The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1854-03-02

VI tHoichatOnJ iofeNafuiup vi etoIUiS' IL 10
very lax or very rigid. Ii is all federation
or all persecution. F~r one while il COOS
with dove like sentimeniaity among the
branches, harmless and gentle. Then, wilh.
out warning, as some long allowed evil hap
pens 10 be passing as usual beneath It's eye,
ii changes form and comes down upon i
like an anaconda, and with mighty convo-
lnlons and convnsive structures, crashes the
victim. Gorged and sa,ed, it lies stupid
thereafter, harmless TO any mischief that
sports around 1t.
Now Ye have no desire 10 excuse The i'm
Procrietes of ''Hot Cornn; but we shall
look with some interest 10 see how long
this vigilance of purity will last-how long
! before the very papers that are most repre-.
hensory will give columns of news about
brutal pfize-Gght; the horrible details Of
barbarous crimes; and the variegated moral
ity Of police justice and the loa,hesome
testimony Of all the inlrigues and familiari-
lies that lead 10 jealousies, which, in turn,
lead 10 assassinalons, or worse, 10 divorce
cases, which for months gorge the papers
with prutieni details anG morbid excite
! mcnts.
There is not another subject worthy Of
more serious attention. than tho use 10 be
| made of The morbid anatomy Of the hu-
+ man heart in efforts 10 reform the heart
| IN respect 10 the body, The knowledge OF
! miseries OF disease is a motive 10 obedience
I Of natural laws. We do not on that account
! however, put ireatises Of morbid anatomy,
! noF reports OF hospital cases inro our chill
drens hands. There may be a benefit in
guarded revelation Of The fruits of vice.
Bat that certainly does moi require one 10
open all the dens Of intamy, Ia linn the por-
trait- Of beautiful monsters, or 10 shock re-
fined sen,ibiliyy with wearisome abund-
ance Of yulgaries that roll their thick and
turbid sir cams in The "dismal swamps" of
society.
, But are not such ,'ings trass' What if
, they are Is every thing that is true aud
hideous necessary moral remedya
'ls not The delineaioI true 10 nature and
oIiteE" Not hall sotrue 10 life as life is 10
/ t,ef Yet yoa would think i. wise 10 walk
with his children through the fires OF Molocb
n,idefa plea of religious indocIrinaion
But mpst not some one know these
things - II known al all it should by tho
professional men. The general public are
no, fit recipients ior such m after.
Ii fpay puta few upon rLcir guard, but i,
will probably put ten times as many oil from
their guard Il may protect single cases
from the wiles Of the destroyer; it will edu
cate still more TO become willy deslroyers q.
1t will stir up the sediments OF prurienl
curiosity among The young. They
regard the depths of society as among the
sights 10 be seen in cur great cities. They
will 10 among gamblers fer information and
come away plucked and ruined.
They will so into brilIianl saloons 10 see
life aud will come away having felt il; OBJ
servaiion will quickly change experience,
and the knowledge OF good and evil will
be had by Plucking the forbidden fruit,
and expalFalion from the paradise Of pu-
rity.
"Bui is that True virtue that is founded
in ignorance and c0wardice ?'' Virtue does
mol demand that it be tempted; it does not
run about seeking solicitation only to seek
lis strength, And as TO cowadice, when
baseness and depravily are in question, cow
ardice is true moral courage. There are
things mere contact with which delies like
pitch, burns ike Goals. The monslrcus in
eenules OF passions, the hiJdeous charms
OF occult nlquiy. strike through the imaS!-
nation talnt that years cannot cleanse.
No nan can read the reform literature Of
France: al least SUI ch as Sue and Sand, issue,
aud not regret TO the day of his death that
be ever touched il.
A love OF pusity is better 10 the young
than horror OF vice. We must remedy vice
by anticipating it. Al least this is true in so
far as. we employ public sentimeni as a means
OF reformation.
1t is where pleasure has not yet lost all OF
innocence, and where. evil is FURNISHED with
those rainbow tn,s that mark its inception,
that we mast hope o interfere successfully
Where rotlenness takes hold, remedy is hope
iess.
To justify tho gross exposure OF gross
scenes, in the expectation Of saving the
young by them, is an extremely dangerous
thing. If, in attempting it, the subscriber sue.
ceeds in describing ;he evils only SO as 10 in.
fluence the curiosity, or the passions, then
he has himself induced the very peril which
he sought TO cure. He is Templer under
the name of Mentor.
And II is not a thing SO easy as most pcr-
sons think to describe guilty pleasure IN such
gnse as to excite horror 'and disgust only
II requires very deep and strong moral ma
ture in writer, 10 overbear that infectious
excitement which arises from the poruailure
Of victorious passions. A man who can
conceive and portray tho rage or sport OF the
appeliles, in circumstances desgnediy ar
ranged TO produce fascination, viii, except
he be of an unusual religious nature, lend to
bis style fire, an electric quality which will
prove, that, unknown TO himself, the writer,
during The period of composition was lin sym.
paihy with evil, a. least so far as 10 give ii