Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-01-23

Greeks thought this stone preventive
of drunkenness. The Hebrews thought
it a source of pleasant dreams.
For all lovers of gems it is a subject
of admiration and suggestiveness. Yes,
the word amethyst means a prevention
of drunkenness. Long before the New
Testament made reference to the anne
thyst IN the wall of heaven the Persians
thou ut that cups made out of amethyst
woul kinder any kind OF liquor con-
taines! therein from becoming lntoxicat-
ing. 81. Of IL the ::.nethystlne cups
from v-lie;l the a-.ci,.:tt:' drank not one
had ;n,y s.-ch rest OF prevention.
For thousands Ct years the world has
been loo,ng in v;.;l for such a prevent
i've s-,cthvstine cup. Staggering Noah
could not lind H. Cornwall Ahasuerus
find it. Nab-l breaking the heart of
beautiful Abigail could not find it. Bel
shazzar =, l-:ngly reveler, on the night
that tlc C-,;.lde.ns took Babylon could
not find it. Not one of the millions of
inebriates whose skulls pave the CONT
nents and pave the depths Of the sea
could find it. There is no such cup.
Strorg drink from followed amethyst
i1nbrutas the same as strong drink from
pewter mug 1t is not the style of cup
we drink out of, but that which the cup
contains, which decides the helpful or
damning result of the beverage.
All around the world last night and
TO-DAY out of cups costlier than anne
thyst, 1aen and women have been drink
ing their own doom and the doom OF
their children for this life and the next.
All. it is the amethystine cups that do
the widest and worst slaughter! The
smash of the filthy goblets OF the rum
me1.ies would long ago have taken place
by law, but the amethystine challces
preventative chaliceS out Of which leg
islatures and congresses drink before and
after they make the laws. Amethys-
tine chalices have been the friends of in
toxication instead of its foes. Over the
fiery lips Of the amethystine chalices is
thrust the tongue of that which biteth
like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.
Drunkenness is q combination Of apo
plexy and dementia. The 400 000, 600
victims Of opium come out to meet the
5000, 600 victims of alcohol, and the
two agents take the contract for tum-
bling the human race into perdition, but
whether they will succeed in fulfilling
the contract depends on the action of
the amethystine cups, the GInethystine
demijohns, the amethystine ale pitchers,
the amethystine fagons, the amethystine
wine cellars Oh, Persians! Oh, Assyr-
ians Oh. Greeks! Oh, Egyptians! you
were wrong in thinking that a cup of
amethyst would prevent inebriation.
THE HEBREW SUPERSTITION.
But standing on the top of this a1ne-
thystine layer of the foundation of the
wall of heaven l bethink myself of the
mistake that many of the ancient He
brews made when they thought that the
amethyst was a producer Of pleasant
dreams. Just wear q piece Of amethyst
over your heart or put it under your
pillow, and you would have your dreams
filled with everything beautiful and en-
trancing No, no. The style of pillow will
not decide the character of the dream.
The only recipe for pleasant dreams
is to do right and think right when
you are wide awake. Conditions of phys
icai disease may give good man night
mare, but a man physically well, If he
behave himself Alright, will not be trol-
bled with bad dreams.
NebuchadEezzar, with eagles down
under his head and Tyrian purple over
it. struggled with q bad dream that made
him shrek out for the soothsayers and
astrologers to come and interpret il.
Pharaoh. amid the marble palaces oi
Merlphis. was confounded by q dream
in which lean COWS ate up the fct cOwi
| and the small ears of corn dcvCcrcd Tic
seven large ears, and awful famine v,1Gs
prefgured Pilates wife, amid clouds
of richest upholstery, had startling
dream because of which she sent q mes
sage in hot haste to a courtroom to keel
her husband from eLacting q judicici
outrage But Jacob, at Bethel, with a
pillow of mountain rock, had n blissful
dream of the ladder angel blossoming.
Bunyan. with his head on a hare
plank of Bedford Jail, saw the gates OF
the celestial city. ST. John, on the bar
renest island of the Agean sea. in his
dream heard trumpets and saw cavalry
men ON white horses and Il new HEAVIER
and a new earth No amount of rough
pillow can disturb the night vision of ;
saint, and no amount of amcthy -stint
charm can delectate the dream Ct |; mis-
creant.
But. some one will say, why have yor
brought us to this amethyst, the top row
of The foundation of the heavenly wall
if you are not able to accept the theory
of the ancient Greeks, who said that ths
amethyst was charm against intoxica
ton, or if you are not willing to accept
the theory of the ancient Hebrews tha
the amethyst was producer of pleasant
dreams? My answer is, have brough1
YOU to the top row, the twelfth layer o.
the foundation of the heavenly wall Of
1900 miles of circling amethyst, to pm
you in a position where you can get !
new idea of heaven; to let you see tina
after you have climbed up twelve STRAIT;
of glory you are only at the base of tn.