The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-08-08
BAD HABITS.


Many Of the Youth OF the Present
Day
l was waiting in carriage for .
friend one day last summer. II was a
quiet street, and near by were a fiumber
of boys having a game of ball. | was
intently watching the sport, when one
of the boys said; "See, boys. there
comics Old John. Looking down
the sidewalk, we saw man approach
ing. The game was stopped for min
ute. AID the boys watched him ~ he
passed by.
iUeRr' said one, Struggling his
shoulders, 'isn't hs horrid-looxingP"
And horrid. looking indeed the man
was. The tobacco juice oozed from the
corners Of his mouth; his face was red
find bloated, and wore hard. wicked
exprcssi5rf; His walk was unsteady,
his clothes shabby, and altogether, a
more debased, disgusting looking
creature would be hard 10 find.
knew "Old Johns history well. We
had heard 1t many times from those
Who had known him in his boyhood.
He Wis once n bright, happy. cheerful
boy, in happt home.
wish it were in my power, boys, to
place that man before each ono On you,
and tell you that he was once young
and pure like yourselves, and that the
eatise OF the change In him was due to
bad habits and bad companions !
think he would be the strongest warn
| lid asaifist these evils that You could
have. Those first little indulgences in
bad habits when boy seemed such a
little thing. The first smoke, the first
glass of strong drink. the first profane
| language, that were INDUCED in lust
| for fun" and to please his bad 1850
ciates, was the commencement OF his
ruin. He he'd no fears from them then.
He would have laughed at the idea
that he would ever be ruined by such
little habits.
All, but that tyrant, habit! Little by
| little it binds Its chains closer and closer
around its victims. Little by little a
| toung man enslaves himself to impure
and debasiiig habits, until almost be-
| fore he Is aware, he finds himself bound
tighter than any prisoner in his cell.
Not long since young man made
| his home with us for awhile. he was
fast failing In health from diseased
| stoffiacb 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 il he would get well.
One day after telling Of the physician 4
advice he said: II don't believe l can
do it. believe it impossible for me to
break off using tobacco"
do you know" said, "when we
used to talk to you years ago When you
were a boy, about using tobacco. You
used to say tou were not afraid but that
you could stop the Use Of it whenever
you wanted to. That you just learned
to smoke so that you could smoke with
other boys occasionally. Where is that
strength Of will gone TOP"
He sat for o long while in silence.
Finally, he said Il wiH do IL now.
will leave it of. l should be ashamed
| of myself if / did not have manhood
enough for that" And going to the
mantel he took down a number of cigars
and threw them into the fire. Two or
three days passed by. We could not
fail to notice the struggle he was hav-
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 ex-
ceedingly pale and haggard looking.
my head is almost bursting" he said.
1--we not slept minute all night
believe l shall die If l have to endure
this two days longer. l know 1t will
kill me, and might as well die from
the use of tobacco as from this terrible
suffering"
knew then that it was all over.
what do you think now" l asked, "of
boys forming bad habits, trusting to
their strength of will to break from
them at their pleasureP''
II 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 strong tyrant
habit was in that case. He had been
doing his work slowly, but oh! so we'll.
Would that could impress upon your
minds, boys, the true beauty Of pure
character Would that l could make
may become whose life is untainted by
LII "a l.
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 q girl, can be
INDUCED in by boy with but little re-
proach. A boy can lounge around
stores and street corners, listening to
profane and vulgar language, and but
little be said about it. But such acts IN
girl must not be tolerated. This
should not be So The purity of . boy 3
character should be considered of just
as much importance in . home as that
of girls, and any habit that a boy
would think a disgrace to his sister
should be Stunned by himself
have heard it said, that il boy can
be kept free from all evil habits until
he is twenty. he viii be apt to abstain
from them through life. He will by that
time have seen enough to know the
great injury done to both body and mind
by evil indulgences, and his strength OF
viii for resisting temptation is stronger
than when younger. So you see it is
while boys are young, SO young that
but few Of them have the strength Of
will to say no. when tempted, that the
purity Of their characters Il destroyed.
The good character Of many . boy
has been ruined by the infuance of bad
companions. 1t Is strange what fasci-
nation bad boy has for his associates.
We once heard q man. in speaking Of a
bad boy, say; THAT boy has done more
harm among the boys of this community
than the COED influence oi the whole