Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-08-02
Whole No. 2O79.
A temperance Lecture,
NOT ~ THE USUAL yET-THOUGHLs or
AMAS OF THE WORLD.

"ilOward" IN the Philadelphia Times,
saysi Men are not prone TO heed les
sons, are lhey2 II we were, there
wouldn't bc 50 many fellows trying to
drink themselves into eterulty, found
In the death notices day before ycsler-
day tho names Of three men, each Of
whom was dear to me, One oi them
used 10 live Ia Boston, then IN WASH
ington, of late in New York, llc died
in u luuatlc asylum.
Whyf
Rum.
BY rum mean strong drink, We
uscrumaS q generic term for all liquors.
This friend was II when he died. lie
was an inventor, puShCr, u driving,
energetic man Of business, aud he hOd
two inventions, each Of which would
have made him u very rich man,
went e. his hotel one day about six
months ugo to look at one OF his
schemes. won't tell you what, be-
cause you'd recognize the man. was
in his room. with two others, perhaps
two hours. In that time he ordered
two "small bottles" five brandy and
sodas, one ginger ale and Vermoutll
cocktail. In addition he had n private
bottle os whiskcy from which he now
aud then took drink. We all had m
occasional pull, but the above list was
his portion. ! remarked il aud asked
him il he wasn't afraid it would give
him headache, for this was early in
the day, from II to |. He laughed
and said he never had u headache in
his life. Down at Couy Island when
others drank beer he had champagne.
lie was never drunk, hardly ever fnd-
died, but all of Il sudden about two
months ago, something gave way,
crack, bang, and his ncver-aching head
was gone. He was crazy as n loon.
With difficulty he was taken to an asy-
lum, where he degenerated into II
hopeless idiot, sank quickly, and was
buried yesterday.
Exceptional case?
Well, yas, in that he had superb
constitution, bright, quick wit, and a
head that never achcd. Also in that
he died lunatic. But it is not eXcep-
tional in the habit of continuous drink.
Very few people stop to think of it. Go
into popular restaurant. It's "Hal.
10! what III you take?" all The time.
For the fun of the thing, l stood i" the
Astor house rotunda at noon to-day
and counted the number of times l was
asked to drink in less than half an
hour. Among my would-be hosts
were several newspaper men, two state
senator's, first rate actor, an alder
man. and two proprietors and the man
ager of the house, an insurance agent,
nv brother and couple of boys from
the post-office. Did accept? | guess
not. Fortunately have head that
aches-frequenty. Experience has
taught me that violation of natures
law ensures speedy punishment.
Ache? Well, from the back OF my
head to the crown of my skull and all
along my bumps of benevolence l ache
with perfect aching. l can stand
moderate quantum of dissipation, but
long ago came to the conclusion that l
was ordained to virtue and temperance.
No, didn't accept, but it struck my
thoughtful bump very hard. l looked
at the multitude of young and middle
aged men thronging in to lunch.
Nearly every one had drink, many
had two, and number had several.
There was no confusion, no rudeness,
no drunkenness, nothing to strike the
eve of the casual looker-on, but l tell
you the way the fiery stuff vas gurgled
down was caution to the copper.bot-
toned stomachs which had to take 1t
and digest it. Please don't regard mo
as a moralist. It's none of my funeral.
Every fellow has Il right to do What he
pleases with his own stomach. l cant
drink because it makes my head ache.
NY friend could drink because his head
never ached. He died in lunatic
asylum and l am telling about 1t.
That's where come in-see? Now,
YOU know these children are not the
fellows who beat their wives or starve
their children. They are the respect
able chaps, the workers of their day
and generation. All right. Go it.
Count on me for an obituary.