Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-10-01

OF lively music TO evoke the movement
of the hand and foot. whether cultured
or uncultured. Passing 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 ex-
ercise was so utterly and completely
depraved that the Church anathema-
tized ".
TIE OLD CHRISTIAN FATHERS
expressed themselves most vehemently
against IL. st. ChrysoStom says: 1.-The
feet were not given for dancing ou,
to walk modestly, not 20 leap impudent-
IL like camels.". 0ne OF the dogmas OF
the ancient Church reads: "A dance is
the DEVILS possession, and be that en-
tereth into dance entereth into his
possession. As many PAGES as a man
makes ia dancing, so many PAGES does
he make TO hell" Elsewhere the old
dogmas declared this: THE woman
that singeth In the dance is the princess
OF the devil, and those that answer are
her clerks, and the beholders are his
friends, and the music is his bellows,
and the fddlers are the ministers of the
devil For as when hogs are strayed, II
the hOgsherd call one all assemble TO-
gether, SO when the devil caileth one
woman TO sing in the dance, or to play
on some musical instruments, presently
all the dancers gather together This
indiscriminate aud universal denUncia-
! tiOn Of the exercise came from the fact
that it was utterly and completely de-
PRAYED.
But we are not to discuss the customs
of the olden times, but customs now.
We ara not 10 take the evidence Of the
ancient fathers, but our own conscience,
enlig htened by the Word of God, is 10
be the standard. Oh, bring no harsh
criticism upon the young. l would not
drive out from their soul the hilarities
of life. | do not believe that the in
habitsnts OF ancient Wales, when they
stepped TO the sound of the rustic harp,
went down TO ruin. / bslieVe God in
tended the young people to laugh and
rOmp and play. l do not believe God
would have put eXuberance in the
soul aud eXuberanCe In the body II he
had not intended they should in some
wise exercise it and demonstrate 10. II
a mother join hands with her children
and cross the floor 10 the sound Of
music, / see no BARN. If group Of
friends cross and recroSS the room
TO THE SOUND OF PIANO
well played / see no harm. If COM
pany, all Of whom are known TO host
and hostess as reputable, cross and re-
cross the room To the sound OF musical
instrument, see no harm. l tried for
a loug while 10 see harm in IL.
could not see any harm in it. | never
shall see any harm in that. Our men
need TO be kept young, young for many
years longer than they are kept young,
Never since my bOynoOd days have l
had more sympathy with the innocent
hilaritles of life than / have now.
What though we have felt heavy bur-
deRs, What though we have had 10
endure hard knocks. Is that any
treason why we should stand in the way
of those who, unstung OF LIES mis-
fortunes, are full of exhilaration and
glee? 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 repulsive. 1t is not. l
tell them, judging from my own eX-
perience, that they will be treated a
great deal better than they deserve.
We have no right TO grudge the inno-
cent hilarities 10 the young.
As we go on 10 years let US remem-
Der that we had our gleeful times; let
US be able 10 say, I'VE had our good
times, let others have their good times"
Let US willingly resign our place to
those who are coming after US. will
cheerfully give them everything
house, my books, my position in society,
my heritage. After twenty, forty, fifty
years We have been drinking GU: Of the
cup OF this life, do not let us begrudge
the passing Of ii that others may take
drink, But while all this is so, we can
have no sympathy with sinful indul-
gences, and l am going to speak in re-
gard TO some OF them, though l should
tread o1 the long train of some popular
vanities.
WHAT ARE HE DISSIPATIONS
OF social life to-day, aud what are the
designations Of the ballroom? Iu some
cities and in some places reaching all
the year round 10 other places only in
the summer time aud at the watering
places. There are designations of So
cial life that ara cutting very wide
swath with the sickle OF death, and
hundreds and thousands are going
down under these Influences, and my
subject in application is as wide as
Christendom. 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 aud souls annually con
sumed in the conGagration OF ribbons.
Social dissipation is the abettOr Of
pride, il is the inStigator Of jealousy,
it is the sacriicisl altar OF health, 1t is
the detiler OF the soul, it is the avenue
of lust, and il is the curse of every
town on both sides Of the sea. Social
dissipation. 1t may be hard TO draw
the line and say that this is right on
the one side, and that is wrong on the
other side. Ii is not necessary that we
do that, for God has put a throne in
every mans soul, and l appeal to that
throne to-day. When man does
wrong he knows he does wrong, and
when he does right he knows be does
right, ana 70 that throne which Al
mighty God lifted in the heart Of every
man and woman l appeal.
AS TO the physical ruin wrought by
the designations Of social life there can
be no doubt. What may we expect Of.
people who work all GaY aud dance all
night? After a while they will be