The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-06-21

all men are liars, if you are. Laugh
ter. There are thousands of persons
who, having made promise, will keep
it to the day of Judgment. Yet the old
temperance pledge is so out of fashion
that l do not believe in all this
audience there is a Temperance pledge;
and if some poor drunkard, seeing the
lights in this church tonight, should
come in and at the close of the meeting
want with his trembling hand to sign a
Temperance pledge, we would have to
fly around and tear out leaf from an
old memorandum-book to get his
signature.
Here gentleman handed the speaker
pledge, and DIR. Talmage said: BLESS
you, my friend. Here is a pledge. How
glad l am it is not extinct"l
Yes, l know that in some parts Of
the land the Temperance pledge is still
doing its work. Many years ago, at the
close of one of my services in Brooklyn,
saw a man in pew near the pulpit
who seemed to be weeping bitterly. l
went to him and said: You seem to be
in trouble" Yes said he, 81 am the
victim of strong drink. l had beauti-
full wife and four lovely children, and
have ruined them all by my dissipa-
tions. live in the far West and have
had great prominence, and if | should
tell you my name you would know it.
1 came here this morning, and this
evening, hoping you could do me some
good, but you can't. No one can do me
any good. Yesterday, coming down on
the Hudson River railroad, felt that
was somewhat getting free from my
evil habit, when a man seated next me
handed me a bottle of intoxicating
liquor. 1t seemed as if the red tongue
of the liquor was thrust up around tho
cork, as if it said: Take me. take mer
In horror | started out in the aisle of
the car to the platform, thinking 1
would jump off. But the train was
going forty miles an hour, and l did
not dare to jump" WELL" l said,
''come into this side-room. and we will
talk with you and pray with you" We
entered the room where there were
five or six Christian men, and without
any circumlocution we commended his
case to God. Then the poor man and 1
started up Fulton street. Coming oppo-
site drugstore, we went in and said:
Doctor, can you give this man some
thing, without any alcohol in it, that
will help him when the paroxysm of
of thirst for strong drink comes on?"
The bottle was prepared. l said to the
druggist: ''How long will this
probably last the MANI" He
said; perhaps two or three weeks"
l said: Prepare another bottle" And
with these bottles in his pocket we
started out on the street, and l said to
the poor man: Put your trust in God,
and when these paroxysms of thirst
come Oh take some OF this medicine
and God will see you through" Great
applause. A few weeks afterward
received letter from Boston,
saying: Enclosed are the two dollars
you paid for that medicine the other
night to help poor drunkard. l send
you also the Boston newspapers Show
ing that | have been night after night,
to large audiences, preaching righteous
ness, Temperance and Judgment to
come. The thirst for rum has entirely
left me, and did not have to take one
drop of the medicine. God has seen mo
through" Years passed on and l heard
nothing of that man. Some of my
friends said: Have you heard from
the drunkard about whom you told me?"
They said: No, l guess you won't
hear again; guess he has probably
gone back to his evil habits" You know
there is great deal OF infidelity in the
church. Years passed on, and one sum-
mer, while l was attending large OUT
door meeting in Indiana, at the close
of the service man came up and put
ting out his hand said: do you know
me?" l replied: 81 have no knowl-
edge of ever having seen you before"
He said: Il am the man who was in
your church one Sunday night in great
trouble about his habit of strong drink,
and you took me into the side-room for
prayers, and afterward took me up to tho
drugstore for medicine. ! am the man.
have not touched drop of intoxicat-
ing liquor since that time. Even the
temptation has disappeared. 1 have
ever since been engaged in lecturing
and preaching in behalf of the Temper
ance cause, and have secured over fif-
teen thousand signatures to the Temper
ance pledge" Renewed applause. In
all our land give the Temperance pledge
new starting.