The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-05-22
TEMPERANCE.
A HEARTLESS TYRANT.

and whose hills and valleys were COW
cred with waving grain, green grass
and lovely flowers, King who num-
bered his subjects by the thousand and
ten thousand.
These subjects were different from
the subjects of all other Kings, in that
they were happy people from other
lands who from choice left their pleas
ant homes to dwell in this strange
land, because it seemed more beautiful
than their own, and here liberty seemed
to have full sway.
And for time they were happy, and
had royal good time, and their King
seemed the jolliest fellow of them all.
But after they had been in his domain
a certain length of time, he caused a
silken cord TO be wound about them,
as mark of favor he told them; and
as it but added to their appearance and
gave them a distinguished air, those so
bound seemed to rather like this orna-
mental sign of their Kings favor, and
laughed at and made fun of their poky
companions, as they termed them,
whom they had left behind them in
their own land.
But after a time ''a change came DER
the fancy of their dream,' and their
glee turned to bitterest anguish, for
their silken cords but covered chains of
iron and of steel, and the King caused
them to be frightened, until they were
captives, bound hand and foot, and the
greater their distress the greater his
| pleasure, and the deeper their cries the
| louder his laughter. The more earnest
| their prayer for release, the more de-
risive his answer-''Ye were not bound
to come into my kingdom. There was
no one compelling you to come; you
| came of your own sweet wills to enjoy
the liberty afforded in my dominion;
you have all the liberty | can afford to
| give good subjects" quoth the inhuman
King, as the very blood of these iniser-
able wretches seemed turned to fire in
their veins, and they would give al
most their life to be but once more in
| their own humble land, and many,
very many of them die in their bond
age with the chains eating into their
| flesh; while here and there one more
| strong than the rest breaks his slavish
| chain, and starts back home, very few
| elude the ever watchful King and get
| home in safety, more dead than alive,
and after years of quietude in their own
| dear land feel that they are men again
| and that they are now indeed free, and
that their original idea of liberty was
mistaken one, and they spend the re-
mainder of their lives trying to warn
their countrymen of the consequences
sure to follow if they but set foot in the
dominion of this King, seemingly so
| grand and good. but at the last so
| fiendish and bad. Some listen and
heed the warning, others snap their
fingers and laughing say: ''How fool
ish you talk; there is no danger to me
such as you say" and 90 on to dear
| experience and bitter death. How
sad their end.
All of us know more or less of this
accursed King. Alcohol is his name,
and we have sometimes cried out and
| tried to warn some promising young
man, when'we have seen King Alcohol
binding him with the silken cord of
habit just forming. Often we have
| panied to see our warning unheeded,
but that ought not to make us give up
in despair, but only to nerve US up to
| greater efforts, and if perchance we
may help to break the shackles and set
some captive free we have accomplished
something and have shown our hatred
of this King that is running and killing
SO many of our young men.
One of the greatest helps King Alec
hol has in persuading new subjects into
his kingdom is untruth, and if there
were fewer lies told on the subject of
dram drinking there would not be half
so many victims to intemperance as
there are.
Young man, why not tell your friend
the truth, the first time you ask him to
take social glass with you? Perhaps
he has scruples against taking drink
Instead of telling him it will not hurt
him but do him good. why not tell the
truth and say: Here Charlie, do
drink this your first glass with me; I
want the honor in the coming yeals of
being the one that caused. you to take
your first step toward drunkard's I'M
honored grave. This glass will pave
the way" l think l see your friend
start back in holy horror, and say in
terror: mo, no! If you are my friend
you would not urge me so to do; hence
forth and forever we part company,
you to go your way and mine" He
would feel grossly insulted at your
proposition; but isn't that Just what
you are doing, every time you take a
drink yourself or offer it to your
friendsP Amt you just one step nearer
drunkerdom and one step farther from
the happy land of sobriety?
You may pirate of your liberty, your
being free to drink or free to let il
alone, as you please, but you talk OF
something you don't possess, for you
are binding yourself in chain of iron,
and are riveting the bars closer and
closer every time you yield to tempta-
ton, until after a little you can not
break your letters if you would.
1t is very easy to form a habit, but it
Is almost like taking the life to break it.
You who have formed this habit, try
the experiment of quitting just for one
month, and after having faithfully
tried it, then boast of your liberty if
you truthfully can.-Mrs. A. v Ken
dali, in Indianapolis Sentinel.
The movement among Knights of
Labor to prohibit the use of intoxicants
by the members is in the right direc-