THE WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE CRUSADE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 173, 4 August 1874, Page 2

THE WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE CRUSADE.

The following is the substance of a sermon delivered at Brooklyn, U.S., by the Rev. T. Da Witt Talmage :- The text was from Judges v 12 : "Awake, awake, Deborah; aw*ke, awnke." The children of Israel had fallen into the hands of the Canaanites, and needed sorao hand to deliver them. A woman and prophetess, Deborah, arose, and, aided by General Barak, went forth with ten thousand men. The Canaanites had nine hundred chariots of iron, each having on its sides scythes, which mowed down two long swaths of slain wherever it moved. Yet, having God with her, Deborah vanquished the enemy, and the leader of his hosts, Sisera, fled to the mountain. Another army of Caoaanitish and infernal influences hnß come down to destroy this fair land of ours. It comes armed with the decanter and demijohn, and legislative enactment, and brewers' tanks, aod apothecary's bitters, and tho distillers' worm that never dieth. To meet these influences, some very brave men bave gone forth and tried to break to pieces these iron chariots of destruction, but the country slept, until a few weeks ago in (he West the voice cf the Lord Almighty rang through (he churches, and the houses, and the gin palaces, and away off upon the prairie, faying, " Awake, awake, Deborah ; awake, awake." And now, at tbis moment, the great Austerlitz goes on, while earth, and heaven, and hell await the stupendous issue. There is a great need of something radical in fighting intemperance, and this can be shown in many ways. A generation of children are growing up with a hereditary taste for strong drink. Many a roan sits down to write his will, and enys, "la the name of God, amen. I will and bequeath to my children my houses, my lands, and ray property, share and share alike. Signed and sealed in lhe presence cf "witnesses." But he doe3 not know that he is at the same time making a double will, and that he might say, "In the name of disease, end sorrow, and death, amen. I will and bequeath to ray children my appetite for drink, and ' my prospects of a drunkard's grave. Signed and sealed in presence of the astonished hosts of heaven, and the jubilant harpies of hell." And there are millions of children growing up iu surroundings which will inevitably lead them to the vice. While our children are in Sunday-school siDging ' Hosanna,' many times as many have the rum bottle for their toy, and imitating thrir elders, are singing the song cf the drunkard. Then there are thousands of gin palaces along our streets, hanging out lamps of- red and blue, which seem to be lit by a flying spark from the hell to whieh they are trapping so many. They used to occupy our corners — now they are everywhere. They call themselves hotels, saloons, casinos, retreats, aud lager beer establishments. If you want to get out of the smell of rum you have to go five or six miles dut of town, and even at the outskirts it is sometimes worse than in the city. These places are where all the crime and riot and lawlessness io our midst are fomented. It is here that men whet their courage to commit arson, or burglary, or murder. And our drug stores, which should be the means of preserving health and life, are dealing forth destruction and death. Alchol is put up in the form of " bitters "—bitters they are, leading io a bitter life, a bitter death, and a bitter eternity. A man will take bottle after bottle, until the cork of tho last will fly off, and a fiend will jump from out its mouth and, clutching him by the neck, will say, "Ah T I've been chasing you these fifteen years. I've got you now 1° Oh. if a man is to be killed, give him a fair chance — put on the outside of the bottle what it is. Death is everywhere charming men into its embrace under various guises. It calla itself burgundy, or cognac, or claret, or schiedam schnapps; but, like the fabled monster, it gulps down its hundred victims at a time. There were two questions they might ask him in reference io this question: Ist. Do you approve of the women's movement in the West? 2nd. Do you believe a similar movement should' be inaugurated in the East? As to the first, he would say that some things had been done in the West of which he did not approve, but when there are so many fools masculine, we must expect to find a few fools feminine. Yet he did not hesitate to say that this movement was the grandest and most magnificent spectacle the world had ever witnessed since Deborah, at the call of the Lord God Almighty, put to flight the hosts of Canaanites. (Applause.) Of course many would laugh and ridicule the actions of the woman as undignified. Many would say that they had better be at home crotcheting, or watching the oven to see that the bread did not get too brown. Oh, my sou! { which would have beea most dignified, for a woman to wait wearily for hours in a desolated home, with her half-clad children, for the tottering steps of a husband, or son, or brother; or to put on the only hat and shawl not yet pawned by her companions, and go out under the leadership of some great soaled Deborah with the whole famished family at her back, and attempt by the artillery of prayer and song to put an end to those institutions where their domestic ruin bad been inaugurated ? Who are you, sitting in your prosperous homes and pampered ease,

that you should be so severely critical of the women of the West? It seems that by the force of prayer and Christian song there were iu a little while 300 saloons shut up, and in some of the villages all the drinking plaees.wero closed. You say they will open egain soon. I reply, is it nothing to shut up the fired hell for six weeks? It would appear that the rum-sellers do not know how to fight tbeee new weapons. They can withstand the Maine Liquor law; and the National Temperance Society; but they cannot contend against prayer; and " Coronation," and "Old Hundred," and " Brattle-Street," and « Bethany." In one of tbe cities a German regiment was brought out to disperse tho women. They came down in battle array, but, oh! with what poor success! For that German regiment was made up of gentlemen, and gentlemen don't like to shoot women with hymn books in their hands. They found tbat gunning for female prayer meetings was very poor business. No real damage has been done, although there has been threat after threat of violence all over the land. Let us give fair warning to all military companies, to all mayors, to all courts of law, tbat on the very day that one of these Christian women engaged in this holy war shall, under the°point of a soldier's bayonet, or under the stroke of police club, fall down wounded or slam, that day there wiil be a fire kindled in this country of indignation and national wrath that all the waters of the Mississippi aud Ohio and Hudson can never put out ; and it will keep on --that itfluence will keep on rolling as with a besom of destruction, all over this country, until the last liquor shop and the last gin store and the last brewery shall be trampled out under the feet of an indignant people. (Applause.) I tell you the curse of the Lord Cod Almighty is on that business for ever and ever, Amen. . Oh, if my voice shall, through the printing press, reach those noble women of the West, I bid them God speed.

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