The Washingtonian., 1845-07-05
CoMMuMIoATIoMs.
/" Commingns streams from pure iee-total Springs"
For the Washingtonian.
INEBRIETY IN YOUTH.

among dn energetic anu cnteTpIlSHiS peoPic-
a land upon which the appreciation and smiles
of Heaven are continually beamng, and where
the spirit of emulation among the young is
looked upon as laudable and praiseworthy by
the sober, the virtuous, and the good; why,
we ask the interesting question, why do we
behold SO many young men OF bright promise,
talent, and genius, who are led from one vice
to another, and from one grade of dissipation
to another, until when arrived to the "full
statue Of manhood" they find themselves
bound in absolute servitude to one of the most
oppressive, tyrannical powers that has exist
ence in the world?
Is it the case generally with the young man
whose morning sky has been beclouded by
some misfortune or other which may have
befalen him, and whose earthly prospects
may have been in measure blasted by
some contingent or adverse change in his
circumstances Do we find ssch young men
the slaves of a base and depraved appetite
Rarely, indeed; for oftener than otherwise we
find those young men who are in the possess
sion Of wealth, sacrificing the same, yea, more,
the honor too, upon the altar of intemperance.
Were it possible, l would make an appeal
through this medium to the young men of our
country. Is there no rescue for such? Is
there no cure for this loathsome and threat
ening disease-this bosom of destruction-this
desolating calamity which is spreading itself
through the length and breadth of our country,
laying waste and blighting the warmest antic-
ipations of the young? Surely there is; and
the hitherto successful influence and triumph
Of the temperance reformation, more than Jus.
titles us in the belief, that in its onward march
it is destined not only to ameliorate the condi-
tion of those who are addicted to the practice
Of intoxication, but to afford safeguard against
all temptations to intenperance.
Need we ask, what has intemperance
wrought-this vice of all others the most
destructive in its tendency? Has it not open
ed before our eyes the most heart-rending
scenes of wretchedness? Has it not "poison-
ed the pure fountain of domestic joys" Has
1t not made the most daring and fearful in
roads upon public peace as we'll as private
security! Nay, it has gone further; it has
sapped the very foundation, both of public and
priuate happiness, and humanity at large is
made to mourn sadly over the universally and
appalling magnitude of this evil, and calls
aloud for its determination; while religion
and philanthropy, glancing at the ruin, crime,
misery, and death which it has caused, raise
together their warning voice against this with
ering curse upon our land and nation. Our
great object, then, is to plant again the tree
Of sobriety which has been uprooted by habits
of intoxication. Who can look upon the fall
en-, forsaken drunkard, without shedding the
tear Of pity! His health lost-his constitution
racked-his entire system in state of moral
dlapidation and arrangement.
But, as when standing amidst the ruins of
some ancient temple, beholding its dilapidated
pillars and crumbling columns, you may trace
back in your imagination, and think upon its
former grandeur and magnifcence, ST. you may
look upon the drunkard in his present state Of
misery and decay, and then reflect upon what
he once was, and what might sill be the
beauty, power, and glory of his moral and in
tellectual constitution, had lit not have been
for intemperance. But man has fallen into
habits of inebriety. He who was once Lord
of this lower world-made 10 hold COM
munion with his God-made to stand erect
and look upon his "own hereditary skies y
has bowed the knee of alteration to this idol
Of depraved appetite, and worships continually
at its shrine, until finally overcome, he is ready
to fall into the drunkard's grave, covered DER
with selfabasement, ga blasted thing-ihe
living sepulchre Of a thousand hopes"
The most that we desire is to caution the
young by all that is near and dear TO them
by the regard they entertain for those to whom
they are bound by relationship-by the force
of example, and by the destiny that awaits
them, to refrain from the enticements to dissi
patton. Your present position in society-your
future usefulness in time--the deathless i'm
mortality of your mind--the eternal perpe-
tui,y of its faculties--their susceptibility
expansion and improvement--all call up,n
you to resist this temptation. 1t will subvert
your reason; it will dethrone your judgment |;
it will debase your morals; it will blunt the
tender sensiblity of your heart; it will dis
Il 4 - = Il