Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-10-12
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE EROOKLYN DIVTNE'S SUM-
DAY SERNON.
Subject: "Tne Quick Feet"

! cuDJcCJ: no SuASA
TEXT: ssWhen Horod's birthday was kept
, the daughter Of Herodias danced before them
and pleased Herod. ."-Matthew xiv, 6.
! It is the anniversary Of HerO1's birthday.
Tho palace IS lighted. The highways Ioade
! ing thereto arc all ablaZ9 with the pomp OF
/ invited guests. Lords, captains, merchant
/ princes, the mighty men Of the land, are
coming to mingIe in the festivities Iho
table is spread with all the luxurtes that
royal purveyors can gather. me
guest, white ro5ei and anointed and
/ perfumcd. come in and sit at
tho table. Music! The jests evoke
! roars OF laughter. Riddles are proPounded.
hepur5ee is lndulge J. Ioasts are oruhk.
The brain is befoggcd. Tho wit rolls on
into uproar and blasphemy. They are not
satisfied yet. Turn on moro light. Pour
/ out more wine. Music. Sound all the
trumpets. Clear the floor for dance!
Bring in Sa!Cme, the bcatuitui ana
accomplished princess. The door opens,
. and in bounds the dancer. The lords are
! enchanted.
= Stand back and make room for the brill
! liant gyratiOnsl These men never saw such
! ''pOetry Of notion" Their soul WhirlS in
the reel end bounds with the bounding feet.
| HerOd fOrgets crown and throne ard every
thing but the destinations OF SalOme. Althe
magninccnce OF his realm is rs nothing now
compared with the splendor that whiri5 on
ttPtoo .keforo him. His BODY sways way
from side to side, corresponding with
tho motions OF the enchantress. HIS
soul is thrilled with the pusatiOns of the
feet and bew,tchei with tho taking poStures
and attitudes moro and moro amazing. Al
ter awhile he sits in enchanted silence look
ing at the flashing, leaping, bounding beau
ty and as tho dance closes and the ttnKl1nS
cymbalS cease to clap and the thunder5
Of applause that shook the palace begin
to abate the enchanted monarch sWearS 70
tho princey performer, "WhatSOeVcr
thou shalt ask o; me | will give it thee, TO
the half Of my kingdom" Now, there was
in prison at that tine a minister OF the gos-
pei OF the nauo of John tho baptist, and ne
had been making great deal OF trouble by
preaching some very plain and honest ser
mons. He had denounced the sins Of the
king and brought down upon him the wrath
OF the females OF the royal household. AT
the 1nstigatiOn of her mother SalOme takes
advantage of the eXtravagant promise OF tae
king and says, "Bring me the head OF John
the Baptist on dinner plate"
Hark 10 the sound of feet outside the door
and the clatter Of swords! The execution
crs are returning from their awful errant.
Open the door! They enter, and they pre-
/ sent the platter to SalOme. What IS on this
platter7 new glass Of wine to continue tho
uprOarlOus merriment2 No. Something
redder and costIier-the Shastly, bleeding
head of john the Baptist, the death glare
still in the eye, the locks dabblei with the
gore, the ICiLuEcS bLll1 ulSkICSSSu WIN ILAS
last agony.
This woman who had whirled 50 grace
fully in the dance, bends over the awful bur-
den without a shuddcr She Gloats over the
blood, ana with as much Indifference as q
waiting maid might take a tray Of empty
glassware out Of the room after an enter
tainment SalOme carries the discovered head
of John the Baptist, while all the banqucters
shout with laughter and think It gooi joke
that in so easy and quick a way they have
( got rid OF an earnest and OutSpOk2n minister
I Oftha gospel
You will all admit, whatever you think OF
that style of amusement and exercise, that
from many circles it has crowded out all in
taliGent conversation. You WIZ also admit
that it has made the condition OF those whC
do not Dance either because they do not
know how or because they have not the
health to endure it, or because through con
scientious scruple5 they must decline the ex
ercise, very uncomfortable. You will also
admit, all of you, that it has passed in many
cases from an amusement to q dissipation
and you are easily able to understand the
bowilderment Of the educated Chinaman
who, standing in the brilliant circle where
! there was dancing going on four or five hour
and the guests seemed exhausted, turned t(
the proprietor OF the house and said, "Why
don't YOU allow your servants to do this fol
/ you?'
