The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-12-10

Two valued servants, who had for
years lived in the editors family in
Hartford, were now in the family
where he had been invited to dinner.
At the dinner were served several
kinds of wines, but as they were prof
fered to him be declined. The hostess
of the evening urged that he should
try their choicest California wines.
naming especially the favorite brand Of
his old friend. The bottle was already
from it. ''Why should he not tryzit, y
was asked enough to express his
opinion On its" But he declined. His
hostess urged him to, yield until he
thought she was pressing the matter
unduly, and he was therefore the SIN
ner, and the dinner was ended.
The next day he met the elder of
the two servants, whom he respected
and valued for her worth. 10 his sur
prise she said, as to the dinner of the
evening before:
When we were preparing Tor the
dinner my mistress was considering
what wines we must have. said, sMr.
Trumbull never drinks wine.' She
said. He Will drink wine at our dinner
to night-you see if he does not.' I
said, If Mr.. Trumbull tastes your wine,
you can take of months wagesof
mine" just knew you would not
touch wine.''
And the editor thanked the Lord
that he had not lost his good name
with her as total abstainer who could
be depended upon He then realized
anew that we are always being watch
ed to see what we do, and that for our
own sakes, and for the sake Of others,
toGal abstinence is our only safe rule.
Thefwriter has had varied experiences
in life, as enabling him to test and con-
firm the reasonableness of his views in
favor of total abstinence. He has traV-
eled in Europe: Asia, Africa and Amer
lea. He has in the last fifty years
been in the principal wine-growing
countries of the world. He has lived
on ocean, sea and river. on desert and
plain andmountain; he has been COM
pelled to drink the vilest water ina
ginable-but he has never been where
he thought that the best wine or other
alcoholic beverage was so safe or &C
desirable, in view of what he saw, as
the poorest water available to him.
AS to the experience of others whom
he knew or observed, the evidence is
in the same direction as his own. AS
to the peril of departing from total ab-
stinence, he can say that in large ma
iority OF cases his personal friends,
both boys and girls, who were not con-
tented to remain total abstainers,
either died drunkards, or are living: as
such. He has seen no fewer drunk
ards in wine-growing countries than
in the vicinity of breweries and distil-
leries. He has found that no strength
of will nor earnestness of religious pro- .
fession or practice would surely enable
a person to pursue a course OF safe
moderation, if he or she departed from
total abstinence. He has seen so many
men of exceptional strength of will and
character yield to intemperance; he
has seen so many clergymen of differ
ent denominations, and so many lovely
women, follow in similar course, that
be is afraid to depart from the safe and
proper course.
Ee thanks God that he has the privi-
ege of being total abstainer, and he
Knows that that course is the only safe
2ne for him. He believes that that
course is the only safe or wise course
or any one, and therefore he recon-
nends it to all.