Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-08-25

lSNApO O1 every mdn anu NOmdHs IL
is the soft-handed, soft-headed dude.
who, perfumed until the air is actual
1y sick, spends the summer in striking
killing attitudes, and waving senti-
mental adieuX, and talking infinitesimal
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 flashing cravat. His converse
ton made up of ''Ahs!" and 'Ohsi"
and "He hesi''
There is only one counterpart to such
a 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, IN
less she becomes an intelligent Chris
tian- We may admire music and fair
faces and graceful step; but amid the
heartlessness and the imitation 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. I am told that it is
becoming more and more fashionable
for women to drink. I care not how
well a woman may dress, If she has
taken enough of wine to flush her
cheek and put q glassiness on her eye.
she is drunk. She may be handed into
a $4,000 carriage and have diamonds
enough to astound the Tifanys-she is
drunk. She may be a 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-
vivial'' 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
temptations to men and women to tip
pie. At the close of the tenpin or bill
lard game they tipple. At the close OF
the cotilGon they tipple. Seated on
the piazza cooling themselves off they
tipple. The tinged glasses come around
with bright straws and they tipple-
First they take light Wines" as they
call them, but Eight Wines are heavy
enough to debase the appetite. There
is not a very long road between cham
payne at five dollars bottle and whis-
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 a 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. It is almost a
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 it 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 it
giveth its color in the cup, when it
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 confortable-or 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 a man drink he shall
never thirst. Wells of water in the val
ley of Baca. 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 us. We do 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, 1
walked around and saw ten fountains
all bubb1ing up, and they were all diff
erent, and in five minutes 1 can go
through this Bible parterre and find
you so bright, sparkling fountains bulb
bling up into eternal life-healing and
therapeutic. A chemist will go to one
of those summer watering places and