The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-05-23
SARGE PLUNKETT.
WHY We DISSIPATE AND ITS MANY
DIFFERENT FORMS.
Life as 1t is Seen and Played-No Use for a
Man to Mourn and Fret Away for tho
Darkest Clouds Have Silver Lining.
For The Constitution.

| For The Constitution.
Every man has his weakness in some form
| or other, is the notion | have come to.
A remedy for the greatest weaknesses is
what, should be sought for. A night spent
IN barroom with watchful eyes and open
eyes, would not give to you the most pru-
| dent insight of life but it might give you
the most truthful picture of mans worst
weaknesses. You watch the htifferent
| forms in which these weaknesses take
shape and to see with what looseness
WHISKY causes men to air
themselves is u study, a mystery, perhaps
q shame.
Some FILL up while others. elbow Off"
some get cunning while others get open,
some get generous while others grow closer
with every drink and as mean as they are
close.
Watch them as they come and go or
with one the waters are troubled, with
another the sun shines bright. One must
pose as the picture of sadness, while another
IS the soul of wit and humor. The air of
business is not absent from these resorts,
Tor here comes in a man who would inn
press you with his business Importance, and
It is wonderful how well he plays his part.
lie wears a business suit. walks to the
counter with a business stride, brushes a
htue Hour from the sleeve of his coat in
an easy business way, splits like business
man, takes Il sip of water in a business
style, drinks, pays his money and away h e
might think he was rushing to his business
but it is only to the next bar he is going
to go through the same thing once more.
Inns business concet is one of the most
fortunate turns that the drinking weakness
could take. 1t would not be business for
him to get extravaganza. He must hold his
balance, his dignity and yim-he is happy
IN the thought of doing this, and it will
save him from the gutter long after the
witty fellow, who sits over in chair by
a table, has fell to be a common bum and
arrived at the stage where he can neither
waugh himself nor wiring a smile from others.
J see go under if he would watch through a
ong life like mine, for at last he finds that
is jokes are only the conceits of an ad- |
led brain. No reflection upon barrooms
emand. The weakness of this very wit |
emands a bar. No drinking from bottle |
jug would suit this fellow. One drink |
agnities him into an Artemus Ward and he |
Easy to have them along with plenty of |
loney, and how they do laugh at all the |
S3okes between drinks. These laughing peo-
lie are a part OF barrooms, or they always |
niger there.
Last Saturday we hustled around and got |
pup nice load of marketing Our little
wagon looked inviting as we drove along
lAtlanta's streets. Fresh milk and butter,
{some eggs and few chickens, fresh from
j he country, was in demand but we had
liecked our wagon off with green truck"
Strawberries and currants, and these caught
rthe eyes of the children at the houses where
We stopped. 1t was late in the afternoon
i and the working people were gathering to
heir homes and we sold out easily. At
l)ne place where we stopped the inmates
From three or four of the little houses
gathered about our wagon. Husbands with |
their week s wages tingling in their pockets
came out IN q romplng way with some of
the chilrden and they bought generously
of what we had. The little ones skipped
,away from us on every side with arms full
and happy hearts. Among them all L
kutsde their yard. Two of them sit upon
the gate post while the third swung upon
Abe ricketty. gate This was as near our
wagon as they came, but we could hear
Nhen talk and saw their longing looks,
'r the happy children who hal-been
Just as we started off they looked
N wish our n" way and >5:'~a
,~t6o?''
s~ We suspected that these We're the chll-
dren of some man whose weakness was
drink and who fingered too long at the par,
SO we stopped again, found out their names,
let them have such of our truck as they
chose and went away teehng happier our
selves, while the sound of their merry
voices tingled in our ears as they. ran with
their load into the house with thelr
mamma.
When we had put away our team at the
wagon ward we sauntercd up town and lnto |
a popular barroom, just to see II we could
not get a sight of the father of these chill
dren. He was there there In all his glory,
and he was not one of the sad, woe-be-gone
ones. either He was what they call
generous fellow in these resorts. Reckless
Of money he seemed to be, as he would
knock upon the table and cali for the drinks
for his crowd / piticd him as / thought
upon the three little fellows at the gate
who watched UP the street 50 anNously
for his coming and uttered so pitltuily;
Don't you wish our papa would come
home toOT
Generrus fellows can always be found
in these resorts. So to give their little chill
dren one poor nickle would be like pulling
their tooth Thus they feel in their sobe,
moments, and it is strange that IN TINS
feeling they are perfectly honest, while
they will linger in these barrooms aud throw
money away with reckless abandon. | know
that the weakness of these generous fellows
is strong drink, but in them l can trace
no reason for so doing but that they are
natural born fools-Without excuse or one
redeeming trait.
Because / have mentioned barrooms in
connection with these weaknesses, it is no