The Washingtonian., 1845-07-12

Great as is the work that has been accom-
plished by the Temperance Reformation, the
task has only been commenced. Fashion up
holds drinking, and invests it with the attrac-
tions Of sociability The rich drink little
wine, not for their infrmities, but to satisfy
their taste, and the poor quote them as exam
les. The moderate drinker, with his oeca-
sional glass, is barrier in the road OF REFORM
and is, in the eyes Of some, living monument
against the temperance society. II is requisite,
therefore, to uniurl the radical banner OF Total
Abstinence from all that can intoxicate.-
Against the tremendous power OF habit or
custom, fashion, sociability, and the bad ex-
ample of the moderate drinker, the fire OF the
friends of the cause must be turned Let the
idea be once established, that one can be as
sincere friend by shaking your hand, as by
compelling you to swallow certain amount
of alcohol, under the name of wine, gin, or
brandy, and great advance is made. Then
let all imagine on New Years day, Fourth OF
July, Christmas, or other public day, that cup
of coffee, chocolate, or lemonade, is not only
more comfortable, but better for their health,
and another point is gained. The rich can
do their duty, by not only rendering it unfa-
shionable to drink, but intoxicating the princi-
pie, that social intercourse may be made more
pleasant by the interchange OF the knowledge
which each possesses, and the culture of edu-
cation; which is certainly more creditable 10
its possessor, than the ability to tell Cham
pagne from Chateaux Margeaux, or mix.
lure Of logwood and alcohol from the genuine
article for which it is intended. Grocers, then,
will not only put blinds before their counters,
but the plated glass and gilded bar will vanish
away. In our large cities, even now, in ho-
tells, the bar is kept separated from the office,
or in remote corner, as if afraid to be seen
and the travelling public are not quite as much
stiAed by the fumes Of liquor, or sickened by
the oaths which follow the free use Of the
beverage.
Although the progress of intemperance has
been checked, still it may increase; but the
friends of the cause have it in their power TO
triumph, if they throw not away the advan-
tage they have gained Danish it from the
social circle, make it Questionable to drink,
make home agreeable to the laboring man, by
the influence of education, and good laws for
the protection of his industry, and the days OF
intemperance are numbered. Are there not
suficien, sources of enjoyment, in reading, in
reflection, in society, in politics, in religion, In
doing good, 10 satisfy the yearnings of our
souls and quiet the desires of our hearts! Is
il necessary TO drink to be sociable! Are there
no means OF happiness within our reach, lha,
we resort to the wine cup as relief! Surely
there are thousand sources Of happiness,
without destroying our minds, debaslng our
feelings or bowling at the foolstool OF vicious
habit; but as long as the people will render 1t
profitable by its consumption, some will be
always found, so dead to humanity, as to pan
der to their tastes for the sake OF gain.
Yes, magnificent palaces will be erected in
our cities, and with glitter Of glass and gild.
ing, sparkling wine and liquor, the victim will
be enticed to his ruin. The little earnings of
the poor will 60 into the till Of the rumseller,
and the pawn brokers' shop, near at hand,
will take every thing they have, until disease
and death demand the remnant of mortality.
The gin-palaces in London are said TO be mag
ni6cent in their structure, and furnished in the
most costly manner. Here, towards evening,
the mother, with her infant in her arms, can
be seen, first to enter the pawnbroker's shop,
pledge some little article for one quarter of its
actual worth, with no hope Of its ultimate re-
demption, and then enter one of these costly
shops, devoted to the spirit of evil, and carry
off her nightly quantity of gin. Mechanics
pledge their working tools, gentlemen their
trinkets, and the dealer behind his painted and
gilded bar with smile takes all, and turns
for new customer, as if he not already filled
the measure of his own iniquity. The dealer
thus riots upon the hard earnings of the poor,
and becomes rich by the destruction of his
fellow men. Is it not strange delusion that
tempts the mechanic thus to forge his own
| fetters, to- become ga newer of wood and
drawer Of water" when temperance, industry,
and education, can make him Franklin or a
Washington
To the young, the Temperance cause COM
mends itself with peculiar force; now, while
the heart is susceptible to compression; let them