The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-08-15

I
plain meal. II you surprise them at the table
Well. it Il mean II II is only TO pile upa mis-
erly hoard. But II IL be to educate YOUR
children. II II be TO give more help to your
wife when she does not feel strong, IL il be
10 keep your funeral day from being horri-
bic beyond all endurance. because IL Is TO be
the disruption and annihllation OF the do
nestle circle--it II be for that then 1t is mag
uinceni.
There are those who are kept in poverty
because of their own fault They might have
been we'll of. but they smoked or chewed up
their earnings or they lived beyond their
means. while Others ON the same wages and
on the same salaries went on to competency.
know man who was all the time COM
planning Of his poverty and crying out
against rich men. white he himself keeps two
dogs. and chews and smokes. and IL full TO
the chin with whisky and beer wilkins Mi
cawber said 60 David Copperneld, Cooper
Held. my boy. one pound income. expenses
I twenty shillngs and six pence: result.
misery. But. Copperileld. my boy. one pound
/ income. expenses nineteen shilliugS and six
{ pence: result. happiness" But. q working.
| man OF America. take your morning dram,
and your noon dram, aud your evening dram,
and spend everything you have over for to-
bacco and excursions. aud you insure pow
erty for yourself and your children forever,
! II by some generous fiat Of the capitalists
/ Ot this country, or by new law Of the Gov
!
/ per cent, or liity per cent. or one hundred
/ per cent. were added 90 the wages of the
working classes Of America. il would be- no
advantage 10 hundreds Of thousands OF them
unless they stopped strong drink Ave, uu-
| tii they quit that evil habit. the more money.
the more ruin. the more wages. the more
| holes in the bag.
MY plea this morning il 10 those working
/ people who are in disciple.hip to whisky
! hottie, the beer-mug, and the wiue-iiask.
And what say 10 them will not be more ap-
| propriate 70 the working classes than TO the
business classes. and the literary classes, and
the professional classes. and alt classes. and
| not with the people OF one age more than
| OF all ages. Take one good square look at
| the suffering OF the mau whom strong drink
| has enthralled. and remember that toward
that goal multitude- are running. The dis
| ciple OF alcoholism suffers the loss OF self
respect
Just As soon ~ q man wakes up aud finds
| that he Is the captive of strong drink he feels
demeaned. | do not care how reckless he
acts. He may say, II don't care, he does
care. He cannot look q pure man in the eye
unless IL Is with positive force of resolution
/ Ihree-tourths Of his nature Is DESTROYED:
his self-respect is gone; he SAYS things he
would not otherwise say; he does things
he would not otherwise do. when "A
man is nine-tenth- gone with strong
drink, the first thing he wants to do iato
You InNt no can NtOp any time ne
wants 10. He cannot. The philistncs have
bound him hand and foot. and shorn his
| lccks. and put out his eyes. and are making
him grind in the mill Of u great horror. lie
cannot stop. | will prove IL. He knows that
his course l. bringing ruin upon himself
lie loves himself II he could stop he would
He knows his course Is bringing ruin upon
his family. He loves them. lie would stop
u he could. He cannot. Perhaps he could
three months or year ago. not now. Just
ask him to stop Tor a month. He cannot; he
knows ne cannot, 50 he does not try.
| hal Il friend who was for fifteen years
going down under this evil habit. Hs had
large means. He had given thousands OF
dollars to Bible societies and reformatory
institutions OF all sorts. He was very
genial, very generous, and very lovable. and
whenever he talked about this evil habit he
would say, IL can stop any time" But he
Kept going on, going on, down, down,
down. His family would say, II wish you
would stop" 'Why." he would reply, ~
can stop any time IL want to-" After
while be had deirium tremens; he had 1t
twice; aud yet, after that, he said II could
stop at any time II wanted to-" lie is dead
now. What killed him? Rum Rum. And
Yet among his last utterances was. II can
stop at any time" He did not stop il, be-
cause he could not stop it. Oh. there Is
point in inebriation beyond which IL a man
goes he cannot stop
One OF these victims said 10 Christian
man, Sir. II were told that | couldn't get
drink until tomorrow night unless had
All my fingers cut OF, would say. Bring
the hatohet and cut them oil now. D" Ihaye
dear friend in Philadelphia whose nephew
came TO him one day. and when he was ex-
hOTed about his evil habit said "Uncle.
cant give It up. II there stood a cannon
and II was loaded and a glass ot wine were
set on the mouth OF that cannon. and knew
that you would fire II OF A. { came up and
took the glass, 1 would start for must
have it,"
oh, II Is a sal thing for man to wake no
ia this life and feel that he j. captive Hs
says. II could have got rid ot this ~ once.
but cant now. | might have lived an hon
oracle life and died Chrstian death: but
there Ia no hope for me now; there Is no
escape Tor mh. Dead. but not buried. Ian,
walking corpse, | AN an applrition Of what
l once was. am Gagged immortal beating
against the wires OF my cage ia this direc-
ton, beating against the cage until there Is
blood on the wires and blood upon nv soul.
yet not able 70 get out Destroyed withou.
remedy"
l go on. and say tha. the disciple OF run
suffers from the loss OF health.
The older men In the congregation may re-
member that some years ago Dr. Sewell went
through this country and electrified tho peo-
pleby his lectures, in whicu ha showed the
ene'ts OF alcoholism on the human stomach
Hehad seven or eight diagrams by which he
showed the devastation OF strong drink upon
thephyslcai system. There were thousands
Of People that turned back from that ulcer
oussketch, swearing eternal abstinence from
everything that could intoxlcate
God only knows what the druukari SUI
fers Pain dies on every nerve. and travels
every muscle, aad snaws every bone. aud
buns with every flame, and stlngs with
every poison and pulls at him with every
torture. What reptiles crawl over his creep
inSlnbs What hends stand by his mid
might pillow What groans tear his earl
Whlt horrors shiyer through his soul! Talk
OF rle rack, talk Of the InlLisitIol, talk OF
thefuneral pyre. talk OF the crushing jug.
Seraaut-he feels them all ht once. Have you
eve been IN the ward OF the hospital whore
thee inebriates are dying the stencil OF the,r
wotnds driving back the attendants their
voices sounding through tine night? The
keeper comes up aud says, "Hush, now. be
still Stop making all this nOse.'' But IL