The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-01
Fairbrother's Fanci;es.
A Few Observations Of Human Interest

A Few Observations
I never was much to give man y
Temperance lecture. In fact, II q man
does not drink wlsl1ey 10 excess he does
mot need d lectr,rc--nnd If he does tnls
Is true, that it will make him drink tne
deeper If you tell him about IL. MOI az
vavs is 1T tho case, but it Is generally
the case. II n man has been on q drunh
and the best friend he has IN the woria,
his own wife, attempts to talk to MN
about 1t, Just as he Is recovering, s he
only throws fat in the fire, and. ma KOS
him worse A $mnn who has been out on
a. lark with him." can 60 to him and say
."Iiook here ,ol6: man, you must cut I,thls
thing out" and he will stand for It. lic
will look you square IN the eye ana say;
2"nevcr again for me'-take no ollehco
but had n, prohibitionist or ms vie, vi
his daughter, Or his sister. been, no'p
enough to have suggested such a thins
Ito him, The chances aare38t hat he would
have gotten Worry bnEryJ anfl perhaps y
continued. Ills debaiicl. iWhy. that Is |
do not know--;bli that II IS I%do3 4lI
4 Ana because this Is true In whatever
may write, ! never advise, q man 70
tuuit his rooisfness. I fear It might make
J.
itance and. wat CHI him go OH s.sraeling
way. Bit when see a kid-a benrdlfss
cub, doing what he should not do, throw
him n life Inc in the way of good ait
vice.
I feel that it is my duty. nndt1 know
that It cannot result in anything worse
than what has already happened. sun
day was I, cold, bleak day. and nap,
pened to stop at a railway station and
ro,,,1 ,l,,t tbo n was three hours
late. and II was up to me to spend that
time rs best / could. Fortunately. [
had procured n copy of the sunday
Times Dispatch. and read tt believe,
all OF it--and never appreciated what q
truly great paper.it was before. It takcs
lust such n condition, In this busy age,
for a man to appreciate all that IS m ono
OF the big Sunday papers, Unless We
have plenty Of time we never read only
what we think we would enjoy, ana me
headlines Indicate what that shall pc.
But If YOU are up against three or four
hours of solitude and waiting for train
YOU will read shout all that is In print
But this BY way OF dlgresslon. was
ut the depot and n kid was there VINO
was learning to be an operator. lie mad
no special hours--he hung around and
was getting on to the talk Of the tele-
graph, and he wore store clothes and
had his shoes shined right. lie hnd u
package Of cigarettes, and he would nv
one about every five minutes. lie was
restless and "fidgcty" and finally nc
pulled forth an old black pipe, and he
loaded that and puffcd little. and stu
showed signs of nervousness, Finally he
got ~ negro and sent him somewhere, and
the negro returned, ana the young man
went outside tho waiting room and came
back with tears In his eyes. lie had
placed his mouth over tho end of a half
pint "tcklcr," and had swallowed sew
oral fingers Of raw corn LIQUOR. lic re-
s,lmed his scat. crossed his legs and
placed his hat sideways on his head and
wanted to tnlk. He told mo about what he
expected to do as an operator; how he
would be q train dispatcher and Il Whole
lot of other ambitions which tho ono
drink had brought to tho surface. There
no was, just beardless kid, and yet n
victim of tho cigarette and tho pipe. aud
Developing ,hankcring'' for corn whs-
key
And with the tobacco and the
bles and building astles-castles which
men do build In dreams--but ! marvced.
] thought to myself that + was 9 pity pity
and take that boy by tho hand and lead
him from the city Of destruction. I
wondered why 1t was that the penalty
OF life was SO cruel and so cNac,!ng;
observation could moi be Of benefit to
him, and hc could have them. for the
asking, I reasoned in this wise; Had
the young man been left q lot of monGny,
gladly consult some elder, head. some
one who had been along the lines, and
who could give advice Of what was best
t. d. e w9Ia nas rSK, nus prGy
! III or pay. for It. But l.iRre he was risk
irng his whole everything ,and, In lis
own little concelt he knew It Al, Nc
dared to have offered some fatherly nd
vice an dtold him that clean. mora
character was essential to success; told
| habits SO early In life must look OF
moral, physical death long before ms a.
lotted time lie would have spurned sNci
talk. and laughed ut you-vand gone his
| way.
And yet, when that man, who IS very
| young to-day, reaches his thirtetn nue.,
! post, unless he tulllbes to himself, he vii
| bitterly regret that he allowed vice TO fas-
! ten itself upon rim, What no. to-day thinks
tis smart" viii he repulslye to him in
those after ycars-but lie will be too late
70 change The condition which VII tMen
eYis! HIS 'lroams wiz nayer come rue n,a,
Who Knows it nll--and It will take the
cruel, lSnuck-down of Fate 70 make nm
! see things as they really are.
| Then there Will be those to say bat ,the
young mans parents were to blame i3ul
| never belieyo much OF that kl'pM
| that good mothers have wept tears Oh
sorrow because of the abandonment OF =
wayward son; mothers ,Syho have ta ,isMd
| done all that love and sacrifice could. dq
| have witnessed their sons go WRONG. AND
yet the question would come baek.wh TO-
| then, is 10 blame, when kld soes 10 ~. IN,
| wild? / believe that the human race. III