The Project Gutenberg eBook, There is No Harm in Dancing, by W. E. Penn,
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Title: There is No Harm in Dancing
Author: W. E. Penn
Release Date: November 27, 2004 [eBook #14183]
Language: English
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***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THERE IS NO HARM IN DANCING***
E-text prepared by Susan Skinner from images in the American Memory
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THERE IS NO HARM IN DANCING
by
W. E. PENN
With an Introduction by Rev. J.H. STRIBLING, D.D.
St. Louis, Mo.
Lewis E. Kline, Publisher and Bookseller.
1884
"Buy the TRUTH and sell it not; also WISDOM and INSTRUCTION and
UNDERSTANDING."--PROV. 23-23.
"There is a way that SEEMETH right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of DEATH."--PROV. 14-25
This little book is respectfully and kindly dedicated to all Husbands,
Fathers and Brothers, who love their Wives, Daughters and Sisters, by
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
During the past seven years I have delivered the substance of the
foregoing Lecture on Dancing, as a part of my work as an Evangelist,
before not less than one hundred thousand people. I have been requested
by hundreds of FATHERS and mothers, young men and girls, HUSBANDS and
BROTHERS, and pastors of churches to publish the Lecture in the form of
a book, that its influence may be extended to fields I shall never
visit. It is in compliance with these requests that the little book is
written, with the hope that at least some good may result in begetting
and fostering a better state of morals in our day and generation, and in
checking the terrible increase of crime which is rolling over the earth
like a mighty wave of the ocean. If I shall ever hear that this little
book has had some humble part in stopping one poor soul from taking one
more step down the "BROAD ROAD," _or that it has done any good in the
world_, I shall feel well paid for all the time and trouble it has cost
me in getting it into the hands of the printer. Most of persons speaking
or writing on the subject of the dance, are "_hear-say_" witnesses, but
I profess to having been an "_eye-witness_," which I propose to prove by
all the _bad_ men, or those who have been _bad_ men, who may carefully
read this book. Their verdict will be: "HE HAS BEEN THERE."
While I believe that hundreds of thousands of fathers and mothers,
husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and pastors, and Christians,
will bless the day this little book was written, and will offer many
earnest prayers for the author, I shall expect many Othellos to curse me
with all the bitterness of their souls, because I hope it may be said
wherever the book is read: "OTHELLO'S OCCUPATION IS GONE."
THE AUTHOR.
INTRODUCTION.
Major W.C. Penn, the author of the following treatise on the modern
dance, has requested the writer to pen a few thoughts introductory to a
theme he has presented with such pith and power to listening thousands
in his travels as an Evangelist.
Various inquiries have been made as to how Major Penn, a lawyer in a
lucrative practice, and with all the attractions of wealth and of fame
before him, and in a quiet, lovely and elegant home, with a wife who has
ever been as a guardian angel to his pathway, was led to change his
vocation to that of a wandering Evangelist, and how it is that he now
stands before the world beside Knapp, and Earle, and Moody, and other
world-renowned Evangelists of the 19th century, in leading multitudes to
Christ as a Savior?
It is answered and centered in the sublime truth: "The love of Christ
constraineth us." As the stars are dimmed and lost sight of in the
brilliancy of the rising sun, so earthly pleasures, riches and honors
fade and dwindle in the glory of the Cross. As God was pleased to use
the writer as an instrument in getting brother Penn into this work, so
it seemed proper that a few incidents and facts which led to it, as
remembered in our associations together, should be stated.
It was in Jefferson, Texas, where our brother then resided, that I first
saw him, in May, 1874, during the session of the Southern Baptist
Convention, at that place. But it was in June, the year after, at his
own home and during a series of meetings in the Baptist Church, that I
began to know more of him, as he brought up in our social interviews a
review of his life religiously--as he told of the time when, in the
ardor and vigor of youth, in Tennessee, at a meeting, he sought to defy
and brave a gospel message from the venerable brother James Hurt, by
taking a front seat; and then how his soul was convulsed and his heart
melted, as God's message wrenched the bolted door of that heart; how he
struggled with the agonies of conviction for sin, during the long, weary
hours of night; and how the joys of pardoning love through Christ came
to his soul with the brightness of the morning. As these conversations
were reviewed, he told of frequent backslidings, and how far away from
God he had been. Then he told of some things he had done in the Sunday
School and in the Church, and then at times gave his opinion as to the
best way of conducting a series of meetings and other things pertaining
to Christ's Kingdom. During these conversations the question was asked:
"Bro. Penn, are you satisfied and sure that you are in full discharge of
your duty?" After a pause he replied, as if conscience was awakened:
"No Sir. I am not satisfied, and have not been for years past." Then
said he: "You are the first man that ever asked me that question." Then
the writer made known some impressions about him that must have been
made by the spirit of God, for he never had just such an interest to
burden his heart previously, and that was that God had a peculiar and
wonderful work for him to do. "But," said Bro. Penn, "at my age, in my
profession and in my condition, I cannot believe it to be my duty to
preach the Gospel"--his age being at that time forty-two years. Among
other things said at this time by the writer, as he now remembers them
one was: That the Spirit of God leads and teaches us in strange ways,
often, as to what God would have us do, and that our methods of holding
meetings seemed to the writer as being deficient in some things, and
that the good of the cause required a change from the ruts and grooves
in which these meetings had been run, and that we were making our
services monotonous and chilling out spirituality by common methods of
conducting divine service, in protracted meetings. Another thought was:
That he and men like himself, as lawyers, that were given to talking and
that knew much of men and the world, if the love of Christ was burning
in their souls, might do a great work in going out and helping in such
meetings, even if they never engaged regularly in the ministry.
But it was in Tyler, Texas, at a Sunday School Institute, in July, 1875,
that a new era was to dawn on Major Penn.
It was a fixed impression in the mind of the pastor that there ought to
be a change in our manner of conducting revival services; that the time
had come to begin the work, and that Bro. Penn was the man to inaugurate
such a change. In prayer this matter was carried to the Lord for His
direction. It was a settled impression in the heart of the writer, as
pastor of the Baptist Church, that the Church and community needed a
series of meetings at this time. There were preachers present of
experience, piety and ability, and he had no doubt they would remain and
aid in such services if invited to do so. But contrary to what was a
common practice at the close of such meetings, and after imploring the
Lord to direct him, he could not, from his heart, ask any of these
preachers to stay and aid in a meeting.
While singing the last song, at the close of the service on Sunday
night, the writer approached Major Penn, who had been aiding in the
singing, and said to him: "Bro. Penn, I am going to appoint a prayer
meeting at 9 o'clock in the morning, and as your train does not leave
until 2 o'clock to-morrow evening, I shall expect to see you at the
meeting; will you come?" To which he replied. "I have some business with
the clerk of the Federal Court, and if I get through in time, I will try
and be here." A prayer meeting was announced for 9 o'clock the next
morning. At the appointed hour a fair congregation had assembled, and a
few minutes after 9 o'clock Maj. Penn came in and took a seat not far
from the door. The writer approached him and said: "I want you to
conduct this meeting." He replied: "You must excuse me, I am a lawyer,
and do not believe in mixing things in this way. You conduct the meeting
or get one of those preachers sitting there to do it, and I will help in
singing or lead in prayer, if desired." To which the writer replied: "If
all the preachers in the world were here I could not permit one of them
to conduct this meeting, and I am not physically able. You _must_ do
it." To which he answered. "Very well, I will conduct a prayer meeting."
