Spirit of the age., 1853-06-01

stand before Me forever" we must obey the
precept of Jonadab to his children, and live
soberly all our days. To stand before God
just think of it, my friends; no falling down
and rolling in the dirt and the filth of drunk
enness-no forgetting ones nature and des-
tiny, and levelng himself with the insect that
crawls In the dust-but to stand upright like
a man, with head erect, brain clear, eyes
bright, features unbloated, pulse healthy,
limbs vigorous, blood pure, nerves steady,
and step firm-the image Of his Maker Is
this not blessing to be sought after With
out 1T all other possessions are worthless
yea even life is burden. As for myself, /
take health, wealth, friends, every thing earth
ly, but leave me this. Hence said the wise |
man" Who hath woe who hath sorrow /
who hath contentious who hath anxiety |
who hath wounds without cause who hath |
redness of eyes They that tarry long at the
wine. They that 90 to seek mixed wine.-I
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
when it giveth its color in the cup, when it
tn down smoothly. Forit biteth like a SER
pent, and it stingeth like an adder" One
Of the best legacies father can leave to his
children, proUided he practice the precept him
self, is the command given by Jonadc.b, the
son of Rechab his father, to his house, " Ye
shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your
sons, nor your daughters forever ;" and the
best return child can make to his parent is
to maintain the dignity and honor of his
house by obeying this commandment.
Oh that man would consider his origin,
his nature, his destiny that he would enjoy
the glorious freedom which God has given
him, instead of falling victim to so vile a
monster as Intemperance that he would be
master of himself, and subdue his appetites
and passions, instead Of becoming a slave to
the meanest of all despots, drunkenness
would say to u man who is thus duped, thus
enslaved thus degraded, throw off the yoke
which binds you, break the fetters which
confne your limbs, arouse yourself from the
death-like lethargy into which you are plum
ged-look out upon the smiling face Of heav-
en- which shelters you, see the beautiful
world which God has given you to enioy-its
pearly fountains and laughing rills which in
yite you to quench your thirst-lift up your
head from its lowly pillow, and let the re
freshing breezes kiss your heated brow
listen to the tuneful birds floating on their
swift wings, and rejoicing in their liberty and
resolve to be slave no longer. What pleas
ure, what comfort, what satisfaction can
there be in such bondage? For slight mo-
mentary pleasure you get an aching head,
trembling limbs, loss of appetite, and bring
your friends to shame, your wife and chill
dren to beggary, and yourself to rags and
drunkard's grave. You waste the day for
naught, and when the night cometh it brings
with it no peace, no JOY, no consolation :
From bright morn to dewy eve you are toss
ed about like tub upon the billow, an OBJ
ject of pity to all good men, wonder to the
wise, laughing stock to the gazing multi
tude. When darkness covers the world and
invites all nature to rest, still bound by the
drunken spell you heed not the warming the
kind entreaties of friends, the cries of half
starved children, and the deep groaning Of a
broken-hearted wife-her, whom you have
sworn, upon the sacred altar of love, to pro-
tect-her who has left father, mother and
every other hope for you, and clings to you
with undying affection-these all fall upon
your ears like the breath of heaven upon a
morn finds you, whether lying upon downy
bed or in ditch, companion of human be-
ings IKE yourself, or of filthy swine which
grunt with wonder and discomfort at your
presence, or of Shiny reptiles which choose
the humble station to which nature has as.
signed them, and to level with which you
have debased yourself, you have not the con.
seriousness or the moral feeling to hail the
light with gratitude, and to prepare for en-
Toying the daily blessings which heaven holds
out to you. Oh! how can man be guilty Of
such folly, such madness How can he thus
barter his life away for a mess of potage! J
Yea, worse than this, for he filings away hi:
dignity, his honor, his life for nothing, worse
than nothing. lie murders himself as effec
tually as ifhe were to stopthe current Of life by
opening the veins in which it flows, or b.
swallowing poison, or by blowing his brains
out with powder and ball. Better for hin
would it be, if he had never been born bet
ter indeed, if he had failed in his infanc,
= like an untimely plant. Besides, where i
- the necessity, the reason, the sense in sucl
= conduct? The habit of drunkenness mos
y = usually arises from disappointed ambition
! and expectation, and the Intoxicating bow
e is made use Of to drown the sorrows whic
= spring from such disappointment. But thi
- remedy does not secure the object sought al
- ter, and while itdrowns the orrows, it drown
. the victim also. Many other causes equal
), senseless, give rise to this despicable habi
, But it is true that drunkenness is foun
- where there is no cause whatever, except
- simple love of liquor, species of love whic
no other animal has except man. There
= many a man who is blessed with an abul
= dance of this world goods to make him con
= Portable, kind friends to associate with hin
- an affectionate wife and children to love hin
!" and who nevertheless throws them all asiC
:, for the contents of jug. Many man to
. possessed of plenty and with no one depel
dent on him, works out for himself the san
= miserable end while others who are fayo
:" ed by a kind Providence with health ar
- strength Of body and mind, and are compel
" y, ed to labor by the sweat Of the brow, f
- - their daily food, fall victims sooner or lat
g . to the same vile habit. AS fast as they NAL
~ anything they spend it, and some indet
n much faster, thus bringing upon themselye
~ ~ besides the evils consequent on such habit
y those of debt and imprisonment. Think n
: that he only is condemned as guilty of Il
II sin of intemperance, who exposes himself
~ ridicule and contempt by reeling to and f
- - in the streets and falling in the dirt; the
~ =, are hundreds, yea, thousands, who have
m ha little more self-respect, drink more secretl
-; and while they are able to keep an erect p
- sition and firm step, manifest their habits
80 intemperance in their ruddy countenanc
~ ~ and gouty feet their trembling nerves Al
"a quivering lips. By this means they keep {
" " temperature of their blood far above ordin
ry blood-heat, which gives the circulation
it so great rapidity (the natural result
80 too great an accumulation of heat in a &C
,ro on fined space) that it obeys not even the la