Newspaper Page Text
Banks County Gazette.
VOL I.—NO. 45.
Wriden for TriE Gazette.
GEORGIA PINE-CLAD HILLS
BY ISAAC POWELL TABOU.
“Good night!” spoken once below the
skies,
Where the Geogia pine>clad hills arise,
When the stars looked down from their
azure blue.
And the midnight moon its glory threw
On the white, white sands of a silly
street,
Yet pierced iny heart with its melody
sweet,
“Good night!”
“Good night!” Oh, me! for a thousand
times
It hath been said in many otherclimes,
By other tongues, and by words divine,
But uot yet with a voice like thine.
The stars siood still in their heavenly
lit-ht,
Aud with golden ears caught our soft
“Good night.”
“Good night!”
“Good night!” “Good night!” ob! that
word hath broke
On the listening car like a lightning
stroke,
When spoken by lips that trembled so
On the edge of the aucieut Jordan’s
flow,
And the asking eyes were closing in
sleep,
To waken no more*, no more to weep.
“Good niglu!”
“Good night!” “Good night!” thro’ the
lonely years
That will vet bring to us their sorrows
and teat's,
Canst thou never forget that sweet,
sweet time
When, under the sky we heard love’s
rhyme.
And trembled under their sllverv light
With our hearts and our lips we
breathed “Good night.”
“Good night!”
A Burning: Question.
The most important question that
confronts the people of Banks is that
of prohibition. It is no question of
expediency of 'dollars nnd cents. It
is a burning moral issue that none
ean dodge or evade. There is no
middle ground, either we conquer, or
we are conquered. The fight will
soon be ujam us. Sometime this year
there will be held an election on this
issue in Banks.
It is my purpose in this article to
suggest when and how and why I
think it ought to be held. When the
last election on this question was held
in this county the leaders of the pro
hibition side said that the best way
to carry the election would be to
have the election just as soon as pos
sible after the petition was handed
in, without discussion of tue question,
believing that the whisky men being
apathetic would n t turn out at the
polls. The result is well known. As
eome of us believed it would be, the
whisky men were energetic and ag
gressive, turning out eu masse to
vote, whilst many that might have
voted a dry ticket stayed at home.
Now as to the next election.
Let it be held in the latter part of
the summer, after all the protracted
meetings have ended. There will
then, as it always is, be a better moral
tone throughout the country, and men
will be better prepared to vote intelli
gently.
Next, let us have a red hot cam
paign throughout every district in the
county. Men of intelligence, men of
learning, to go upon the stump and
present this great, live issue, in such
a light that men cannot, shun the
truth, but must see the right, and see
it in such a way that they will dare
to vote right.
Believe me, such a question as pro
hibition cannot lose by discussion.
Throbbing, bristling with truth, it is
such truth that will uplift the cause
and in doing so uplift men. It can
stand discussion, because its argu
ments are unanswerable. Whisky
never tries to meet it face to face
and refute its statements. Whisky
always fights on the defensive, be
cause it has no arguments that are
aggressive. I say let us have a full,
free, exhaustive discussion of the
subject, and I believe that I under
stand the people of Banks well
enough to predict that they will
march grandly to the polls and bury
whisky forever.
Let* me add by way of foot note
that I have known of two of the most
intelligent citizens of Georgia saving
that they would like to take part in
the campaign. So if Banks county
can’t furnish enough smart men there
are plenty good ones outside ready to
strike hands with us in this thing.
W. A. Haems.
Charles Lamb, looking back upon
his childhood, wrote thus as a warn
in to others: “Could the youth to
whom the flavor of his first glass was
delicious, look into my desolation and
be made to understand what a dreary
thing it is when a man feels himself
going down a precipice with open eye
and a passive wiil, to see his destruc
tion, and not to have power of will
to stop'it, and yet to feel it all the
way emanating from himself, to per
ceive all goodness emptied out of him,
aud yet not be able to forget the
time when it was otherwise—how he
would avoid the first temptation to
drink!”
A fine story is told that when
Goethe had become famous a very
young man glibly asked him: “What
is experience?” Goetoe’s answer was
this: “Experience, my young friend,
is that experience which a nun expe
riences in experiencing his experi
ence.” The young man turned on his
heel with the remark: “You are a
tool.” Years after he came to Goethe
and acknowledged that his too fresh
question had received the only poesi
hie answer.—New York Sun.
No one really likes us the better
for being faithless to our ideals. \Ve
do not succeed in pleasing those about
us, and we lose the invisible society
of the ci'y of God, which is only for
"the faithful,” those who are true to
the best they know.
Slang.
Editor Gazette:
As an observer of persons, places
.and things my mind has been wrought
up on the above subject, and what 1
write is for our serious meditation.
