The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-08-21

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of your life you have formed certain courses
Of conduct-some of them good, some of
them bad: To which style Of habit did you
assaFssGore easily yielda All. my friends, we
have to take but moment of. self inspection
to find out that there is in all our souls
force of moral gravitation! But that gravi-
tatson may be resisted. Just as you may
pick up from the earth some thing and hold
It in your hand toward heaven, Just so, by
the power of Gods grace soul fallen may
be lifted toward peace, toward pardon, to-
ward heaven Force Of moral gravitation
In every one Of US, but power In Gods grace
70 overcome that force Of moral graTltatlon.
The next thing in the way OF your return
is the power Of evil habit. l know there
are those who say it is very easy for them
to give up evil habits. I do not believe
them. Here is a man given to intoxication
BE knows it is disgracing his family, de-
stroying his property, running him, body,
mind, and soul If that man, being an in
telligcnt man, and loving his family, could
easily give up that habit would he not
soe The fact that he does not giye'lt up
proves that it is hard to give it up. It is
yery easy thing to sail down stream, the
tide carrying you with great force; but
suppose you turn the boat up stream, is 1t
so easy then to row ita As long as we yield
to the evil inclinations in our hearts and
our bad habits we are sailing down stream;
but the moment we try to turn we put our
boat in the rapids just above Niagara and
try to row up stream. Take man given to
the habit of using tobacco. as most OF you
do. and let him resolve to stop and he finds
It very difficult. Twenty seven years ago
T Quit that habit, and would as soon dare
to put my right hand in the fire as once to
indulge in it. Why? Because it was such
a struggle to get over it. Now, let
man be advised by his physician to give up
the use of teoacco He goes around not
knowing what to DO with himself. He can
not add up line OF figures. He can not
sleep nights. 1t seems as if the world had
turned upside down. he feels his business
is going to ruin. Where he was kind and
obliging he IS scolding and fretful. The
composure that characterized him has given
way to a fretful restlessness, and he mas be-
come a complete fdget. What power. is it
that has rolled wave Of woe over the earth
and shaken portent in the heavens? He
has tried tc stop smoking or chewingl After
while he says. 81 am going to do as I
please. The doctor doesn't understand my
case. Pm going back to my old habit"
And he returns. Every thing assumes its
usual composure. His business seems to
brighten. The world becomes an attractive
place to live in. His children, seeing the
difference, hail the return Of their fathers
genial disposition. What wave Of color has
dashed blue into the sky, and greenness into
the mountain foliage, and the glow OF sap
phire into the sunset? What enchantment
has lifted world Of beauty and Joy on his
soul? He has gone back to tobaccol
Oh. the fact is, as we all know in our own
experience, that habit is a taskmaster; as
long as we obey it, it does not chastise US;
but let US resist, and we find we are to be
lashed with scorpion whips and bound with
ship cable, and thrown into the track Of bone
breaking iuggernauts! During the war Of
1872 there was ship set on fire just above
Niagara Falls, and then, cut loose from its
moorings, 1t came on down through the night
aad tossed over the falls. Itwas said to have
been scene brilliant beyond all description.
Well, there are thousands Of men on fire Of
evil habit, coming down through the rapids
and through the awful night Of temptation
toward the eternal plunge. Oh! how hard
it is to arrest them. God only can arrest
them.
Suppose man after five, or ten, or twen-
ty wears Of evil doing, resolves to do right.
why. all the forces OF darkness are allied
against him. He can not sleep nights. He
eets down on his knees in the midnight end
cries: ssGod help men He bites his lips. He
erinds his teeth He clenches his fist IN his
determination to keep his purpose. He
darsnotl look at the bottles in the window OF
wine store 1t was one long, bitter, ex-
baustive, hand-to hand fight with iriamed,
tsntalizing and merciless habit. When be
thinks he is entirely free, the old lnclina-
tiors pounce upon him like pack OF hounds
with their muzzles tearing away at the
6anks of one poor reindeer. IN Paris there
is sculptured representation OF baccnus'
the god O. rcvelry. he is riding On pan
ther at full leap. Oh! how suggestive. Lee
every one who is speeding on bad ways un
6erstand he is not riding docile and vel
broken steed, but he is riding monster
: wild and bloodthirsty, going at deathleap
How many there are who resolve on bet
ter life and say: when shall awake {,
Bnt. seized on by their old habits, cry: 6
viii try it once more; will seek it We
aeain:" Years ago there were some Prince
ton students who were skating, and the lc'
was very thin, and some one warned TIT
connany back from the cir hole, and tnali.
warned them entirely to leave the place
Hnt one Young man with bravado after al
the rest had stopped, crled OUT: ohe rouli'
more" He swept around ana Went down