fathers?
+
+Husband is husband again, father is father again, and the long dark
+night of hopeless sorrow and bitter tears has ended--ended at last, and
+ended, let us hope and pray, forever.
+
+But if it be also true, as He said, who spake as never man spake, that
+it profits nothing to gain the whole world and lose one's own soul; if
+there is for the unsaved an undying worm and an unquenchable fire, and
+for the saved an inheritance of joy that is incorruptible and a glory
+that fadeth never more away, then where or how shall we _begin_ to
+compute the result of this mission work? It is recorded in eternity, and
+only the unfolding of eternity can unfold the good that has thus far
+been done.
+
+But aside from these direct results, there is another one which can not
+be estimated, namely the demonstration of the power of the Gospel to do
+for helpless, enslaved, lost men what nothing else in the universe can
+do. There is naturally in the hearts of men a doubt as to the divinity
+of that religion which fails to do what it proposes to do, and so in
+times of religious deadness, men lose faith, and unbelief grows stronger
+and more stubborn in proportion as they see no actual instances of the
+power of the Gospel to save bad men. But when bad men have been reached
+and quickened and convicted and made holy by the Gospel, then the tide
+turns and faith becomes natural and easy and contagious, not to say
+necessary. Many of my old companions were brought to believe in the
+Gospel when I was changed by it; and now when scores of the worst cases
+in Louisville have been reached and saved, and have _stayed saved_ so
+long, men are brought back from unbelief to faith, and naturally turn to
+the Gospel with increasing hope.
+
+But this return of faith has not only been noticeable in the case of the
+unsaved classes, the churches have seen this work, and have had their
+faith in the divine power of the Gospel to save all men increased, and a
+corresponding activity is witnessed among many of the churches in the
+city. They have learned also that to save lost men we must, like Jesus,
+not wait for them to come to us, but we must go to them and after them,
+just as has been done in this work.
+
+There is a passage in Malachi which says, "Bring all the tithes into my
+storehouse and prove me herewith if I will not open the windows of
+heaven and pour you out such a blessing there shall not be room enough
+to receive it."
+
+This Walnut-street church, led by its devoted pastor, was willing to
+accept God's challenge, and they brought the tithes, they laid down
+their money, they made the venture, and God has given them a great
+blessing.
+
+But this is only the pledge of far greater blessings yet to be given
+them, if they will continue to honor God, by the faith that lays upon
+His altar, sacrifices that cost something and amount to something.
+
+Let us not stop to congratulate ourselves upon what has been done and
+rest satisfied with that, but accept it only as an indication of what He
+will do for us if we have faith to claim a deep wide-spread and
+continuous revival.
+
+     NOTE.--The foregoing is the substance of an address delivered
+     by request of the Directors of the Mission on the occasion of a
+     reunion of the converts and mass-meeting of the Christian
+     people of Louisville, in the Walnut-street Methodist Church, in
+     April, 1886.--ED.
+
+
+CHRISTIAN WORKERS.
+
+     From September 21st to 28th, the second convention of Christian
+     Workers in the United States and Canada was held in Broadway
+     Tabernacle, New York City. From the published report of the
+     proceedings, this speech of the Rev. S. P. Holcombe is taken:
+
+It would be presumptuous in me to stand up here and say how you should
+conduct a "Gospel Meeting." I do not propose to do that; but will simply
+tell you how, for six years, I have conducted one at Louisville,
+Kentucky, and with some success. I say some success, for we
+have succeeded in gaining the confidence and respect of all
+classes--preachers, Christians, gamblers, drunkards and infidels. Not
+only have we succeeded in reaching the hearts of the people, but also
+their pocket-books.
+
+Beginning in a basement room, at a rent of twenty dollars per month, we
+now own a building of thirty rooms. As an instance of the respect all
+classes have for our work, while we were negotiating for this property a
+German Singing Society also wanted it. This kept the price up above our
+figures.
+
+I called on the President of the Club, who is an infidel, told him I
+wanted that property for my Mission work. Said he: "Mr. Holcombe, I am
+not a Christian, neither do I believe in the churches, but I do believe
+in the kind of work that you are doing. I shall withdraw until the
+Holcombe Mission is done." We soon had the property.
+
+Since my conversion I have tried to be a man, just as much as before. As
+Dr. Pentecost said the other day: "When I put off the old man, I did
+not put on the old woman," and by this I mean no disrespect to the dear
+old women, for many of them have more manhood in them than some of us
+men, and my wife is one of them. What I mean is, that since I have
+become a Christian I have not lost any of my manhood.
+
+When I was a gambler, I had gambling houses all over the country. The
+object was to get other people's money without giving them any
+equivalent, in order to gratify my base passion. I could not, of course,
+call on the police for protection, as my business was not legitimate.
