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In this day, when the world is supposed to
be growing better morally, and is nearing the
summit of the height of prosperity; when sleep
ing. empires are being awakened from their
fruitless slumbers to the realities of real
portunities and privileges, by the wonderful
and powerful Word of God’s saving grace,
carried by noble men and women; in this day,
when young people are surrounded with edu
cational and religious facilities never before
experienced in the world’s history; at this
time, when through experience gained from
personal observation, and from even the head
lines of the daily press, parents are informed
of the evils and terrible temptations confront
ing their children; and, generally speaking,
the world is on a boom; but there is a problem
yet unsolved, or' at least if it has been solved,
never small action has been taken to correct.
What is carrying our boys to the devil?
They are going at the rate of thousands year
ly, notwithstanding the religious opportunities
and educational privileges that surround them,
are all that could be desired. How does it
happen that these things are so? What is the
excuse for this, and whose fault is it? In a
few short words this vital question can be an
swered. By the example of those higher up,
and the slackness of the parental rein:
There is nothing which will leave a greater
impress upon the mind of a young person than
a good examnle, and likewise a bad example.
Tbp vpnpo’ nerson keeps his eyes upon the ex
alted and upon the acts of the man of affairs?
"A very queer thing for a man
to oe guxiig on his wedding tour
alone,” thought William Randolph, as
he took his seat in the Pullman car,
“but, thanks to my eccentric old un
cle’s will, 1 am enabled to enjoy the
luxury of traveling without the both
er of female companionship.”
He leaned back in his seat and com
placently surveyed his fellow-passen
gers.
There were several consumptives go
ing West for the benefit of their
health; a tired looking little woman,
tyrannized over by two robust babies;
one or two families and a couple of
traveling men who were casting long
ing glances at a young lady sitting
across the aisle from them.
Mr. Randolph’s lips curled contemp
tuously as he watched them.
“What fools men are,” he muttered.
“They think women are angels and
wont listen to anybody until they find
out differently for themselves, as they
all do, sooner or later. I feel sorry
for poor wretches, who do not find
it out till after they’re married. It
must bedreadful to flatter yourself that
you’ve won (?) an angel and then find
she is only clay after you’re tied to
her for life.”
His eyes wandered back to the girl.
Something about the fragile figure
and small, clear-cut features remind
ed him of a girl he had known and
loved and been deceived by years ago.
She was reading and there were
tears on her lashes.
“Crying over the love troubles of
some Lady High-and-Mighty,” he
thought, contemtpously, “but all the
poor children might die of starvation,
and she would never shed a tear or
lift a hand to help them unless by so
doing she could get her name in the
papers.”
Then he caught sight of the title of
the book, and, such is the vanity of
humanity, his mood softened for it
ENEMIES OF YOUTH:
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE • „
The behavior of the statesman or the doings of
the politician, count a great deal with the
young man. If the statesman serves, at his
dinner champagne and wine; if the politician
engages excessively in the grumbling game of
political mud-slinging, charging his opponent
with things he has never uttered; it goes a
long way in the estimation of the young man,
who, perhaps, has already had a touch of way
wardness. These things ought not so to be,
but, I am sorry to say, the world is filled with
such acts. In many instances the moral des
tiny of the bey is fashioned by the power of
example.
Varying somewhat from the theme: What
do cigarettes do? Right here I might pause
to say that perhaps it is somewhat nonchalant
in the writer to mention a habit which is so
popular with mankind in all walks of life, from
the five-year-old boy to the aged veteran, but
we must not slight such sad truths. Some doc
tors even hold (or pretend to hold) that this
abominable habit is not injurious to the lad in
his growth, or for that matter to the settled
man in his life’s vocation. What do men
think of themselves when they make such
declarations? Well, you can notice that such
fellows practice this thing themselves. Boys,
this habit is injuring your mental as well as
your physical capacity. You may say:
I ‘Oh, I don’t smoke to excess.”
Yes, but many times you smoke yourself
si away from success.
This seems to be a question that writers
was his own book, the dearly beloved
child of his own brain, over which she
wept.
Just then one of the spoiled babies
began to. cry.
The tired mother was trying to take
a nap and the little tyrant object
ed to that.
Instantly the girl laid down her
book, and, taking some bright little ar
ticle out of her handbag, coaxed the
babies to come to her, much to Mr.
Randolph’s surprise.
During the three following days, a
great change came over Mr. Randolph.
Gradually he came to believe in the
goodness at least, of one woman.
Not only was his fair fellow-passen
ger helpful to the little mother; tender
with the babies, gentle with the inval
ids, and considerate of all of her fel
low-passengers, but she was well in
formed, and an interesting conversa
tionalist, as he soon learned, for
people .soon get acquainted when to
gether on a long journey, but even in
her brightest moments it was easy to
see’that she was in some deep trouble
and sometimes, when alone, she seem
ed so sad that he longed to try to
comfort her, though he had no idea
what her trouble was. When he arose
the morning of the fourth day, he
found that she was not on the train.
