Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1853-03-10

would bv no means confine this work 10
the mem bers of the union. Here is a
wide field--so vast that to attempt 10
cover it in an address like this. would be
to fail. We can but glance at this part
of the great work, in which We are all pro-
fessedly engaged.
There are walks Of usefulness which it
was specially designed by Prov idence that
women should occupy. 1t is not so much
her exclusive province to eradicate the
words of error and vice. as TO prevent the
seedbeing sown. 1t is not so appropriate
to her to raise the fallen as;o prevent the
fall. The peculiar province OF women
in reforming the world. is to draw people
to virtue. Mans especial office III this
respect, is to drive them from evil. A
certain writer has remarked, that woman
must re present the gospel of reform, while
man i'm 2ersonates The ld,c. These ele-
ments, he remarks. are not antagonis tlcal
in the moral world, bat like repulsion
and attraction in the natural. they con-
stitute not opposing principles, but coop
perat:ve qualities together producing right
action. 1t is true, that In the tenn
perance reform. we have examples where
women have resor;ed to physical might
to accomplish what man should have done
with his own right arN. We have read
of females actually tearing down grog-
. shop-dem elishing distilery, whipp ng
an incorrgible 7umseller-sewing up in
sack, a walking rumcask in the shape
of husband, and SOLDERING him by an eff
fectual dose Of the oil of hickory. and
MANY other acts Of coercion. These
SEEMING outragss cannot of course be
justified, except in extreme cases. But
if il be true, that the liquor traffic is
dealing out death. eternal death through
our Misunderstanding fathers. Husbands,
brothers, sons, the dearest objects of her
souls Elections, and men rcfusc. or wha t
amounts to the same thing. delay TO put
away the evil from our midst, will she
| not be justified, acting as she does In
selfdefence in resorting to any lnstru-
mentality in her power:
Much has been written. and much
more will be written upon the kindness
due from the wife to a scottish husband.
5 The praise of gentle woman who tamely
submits tc the indignities of b,oated,
loathsome relic Of mao. because he was
once her husband. her joy. her pride. has
! been sung and applauded in every part OF
our enlightened country. But for my own
part. | must dissent from any such false
notions of the duties of the wife, and re-
puiiate all such encomiumS.
Love and kindness pcrsuasions. entreat-
les, faithful and aff.ctionate should be
tried, and tried till every hope of reform
in chat direction fails, then if he acill
not forsake his cups. or in other words
: if he cannot. (fCr in such instances, the
spirit is willing but the flesh weak and
! he persist in his barblrous practices. lei
her resolve herself into a committee OF
, the whole, and enforce such laws as IN
: her own Judgment. and with her own ex-
: perience she shall deem most sa.uiary
! and eifectual. A wife better fulfills hel
marriage vow when she kindly and affec
/ tioaately incarcerateS her husband who
cannot take care of himself, than by ten
: derby and lovingly. suffering him to roa N
at large from grogshop to grogshop. d
f laughing stock TO some, subject of abuse
I for others, and byeword to all.
No, no, it is no mark Of affection for a
D wife TO yield her comforts, and the happi
4 ness and safety OF her family to CRAFTY he
f fendish appetite of him who should fee
J., it his pleasure as we'll as duty to provide
Y for her and supply the wants of his house
e hold, Neither do consider it an indi-
0 cation of uncommon good sense. Who
calls it kindness to let an insane man toy
: with fire EARNS, or experiment upon his
throat with edged tools? No one-brea thes
not that person SO demented: and ye'
= fire arms, bowie knives, dirks and razoTs
e are harmless in the hands OF the lunatic
: compared with the maddening. soul de-
. stroying bowl in the hand Of the inebri
: ate But have wandered somewba
from our proposed subject. for which
make no apology. l am so heartily sick
t of the croaklng of many persons as TO the
, duties of wives to drunken, worthless,
abusive husbands. that l am loath to let
an opportunity pass of promulg eating what
/ deem more wholesome doctrine. To
return then to our mottOS.
r TEMPERANcE-bapp would it be for
the world. if this were the motto of eve-
ry man. woman and child. Would to
Heaven it were-and happy would it BE-
for hundreds. if all w no once adopted it
had adhered to it with fidelity. But
alas! alas! how many have fallen. who
were once enrolled under the banner Of
total abstinence. and did run well for a
season. There are those who have come
up out of the gutter. signed the pledge
and become and continued men--tempe-
rance men. But if the whole number Of
thoroughly reformed drunksrds were told.
am disposed to think. that many would