+Hence, I had to protect myself, which I did at all hazards.
+
+So, when I opened a house for the Lord, to win souls for Him, I
+determined I would take care of it at any cost. I think some who are
+engaged in Christian work are too stilted, others are too lax. I have
+tried to be both stiff and limber; when it was a matter of no
+consequence, to bend like the willow; when it was something vital to my
+Master's cause, to be as stiff as steel. In other words I have tried to
+be "all things to all men" that I might win some.
+
+I think all Missions ought to have a leader. Ours has one. I am the
+leader of the meetings. Not that I do all the talking, but I look out
+for the details.
+
+I have a time for opening and a time for closing the meeting, and I
+always close at the time. If my opening time is 7:30, I begin the
+meeting if there is no one there but myself, which, however, has never
+occurred; and if my closing hour is at 9 o'clock, I close at 9--not
+9:30 or 10. We have in Louisville a class of poor people who attend the
+Mission and who work every day. They must be at their places of labor at
+an early hour in the morning. They love to be at the meeting, and when
+they know that they will be dismissed promptly, they will come. I feel
+that if I were to keep these men and women up till 10, 11 or 12 o'clock,
+and let them get up at 5 and go to a hard day's work, while I lie in bed
+until 8 or 9, that I would be a robber.
+
+Now, I do not say that I go home at 9 o'clock; for if there is a single
+one anxious enough about his soul's eternal salvation to stay till the
+dawning of the morning, I will remain with him. I simply say that I have
+a time for opening and a time for closing, and I keep promptly to it.
+
+I have no set way of conducting the meetings. I try to take advantage of
+the situation and do the best I can under the circumstances.
+
+We always have a Scripture lesson read and a few remarks by the leader.
+If I ask him to speak twenty minutes, I mean twenty minutes; and, if he
+is a bishop, I will stop him when his time is up. I don't ask you to
+agree that this is right--I am only telling you how I conduct a Gospel
+meeting. After this we have Christians to give their experience, never
+allowing more than three minutes, and I make it my business to know what
+kind of lives those who testify are living. If one gets up and begins to
+talk about the love of Jesus, who I know has that day been drinking, or
+in a house of prostitution, I stop him right there. I do not allow him
+to talk, and injure the cause, and then tell him afterward. I say,
+"Brother, we don't want to hear from you to-night," and so I stop him at
+once.
+
+I am very careful as to who testifies in my meetings and what they say.
+If a man who is not a Christian undertakes to exhort others to become
+Christians, I stop him, because he is trying to talk about something of
+which he knows nothing, and this is one of the hardest things in the
+world to do.
+
+Where everybody is invited to take part in a meeting, we are apt to have
+cranks to deal with. They must be checked and kept down rather than
+encouraged. By cranks I mean those who have eccentric and unsound views,
+and think that nobody else can know as well about these things as
+themselves.
+
+I was holding a series of Gospel meetings in Atlanta, Ga., on one
+occasion, and had been talking from Acts ii., 38, "And ye shall receive
+the gift of the Holy Ghost." In the address I undertook, as best I
+could, to show that He, the Holy Ghost, convinces men of sin, and that
+He reveals Jesus to poor sinners as their sin bearer and life giver, and
+that it is He that produces that change in men which we call conversion
+or regeneration or the new birth; and that He, the Holy Ghost, is the
+comforter of God's people, in their loneliness and trials and conflicts
+here in this world of exile, as well as our teacher to guide us into the
+truth. When I had gotten through, I said, "Now we will have short talks
+from others, and no one will talk more than three minutes." Up jumped a
+street preacher, who began saying that I had been talking about the
+Holy Ghost, but I did not know what I was talking about. He knew all
+about Him, and would tell them about Him. (This was pretty trying, but I
+kept mum, however.) He then began a harangue. When his time was up, I
+stopped him. "You are going to limit the Holy Ghost, are you? You are
+going to take the responsibility of stopping Him, are you?" "No, but I
+am going to stop you, and that at once." And at once he stopped.
+
+I never allow those who testify to abuse others. Some will begin to talk
+about the gambling hells. I stop them and say: "No man will go farther
+to stop these things than I, but this is not the place for that kind of
+talk." Others, as soon as they are converted, begin to find fault with
+the churches, and abuse the ministers. I do not approve of this, and I
+discourage it. I am sorry to know that many who are conducting Gospel
+meetings are inclined to find fault with Christians, magnifying
+themselves and their work and underrating the churches and the work of
+their faithful pastors.
+
+Some of these Mission workers have spent the best part of their lives in
+sin, never looking into the Bible--have been converted only a short
+time; have had a little success; got the big-head, and think they know
+better how to do God's work than those dear men who have been good all
+their lives and made a study of God's Word.
