The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1891-05-29
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
4IE BROOKLYN DIVINEs SUN
DAY SERMON.
INFECT. "The Evils of Liquor Drink.
ing

INFECT; "Ihe Evils Of Liquor Drink
ing.7
TEXT; "Hoah planted Vineyard, aud h,
rdak Of the mine and iUCs drunken. -
4 Guests *, 20, 81.
This Noah did the best and the worst
ping for the world. He built an ark
gainst the deluge of water, but intro
uced deluge against which the human
ace has ever since been trying TO build an
rk-tde deluge of drunkenness. In my taxi
ke hear his staggering steps. Shem and
applet tried to cover up the disgrace, but
here he Is, drunk ON wine at a time in the
istory OF the world when TO SAY the least
&lhere was no lack of water. 1nebriation,
aving entered the world, has not retreated.
tedgail, the fair and heroic wife, who saved
he Hooks Of Nabal, her husband from con.
iscation by invaders goes home at night
and finds him SO intoxicated she cannot tell
pm the story of his narrow escape. Uriah
Fame to see David, and David got him
drunk and paved the way for the despolia-
zion OF household. Even the church hfihops
heedei 20 be charged to be sober amt not
! given to too much wine, and 50 familiar
e Tere people OF Bible times with the stagger
ms and falling motion Of the inehriate that
saiah, when he comes 10 describe the innl
iislocation Of the worlds says, "The earth
"a lAtAiA INtl 10 anu Ito 4AA- =
H Ever since apples and grapes and wheat grew
-3 he world has been tempted TO unhealthful
stlmuants. But the iatoxicants Of the olden
i. ine were an innocent beverage, a harmless
rangeade, quiet syrup. a peacef ! soda
water as compared with the liquids Of mod
Pm inebriation, i1to which a madness, and
fury, and gloom, and fire, and a suicide
Tad a retribution have mixed and mingled.
fermentation was always known, but 10 was
lot until thousand years after Christ
hat distillation was invented. While
Fe must confess that some Of the
Ancient arts have been lost, the
Christian era is superior to all others in
he bad eminence OF whisky and rum and
/ rim, The modern drunk is a hundredfold
worse than the ancient drunk. Noah In his
toxication became imbecile, but the vic
ims of modern alcoholism have to struggle
with whole menageries Of wild beasts. and
8irngles OF Kissing serpents, and perditions of
bf disappearing demons.
An arch hend arrived in our world, and
be built an invisible caldron of temptation.
tle built that caldron strong and stout for
nj ages and nations. FIRST he squeezed into
he caldron the juices OF the forbidden fruit
III Paradise. Then he gathered for it a dis
iilation from the harvest fields and the
HDrchArds Of the hemispheres. Then he poured
nto this caldron capsicum and copperas and
= ogwo0d and deadly nightshade and assault
Rnd battery and yitriol ana opium and rum
nrd murder aud sulphuric acid and theft and
potash and cochineld and red carrots and
poverty and death and hops. But it was a
TRY compound and itmust be noistened. and
f must be hquehed. and 50 the arch deud
tl1oured INTO that caldron the tears Of ceLtll-
II iies OF orphanage and wi1owhood. and he
+ poured IN the blood Of twenty thousand as
n assinationk
II And then the arch fend took a shovel that
H. fn.t 81.
IN eath. and he put that shovel into this great
HI aldrou and began to stir, ard the caldron
'lbegan % heave and rock and boil and sput-
Her and hiss and smoke, and the nations gath
tired around il with cups and tankards and
Z1emijohns and kegs aud there was enough
4 for all and the arch fient cried: 'Ahal
chanploR iend am Il Who has done more
than have for collins and graveyards and
Ilrls1S nsrnd insane asylumS. aud the popuiat-
I ng of the lost worids And when this caldron
S efmutied III I'll it again ard III stir it
E1gafin. and it will smoke again, and that
smoke will join another smoke, the smoke of
q torTnent that ascendeth for ever and ever.
