Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1883-03-06

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SHAVING CUSTOMS HOW A MAN AS
sUMEs HIS SECOND NATURE BY LONG
CONTINUANCE IN ANY PRACTICE
| POINTED TEMPERANCE TRUTHS-A
! CROWDED AUDIENCE.
| Habit; or the Powers that Be-" was
the subject of John B. Coughs lecture
at the Congregational church last even
ing. The church was crowded, every
seat filled, and the aisles filled with
chairs. { was the closing lecture of
the Lyceum course Mr. Cough began
| his address with the remark that if he
were prudent man he would have to
follow the dictation of his physical con
ditiOn and disappointed the audience
He had chosen,the. word "Habit' as a
subject, for il gave a wide latitude for
his lecture Habit we usually acquire
tunconscinusiy Repeated acts cnnsti-
tute the custom, and custom creates the
condition of nind which makes habit
perseverance, In righ, course soon en-
sbles us to form correct habits Thus
| it every act tends to form habit, what
| tremendous responsibilities hang upon
| single one of our acts There is a
power in gravity. and to form a habit of
| politeness is wisdom Peculiar habits
of conversation and conduct are easily
gained and should be avoided. The
| habits which fashion inculcate IRE dam
GUS to health and pocket. The habits
| which a desire for accumulation of
money bring often cling to those who
form them all through life, and after
| the occasion for them has long passed i.
The habit OF lying and that of profanity
gain upon man when once accepted and
practic2d. and they are the most insanely
foolish of all habits. Young men should
| remember that to swear is not manly.
and to swear in public is indecent.
[Applause.] To do anything that will
shock the religious sentiments of any.
body is, it seems to me, in bad taste, and
1t is to me painful to see man talk up.
on the subject "What shall I do to be
saved" in an irreverent way, merely
to make people laugh [Applause.) In
many cases the recklessness of youth
leads to habit of ignoring every good
impulse. Men too often acquire the
habit of living solely for self How 1
wish 1 could get hold of these young
men and women who are drifting along
without an object in life, with habits of
doing nothing, with no strong impulses,
no aim in life. 1t is pltiful to see the
slaves of habit, the slaves to vice, the
slaves of profanity, the slaves of drunk
enness. Young men, as you grow older
you will find that whatever you may
forget, you will remember the incidents
of your own life; so form habits which
wilt MAKE those memories pleasant
No man means to be a drunkard.
There has been cruel pamphlet pub
lished by a New England minister saw
ing drunkard is worth saving, and
tlat drunkenness is the result of innate
depravity. I don't believe it. l am
glad to say that these tracts have been
| rejected by many of the churches to
which they are sent. Intemperance
and drunkenness are the result of
habit. If physicians would tell the
truth they would tell US that more per-
sons die from systematic drinking than
from drunkenness There are men,
believe, in Washington who are com.
| fOrtabiy full from one years end to an
other, and yet never drunk. The man
with nervous disposition cannot do
this, he cannot be temperate" drink
er. l am one of those. You may call
me weak minded for it if you choose 1
don't care. If was not able to drink
temperately had the strength of char
acter to quit it entirely. Applause I
| The habit of desire for Intoxicating
liqn~r grows constantly. Take your
own case Don't you, if you drink at
all, driGk twice as much as you did five
years ago? If so. what will it be, at
| this rate of increase, forty years from
now? Now is the easiest time to give
it up. 1 don't ask you 10 sign the
pledge. just quit / don't say that a
moderate drinker is worse than drunk
ard, that is not the fact. There are
u - -, h.
men, but they ought II quit it aud they
will be better men. | care not Whethe
it is upon the prince or the heggar, the
power of drink is dehasing aud scath
| ing, making men brutes. The habit
grows on men
Same men when tbev get drunk the
| first time go to their office by the back
way. The nest time they have less
shame and the next less and less and so
on until-perhaps | ought not to say il
they now sit in halls of legisla,
tion so intoxicated as to be a mark for
ribald men to point at. Don't begin.
If you have begun stop it, If you see
another beginning help him to stop it.
| There is no greater dignity than st0op-
ing to help another. Applause.] Life
| is battlefield for US all. All of US
have something to fight. There isn't
propensity we have that cannot be over
come. Enter into the conflict like
men, and if you fall rise again and you
shall hang your battered armor on the
| battlemeDts of heaven amid the cry of
victory. [Applause,
This was the thread of the discourse,
the thought which ran through the
hour and half earnest, impassioned
oratory. sparkling with wit and hu-
NOR, now brilliant with illustration,
now full of pathOs. It was the only
John B. GOngh, and lecture delivered
as only Cough can deliver it.
LIKE ANGELS Angels come here on
the lowljest OF errands. When Lazarus,
the beggar, died, and they were told to
go and carry him to Abraham's bosom,
they did not shrug their shoulders, out
went, no doubt, cbeerfully and gladly
| When one of them was sent into the
wilderness to cook meal for Elijah, he
did not scorn the humble mission. They
have charge of Gods children, who are
stumbling through life, to hold them up
in their hands, and they are not too
proud 20 minister thus to the lowliest
and feeblest of saints HE shall give
his angels charge concerning thee, and
in their hands they shall bear thee up"
"Are they not all min. STEERING spirits
sent forth to minister for those who
shall be heirs of salvation ?n five hope
to be like angels in heaven, we ought to
try to be like them on earth. There is
a great deal of angel work to be done
horo anI If ic fha nohloek