Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1853-09-28
Our enemies-how heu Fire /!

1t is said, that the Devil then it suits his
purpose best, presents himAf before his in {
tended victim q as an arsel of light
When he sought to destroy az first parents,
hedidnotpretend to our moth Eve, thatthere
was danger and misery andaisappointment,
If she kept the command offer Maker: but
his deceptive policy succeeded ct once. when
he convinced Der mt th 8tyd tAA ffssF desire, was
to eat of the forbidden fruit. The enemies
of the Temperance reform have doubtless re-
ceived instruction from the same source, and
the facts prove, that they are not slow in the
acquisition.
Now listen to the wisesaws and the very
kind suggestions of those who oppose the
passage of a law for the prohibition of the
liquor traffic. Do they openly oppose the
Temperance reform? Net they. They are
its fastest friends. They |.cere so perhaps, be-
fore you acre born. Are they the apologists
of drunkenness? o no! None more bitter
in their denunciations. How happy would
they be, if there was not a drunkard in the
land. Have theysigned a pledge not to drink,
buy nor sell to "taste not, handle not the
unclean thing" Not exactly. They are with
you-they wish you success but you must
not put it entirely out of sight-it is a good
creature of God, and ought to be used prop
erty. Mind you, the abuse of if, they can't
away with A little is good. Say they, when
it is cold, and when it is hot-when it's wet,
and when it's dry-when we're sick, and
when we're well-when tired and at rest
after meals and before-at parties and funer-
als-at whist and at loo-at work and at
play-at home and abroad. But mind you,
they don't approve of getting drunk. Not
they. Carry on your efforts to suppress
drunkenness, say they-preach, lecture, talk,
write and print against it. Keep up your
Observation-Disclosures public opinion-try
moral suasion-beg and beseech-cry out
and spare not, but keep the thing out of pol
itics-don't talk about legal enactments ant
such like because we must keep a little il
sight or near at hand for very special purpo
ses and especially, because # you pass sucj
q taw you do the cause harm.
Such people remind us of the unfartunat
drunkard, who became SO great a pest to tn
community that some of the wags resolved t
abate the nuisance at all hazards. Ther
was a ~neighboring coal-mine, the dark pit
which the drunkard in question had neye
visited. The wags found him on the suburt
OF the village one night, in that very comic.
table state which is called "dead drunk
No sooner found. than the scheme was col
cocted to let him down into the coal-pit. A
might have been expected, he snoozed SCUM
ly until the morning bell reused the sooi
miners to duty. AT first, our hero turnt
and yawned and stretched himself, and aft
much effort opened his blood-shot eyes, al
, lookingup through the ~impampable darkness
exclaimed, "where am /? In hell? Ye
: it must be, in hell" He scrambled up, al
: seeing at a distance one of the imps of t
pit, who with the light of his lamp was il
l r" nc "PpFoaJA
: and with a tremulous but friendly voice sai
I "Good Morning, Mr.. Devil" The VIII.
. eye-balls of the blackened miner glared up
, him, when he quickly continued, " Have y
>. any liquor, here?" No, said the miner wi
do you want a drink? Our hero repli,
" No, not in perticlar, but l thought I'd Ii
to see it sittin' about" Our good frier
3 don't want a drink, but they would be g
> to see it "sitting about" It would do Ia
to put 1t out Of sight.