The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-12-01
FARMyIILE. VA. FRIDAY. DECEMBER l. 1899.


who, periumed until the air is actual
~ sick, spends the summer in striking
killing attitudes, and waving senti-
mentaladieux. and talking infnitesimal
nothings, alnd finding his heaven in
the set Of a lavender Kid glove. Boots
as tight as an inquisition. Two hours
Of consummate skill exhibited in the
tie Of a flashing crayat. His CONVERSE
ton made up of "Ahs!" and "Ohsl"
and Gle hcs!"
There is only one counterpart to such
man as that, and that is the frothy
young woman at the watering places;
her conversation made up Of French
moonshine; what she has in her head
only equaled by what she has on her
back; useless ever since she was born,
and to be useless until she is dead, un-
less she becomes an intelligent Chris
tian. We may admire music and fair
faces and graceful step; but amid the
heartlessness and the initiation and the
fantastic influences Of our modern wa
tering places beware how you make
lifelong covenants.
Another temptation lowering all
around our watering places is intoxi-
eating beverages. ! am told that it is
becoming more and more fashionable
for women to drink. care not how
we'll woman may dress, If she has
taken enough of wine to flush her
cheek and put a glassiness on her eye,
she is drunk. She may be handed into
a $500 carriage and have diamonds
enough to astound the Tiffanys-she is
drunk. She may be graduate of the
best young ladies' seminary and the
daughter OF some man in danger of
being nominated for the presidency
she is drunk. You may have a larger
vocabulary than l have, and you may
say In regard to her that she is "con-
viviar or she is merry" or she is "fes-
tive" or she is "exhilarated," but you
cannot with all your garlands Of YER
biage cover up the plain fact that it
is an Old-fashioned case OF drunk.
Now, the watering places are full OF
pie. At the close Of the tenpin or bill
lard game they iipple. At the close Of
the cotillion they tipple. Seated on
the piazza cooling themselves OFF they
tipple. The tiDged glasses come around
with bright straws and they tipple.
First they take Eight wines" as they
call them, but light wines are heavy
enough to debase the appetite. There
is not a very long road between cham
pagne at five dollars bottle and whls-
ky at ten cents glass. Satan has three
or four grades down which he takes
men to destruction. One man he takes
up and through one spree pitches him
into eternal darkness. That is a rare
case. Very seldom indeed can you find
a man who will be such fool as that.
Satan will take another man TO a grade,
to a descent at an angle about like the
Pennsylvania coal shoot or the Mount
Washington rail track, and shove him
off. But this is very rare. When a
man goes down TO destruction, Satan
brings him to plane. 1t is almost
level. The depression is so slight that
YOU can hardly see it. The man does
not actually know that he is on the
down grade. and it tips only a little
toward darkness-just little. And the
first mile it is claret and the second mile
it is sherry and the third mile it is
punch and the fourth mile it is ale
and the fifth mile IL is whisky and the
sixth mile it Is brandy, and then it gets
sleeper and sleeper and sleeper, until
it is impossible to stop. Look not thou
upon the wine when it is red, when 1t
giveth its color in the cup, when 1t
moveth itself Alright. At the last it
biteth like a serpent and stingeth like
an adder"
Whether you tarry at home-which
will be quite as safe and perhaps quite
as comfortable-o go into the country,
arm yourself against temptation. The
grace of God is the only safe shelter,
whether in town or country. There are
watering places accessible to all of us.
You cannot open a book Of the Bible
without finding out some such water
ing place. Fountains open for sin and
uncleanliness. Wells Of salvation.
Streams from Lebanon. A flood struck
out of the rock by Moses. Fountains
in the wilderness discovered by Hagar.
Water to drink and water to battle in.
The river of God, which is full Of water.
Water of which if man drink he shall
never thirst. Wells of water in the val
ley Of Baoa. Living fountains Of water.
A pure river Of water as clear as crys-
tai from under the throne of God.
These are watering places accessible to
all OF MS. We 90 not have laborious
packing up before we start-only the
throwing away Of our transgressions.
No expensive hotel bills to pay; it is
"without money and without price
No long and dusty travel before we get
there: It is only one step away.
In California, in five minutes. |
walked around and saw ten fountains
all bubbing up. and they were all diff
erent. and in five minutes / can go
through this Bible parterre and md
YOU 80 bright. sparkling fountains bub-
bling up into eternal life-healing and
therapeutic. a chemist will go to one
Of those summer watering places and
take the water and analyze il and tell
YOU that it contains so much Of iron
and so much Of soda and so much OF
lime and so much Of magnesia. ] come
to this Gospel well. this living fountain
and analyze the water; and find that
its ingredients are peace, pardon for
eiveness. hope, comfort, life, Heaven.
"Ho. everyone that thirsteth, come ye'