You are also Wiling to admit, whatever be
your idea in regard to the amusement that
am speaking OF. ana WilatGVer De your 1tlei
OF the old fashioned square dance, and o
many Of the professional romps in which
can see no evil, the round dance is admins
trative of evil ami ought to be driven out o
all respectable circles. am by natural ten
permanent and religious theory opposed t
the position taken by all those who arc hor
rifed Mt playfulness on the part Of tn
young. and who think that all questions ar
deciied-questiOns Of decency and morals
by the position of the feet, while, on tn
other hand, l can sec nothing but ruin, ten
pOraI and eternal, for those who go into tn
dissipations ofsocial life-dissipationsw whic
have already dCspoiled thousands Of youn
men and young women Of all that is nObl
in character and useful in life.
Dancing is the graceful motion OF tn
body adjusted by art to the sound an
measure of musical instrument or Of th
\ human voice. All nations have dances
The anciants thought that Castor an
! Pollux taught tho art to the Lacedemt
mans. But whoever started it all cline
, have adopted it. In ancient times the
had the festaI dance. tho mflttar
:, dance, tho mediatorial dance, the ba
y chan2lian dance, and queens and lort
g swayed TO and fro in tho gardens, and tn
!, rough backwoodsman with this exercis
It awakened the echo OF the forest. Ther
:, Is something in the sound OF lively mus
a to evoke the movement of the hRr
= and foot, whether cultured or III
. cultured. Passing down the street Y
uncOnsciOuSly keep step to the sound of II
brass band, while the Christian in churc
with his foot beats time while his soul rist
upon some great harmony. While this is s
IN civilized lands, the red men of the fore
have their scalp dances, their green cor
dances, their war dances. In ancient TIM
the exercise was so utterly and complete
depraved that the church anthemRtiz9d i
The old Christian fathers expressed theE
selves most yeLementy against it.
ChrySOstum says: "The feet were not gtVt
for dancing, but to walk modestly; not
leap inpudently, like camels." One OF Il
dogma's OF the ancient church read
"a dance IS the devils possession, and
that entereth into a dance entereth into
possession. As many PAGES as man max
IN dancing, 50 many passes does he make
hell" Elsewhere the old dogmas deciar,
this: ''The woman that singeth in t
| dance is the princess OF the devil, and tho
that answer are her clerks. and the behOldt
are his friends, and the music is his below
and the fiddIerS are the ministers OF t
devil. For, as when hogs are strayed, If I
hOgsherd call one, all assemble together.
when the devil Calleth one woman to 81
ls in the dance, or to play on some musical
N struments, presently all the dancers gath
" together" This iudiscriminate and univ
y sal denunciatIOn OF the exercise came trt
or the fact that it was utterly and complet
u deprav2d.
c Social dissipation is the abettor of priC
It is the instigator OF jealousy. It is the s
rif1ciai altar OF health. 1t is the defler of I
= soul 1t is the avenue of lust, and it is t
curse OF every town on both sides of the 81
Social dissipation! 1t may be hard to DIR;
the line and say that this is right on the o
side and that is wrong on the other side.
q is not necessary that we do that. for God l
7 put throne in every mans soul, and I c
R peal to that throne to-day. When man dc
wrong, he knows he does wrong, and wh
he does right he knows he does right and
that throne, which Almighty God lifted
the heart of every man and woman. I aDpe
y As to the physical ruin wrought y
l. designations Of social life there can De
I doubt. What may we expect OF people =
-. work oil day and dance all night? AT