Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1819-08-07
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FROM THE RICHMOND ENQUIRER.

FROM THE RICHMOND ENQUIRER.
A gentleman who was pleased with
The tone and sentiments of a discourse,
delivered by Bishop MooRE, in the
monumental Church, on Sunday last,
and was induced to believe thai they
might do service to those who had not
heard them, applied to the Bishop who
was so kind as to furnish him with the
following extract:
EXTRACT.
The value which we attach to wealth,
and the pleasure we promise ourselves
in the possession of riches, is deceptive
and vain. The humble cottager who
rises in the morning to his labors, and
obtains BY that labor his daily bread, par
takes Of more genuine felicity, than the
individual who rolls in splendor and
fareth sumptuously every day; his con-
stitution, provided his conduct is marked
with the features of sobriety, is more ro-
bust; his cheek is gladdened with the
blush of health; smile of contentment
is seen in his countenance; his appetite
is rendered keen by employment, and
having no cares to distract his mind, he
commits lis head to his pillow in peace,
and awakes refreshed by his tranquil
slumbers.-The expectant ofno fortune,
he is never disappointed in his views;
he labors for support alone; he cult
Yates his fields with industry, and looks
to heaven for the former and the latter
rain TO manure his crops. His wife and
children are rendered happy in the enjoy
1nent he possesses; the voice of joy and
health is in his dwelling; his commu-
Mon with his Maker is not distracted by
the cares oflife; religion holds up to his
enraptured view her choisest consola-
tons; he looks forward without fear
to that moment when his labor will cease,
and the triumphs of heaven be his por
ton for ever.
Compare the situation of such an in
dividual, my beloved hearers, with the
situation ofthe man, involved in the hur-
ry and hustle of the world. Consider
those thousand contingencies upon which
his success in business must depend
Not ali the efforts which the most pru-
dent man can make, 10 secure his con-
Germ from arrangement, will always
prove eilectua, When his affairs at
home afford him pleasant prospect, his
disappointment, from abroad throw him
into confusion, and defeat his plans.
lie sees storm of adverse fortune ap-
preaching, which chi.ls him to the heart;
he perceives that no wisdom he posses
ses, can secure him from the blow; the
wife of lis bosom he is sensible will feel
The shock; his beloved children, check
ed IN their expectations, tremble under
the influence of a fathers sorrows; he
goes to ais pillow to look for rest, but
that pillow, once the seat Of quietude, re-
fuses him the aid he seeks his mind is
distracted with the heavy burden of his
cares, and he rises in the morning with
countenance indicative Of sorrow and
ofwoe.
Such being the distress, in which the
pursuit of wealth SO frequently plunges
us, distress which at the present moment
is felt by so many whom | love and re-
spect; by SO many to whom feel at
tached by thousand tender considera-
tons. let me entreat you, beloved pa
rishioners, to remember, that in the de-
rangement of your temporal prospects,
your happiness is not so essentially in
terested, as upon superficial view of
things, you may imagine. Happiness,
rely upon it, is not dependent upon
wealth. 'Contentment of mind rests up
on no such uncertain foundation. If
peace and comfort flow from no source
but riches, your preacher must always
have been miserable, for wealth he never
had, and wealth, from his situation in
life, he never can obtain. Let me there
fore entrcat you to be submissive to the
reverse of fortune, with which many of
you have to struggle; the calamity, if it
deserves the name, is universal; Europe,
as well as the land in which we live,
groans beneath the burden.
A mediocrity of fortune, is within the
reach Of every sober minded, industrious
man.-Plenty to satisfy our necessary
wants will never be denied US; having
food and raiinent, let us be content /;
"man wants but little here below, nor
wants that little long," The prospect
of our crops is abundant; the Almighty,
With the finger Of mercy, points to his