Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-09-22

ourselves among those who make the oeSC OF
things If evil is contagious am glad to
say that COOL is also catching. People go up
into the hill country for physical health; SO
Yourself up off the lowlands into the alti'
tudes OF high moral association. For many
of the circumstances of our llfe we are
not responsible For our parentago wc are
not responsible. For tho place of our
nativity, not responsible; for our Textures.
our stature. our color, not responsible; Tor
the family relation in which we wero born,
for our natural tastes. for or mental
character, not responsible. But we are re-
sponsible for tho associates that we choose
and the moral influences under which weput
ourselves Character seeks IN equilibrium.
A. B. is good man. y. u. is u bad man.
Let them now voluntarily choose each
others society A. B. will lose n part OF his
goodness and y. z. part of his badness. and
they will gradually approach each other
III character and will finally stand on tho same
level. Ono of tho old painters refused
to look Mt poor pictures because no
said it damaged his style. ~ musician
cannot atror,, to dwell among diScorlS, nor
can Il writer afford to perlise books OF inferior
STYLE, nor an architcct walk out among dis.
proportional structures. And no man or
woman was ever so good us to be able 10
afford to choose evil associations therefore
Sill, nave III u rulc VI 1Vui itc w 81 "iAio'i=
those better than yourselves. Cannot ind
thcms Then what pink Of perfection yon
must be: Wh,u WAS your character com
pletad. What Il misfortune for the saintiy
and angelic of heaven that they arc not on
loving the improving influence of your
society! All, If you cannot find those better
than yourself, it is because you are ignorant
of yourself Woe unto you, ScrlbeS and
Pharasees, hypocriteS!
PIT 1 RI oil ha
sacred and in all styles of literature Il chain
means not only adornment and royalty OF
nature but sometimes captivity And sup
pose there are those in that sense deliberately
and perSstently making chain. Now here
is young man of good physical health COOL
manners and good education. How shall he
put together enough links to make a chain
for the down-hill road: | will give him some
directions First, let him smoke. If he cam
not stand cigars let him try cigarettes. think
cigarettes will help him OH this road a little
more rapidly because the doctors say there
is more poison in them. and 50 he will By
helped along faster, and l have tho more
confidence in proposing this because about
fifty of the first young men of Brooklyn dur
ing the last year were, according to the doe
tors reports, killed by cigarettes. Let him
drink light wines first, or ale or lager, and
gradually he will be able to take Somo-
thing stronger, and us all styles OF
strong drink are more and more adulterated,
his progress will be facilitated. With the old
time drinks q man seldom got delirium
tremens before thirty or forty years of age;
now lie cali get the madness by the time he is
eighteen. Let him play cards, enough money
put up always to add interest To ths gaina.
If the father and mother will play with him
that will help by way of countcllaucing the
habit. And it will be such pleasant
thing to think over in the day of judy
ment when the parents give account for the
elevated manner in which they have reared
their children. Every pleasant Sunday
afternoon take /; carriage ride and sop ut
the hotels OH either side the road for Sabbath
refreshments Do not let the od-fogy prcju-
dccs against Sabbath breaking dominate
vou Have membership of somo club
where libertines 20 ami tell about their VIC
torious sins. ana laush us loud Us ANY OF them
in der sion of those who belong to the same
sex rs your sister and mother. Pitch your
Bible overheard rs oldfas!iiuned aud fit only
for women and children Read all the maya
zine articles that put Christianity at disad-
vantage, and so to hear all the lectures that
malign Christ, who they say, instead of be-
ing the Mighty One lie pretended to be, was
an impoSter and tue impantar of a great de
fusion. Go. at first out OF curiosity, to sec
all the houses of dissipation, and then go be-
CAUSE you have felt the thr;lll of their fasci.
nation. Getting along spendidlv now
Let ma see what further can | suggest in
that direction. Become more defiant of ul
tlecency more loud-lnoutlled in your atheism,
more thoroughly alcoholi2ed, and instead of
the small stakes that will DO well enough for
games of chance in ladies' parlor, put up
something worldly, PIT up more, put up all
YOU have Well done, You have sue
ceeded. You have made a chain-the
tobacco habit one link, the rum habit one
linz, the impure club another link. intilelity
another link, Sabbath dissertation another
link, uncleannesS another link, and altogether
they make chain. And so there is 4 chain
on your hand and chain on your foot an |
chain OH your tongue and I; chlin on your
eye and chain OH your brain and a chain
on your property and 4 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 shackle- ,
Won nound away with the hammer oil Sood
resolution. but cannot break the tlrail;
Your friends Join you in a conspiracy OF
help. but fail exhausted in the llnavalllns at
tempt Now YOU begin, and with the wrltti,
iny of LAGOON, to try 10 break away, anu
the muscles are distended, and the greao
beads of perspiration dot your forehead,
and the ewes stand out from the sockets,
and with all the concenteret energies
of body, mind and soul you attempt to geG
loose but have only made the CHAIN SINK
deeper. All the devils that encamp IN Tue
wine flask and the rum jug ana the uecahter
for each one has devil of its own-come
ont and sit around you and chatter. In some
midnight you spring from your eou en-
me loose! o We powers of dark
ness, let me loose Father and mother
ana brothers and sisters, help me to get
LOOSE" And you turn gour prayer TO nlas-
phemy and then your blasphemy into prayer
and to all the din and uproar there is p.layei
an accompaniment, not an ACCOMPANYING O
by KEY and pedal, but the accompaniment IS
rattle, and the rattle is that OF cham. FOR
five wears, for ten years, for twenty years.
You have been making chain.
But here take step higher and tell You
there is a power that can break any chain
Chain of body, chain of mind, chain OF soul:
The letters that the hammer OF the Gospel
have broken Off, if piled together, would
make mountain. The captives whom
Christ has set free, il stood side by
side would make an army. QUICKER
melted a cable, quicker than key ever
unlocked a handcuff. quicker than the bay
onets of revolution pried open the
Basti!e, YOU may be liberated and made
free son or free daughter of God on
have only TO choose between serfdom anu
emancipation. between chain and a coronet,
between Satan and God. Make up Your
mind and make it up quick. w hen
the King of Sparta had crossed the
Hcllespont and was about to march through
Thrace. he sent word to the people In the
different regions asking them whether he
should march through their countries as q
friend or an enemy by all means as q
fri:nd.n answered most Of the regions, bit
the King of Macedon replied: Il will take