Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1890-08-08

day night? Monday night, Nay, have not
| some OF you in your own bodies felt the
power of this habiu You think that you
could stop' Are you sure you couldi Go on
| little further and am sure you cannot
think IL some Of you should try TO break
away you would find chain ON the right
wrist and one on the left; one on the right
foot and another on the left. This serpent
| does not bsgin 10 hurt until 1t has wound
round and round Then IL begins to tighten
and strangle and crush until the bones crack,
and the blood trickles and their eyes start
from their sockets, and the mangied wretch
cries: 20 God o Godl helpl helpP But it
is too late. and not even the fires OF woe can
melt the chain when once it is fully fastened.
have shown you the evil beast. The ques-
tion is, Who will hunt him down and how
shall we shoot himi | answer first by get
ting our children right on this subject. Let
| them grow up with an utter aversion to
strong drink Take care how you admins
ter 1t, even as medicine. II you find that
they have a natural love for it as some have,
put in a glass Of 1t some hurrid stuff, and
| make IL utterly nauseous. Teach them as
faithfully as you do the Bible that rum Is a
hend. Take them to the alnshouse and show
them the wreck and ruin 1t works. Walk
with them into the homes that have been
scourged by It, II drunkard had fallen in
10 a ditch take them right up where they can
see his face, bruised, savage and swollen, and
say: Look, my son. Rum did that" Look
| Ing out Of your window at some one who
Intoxicated to madness, goes through the
street brandishing his fist, blaspheming God,
g bowling, defying, shouting reeling, raw
ing and foaming maniac, say to your son;
Look, that man was once child like you"
AS you go by the grog shop let them know
that that Is the place where men are slain, and
| their wives made paupers, and their children
slaves. Hold out to your children all warn
| lngs, all rewards, all counselS lest in after
days they break your heart and curse your
gray hairs. A man laughed at my father
| Tor his scrupulous temperance principles,
and said: II am more liberal than you. |
always give my children the sugar in the
glass after we have been taking a drink. -
| Three Of the sons have died drunkards and
the fourth is imbecile through intempe rate
habits.
Again. we viii battle this evil by voting
| only for sober men. How many men are
there who can rise above the feelings Of par,
sisanship and demand that our officials shall
be sober menf
maintain that tho question OF sobrlety Is
higher than the question Of availability, and
that however eminent mans services may
be, il ne have habits of intoxication he is un-
&c for any Office in the gift Of Christian
people. Our laws will be no better than the
men whA make them. Spend few days at
HarrisHA Ag or Albany or Washington and
you wiSfnd out why upon these subjects it
Is impossible TO get righteous enactments.
Again we win war upon this evil by or
Eanized societies. The friends of the rum
traffic have banded together; annually issue
their circulars; raise fabulous sums of money
10 advance their interests, and by grips pass
words signs and stratagems set at defiance
public morals. Let us confront them with
organizations Just as secret, and II need be,
with grips and pass words and signs main
tain our position. There is no need that our
philanthropic societies tell all their plans. |
am in favor Of oil lawful strategy in the car
rying on Of this conflict. wish to God we
could lay under the wine casks train which,
once ignited would shake the earth with the
explosion of this monstrous iniquity!
Again, we will try the power of the
pledge. There are thousands of men who
havo been saved by putting their names TO
such a document. know 1t is laughed at,
but there are some men who, having once
promised Q thing, do 1t. "Some have
broken the pledge" Yes; they were liars.
But all men are not liars. | do not say that
Il is the duty Of all persons to make such
signature, but do say that 1t would be the
salvation OF many Of you. The glorious work
Of Theobald Mathew can mover be estimated
at his hand four millions Of people took the
pledge and multitudes In Ireland, England
Scotland and America have kept it till thi:
day. The pledge signed to thousands ha,
been the proclamation of emancipation.
Again, we expect great things from Inc
briats asylums They have already done @
glorious work. think that we arc coming
at last to treat inebriation as it ought to bt
treated, namely, as an awful disease. self In
ficted, to be sure but nevertheless a disease
Once fastened upon q man sermons won'
cure him; temperance lectures will not eradi
cate II; religious tracts will not remove 1t
the Gospel Of Christ win not arrest it. Ono
under the power Of this awful thirst the mar
Is bound TO go on; and II tho foaming glas'
were on the other side Of perdition he woulc
wade through the fires of hell to get it: A
young man In prison had such strong thirs
tor intoxicating liquors that he cut off hi
hand at tho wrist, called for bowl of brandy
In order to stop the bleeding, thrust hi
wrist into the bowl, and then drank the con
tents.
Stand not when the thirst is on him be
tween a man and his cups. Clear the tracl
tor him. Away with the children; he woulC
. tread their life out. Away with the wife
, he would dash her to death. Away with tn
cross; he would run 1t down. Away with th'
Bible: he would tear 1t up for the winds
Away with heaven; he considers 1t worth
less as a straw. "Give me the drink Civ
Ii to mel Though the handsof blood pass VI
the bowl and the soul trembles over the piI
. the drink give 1t to mel Though 1t b
. pale with tears; though the froth Of everlast
. Ing anguish float on the foam-give 1t to me
drink to my wife's woe, TO my children
rags, to my eternal banishment from Go
and hope and heayenl Give it to mel tn
, drinkp
Again, we will contend against these evil
H. As.ll IL.
$ Of society to tho banishment Of alcoholi
| beverages. You who move in elegant an
:. refined associations; you who drink the bes
! liquors; you who never drink until you los
4 | your balance lot us look each other In th
j. lace on this subject. You have under Go
s In your power the redemption Of this Ian
from drunkenness. empty your cellars an
}. wine closets Of the beverage and then come ou
D and give us your hand, your vote, your pray
8 ers your sympathies. Do that and will prom
: ise three things: First That you will find III
speakable happiness In having done you
8 duty; second, you will probably save SOM
D body-perhaps your own child; third, yo
. will not In your last hour regret that yo
b made the sacrifice, IL sacrifice 1t be.
n As long as you make drinking respectabl
drinking customs will prevail, and the plov
!. share OF death, drawn by terrible disaster
! will 60 on, turning up this whole continoI
. from end to end with the long, deep, awft
}, turrow Of drunkards graves.
t Ohl how this rum flend would like TO &
: and hang up a skeleton in your beautitI
/. house. so that when you opened the fror
u door to 20 In you would SEQ 1t In the hal
q and when you sat at your table you woul
= sec it hanging from the wall; and when Yo
Il opened your bedroom you would find
:. stretched upon your pillow; and, waking 9
night, you would feel Its cold hand pas
\ ing over your faco and pirchiDg at you
. heart.
q There Is no home so beautiful but IL ma
!. be devastated by tho awful curse. 1t throw
: It's jargon into the sweetest harmony. VIII
d was 1t that silenced Sheridan, tho Englis
d orator, and shattered the golden scepter wit