Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1851-05-24
"At the Mercy of the Waves"

rienced at some period Of their existence, the desc
lation and hopelessness which the above caption so
forcibly and awfully brings TO our senses. The
ocean. is not an unfit emblem of life-it is SYM
bolicalof our Joys in its placid surface and sweet
brcczes: Of our reyerses. in It's tlcacEcrous cur
rents: OF our inlpaticEcc i'll its molotonou> eaIms
of our passions in lis ragged waves and Violent
gales: in the knaycry and cnmi'y which meet us,
in It's hidden shoals and iron-bounl coasts.
Truly does it seem to us; as We mole the work
ings and Vaccinations of humanity. that some men
are ever doomed To- be al the mercy of the
wayes"-ha1ilinsto for their very existence il seems,
amidst the snareS. wiIcs. schemes. deceiis and de-
tama'ions: forever s~pIliglny up and surrounding
them. Who has not experienced the truth OF this
remark Who. too, has not remarked actions III
others tending 10 their popularity, which, If they
had resulted from another source. would have aid
ed in the authors defamation and disgrace. 1t is a
truth that cannot be contradicted, that while some
the honest and the noble heartcd-ale butieted
about by comteractins influences. al the mercy as
it were OF every worm that crawls The earth,
others without brains. morals. or honor. will swim
upon the current of popularity. respected by the
proud and coulted by the subServient.
Emphatically, like the rudderless and dismasted
vessel, are many peculiar dispositions of our kind
i" at the mercy of the waves Many young men
and there are not a few such in this Parish of
Iberville-will ruthlessly descend to a position Of
which this quotation is symbolical, when they
have every requisite education, wealth and OPP
portunities to study)-to place them as it were
not only beyond the confines of chance and de-
tendency, but to reach distinction in society and
usefulness to satisfy the ambition of the proudest.
Without efforts on their own part, they conceive
that the few thousands they possess are TO grow
with their age, or that the parents who uphold
them in their idleness and uselessness. are TO re-
main with them till they have done with earth!
Alas it is q sad truth, that this calculation is too
often verified. The fond and INDUCING father,
loving too well but not wisely, will encourage his
sons whims until he grows into manhood. and
then comes the sad reflection, if it comes at all,
that he should have acted differently with his off
SpliAS-hoN Ai1AS away liz VIZ" LIN Va
his life, with no fixed aim, energy or industry.
and with no apparently cultivated talent. except
that which is displayed at the card or billiard ia
ble-without balance. a mind going 10 wreck:
health being undermined, and a body and soul
truthfully Fat the mercy of the waves Of life,
and eternity! Death closes on him-he sinks
beneath the current in the bloom OF youth, and
then comes the unayailing regrets Of his aged
and gray-haired sire.
In the Western and Northern States, young men
do not loiter away their time as they do here in
the South. It would be a disgrace they could not
shun; wealth would be no excuse; every man
there is expected to be a useful member ofsociety,
and the greater he is blessed with the riches of
life, the greater the service hi. is expected to per-
form for the interests of society and his country.
In these sections Of our Union there is an ambi--
ton too, which is seldom found here. Generally
speaking, there is a prevalent determination in
the minds Of. the young, TO excel in oratory and
composition; neither of these talents can be ac-
quired without practice and study and those of
limited means, and embarrassed circumstances.
CiltCl tHC "a NoAAfVtAtAoA Va 'HS SNA'hSS
and the proudest. Thus, do we hear Of men of
the most humble condition, rising into fame as dis
tinguished writers, j%urists and statesmen. Thus,
do We often witness here in the South, men from
other States holding the most exalted stations who
never saw the interior of a college or inherited a
to start them forward amidst the storms
and upon the currents Of life-While others, ma
Of the State that honors the first, are worth
automatons, making a useless storehouse of
their minds, and either boarding up their wealth
Or squandering it away upon those who come after
them. VIII our young men, ever have a proper
and noble ambition I? Will our Legislative or Con-
Halls ever display genius and talents
have sprung from the soil of Louisiana
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the course
hitherto pursued towards young men. Honor and
are energetic and industrious look not TO their
Throw out the ~life-rope 10 the humble
and u%nassuming who have these shining qualities,
and do not let them struggle on, sat the mercy of
The waves;;' those who willrecklessly place them
selves in this condition. show them by inattention
and frowns, that if they will self-sacriicingly sink
the dark flood, when there are so much
Of LIES charms to stimulate them to a noble ca
reer, they must sink-as onward sweeps the cur
rent Of Time TO the valley of E~ternity-without a
sigh and without a tear!
SARTAIS's MAGAZINE, for June.-This is anoth-
er Of the Philadelphia Magazines, and completes
with GoopEY in THE beauty fits embellishments
and the talents which its columns display. A
feature of this work is its Se,lptural H.
'ustrations, which the editor promises to continue
The coming year Call, examine, and give US