The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-06-30
TERRORS OF DRINK.
Dr. Talmage breaches of the Evils
OF the Liquor Traffic.
In an Eloquent sermon lie Depicts
the DrunkRrd's Woe-The Rum
Fiend's Mission Is to De-
strOy All Good.

+. Copyright, 1882 by Louis Klopsch. Wash.
ngton April SO
' AZ this time, when the evils of thu
ID drink traffic are being widely discussed
, and the movement for the abolition OF
the degrading and brutalizing canteeu
IN our military camps is gaining many
supporters, this sermon by DR.. Tai
mage, dealing with the broader aspects
OF the plague of intempcrance should
cheer and inspire the friends of tenn
perance everywhere. His text is Exo-
uus ll:6, And there shall be a great
cry throughout all the land Of Egypt"
Ihis was the worst of the ten plaques.
: The destroying angel at midnight
tapped his wing over the land. and
there was one dead in each house. La
mentation and mourning and woe
through all Egypt. That DESTROYING
angel has fled the earth, but a far worse
has, come lie sweeps through these
cities. 1t is the destroying angel of
strong drink. Far worse devastation
wrought by this second than bv the
first. The calamity in America worse
than the calamity in Egypt. Thousands
OF the slain, millions of the slain. No
arithmetic can calculate their number
Once upon. time four fiends met in
the lost world. They resolved that the
people of cur earth were too happy.
and these four Intervals came forth to
our earth on embassy of mischief. The
one tiend said: "I'll take charge of the
Vineyards Another said: III take
charge Of the grainfelds" Another
said: "Ill take charge of the dairy"
Another said: "Ill take charge of the
music The four fends met in tho
| great Sahara desert, with skeleton fin
gers clutched each oth1r in handshake
of fidelity, kissed each other good-bv
with lip of blue flame, and parted on
their mission.
The fiend of the vineyard came in one
bright morning amid the grapes and sat
down on root of twisted grapevine in
sheer discouragement. The fiend knew
not how to damage the vineyard, or,
through II, how TO damage the world. |
The grapes were so ripe and beautiful |
and luscious They bewitched the air
be so much health in every bunch, and
while the fend sal there in utter indig-
nation and disappointment he clutched
cluster and squeezed il in perfect
spite. and lo his hand was red with the
blood of the vineyard, and the fend
said: That reminds mo of the blood Of
broken hearts. I'll strip the vineyard,
and I'll squeeze out all the juice of the
grapes, and III allow the juices of the
grapes 10 stand until they rot, and I'll
call the process fermentation" And
there was great vat prepared, and
people came with their cups and their
pitchers, and they dipped up the blood
ofthe grapes and they drank and drank
and went away drinking, and they
drank until they fell in long lines of
death, 50 that when the fend of the
vineyard wanted TO return TO his home
in the pit he stepped from carcass to
carcass and walked down amid great ,
eauseway of the dead.
Then the second fiend came into the 6
grainGeld. lie waded chin deep amid
The barley ard the rye. He heard all the :
grain talking about bread and prosper 7
)us husbandry and thrifty homes. He O
hrust his long arms into the grainfeld, {
md he pulled up the grain ald threw it I
nto the water, and he made beneath il 9
,rcat fres-fres lighted with a spark b
rom his own heart-and there were a T
grinding and smashing and a stencil, f
nd the people came with their bottles, h
nd they poured the fiery liquid, and
hey drank, and they blasphemed, and II
hey staggered, and they fought, and e.
hey rioted and they murdered, and il
he fend of the pit, the fend Of the 81
was so pleased with their be- n
avior that he changed his residence II
rom the pit to the whisky barrel, and L
here he sat by the door of the bunghole II
lughing in high merriment at the w
bought that out of anything so harm II
,ss as the grain Of the field he might RI
urn this world into seeming pande- 81
ionium. fo
The fend of the dairy saw the COWS to
)ming home from the pasture field gl
III uddered, and as the maid MIXED he
e said: "Ill soon spoil all that mess: II,
Il add to it brandy, sugar and nut ha
eg, and I'll stir il into a milk punch, tn
I'd children viii drink it, and some of is
he temperance people will drink it, and m,
I can do them no more harm III give 81,
lem a headache. and then I'll hand de
ZEN over to the more vigorous fends ste
the satanic delegation" And then ste
e fend Of the dairy leaped upon the no
elf and danced until the long row Of
lining milkpans almost quaked. of
The fend of the music entered lov
ogshop and there were but few Gus ge
mers. Finding few customers, he the
fept the circuit of the city, and he in
thered up the musical instruments sci
d after nightfall he marshaled Tn
nd. and the trOmbones blew and the hoi
mbals clapped and the drums beat OF
d the bugles called and the people is
)wded in, and they swung around in ma
rry dance. each one with a winegless con
his hand and the dance became be
lder and stronger and rOugher, until his
e room shook and the glasses cracked dre
the floor broke and the crowd Dire
)pped into hell. unL
Then the four fiends-the fiend of the ever
eyard and of the grainfeld and of ! ever
dairy and of the music hall-went cou
* to their home. and they held high the
niyal because their work had been clad
well done, and Satan rose from his drir
hot .