The definition of slang as given by
our dictionaries is: Low, vulgar, mi
nut orized language. Now is it pos
sible that we are given to the use of
expressions in our every day conver
sation with all classes of both sexes
that are low and vulgar? Observer
is obliged to admit from w'bat he
hears that it is true.
Why is it that even school bred
young ladies, and I might say college
bred too, will put aside the chaste
English of our language and 1130 in
its place slang expressions? Let me
mention some of them and how do
they sound to the ears of people pure
in thought and chaste in speech?
“I got there;” “He went back on
me;” “I got away with him.” There
are a thousand others like these men
tioned, but these are enough to let
your readers understand by illustra
tion wliat I am writing about.
I don’t accuse all of prefering this
unauthorized language to the true
and pure, but there are some who
use it intentionally, knowing at the
time that it conveys a vulgar thought.
I would like to warn the pure and
noble young men and young ladies
of our land against it, for it is drag
ging its filthy self slowly along until
our homes are being made impure.
This language finds no place in
pure literature. It has no place in
the authorized dictionaries of our
land, but it comes from the low walks
of life where the ignorant and de
based exist. In saloons, around
gambling tables and other dens of
iniquity the slang expression origi
nates. The evil of this language is
first to call forth a disapproval from
cultured, refined people, and when
one gets into the habit of using such
they are embarrassed in the presence
of such people.
A person of pure language and
good conversational powers is a bless
ing wherever found. Talk, talk, talk
is not conversation. The Bible says:
“Let your conversation be without
hypocrisy,” that is, sincere. In an
other plr.ee we are told that our words
are to minister grace to hearers. It
nOMER, BANKS COUNTY, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY. M ARCH 18, 1891.
is a blessing to sit down and engage
in conversation. So when you have
you feel that your thoughts are pure,
your mind elevated, your heart in
spired. Let us not take language of
the saloon, the stage, the gambling
table, but from the pages of pure lit
erature. Let us learn our speech and
then we will entertain, instruct and
benefit in heart and thought those
with whom we converse.
And why spend money for our chil
dren to study the languages and reap
for our hearing slang from lips shaped
for pure speech?
OItSEBVER.
The boast having been 'made that
no graduate of Vassar college had
ever been divorced from her husband,
a crusty old bachelor of an editor
wishes to know how many of the
graduates have ever secured husbands
at all. lie ought to be impaled alive
on hair pins.
Some papers discontinue on expira
tion of subscriptions, and some con
tinue until orders aro received to dis
continue. If a classification is made
it will be found that those papers
which appeal mainly to the lower
tastes of their readers, to their love of
news (daily papers), their love of ex
citement (story papers), or their love
of beauty (literary and art journals),
generally do not trust their readers;
while .tlioso who appeal mainly to
their higher instincts, to their love of
home (country weeklies), or their
love for God (religious papers), do
trust their subscribers. There is no
inflexible rule, hut the general custom
is as stated.—Christian Patriot.
The impostor who usurped the
throne of Persia resembled the mur
dered Cyrus in every thing save the
loss of his ears, and his wife only
could make the discovery. We may
feign and seem religious, nun eves,
deem ourselves so; but the uncover
ing of our home life, wife and chil
dren could tell a tale which perhaps
will be untold until the books are
opened. Not to be pious at home is
not to be pious at all. It lias
been said: “We are still ruffians and
churls at home long after we are
counted saints abroad.”
A Cure For Doubts.
Much of Christian doubts arise
from having nothing to do hut pon
der over one’s feelings. John the
Baptist never doubted until he was
thrown into prison, where he was
deprived from active labor. When
Dr. Marshman was a young man at
home, he was frequently the subject
of doubts and fears. But he went to
India, where he was engaged nearly
thirty years in active labors. On his
return home, Wm. Jay said to him:
“Well, Doctor, lio,v about doubts
and fears now?” “I haven’t had time
for them,” was the answer. So the
best cure for doubts is active wort.
Ye doubting ones, quit thinking about
yourselves, an<l go out visiting the
sick, the poor and needy. Carry that
hungry woman some bread, that naked
child some clothes, and try to com
fort the sorrowing ones Go to
church, sing and pray, and you will
find the comforting light of assurance
stealing in upon vour heart.—Raleigh
Christian Advocate.
One of the most useless of all
things is to taken deal of trouble in
providing against dangers that neier
come. How many lay up riches
which they never enjoy; to provide
for exigencies that happen; to prewot
troubles that never come, sacrificing
present comfort and enjoyment in
guarding against the wants of a pe
riod they may never live to see.—
English Brewers* Plan.
It is said that the English syndi
cate that owns the Chidago breweries
has decided not to advance any money
ro saloon keepers to obtain license.
