The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-06-10
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "Causes of Failures In
Life.''

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job xvii, %.
This allusion seems to be dramatic. The
Bible more than once makes such allustons
tacle to angels and to men," It is evident
from the text that some Of the habits OF
theatregoers we're known in Jobs ttme be-
cause he describes an actor hissed of the
stage. The impersonator comes on the
boards and, either through lack OF study OF
the part he Is to take or happiness or other
tncapacity, the audience Is offended and ex-
presses Its disapprobation and disgust by
kissing. "Men shall clap their hands at
him and shall hiss him out of his place."
My text suggests that each one Of US Is
put on the stage of this world to take some
part. What hardship and suffering and discip-
line great actors have undergone year after
year that they might be perfected In their
parts you have often read. But we, put on
the stage Of this life to represent charity and
faith and humility and helpfulness-what
little preparation we have made, although
We have three galleries Of spectators, earth
and heaven and hell! Have we not been
more attentive to the part taken by others
than to the part taken by ourselves, and,
while we needed to be looking at homo and
concentrating on our own duty, We have
been criticising the other performers, and
saying, "that was too high," or ''too low"
or ''too feeble" or "too extravagant," or
''too tame" or "too demonstrative," while
we ourselves we're making dead failure
and preparing to be ANONYMOUSLY hissed off
the stage? Each one Is assigned place, no
supernumeraries hanging around the drama
Of life to take this or that or the other part,
as they may be called upon. No one can
other place. Neither can we put of our
character; no change Of apparel can make
us any one else than that which we eternally
are.
Many make failure of their part In the
drama Of life through dissipation. They
have enough intellectual equipment and
good address and eeniality unbounded. But
they have wine closet that contains all the
forces for their social and business and
moral overthrow. So far back as the year
$50, King Edgar of England made law that
the drinking cups should have pins fastened
at a certain point In the side, 80 that the In
dulger might be reminded to stop before he
got tothe bottom. But there are no pins
projecting from the sides of the modern wine
cup or beer mug. and the first point at
which millions stop is at the gravity bottom
Of their own grave. DR.. Sax, Of France, has
discovered something which all drinkers
ought to know. he has found out that alco-
hol in every shape, whether OF wine or
brandy or beer, contains parasitic life called
bacillus potumanis. By powerful micro
scope these living things are discovered. and
when you take strong drink you take them
and getting into the crimson canals Of life.
they 90 into every tissue OF your body, and
your entire organism Is taken possession OF
by these noxious infnitesimals When 10
delirium tremens, a man sees every form OF
reptilian life, it seems it is only these para
sites Of the brain In exaggerated size. II Is
not a hallucination that the victim Is suffer-
ing from. He only sees In the room what is
actually crawling and rioting in his own
brain. Every time you take strong drink
you swallow these maggots, and every time
the imbiber Of alcohol in any shape feels YER
tigo or rheumatism or nausea II is only ,the
jubilee Of these maggots. Efforts are being
made for the discovery OF some germicide
that can killthe parasites OF alcoholism, but
the only thing that will ever e1ttrpate them
Is abstinence from alcohol and teetotal abb
stinence, to which I would before God swear
all these young men and old.
, America Is fruitful country, and we
raise large crops Of wheat and corn and
oats, but the largest crop we raise In this
country is the crop Of drunkards. With
sickle made out of the sharp edges OF the
broken glass of bottle and demijohn they are
cut down. and there are whole swathes OF
them. whole windrows of them, and 1t takes
all the hospitals and penitentiaries and
graveyards and cemeteries to hold this har-
vest Of hell. Some Of you are going down
under this evil, and the never dying worm
Of alcoholism has wound around you one OF
its coils, and by next New Years Day It will
have another coil around you, and 1t will al
ter awhile put q coil around your tongue,
and q coil around your brain, and coil
around your lung, and coll around your
foot, and coil around your heart, and some
day this never dying worm will, with one
spring, tighten all the coils at once, and IN
the last twist of that awful convolution you
will cry out. "Oh, my God" and be gone.
The greatest Of dramatists in the tragedy OF
''The Tempest" sends staggering across the
stage Stephano, the drunken butler; but
across the stage of human life strong drink
sends kingly and queenly and princely ma
lures staggering forward against the foot
lights of conspicuity and then staggering
back into failure till the world Is impatient
for their disappearance, and human and d.
sbolic voices Join in Kissing them. of the
stage.
Two young men in store. In the morn
ing the one goes to his post the last minute
or one minute behind. The other Is ten
minutes before the time and has his hat and
coat hung up and is at his post waiting for
duty. The one Is ever and anon In the after
noon looking at his watch to see II 1t Is not
most time to shut up. The other stays half
an hour after he might go, and when asked
why, says he wanted to look over some en-
tries he had made to be sure he was right, or
TO put up some goods that had been left out
OF place. The one Is very touchy about
doing work not exactly belonging to him.
The other is glad to help the other clerks IN
their work. The first will be prolonged
nothing. and he will be poorer at sixty years
OF age than at twenty. The other Will be
merchant prince. Incidence is the cause OF
more failures in all occupations than you
have ever suspected. People are too lazy
to do what they can do, and want to under
take that which they cannot do. In the drama
of life they don't want to be common
soldier, carving halberd across the stage,
or falconer, or mere attendant. and 80
thev lounge about the scenestill they Shall De
called to be something great. After awhile,
by some accident Of prosperity or circum-
stances, they get into the place for which
they have no qualification. And very soon,
II the man be a merchant, he is going around
asking his creditors to compromise Tor ten
cents on the dollar. Or II 4 clergyman, he
is making TRADES against the ingratitude OF
churches. Or, il an attorney, by unskillful
MANAGEMENT he loses case by which widows
and orphans are robbed Of their portion. Or.
if physician, he by malpractice gives his
patient rapid transit from this world to the
next. Our incompetent friend would have
made passable horse doctor, but he wanted
to be professor Of anatomy in q university.
He could have sold enough confectionery to
have supported his family, but he wanted to
have q sugar refinery like the Havemeyers:
ecould have mended shoes, but he wanted
to amend the constitution OF the United
States. Toward the end of life these people
are out of patience, out of money, out OF
friends, out of everything. Tney go to the
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