Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-08-31

drinking men know there are no,iti-
Ginns who are half full oft continnaliv but
there is a vast difference between a nnIiti.
cl1n and Il statesman. Look to-day at he
Christian ministers of the world II il
w"ll'known that they are total abstinence
M ~ with few exceptions No Christian
church to day would accent the services
Of a thinking minister. Look nc the relia-
ble business men who have attained
w"ril' and honor; they are not drinking
m"n- u is a mistake to suppose that rum
has m0n"pnizrd the brain force of The
wort. Look where you will, wherever
ynn iinl "A student patiently solving prob.
lrms ihut shall confer additional knowiedge
npnn me race, wherever YOU finl "A states
man developing plan for the wise adjust.
m"ni OF veXatiOus que 9tinns, wherever Won
tind ~ inventor that is by his genins
adding to the blessings of the world
wherever you find teacher of moral and
religious truth that is dong humanity
good, in any and all these departments.
the men who tower intellectually above
their fellows, are men whose brain power
Is not wasted 10y strong drink. The Young
man o! to day whose views are not cramp.
ed and biased by defective education will
discover rs he looks ont upon hf,, that the
sure road 10 success and honor is the wny
of toll and the way Of total abstinence
from all that can intOxicate. Daniel was
WIS" enough to choose that way. He
lv"'i in u time when it was popular TO
i'mk wine. The king drank, the princes
frank, the cuurtiers drank, the court
LADIES drank, the common people drank.
20 refuse to drink was to be ) peculiar
md to become unpopular. Bu, Daniel
was wise enough to stand by his principles,
and we read that God brought him into
nNor and tender love with the prince of
the runuch that wa, over him. That was
Il step toward promotion And then
NHbIchadnczzrr found Daniel and his
total abstinence companions superior in
wisdom to all the wise men of his nation;
ann her step up. Aud soun Daniel is
PRINTED to tell and Interpret to the king
his dream; and then the king took Dtnie.
and made him great man and gave him
may gifts and made him ruler over the
whole province OF Bthylon.
We see hut little of Daniel after this
Tor about 25 years, during the reign of
Bpl>hazztr. Drinking was still popular
in Blbylon; it formed large part of the
ceremony of the feast which the kim
gave to his lords. Doubtless at that feast
all The wit and beauty and learning of
b BibyIOn was assembled, and that the oc.
caslon might be made memorable above
all dher occasions Of the kind, the drunk.
cn king caused the vessels Of gold and of
silver that We're taken from Gods temple
"' jerusalem to be brought in and he and
his wives and concubines and princes
drank wine therefrom. But when the
conviviaity was at its height there came
a iin9er and wrote upon the wall over op.
poslte the drunken king; his knees smote
under him as he looked upon it, but not a
man Of all that wine drinking nation could
interpret the writing.
Ii remained for Dtniel, the teetotaler,
ID tniel the fanatic, to stand and declare to
the terror stricken crowd the Judgment of
God. God bath numbered thy kingdom
and finished it. Thou art weighed in the
balance and found wanting" And there
WIS barely time to promote Daniel accord
lnG to the kings promise when the Per-
Sims marching in under the wall of the
city, through the dry bed of the Euphrates,
which river they had turned from its
course, carried the cty,and the wine drink
ing king and his drunken court were slain
by the sword. But Daniel lived to he
made the first of three presidents whom
The king set over the conquered realm
This Same hignteh Daniel who carried
ms ftnaticSm so far that he would not
touch wine, became the greatest man in
the Medo Persian empire, and God gave
MN power to understand mysteries and
unfold future events Daniel is one of the
great characters of antiquity He stands
beside Abraham. job and Paul You may
say that it is not all due to his total absti-
nence principles Tru4. but if he had adopted
the drinking customs of that age he would
have dropped out of sight to become a
hostlr in the kings stables, or to occupy
Il position of similar importance.
His life is a shining example of integ-
rty; his successful career an instance of
God favor II those who honor Hm.
But we clnnOl all be d tnes.' No, but
we can all be true TO right principles. We
can hold fast our honor and our integrity.
We can set ourselves against the drink
demons with all the strength of our
natures.
God calls upon us to BE- honest and true.
He has IL place for Us in Ills church, aud
desires to reward us in His everlasting
kingdom We must turn from the sins~u-
the world and hold fast the truth. So
stall we hest serve ourselves, our fellow
men and our God.