Spirit of the age., 1853-06-01

divine, natural and physical-no man has
right to curse his nature, fling away his birth
right, and reduce himself to an equality with
the worm that creeps in the dust Then let
the drunkard and the intemuerate man a
rouse himself from his long sleep, burst a
sunder the chains which bind him, cleanse
himself of the mff6 of his desauchery, drive
from him the fumes of liqN and resolve to
be man. ThenSh it Be sad of himtper |
haps as it was said of the house of Rechab, |
Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not want |
a man to stand before me forever" Let him
who drinks to excess go and sin no more, for
all excess is sin.
Let him who canna drink without taking
too much, not even *aste it. "Touch not,
taste not, handle notgth unclean thing. -
THIS Is the only possible way to conquer the
habit. There is no Eense IN tampering or
taperlng with it. Tire must be firm, con-
slant, unwavering reolution to conquer or
die, and then there Vll be success. 1t is a
vile habit and unmhly, and ought to be
crushed. The curse # God is upon it, and
it ought to be shunrkd as the poisonous ad-
der. 1t first plays W ih its victim, makes a
fool of him, binds hip hand and foot, body
and soul, and then dstroys him Like the
anaconda, it covers hin with its own slime
and then swallows hin whole. 1t takes a.
way his mind, his jud dsnent, his sensibilities
and his sense of honor and shame, SO that he
cannot perceive his own degraded condition,
the distress of the family dependent upon
him for subsistence, or the necessities Of the
little ones whom God has given him to care
for and to bring up in HIS fea1 and to His
glory; he knows not the scorn and contempt
of the gaping crowd, the commiseration and
the tears of those whose blood is allied to his
blood, or the concern of those who would be
! glad to rescue him from the destruction
which he is fast working cut for himself;
and he cares not whether he becomes COM
panion of mankind or of brutes, whether he
be an heir of heaven or hell Go with me
to yonder hut, behold the badges Of poverty
and wretchedness, hear the crying of ragged
children half-dead with hunger-and the
deep groaning of the disconsolate mother who
mas not the means of appeasing the hunger
OF her little ones or herself, and then listen
to the cause of all this misery-it is drum
ken husband who snatches the bread from
their mouths az soon as earned and spends 1t
for liquor. All day long has that poor, con-
tldlng creature, his wife, to toll and drag her
life out, to save herself and children from
beggary and starvation, and when night
comes, laden with its customary respose and
refreshment for the weary children OF men
1t brings no consolation to her, for she must
toll on until the midnight oil is wasted anC
the blue flame lickS up the Iist drop from the
dry wick, and the shrill note of the wakefu
cock announces the approaching morn. AnC
tor what is this drudgery? Does she, do hel
little ones reap the harvest? No., it goes of
ten into the pocket of the drunken husband
and from thence to the "dOggery," to b.
wasted fer that liquid fire which is destroy
ing him and robbing them of their little all
And whore is he then? Echo answers
where? He has been kicked out of tn
} pandemonium in which he found th
cause of his destruction, and often resting
awhile upon the bosom of his mother earth
! the only refuge left him out Of the bosom Q
} his poor partner in misery, he has arisen
: and is now groping along through the dark
| ness, and seeking for the home of her, VIII
J once gave him her love and her happiness
: and who would even no10 sacrifice all he
earthly expectations to save him from the deg
l radiation into which he has plunged. Is b
l not monster? But if you could meet biz
L now you might see the big tear roll down hi
: swollen cheek, and you might hear the st
Y fled groan burst from his wine-colored lip'
: for he is thinking of her whose heart bleed
\ for him and of those LtIueT DdDeS whom h
r ought to protect Poor, fallen man arous
9 thee from the mire of Intemperance, and 70
: low the command of Jonadab, the son of R.
/ chab to his house, "drink no acine, neithe
: ye, nor your sons, nor your daughters, nc
e your wives all your daysw Then shall
: be said of you, as it was said of them-'JC
S nadab, the son of Rechah, shall not want
f man to stand before me forever"