She had evidently reached her desti
nation some time during the night.
He tried to persuade himself that it
was fortunate for him that he knew
neither her name nor her destination,
for what right had he, a married man,
to be thinking of her? And then he
thought seriously, for the first time,
of the cloaked and veiled woman who
had stood beside him in the little dark
church, but four days before and made
with him, those solemn vows which
bound them together, and he wonder
ed if the fetters would ever gall her
as they did himself.
Four days ago, he had thought it
The Golden Age for October 24, 1912.
did not matter, for he had not felt one
thrill of interest in any woman for ten
years, and he had firmly believed he
would never again, and it had seemed
to him that he had no right to keep
tne girl out of her share of the prop
erty since she was willing to go
through the farce to obtain it.
A month later, Mr. Randolph stood
in the office of the great Hotel Del
C , turning over the leaves of the
register, thinking that, perhaps, some
acquaintance of his was among the
late arrivals.
Suddenly his eye fell on a name
which caused him to start violently.
Il was, “Mrs. William Randolph, St.
Louis.”
He drew an envelope out of his
pocket and compared the writing. No,
tnere was no mistaking that chirog
graphy; then his wife was in town
nere. Under the roof with him, and
he could not recognize t her if he met
her; neither would she know him, for
the church had been dark and he had
worn a slight disguise.
From that time on he closely ob
served every woman whom he saw en
ter or leave the hotel, and at meal
times he forget to eat, so busy was he
observing the ladies in the large din
ing room, and wondering which of
them was his wife.
So absorbed were his thoughts, he
did not, for some time, feel inclined
to visit the places of interest near the
city, for which purpose he had stripped
there.
One day, however, he visited a little
village near the city, which was some
what noted for its beautiful and rug
ged coast scenery, and, walking along
the rocky cliff, watching the waves
break into white foam as they dash
ed against the rocks, he suddenly
came upon the girl of his dreams, his
fair companion on the trip across the
continent. She was sitting in the
PUP, leaning against a rock and a t>pok
slight, while it is one which they should con
stantly be giving a prominent place in their
papers. It is remarkable just to seriously
estimate the enormous quantity of cigarettes
and cigarette tobacco consumed in a small
town in one week. Where does it go?
Through the nostrils of men and boys. For
what purpose? No purpose whatever, just hab
it, and a very b?,d one. If I had a boy and
it were forced upon me to decide between two
habits, whiskey or cigarettes, I should decide
in favor of t\e former. Why? Because, I
believe, taking everything into consideration,
that cigarettes are more injurious to his phy
sical body, to his mental capacity, to say noth
ing of his spiritual well-being in the long run.
Do not think me to advocate or uphold, for
one second, the practice of whiskey-drinking.
This, too, is a vital issue confronting young
men. By making that comparison, it was hoped
that you might realize in some way the in
juriousness of the more common habit —cigar-
ette smoking.
These habits are so common and so excess
ively practiced, until the captive cannot refrain
from indulging in them when in the presence of
a young lady whom he accompanies to church
on Sunday evening. And the saddest fact is,
she scarcely ever requests him to do so.
Now, without further mention, what is the
conclusion of the whole matter? 41 These hab
its are what is carrying boys to the devil at
the rate of thousands yearly.”
“Let us not shut our eyes to these painful
truths.”
Vras in her lab. She seemed surprised
and pleased to see him again, and he
sat down beside her.
He told her that he was stopping for
the present in the city, but that in a
few days he would sail for foreign
shores, and she, surprised, told him
Sx*e had the same intentions, and add
ed that she had been stopping for
some time at the Hotel Del C , but
that she spent most of her time on
the beach.
“During a pause in the conversation
which followed, he glanced at the book
she held, and was very much sur
prised to see that it was the book she
had perused so carefully on their jour
ney. Noticing his expression, she
smiled and said:
“I have a special reason for being
interested in Mr. Randolph, so I am
trying to read between the lines of
his book. I like the book very much,
but they say that he is very mercen
ary; that he cares for nothing save
money, and that he married a girl
whom he had never seen before mere
ly to get possession of some money
which had been willed to him on con
dition that he marry the girl. Do you
know anything about it?”
•‘Well, yes,” he answered, slowly. “I
Lave known William Randolph all my
life, and I never considered him mer
cenary. When he heard the condi
tions of that will, his first impulse was
to pay no further attention to the mat
ter, but later he became convinced
that it would be unjust to the girl to
deprive her of her part of the fortune,
so ne wrote her, proposing that they
go through with a legal ceremony, and
part at the altar. She consented to
tnis, and that ended the matter.”
"Yes, for a time,” she said, "but sup?
pose he or she falls in love with some
one else? They are both young, you
know?”
"Ah,” he said, bitterly, “that is nfi
(Continued on Page 14.)
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