This may result in the closing of
many saloons, for without the help
of the brewers hundreds of saloon
keepers will be unable to raise the
money required for the license. But
is any one foolish enough to suppose
for an iustant that this would decrease
the amount of liquor-drinking in
Chicago? These brewers are not
killing their trade. They have no
such intention. They know more
about this titan many temperance
men do, for they are aware that the
number of saloons is no criterion as
to the amount of liquor sold and
drank.
They simply propose to reform a
very questionable method in vogue
among the brewers and freeze out
the impecunious fellows now in the
business, knowing very well that their
places will be speedily filled by men
who can pay for their license, and
also pay for their beer. This will put
their business into better hands, and
insure better collections, while at the
same time they of a thousand or
more men, who at best are risky cus
tomers, —Roekforn (111) Monitor.
Paul said, in substance; "I can suf
fer all persecutions and perform all
labors that come to me as the apostle
to both Jew and Greek; and I can
pass through every trial, overcome
every temptation, endure every sor
row, and perform every duty that
eonstituwjs the discipline of my soul
for glory.” He meant to teach that
each saint may liavc from Christ the
strength that will make him equal to
the “all things” in his life work—
equal to all, however hard or difficult,
that is within the seopo of duty.
John Wesley wrote: “My brother
Charles, amid'the difficulties of our
■early ministry, used to say: ‘lf the
'Lord would give me wings, I would
fly.’ 1 used to answer, ‘lf the Lord
Lid me fly, I would trust him for the
wings.’” Neither the most arduous
duty nor the keenest affliction can
overtax the strength that Christ sup
plies.—J. M. Walden, D. U.
There is no class of professors that
God lias so little reepet for as those
who serve him periodically. And
there is no class teat do so little in
the cause as those that wait for the
annual revival to fit the harness to
them. God loves and honor him who
strives to show, by his dailv and
hourly walk, that he bears branded
on his body the marks of the Lord
Jesus. We are to daily take up our
cross and tollow him.—C. W. Bibb.
“I have drunk whisky every day
for thirtv-liive years,” remarked a
gentleman of sixty, rather proudly,
“and I don’t see hut I have as good a
constitution as the average man ot
my age; I never was drunk in my
life.” He was telling the truth; but
to learn the whole truth you would
have to study his children. The
oldest a young Indy, had perfect
health; the second, a young man,
was of a remarkably nervous and ex
citable temperament*, as different
from his phlegmatic father as possi
ble; the third, a young lady of seven
teen, was epileptic and always had
very poor health. Did the father’s
whisky-drinking have any thing to do
with these facts ? The instance- may
be duplicated in almost every commu
nity. Think over the families of
your acquaintance in which the father
has long been a moderate drinker,
and observe the facts as to the health
of the children.
Getting Heady to bo Happy.
Too many of us are looking for
ward to happiness in the future years
instead of getting all the enjoyment
possible out of the present. It is
well to remember that the time never
will come m this world when wc
shall have every thing we want, just
where and when we want it. The
only way to be happy is to enjoy all
we have to the utmost as wc go along.
It is right to lay up for old age in
youth, light to prepare for a rainy
day, but it is not right to bend all
our energies to this end, and put off
until the future the happiness we
might enjoy every day. It is far too
common too us people working and
saving, denying themselves all recre
ation, and many comforts, to lay up
money to buy more land, to build a
larger and finer house, or to save for
their children, thinking that when
they have accomplished this they will
be happy and begin to take comfort.
The hoped-for point may never be
attained, or if it is, sickness or death
may have come first, and the dear ones
whom we expected to be happy with
may be gone forever.
How much better to use some of
the good tilings of life as we go along,
to make our humble homes ns cheery
and bright as possible now, instead
of waiting for a better house? Don’t
starve to-day, either body, mind, or
soul, thinking that you will riot to
morrow. Don’t hoard and scrimp
through all the best years of your
life, that you may he generous in
your wills. Life is uncertain, and it
is better to make your children happy
while they are under the home roof—
to call to that home evey agency
which will make their lives sweeter
and better, than to deny them these
that you may' leave them a large
bank account when yon are gone.
Don’t keep the parlor shut up and
live in the kitchen, unless you want
the hoys and girh to be anxious to
leave you. Take tL.e to read, to
rest, and enjoy the society of friends.
Especially take time to enjoy the com
panionship of your children. It will
only be a few years at best that they
will be with you, and these ought to
be years of happiness to both you and
them. If we are ever happy in this
life we must enjoy what every day
brings us. We must be grateful
and glad for all the good which
comes into our lives, and patiently
bear our trials, believing that all, if
rightly used, will fit us for the enjoy
ment of perfect happiness hereafter.
—Exchange.