The meeting was opened as is usual, when Brother Penn arose and read a
portion of the 20th chapter of John, and then talked about fifteen
minutes, which seemed to awaken a very deep interest throughout the
entire congregation. At the close of this talk quite a number of wives,
fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters arose one after another and in
great earnestness asked prayer for their loved ones. While singing the
last song, the writer asked Brother Penn to remain and conduct a service
at night, which he positively refused to do, saying that he must go
home. Whereupon the writer publicly entered a protest against his
leaving. Sister Penn and others of the company from Jefferson
consenting, he agreed to remain one more day. At night the house was
crowded, and great interest manifested by Christians and by many
unconverted. A prayer meeting was announced for 9 o'clock the next
morning. At this meeting the house was well filled, with a decided
increase of interest. One or two conversions-and a number of inquiries
were made.
At the close of this meeting the writer said to Brother Penn, "You
cannot leave this meeting, it will never do, there never has been such
an interest in this town since I have been here." To which he replied "I
am bound to go home, I have no partner and no one to attend to my
business." The writer then arose, and in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ entered another solemn protest against his leaving, saying: "I
believe before God that it is Bro. Penn's solemn duty to remain here and
carry on this meeting, and it is my firm conviction that if he leaves he
will commit the great sin of his life, and I call upon every member of
this church and of this congregation, who will join me in this protest,
to stand up." The entire congregation were standing in a moment. He then
said to the writer privately: "I tell you I am bound to go home; I
promised my wife yesterday that I would be certain to go home with her
to-day, and I know that she is bound to go home." The writer said: "Bro.
Penn, you are mistaken; Sister Penn would not have you leave this
meeting to go home with her. She will go with the young people." He then
went to where his wife was sitting and said to her: "I promised you
yesterday that I would go home with you to-day, and I am going to do
it." Sister Penn looked up in his face with tearful eyes and trembling
lips, and said, as only a true, noble hearted Christian woman could have
said: "I can go home with the young people, I do not think you ought to
go." This seems to have been the last hair that broke the camel's back.
We have seen many striking photographs of the Major as taken by artists
in his travels, and in various attitudes, but a picture delineating his
features on this occasion would be preferable to all others.
As he rose to respond to the protest of the pastor, Church and
congregation, with his head thrown back, his eyes dilated, his lips
quivering, his voice stammering and tears coursing their way down his
cheeks, he tried to give expression to his astonishment and the deep
emotion of his heart; he seemed to realize that it was _God's call_, and
that he could not resist it.
It was circulated through the town that a _lawyer_, and not a
_preacher_, was to conduct services at the Baptist Church. Some thought
it a strange freak in the pastor to suggest, and in the Church to
approve such a thing. Various opinions were freely expressed as to the
leader in these services. Then it was spoken in low tones of voice among
some good people, in substance, after this fashion: "Did you ever hear
of such a thing? Here are preachers all over the country that we know,
good men, who can preach the gospel, and here they've called in a
_lawyer to carry on the meeting_. Lord have mercy on us, what are we
coming to any how?"
At every street corner and place of business, in the saloons, offices
and homes throughout Tyler, Maj. Penn and the services were discussed,
while his Satanic Majesty and his allies were busy in trying to cripple
and crush the good effects. A mighty and irresistable attraction drew
crowds to the house of God.
At times it was apparent that the leader was embarrassed; now and then
fretted and and chafed; then at a loss what to say or do; and more than
once was he tempted to say he would leave the meeting; and that he had
not remained there to be slandered and persecuted. But he was reminded
that the best of men had thus suffered, that God had furnaces through
which we must pass, to burn up the dross, and that in the midst of this
state of things the Church was being revived, wanderers brought back,
souls awakened and converted from day to day, and that he had the
sympathy, prayers and co-operation of many pious, devoted hearts. Again
the new leader, after wrestling in prayer for grace and direction, took
courage and was renewed by the spirit of God to go on in pulling down
the strong-holds of iniquity. But Satan was not yet overcome, he made
another powerful assault upon him.
When the meeting had been in progress about ten days, abuse,
misrepresentation, lying, together with the basest and most contemptible
slanders, were hurled at him with unmeasured severity. It was a new
ordeal, and he was tempted stronger than ever to lay off his armor and
leave the meeting. He decided to go home, and so stated to the pastor,
saying: "You have already kept me here longer than any man on earth
could have done, and now I am determined to go." "Well," said the
pastor, "I am sorry to hear it, and believe you will commit a great
wrong, and will incur the displeasure of Almighty God in leaving here at
this time, and still further, I beg you to bear in mind this truth, that
duty never points in two ways. If it is your duty to be in Jefferson
practicing law, then it is not your duty to remain here and carry on
this meeting. God only can guide you aright." This conversation occurred
in the afternoon. At night the Major was in his place, and said to the
large congregation: "My friends, I have heard to-day of so many
slanderous reports about me that I determined to go home, but
remembering that so persecuted they the prophets, which were before me,
and that they persecuted my Master even unto death, I have only to say:
'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?' I shall go on
with the meeting, 'looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of my
faith,' to sustain, protect and guide me in all things." It was,
perhaps, the drinking of this cup of persecution that passed our brother
across the Rubicon, that burned all the bridges behind him and caused
him to bow in humble submission to the will of Almighty God.
"'Tis ever so thy faithful love
Does all thy children's graces prove;
'Tis thus our pride and self must fall
That Jesus may be all in all."
As the meeting continued, and as the scores and hundreds came together
"at the sound of the church-going bell," from day to day the leader
seemed to develop in power from God to move, melt and sway the hearts of
the listening crowds, as he sung and prayed and talked "of Jesus and his
dying love." After more than five weeks' continuance, the services
closed. Scores were converted, many valuable additions were made to the
Church, Christians were renewed and developed in piety of heart and
life, and the leavening and saving power of the Gospel was extended
through the town and surrounding country.
This meeting was the beginning and earnest of the blessings and success
that has attended Bro. Penn's labors for more than nine years past,
while in his life we see that,
"Defects thro' nature's best productions run.
The saints have spots, and spots are in the sun,
And that he, with all of Adam's race,
Are only 'sinners' saved by grace."
Yet we rejoice and praise God for what has been manifested in his growth
and development in his work mentally and spiritually, for the life,
power and efficiency infused into our churches by his ministrations--for
his rebukes, exposures and denunciations of sin, in and out of the
Church; for holding up Christ at all times, as the only hope of lost
sinners; for tearing away the mask of a heartless formality in the
profession and practice of religion; for the thousands of all classes
and ages in the forests and prairies of Texas, where he has pitched his
great gospel tent, and in the cities of Galveston, Houston, San Antonio,
Dallas, Ft. Worth, Mobile, Memphis, Louisville, St. Louis, and in the
cities of California, in scores of crowded places of worship; in smaller
towns and in the country, who have been brought to Christ as lost
sinners through his instrumentality; and that at all times and through
his whole ministry he has declared "the whole counsel of God," and made
no compromises with error and heresy.
