The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-09-18

terial, but they did not know how I5ueh de-
Pehued ON thar middle bolt of the chain
s n.tase. on the opening day a process
son started, led on by the builder Of tie
bridge ana, when the mighty weight of the
! procession was fairly on it. the bridge broke
and precipitated the multitudes Tie bridge
Was al right except in that middle bolt So
LIE oridge OF Character may be made IN of
mighty links strong enough to hold a noun
i''r Dat. II there he one weak spot that one
point unlocked after may be the destruction of
9 10y ming m s, and what multtudes have gone
the cham bridge Of their character there was
lacking strong middle bolt. He had but one
IJutt anG that was avarice; hence forgery.
1e mad but one fault and that was burning
| thirst for lntoXcants; hence, his fatal debauch
| She had but one fault and that an inordiuate
| iohunesa Tor dress, and hence her own and her
husband bankruptcy She had but one fault
ana That quick temper; hence the disgrace
lui ontburst. What we all want is to have put
around us strong chain of good influences.
CHRISTIAN association is q link. Good ltcra-
lure is link, Church membership is link
!iaoit OF prayer is link. Scripture research
is link: Faith in God is link. Put to-
gether all these influences. Make chain.
Most excellent is it for us to get into compa-
| ny better than ourselves. If we are given to
telling vile stories let us put ourselves among
thoSe who will not abide such utterance. If
i we are stingy let US put ourselves among the
charitable. If we are morose let us put our
| selves among the good natured. If we are
gwen to tttle-tattle let us put ourselves among
those who speak no i'll of their neighbors. If
| we are Respondent let US put ourselves among
those who make the best of things. If evil is
contagious, | am glad to say that good is also
| catching. People go up into the hill
country for physical health; so if you would
pc strong in your soul get yourself up off the
| lowiands into the attitudes of high moral asso-
citation. For many of the circumstances of
| our life we are not responsible. For our par
entage we are not responsible. For the place
! Oh our nativity, not responsible; for our feat
! ures, our stature, our color, not Responsible;
| for the family relation in which we were born
| Tor our natural tastes, for our mental charac-
ter. not responsible. But we are responsible
Tor the associates that We choose and the
moral influences under which we put our
| selves. Character seeks an equilibrium A.
| +. is good man. Y. z. is a bad man. Let
| them now voluntarily choose each others soci-
ETY.: A. B. will loose part Of his goodness and
| Y. H. part of his badness. aud they win
! gradually approach each other in character,
| and will finally stand on the same level. One
OF the old painters refused to look at poor pic
| lures because he said it damaged his style. A
| musician cannot afford to dwell among dis
| cords, nor can a writer afford to peruse books
OF inferior style, nor an architect walk out
among disproportioned structures. And no
man or woman was ever so good as to be able
| to afford to choose evil associations. There
| fore, said, have it rule of your life to go
among those better than yourselves. Cannot
| lind them? Then what pink of perfection
| you must be! When was your character COM
| pleted? What misfortune for the sanity
and angelic of heaven that they are not enjoy
ing the improving influence of your society,"
| All, if you cannot find those better than your
self, it is because you are ignorant of yourself.
| Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypo-
| critesl
! But as I remarked in the opening, in sacred
and in all styles of literature chain means not
| only adornment land royalty of nature, but
sometimes captivity. And suppose there are
those in that sense deliberately and persistently
making chain. Now here is young man of
| good physical health, good manners and good
education. How shall he put together enough
links to make a chain for the down-hill road
l will give him some directions. First let him
smoke. If he cannot stand cigars, let him
bso cigarettes h THU think r cigarettes will
moro rapidly because the doctors say there is
| more poison in them, and SO he will be helped
along faster and have the more confidence
in proposing this because about fifty of the
first young men of Brooklyn, during the last
year, were, according to the doctors reports,
| killed by cigarettes. Let him drink light
| wines first, or ale or lager and gradually he
| will be able to take something stronger, and as
| all styles of strong drink are more and moro
adulterated, his progress will be facilitated.
With the old-time drinks man seldom got
delirum tremens before thirty or forty years of
age; now he can get the madness by the time
he is eighteen. Let him play cards, enough
game. If the father and mother win play with
him that will help by the way of countenan-
cling the habit. And it will be such pleasant
thing to think over in the day Of Judgment
when the parents give account for the
elevated manner in which they have reared
their children. Every pleasant Sunday after
| noon take carriage ride and stop at the ho-
tells on either side of the road for Sabbath re-
fresh nents. Do not let the old fogy preiu-
dices against Sabbath breaking dominate you.
Have membership in some club where lib
crimes go and tell about their victorious sins,
and laugh as loud as any of them in derision of
those who belong to the same sex as your Sis
ter and mother. Pitch your Bible overheard as
| old fashioned and lit only for women and
children. Read all the magazine articles that
put Christianity at disadvantage, and go to
hear all the lectures that malign Christ, who,
they say, instead of being the Mighty One he
pretended to be, was an impostor, and the
implanter of great delusion. Go, at first out
of curiosity, to see all the houses OF dissipation
and then go because you have felt the thrall of
fascination. Getting along splendidly nowl
Let me see what further can l suggest in
that direction. Become more defiant of all
decenCy, more loud-mouthed in your atheism,
more thoroughly alcohoized, and instead of
the small stakes that will do we'll enough for
games Of chance in ladies' parlor, put up
something worthy, put up more, put up all you
have. Well donei You have succeeded. You
have made chain-the tobacco habit one
link, the rum habit one link, the impure club
dnOJHSE linn lblluSllly INK sabbath
desecration another link, uncleanness another
link, and altogether they make chain. And
so there is chain on your hand and a chain
OIL your foot and a chain on your tongue and
chain on your eye and chain on your brain
and chain on your property and a chain on
your soul. Some day you wake up and you
say: 81 am tired OF this, and am going to
get loose from this shacke." You pound away
with the hammer of good resolution, but can.
not break the thrall. Your friends join you
in conspiracy of help, but fall ex-
hausted in the unavailing attempt. Now
you begin, and with the writling of
LAGOON, to try to break away, and the muscles
are distended, and the great beads of perspira-
tionE dot your forehead, and the eyes stand out
from the sockets, and with all the concentrated
energies of body, mind and soul you attempt to
get loose, but have only made the chain sink
deeper. All the devils that eucamp in the
wine flask and the rum jug and the decanter-
for each one has a devil Of its own-come out
and sit around you and chatter. In some mid
night you spring from your couch and cry, 1T
am FAST o God, let me loose Oye powers
of darkness, let me loose! Father and mother
and brothers and sisters help me to get loosel"
And you turn your prayer to blasphemy and