The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-10
DIR. LAFFERTY.
HE LECTURED IN BALTIMORE.
OLD TINES AND THESE.

church last night. His subject was
"W hat IL and What Has Beep,' and
for nearly two hours the speaker held
the close and interested attention Of
large audience. He said he was
not one OF those vino thought that
all the good things were in the past
"Who wants to GO back TO the days
OF John Randolph and Nathaniel
Macon, who spent as many days in
going to Washington as 1t nov takes
hourss Who would want to go back
TO the days when every one thought
it necessary to 90 through O course
OF medicine every spring to relieve
him or the lassitude and spring fever;
when he was dosed with @ saucerful
Of sulphur and molasEes. washed
down with salts and SIENNA? Or to
the days when in New England ID
preacher could not make more than
two visits, even on Sunday, for fear
he would be overcome by the New
Eugland rum be would be required
to drink at each house, or when post
age was twenty five cents on letter,
aud when you paid your money the
letter would be carried oy aman on
a spa.ined mare, and then he would
be compelled to wait at the ferry un-
til the ferryman got sober?
The scenes witnessed In Congress
fe~ days ago when the House was
without rules was as nothing COM
pared TO the encounters OF one hun
dred years ago. Who would 60 back
especially of the girls-to the
good old times Of Washington, who,
when be wanted to treat his girl to
candy. bad to senl to Liverpool for
1t when tie journey over and back
occupied four or FIVE months? How
her mouth must hsve watered in the
meantime. They say people were
good deal better way back yonder.
Now, there is nothing like statistics
to explode such ideas. They show
that church membership has increas>
ed eight times as fast as the ropula-
ton. In the old days church bells +,
libraries and steeples were paid for
from the proceeds Of lotteries. Now
the people are so moral that but one
lottery exists in the whole country,
and that will soon be without place
in which to do business. Indeed,
some States are so moral that they
will not allow newspapers to publish
the advertisements of such concerns.
"And of the churches. When |
was a boy the church members we're
so stingy that they would not pay
for stoves to warm the miserable
shanties they called churches, bat
would come there in their carriages
with powdered footmen, dressed in
their hne silks, satisfied with the
condition OF the church. / went to
preach once In May, and the people
came as usual in their carriages.
They had no blinds to the windows,
and the sun poured in and warmed
the room it warmed something else.
too. Beneath the church all through
the wiIter, hogs were accustomed to
shelter and Eve hundred feas came
up from below and turned their at
tention TO the congregation. who in
turn turned their attention from the
preacher and he shortly lost the
thread Of bis discourse. owing to the
attack Of the same yermin. | sur-
pose no oenedlction was ever more
welcome, Those people were rich,
but they preferred annoyances to
church Improvement. Now through
all that country are handsome
churches. with carpets and organs
| have dedicated church after church.
vet those people haven't a dime now
whers they had g half dollar then
Tue churches that you see al
through that country is an evidence
that the plety of the people has
steadily risen in the last forty years
"Jnst after the Revolutlonarg
War nearly every scholar VAS an in
Fl ei they got their ideas from the
French who were our friends. Now
there is but one infidel and thst i,
Col IngersoII, who charges a dollar
to tell tie people there is no hell
while on the opposite side stands
10000 preachers and 100000 Sun
day scholars and teachers. Religion
has put on seven-league boots. The
first temperance organization was in
1859, and men who signed the pledge
. were going to pay penalty of t~en
ty-five cents for every drink taker
, exeep: on the Fourth of July, muster