As to the disquisition of Maj. Penn, which frowns on the modern dance,
we ask for it a careful reading and an honest and practical application
of its facts, arguments and illustration, as the prize, practical essay
of the age on this subject, so far as is known. That it is clear,
pointed and overwhelming in its exposures of the evils and crimes, the
corruptions and abominations of the modern dance is confirmed by
experience and observation.
Let every lover of the dance, every friend of morals and of religion,
and each professing Christian, read and circulate this production among
all classes of men and women.
And may the blessings of God attend it's circulation, as it may be
scattered into thousands of homes, and an increasing blessing attend its
author and his labors.
J. H. STRIBLING,
Rockdale, Texas. October 14, 1884.
"There is No Harm in Dancing."
"Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit."--Matt. 7, 17.
If "THERE IS NO HARM IN DANCING," it must be a good tree, and if it is a
good tree, we shall be certain to find that it bears good fruit, and if
we find the fruit hanging on its boughs to be sound and wholesome food
for the _physical, mental_ and _spiritual_ man, we should strive to have
these trees planted in all our homes, our churches, Sabbath-schools,
school-houses, colleges, seminaries, or other institutions of learning.
But if we find the fruit injurious, to either the physical, mental or
spiritual, to such a degree that its injurious effects are not overcome
and destroyed by the benefits conferred upon us by the other two, it
should be condemned by every friend of humanity.
Every tree should be cut down, and every dealer regarded as an enemy to
his race. Some trees are very tall and _graceful_, and dressed in
beautiful foliage, but the fruit is deadly poison. Some trees are not
comely to look upon, but the fruit very good and wholesome. So it is not
the tree, but the fruit, to which we must look. Some fruit may be very
bad but not dangerous to society, because of the very small quantity on
the market, and because it is not good to the _taste_, but little, if
any, of it is used. But this is not the case with dancing, for there is
a large quantity of it on hand all the time, and a great deal of it is
used, because it is _palatable_ to the _natural_ taste of men and women.
The demand is always far greater than the supply.
This fruit being so very popular, of such great demand, we must conclude
that, as it is bound to be either good or bad, it must be _very_ good,
or _very_ bad. Now, reader, before we proceed to examine this fruit,
please do the author and yourself the justice to sign your name to the
following vow:
"I do _solemnly vow_ that I will carefully read the following pages as
nearly as possible free from all _prejudice_ and _partiality, with a
desire to know the truth_, and that I will a true verdict render,
according to the honest conviction of my own mind and heart.
"(Here sign name.)________________"
When and where are the trees of dancing to be found? They grow in the
night and generally perish with the darkness when the morning light
appears.
"This is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light; neither
cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved."--John
3-19-20.
The trees are to be found in many private residences, dancing schools,
dancing academies, seminaries and colleges, where our girls are
educated; in public halls, in side shows, in some of our _so-called_
churches, in beer shops, beer gardens, variety theatres, music halls and
houses of ill-fame. In the five last-mentioned these trees grow much
taller, larger and more luxuriant than anywhere else, because it is
supposed by _naturalists_ that they are more indigenous to this kind of
soil. In these places those are the favorite trees, the trees admired
above all others, because of the fruit they bear. Why the virtuous and
the vulgar are so fond of the same fruit, I shall not try to explain. I
must leave this knotty, ugly problem to be solved by _wiser_ and more
experienced heads than mine. I asked the proprietors and proprietresses
of these last-mentioned places where they procured the sprouts from
which all these great trees had grown; these trees that have grown so
tall and strong, and the bark so thick, that they do not vanish with the
darkness when the morning light appears, but grow and flourish in the
brightest day, _even better on_ SUNDAYS _than any other time_.
They all, without a dissenting voice, made answer and said: "_The seeds_
were planted in the decent, respectable parlors, generally among the
polished and refined people of the towns and cities--were watered and
cultivated by the fathers and mothers, and then transplanted into the
dancing schools, church festivals, and then they are removed to the
public halls, and here they are kept until the bark on _some_ of them
becomes hard enough to be carried to the beer gardens, masquerades,
variety theaters, music halls and other towns and cities in Sodom and
Gomorrah."
Without the fascination for dancing, which is _germinated_ and
_cultivated_ in the private parlors among the _nice, respectable,
refined_ people, many of the largest towns and cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah would soon be depopulated. We next come to enquire who it is
that attends dancing parties, balls, hops, etc., and when they usually
break up. But one answer can be given, viz.: young men and young women,
together with young married people, with an occasional _sear and yellow
leaf repainted_.
With a very few exceptions, dancing parties, balls and hops are made up
of young men and girls of every grade of society, from the poorest to
the wealthiest in the community. Now it must be admitted that there is
as great a desire in the hearts of the poor young men, and as great a
desire in the hearts of the girls of poor parentage to make a favorable
impression in society, as there possibly could be with the wealthier
classes. As a rule, it may be said that not more than one in twenty of
all who participate in dancing parties have a sufficient "cash balance"
to gratify their pride in the purchase of the supposed necessary outfits
in clothing, jewelry, etc., without any misgivings as to the future
comforts and necessaries of life.
When we consider the large number of young men, young husbands and
fathers and mothers who are not able, in justice to themselves and those
looking to and relying upon them for a support, to keep pace with the
rich in their extravagance, and that all must come together on the same
floor, in the same room and pass in review before the merciless critics
always to be found in the ball room, and find that the weakest and most
vulnerable points in human nature are here attacked by three of the
devil's most powerful armies, under command of three of his most
stratagetic and experienced generals--ENVY, JEALOUSY and WOUNDED
PRIDE--we may at once proceed to examine the fruit of dancing. Nearly
all of our young people are in love with some one, and not unfrequently
two or three or more are in love with the same one, or the lover
imagines that he or she has from one to a half dozen rivals, which is
the same to them as if it were true. It is often the case that an
engagement exists, or there is grave suspicion of its existence. A
dancing party or ball is in prospect. The same preparation must be made
by rich and poor. One young man who chanced to be born of rich or
well-to-do parents, and one young lady the same, order their outfits,
and they are paid for not unfrequently out of the usurious interest
wrung from the fathers and mothers of the poorer young men and girls.
Now the poorer and less able to purchase the necessary all outfits,
which are always costly, _must go_. They must go, because they _love_
the dance. They are PASSIONATELY fond of it.
They must go, or it may be said they could not go on account of their
poverty. They must go, in order to keep pace with their rivals, so as to
keep an eye on them, lest they be supplanted in their affections. These
are three powerful inducements. Without Divine aid they are irresistible
when brought to bear on the young.
THEY MUST GO!
THEY WILL GO!
THEY DO GO!
