Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1825-09-15

resOiatiOal TO gresiss, and faifn creh
sleeps when The battle is nigh. IN
less trained by long discipline into the
practice ofhonour, ne may not always
follow the best inclination, or have any
good incIiDations 10 guide them. The
fiowery wreatlrs of vice stuplfs his SEN
ses with their fragrance, and hull his
conscience into fatal repose, until the
deluded mi0d is entangled in her hun
dred thousand folds, and the whole
man sinks horrid victim into lrreiriev
able ruin. Then tao late he secs his
error: then the chains which seemed q,
first but gsrlands OF flowers, are met
alnorphosed into serpeuts, who's breath
is rank poison. and whose touch is de
structiOn Vainly he struggles IN his
nauseonS embrace--scizes their siippe
~ forces in his useless grasp, OF at
tempts to control their bilowy motions,
and trampie them beneath his shrink.
ing feet. Alas! the creeping folds
have encrcled his body, and imprison
cd every limb; gasping, he is invcloped
in their countless tolls, and yields, cen :
qiered and shuddering, TO tormeuts
horrible as hell! The course of vice is
steep descent, and we pass with &C
celrraieo velocity down its dreadful a.
byss-a false step, or needless turn
NAV plunge us into the lions den and
the Spirit of God dweIls not with the
Abandoned ones, to pacify their rugged
natures or soften down their ire.
Let Us on the other hand observe the
noblest work Of God--an honest man.
Il is the constitution of humanity to en- i,
dure every sorrow which ia not the re.
suit Of sin, and the good man turns a
shielded breast to the ills OF life, which
rattle like harmless hail stones or an ar.
med knight. Virtue to the mind is
more impcrishable protection, than
Spanish steel to the body; and he who
has equipped himsefin her sared suit !,
walks gigantic and immortal amid the
ioudest din and tiercest dangers of
tumultuous 'var. The greatest mon.
arch WHO has gained bis magnifcenee
by the sacrifice OF honour, has no dig
nity to compare to this; and In Z y
cite IN his plain blue coat surrounded
| by the,enchantments which virtue has
| bestowed, is an object comparatively
| of more interest and admiration, than
the sultan half buried in the treasures
ofthe east. Many weak minded NOR.
tails, at tn: onset Of their career, vain.
~ suppore it possible to trifle little
with the pleasures of vice, and after
wards erect themselves 10 the strict
practice Of all that is just, honorable
and good. They would amuse their
tastes by slipping forbidden sweets, be-
ing careful rot 10 drain the polsonou:
bowl 10 the bottom, and fendiy mag
inc they possess resolution, in which
daily experience proves their fellow
mortals so miserably defcient--to al.
low few merry gambols on the blink
of the pricipice, without the risk OF be
ing betrayed into the abyss. A very
few, by the peculiar blessings of for
tune, may regain their equilibrium, and
re establish themselves in the road TO
happiness; but many, and by far the
majority. End their veins swelling
with incnrabIe maiady, when they be
lieved the venonons goblet only touch
ed their lip; or dizzy and bewildered
by the witcheries around them. lose
their hold, and are hurled into the ga
ping chasm, when they only intended
to glance over the edge.
An honest man is rarely to befound.
There is no lack oFthose sorts of be,
ings who abound in negative virtues,
who delight in religion, and detest the
devil, who &c to church three times
onthe Sabbath, and never demolish &
meal without good long winded grace
The excellence Of these consist in dec
laraiions of what feats they might have
accomplished, circumstance had not
prevented, and how noble they would
be-ifthey could They grow up Ike
brutes, deficient in the cultivated pas
sions of civilized aeociety--eXhibitirg
their stated periods of youth, maturity,
and decay-remote alike from the viz.
tues and the vices, the rewards and
the penalties, the delicate pleasures
and refined pains of active existence;
and after having undergone the varie
ties of anirsal life, at last quietly repose
themselves in their narrow bed; like
small pebbles for snotnens disturbing
the peaceful tranquility OF The water
with their fall, silently they bury their
npmes and their natures in oblivion as
deep as Though they bad never been.