Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-01-25

which shall overwhelm them in irrevo.
cable ruin. .gsA.4sA. I
And who is 10 say what led the drunk.
ard to take his first draught Of poison.
Gus fluid, which his infantile lips reject.
cdl Who will trace the housebreaker,
the pirate, tho murderer, to their first
downward step to ruin? In nine enscs
out OF TENT was money which, directly,
or indirectly, caused their downfall;
probably some grasping creditor who
drove them to ruin, and ruin caused the
one to drown his griefs in the burning
delirium Of ardent spirits-the other by
one daring, lawless, impious blow, TO
aim at that independence which grind.
ing usury denied his honest labors. In
word, we can generally find some re.
deeming point, however trivial, in the
character Of the most hardened villain,
some basis in the horrible desert of his
lost rature, and from our souls We pity
him. But in the Miser, VIC look in vain
for this; he is thoroughly, hopclcssly, ir.
redeemably vile, for he has no heart to
work upon, either for good or for evil.
Encased like n snail in his own Shiny
she'll, what cares he how the world
fares without? So that his Golfers be
filled with that wealth, Of which he
makes no use, (and which is only truly
valuable as irculating medium Of the
happiness and comfort Of mankind }
what. cares he If each dollar comes steep.
ed in the tears Of the widow and orphan,
or the blood Of his fellow creatures? He
has not the courage necessary to com.
nit crime himself; no, but he can cause
it to be done by deputy. Mankind may
starve, ifthe price of food is to bring &C.
cumulated dollars to his boarded pile;
and though he would shrink from the
name Of murderer, like Shylock, he
would cut out the "the pound Of flesh"
from the region of the debtors heart, to
pay "his bond" He knows no God,
but himse!-no object Of love, rever.
ence and respect but the gold in his cof.
fers. In his moral jaundice, the world
with all its obj Gets of interest is seen as
in yellow haze. Love, honor, learn.
ing, beauty, intelligence, all human vir.
tues, every human aspiration, possess
no power on his palsied heart, unless
they come with a handful Of dollars.
Such man, when rolling in millions,
with one foot in the grave, where his
darling gold will be Of mighty little SER
vice to him, is still dwelling upon his
dollars. He goes to sleep thinking o
dollars, he dreams in his sleep Of dol.
lars, he wakes up thinking Of dollars. Il
he looks out upon the bright galaxy O
heaven, it is TO :hink how sweet it would
be il each star were a golden dollar te
drop down into his Golfers. When he
beholds the fruits and flowers of earth
he can behold no beauty in suck things
but the few dollars they might bring i
sold.
Avarice, in lis full grown hidcous
ness, is the besctting sin ofage; for you'll
thank Heaven, is yet too fresh from it
good Makers hands, to have all ,h'
fountains ofits heart dried up. 1t is re
markablc however, that there is no vice
which seems so inherent in man, anc
shows itself so early in the boy. One o
the most wretched and despicable miser
we can call to recollection, was notori
Gus at school for being stingy, ane
boarding up his marbles. The notoriou
Jenny Wood, of Gloucester England
the banker who died some years ag'
worth ten millions of dollars, anil who
just before his death, used to get up ear
ly, and follow the coal wagons on th
railway track, to pick up and put in hi
pocket the little pieces of coal tha
CHANGED to fall-to save buying fuel
has left striking anecdote of his earl
life behind him. A friend of his fathe
had given him and his brother (then boy
Of five or six years old) a sixpence each
The brother bought some flowers witt
his, and brought them to Jenny, boast
ing of their sweetness. Jenny pulled
out his sixpence, put it to his brother
nose, and said: eyes, but that smell!
s,oeeter."
Does any one suspect US Of underrat
ing the value Of riches, or of wishing t
cry down the possession Of honest wealtl
like some Of the modern French philos
ophers, who tell US, "propertyH Thrift.
We hope not; for this would be to sus
poet Of dwelling idiotcy. Our object il
expressing unmitigated disgust at tn
man, whose whole soul is wrapped "
| in dollars. and who delichts in wealth