The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-12-11
PREACHERS, TRAVELS.
The Rev. DR.. Yancey's Tour of the Lou
isville (ky.) Beer Gartlcns-What He
Saw and Heard Thcre-1ioral Reflections
Thereon.

isville (Iiy.) Beer Garlcns-What He
Saw and Heard Thcre-1foral Reflections
| Thereon.
DR.. Talmage has had the vantage and
honor long enough of having explored
the dens and slums of New York and
Brooklyn at midnight, and presented the
results to the world in Sunday sermons i;
but now rival has appeared in Louis
vile, KY, in the person of Rev. G. w.
Yancey, pastor of the Christian" Church
of that city. Mr.. Yancey has made a
tour of the beer gardens of Louisville,
but he does not tell US how many glasses
of lager he drank, or how many Greats"
he 'istood" while making his explora-
tions. It was night when he, like his
Brooklyn prototype, with police officer
and church elder, went on his rounds.
The artificial lights of green and red and
purple, he tells us, swung high into the
sky and enchanting music hoated on the
midnight air. He describes his thoughts
as he approached the first garden, which
was pattern of the lot, and adds that a
man chooses the night over the day for
the performance of his deeds. He does
this because his contemplated deeds are
evil, and therefore disgraceful. This is
the rule, and it has but few exceptions, if
any. This fact throws great doubt on
parties, social gatherings, hops, balls,
&C., which extend into the late hours Of
the night. They are fraught with evil,
though many such gatherings may not
be so intended.
Having entered the garden Mr.. Yam
cey's ears were greeted with the rattle of
wine and beer glasses on q multitude OF
tables. He saw the flow of souls, both OF
men and women, as they sat and drank.
All classes were represented in the gath
ering of 400, about equally divided as to
sex, whom he saw seated around the
tables. They were all young, with but
few exceptions-from sixteen to twenty
five. What was the character of these
women? he asked. Let the wine cup
answer. Let the dens from which many
of them went answer. Let the hour OF
midnight answer. Let the wag answer,
who that night said: "There goes girl
who once was loved and honored in this
city, but her evil hour came, and what is
true of her is true of ALL" Let his friend
answer, who said: "See that girl? This
is her first night here. She hangs her
head and bushes" She was one of q
group who had just taken seats about
table and were waiting for beer. Go ask
that poor orphan girl, whose name now
stands on the register of one of the Lou
isville churches, who that night and in
that garden was dead with intoxication.
Ask that woman, unknown to him, who
came and, taking her husband by the
arm, led him out and home. And the
men were we'll dressed. in apparently
good circumstances in life, and were
quite at ease in the beer garden. They
had evidently been there before. They
were not foundry or factory hands, coach
men or bootblacks, so far as this Western
explorer could judge, but popular clerks
or rich mems sons. And, as he looked
on them, Mr.. Yanccy thought of their
parents. He knew some of them were
there without their parents consent, be-
cause he heard young lad say to his
companion: "What would my parents do
if they knew 1 was here? The other
said: "I know what mine would do;
they would give me (please
think of the rich man in hell and you
can finish the sentcnce). Then they ex-
planned where they had been the previous
nights, and laid their plans for the next
few nights. This was their beginning in
vice, but, alas not their end; for they
are on the path that leads to ruin, moral
bankruptcy. What if their parents had
known where they were? They would
not have slept that night. And our Lou
isville Talmage thought of the inexpress.
ible grief that such knowledge would
bring to the hearts of mothers if they
knew where their sons were.
But having looked at the throng of
nice young men, Mr.. Yancey thought
also Of their sisters, who were not with
them. The young men were dancing
with the daughters of broken-hearted
mothers and the sisters of disgraced
brothers, while their own perhaps that
very moment were dreaming bright
dreams of them. If at that time their
sisters had entered and seated themselves
about the tables with companions who
called for beer, or taken stand OH the
floor for voluptuous dance, they would
have felt disgraced and incensed. As be
looked on those bright young men he
saw that many of them wore engagement
rings, and he thought Of their sweet
hearts, from whose presence just a few
hours previous they had departed. Some
of those young women could not sleep,
of course. One had just answered q
question of all questions the most i'm
portant to a young lady. She felt the
ring on her finger and thought of the
ring she put on his. Another was think
ing about the wedding day not far away.
which two hours previous had been
agreed upon. Another was wondering if
the man to whom she gave her heart
would prove to be what he pledged he
would be. Each Of these maidens said,
"Can he be thinking of me as l am
thinking of him." But suppose the veil
were drawn aside and they could see
what the preacher saw-what then? lie
would not try to complete the picture.
This he left to the young men. 1t is
good 10 throw young man upon his own
resources some time. As he stood gazing
on the picture before him he was con-
vinced that the sun would never shine on
such scene, because before the morning
light it would vanish-lhe crowd would
disperse. And then he thought how un-
equal and unjust are the ways of life.
Men and women meet in the beer garden
on common level as equals, but their
path will outside run in opposite direc-
tions. The young men get to their
homes in time to rumple their beds be-
fore the breakfast bell rings. They go to
the tables complaining that they do not
feel well, and receive the sympathy of
the whole family. Are they CLERKS?
They go to their work half prepared for
business, yet cheered by the happy faces
Of the multitude with whom they meet
and mingle. But the girls, or many of
them, retire to obscurity and shame;
Outcasts, they dare not seek parental