Here thousands of fathers and mothers have been compelled to yield to
the entreaties of their daughters, and sometimes their sons, in
purchasing costly apparel, jewelry, etc., when they knew they were not
able, outfits that never would have been needed but for the dance.
Hundreds of thousands of young men, with small salaries, in moderate
circumstances, have been induced, under this heavy pressure, to resort
to many dishonest devices in order to make the necessary preparations.
Clerks have sold goods above the market price and put the excess in
their pockets. They have often _borrowed_ money from their employer,
_without his knowledge_, small amounts, from day to day. They have
borrowed from friends by telling them they had money coming from an
estate, or friend or a debtor, which they knew to be false, and in the
same way, or by other false statements, have bought articles of
clothing, made large livery bills, which they knew would never be paid.
Many conceive the idea they can raise the desired amount at the gambling
table, and here do _their first_ gambling. Where one succeeds, at least
one hundred fail. Some raise the required amount by transferring a few
cows, yearlings, steers, a horse or a mule, to distant pastures; some
are caught and some are not. Those not caught are in a far worse
condition than those in the jail or in the penitentiary, because they
have been checked in their mad career, and the others are emboldened by
their escape to commit other and greater crimes. "Be sure your sins will
find you out." Yes, inexorable, unerring justice is on the track of all
evil-doers, and will be certain to overtake them sooner or later.
Hundreds of thousands of fathers and mothers, and young married people,
have been brought to poverty and misery; some, within my knowledge, to
alms-houses, by the heavy draws made upon them by their sons, daughters
and wives, in preparing for dancing parties and balls. For weeks before
the ball comes off--and here let it be understood that I mean the ball
to cover hops, dancing parties and all manner of dancing--the young
people are wild with excitement; they are almost wholly incapable of any
kind of business. All manner of domestic affairs are almost entirely
neglected by the girls and young wives. The bright anticipation of great
pleasure in the near future, turns some of their little shallow brains
up-side-down, and they are often seen in a sort of deep reverie, wearing
a blank gaze, having very much the appearance of poor unfortunate
idiots. If the father, mother, husband, brother or teacher speaks to
them, unless it be on the subject of the ball, they grin like a baboon
and snap like a mad dog. If we run on at the rate we are now going, it
will not be a great while until it may be found to be cheaper to build a
few asylums for the sane, and let the idiots and lunatics run at large.
THE BALL. THE HOP. THE DANCE.
IT IS ALL THE SAME.
Well, the long looked for day has come; it is now 8 P.M., and the boys,
girls and young wives are in their rooms donning their new and costly
apparel, which has been bought, borrowed or _stolen_ in divers and
sundry ways. Some have been paid for, some will be paid for, and some
will remain open accounts until judgment day. The wealthy and those who
never pay their bills will be dressed in the costliest, richest apparel,
because only these classes can afford these luxuries. EXTREMES WILL
MEET. The young men go and bring in their girls, and when they get to
the door, they are met by the committee of reception, who politely show
the ladies a side room where they will go and lay off their wraps. The
young men go out into the corner of the yard or in the woods and lay off
their _wraps_--in the nature of a bottle of whiskey or brandy--or they
have left them in a buggy or carriage, or a room has been set apart for
this purpose, and the WRAPS have been provided before-hand, or they are
to be found in a convenient drinking saloon.
THE WRAPS ARE THERE.
The girls wear their wraps around them. The boys _wear_ themselves
around their wraps. These _wraps_ are brought into requisition as the
physical man begins to weaken under the excessive and unnatural
exercise. Unnatural, because the hours designed by God, our maker, to be
used in rest and sleep are appropriated to another and very different
purpose. Here the tempter discovers another weak point, and he makes the
attack. The great draw made upon the physical forces makes it
necessary--the tempter says--to use an artificial stimulant, which is
here often taken the first time, and which is not unfrequently repeated,
until many are so much under its influence and some get so drunk--no,
become so suddenly _indisposed_, that they have to be carried home.
These entertainments seldom break up until the light of the morning
begins to appear, but I will compromise on 2 o'clock, A.M. At 9 or 10
o'clock, P.M., the performance begins, and I propose we shall _candidly_
and _honestly_ examine this basket of fruit. Whether designed or not, it
is simply a fact that many of the girls and women are dressed in such a
way and manner as best and most successfully to excite the baser
passions of men.
If the style of dress often, yea, nearly always, seen at the
_fashionable_ balls and dancing parties is wholly without any evil
design--innocently following a fashion--and if those who thus dress are
really ignorant of the effect it has upon the opposite sex, it is high
time their eyes were being opened. If this be only a fashion, and I want
to believe it is nothing more, but when I remember distinctly that this
manner of dressing for balls and dancing parties has been the fashion
for forty years and that it has never changed, _except to become a
little more so_, and that all other fashions have changed at least
twenty times, my belief staggers and hangs its head for very shame. This
fruit alone has sent hundreds of thousands of men, women and girls to
premature graves, dishonored graves, felons' cells, and to an endless
hell. That this semi-nude condition, in which many girls and women are
seen in the dance, has been productive of a vast deal of sin and crime,
no honest man certainly will deny. In the whirl of the gay and giddy
dance, we see:
Strong men and women fair
Are now within the tempter's snare,
With arms around each slender waist,
Each woman held in _close embrace_.
If all the _thoughts_ could be made known
Of seeds of crime which here are sown,
'Twould cause the _hardest_ cheek to blush
And every _virtuous_ heart would crush.
But so it is, and ere must be,
While men and women thus agree
_To tempt themselves, and others too_,
TO SINS AND CRIMES OF DEADLY HUE.
The following is the experience of a lady whose name is withheld, but
who has distinguished herself in literature, and made a world-wide
reputation:
"In those times I cared little for polka or varsovienne, and still
less for 'Money Musk' or 'Virginia Reel,' and wondered what people
could find to admire in these slow dances. But in the soft floating
of the waltz I found a strange pleasure, rather difficult to
intelligibly describe. The mere anticipation fluttered my pulse,
and when my partner approached to claim my promised hand for the
dance, I felt my cheeks glow a little sometimes, and I could not
look him in the eye with the same frank gayety as heretofore.
"But the climax of my confusion was reached when, folded in his
warm embrace, and giddy with the whirl, a strange, sweet thrill
would shake me from head to foot, leaving me weak and almost
powerless, and really obliged to depend for support on the arm
which encircled me. If my partner failed, from ignorance, lack of
skill or innocence, to arouse these, to me, most pleasureable
sensations, I did not dance with him the second time.
"I am speaking openly and frankly, and when I say that I did not
understand what I felt, or what were the real and greatest
pleasures I derived from this so-called dancing, I expect to be
believed. But if my cheeks grew red with uncomprehended pleasure
then, they grow pale to-day with shame when I think of it all. It
was the physical emotions engendered by the magnetic contact of
strong men that I was enamored of--not of the dance, not even of
the men themselves.
