The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1894-10-10

ing, so many PAGES Qoss be make to
hell.n Elsewhere tie o.d dogmas de,
clsred this: The woman that sinseth
il The dance is tie princess Of tee devil,
ana those that answer are her clerks,
and lie beholdsrs are his friends, and
the music is his bellows, ard the fi1dlers
are the ministers OF tie devil. For as,
when hogs ase straysd, il the hogsherd
call cne 81 assemble together, so when
the dsv;l ca!leth ore woman to sing IN
the dance, or to play on some musical
instruments, presently ali the dancers
gather tcgetlaer." This indiscrimlna:e
and universal aerunciaGion Of the exer-
c!se came from The tact that it was utter.
ly and completely depraved.
Ru. We are not TO discuss the customs
Of the olden times, but customs now.
We are rot 10 take tie evidence OF the
apc!ept fathers, but our own conscience,
enlightened by the word Of God, is to be
the standard. Oi, bring no harsh critl'
cisn, upon the young. I would not
drive out frcm their soul the hilarltles OF
life. l do not believe that the inhahl-
tsnts of ancient Wales, when they
stepped to the sound of the rustic harp,
wenl down to ruin. I believe God in.
tended the young people to laugh and
romp AID play. l do not believe God
would have put exoberance IN the soul
and exubcrance in the body if he had
cot intended they should II some wise
exercise it and demonstrate it. II q
mother join hands with her children and
cross thu floor TO the sound Of music, l
see DO harm. If group of trends cross
and reccoss the; room to the sound OF
piano we'll plsyed, see no harm. II a
company, all of whom are known to host
and hostess as reputable, cross and re-
cross the room to the sound OF musical
instrument, I see no harm. l tcled for
3 long while to see harm in it. could
not see any harm in it. I never shall
see am harm in that. Oar men need
to be kept ycung-young for may years
longer than they are kept young. Never
sicce my boyhood days nave had more
sympathy with the Innocent hDarities OF
life than l have now. What though we
have telt heavy burdens! What thoug b
we have had to endure hard knocks! Is
that any reason why We should stand in
the way Of those who, uustung OF LIES
mlsfortunes, are full of exhllaratlon snd
glee? God bless the young! They will
bave to wait many a 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. tell
them, iudgeing from my own experience,
that they will be treated great deal
better than the deserve. We have no
right to grudse the innocent hllarltles to
the young.
What are the dissipations of social life
today, and Whist are tie diss:pations OF
the ballroom! In some cities and Ia
some pisces reaching all the year around,
in other places only in the summer time
and at tie watering places. There are
diss.patioas Of social life that are cutting
a very wide swath with the sickle OF
death, and hundreds and thousands are
gong down under these Influences, and
nv subject IN application is as vide 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 and souls annually consumed IN
the confederation Of ribbons.
Social dissipation is the sbettes OF
pride, it is the instigator Of Jealousy, 1t
is the sscriic,al altar OF health, it is the
ds6ler of the soul. it is the avenue OF
lust, aud it is the curse of every town on
both sides of the sea. Social dlsslps-
ton. Il 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. IL
IS not necessary that we do that, for
God has put a throne in every mans
seal, and appeal to that throne today.
When msn does wrong, he knoTs ne
does wrong, and when he does right be
knows he does right, and to that throne
which Almighty God lifted in the heart
of every man and woman appeal.
AS to the physical ruin wrought by
the dispositions OF social lie there can
be 30 dcubr. What may We expect OF
people who work sll day and dance all
night? Alter awhile they will be thrown
on society nsryc.,ss isa E'se!lsss
,Tnese people who indulge in the suppers
and the midnight rsvels and then 60
home In thee cold, unWrapped OF limbs,
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 g pistol or
knife or stryctnine.
How many pscple have stepped from
the ballrooR into the graveyard! Con-
SUM phons and swift neusalglas are close
on their track. Amid many OF the
glt.ering scenes OF social lie diseases
stand right and left and balance and
chain. The breath Of the sepulcher floats
up through the perfume, and the f-oth OF
deaths lips bubbles up in the cham
pegoe. ain told that in some o. the
cities there ere parents who have actual
ly given up housekeeping and gone to
boarding ttat they may give their time
lllim;tably to social dissipatioEs. [ have
known such cases. I have known fami-
" 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-tor there are something's
worse than arnihilaton. I gave you the
history Of more than one family when |
say they went on in tie dissipatlons OF
social lie until the father dropped into q
8 lower style Of dissipation. and after,
awhile the son was tossed out into socie-
ty nonenity, aud after awhile the
daughter eloped With French dancing
master, and siter awhile the mother, get
ting on further and further in years, tries
20 hide the wrinkles, but falls in the al
tempt, trying all the arts of the belle, an
cid firt, poor miserable butterfly with
out any wings.