The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-06-08

Then the four 6ends-the fiend of the
vineyard and of the grainfield and OF
the dairy and of the music hail-went
back to their home, and they held high
carnival because their work had been
SO well done, and Satan rose from his
throne and announced that there was
no danger of the earth's redemption SO
long as these four fiends could pay such
tax to the diabolic. And then all the
demons and all the sprites and all the
fiends filled their glasses and clicked
them and cried: "Let us drink-drink
to the everlasting prosperity of the
liquor traffic! Here's to woe and dark
ness and murder and death! Drink!
| Drink"
! But whether by allegory or by ap-
| palling statistic this system is pre-
sented you know as well as that it is
impossible to exaggerate the evils of
strong drink. Aplague. A Aplague! In
the first place the inebriate suffers from
the loss of a good name. God has SO ar
ranged it that no man loses his reputa-
ton except by his own act. The world
may assault a man, and all the powers
of darkness may assault him-they can
not capture him SO long as his heart is
pure and his life is pure.s All the powers
of earth and hell cannot take that Glib
raltar. If "A man is right. all the bonn
bardment of the world for 5, 10, 20, 40
years will only strengthen him in his
position. So that all you have to do is
to keep yourself right. Never mind the
world. Let it say what it will. 1t can
do you no damage. But as soon as it is
| whispered: ''He drinks" and it can
be proved, he begins to go down. What
clerk can get position with such q
reputation? What store wants him?
| What curch of God wants him for a
member? What dying man wants him
for an executor? He drinks!" l
stand before hundreds of young men
and l say it not in fattery-sp splendid
young men who have their reputation
as their only capital. Your father gave
you good education, or as good an
education as he could afford to give you.
He started you in city life. He could
furnish you no means, but he has sur
rounded you with Christian influences
and good memory of the past. Now,
young man. under God you are with
your own right arm to achieve your
fortune, and as your reputation is your
only capital do not bring upon it sus-
picion by going in and out of liquor es-
Establishments or by an odor of your
breath or by any glare of your eye or
by any unnatural flush on your cheeks.
You lose your reputation and you lose
your capital.
had a very dear friend, generous to
a fault. He had given thousands and
tens of thousands of dollars to Bible So
cieties, tract societies, missionary soci-
cites. asylums for the poor, the halt,
the lame, the blind, the imbecile. I do
not believe for 90 years anybody asked
him for a dollar, $50 or 500 for char
ity but he gave it. I never heard of
anybody asking him for help but he
| gave it. But he was under the power of
strong drink, and he went on down,
down, down. His family implored him,
saying: "You are going too far in that
habit. You had better stop" He re-
piled: Il can stop any time. am my
own master. / can stop" He went on
down. down. His friends advised and
cautioned him. He said: Don't be
afraid of me. / am my own master. !
can stop now. l know what am do
ing" He went on down until he had
the delirium tremens. On down until
he had the delirium tremens twice. Aft
er the second time the doctor said: "If
You ever have an attack like this again
you will die. You had better STOP" He
said: Il can stop any time. ! can stop
now" He went on down. He is dead.
What slew him? Fun. rum! Among
the last things he said was that he
could stop any time. He could not stop.
Oh, my young friends, want to tell
you that there is point in inebriation
beyond which if man go he cannot
stop! But sometimes man will be
more frank than that. A victim OF
strong drink said to reformer: ''It is
impossible for me to stop. | realize it
But if you should tell me couldn't have
a drink until tomorrow night unless !
lldU oil Cut Ols oOlllu SStN
Bring the hatchet and cut them off : :
I had a very dear friend in Philadelphia
whose nephew came to him and was
talking about his trouble and confessed
it. He confessed he could not stop. My
friend said: "You must STOP" He said:
Il can't stop. If there stood cannon
and it was loaded, and there was a
glass of wine on the mouth of the can
non, and I knew you would fire it off
il l approached, l would start to get
that glass of wine. l must have it. ]
can't get rid of this habit. can't ge,
away from it, Oh, it is awful for q
man to wake up and feel that he is q
captive! / hear him soliloquizing, say
ing: II might have stopped three
months ago, out can't stop now. Dead
but not buried; am walking corpse
l am an apparition of what once was
am Gagged immortal and my sou
beats against The wires of my cage OF
this side and beats against the wires o1
INV cage nm fhe other side nnf;1 +hars