The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-10-20


who think that all questions are de-
cided-questions of decency and mor
als-by the position Of the feet, while
the other hand ! can see nothing
ruin, temporal and eternal, for
those who go into the designations of
social life, designations which have al
ready despoiled thousands Of young
and young women of all that Is
in character and useful in life.
Dancing is the graceful motion OF
the body, adjusted by art to the sound
and Of musical instrument or
Of the human voice. All nations have
danced. The ~ancients thought that
Castor and Pollux taught the art to the
But whoever started
it, all climes have adopted It. In an
times they had the festal dance,
the military dance, the mediatorial
dance, the bacchanalian dance, and
queens and lords swayed to and fro in
the gardens, and the rough backwoods-
with this exercise awakened the
echo of the forest. There Is something
in the sound of lively music to evoke
the movement of the hand and foot,
whether cultured or uncultured. Pas
sing down the street we unconsciously
keep step to the sound of the brass
band, while the Christian in church
with his foot beats time while his soul
rises upon some great harmony. While
this is so In civilized lands, the red men
of the forest have their scalp dances,
their green-corn dances, their war
dances. In ancient times the exercise
was so utterly and completely deprsved
that the church mathematical It.
The old Christian fathers expressed
themselves most vehemently against
it. st. ~Chrysostom says: 1.-THE feet
were not given for dancing, but to walk
modestly, not to leap imprudently like
camels." One Of the dogmas Of the
ancient church reads: "A dance Is the
DEVILS possession, and he that entereth
into q dance entereth into his possess
sion. As many PAGES as q man makes
In dancing, SC many PAGES does he
make to hell" Elsewhere the old
declared thisa "The woman
that singeth in the dance Is the prin-
cess of the devil, and those that An
swera are her clerks, and the beholders
are his friends, and the music Ia his bel
lows, and the fiddlers are the ministers
of the devil. For as when hogs are
strayed, il the hogsherd call n all
assemble together, 70 when the devil
calleth one woman to sing in the dance,
to play on some musical instruments,
presently all the dancers gather to-
g~ether." This indiscriminate and uni
versal denunciation Of the exercise
came from the fact that It was utterly
and completely depraved.
But we are not TO discuss the customs
of the olden times, but customs now.
We are not to take the evidence of the
ancient fathers, but our own conscience,
enlightened by the word Of God, is to
be the standard. Oh, I bring NO harsh
criticism upon the young. ! would not
drive out from their soul the hilarities
of life. do not believe that the in
habitants of ancient Wales, when they
stepped to the sound Of the rustic
harp, went down to ruin. l believe
God intended the young people to
laugh and romp and play. I do not
believe God would have put exuber-
ance in the soul and exuberance In the
body II he had not intended they
should in some wise exercise it and
1t. II mother Join hands
with her children and cross the floor
to the sound Of music, I see no harm.
II q group of friends cross and recross
the room to the sound of piano well
played, | see no harm. II q company,
all of whom are known to host and
hostess as reputable, cross and recross
the DON to the sound of musical in
strumept, ! see no harm. l tried for .
long while to see harm In It. could
not see any harm in IL. ! neve shall
see any harm in that
As we 60 on In years let US remember
that we had our glecful times; let us be
able to say: I'VE had our good times;
others have their good times" Let
US willingly resign u place to those
who are coming after us. But while
all this Is SO, we can have no sympathy
with sinful indulgences, and I am going
to speak In regard to some of them,
though I should tread on the long train
of some popular vanities.
Social dissipation Is the abettor OF
pride, II 3 the instigator OF jealousy, II
Is the sacriAcial altar Of health, II Is
the defiler of the soul, It is the avenue
of lust, and It Ii the curse of every
town on both sides Of the yea. Social
dissipation. It may be hard to draw
the line and say that this Is right ON
one side, and that Is wrong on the
other side. It IL not necessary that we
do that, for God has put Q throne In
every mans soul, and l appeal to tina,
throne to-day. When q man does
wrong he knows he does wrong, and
when he does right he knows he doe,
right, and TO that throne which Al
mighty God lifted in the heart Of every
man and oma ] appeal.
As to the physical ruin wrought BY
the designations of social life there car