+
+My dear brethren, in the Mission work, we must remember that all who
+have ever done any mighty work for God have been trained for it, and
+trained slowly. Moses, you remember, when he was going to his work down
+in Egypt, commenced killing people. He was the great chieftain, and was
+going to deliver his brethren by killing his enemies. This was not the
+way God wanted it done. God saw that there was good material in Moses,
+and that He could use him, but he must be trained. So He sent him away
+to the solitudes of Horeb and Sinai, and kept him there forty years.
+Then when God called him to go down and bring His people out, he had
+learned the lesson God wanted him to learn, had gotten down in the dust,
+was humbled, and he said: "Who am I, Lord?" Moses had gotten more of the
+Holy Ghost. The more we get of the Holy Ghost the closer we get to God.
+The more we see of Him, and the more we see of God, the less we think of
+ourselves; the more insignificant we become in our own eyes.
+
+The Twelve had a grand work to do, but they were slowly trained for it.
+So, then, let us young converts, whose work God has honored and blessed,
+be very careful how we magnify ourselves, and underrate the regular
+ministry. These men are doing a noble work in their respective fields,
+and they are just as ready and willing to take hold of the poor outcast
+as we Mission workers are.
+
+There are preachers who are occupying pulpits, where they are getting
+twenty-five hundred or three thousand dollars a year, and they are doing
+just as much to save poor drunkards as we ignorant, humble Mission
+workers are.
+
+You who were at the Chicago Convention last year remember what Dr.
+Lawrence told us about taking one of these poor, wretched drunkards to
+his beautiful home; how, notwithstanding he was full of vermin, he had
+him take a bath, burned his clothes, put clean ones on him, gave him a
+bed and took care of him as a brother. I tell you, my friends, I was
+touched by that story as well as taught a valuable lesson. I know of
+many instances of the same kind that I might tell.
+
+You remember Dr. John A. Broadus, a well-known Baptist minister in
+Louisville. I know him well. He has been one of my best friends. Not
+very long before I left home, a drunkard came to the Mission and showed
+me a note from Dr. Broadus, saying: "This man has called on me for help.
+I do not like to give him any money, as he is under the influence of
+liquor. Give him whatever you think best, and I will settle the bill." I
+asked the man, as I knew him well: "How did you happen to go to Dr.
+Broadus?" "Because I had heard so many say that he had helped them." I
+gave him nothing. My friends, we must not underrate the willingness of
+the preachers to help the poor outcast, for they are much interested in
+their very welfare.
+
+I love the Missions and the Mission work. Just at this present time, the
+Missions have got a boom over the country, but if we are not very
+careful how we talk and act, the Missions will suffer. And the only
+reason some of them have not quit already is because those who support
+them, for want of time to hunt up real results, have had to take printed
+reports.
+
+It is easy for us to find fault with Christians, rich Christians, and
+say they are cold and indifferent about the souls of men, but the
+history of the church proves that this is a great mistake. These
+Missions have to be supported by rich Christians, and when you find a
+man that has got much money, you will find that he is not a fool. He is
+generally a man with a long head and farsightedness. He wants to see
+where his money is going, and what is being done with it. If you use it
+properly, he will give it liberally. If he finds that you are one of
+those fellows that want to give his money to every beggar that comes
+along, he will stop his subscription at once. These are simple facts. If
+we want this Mission work to succeed we have got to be very careful.
+
+I never allow any begging in my Mission, I don't care how pitiable the
+object may be. When tramps want food, I send them to the wood yard to
+work for it. If men will not work, neither shall they eat of the money
+intrusted to me for spiritual work.
+
+I have no indiscriminate praying. When I want a prayer, I want to know
+something about the man or woman who is to make it. I ask some one who,
+I have good reason to believe, is a true Christian, that is, who walks
+and talks with God. I do not care about their name or denomination. I
+feel that there is a great responsibility in going to God for these poor
+sinners, and I want the best man or woman that I can get to talk to God
+for them. I say: "I am going to call on some one to pray. I don't want
+you to pray for Africans, Chinese or any other of the heathen nations
+here. When you go home, you can pray for them all night if you want to,
+but now we want you to pray for this special work."
+
+I believe in good singing, and try to have it. I would like to have a
+hundred in the choir. I seldom have over two persons. I suppose the
+reason is that I will not allow any one to sit on my platform and sing
+these sweet hymns unless I have good reason to believe they are living
+pure, holy, consistent Christian lives. I think the man or woman who
+sits in the choir ought to be as good as he who stands in the pulpit.
+
+Some will come to me and say: "So-and-so is a fine singer; has such a
+fine voice." "What church does he or she belong to?" "Oh, they are not
+members." "Well, then, excuse me, if you please." "But that might save
+them!" "I shall not try the experiment."
