The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1908-04-10
The Evil Of Inebriety.


this world, but invades the realms
of eternity. 1t not only destroys
the body but l am afraid 1T damns
the soul. It breaks the health Of
the drinker. and bruises the
hearts Of them who love him.
1t smOthers the inspiration of
cherished mbition and blights
and blasts the hopes of boy
hoods early dreams. 1t has made
more paupers, more lunaticls-
put in into prison more men and
women, clouded more homes
with sorroW-made more help
less orphans and hopeless Wild
ows than all others agencies for
harm combined. 1t is worse than
war, pestilence and famine. In
deed it is all three of them and
more. Ionce knew a young man
the brightest mind that / ever
met. who became in early life, a
victim to the drink disease The
possibilities of that man were
without limit. He was as great
a genus as Byron Or Prentiss.
He used to talk to me about his
condition and tell me how help.
less he was when in the cruel
grasp of that indescribable crav
ing. | have watched him often
in the desperate fight with the
demon. Some times he would
win but more often he was oyer
come. After a fearful debauch
while in the depths of humilia-
ton and contrition ! have heard
him prey to die. All hope was
gone out of his life-he was a
victim of disease in whose con-
scienceless clutches he was help
less as a piece of decaying flesh
in the Jaws of death. In that
state of mind | saw him one day
writing on the fyleaf Of book,
and here is what he wrote:
''Oh! wine thou hast FASTENED thy mil
lions on to the grave,
Thou sparkling temptation, thou COM
fort of sin,
Thou feared of the Cody, thou loved
of the damned,
/ am old in my prime and forgotten,
By father, and brother, and sister. and
friend,
l am dead to the smiles of the heart
A stranger to sober reflection
Twas counting thy comforts that killed,
Thy ruddy complexion, thy beautiful
sparkle,
Thy goading the brain hath woed me
to death,
Thou fellow of men, thou hope of the
fallen,
All cups are Clircean when thou are the
tenant,
Oh! for a dranght of ClitOrinm water
Oh! for long deep draught of Clitorium,
tain of Clitorium,
But for me all hope forever has gone
forever must cling TO the lovely sed-
ucer.
| 1t has built horrible hell for me here.
And the one only solace. the sparkling
seducer."
| Knowing him as I did when I
read these lines / could not re
strain my tears. / knew the fight
that he had made and also knew
that he was no more responsible
] tor the disease nor could he con-
troll his appetite any more than
a man is responsible for a spasm
of rheumatism or the craving for
water of a burning tongue. How
he sighed tor the mythical Clitor-
ium whose precious waters were
said to kill the thirst for strong
drink and break the shackles that
made one slave to his appetite.
From that day to this | have
never censured but always pitied
the man or woman who is a vic
| tim to that love for drink, which
had become a disease. They are
entitled to your love and com,
lmlseration- rather than dislike
| and contempt. For that reasOL
if / had the power | should close
EVERY saloon on earth, and dis
courage in every way possibly
the use of Intoxicating liquors
| would deliver all men from the
snares of temptation from the
lenemy that destroyes the body
! and kills the soul.