WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE?—A BLACKBOARD TEMPERANCE TALK

Find two pictures strongly contrasted,—one of a bright young man, the other a decrepit old drunkard. The illustration will be more effective if both are represented standing.

Pin these pictures to the wall or blackboard, and cover each with bits of paper, pinned on separately, so that the parts of the pictures can be disclosed one after the other by removing the pins as the talk progresses.

First ask the children to tell what happens to a young man’s nose when he begins to become a drunkard. Uncover the nose of the young man, and next of the drunkard. A little red crayon will make the latter more effective.

In the same way exhibit the change from the clear blue eyes of the young man to the bloodshot eyes of the drunkard; from the young man’s frank and hearty lips and clear speech to the drunkard’s stammering lips and tripping tongue; from the strong hands of the young man to the drunkard’s shaking hands; from the young man’s swift feet to the unsteady feet of the inebriate.

Uncovering the heads of the two, talk about the weakening of the brain. Uncovering portions of the clothes, show how the coat has become ragged, and the shoes down at the heel and out at the toes. Uncovering the pockets, speak about the empty pocketbook, and the vanished fortune. Finally, uncovering the heart, talk about the dulling of conscience and the hardening of all the sensibilities, and the final death of the soul.

As illustrative of the latter, draw beforehand, in front of the young man, a long golden path reaching up to a shining heaven. A door with golden rays will indicate this sufficiently. Draw in front of the drunkard a black, open pit. Uncover these as you talk about the drunkard’s fate.