Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1854-03-22

tlcularly 10 LnOSe DOrn on our sea codSIe'
Eg- The following graphic sketch of the
downfall of a man of noble heart is only one
instance of our day and generation Every
man has been cogizant ofthese sad examples
Of the evil effects Of Intoxicating liquors:
A Personal INcIDENT-RuM's DoINGs.
To-day while passing from our sanetum
through the comp ositors' room, we saw a
stranger, an old man, sitting at a table, deep
" engaged in writing on a slip of paper
which lay before him. We passed for a
moment into the press-room, and were soon
called back by a message that a gentleman
desired to see the Editor. At our approach
the old man seemed to be startled and look
ed up. We too were startled if not shock
ed when the dropping head was raised and
revealed a countenance married and bIoated
with the unmis:akable ravages OF that des-
poiler whose touch is blasting, and mildew.
Hero was the human face Divine distorted
in its fair proportions of manly beauty, and
the stolid and swollen features, the infamcd
and fiery eye; the soileA and tattered habila-
ments of the stranger, spoke in unuttered
but solemn language Of the ruin which rum
had wrought.
But who was this old man and why did
/ not know him, and knowing embrace him
as an early friend and instructor in my boy
hoods days?
But | did not, and when in answer to his
preston, what is your name, sir? l re-
Piled, John w. Dawson the old man star
ted from his seat, and with kindled and weep
ing eyes stammered out, are you the little
white haired boy who twenty years ago |
taught in a distant part of the State, as one
of my favorite pupils? | told him had been
the pupil Of Nathaniel Mcdonald, and asked
if it were possible it were him on whom [
now looked. So changed, SO poor, SO de-
graded? He replied it w~astrue, and begged
for q dime to quench his burning thirst for
drink. Yes, { give me a dime that | may
get some rum, for | have no money left, was
his first and earnest request.
This we refused, and with sorrowful heart
referred him to the past, beseeching him BY
all the memories of early years to abandon
his present course. We offered him fooG
which he accepted. We rendered him clothes
in the place Of his rags through which thu
biting frosts found their easy way ; these h'
consented to take but not to the extent o
our wishes. This small act Of kindness OF
our part, was not without its effects and it
reward. The drunkard's heart was moved
as sympathy can only move 1.-THE bluntet
but not extinguished senslbilitles of the ma
of other days we're awakened and found III
; terance in a flood of tears and earnest ex
pressions Of gratitude. He gave proof tha
, there vet remained amid that ruin whichruI
T, had wrought, one principle which clin9s
r the heart Of man as the last hope Of th
-Cniltx a9d UrstcheA and which when inyiG
e kindness is almighty to save the hopele!
{ and the lost. But the old man left. II
5 passed from our sight, and from our city
The wanderer has gone, but what shall
l. his future fate, let the annals of rum and ii
drunkard answer.
This incident is not a text merely, it is
lesson, a sermon, a commentary of mor
Il teachings, whose appeal must reach and a
feet every heart which has not lost its human
b ity. In childhood we knew and reverence
him who now is the wanderer and the on
cast. lie was our friend and instructor
c To him was committed the moral and int
lectual training Of the boy, who now as a ma
deplores his fall, and gives him COUNSEL
We remember him as the once brilliant al
accomplished scholar, the kind and faithf
instructor, the earnest true man.
re He was distinguished for his ardor al
enthusiasm for his native land.
e He bore tho spirit of Scotland's noble
sons, and partook largely of the genius
&c that nation which has enriched the wor
d with philosophy and song.
D., But now has the mighty fallen. The nj
of taste, of genius, has become an outca.
a wandorcr and a beggar.
How long will the intelligent, v%irtuous al
n patriotic in the community suffer an evil
d exist, whose consequences are such as Y
have now told 2 Let all such be ARGUS,
d aud obedicnt to the call of duty, and amin
= ted by the signs of the time, cause their vol
TO be heard, and their influence to be fe
L through the press, the forum, and especial
the ballot-box. Then shall the voice
e of mourning, and the signs of regret, be
longer heard, over the fallen victims Of vi
over which earth weeps and Heaven frown
Fort Wayne Times.