"Thus I became abnormally developed in my lowest nature. I grew
bolder, and from being able to return shy glances at first, was
soon able to meet more daring ones, until the waltz became to me
and whomsoever danced with me, one lingering, sweet and purely
sensual pleasure, where heart beat against heart, hand was held in
hand and eyes looked burning words which lips dared not speak.
"All this time no one said to me, 'You do wrong;' so I dreamed of
sweet words whispered during the dance, and often felt, while
alone, a thrill of joy indescribable, yet overpowering, when my
mind would turn from my study to remember a piece of temerity of
unusual grandeur on the part of one or another of my cavaliers.
"Married now, with home and children around me, I can at least
thank God for the experience which will assuredly be the means of
preventing my little daughters from indulging in any such dangerous
pleasure. But if a young girl, pure and innocent in the beginning,
can be brought to feel what I have confessed to have felt, what
must be the experience of a married woman? She knows what every
glance of the eye, every bend of the head, every close clasp means,
and knowing that, reciprocates it, and is led by swifter steps and
a surer path down the dangerous, dishonorable road."
I read in the Scripture, in that ever memorable sermon on the Mount,
this significant declaration: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Some
may not receive this as sound doctrine, because it is the language of
Jesus Christ; but this will not give relief, because the _corrupting_
influence would be just the same if Christ had never said one word about
it. Christ only gave the great sin a name by calling it adultery. It was
in this way the seed was sown in the heart of the Psalmist David that
caused him to commit one of the greatest crimes ever committed on earth.
See 2 Samuel, 11 Ch. In the same way the seed has been sown in the
hearts of thousands of men in the ball room, in the dances and in the
private parlors, which has ripened into disruptions of the marital
relations--has ripened into husbands murdering their wives, has ripened
into husbands losing their wives by elopement, has ripened into husbands
being murdered, has ripened into young men killing each other; and last,
though not least, has resulted in the utter ruin of hundreds of
thousands of the fair daughters of our land and country. Taking the
declarations of Jesus Christ as true, and no honest man can doubt it,
_there never was and never will be a dancing party or ball that the
great sin He referred to was not and will not be committed in the hearts
of some men_.
Here permit me to ask an important question, and solemnly charge every
reader to make answer as upon oath:
WITH WHOM IS THIS GREAT SIN COMMITTED?
If common honesty compels fathers, husbands and brothers to admit these
things to be true, will you ever again permit your wives, your daughters
or your sisters to be found at one of these places, however decent the
people may be, while they are under your control? If you do, after your
attention has been called to the hideous deformity of the dance, God,
man and your own conscience will condemn you. Whatsoever of evil or
crime may be committed, unyielding justice, unmixed with mercy, will
certainly hold you responsible. This last objection to the dance will
hold and be just as good against the theaters and operas, because no one
will deny but that a special effort is generally made at these places to
excite the passions of men and women by an indecent exposure of their
persons. To say the least of it, Christians have no business at these
places.
A Christian has no business at any place where he cannot go in the name
of Jesus Christ, because the Scripture says: "They shall walk up and
down in His name."--Zach., 10 ch. 12v. Micah, 4 ch. 5v.--"His name shall
be on their foreheads."--Rev., 22 ch. 4 v. "Ye are my witnesses."--Isa.,
43 ch. 10 v. Can a Christian, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
"walk up and down" in a ball room in His _name_? Can a Christian go into
a ball room with the name of Jesus Christ written on his or her
forehead? If a man has His name written on his forehead, and he goes
into a ball room, theater, opera, or a drinking saloon, does he not, by
that act, hide the name of Jesus Christ? Can a Christian be a witness
for God in the ball room, theater, opera, or drinking saloon? _If not,
his testimony is false, and he is a perjured man!_ I have no doubt some
very nice people--_society people_--will be terribly _shocked_ at the
developments herein made.
I was raised in the country, and I remember a varmint got to visiting
our poultry yard and carrying off those _roosting nearest the ground_,
which were generally our _improved blooded (society)_ chickens, and
whenever we would get after him, he would run down through a _very
muddy_ place, and take refuge in a hole in the bank of a creek. We
rather dreaded the task of following him through all this _mud and
filth_; but, as a last resort, rather than let him have all the poultry,
or allow him to continue his depredations at pleasure, we waded through
the mud down to his den and dug into his hiding place; and when he was
struck on the head with the back of a hoe, he too was _terribly
shocked._
Now this little animal was not, as may be supposed by some, one of the
"common or unclean," but he was one of the elite, a regular _society_
mink. He was covered with very fine fur, but had his stomach filled with
stolen chickens. I leave the application to all to whom these presents
may come, GREETING. _When I want to buy a hat, I never take one unless
it fits me_.
More or less of the girls participating in the dance are engaged to be
married, and great effort is made to keep this a profound secret, so she
very naturally has every man for a partner except her intended. Here is
music in the back-ground, if her intended is present, and he is sure to
be there if he is in striking distance--if he is not down with typhoid
fever or in prison.
This music is in his heart, in the nature of clamoring for blood, by a
legion of different sized devils. It may be there is not one man in the
room that would have his girl under any consideration whatever, but he
imagines that they all want her. The female outfit for the ball consists
of girls and a number of young married women, and some a little older,
and some old women, forty to fifty years old, with grown children, false
teeth, false hair, and bloats to swell out their wrinkled cheeks, and
they, too, are dressed in the _fashion_ with red ribbons, and blue and
green; these furnish the _disgust_ for the occasion--and one of them has
been known to furnish disgust enough for a city of ten thousand
inhabitants, and of the very best quality. Let us return to the basket
containing the young married people, and examine the fruit therein.
Reader, did you ever see the young married woman watching her husband as
he glides up and down in the merry dance, _with an old sweetheart in his
arms?_ If you never did, the first opportunity you have, take a good
look at a cat's eyes in the dark and in imagination transfer them to the
young wife's head, and you will have a very correct idea of how _sweet_
and _amiable_ she looks.
Who among the living will ever forget that poor unfortunate girl, in the
State of Georgia, who was assassinated in the ball room by a jealous
young wife? The civilized world was shocked by the announcement of this
terrible tragedy, which was purely the fruit of the ball room. These
parties were not of the low and vulgar, but were of the society people
of the age. How many husbands have in the same way and for the same
cause had all the baser, brutish passions aroused to such an extent as
to have their reasoning faculties dethroned, and have been driven by the
raging devils within to commit many of the greatest, most shameful and
most disgraceful crimes that ever blackened the records of a criminal
court? How many have cursed and abused their wives while on the way home
from the ball room? How many, after their arrival at home, have used
their superior physical strength in abusing their wives in a most
shameful and disgraceful manner? How much of all this was the result of
a frenzied imagination, and not for any real misconduct? How many of all
these cruel wrongs and outrages are never known except by the parties
themselves? How many fathers and mothers have neglected their children
by leaving them in incompetent and unsafe hands, while they spent the
night in the ball room? How many husbands have left their wives, in poor
health, sometimes sick in bed, with two or three little children crying
around them, while they have spent the night in the ball room dancing
with other women? How many men and women, and especially women, from
physical and mental causes superinduced by the effects of the ball room,
have been driven to madness, and have thus become inmates of insane
asylums, or have deliberately taken their own lives? O! for the pen of a
Milton or a Pollock! But this would not suffice, because these questions
can only be answered at the Judgment Bar of God, when the secrets of all
hearts shall be made known.
