Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1816-10-09

n ETG# BDE DUA5s4 10y - 81
rHF BRIEF REMARKER.
1h. Brszsl;aas had been % long a','
I Is osr,raIIy enured to thy abom'na1 !
8 r.s,;ss 81 safinq human flesh, that Gu q,
lrhr;stian NIssssisaariss found y less OH
IscnN Is reform them Ut any other s, 9
lsSs;r sv;l PRACTICES Tran Of this. q, In
lsh;ef INV II those savsges was 10 t,e E.
Icsnn;bsi feasts the wsmen and the cnll
|dren.as well the men, partaking q tncp
with equal delight; iasomucn tnas no
Ith;ne was harde to cure than tins I'M
Inatural appetite. s !.
Soufhey. Il, his history of Brazil, re
Ilates 4 story Of the following tenor -
Iyery long time after the Portuguese ma.
iobts,ned possession Of Drazils, Jesui
md ertsok 10 christianize a Brazilian wo
man Of great age. He catecbized f 1s
Inc instructed her, as he conceived, IN TN
nature of christianity and finding he
|at tho po;;nt Of death. he began to enquIr'
Iwhe,her there was any kind OF foet
(which she could take. 6 Grandan','
said he that being the word Of courtes,
lby which it was usual to address ole
women q II were to get you little
sugar now, era mou,hful Of some Of GU
nice things which we get from beyond
sea, do you think you could eat r.
q Az. nv grandson, ''replied the old wo
man. s nv stomach gees against every
thing. There is but one thing which
think I could touch. If | had the littls
hand Of 4 little tspua boy, think enuid
nick the little bones ;-bat woe is me
there il no one to socat and shoot one
for me J" "a
AS this extraordinary morsel OF history
corroboratss an observation not unfre.
quently made, that, with some Of the pa.
esas amongst whom christian aiissiOna,
ries have Iaboured, cannibaIism mas been
found the most incurable Of any Of their
vices at the same fine it strikingly cx.
empli6es, generally, the almost incurable
nature Of invcterate vicious habits. tits
q counterpart to that portion of inspira.
ton which represents it as extremely
difficult, and next to Impossible, for one
that is accustomed to evil, to learn to dc
well.
lisa prSverbial saying, that habit is
second nature meaning, / conceive
that whatever Of taste, appetite, inclina
|tion, or affection, we acquire by habit, |,
GENES to be "a natural to as as il it were
born with as. This is thing obvioss Il
general experience and observation. Blu
there is enc other thing nearly akin Il
Fit, whichs though rot quite so obvious, j.
|perhaps equally true. 1t is this tb,
second nature that has grown out ofeyi
habits cleaves TO us, in some degree, lon,
las we live, and that notwithstanding
principles of real piety at heart
II rs freely admitted that Grandam
whose strange story has just been re
lhearsed, was merely a nominal christian
(aad very imperfcctly instructed IN ever
THE doctrine knowledge of ourho'y reli
|gion. But suppose the reverse suppose
lshc had come to be christian indeed
What then : Ne doubt she would have
|abhorred the idea Of shooting tapu;
boy; that she might pick the little bone.
lof his little hand. Ne doubt she woal6
have abhcrred cannibaIism as rnoastron'
|crime butt is not quite so certain
THAT her appeti E would at all times hay,
been entirely free from hankerings aiteI
|the unnatural food to which she had beer
leo long accustomed, and which Of al
things, was the most delicious to ie'
taste.
The truths, any one who contracts
bad habits admits into his garrison rinve
|terate and restless foes, which he Cal
never entirety expei. Sometimes hi
may seem to get the complete mastery
|of them, when Of a sudden they muster
anew their rebeiIious forces and quite O.
yerpoMer him. Or ever though by the
force of moral and religious principle, a
long with ever wakeful vigilance, he keer
under these foes, vet they give HIM inces,
SAINT alarm, inqnietude and yexafion
They are the torrent of his life, & embit-
ter his last moments. In many virta
ous bosom there is . hard struggle be
tween principle and propensity ;between
deep sense Of duty. morality aud religion,
and the violence ofappetites and passions
that had been ,nourished BY habit till they
had grown. up to gigantic strength
. struggle in which though virtue gain
the victory. it is gained at the expense
|of pains which are neither few nor sinai
+ OF pains comparable to those sccasion,
ed BY eating sF hand, or plucking ou'
Ian eye. 80 true is it, that vicious ha.
bits are either oursruin and destruction ,oi
u -. n a. -