The Columbian fountain., 1845-12-11
For the Columbian Fountain.
SPEECH


LITTLE.
Brother President, ,--How gratifying is it
to see so many Of both sexes assembled to-
gether on the occasion Of Temperance
meeting--to see them anxiously awaiting
the development of truths which are of so
much importance to mankind? II is, in
deed, peculiarly gratifying, s1 aaa
The subject ladies and gentlemen, on
which | shall attempt to address you on this
occasion, is the subject Of Temperance
subject which recommends itself to the
consideration of every Individual subject
which demands your attention. ! have
spoken frequently on this subject, and am
always willing to speak on it; not, how
ever, with view to display any talent that
may possess, but with view solely to
the interest Of the great cause in which !
am engaged. Ilove the name, Temperance !:
there is in its sound something that thrills
my bosom with delight il is a name which
will go down to posterity unsullied and re-
spected. The star Of Temperance is already
near the zenith of its glory; and the time is
not far distant when we shall behold il scin-
tillating in the plenitude Of its meridian
splcndor.
Among the many evils that afflict man in
this life, there is none SO deleterious in its
effects on his physical, mental, and moral
constitution as liquor. This debilitates his
body, enervates his mind, and corrupts his
morals, rendering him altogether inadequate
to proper discharge Of those duties which
he owes TO himself, to his family, to So
ciety, and to his God.
propose, on the present occasion, to no.
tice, briefly, first, the effects Of liquor on tbs
physical constitution; and, secondly, It's
effects on the mental constitution.
Frst.-So wonderfully delicate is the or
ganical structure of the human frame that
the slightest abuse will disarrange it will
throw the wonderful machinery out of or
der. But of all the causes that effect the
disarrangement of the physical constitution,
there is none so powerful as liquor; the
strongest constitution is not proof against its
effects. fsig .o s. afl5.a ss5.Ig
The effects of liquor on the, physical
constitution may be arranged under two
heads, external and internal.
The external effects are discoverable in
that peculiar metamorphose which the in
ebriates' visible self undergoes. His head,
for instance, is considerably enlarged; the
extremity Of his proboscis is beautifully
studded with those delectable protuberances,
known by the familiar cognomen of rum
blossoms; his body is extended to the TO
tundity of hogshead; his legs are shrunk
to sinews and bone; and the drunkard
looks, for all the world, like hogshead on
two tobacco sticks, having for its head a
half-bushel measure. He has no command
over his nerves, which, being unbraced,
shake with violence his earthly tabernacle
have seen the drunkard so nervous that he
could not convey to his lips glass Of
water And then, as he walks, his steps are
unsteady, describing angles and parallelo-
grams fit, almost, for the contemplation Of
a geometrician. Such are some of the cx-
ternal effects Of liquor on the physical con-
stitution.
The internal effects generally appear to
view upon post mortem examination. Up
onea post morten examination, the stomach
will have been found to be liberated, the
liver corroded, and the whole animal sys-
tenn prostrated to an alarming extent. Such
is the condition Of the drunkard. Nor does
he long exist under such condition; for
consumption finally attacks his prostrated
system, and throws him on The bed Of death.
There he lies, wreck Of humanity, having
reached the end of his earthly career at the
meridian of life-there he writhcs under
the torture Of the damned. He turns to the
physician, and family articulates "Doctor,
is there q prospect of my recovery -
C eThero n not - renlips the nvhsician. and