<drure fifty ships on the rocks Of New
3foundlond. and the Skerries. and the Good
wins. | have ruined more senator's
1than gather this winter in the na-
|tionEl councils. have ruined more lords
fthan are now gathered in the house
lof peers. The cup nut of which ordinarily
drink IS q bleached human skull, and the
/ upholstery OF my palace is 50 rich a crimson,
because It Is dyei in human gore, and the
mosaic Of my floors is made M Of the bones
OF children dashed to death by drunken
parents. and my favorite music-sweeter
than TIE Deum or triumphsl 1larch-my
Ilavorite music IS the cry OF daughters turned 1
out at midnight on the street because father /
has come home from the carousal and the 1
seven hundred voiced shrek Of the sinking (
steamer, beczIuss the captain was not him
:,
course Champion feud am Il 1 have I
|kindled more fires, have wrung out more ]
agonies, 1 have stretched ont more mid 1
night shadows, ! have opened more Col 4
gOthas, | have rolled more JugEeTnauts, I 4
have damned more souls than any other
emissary Of diabolisin. Champion hend
amir
Drunkenness Is the greatest evil Of this
nation, and it taxes no logical process TO
prove TO this aEdience that a drunken ration
cannot long be a free nation. 1 call your at
teution 10 the fact that drunkenness IS not
EuhSiding. certainly that It is not at q stand
still but that il is on an onward march, and
IL Is a double quick. There IS more run
swallowed il this country, and OF a worse
kind than was ever swallowed since the first
distllery began its WORK OF death Where
there was one drunken home there are ten
drunken homes. Where there was one
drsIukarfis grave there are twenty drunk
ards graves Il IS on the increase. Talk
about crooked whisky-by which men mean
the whisky that does not pay the tax TO gov
ernmeut-I tell you al strong drink Is
crooked. Crooked Otard crooked Cognac.
crooked sehnapps crooked beer. crooked
vine, crooked wnisky-hecause It makes
mans path crooked, and his lie crooked, and
his death crooked and his eternity crooked
II could gather all the armies OF thedead
drunkaris and have them come TO resurrec-
tion, and then add 70 that host all the armies
OF living drnnksrds. five and ten abreast
and then II / could have YOU mount a horss
and ride along that line for review, you
would ride thar horse till he dropped from
exhaustion. aud you would mount another
horse and Ilde until be fell from exhaustion.
and you would take another aud aaother
aud you would ride along hour after hour
and day after day. Great host, in regiments.
in brigades. Great armies Of them And
then il you had voice steutoriau enough TO
make them all hear. and you could give the
command, Forward, marchF their first
tramp would make the earth tremhle. ! do
cot care which way you look in the commun-
itY 70 day the rvii is Increasing.
call atiea the fact that there are
o. 'orn with thirst for
strong drink ~ too often ignored.
Along some ancestral lines there runs the
river Of temptation. There are children
whose swaddling clothes are torn OFF the
stroud OF Death. Many a father has made
! will Of this sort. In the name Of God
aInen. / bequeath tony children my houses
md lands and estates: share aud share shall
hey alike. Hereto | atiix my hand and seal
IN tho presence Of Witnesszsn And yet per
haps that very snan has made another will
thst the people have never read, and that
has nof been proved IN the courts. That viii
PIT in writing would read something like
li,ies 1lu the name OF disease and appetite
md death, amen Ibeqneafh tony children
ny evil habits, my tankards shall be theirs
ny wine cup shall be theirs my destroyed
reputation snail be theirs. Share and share
like shall they in the infamy. Hereto / af.
* my hand and seal in the presence OF al
the npplauding harpies Of hell
From the multitude Of those who have
he evil habit born with them this army is be
ng augmented And am sorrT 10 say that
great many OF the drug stores are abettine
his evii. and alcohol IS sold under the name
4 bitters. Il is bitters for this and bitters
Tor that and bitters for soms other thing
md good men deceived not knowing there
S any thralldom Of alcoholism coming from
hat source, are going down. and some day
man sits with the bottle Of black bitters on
us table. and the cork flies out, ard after it
lies heDd and clutches the man BY his
hroat and says "Ahal I have been after
ron for ten years. / have got you now.
Jown with You, down with yous Bfttersi