THEY WILL BE ANSWERED THEN.
How many girls have innocently and _ignorantly_ killed themselves, or
have sown the seed of some terrible lingering disease, by checking the
course of nature, by bathing or otherwise, in their preparation for the
ball room, which they would not have done to attend any other place? How
many women, all over the country, are suffering the pangs of death from
this cause alone?
One of the handsomest and most accomplished girls I ever knew, at the
age of eighteen, ignorantly killed herself in this way. I know through
physicians of many others who have wrecked their health in the same way.
Let the invalids among the women tell their physicians the _truth_, and
then let the physicians and the _graves_ speak out, and the world would
be horror-stricken at the awful report. Whiskey has slain its thousands,
but the ball, the hop, the dance, its tens of thousands.
In this connection I wish to give young men some wholesome advice,
which, if observed, will keep them out of a great deal of trouble, and
save the payment of a great many bills. Whenever you hear that an old
clock, an old carriage, an old saw-mill, an old steamboat, or a woman or
girl who is _passionately_ fond of dancing is on the market, be certain
to remain in bed or get the sheriff, which is much safer, to put you in
jail until these articles are disposed of. I respectfully refer to all
who have had any of these articles _knocked off on them_.
When the ball closes, the young men take the girls to their homes. In a
little while the girls--darling angels--are in the land of dreams, but
they certainly never dream that they have been "sowing the seeds of
eternal shame, sowing the seeds of a maddened brain." They never dream
_that they are responsible for all the sins and crimes that flow from
the ball room_, BUT THEY CERTAINLY ARE, because if they would not go to
these places, there never would be another ball or hop or dance upon the
face of all the earth.
MEN WILL NOT DANCE BY THEMSELVES.
If they do, they will not injure any one but themselves, and they will
be certain not to keep late hours. While the girls are dreaming, the
young men are assembling at some favorite room or corner down in town.
If Jim gets there first he waits for Bill, and then they wait for Jack,
Bob, Ben, Charlie and the balance of the club. When they are all in, one
or two of the older ones propose to go across the way and take a drink
at the corner saloon, which is still in blast; yes, running at a full
head of steam, or rather mean whiskey. Now here is a very strange thing.
I have never heard of but one first-class saloon closing until after the
ball closed, and in this case the owner was very sick and the bar-tender
had skipped with the cash balance. Some of these boys have been taught
by their old-fogy fathers and mothers that such things are not to be
found on the straight and narrow road, because there is no _room_ for
them along this road, _and no use for them either_.
I have carefully examined my way-bill to heaven, and it was made out by
one who knows every foot of the way, but I find no mention made of
drinking saloons, ball rooms, theaters, operas, houses of ill-fame, and
_such like_ places as being on or near this road. The same one has
furnished me a way-bill to hell, and I find all these places mentioned
as being on the line of this road. Whenever you find yourself, dear
reader, at one of these places, you may know beyond the shadow of a
doubt that you are not in the narrow road; and with equal certainty you
may know you are in the broad road. Now these boys are evidently on the
broad road, because the devil's sutler-shops are not to be found
anywhere else, for the very good reason that he cannot get a permit to
put them up on the narrow road. He would put them in the very center of
heaven if he possibly could. His impudence and daring is only equaled by
his fathomless corruption. The man or woman who will dare to say that
these places are found on the road to heaven, certainly has a very poor
idea of heaven and its inhabitants. If they are to be found along the
straight and narrow way, and the travelers along this way are to enter
and participate in the things therein going on, then they are certainly
designed of God to _aid in the salvation of immortal souls_. If this be
true, on entering the narrow way the first refreshments we shall get are
to be found in one of these places, having this sign over the door;
"FIRST CHANCE," and the last thing we pass in this life, just before we
enter heaven, will be another one of these houses with this inscription
over the door: "LAST CHANCE." Some of these boys don't understand it
this way; they have been raised to think that "_there is no harm in
dancing_," but were never told that the dancing shops of all kinds are
on the same road with all the drinking saloons and other places of a
like character. No, the same parents told their sons that the drinking
saloon is next door to hell, and these are the ones we read about in the
Bible, who "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." That is to say, in
those days when Christ was on earth, there were some people so
peculiarly constituted that they strained at a gnat and swallowed a
camel; but we live in an age of improvement, an age in which some people
strain at a gnat, and swallow a Jumbo with perfect ease and in the most
graceful manner.
I know an advocate of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, who often
dances all night, most _gracefully_, and in the morning she turneth up
her little nose, just as _gracefully_ as the elephant turneth up his
snout when Peck's bad boy has thrown him a piece of tobacco, _at the
awful drinking saloon and saloon keepers_. The private parlor dance is
the beginning, the first depot on the great air-line route from this
world to the city of destruction; here the boys and men are drawn into
the coaches by the general passenger agents: the MOTHERS, WIVES,
DAUGHTERS, SISTERS and SWEETHEARTS. This line is advertised as the
finest and best equipped road beneath the sun. Fine sleepers; all the
way through, without change. Special guarantee against accidents. This
road is laid with smooth, glass rails, and the wheels are made of India
rubber. Drinking saloons, beer gardens, and some other places I'll not
mention, are the wood yards and tanks, where fuel and water is procured
which gets up the steam that draws the train with increasing velocity
down to the great city of destruction. When the train stops for wood and
water, all the passengers are expected to take part in the very
interesting and social performance. But here are same boys who beg to be
excused. "Can't excuse you," cries the brakesman. "Come along, you can
take a small _stick_ in the way of a cigar;" and so these boys, not
wishing to appear ugly and incur the ill will of the brakesman, walk
into a saloon for the first time. They first take a cigar, but soon the
brakesman (an old stager) laughs them to scorn and confusion, and not
being able to stand the fire, they throw down the cigar and take their
_first drink in a drinking saloon_. After the drinks have been repeated
a few times, one of the brakesmen, well under the influence of whiskey
or wine, takes a careful look at all present, and if satisfied there is
no relative or sweetheart in hearing, he then and there tells an
_anecdote_ on one of the nice girls or married ladies with whom they
have been dancing, that certainly would bring the blush of shame to the
cheeks of the blackest devil that inhabits the world of outer darkness.
The drink, and anecdotes of the same character, _only worse, if
possible_, are repeated until interrupted by the appearance of a
half-witted looking young man, entering from a back door, who seems to
have something of great importance to tell the bartender. He talks low,
but sufficiently loud to be heard by the boys, for it is really for
their ears. "Have you heard the news?" "No, what news." "Why, about Bill
Jones; he went in back here to-night with only five dollars for a stake,
and he has just now gone home with _five hundred dollars_ in his
pocket." Then the boys slide out, and as soon as out in a dark corner,
they begin to enquire to see if a stake can be raised among them,
finding none, one or two being confidential clerks, go to the store,
bank or other place of business, and _borrow_ fifteen or twenty dollars,
having no doubt of their ability to win a few hundred dollars in a
little while, and then replace the _borrowed_ money without it ever
being known. Soon the _borrowed_ stake is in the hands of the dealer.
