Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-10-04
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby.
terrain cAurch, Chicago

o. XIII, 81. "At the last It biteth like n
It serpent and stingeth like an adder"
y My father has now been dead about
: six months. Since his demise | have
: : received scores OF letters from many
l. parts Of this country asking me to de-
s nne my position on the temperance
question. Only yesterday a strong
!. earnest plea came from one of the
New England states which went some.
thing like this: "Your fathers voice
= always rang true In his hatred for the
wine cup. VIII you not come to our
aid and help the thousands Of mothers
who have drunken sons and the wives
who have drunken husbands fight this
relentless enemy OF God and the
homer II Is in answer to these let
ters that | shall state my belief and
position upon the temperance question.
But ] speak with a broader purpose
than merely to crafty curiosity. |
want every man, woman and child
who hates the saloon and who Is con.
secrated for combined combat
against this arch aend of the centuries
to look upon me as brother and a
comrade. pledge myself as the col
league Of every foe OF the intoxicating !
cup. At every opportunity, with voice
and pen, | will thrust at this serpen- !
tine monster. 1t shall be my aim, as
II should be the aim OF every one Of
Gods ministers. to rally, with all the
influences at his command, the enc
mics OF this hitherto lnvincible and un.
conquered foe Of the human race May
God grant us to live to see the day
when the fangs Of this mighty monster
shall have been extracted and when
its head shall have been crushed and
its vile carcass dismembered under the
advancing hoofs OF the white chargers
Of the gospel army.
Tho evil Of intOxication Is universal
curse. Its long. Shiny. twisting coils
spread over every land and are visible
In every walk OF life. There is hardly
man or woman sitting before me who
has not had ut least one near relative
who has been cursed by the fatal bite
ofthis crawling. insidious enemy. Per-
haps that near relative was father,
a mother. an uncle an aunt. brother,
a sister a wife, a husband or child.
Asas. many Of us can say we have not
only had one. but many near relatives ,
and friends who have gone down into +
graves after they have lived :
the hopeless and humanity helpless. de- !
graded earthly existence OF the drunk. :
ard. Even as am preparing this SER ,
mon news is published that a man who 4
has filled high places in the service Of =
bis country. who bore name honored 4
IN our history. has lost his life in q
brawl I'm which he would never have
been involved If he had not INDUCED in
drink II
The Warning of Solomon.
Solomon compared the sin of intoxi- =
'atlon to the writings and twistings y
II serpent and to the stinging Of an =
Idder because at that time poisonous =
erpents were everywhere. Every -
hlcket was filled with a constellation %
# their cleaning eyes Every desert q,
vas the home of the puff adder. lying =. =.
alf buried In the sand Every swamp ~
vas the retreat OF the water viper. Ev. ~
ry hillside had for the traveller q -
warming hiss or rattle. Even unto =.
bis day many Of the countries OF the " "
ast are Overrun with poisonous rep :"
les In India alone over $4,000 in - -
abtants annually die from poisonous -.
make bites ~
The deadly serpents can multiply al. 80
lost indefinitely in the wild, undeve. - -
ped region of a virgin soil. Hum. ~
oldt, the celebrated German scientist, -
ave this description OF one Of his -
avels: 'In the savannas OF Esse- -
libO, in Guiana. | saw the most Won 49,
arful and terrible Of spectacles. We "
ere ten men on horseback, two of -.
HON took the lead in order to sound ~ ~
e passages. while preferred to skirt ~,
e green forest One Of the black -
en- who formed the vanguard re- %,
rned ut full gallop and said to me, ~,
ONE here. sir, and see serpents In a -
le.' He pointed out TO me something A.,
- 49,. IT,. .". gin
ms. One Of my companions said: -
his must be one OF those assem-. ~ w
ages OF serpents which heap them S~
Ives on each other after violent 80 49,,
npeSt ! have heard OF such, but -
We never seen any. Let US be eau. a.
us and not 90 too near When we 10
re within twenty paces Of 1t, the !.
'ror OF our horses prevented our a.
lrer approach. to which. however. ~.
ne OF US was inclined Suddenly O. O.
, pyramided mass became agitated. ~,
Ightful hlssings Issued from it Thou ~, ~,
Ids OF serpents rolled spirally on a., -
h other They shot their hideous 49, 49,
Ids out Of the circles, presenting
ir fiery eyes at US. | then thought natr
at could be the design OF this nu- loatl
rous assemblage. | concluded that cry
5 species OF serpent dreaded some Id
ossoI enemv and they united them. stroy
yes, after having seen this enemy, we
order to attack or resist II In the your
S." So today the serpents Of the siue'
le cup attack slngly or en- masse. youI
sy are everywhere and find their nom
y in all ranks Of society. The wide mari
cad curse Of the wine cup was very nlgn
kingy compared to the fatal ser. coiu
IS Of the Solomonic era. which serp'
e almost everywhere. But, unlike rbov
serpents which have almost dis hurio
cared before our advancing civili- man
on, the trails of the adders of In coma,
cation are even more multitude. hu
8 now than ever before. n Is
Scrpents Everywhere. over
le serpents of lntoxlcation have In sOnol
sed so rapidly that they are now and
lmerable. We hear their hiss in polso
OSt every legislative hall. We see child