haunts him, Till his days are sadly ended Hanging on the loathsome gallows. Here is revel mirth and gladness, And gay scenes, where flock the simple. They are simple who, alluréd, Follow Pleasure’s fleeting phantom. They are led deluded onward, p. 71Till it is a curse unto them, And they have not power to leave it. They are led to low desires, Craving unto lust and evil; As the drunkard and profaner, As the vile and the licentious Glory in plebian language, With their sharp tongues dipt in slander, And their words in curses flowing, Think not of their awful ending Till destruction comes upon them. Thus the gorgeous devil hieth To the grand and gay assemblies, And attend him many pages In their many-colored costumes; They are eager at enlisting,— Luring numbers to his bondage. Have you taken his temptation? Are you too an eager worker To allure the simple to him? Say how many souls are writhing In a long and sad destruction, Who pursued a better pathway Till you lured them to forego it. But I must not wander thuswise. We are now in the great city, p. 72Where the lofty and the lowly, And the sumptuous and the starving, Are within each other’s shadows. There the merchant and the trader Tendeth each his own transactions; Some deal fairly, some deal falsely. And the judges sit dispensing Seeming justice to the people; But their judgments are corrupted, And they rule in wrong or favor. There is constant din and bustle; And the weary shopman standeth Day to day in close confinement; And the pallid seamstress sitteth For a long and tedious twelve hours Stitching, while her life is ebbing In a rapid current from her. Now awhile we see the playhouse, And the giddy hall of music, And the scenes exposéd therein, Oft immodest and immoral. Next the nest of thieves and robbers, With their heaps of spoil and plunder, And their hidden laws and customs. Then we seek the house of prayer, Which is only weekly opened, p. 73Or which day to day inviteth Weary souls into its shadow, There to hold a sweet communion With the God who made and keeps them, Or the silent hours of midnight To employ in watchful prayer. As we come unto His presence Let us bow in holy reverence, As is ever due and fitting, To the God who there descendeth. Now behold the people gathered; They are all as one together, But their thoughts are widely parted. Some are earnest, true, and godly, Others wicked and regardless; Some are semi-sanctimonious, (Most obnoxious of deceivers.) Let us see their inward purpose. One doth offer true oblation— Praise and worship, as he seemeth; While the thoughts of one near by him Are among the world’s pleasures; And another has come hither To give homage, style, and fashion; And another thinks of feasting (His great god is in his belly.) p. 74Suchlike is the varied 

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