The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-05-14

know where he was, although they had
always been kind to him. and tried to do
all they could to save him. But liquor
had made a complete slave Of him. He
had good position in his native town,
but lost it, because his head was not
kept level enough to fill the responsible
isics. lie would have his sprees. Being
naturally of delicate constitution, the
exposures incident to vagrant, drunk
ards life, had told upon him. His
friends were notified of his illness, but
he had passed away before their arrival"
A sad, sad story indeed But the boy
who heard it read said: "He needn't
have been a druAkard; he might have
behaved himself"
Yes yes, he might nave been some-
body of whom his friends would have
been proud, but instead of that he was
a source of sorrow and of shame to them.
That young man had good parents and
good Christian teachings, but liquor
was his master. Once he was a temper.
ate, happy boy, but some time he took
a first drink, and that was the begin
ming of all his ruin and shame. You
boys may not have as yet been tempted
by this form of evil, but the temptation
is sure to come to you, as it has to
others. Many boy as bright, as we'll
beloved, as well brought up and cared for
as you have been, has become drunkard.
Older tempters have argued with him
n, yyhn nov ,nf Hrir,ly nh
as he thinks good for him, and no more,
is not very strong character. But let
me tell you, my boys, the only safety
from being overcome by strong drink is
to let it entirely alone. No arguments
for or against will be necessary then.
The power OF the habit of liquor-drink-
ing once formed, is something very hard
to be overcome.
In the police reports of daily paper
few weeks since, the arrest of a mid.
dle-aged man for a serious crime was
mentioned. His crime, and two-thirds
of all the crimes committed. were due
to the same cause-strong drink Fol.
lowing the notice was this statement
made by the prisoner:
Drink was the cause of my ruin. Nobody
knows the power Of such an appetite but the
man who has suffered from it, Years ago
took my dying mothers hand and promised her
| l would never take another drop. meant just
| what said. tried hard to keep my promise,
but the terrible thirst for liquor ovcrcame me,
| and In a few weeks was drinking as hard 40
ever. Two years ago my little girl died. She
begged me On her death-bed to stop drinking.
and Ipromised her would. called upon God
to witness the promise. / wanted to keep it.,
but after my little girl had gone, the terrible
thirst for liquor came again. fought against
it, but it overpowered me. Drink had destroyed
my will-power l loved my child, but chains
were forged about me that could not break -
So you see, boys, how very hard it is
to reform after one has formed the
habit of drinking The problem OF res
cuing the country from this terribk
curse is agitating the wisest heads
They feel that it must be driven out;
but what is the best way to do it? That
is the question. You boys can solve
the problem, as far as you are individ-
ually concerned, by being determined
that you will never take even one
drink. If every boy would make that
resolution, and keep it, old King Alec
hol's head would soon tumble off and
roll into the bottomless abyss.
This is very serious matter, and in
view of the ruined lives-thousands OF
them-the broken-hearted mothers, the
sorrowing friends, and the unlimited
amount of human misery caused by this
power for evil, l beg that you will con.
slider this momentous subject and
pledge yourselves to do all you csn. in
the name and with the help Of the Lord
to exterminate "the Serpent Of the
Still. susan Teail Perry, in N. Y,
Evangelist.