The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1873-10-29
"BOIS. THIS THING DON'T
PAY.

A.
4 company Of young men had
spent most of the night drinking
freely Of the Intoxicating cup, and
in other social indulgences which
accompany It and make up good
time" The mex: day. Sunday, they
were sitting i'll the bar room Of a
rum-hotcl. j;.lr;l, used up. half dead.
stomach-acic. mind sick, heart sick.
nervous, cross, proINne. .niserabl.'
payin =; part Of the price Of the
nights revclry, ii the terrible re-
action which follows such violation
of natures laws. They tried, at
times, to rally their jadcl spirits,
crack jokes and force I'LL appear
ancc Of good feeling: but disgraced
and outraged nature would scourge
them back again, and again n.
TO that maudlin, idiotic stupor
which follows u drunken spree, and
and presages death.
+: The leader, stout,built. noble in
bearing. well-developed, fitted by
nature to be a nan, and for q more
respectable company, sat the while,
moody, troubled, ashamed Of the
nights debauch, OF himself, his
company and the place he was In:
half-penitent, half -desponding. pass
ing through q terrible mental strug-
gle, under the lash of an awakened
conscience paying a fearful price for
the fun" OF the previous night.
His pot-companions gathered
around him to poke fun,' break
his reverie, and drive off ''the
blues" He rallied, gazed upon
them a moment, and with a start
ling energy Of expression, uttered
this short, graphic, truthful speech:
7:Boys, tbs thing dontpay. 1t is
tun enough whiie It lastS, but Il IS hcN
yterrards."
! He uttered q most thrilling truth
i He had been there" He was a
competent witness. He was deadly
in earnest when he said it. He felt
all he said. Nature forced him to
an honest confession. He was
paying the bills" and he knew he
WAS paying too dear for the whis-
tie" There is poetic brevity, folce
and fervor in the confession, and
there is more truth than poetry III
it, 1t isan honest confession, after
the fun" is past. It is a warning
from behind the scenes.
1t "don't pay'' to give time, mon
ey, reputation: character, social
standing, business prospects, COM
fort, health, peace of mind, an ap-
proving conscience, manhood, self
respect, the appreciation of God
and the prospect Of heaven, for a
few hours of fun" to be followed
by such prostration, conscious de-
gradation and zelfreproach. Boys,
this thing don't pay It is selling
your ;'birthrght for a mess Of pot
tage," with death at the pot"
1T is hell afterwardS." The
terrible, prostrating, humiliating
reaction which fGllews; the aoour-
ging which the violated laws OF ma
ture infict on the poor body, pier
cling it through and through with
::achcs and PAIN" premonitory Of
dissolution; the Hl.Ihraiding. the
..ltrplon stings Of awakened con-
science, presaging the worm that
never dies: the overwhelming seHse
of shame at the yr0stlratil0n Of his
manhood: the muttelipg thnHdor
and forked lightning all along the
sky, which forebodes the coming
storm Of divine wrath, may we'll be
called HELL" They are the sample-
room t!!!at opsns TO il: i'hey tend
toward iii they end it: for no
drunkard shall inherit the kingdom
of God" A d0uJIc truth is in the
last sentence 0f tbs ;jlsit ;:<jlsitff,ss;on. f the
::BolNs* #crs. experiencing TIE one,
the other is waiting IN eternal de-
monstration.
| Young men. study that confes-
sion; commit it to memory; print
! it and frame it in illuminated letters.
and hang it in your sleeping-rooms,
in your places of business. Write
it on the hy-leaf Of the Bible your
dying mother gave you. Never for
get this laconic confession:
Boys. this thing don't pay. It
is fun enough while it lasts. but it
is hell afterwards
Harry EVERY D,Y-S;dmey Smith
cut the following from newspaper
and preserved it for himself:
When you rise in the morning:
form a resolution to make the day
q happy one to a feuo1-creatrre. Il
is easily done; a left of garment tt
The so.ra"g:ss..l. 81 encouraging ex
precision to the striving-trihes il
themselves light as air-will do il
at least for the twenty-four hours