They repeat the drinks, and then _borrow_ some more in the same way,
which goes into the same hands as the first, and thus they continue
until the appearance of day-light, and then reeling to and fro under the
influence of the mean whiskey they have been drinking, and the ponderous
weight of their sins and crimes, they go to their rooms, cursing the day
on which they were born.
THEY HAVE LOST ALL SELF-RESPECT.
They are now at sea without chart or compass. When a man or woman loses
their self-respect, they are moral wrecks. "WANDERING STARS." There is
nothing left to build upon. It is from this cause that thousands commit
suicide, both men, women, and girls. It is the continual gnawings of the
conscience over the secret sins and crimes they have not the moral
courage to confess. Like the hidden spark of fire in a bale of cotton,
it continues its ravages until the whole bale is reduced to ashes. This
will account in great measure for the hundreds and thousands of
_unaccountable_ suicides of to-day, which are principally confined to
the young of both sexes.
I do not mean to say that all the young men go to drinking saloons as
soon as they carry their girls home, or as soon as the ball or dance is
over. No, many of them go to other places, such as are described in the
5th chapter of Proverbs. _Men will not deny this_. Who caused these men
to go to these places? Shall I answer? Shall I tell the truth? If I do,
I must say it is the virtuous wives, daughters, sisters and sweethearts,
who have been participating in the dance. _Every man knows that this is
true_. Let every honest physician send in a report of all his male
patients, giving the disease of each and the cause, and then let us have
a correct report from the dead of the same kind, and I am confident that
no husband, father or brother would ever permit his wife, daughter or
sister to be seen at a ball or dance. HUSBANDS, FATHERS, BROTHERS, your
wives, daughters and sisters do not know these things, _but you do know
them_, and now that your eyes are open, will you, can you, as a husband,
father or brother, ever permit the females under your care to even take
the chance of being RECRUITING OFFICERS for these sinks of perdition,
THESE ANTE-CHAMBERS OF HELL. These places, dripping with the blood of
hundreds and thousands of young and middle-aged men, who, but for their
enchantment, might have been good and true men, and have filled
honorable graves. These places have broken the hearts of thousands of
wives, mothers and: sisters, when they have seen their loved ones bound
in the fetters and chains of eternal death. These funnels, through which
thousands and millions of souls of both men and women have been poured
into an endless hell.
I have tried to furnish fair samples of the fruit of dancing, if I have
failed, it is an error of the head and not of the heart. It may be said
by some that I have occupied forbidden ground in writing a book to be
read by the public generally. In reply I can only say that I have simply
_followed the varmint to his hiding place_. I have not used any stronger
or more indecent language than was used by Jesus Christ, and God forbid
that I should ever be guilty of the sacrilege of saying or even thinking
that Jesus Christ was _vulgar_ or wanting in _refinement_; that ever I
should say of and concerning Him: "_I am holier than Thou_." If the
things I have herein mentioned have flowed from the ball room, if I have
stated FACTS, and _I know that I have_, you should not get mad at me,
but get mad at the _facts_. If a man lends a helping hand in removing a
_dead dog_ from the yard, it is not the man that is indecent, _it is the
dead dog_. The man shows his decency and kindness by condescending to
give aid in removing the stench from the premises, and no one but a
contemptible _snipe dude_ would stand off and turn up his nose and call
the man indecent and vulgar. If I am wrong, I rejoice to know that I am
in the best company on earth, for the whole religious world, with a
_few_ exceptions, regards dancing as an enemy to good morals, and as
_destructive to all spirituality_, because it is productive of so much
evil and NO GOOD. Who upon all the earth has the opportunity of knowing
the true inwardness of dancing like the Catholic priests and bishops?
Who ever held and used such a _probing instrument_ as the CONFESSIONAL?
Who on this earth can come as near knowing all the acts and deeds, yea,
and the very _thoughts_, that do pass through the minds and hearts of
men, women, boys and girls, as the Catholic priests and bishops can know
of and concerning those under their charge? Arch-Bishop J. Henry William
Elder, Co-Adjutor to the Arch-Bishop of Cincinnati, has issued a
circular letter to the clergy in his Diocese, from which I take this
very significant clipping:
"THERE MUST BE NO ROUND DANCING AT ANY TIME, AND NO DANCING OF ANY KIND
AFTER DARK."
What meaneth then this blating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing
of the oxen which I hear? Why does Arch-Bishop Elder inhibit the round
dance even in _day-light_? Mr. and Mrs. ECHO and their girls and boys
will please answer _why_? And why has he inhibited _all kinds_ of
dancing after dark? Will some member of the same family please rise and
explain?
"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as ithers see us."
While this circular letter has an existence upon earth, let all
_so-called_ Protestants and their friends, who say "_There is no harm in
dancing_," and who participate in dancing of _any kind at any time or
place_, or who simply attend such places, or who remain at a place after
it has been turned into a dance, (for the aiders and abettors of crime
are just as guilty as their principals), hang their heads for very
shame, as poor old dog Tray hangeth his head when caught in company with
sheep-killing dogs, and especially when some wool is found in his teeth.
Paul was present when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was put to
death; he only held the clothes of those who cast the stones, but he was
just as guilty of murder as though he had cast the fatal missile, _by
his presence, and making no objection he was consenting to the crime_.
To have relieved himself of the blood of Stephen, he should not have
gone to the place where the murder was committed, if he knew, or had
good reason to know, that a crime was to be committed. If he had gone
there with the belief that it was an _innocent, harmless_ gathering, and
after getting there he saw their murderous intent, he should at least
have left immediately and thus have withdrawn all his influence and
supposed sympathy with the criminals. The holding of their clothes did
not make him guilty, but was only _cumulative_ evidence of the murderous
intent in his heart.
Reader, if you go to a ball or dance, knowing it to be such, you are a
participant in all the sins and crimes which would not have been
committed, if such ball or dance had never been. So if the gathering be
for a _sinless, harmless_ purpose, and you find, after arriving at the
place, that there is to be a dance, and you do not leave immediately,
you will be just as guilty as though you had gone with full knowledge of
what was to be. The encouragement and endorsement of your presence makes
you just as guilty as those who join in the dance. There is no
difference, except in degree, between the select parlor dance and the
masquerade ball, because the one is the stepping stone to the other. Not
one in ten thousand have done their first dancing at the masquerade
ball, just as not one in ten thousand ever took their first drink of
whiskey in a drinking saloon. But let it be remembered that hundreds of
thousands have taken their first drink of wine or whiskey at a ball or
dance.
