Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1831-06-23
used to a more plain and simple diet.

the table with themselves and friends,
after the cloth is removed, and to wit
ness and participate in the mirth and hill
arity that is sufficiently Objectionable in
adults Besides laying the foundation
Of Incorporate habits, such indulgcncies
destroy their relish for the purcr, & more
simple and appropriate amuscments of
their years. Whilst childhood preserves
It's natural simplicity, every little change
is interestng--cvcry qualification IL
luxury. I;ural sports and athletic en-
crciscs rccrea'c and delight him, but are
dull and unintcresiing to ii sophisticated
little being, spoiled by Il love for dissipa-
ted companions and cNhlarating drinks.
Such are some of the incipicnt steps
in the formation of incorporate habits,
and which seemed To me more worthy of
notice, because they have seldom been
referred to, and but little regardcd--
Other causes might be mentioned, as
misfortune, misapplicd hospitality, days
of public convocatron, &c. but they have
SO often been advcrtcd to and cXpatia-
ted upon, that you are fully prepared to
estimate their pcrncious influence.
There is, however, one law of our
constitution that requires particular no.
tice, and that is It's tendency TO be in
nuenccd by diurnal impressions. 1t is
familiar to many of you, that the stomach
when excited by ii single glass, at a
particular hour, will, after n day or two,
mark the return Of that hour with as
much precision as Il time piece; and
this stated longing will arise higher and
higher in its demands each succeeding
day, until the power Of scli-dcnial is
lost. How many are thus brought un-
der the dominion OF habit. lie who cs-
capes this periodical thirst of times and
seasons, says an author, will not be a
drunkard, as he who comes within
reach Of this powerful attraction, will
be sure to perish. 1t may not be GER
putation, or squandcr his property, and
die in an almshousc; but it is certain
that large portion will come to poverty
and nfamy of those who yield daily to
the periodical appetite for ardent spirits.
1t is the vortex begun, which, if not
checked, will become more capacious, and
/ deep, and powerful, and loud, until the
interests of time and eternity are en-
gulphed.
Such is the rise and progress of in
temperate habits. Let us consider
secondly their eflscts upon the constitu-
ton in causing disease, and
| /. They act as an erciting cause 10 all
diseases 10 mhich a predisposition ,cheiher
hereditary or acq"ired previously eristed.
We possess different conditions of
! physical structure, and peculiar ten
dencies to some diseases rather than to
others, and which are excited into ac-
tivity by various morbid agents. In
temperance then acting on an mdividu-
al strongly prcdisposcd to any particular
disease, would on general principle
bring it forward sooner than it would
otherwise appear. Erysipelas, scrofula,
gout, dyspepsia and many other diseases
follow in the paths of this vice, which
the sufferer might have deferred, pro-
badly altog have prevented, by a
! counteracting course of abstinence from
all stimulants. Add to this, almost
every thing goes wrong in drunkard's s
constitution; he is an altered subject,
both in respect to the character of his
disease, and the influence of medicine; !;
and the ordinary rules of practice in
such cases are almost as likely to des-
troy life as to preserve it.
| 1t is stated by the author of Sketches
on India, that the British officers under
Gen Mathews, who were confined for
years in the dungeons of Seringaptum,
and kept on rice and water, were many
of them when captured by Hyder Ali,
affected with liver complaints, and had
received severe wounds, yet upon re-
ming to their regiments, found them
selves in perfect heath-and were
higher in rank by the death of their
brethren, who had been cheering them
selves with old Madeira, Champagne,
and Brandy, at the expense OF both
health and life.
?. The free use of ardent spirits hosicns
premature old age, riH all us attending
,nfrmitics. Ii is remarked by even
common observers, that he who lives
freely and luxuriously lives fast "lt
seems to be a law Of our nature, that
life should be consumed by the very
motions which are necessary to ITS en-
istencc; as if the stimuli required to.
sustain the actions of life, were the.
means tending ultimately TO its eXtlnc-
ton" In illustration of this, some cold
bloodcd animals, as every reader
knows, have been taken out of the
depths of the earth, the trunks of trees,
and from blocks of marble, after being
secluded for centuries from the stimulus.