Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-01-23

CT hgnt, for its deep mysteries q eoAor,
for its uses Ia Egyptian. IN E1rascan. IL
Roman art It has been honored- 1ne
Greeks thought this sseEae preventive
CT drunkenness. The Hebrews thought
il a source Of pleasant cTestas-
Far al lovers Of gems Il is - subject
Of admiration and suggessigenass Yes.
tie word amethyst means prevention
Of drunkenness. Long before the New
Testament made reference 10 the snse-
thvst IN the wal Of heaven the Fsrsians
thonxht that cups made out Of anlethyit
would hinder any kind Of hqnor con-
tained therein from becoming intoxicat-
ing. But OF al the amethystine cups
from which thu ancients drank not one
h..a any such result of prevention.
For thousands of years the world has
been looking in vain for such prevent
i've aInethystine cup. Staggering Noah
could not find il. Conyivial Ahasuerus
driving Nashti from the gates could not
find IT, Nabal breaking the heart ot
beautiful Abigail could not find it. Bel
shazzar. the kingly reveler, on the night
that the Chaldeans 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 y eh cup.
Strong drink from hollos. amethyst
imbrutes the same as sire : 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
dananing result of the beverage.
All around the world last night and
today, out of cups costlier than anne
thyst, men 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 arnethystine cups that do
the widest and worst slaughter! The
smash of the filthy goblets of the rum
meries would long ago have taken place
by law, but the amethystine chalices
preventive chalices out Of which Leg
islatures and congresses drink before and
after they make tho 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 serpent and stingeth like an adder.
Drunkenness is combination of apo
| plexy and dementia. The 400 600, GOO
/ victims of opium come out to meet the
10000. 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 amethystins
demijohns, the amethystine ale pitchers
the amethystine hagons, the amethystine
wine cellars. Oh, Persians. Oh, Assyr-
ians. Oh, Greeks! Oh, Egyptians! you
were wrong in thinking that cup Of
amethyst would prevent inebriation.
THE HEBREW SUPERSTITION.
But standing on the top of this anne
thystine layer of the foundation of the
wall of heaven l bethink myself Of the
mistake that many of the ancient He
bsNws made when they thought that the
amethyst was producer of pleasant
dreams. Just wear piece of amethyst
over your heart or put it under your
pillow, and you would have your dream,
filed with everything beautiful and EN-
trancing. No, no. The style of pillow vii
not decide the character OF the dream
The only recipe for pleasant dream:
Is to do right and think right wher
you are wide awake. Conditions of phys
zeal disease may give good man night
mare, bat man physically well, if h,
behave himself Alright, viii not be trou
bled with bad dreams.
Nebuchadnezzar, with eagles dow
under his head and Tyrian purple oyeI
it, struggled with bad dream that made
him shrek out for the soothsayers ant
astrologers to come and interpret it
Pharaoh, amid the marble palaces O
Memphis. was COMPOUNDED by dresn
in which lean cows ate MP the fat cow
and the small cars OF corn devoured til,
seven large ears. and awful famine wa
prefgured. Pilates wife. amid clond
of richest upholstery. had stsrtlin.
dream. because of which she sent mes
sage in hot haste to q courtroom 10 keel
her husband from enacting a jGdicia
outrage. Bat Jacob, at Bethel, with
pillow Of mountain rock. had blissfu
dream of the ladder angel poisoning.
Bunyan, with his head on a har,
plank Of Bedford jail. saw the gates o
the celestial city. st. John. on the bar
rcnest island Of the Egean sea, in hi
cream heard tlumpets and saw cavalry
men on white horses and a new HEAVIER
end new earth. No amount of rougl
pillow can disturb the night vision of
saint. and no amount Of amethvstin
charm cen delectate the dream of mis-
creaat.
But. some one viii SAY, why have Vol
brought us to shis amethyst. the top row
81 the foundation OF the heavenly wall
if you are not nblo to accept the theor,
Of the ancient Greeks, who said that Il.
amethyst was q charm against intoxica
don, OF il you are not willing 70 acccp
The theory Of the ancient Hebrews tina
the amethyst was q producer of Hiessan
; dTeaIns2 Nv answer Is. have bTough
you 20 the top row. the twelfth LAYER q
the foundaiion Of the heavenly wall o
Loo miles Of circl.ng amethyst. to pa
you in o position where you can get
new idoa Of heaven: 20 let you Sc TIA
after you have climbed Mp twelve STRAIT
Of glory yoa are oaly at the base OF IN
eternal granjeurs: to let YOU, with en-
chantment Of soul. look far down an
look far up. and t. force upon you Tia
conclusion that Il ali orr climbing la
only shown "a tho foundaticus Of ia
vaii. what must the wall Itself le. an
II this is the outside Of heaven. wha
must tho inside he; aud II all this is re
nrstive. what mast the raaiifr lrl Oh