One of the greatest sins committed by children and young people is
_disobedience to parents._ It is one of the greatest, because it is one
of the first, and because if cultivated it becomes a cesspool of
iniquity. It is a pandora box, out of which ten thousand troubles,
trials, difficulties, sins and crimes will come. I claim that the _love_
of dancing is the most fruitful source of _disobedience to parents_ to
be found beneath the sun, because it becomes a _ruling passion_. If
anything will cause a child to disobey its parents, it is to forbid them
going to a ball or dance when their heart is set upon it. _They go and
then deny it_. For all the disobedience brought about in this way, the
parents are generally far more to blame than the children because it is
the parents' fault that they have ever learned to dance. Some parents
have an idea that dancing is a necessary branch of education, that it
makes their children _graceful_, but never look far enough down the line
to see that they are opening the way to _graceful_ disobedience,
_graceful_ liars, _graceful_ thieves, _graceful_ gamblers, _graceful_
drunkards, _graceful_ prostitutes, _graceful_ whoremongers and to every
sin and crime that men and women can commit beneath the sun. They are
opening the very gates of hell to their own children.
MANY, if not all, of the following sins and crimes are committed at
_every dance, hop or ball,_ and every one present, whether participating
in the dance or not, is equally guilty with the perpetrators of all the
sins and crimes, which would not have been committed if there had been
no such gathering:
SAMPLES OF FRUIT FOUND ON THE TREE OF DANCING:
ENVY.
JEALOUSY.
PRIDE.
DECEIT.
DISOBEDIENCE TO PARENTS
BACKBITING.
STRIFE.
HATRED.
LASCIVIOUSNESS.
EMULATION.
SEDITION.
LYING.
THEFT.
DRUNKENNESS.
SABBATH BREAKING.
GAMBLING.
EMBEZZLEMENT.
SUICIDE.
VULGARITY.
FORNICATION.
ADULTERY.
OBSCENITY.
EXTRAVAGANCE.
DIVORCE.
LUNACY.
WANTONNESS.
CRUELTY.
IDOLATRY.
PERJURY.
SEDUCTION.
PROSTITUTION.
ABORTION.
INFANTICIDE.
ASSASSINATION.
MURDER.
"AND SUCH LIKE."
Every honest man is compelled to admit that these sins and crimes are
the _natural fruit of dancing_; THAT THESE THINGS DO FLOW FROM THE
DANCE. I frankly admit that all these sins and crimes may and do come
from other sources, but I challenge the world to point to any _one_
thing that produces as many of these sins and crimes as the dance. The
drinking saloon is a prolific source of evil, but not one-half as much
as the dance, for it must be borne in mind that _men only_ attend the
saloons, and that many of them are sent there _from the ball room_, and
many, who never would have seen the inside of a drinking saloon but for
the ball or dance. _The ball is a feeder for drinking saloons, gambling
saloons, and houses of ill-fame._
I have delivered this lecture on dancing in seven States, before about
one hundred congregations, numbering from three hundred to ten thousand
people. I have called on all the men, old and young, saint and sinner,
at nearly every place, to give an expression of opinion from what they
had seen themselves, or what they had heard from those who had attended
balls, hops, and such like places, as to the correctness or
incorrectness of my charges against the dance, and out of I think not
less than fifty thousand men, I have never found but SEVEN who stood up,
thereby saying they did not believe that the sins and crimes I had
mentioned had ever flowed from the ball room, while nearly all the
balance stood up before their wives, daughters, sisters, and
sweethearts, saying that they do believe, from what they _know, and have
seen_ and have heard from those who attend balls and hops, that these
sins and crimes are the natural fruit of all kinds of dancing, where the
sexes dance together. A few, perhaps one in twenty, kept their seats,
not expressing their opinion either way. Of this class I think I may
safely say that _four-fifths_ failed to understand my proposition, or
thought it not necessary to rise; but if they had stood up, they would
have been with the affirmative. While I am not an apologist for saloon
keepers and gamblers, I want to record the fact right here that I have
had more or less of them in my congregations, at nearly every place
where I talked on this subject, and I have never known one, no, not one,
to keep his seat when an expression of opinion was called for, and not
one was found among the _immortal seven_.
There are many men worse at heart than gamblers and saloon keepers. If
they and their families were treated by the Christian people with more
kindness, and less like they were outcasts, hundreds and thousands of
them would become Christians. I do not claim that all who attend dancing
parties, balls, and hops are ruined, but I do claim that _all who attend
such places take part in the eternal disgrace and ruin of others._ There
is not a man or woman among the living, or the dead, who has made a
practice of attending such places, but that has the blood of one or more
_lost souls_ upon their garments, _and there it must remain throughout
the ceaseless ages of_ ETERNITY, _unless it be washed away_ BY THE BLOOD
OF JESUS CHRIST.
My sainted mother and my wife have attended and participated in the
dance, but, like hundreds and thousands of girls and women of to-day,
they never had the most distant idea that the dancing party or ball was
a cesspool of iniquity, for, had they known the things brought to light
in this little book, they never would have made one step in that
direction. I believe that God has forgiven them, because, like Paul,
they did it ignorantly. "I obtained mercy, because I did it
_ignorantly_."--I. Tim. 1-13. Reader, if you ever go to one of these
places after your eyes have been opened, as they must be now, you cannot
plead _ignorance_, but you will sin _wilfully_ and _knowingly._ See Heb.
10: 26, 27.
Those who are turned into the paths of shame, of vice, and of crime, are
described in the Bible in the following terrible language, and where
could a better description be found? "Woe unto them! for they have gone
in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for
reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are _spots_ in
your feasts of charity when they feast with you, _feasting themselves
without fear._ Clouds they are without water, _carried about of winds_,
trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by
the roots. _Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own_ SHAME;
_wandering_ STARS to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever."--Jude, 11, 12, 13.
Mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, if there is a doubt left in your
minds as to the charges made against dancing, will you do yourselves,
and those under your influence, the justice to ask your husbands,
fathers and brothers to read this little book, and give you their
_honest opinions_?
* * * * *
VERDICT.
This is to certify that I have carefully read this little book, and give
it as my honest conviction--from what I have seen and what I have heard
from those who have attended dancing parties, balls and hops--that the
charges and specifications are true, and believing them to be true, I
here promise to use all my influence against _all kinds_ of dancing,
while I live on earth.
(Here Sign Name.).............................
Try and get four others to sign with you.
* * * * *
If this little book should be of benefit to any one, I would like to
know it. As it is my intention to get out a second edition, I desire to
collect all _the facts_ I can in support of the charges and
specifications against dancing. Ministers of the Gospel, physicians, and
fathers and mothers, can render me great assistance if they will.
_Names of correspondents will not be published without special
permission_.
There is No Harm in Dancing.
Single Copy, Paper Cover, 25 cts.
Single Copy, Cloth Cover, 30 cts.
Liberal discount to Pastors and Dealers.
* * * * *
HARVEST BELLS, No. 2.
A New Sabbath School Song Book, just published.
Suitable also for Revivals.
The _most popular_ Song Book ever offered to the public.
Single Copy, $ .30.
Per Dozen, 3.00.
LIBERAL DISCOUNT TO DEALERS.
Address:
W. E. PENN,
PALESTINE, TEXAS.
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THERE IS NO HARM IN DANCING***
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