MR SPURGEON'S RENUNCIATION OF TEETOTALISM.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 465, 13 February 1869, Page 3

MR SPURGEON'S RENUNCIATION OF TEETOTALISM.

The Advertiser publishes the following report of a speech on total abstinence by Mr Spurgeon at a recent conference of Baptist ministers on the subject : —' Ido not know what brethren j may think of some of us, but somehow we do think ourselves that, if it was a pure matter of self-sacrifice, we would not wait to be asked to go in any direction, whatever might be the consequence. I may be allowed for a moment to be slightly egotistical, and say what is my position here. It may be the position of one or two others. I may illustrate it from my brother's case. Some time ago, he was an avowed teetotaller. Some nine months he was consistent to his pledge; again and again he found from time to time he was literally failing; and one day, so close was he to the verge of the grave, that I said, " Young man, there was one man who went to heaven in a chariot of fire, but that is no reason why you should go to heaven in one of water," and I went myself and fetched a glass of wine, which enabled him to finish his day's work. He said, " "What more is to be done." I said, " I will tell you my own experience. I tried conscientiously to be a teetotaller for some nine months myself, but I found I was obliged to give it up ; at least I thought so, and determined to take what I did take in secret. I bought some wine and medicine glasses, and I think for a year I drank no wine but out of a medicine glass, with a locked door; but of course it leaked out, and I found I was doing more harm than by open drinking. 1 found some had got a habit of secret irinking who were confirming themselves in what I was doing, so I put ;he medicine glass on one side, that 10 one should say I was ashamed of loing puplicly what I did in private."