The Columbian fountain., 1846-05-07
UNCLE JOHNS HOMEMADE TEMPER.
ANCE LECTURES.
LECTURE i.

LECTURE L.
See ho,c The n,ightyJaH: or The raoages Of Rum.
My HEARERS: Rum is a monster; he is an
|unmercilul and unreentlng traitor, pilierer,
and murderer; he cuts, lacerates, and kills. Are
we too hard on the old rogue! We think not
for many time he has promised that il man
would but indulge in one glass, 1t would de-
stroy all appetite for more; when, Immediately
it was " down." some queer sensations were
felt in his unmentionable, which aftetward
were expressed by peculiar "twist of the
tongue" saying, " Landlord, an (hickup)
o .th-er glass" And thus the monster leads
his victims on, till his callous breast is stained
with the clodded blood Of his deluded dupe.
My hearers, you are acquainted with the
dignity of human nature! How dgniied is
man when he appreciates rightly his own
worth How noble when he directs his facul-
ties to exercise themselves in their proper
sphere Man is an intelligent being, having
conferred upon him sensitive organs which are
designed to be in sutjection to his intellectual
capacities; and these organs are intended to
supply matter or implements for the engage
ment and improvement of his superior abilities.
And it is the possession Of these noble and SUI
perlative endoWments, which renders man
creature OF superior estimate. Mans intellect,
and its wonderful and almost incredible capa-
bllity, is one of the most astounding objects
which we can contemplate. Who can set en-
virons to the good which results from the right
exercise of his reason? Who can describe
the circuit ofrhis soaring Imagination The
organization Of societies., for the civilization
and improvement of the human race; the ad
vancement of the arts and sciences, which
tend TO the discovery Of things which cause
mankind much misery, and also lead to the
invention OF projections to ensure life and hap
piness, have all been accomplished by the rea-
son of man. And who can divine where his
discoveries will terminate?
! One thing, my hearers, will impede reasons
successful advancement-one thing there is
which will impare his pinions and keep him
constantly grovelling like the g beast that per
isheth"-one thing will degrade his reason
with his body, and cover both alike with the
mire of the gutter; that thing is Rm.-yes,
rum will do it my hearers, for it has often done
it. A whale may as well try to swim through
the eye OF a needle on his back, and with hi.
eyes shut, as man to retain the full power O
his intellect, if he be slave to rum.
What havoc has Alcohol made amona
those whose superior capacities might have
decked society with marked refulgence; who
might have been blessing TO the state, and
reflected honor upon the land that gave them
birth; who might have shed a halo of comfort
and glory around the social circle! Yes, alas!
their zeal for intellectual culture has been ex-
tinguished their aspiring genius has been
borne down to earth under the load of base in
toxication. Then, when nature is subdued by
many heavy and successive abuses, she Yields
groaningly 10 her wretched fate-.to occ,py a
drmkard's grave "See, then, how the mighty
fall! y Take warning, my hearers, and touch
not the accursed thing.