The Republican journal., 1880-12-02
The Original Liquor League.

The original liquor league must have been form
ed in the lower world One day the bad spirits
met together and resolved that our human race
were too happy, and delegation of four INTERVALS
were sent up to earth on an embassy of mischief
One spirit said II will take charge of the vine
yards Another said II will look after the grain
fields" Another said Il will supervise the dairy :"
Another said II will take charge of the music
They landed in the great Sahara desert clutched
their skeleton fingers in a hand shake of fidelity,
kissed each other good bye with lips ot blue flame
and separated for their mission
The first spirit entered the vineyard one bright
morning, and sat down on the twisted root of
grapevine i'll sheer encouragement He could
not at first plan any harm for the vineyard. The
clusters were 50 fall and purple and luscious and
pure. The air fairly bewitched with their
sweetness; health seemed to breathe from every
npened bunch. But IN wrath at so much lowell
ness the iiend grasped cluster in his right hand
and squeezed it with utter hate, and 10 his hand
was red with the liquid and began to smoke
Then the hend laughed, and said as he looked at
the crimson stream dripping from his hand, That
makes me think Of the blood Of broken hearts |
VIII strip the vineyard and squeeze out all the
clusters, aud let the juices stand until they rot
and will call the process Fermentation. I" And q
great vat made, and men seeing it, brought
cups ami pitchers and dipped them and went Off
drinking as they went, till they dropped in long
lines of death, so that when the tiend Of the vine
yards wanted to GO back to his home in the pit
he trod on the bodies Of the slain all the way, 60
Ing down over causeway Of the dead
The heDd of the grain field waded chin deep
through the barley and the rye As he came in
he found all tie grain talking about bread and
the prosperous husbandmen, and thrifty homes
But the tiend thrust his long arms through the
barley and rye, and pulled them up and flung them
into the water and kindled fires beneath, by
spark from his own heart, and there grind
ing and nashlng and stencil. And men dipped
their bottles into the fiery juice and staggered and
blasphemed and rioted and fought and murdered,
till the hend Of the graintcld well pleased
with their behaviour he changed bis residence
from the pit to the whiSkey barrel; and there he
sits by the doorway at the bung hole, laughing
right merrily at the fact that out Of 50 harmless
thing as barley and rye he has made this world
suggestion OF Pandemonlum.
The iend Of the DAIRY met the cows as they
were coming up sull-uddered from the pasture
field. a. the maid MIXED he said, ut will not
take me long to spoil that mess | will add to it
some brandy and sugar and nutmeg, and stir them
up into milk punch and children will like it,
ana even temperance men will take it. and if can
do no more will make their heads ache, and hand
them gradually over to the more vigorous tends
Of the satanic delegation And then he danced
breakdown Oh the shelf Of the dairy till all the shin
ing rows Of milk pans quaked
The tiend Of music entered grog shop and
found the customers few. So he made circuit Of
the city ana gathered up all the instruments Of
sweet sound ana alter the night mad iaiieu le
marShalcd band and trombone blew and Gym
balls clapped, and harps thrummcd and drum beat
and hugie called, and crowds thrOngea in and lis
tened, and with wine cup IN their right hand be
gan TO whirt in dance that grew wilder and
stranger and rongAer till the room shook and the
glasses cracked. and the floor broke through and
the crowd dropped INTO hell
They had done their work well. these tends
OF vineyard and gram field and dairy and concert
saloon that on getting back, high carnival
held, Satan from his throne announcing the fact
that there was no danger pf the earth's redemp-
ton 50 long as the vineyards and orchards and
grainteds and music paid such large tax to the
dlabohc. Then all the satyrs and spirits and de
mons cried Hear. hear y and. lifting their chal
ices Of tire. drank Long life to rum sellers Pros
perty 10 tile gallows Success to the license law A.
ln view VI The devastations OF strong drink my
first word j. to tGilers Of brain or hand or foot
god intended Us all to be busy The sun and the
moon in six Thousand years have rested only
part Of day, and then it took miracle to stop
theM. Nothing that God ever made, animate DIT
lnauimate, human or angelic can afford to Quit
work But the outlay of human energy often
leads to lnebratou Men have so much 10 do
that they think they must have artificial stimulus
ast multltudes Of professional men have found
their nervous system exhausted anu their brain
lethargc- and have resored to tins dangerous help
Now, what man cannot DO without perpetual
stlmulant, do not believe he ought to do Non
are responsible for no more strength than that
winch you have in your arm and for TO more
speed than You have in your foot and for no more
vlyaclty than you have in your brain. God ASKS
no more and the world has right to expect No
more Notwithstanding this, some Of the most
brilliant men in the law and medieine--yes, even
IN the mlnistry-haye fallen overheard 1t will De
glorious day when all profess onal men and arti-
sans shall throw the bottle ont Of the back win
dow. 1t may require a struggle but what great
and grand and glorious thirg ever done with