St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-09-23

1 UuIc Cl IlSdNCus
! 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 expense of human degradation. The
horse race is not Of such Importance as
the human race. The Bible intimates
that man is better than a sheep, and /
suppose 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 fic-
titious names. And it is called a SUM
mer meeting" almost suggestive Of
positive religious exercises. And it is
called an agricultural fair" suggest
i've Of everything that is improving in
the art of farming. but under these de-
| ceptive titles are The same cheating,
and the same betting, and the same
drunkenness, and the same vagabond-
age, and the same abomination that
| were to be found under the old horse
racing system.
/ never knew q man yet who could
give himself to the pleasures of the turf
for long reach of time and not be bat
tered in n.orals. They hook up their
spanking team and put on their sport
ing cap and light their cigar and take
the reins and dash down on the road
to perdition! The great day ut Sara
toga and Brighton Beach and Cape May
and nearly all the other watering places
is the day Of the races. The hotels are
thronged, every kind Of equipage is
taken up at an almost fabulous price,
and there ere many respectable people
mingling with jockeys and gamblers
and ihertiDes and foul-mouthed men
and flashy women. The bartender stirs
up the brandy smash. The bets run
high. The grecnhorns, 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 carriages
struggle Of bone and muscle and mettle
that they make grand harvest for the
pickpockcts. who carry off the pocket
books and the portemonnaics. 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 hap
piness and fortune--white name. white
foot, white fanfare in the ring.
racing with inebriety and with fraud
and with profanity and with ruin
black neck. black foot, black flank.
Neck and neck go the horses in that
moral Epson. White horse of honor:
black horse of ruin. Death says: 81
will bet on the black horse" Spec
tator says: Il will bet on the white
horse" The white horse Of honor a
little way ahead. The black horse of
ruin. Satan mounted, all the time gain
ing on him. Spectator GREATNESS.
They put on the lash, dig in the spurs.
There! They are past the stand. Sure.
Just as expected. The black horse of
ruin has won the race, and all the gall
leries of darkness .'huzza! huzza!" and
the devils come in to pick up their
wagers. All, my friends, have nothing
to do with horse racing designations
this summer.
I go further and speak of another
temptation that hOrers over the water
ing place, and that is the temptation to
sacrifice physical strength. The mod
ern Bethesda, just like this Bethesda
of the text, was intended to recuperate
the physical health: and yet how many
come from the watering places their
health absolutely destroyed! City SIM
pletons boasting ct having imbibed 20
glasses of congress water before break
fast. Families accustomed to GO to bed
at ten o'clock at night. gossiping until
one or two o'clock in the morning. Dys-
peptics, usually very cautious about
their health, mingling ice creams and
lemons and lobster salads and cocoa
nuts until the gastric juices lift up all
their voices of lamentation and pro-
test. Delicate women and brainless
young men dancing themselves into
vertigo and catalepsy. Thousands of
men and women coming back from our
watering places in the autumn with the
laid for ailments that will |
last them all their life long. You
know as we'll as I 10 that this is the |
simple truth. In the summer you say
to your health: 'Geod-by; am going |
to have . gay time nov Tor i little
while. ] vii bevery glad to see you
az TIN in the autumn" Then in the |
autumn. when you are hard at work in |
your office or store or shop or counting
room. coed health win come in and
say: .Good-by; am going" You say:
..Where' are you going?' Oh says
good health, Il am going to take va
cation 1t Is poor rule that will not
work beth ways. and your good health |
will leave you chcleric and splenetic
and exhausted. You coquetted with |
your good health in the summer time |
and your good health is coquefting |
with you in the winter time. \ frag- |
ment of Panrs charge to the jailer
W sANSs A0A
the hotel register in every watering |
place: do myself no HARM"
Another temptation lowering around
the watering place is the formation Of
hasty and lifelong alliances. The wa
tering places are responsible for more
Of the domestic infelicities of the coun-
try than nearly I'll other things COM
bined. Society is SO artificial there that
no sure judgment Of character can be
formed. They who form companion
ships amid such circumstances 20 into
a lottery where there are 20 blanks to
one prize. In the severe ting of life you /
want more than glitter and splash. Life
is not ballroom where the music de-
cides the step, and bow and prance and
graceful swing of long train can make
up for strong common sense. You
might as well 60 among the gayly-
painted yachts of summer regatta to
find war vessel as 10 60 among the
light spray of the summer watering |
place to find character that can stand
he fest Of the great struggle of human |