Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-07-28

and the spirit of the bottle, which is more
effective than any other power 10 kill it.
Were this the place for il, would en-
deavor to make il apparent, that total abb
stinence from intoxicating drinks is the
only remedy for drunkenness, and the only
sure protection from it. / would, in that
case, expose the fallacy of the doctrine.
that temperate drinking is friendly to So
briefly, and is the cure and preventive Of
drunkenness, or is either.
Temperate drinkers claim great merit
for their practice-great merit in It to
serve the cause Of temperance. These
temperate drinkers are, by the way, very
seli-complacent class Of persons. They
pride themselves on being the in medic
tutissimus ibis---the, .iustc milieu--class OF
persons; oally removed, on the one
hand from the vulgarity Of drunkenness,
and, on the other, from the cold-water
fanaticism. Nevertheless, at the hazard
of ruflling their seli-complacency, | must
tell them, that they are more injurious
than drunkards themselves to the cause
of temperance. In point of fact, drunk
ards are helps to the cause of temperance,
instead of being obstacles in its way. Why,
our half million Of drunkards are our half
million strongest arguments for the neces-
sity of total abstinence! Indeed, would,
that no person were able to drink intoxi-
eating liquors, without Immediately be-
coming drnnkard. For who, then, would
drink it, any sooner than he would drink
the poison, that always kills, or jump into
the fire, that always burns9 1t is because
so many, who drink intoxicating liquor,
escape drunkenness, that SO many are
emboldened to drink it. | said, that
drunkards serve the cause OF temperance.
appeal to mothers for the truth of it.
Mothers! when you would most efrectu-
ally admonish your children not to drink
intoxicating liquors, do you not point
them to this, that, and the other drunk
ard? And so long as your children keep
their eyes OH these beacons, they take not
one step in the pathway which leads to
the drunkards grave and the drunkard's
hell. But the danger is, that they will
avert their eyes from these beacons, and
fastcn them on the long and attractive
train of sober, respectable, temperate
drinkers, and follow them. There is not
one youth in this city, whose habits are
perilled by the presence and influence of
drunkards-for the example of the drunk
ard is too bad to be contagious. On the
contrary, there is not one youth in this
city, whose habits are not in peril from
the example Of temperate drinkers. Alas,
how many temperate father has made
drunkards Of his sons, at his own tablet
at his own table, adorned with decanters
of wine-if, indeed, that can be called
wine, which Is, so generally, vile mix
ture, containing little, or no, wine Alas,
how seductive is the way to drunkenness
in fashionable life! And why, therefore,
do we wonder, that fashionable life is filled
with drunkards To the confling and
unwary youth, who is just entering on his
career of liquor drinking, how polite, at
tractive, and altogether unalarming, are
the drinking usages of fashionable life
These usages are commended by the bril-
liant wit and fascinating song, that are so
often associated with them: and, more
pernicious than all, are the smiles of beau
ty, with which they are too often garlanded.
Surely, it is not strange, that, in these
circumstances, this youth should sip a
little wine. Nevertheless, this little sip
ping is the beginning of his drunkenness.
Surely, it is not strange, that what is so
apparently harmless should wake no fear
in him. Nevertheless, it is at the foun-
fain-head of all his wo and all his ruin,
that this hopeful, happy youth has, now,
taken his stand. He, very soon, learns to
drink his full glass. He, very soon, learns
TO quaff his wine, like gentleman.
Like a gentleman |" Oh, what variety
of ruin is covered over by this winning
phrase These, however, are but the first
steps in the way of drunkenness, which
our tempted youth has taken. His drunk
enness is, as yet, but the little rill, which
meanders through pleasant fields and
fowery gardens. BY and by, he drinks
several glasses at his dinner; and, little
way further on, he likes brandy, as well
as wine. That rill, of which we spoke, has
now become a river, that is bearing him
10 his ruin so gently, however, that he
is scarcely sensible of the motion. New
ertheless, he is still numbered with tenn
perate drinkers. He is still safe in his
own eyes, and in the eyes of others. But
time passes on. His appetite grows every
year, and every month, and every day.
His rotations become stronger and deep
or, and more frequent. All now see, that
he is drunkard. The gentle river is
swollen into raging torrent, that is hur-
rying its freight--its still precious, though
temporarily and externally ruined freight
into the abyss, from which there is no re-
turn.
Such is the end Of this youth, whom we
chose as the type Of innumerable millions.
How easily he might have been saved from
all these transformations and all this ruin
OF the Circean cup, had friendly hand led
him, whilst yet he could be led, to the i'm