The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-10-10

read: "A dance IS the devils posses
siln, anG he that entereih lato a
dance crttrcta into his possession. AS
mauy plces IS rar makes 10 dane
lng, 50 many pacas does be make to
hel.n Elsewhere toe Old dogmas de-
Glazed This: The womau that singeth
in the dance is the princess Of the devil,
AID those that &GsIer are her clerks,
ard the Gehol&er3 are his friands, and
tie music is his bellows, ard the fddlers
are the ministers OF the GeVil. For as,
wben hogs aGe strayed, if the hogsherd
call one & i assemble together, so when
lie ,ltv.l callath oue Woman 10 sing N
the daTce, or to play CT some musical
Instruments, presently al the dancers
gather together" This irdiscrimlnate
ard univarssI Genuaciation of the exer-
else came from the fact that it was utter
ly and compile. ely depraved.
But We are not to discuss The customs
of the olden times, but customs now.
Ne are not to take the evidence OF the
ancient fathers, out our own conscience,
enlightered by the word of God, is to be
the standard. Oh, bring no harsh critl'
cism upon the young. I would not
drive out frCm their soul tie hilarltjes OF
life. 1 do not believe that the inhahl-
tants of ancient Wales, When they
stepped to the sound Of the rustic harp,
went down to ruin. I believe God IN.
tended the young people to laugh and
romp and play. l do not believe God
..o.ld ps!-Ia6eTanCg n lhe soul
and exubarance in the body if he had
not intended they should II some wise
exercise it and demonstrate II. Ii a
mother ioin hands with her children and
cross the floor to the sound Of music, l
see 10 harm. If group Of friends cross
and recross theI room to the sou d OF
piano we'll played, I see no harm. II q
company, all of whom are known to host
and hostess as reputable, cross and re-
cross the room to the sound OF muslcal
instrument, l see no harm. | tried tor
a long Whi,e to see harm in it. l could
not SEQ any harm in it. [ never shall!
see an7 harm in that. Our men need
to be kept young-young tor may years
longer than they are kept young. Never
since my boyhood days nave l had more
sympathy with the innocent hDarlties OF
life than I have now. What though we
have telt heavy burdens! What thong b
We have had to endure hard knocks! Is
that any reason why We should stand IN
the wa7 of those who, unstupg OF LIES
mlsfortunes, are full of exhilaratlon and
giles? God bless the young! They will
have to wait many q long year before
they hear me say anything that would
depress their ardor or clip their wings or
make them believe that life is hard and
cold and repulsiYe. 1t is not. l tell
them, iudgeiDg from my own experience,
that they will be treated great deal
better than the deserve. We have no
right to grudse the innocent hllarlhes TO
the young.
What are the dissipations of social life
today, and what are the disslpations OF
the ballroom! In some cities aud Ia
some places reaching all the year around,
in other places only iu the summer time
and at the watering places. There are
dsslpatioas of social life that are cutting
a very vida sWath with the sickle OF
death, and hundreds and thousands are
gong down under these influences, aud
nv subject in application is as vide as
Christepdom. The whirlpool OF social
dissipation is drawing down some OF the
brightest craft that ever sailed the sea
thousands and tens of thousands OF the
bodies and souls annually consumed N
the confagration of ribbons.
Social dissipation is the abettes OF
pride, it is the instigator Of Jealousy, it
is the sacrifclal altar of health, it IS the
defler Of the soul. it is the avenue OF
lust, ard it is the curse Of every town on
both sides of the sea. Social dissipa-
ton. It may be hard to draw the line
and say that this is right on the one s:de
and that Is wrong on the other side. 1t
Is not necessary that we do that, Tor
God has put a throne in every mans
seal, and appeal to that throne today.
When man does wrong, he knows be
does wrong, and when he 0oss right be
knows be does right, and to that throne
which Almighty God lifted IN the heart
of every man and woman I appeal.
AS to the physical ruin wrought by
the dispositions of social life there can
be no doubt. What may We expect OF
people who work all da7 and dance all
night? Alter awhile they Will be thrown
on society nervous exhausted iubeciles.
These people who indulge in the suppers
and The midnight reVels and then go
home in the cold. unWrapped OF linbs,
will after awhile be found to have been
written down in Gods eternal records
as suicides, as much suicides as if they
had taken their life with pistol or a
knife or strychnine.
How many people have stepped from
the ballroom into the graveyard! Con-
sump5ons aud swift neuralgias are close
on their track. Amid many OF the
ghttering scenes of social life diseases
stand right and left aud balance and
chain. The breath Of the sepulcher floats
up through the perfume, and the froth OF
deaths lips bubbles up in the cham.
psgns. am told that in some o. the
clues there are parents who have actual
" given up housekeeping and gone to
boarding tbat they may give their time
lllimitably 10 social dissipatiops. I have
known such cases. have known fani-
ly after family blasted that way
in one Of the other cities where
I preached, father and mother
turning their back upon all quiet
culture and all the amenities OF home,
leading forth their entire family IN the
wrong direction. Annihilated worse than
annihilated-foc there are something's
worse than aunihilauon. l gave you the
history OF moro than one family when |
say they went on 10 the designations Of
social lite until the father dropped into q
lower style Of dissipation. and after,
awhile the son was tossed out into sccle.
ty g nonenity, and after awhile the
daughter eloped with French dancing
master, and after awhile the mother, get
ting On further and further in years, tries
to hide the wrinkles, but fails in the at
tempt, trying all the arts of the belle, an