+
+I have polite ushers to welcome the people, and to shake hands with them
+as they come in and also as they go out, and invite them back. They are
+also supplied with tracts for distribution, tracts that have passed
+under my observation, as I allow nobody to distribute tracts unless I
+know what they are.
+
+I try to keep the run of the converts; in fact, I try to know all about
+them. I try to get them into some church of their choice, that one which
+they will feel the most at home in and where they will get the right
+sort of care. It is a very easy thing to get one of these poor
+drunkards, who hasn't got any place to sleep or anything to eat, to say,
+"I am going to try and be a better man and follow Christ!" It is a very
+easy thing, I say, and the poor fellows mean it. But, oh! my friends,
+how hard it is to get them up to the sticking point. They want to be
+watched over and given the very best nursing. If I had not had the very
+best care and nursing of one of the most godly of ministers, I do not
+think I should be standing before you to-day a Christian man.
+
+I try to follow them up and help the pastors to nurse them. In order to
+keep track of them we use a book, something like a bank check-book. When
+they want to unite with some church, we give them a certificate of
+introduction. In it I ask the pastor to let me know when it is
+presented. On the stub I take the man's name, age, residence, where
+from, to whom introduced, with space for remarks as to future career,
+etc. If he has a home, we visit him at his home, and if he has not, I
+invite him to visit me at my home at any time, day or night, which is in
+the same building over the Mission, and we talk together and pray
+together.
+
+QUESTION. "Will you please state whether you ever recommend fasting as a
+means of keeping the body under?"
+
+ANSWER. "I think it is a good idea. I think fasting a good thing to keep
+the body under. Owing to my poverty, since I have become a Christian, I
+have had little to feed on. This necessary self-denial has enabled me to
+keep my poor body down, and from betraying me into sin. No man was ever
+a greater slave to his passions than I. My passion for gambling was so
+great I would have committed murder to gratify it. I was very
+licentious. I just gave loose reins to my passions; but to-day, I thank
+God, I can stand up before you and say that I am complete master of
+myself. I know it is a help to live a plain life."
+
+Q. "How many meetings a week do you hold?"
+
+A. "We have them every night."
+
+Q. "Do the men go to the churches when you send them? Do you prepare
+them?"
+
+A. "I do not hurry them into the churches. And yet I don't say they must
+be converted before they go in. When a man is sick of sin, willing to
+give it up, I think he is about as ready for the church as we can get
+him."
+
+Q. "Do you have much or little Bible reading in the services?"
+
+A. "We do not have much Bible reading. I know that it is the power of
+God unto salvation; but the class of men who attend Missions, as a rule,
+are in no condition to be profited by a long Bible reading. The mission
+of the Missions is to stop these men in their downward course, put them
+to thinking, get them into churches; then have the Bible read and
+explained to them by those who are more competent than I am."
+
+Q. "How long do you hold service?"
+
+A. "Exactly one hour and a half; never more, sometimes a little less.
+The first half hour is taken up in prayer and singing, the other hour in
+exhortation and testimonies and prayers for the inquirers. After
+dismissing, we remain with any anxious ones."
+
+Q. "When do you have your converts' meeting?"
+
+A. "Every Sunday morning, beginning at 9:30 o'clock and closing at
+10:30, in time for them to get to church."
+
+Q. "Do the churches take good care of the converts?"
+
+A. "As a rule, yes. Some better than others."
+
+Q. "Do the converts come to your Mission after they have joined the
+church?"
+
+A. "Oh, yes, sir. They feel more at home in the Mission than they do in
+church, because it was there they entered upon the Christian life. Many
+of our Christian workers make a great mistake. They find fault with the
+churches because they don't receive these tramps--I must call them
+tramps--in their filthy condition and give them the best seats, etc. I
+want to say right here that a clean church, where clean people go, is no
+place for a body of tramps. We must remember, my friends, that people
+who are clean, who have good clothes and clean homes, also have some
+rights to be considered. I say it is not right to take these people into
+a fine church, and put them side by side with the clean ones until they
+themselves are thoroughly clean. I took fifty or sixty of them into a
+church once, but afterward I was aware that I had made a great mistake.
+The Mission is the place to clean them up, and then send them to a clean
+church, and they will feel better themselves, and be warmly welcomed by
+the members. I don't like dirt any better than other folks, but some one
+has to do this work, and I am perfectly willing to do it."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Steve P. Holcombe, the Converted
+Gambler, by Rev. Gross Alexander
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STEVE P. HOLCOMBE, THE ***
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #37883 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37883)
author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 20:09:00 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 20:09:00 -0700
commit	2951a253ff47c0e4838b3215cf80e8a78287cbf8 (patch)
tree	4fe3e18ad150cca13d81653a4c34f14ef4637240