The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1897-10-22
CRIMSON WAVE
OF Dissipation Sweeps More People to
an Early Grave
Than the Raging BiIlows OF the l;riny Deep
Land and Sea Are strewn Win Wrecks
Caused ny Indulgence In firry slim
ulants -TalmaEe's sermon


far as Appii Forum and the Three
Tnverns.r
Seventeen miles south OF Rome. lta-
ly. there was n village Of unfortunate
name. A tavern Is place Of enter
tainment, and. IN our TING, part 81 lie
entertainment Is a provision 81 intoNi-
cants. One such place you wOnld think
would have been enough for that Ital-
ian village. No! There were three o.
them. with doors open for entertain
ment and obfuscation. The world has
never lacked stimulating drinks. on
remember the condition Of Noah on
one occasion. and Of AbigaiIs husband
Nabal. and the story Of Belshazzar
feast and Benhadad. and the new wine
in old bottles. and whole paragraphs
on prohibition enactment thousands OF
vears before Neal Dow was born; and
no doubt there were whole shelves Of
infiammatory liquid in those hotels
which gave the name TO the village
where Paul's friends came 10 meet him.
namely, the Three TGverns. In vain ]
search ancient geography forsome salts
flying account of that village. Two
roads came from the sea coast TO that
place: the one from Actium. and the
other from Puteoli, the last road being
the one which Paul travelled There
were, no doubt, in that village, houses
Of merchandise and mechanics shops,
and professional Offices, but nothing
Is known Of them. All we know of that
village is that it had a profusion OF
inns-the three taverns. Paul did not
choose any one Of these taverns as the
place to meet his friends lie certain
" was very abstemious. but they made
the selection. lie had enlarged about
keeping the body under, though once
he prescribed for young theological
student a stimulating cordial for a
stomaehic disorder, but he told him to
take only a small dose-''a little WINE
for thy stomach's sake"
One Of the worst things about these
three taverns was that they had especial
temptations for those who had just
come ashore. People who had just
landed at Actium or Puteoli were soon
tempted by these three hotels which
were only a little way up from the
beach. Those who are disordered of
the sea (for it is a physical disorgan-
izer), instead Of waiting for the
gradual return OF physical equi-
pose, are apt to take artificial
means TO brace up. OF the 100000
sailors now on the sea how few Of them
coming ashore will escape the three
tavernsl After surviving hurricanes,
cyclones, icebergs, collisions, many Of
them are wrecked in harbor, war
rant that IL a calculation were made OF
the comparative number Of sailors lost
at sea, and lost ashore, those drowned
by the crimson wave OF dissipation
would far outnumber those drowned by
the salt water.
Alasl that the large majority. of those
who 90 down to the sea in ships should
have twice to pass the three taverns,
namely: Before they go out and after
they come in. That fact was what
aroused Father Taylor, the great sail
ors' preacher, at the Sailors Bethel,
Boston, and at a public meeting at
Charleston he said: IAN the machinery
Of the Misunderstanding soul-destoy-
ing business is in perfect running or
der, from the low grog holes on the
szskept open to ruin my poor sailor
boys, TO the great establishments in
Still House square, and when we ask
men what is to be done about it they
say you can't help it, and yet there is
Bunker Hill, and You say you can't
stop II, and up there are Lexington
and Concord" We might answer Father
Taylor's remark by saying the trouble
is not that we can't stop it, but that
we won't stopit.- We must have more
generations slain before the world will
fully wake up to the evil. That which
tempted the travellers of old who
came up from the seaports of Actium
and Puteoli is now the ruin of sea-
faring men as they como up from the
coasts Of all the continents, namely,
the three taverns In the autumn,
about this time, in the year 1897, the
steamship Home went out from New
York for Charleston. There were
about one hundred passengers, some Of
them widely known. Some of them
had been summering at the northern
watering places and they were on their
way south, all expectant of hearty
greeting by their friends ON the
wharyes Of Charleston.
But little more than two days out
the ship struck the rocks. A life boat
was launched, but sank with all its
passengers A mother was seen stand
ing on the deck of the steamer with her
child in.her arms. A wave wrenched
the child from the mothers arms and
rolled It into the sea. and the mother
leaped after it. The sailors rushed to
the bar Of the boat and drank them
selves drunk. Ninety-fve human be-
ings went down never TO rise. OF to be
fioated upon the beach amid the
fragments Of the wreck. What was
the cause Of the disaster? A drunken
sea captain But not until the judg-
ment day when the sea shall give up
its dead and the story of earthly dis
asters shall be fully told will IL be
known how many yachts, steamers,
brigantines, men-of-war and ocean
greyhounds have been lost through
captain and crew made incompetent by
alcoholic dethronement Admiral Far
ragut had proper appreciation Of what
the fiery stimulus was to a man in
the navy. An officer OF the warship
said TO him, admiral, won't you
consent TO give Jack glass OF grog
in the morning? Not enough to make
him drunk but enough to make him
fight cheerfully." The admiral an
swered, II have been to sea considera-
bly,, and have seen battle or two, but
never found that needed rum TO en-
able me TO do my duty, I will order
two cups of coffee TO each man at two
o'clock in the morning, and at eight
o'clock win pipe all hands TO break
fast in Mobile Bay" The Three Tav-
Nrns Of my text were too near the Med
iNranean shipping.
Rd notice the multiplicity. What
could that Italian village. so small that
history makes but one mention OF II.
want with more than one tavern?
There were not enough travellers com