The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-16

see a baby die. 1t is not to see an old
man die. 1t is to see a'young man come
> up to thirty or forty years Of age after
years and years of work, come TO the
time when success is about to be his,
and see the death sweat upon that young
mans brow or see his trembling hand
fall back upon the invalid's coyerlet and
| know that he has wasted his physical
manhood at the altar of pleasure or at
| the students desk and know that his
physical health can never be brought
| back. There is hardly tragedy like it.
Many years ago the rats gnawed through
the water casks of the good ship Car
miento, bound for California. Nearly all
the ships water was lost. On board that
vessel were many miners seeking the
| western goldflelds. Two casks alone were
| left to quench the thirst of hundreds. At
| that time the vessel was a thousand miles
from the nearest port of San Bias river,
where fresh water could be obtained. The
| two remaining casks were brought on
deck and a guard placed over them day
and night that the water might not be
wasted Then two-thirds of pint of
water was given to each man daily-no
k.mcre, no less. Slowly the ship sailed on.
| In. that hot climate the fever burned and
| the passengers were almost mad.
One day a man said to party of men,
among whom stood a young fellow who
| afterward told me the incident: Il am
dying of thirst | must have some water.
| / will give a dollar to any one who will
give me half a pint of water to drink"
+, No answer. No one moved. II will give
50 to any one who will sell me some
water" No answer No one moved.
Then he took a twenty dollar gold piece
out of his pocket and he said; Il am
dying of thirst I must have water. l
will give 500 to any one who will give me
jest little water to drink No answer.
| No one moved. Then, with an oath, he
= "a
| said: what is the good of it? 1t will
rot buy me even one little drink" You
| say that is tragic? Yes, but it is not
nearly so tragic to me as to see boys
and girls squandering their health and
vital powers in disregard of the advice
of their parents in reference to their
physical health. Then just at the time
when they ought really to begin to live
they are about to die. Then they come
| forth with the pale, wan cheeks of death
or of helpless invalidism and say: Here,
Lord, is my money; here is my fame.
Give me back my health" mo" says
God. mo. No I command thee TO
| obey thy father and mother. They told
you how you should care for your body.
You have refused to follow their advice.
You must die Oh, my young friends,
! will you honor your father and your
mother by needing their warnings that
your days may be long upon the land
which the Lord thy God giveth you?
Confiding In Parents.
! The next important step for young
! people to heed in order that long earth
/ 1y life may be theirs is to give their
! parents their confidence in reference to
| the companions whom they are making
| their daily associates You should not
only introduce these friends to your ia
theirs and mothers, but you should tell
your parents their true natures, and you
] oh oil char
acteristcs as we'll as their good. Then,
II your father or mother advise you not
to associate with this boy or that girl
| or this young man or that young Wo-
man, you should obey their wishes. They
know best Mark me, If you will make
friends of the young people your parents
wish you to go with and no others, a
pure life, a good and noble life, is al
most certain to be yours. Furthermore.
mark me, also, in this, if a son of
Christian parents will persist in asso-
cating with those companions whom his
father or mother disapprove in the end
that boy will turn out badly. lie will
do this in physical and moral and
spiritual sense. There is hardly any ex-
ceptions to the rule.
Let me drive this truth little further
home What is the matter with John
Owens?' | ask. you know him well.
lie lives on the same block. He has a
good father and mother. few years
ago he was one of the brightest, hap
piest boys in the neighborhood His eyes
were always dancing and full of fun. lie
was always leader in your sports. No
laugh was merrier than his Now ne has
dark rings under his eyes. His skin is not
a healthy color. He looks as though he is
going into a decline. When he meets me.
instead of holding his head erect and
in a manly way and looking me straight
in7the eye, he always slouches along with
hangdog expression. lie never bows
| unless he is compelled to- oh you
answer, "the trouble is John has gone
into bad company He Is not at heart a
bad boy. but his associates are bad. He
goes with the boys of the town, who think
it smart to hang around the billiard
halls and to bet and to tell filthy stories.
You are right. No one can go with John $
associates and have a pure good clean
mind. Through his dissipated companions
he Is not only wrecking his mental pros
poets, but also his physical health" All,
is that so? Too bad. too bad. we say.
John Owens dissipated career will be the
natural sequence of every boy or girl
who associates with companions whose
true characteristics n Christian father
and mother would not approve.
What Killed Her.
But the evil physical effects of impure
associates do not end with youth. They
inevitably find their elimination in an
unholy marital alliance. When the young
daughter makes the wrong kind of friends
at school there will come time when she
will begin to associate with young men
whose regulations are not what they
! ought to be- The influence of the one
class on the other is just as sure in its
results as that the midnight darkness
follows the twilight glow. Then when the
call of love comes into the young maiden S
heart, instead of going and telling her
best friend, her mother, all about 1t, she
will keep the secret concealed in her own
heart or perhaps she will conflde in her
school friend, who is herself a girl of
whose friendship with their daughter the
parents do not approve. Cannot you hear
the two young girls talking about this
love in their hours of friendly inter-
course? Then comes the marriage. Per-
haps it is an elopement. Then what fol-
lows? Inevitably an unhappy and an un-
holy home. Cannot you see the worried
look in the face of the young wife? Cam
not you count there many wrinkles? Can
not you see the hair prematurey whiten ?
Cannot you hear the church bell toll the
funeral dirge as the poor wfe's body is
carried to its early grave? What is the
ma tier? why did she die? ooh" you an
swer, 'she died of a broken heart. She
had a good for nothing, worthless hus-
band lie abused her. lie killed her.
All. my friend. that is not the direct
cause of that young wifeS death. She
prematurely died because in her Young
school days she made friends with young
girls whose associates her father and