The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-08-22
Anofher loss 'whicR fha inahriafe

Aoii tdrti uc uDCS care. lie cannot
look u pure man in the eye, unless ii
is with positive force of resolution.
Three-fourths of his nature is de-
stroyed; his self respect gone; he says
things he would not otherwise say; he
does things he would not otherwise do.
When man is nifie-te,Shs gone with
strong drink, the first thing he wants
to do is to persuade you that he can
stop any time he wants to. He cannot.
The Philistines have bound him hand
and foot, and shorn his locks, and put
out his eyes, and are making him grind
III the mill of a great horror. He cannot
stop. l will prove it. He knows that
his course is bringing disgrace and
ruin upon himself He loves himself.
If he could stop he would. He knows
his course is bringing ruin upon his
family. He loves them. He would
stop If he could He cannot. Per-
haps he could three months or year
ago; not now. Just ask him to stop
for month. He cannot; he knows
he cannot, SO he does not try. / had
a friend who for fifteen years was
going down under this evil habit. He
had large means. He had given thou
sands of dollars to Bible societies and
reformatory institutions of all sorts.
He was very genial and very gener-
Gus and very lovable, and whenever
he talked about this evil habit he
would say, Il can stop any time. I"
down, down. His family would
say, Il wish you would stop" why" !"
he would reply, II can stop any time if
T ~ 10 a H. I1 L., i Il
lirium tremens; he had it twice; and
yet after that he said, 81 could stop
at any time if l wanted to-" He is
dead now. What killed him2 Rum /
Rumi And yet among his last utter
ances was, II can stop at any time "
He did not stop it, because he could
not stop it. Oh, there is point in in
ebriation beyond which, if man goes,
he cannot stop!
THE TERRIBLE CRAVING FOR DRINK.
One of these victims said to Chris
tian man, Sir, if / were told that
couldn't get drink until tomorrow
night unless / had all my fingers cut
off, l would say, Bring the hatchet
and cut them off now.'' have dear
friend in Philadelphia, whose nephew
came to him one day, and when he
| was exhorted about his evil habit,
said, "Uncle, | can't give it up. Ii
there stood cannon, and it was load
ed, and q glass of wine sat on the
| mouth of that cannon, and | knew
that you would fire it off just as ]
came up and took the glass, l would
start, for l must have il" Oh, il
is a sad thing for man to wake
| ~, -. fhte 1;fo o,,l fool that hr
Is captive. He says: II could have
might have lived an honorable life
and died Christian death but there
is no hope for me now; there is no es
cape for me. Dead, but not buried
ann a walking corpse. I am an ap
partition Of what once was. / am 6
Gagged immortal, beating against the
wires of my cage in this direction
and in that direction; beating against
the cage until there is blood on the
wires and blood upon my soul, YET
not able to get out. Destroyed, with
out remedyp
l go further, and say that the in
ebriate suffers from the loss of his
usefulness Do you not recognize the
fact that many of those who are now
captives of strong drink only little
while ago were foremost in the
churches and in reformatory institu
tions9 Doyou not know that sometime
they knelt in the family circle2 d.
you not know that they prayed in pub
lie, and some of them carried arount
the holy wine on sacramental days
Oh, yes, they stood in the very from
rank, but they gradually fell away
And now what do you suppose is thu
feeling of such man as that, whel
he thinks of his dishonored VOWS ant
the dishonored sacrament-when h,
thinks of what he might hav,
been and of what he Is now
Do such men laugh and seen
very merry2 All, there Is, dow
in the depths of their soul,
very heavy weight. Do not wonde
that they sometimes see strange things
and act very roughly in the household
You would not blame them at all i
you knew what they suffer. Do no
tell such as that there is no futur
punishment. Do not tell him there i
no such place as hell. He knows ther
is. He is there nowl
. THEIR HEALTH GOES TOO.
l go on, and say that the inebriat
, suffers from the loss of physical health
The older men in the congregation
may remember that some years ag
! DIR. Sewell went through this countr,
and electrified the people by his lect
I ures. in which he showed the effect
of alcohol on the human stomach. Ii
had seven or eight diagrams by whicl
: he showed the devastation of stroni
drink upon the physical system. Their
f; were thousands of people that turne
back from that ulcerous sketch swear
ing eternal abstinence from everything
that could intoxicate.
God only knows what the drunkar
suffers Pain files on every nerve
: and travels every muscle, and gnaw
every bone, aud burns with ever,
$ flame. and stings with every poison
! and pulls at him with every torture
What reptiles crawl over his creepinI
I limbs What fiends stand by his mid
night pillow What groans tear hi
earl What horrors shiver througl
his soull Talk of the rack, talk o
the Inquisition, talk of the funera
pyre, talk of the crushing Juggernau
he feels them all at once. Hav
YOU ever been in the ward of the hos
pital where these inebriates are dying
! the stencil of their wounds drivin
1 back the attendants, their voice
a sounding through the nightl TIL
4 keeper comes up and says, Hush
t now, be still. Stop making all thi
: noisel" But it is effectual only fo
moment, for as soon as IN
!, keeper Is gone, they begin again
Q 'Oh, God oh, Godl Helpl helI
r Ruml Give me rum Help! Tak
t them off mel Take them off ms
!. Take them off mel Oh, Godw An
, then they shrek, and they rave, an
$ they pluck out their hair by hand
n full, and bite their nails into the quicl
> and then they groan, and they shriel
$ and they blaspheme, and they as
$ the keepers to kill them. Stab m
It Smother me. Strangle me Take Il
, devils off meln Oh, it is no fame
y sketch. That thing is going on
+ hospitals, aye, it is going on in son
$ of the finest residences of every neig
/, borhood ON this continent 1t wei
a on last night while you slept, and
!. tell YOU further that this is going
Is be the death that some of you will di
:, know it. | see it coming.
Ls HIS HOME Is RUINED.
4 Again: theinebriate suffers throus
% the loss of his home. do not ca
o how much he loves his wife al
. children, il this passion for strol
Y drink has mastered him, he will .
= the most outrageous things, and II
W could not get drink in any other wa
ir he would sell his family into etern
IN bondage. How many homes ha
s. been broken up in that way, no ol