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Tract 263
Audio download at bottom of page
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Tom Grays Dream
Tom Gray lay down on the bar room floor,
Having drunk so much he could drink no more;
So he fell asleep with a troubled brain,
To dream that he rode on a hell-bound train.
The engine with blood was red and damp,
And brilliantly lit by a brimstone lamp;
An imp, for fuel, was shoveling bones,
While the furnace rang with a thousand groans.
The boiler was filled with lager beer;
And the devil himself was the engineer.
The passengers made such a motley crew;
Church members, atheist, gentile and jew,
Rich men in broadcloth and beggars in rags,
Hansome young ladies and withered old hags,
Yellow and black men, red, brown and white.
And all chained together...a horrible sight.
While the train dashed on at an awful pace,
And a hot wind scorched them on hands and face
Wilder and wilder the country grew,
As faster and faster the engine flew;
Louder and louder the thunder crashed,
And brighter and brighter the lighting flashed.
Hotter and hotter the air became,
Till the clothes were burnt from each quivering frame.
Then in the distance there rose such a yell,
Ha! Ha! croaked the devil, we’re nearing hell.
Then oh, how the passengers shrieked with pain,
And begged of the devil to stop the train!
But he capered about and sang with glee,
And laughed and joked at their agony,
My faithful friends, you have done my work,
And the devil can never a pay day shirk.
You have bullied the weak, you have robbed the poor,
And a starving brother turned from your door;
You have laid up gold where the canker rust,
And given free vent to your fleshly lust;
You have justice scorned and corruption sown,
And trampled the laws of nature down;
You have drank and rioted, murdered and lied,
And mocked at God in your hell-born pride,
You have paid full fare, so I’ll carry you thru,
For its only right you should get your due;
Why, the laborer always expects his hire,
So I’ll land you safe in the Lake of Fire,
Where your flesh shall roast in the flames that roar,
And my imps torment you more and more.
Then Tom awoke with an agonized cry.
His clothes soaked with sweat, his hair standing high,
And he prayed as he never had prayed before,
To be saved from drink and the devil’s power;
And his prayers and his cries were not made in vain,
For he never more rode on the hell-bound train.
—Anon.
“Be not deceived...no drunkards...shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
I Cor. 6:9, 10.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.” Prov. 20:1.
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color
in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like
a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” Prov. 23:31.
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