Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-01-11
and the Christ of my text, the song Of
the dr1aakards.
A Song Easily Learned.

and the Christ of my text, the song Of
the drlankards-
a Song Easily Learned.
Again, the song of the drunkards is
easily learned. Through what long and
difficult drill one must go to succeed as
an elevated and inspiring singer. En-
ma Abbott, among the most eminent
cantatrices that ever enchanted acad-
emies of music, told me on ocean ships
deck in answer to my question,
"Whither are you bound?' ST am going
to Berlin and Paris to study music. :"
"What!'' I said. "After all your world
renowned successes in music, going to
study?' Then she told me through what
hardships, through what self denials,
through what almost killing fatigues
she had gone in order to be a singer,
and that when, in her earlier days, a
great teacher of music had told her
there were certain notes she could new
er reach she said, 81 will reach them,
and through doing nothing else but
practice for five years she did reach
them. Oh, how many heroes and hero
ines of musical achievement! There are
songs which are easy to hear, but most
difficult to render. When Handel, with
a new oratorio, entered a room where
group of musicians had assembled and
said, Gentlemen, you all read music?"
they said, eyes, we play in church.
every WE'LL" said the great composer.
''Play this But the performance was
so poorly done Handel stopned his ears
and said: "You play in cEsrch! Very
well, for we read the Lord is long suf-
fering, of great kindness and forgiving
of iniquity, transgression and sin. But
you shall not play for me-" Pure mu-
sic, whether fingered on an instrument
or trilled from human lips, is most diff
ficult. But one of the easiest songs to
learn is the song of the drunkards.
Anybody can learn it. In little while
you can touch the highest note of con-
VITALITY or the lowest note of besotted-
ness. Begin moderately, sip here and
sip there. Begin with claret, go on
with ale, and wind up with oognac
First take the stimulant at wedding,
then take it at meals, then take it be-
tween meals, then all the time keep
your pulse under its stealthy touch.
In six months the dullest scholar in
this Apollyonic music may become an
expert. First it will be sounded in
hiccough. After awhile it will be heard
in a silly ha, ha! Farther on it will be-
come wild whoop. Then it will en-
able you to run up and down the five
lines of the musical scale Internal.
Then you will have mastered 1.-THE
song of the drunkard.
None Too Old to Learn.
Oh; 70
the modern theory and give the intoxi-
cant to your children, saying to your
self, "They will in after life meet the
intoxicants everywhere, and they must
get used to seeing them and tasting
them and controlling their appetites.
That is the best way of teaching them
the song of the drunkards. Keep up that
mode of education, and if you have four
boys at least three of them will learn
the druDkards' song and lie down in
drunkard's grave, and il I ever laid
wager, I would lay wager that the
four will lie down with the other three.
Or if the education of the children in
this music should be neglected, it is not
too late to begin at 81 years of age. The
young man will find plenty of young
men who drink. They are in every cir
Gle to be found. Surely, my boy, you
are not coward and afraid of it? Sure
ly you are not going to be hindered by
sumptuary laws or the prejudices of
your old father and mc:her? They arc
behind the times. Take something.
Take it often. Some of the greatest poets
and orators have been notorious imbib-
ers. If you are TO enter parlor, it
makes you more vivacious and Chester
heldlan. II you are to transact bust
ness, your customer is apt to buy more
if you have taken with him a sherry
cobbler. If you are to make speech, it
will give you glibber tongue. Gluck
could compose his best music by having
his piano taken into the midst of
meadow and q bottle of champagne
placed on each side of him. The earlier
you begin to learn the song of the
drunkards the easier it is, but none OF
you is too old to learn. You can begin
at so or 60. under prescription of a doc
tor for aids to digestion or breaking up
of infrmities and close life by render
ing the song of the drunkards so we'll
that all pandemonium will encore the
performance and want it again and
again.
Furthermore, the last characteristic
of the drunkards' song is so tremendous
that can hardly bring myself to men
ton it. The drunkards' song is con-
tinuous song. Once start that tune and
you keep it up. You have known hun
dred men destroyed of strong drink.
You cannot mention five who got fully
started on that road and stopped. The
grace of God can do anything, but it
does not do everything. Religion saves
some. Temperance societies save some.
The Bowery mission saves some. The
Central mission saves some. But q