Daily Republican., 1881-12-26
Tno TOb sseD ri aSu Among Minis.


ters.
BY request.
T. DE Witt Talmage preached stir
ring sermon on the 18th nit. on "The
Plague Narcotic" from which we ex.
tract the following concerning the to.
hacro plague among ministers.
Zone reason why there are so many
victims of this habit Is because there
are so many ministers Of religion who
smoke and chew. Tney smoke until
they get the bronchitis, and the dear
people have to pay their expenses to
Europe. They smoke until the nervous
system breaks down, Thesmoke them
selves to death. could name three
eminent cIergymen who died of cancer
IN the mouth, and in every case the
physician said ii WAS tobacco. There
has been many clergyman whose
tombstone was all covered up with
euloEy which ought to nave naI the
honest eptaph, 'Ki!led by too much
CavendiaA - Some of them smoke
until the room is blue, and everything
is clue Time wiS when God passed
by such sins, but it becom IS now the
duty of the American clergy vino in.
duIge in this narcotic to repent How
can q man peach TEN pcreuCe to the
people when he is himself iniulging in
an appetite like that? have seen al
cuspadoro in pulpit where the minis.
ser would drop l.s cui before he goC up
TO read blessed are the pure in heart, |
and to read about Rolling sin az a
swe, mOrSel under the tongue = and in |
Lavitlcus to read about the uncean ami |
n It's that chew the cud. have known |
Prosbyteries and general assemblies |
and genera, SynOds where there was a
room set apart for the ministers to
smoke in. have seen ministers OF re-
legion, their boards anOinttd not with
holy III such as ran down AarDns beard,
but with poisonous saliva. OU.itisa a sOr
ry srectacle,a cOnscCrated man, u holy |
m&n of God looking around for some
thing, which you take to be looking for
a larger field Of usefulness. He il not
looking fer that at all. He is only Iook-
ing for some place where he can dis.
charge a mvuthiul Of tobacco juice.
aru glad the Methodist Chu"cn Of the
United States III nearly ali It's confer
euces has passed resolutions "A ;ainst the
habit, and j. is time that we had all
anti tobacco reform in the Presbyterian
Church, and the Episcopal Church, and
the Baptist Church, and the Congregl-
tional Church. About sixty years agr
n young man graduated from Andovc:
Theological Seminary into the ministry
He went straight to the front. lie hat
an eloluence and personal magnetism
before which nothing ConId stand but
he was soon thrown into the insane asv-
luln for twenty years, and the doctorsa
sad that it was tobacco that sent him
there. According to the custom then in
vogue, he was allowed small portion
Of tobacco every day. After he had
be.n there nearly twenty years walking
the floor one day he had a sudden return
Of reason, and he realized what was the
matter, He threw the plug of tobacco
through the iron Rra'es, aid said
What brought me here? What keeps
me bcre? Why am here" Tobacco
tobacco o God help! help and I'll
never use it again. He was restored.
He was brought forth. For ten years
be succes' fully preached the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and then went into II hli |s-
Iui Immortality. There are ministers
}: religion to-day indulg ging in narcotics
lying by inches, and they do not know
" hat is the ma ter with them. | might
II a word give my own experience. 1t
Uok ten cigars to make sermon. got
very nervous ore day | awakened to
he outrage | was intlcting upon my
'eif | was about to change settlements,
md generous Wholesale tpbacyOnist in
.hilad lphia said if | woIld only come
% Phi|auelphia he would, all the rest OF
ny lite, provide me with cigars free OF ,
'harge. said TO myself, if iii these
when cigars are 80 costly,
md my salary is small, l smoke more
han | ou., hit to, what wonld dc if |
lad gratuitous and iliirnitable slpply"|
Aud then and there, twenty years ago
Quit once and iOrver. 1t made neWt
nan OF me, and though have since
hen done rs much hard work AS anyone,
think have had the best h-alth God
Yer blessed Il man with. A minister
f religion cannot afford to smoke