There may be times and occasions
when stimulants arc necessary for
the sick; but we fear all physicians
are not as particular ns they have
need to be. In the autobiography of
Harriet Martineau she informs the
public that, having to work at night,
her physician told her she must not
allow herself to be exhausted, but to
take some light wine before she went
to bed. “You have a cupboard there
at hand, keep a bottle of hock and a
wine-glass and help yourself when
you feel you want it.” She thanked
him, but observed, “If I took wine it
should not be when alone, nor would
I help myself to a glass. 1 might
lake a little more, and a little more,
till my solitary glass might become a
regular tippling habit.” We believe
some physicians never prescribe al
cohol for their patients; others do,
and thereby have sent some of their
patients to a drunkard’s grave. Ought
not physicians to he very particular
about advising stimulants of this
kind? It is tremendous responsibility
they take upon themselves.—The
Southern Churchman.
Fret, worry, anxiety, the habit of
anticipating evil; crossing bridges be
fore we reach them; the permission
of foreboding fears about the future;
ail that attitude of mind which broods
over tiie mistakes of the past and
dwells on the shadows which coining
events may cast, rather than on the
love and will of God—this is care.
The Greek verb indicates not that we
must keep casting it, but do it once
for all.—-The Tongaloo Quarterly.
Tlie Greatest Gift.
Suppose you could endow your
child with but one supremo gift,
what should it be? Wealth? No .that
cannot purchase intellect, cannot buy
character, cannot insure from change,
sorrow, death. Power? No, that
too often corrupts and enslaves its
possessor, debasing the spirit it ought
to exalt, while it has never yet made
a man a blessing to his kind if un
supported by a character weakness
could not conquer. Genius? Brill
iance of mind? Grace and beauty of
person? A world-wide renown? No,
these are desirable gifts, but not one
of them is the gift supreme. You
would wish to bestow something
SINGLE COPY THREE CENTS,
more precious Ilian wealth, more
commanding than power, more ser
vicable than beauty, more satisfying
than intellect, more enduring than re
nown; and if you were wise you
would find that more excellent gift
in the spirit of fidelity to God and
man, that spirit which enfolds within
it the love of right, of truth; of good,
and which is the one thing needful in
fulfilling the proudest prophecy of
the soul.
As it is, do you not covet earnestly
this gift for your child? Then try
and make your desire a reality.
When Luther’s baby was brought to
him by the nurse the great reformer’s
blessing was; -‘Go thy way and be
good. Money I shall not bequeath
thee, but I shall leave thee a rich
God who will not forsake thee.” Do
the same by your child. Surround
him with ail the influences of a godly
home; let him come daily under the
sway of your own worthy character
and example.—Exchange.
Kingly Politeness.
As an instance oi true politeness it
is told that a poor Arab going through
the desert found a spring of spark
ling water. Accustomed to brackish
water, a draught from this sweet
well in the wilderness seemed*in his
simple mind, a fit present to the Ca
liph. So he filled the leather bottle,
and, after a weary tramp, laid his
humble gift at his sovereign’s feet.
The monarch, with a magnanimity
that may put many a Christian to the
blush, called for a cup, and drank
freely; and then with a smile thanked
the Arab and presented him with a
reward. The courtiers pressed ea
gerly round for a draught of the
wonderful water, which was regarded
as worthy of such a princely acknowl
edgment.
To their surprise the Caliph for
bade them to touch a drop.
After the simple-hearted giver had
loft the royal presence, with anew
spring of joy welling up in his heart,
the monarch explained his motive for
prohibition. “During the long jour
ney, the water in his leather bottle
had become impure and distasteful;
but it was an offering of love, and as
such I accepted it with pleasure. I
feared however, that if I allowed an
other to taste it, he would not con
ceal his disgust. Therefore .it was
that I forbade you to partake, lest
the heart of the poor man should be
wounded.”—Voice.
Failures And Failures.
We except to the proposition, that
every preacher who seems, for a time,
to fail of success in his work, is nec
essarily to be censured. Judged by
this standard, the ministry of our
Lord Jesus Christ was a failure. We
should not be impatient of results.
We have in our mind some fields, in
which preachers have generally failed.
Our itinerant system sends to such
sections frequent changes of paeach
ers. Men who have been efficient
elsewhere, fail of accomplishing great
results there. In judging of any
preacher’s work, we should take into
consideration the field in which he
labors, and the general character of
the people whom he serves. We
know some fields in which John Wes
ley, or Martin Luther, or St. Paul,
would, probably, not aceompliih great
things. And our brethren, who cul
tivate these unpromising and unpro
ductive fields, are not censurable for
their failure to bring in reports of
great things accomplished. We have
often had a feeling of indignation as
we have heard some brother com
mended for liis line report, from a
well cultivated and developed circuit,
while the equally faithfvl and labori
ous preacher, who has served an un
appreciative people, hauled over the
coals for a poor report. There are
some preachers who will fail every
where, and there are some places
where every preacher fails. In the
first instance the fault is in the
preacher; in the latter it is the peo
ple. And those who pass judgment
would do well to discriminate.—Ala
bama Christian Advocate.