The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-08-22

| lars worth of diamonds on the righ
| hand drop a cent into the poor-box, ant
| then the benedietion is pronounced AM
the farce Is ended. The toughest thing
ever tried 10 do was TO be good at :
watering-place. The air Is bewi,ched witt
| the world. the flesh. and the devil Their
are Christians who. in three or four week
| in such a place have had such ;erriol'
rents made in their Christian robe tha
they had TO keep dGrning il until Christ
mas to get II mended
THE health of d great many peopl.
makes an annual visit 10 some minera
spring an absolute necessity. but take
your Bible along with you. and take ar
hour for secret prayer every DAY. though
you be surrounded by guffaw and satur.
MALTA. Keep only the Sabbath. though
they Certde you as biEoted Puritan
Stand off from gambling hells and thost
other institutions which propose to imi-
tate on this side the water the iniquities
of Baden-Baden. Let vcur moral and your
immortal health keep pace with your
physical recupera.ion. and remember that
all the sulphur and chalybeate springs
cannot do you so much good as the heal
ing, perennial flood that breaks forth from
the Rock OF Ages This may be your
last summer. If so. make il fiji vestibule
of heaven.
hfTst-rdcihg anu Degradation.
Another temptation lowering around
nearly all our watering places is the
horse-racing business. We all admire the
horse. but we do not think that its beauty
or speed ought TO be cultured at the ex-
pense Of human degradation. The horse
race is not of such importance as the hu-
man race. The Bible intimates that a
man is better than sheep. and | sup
pose he is better than a horse, though.
like jobs stallion, his neck be clothed
with thunder. Horse races in olden times
were under the ban of Christian people:
and in our day the same institution has
come up under ficticious names. And it
Is called a Summer Meeting almost sug-
sestive of positive religious exercises.
And II Is called an agricultural Fair,
suggestive Of everything that is improv-
ing in the art OF farming. But under
these deceptive titles are the same cheat
ing' and the same betting. and the same
drunkenness. and the same vagabondage.
and the same ahomination that were to
be found under the old horse-racing sys-
TEN.
I never knew man yet who could give
hlmself TO the pleasures of the turf for
long reach of time and not be battered
Spanking
team ana put on their sporting cap and
light their cigar and take the reins and
cash down on the read TO perdtiori The
great day at Saratoga and Brighton Beach
and Cape May and nearly all the other
watering places is the day of the races
equlpage is taken up at an almost fabu-
ious price; and there are many respecta-
Die people mingling with jockeys and
gamblers and libertines and foul-mouthed
men and fiashy women.
Brandy smashes and High Betc.
"The bartender stirs up the brandy
smash. The bets run high. The green
horns, supposing all is fair, put in their
money soon enough to lose it, Three
weeks before the race takes place the
struggle Is decided and the men in the
secret know on which steed to bet their
money. The men on the horses riding
around. long ago arranged who shall win.
Leaning from the stand, or from the car
riage, are men and women so absorbed in
the struggle of bone and muscle and met
tie that they make a grand harvest for
the pickpockets, who carry off the pock-
et-books and the portemonnaies. Men
looking on see only a string of horses
with their riders flying around the ring;
but there is many man on that stand
whose honor and domestic happiness and
fortune-white name, white foot, white
hank-are in the ring, racing with in
ebriety and with fraud and with pro-
family and with ruin-black neck, black
foot, black flank.
Neck and neck go the leaders in that
moral EPSON. White horse of honor;
black horse of ruin. Death saws: Il will
j will bet on the white horse The white
horse of honor little way ahead. The
black horse CT ruin, Satan mounted. all
the time gaining on him. Spectator
oreathless. They put on the lash. dig in
the spurs. Therei They are past the
stand. sure. Just as l expected it. The
black horse of ruin has won the race.
and all the galleries of darkness 'Huzza!
huzza! AMI the devils come in TO pick up
their wages. All. my friends. have MOTH
ing to Dc With horse racing dissipations
this summer.
Depreciates Equine Stock.
Long ago the English government got
through looking TO the turf for the dra-
COON and the light cal airy horse They
found out that the turf dapreclstes the |
stock; and il is worse yet for men.
Thomas Hughes, the member OF Parlia- |
nent, ana the author known all the world |
over, hearing that a new turf enterprise |
vas being started in this country, wrote |
letter In which he said: Heaven help |
7ou, then; for Of all the cankers of cur |
bid civilization. there is nothing in this |
approaching in unblushing mean |
hess. in rascality holding its read high. |
20 this belsuded institution of the British /
urf. Another famous sportsman writes:
How many fine domains have been |
shared among these hosts of rapacious /
sharks during the last two hundred years:
md unless the system be. altered. how |
many more are doomed to fall into the
ame gulf? With the bull fights of Spain
md the bear-baitings of the Dit, NAV the
ord God annihilate the Infamous and
Iccursed horse-racing OF England and
Americai
Il go farther and speak of another
emptation that hOvers over the water
ng place; and that is the tenotation 10
acrifce physical strength. The modern
5ethesda, just like this Bethesda OF the |
ext, was intended to Tecuperate the
hysical health; and yet how many come |
rom the watering places their health ab-
oiutely destroyed City simpIetons boast
ng OF having imbibed twenty glasses OF
congress- water before breakfast. Fami-
I night gossiping until / or O'clock IN
he morning. DyspeDtics, usually very
autious about their health, rninglInz |
&c creams, and lemons, and lobster SAL
ds, and cocoanuts, until the gastric |
1ices lift up all their voices OF lamonta-
ion and protest. Delicate women and |
rainless young men dancing themselves
nto vertigo and catalepgy. Thousands OF
nen and women coming back from our |
Watering places in the autumn with The |
laid for ailments that Will
ast them all their life long
ADO Thyself 40 Harm"
You know as well as / do that this
J the simple truth. In the summer. YOU
ay TO yorr good health: 'Good-by; I am
oing 70 have gay time now for liz
ie while; Will be very glad 20 see you
gain in the autumn. Then in the au-
1mn, when you are hard az work in
our office. or store. or shop or counting
Dom. Good Health will come IN ana say:
iood-by; / am going You say: Where
re you goingT On sayg Good Health.
am going 70 take a vacation It is
oor rule that viii not work both ways.
nd your good health will leave yon
holeric and splenetic and exhausted. You
with yorr posd hall, L. - /