The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-07-25
BAD HABITS.

Many of the Youth of the Present
Day.
| was waiting in a carriage for q
friend one day last summer. 1t was a
quiet street. and near by were a number
of boys having game of ball. l was
intently watching the sport, when one
of the boys said: 'See, boys, there
comes Old John. Looking down
the sidewalk, we saw a man approach
ing. The game was stopped for min
ute, and the boys watched him as he
passed by.
"Ughn' said one, Struggling his
shoulders, isn't he horrid-loohing?"
And horrid-looking indeed the man
was. The tobacco juice oozed from the
corners of his mouth; his face was red
and bloated, and wore hard, wicked
expression. His walk was unsteady,
his clothes shabby, and altogether, a
more debased, disgusting looking
creature would be hard to find. l
knew ''Old John's'' history well. We
had heard it many times from those
who had known him in his boyhood
He was once bright, happy, cheerful
boy, in happy home.
| wish it We're in my power, boys, to
place that man before each one of you,
and tell you that he was once young
and pure like yourselves, and that the
cause of the change in him was due to
bad habits and bad companions. l
10
ing against these evils that you could
have. Those first little indul gences in
bad habits when a boy seemed such a
little thing. The first smoke, the first
glass of strong drink. the first prOfane
language, that We're INDUCED in lust
for fun, and to please his bad asso-
ciates, was the commencement of his
ruin. He had no fears from them then.
He would have laughed at the idea
that he would ever be ruined by such
little habits.
An, but that tyrant, habit! Little by
little it binds its chains closer and closer
around its victims. Little by little Il
young man enslaves himself to impure
and debasing habits, until almost be-
fore he is aware, he finds himself bound
tighter than any prisoner in his cell.
Not long since a young man made
his home with us for awhile He was
fast failing in health from diseased
stomach and throat. When at the age
of fourteen years, like many other boys
who consider it manly and smart, he
Learned to smoke and chew; and by the
time he was twenty he was much ad-
,dicted to the use of tobacco. While
staying at our home he was examined
by several physicians, and all concurred
in the opinion that he must give up the
use of tobacco if he would get well.
One day after telling of the physician S
advice he said: Il don't believe | can
do it. | believe it impossible for me tc
break off using tobacco"
do you know | said, ''when we
used to talk to you years ago when you
We're boy, about using tobacco, you
used to say you We're not afraid but that
YOU could stop the use of it whenever
you wanted to. That you just learned
to smoke 50 that you could smoke with
other boys occasionally. Where is that
strength of will gone to?'
He sat for a long while in silence.
i lldllN, Ic Stltl. Wtht uD IL now.
aCW leave it off. | should be ashamed
of myself if | did not have manhood
enough for that" And going to the
mantel he took down number of cigars
and threw them into the fire. Two OF
three days passed by. We could not
fail to notice the struggle he was hay
ING. He was pale and restless, and
hardly knew what to do with himself.
About the fourth morning he came very
early from his room. His face was en-
ceedingly pale and haggard looking.
"My head is almost bursting" he said.
1--WE not slept a minute all night |
believe | shall die if | have to endure
this two days longer. | know it will
kill me, and | might as well die from
the use of tobacco as from this terrible
suffering
knew then that il was all over.
"What do you think now, " | asked. 'of
boys forming bad habits, trusting to
their strength of will to break from
them at their pleasure?n
Il think" he said, "that it is the
merest idle talk for them to say such
things. And my advice to every boy
living is to abstain from every impure
and injurious habit-to grow up free,
pure man, and not slave such as l am
to-day"
You see, boys, what a strong tyrant
habit was in that case. He had been
doing his work slowly, but oh! so well.
Would that could impress upon your
minds, boys, the true beauty of pure
character! Would that | could make
you believe how much nobler man
may become whose life is untainted by
vitiating habits! But it is a strange ano
sad fact that custom is not so careful in
guarding the purity of boys character
as a girls. Actions that would be
strongly condemned in girl, can be
INDUCED in by boy with but little re.
proech, A boy can lounge around
stores and street corners, listening tc