Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-01-17
THE HOUR OF TEMpTATIoN.

tempter you are led to ter nrvsr ~ ~
thread 3. bring you out of h. DuprA pa
See deep glass of Rhenislli vine On tbs -,
trary-casket, for if the devil nithin. and That
| temp satlon without he will it,,
z IS With no bus ilA thai / con con,
fsss .haasss01y j; Dsaca ,5siaeaTed SsssaI
With the foul stain Of on look
back TO It with adherence, nv resolu-
ton, and seventeen years elIsstrictly tenn.
|perate babiss are in themselves yirtne 3.
nough to counteract all the vice the indul.
eence engeTdered Why den should +
blush for having conquered til tbydra-headed
monster, Intemperanceg i
That | was no common tC pa mere tav-
ern sot, buta downright ss6ne fellow.
there are many of good 1sy |nos ready to
bear witness, and they will b It most will
iingly, for it is a rule established by uniyer-
sal custom, that to tell the errors of poor,
human nature is the duty of every man. wo-
man and child who may be SO fortunate as to
possess the knowledge. Bnt, thank heaven
my good resolves shook them off, and be-
came steady, sober man Of business. Sew
enteen years How time passes. nv new
existence seems but as day-yet has Il
been pleasant one. But what have not
seensln these seventeen years? have wit
messed the villainy of man in every Grade Of
society. have seen beauty pale and die
pelore the simoom of base seduction. /
have seen honest worth cast into prison, and
hlghhanded roguery stalk abroad free and
untrammelled. have seen the moral law of
our institutions upset, and rascality prosper
In Its stead. Ihave seen men high in office
set the example of nefarious speculations
and whole nation follow their wakeI
have seen the foul tempest sweep over the
land from north to south, and from east to
west Were the people all mad Or was
1t because drank not and could see thinos
differently from what I did seventeen wears
ago? Perhaps SO.
During that long period what temptations
have | not resisted :? The hand of boantv
has been turned aside, when it was proffer-
ef with the wine cup. The syren smile Of
some fond one has been disregarded, when
1t rested on the sparkling glass. The con-
Vlv'al BOARD has been stunned, and the com.
panions Of NY youth left to themselves whom
the cry sas Wine, wine, morAxwinep ? II
wfsn %ssad eeatb, e tRey gad would before it.
The flowing bowl was raised to The dimmed
eye and the quivering lip, as the last hope,
like the cross-it was believed to be the
means of salyation-in the dark and the
gloom of the chamber Of death
Seventeen years Happy, happy years,
at least they were to me. could sleep at
night and rise in the morning refreshed. 1t
required no artificial stimulants to alay that
nervous excitement liquid fire cre Gates. Nv
room always looked the sober nstas! There
stood my neat book case, and nv we'll selec-
ted volumes of useful KNOWLEDGE, and nv
centre table, tastefully arranged, and coy-
cred with the choicest gems Of the day
There too was my collection Of dramatic
works, Il am fond of the drama, some Of
item two hundred years old! Oh love
these old authors, they seem to me as the
very pillars of the mimmic world. There
is copy Of the Dayanant, printed in his
time with a likeness-what a fat nose he
has | do not believe the base story which
purports to give an account of the cause
1t IS base libel on talented man-tbe
god-son of the immortal bard! There is nv
own selection of American dramatic authors
small it is true but indicative of the oenins
and talent of the land. We have som.
among us equal to any in the world give
them encouragement and in time we will
have youthful Shakespeare of our own =
Over the mantlepiece is a likeness of Gen.
Washington, painted by Jarvis, of New
York eccentric Jarvis, companion of Wm.
Dunlap, and Hugh Reinagle he is dead
now, and himself and cronies sleep together!
On the opposite side is Nagelb original nor
trait of Edmund Kean, as chard the ILL.,
Then there is my bed, ali hat cosev. So
Der sided looking bed and, Ne old bureau,
an old family relic, there it stood in the days
Ct my debauch, covered with gin bottles
ugh horrid recollections. There it stands
yet; neat mirror stands on its polished
top, and instead of rum bott.ss.Aii4 IS praced
with one of Eue de Cologne, sweet delicious
perfume. I look around upon those things,
and smile lights up my countenance, and
| throw myself upon the rocking chair, and
indulge in one of those pleasing reyeries,
which are rendered doublyso, by making us
forget all present troubles. But to my sub
ject. *
1t was a friends house, in the lovely
month of June. 1t was his wedding night.
The lights burned bright, but the glances
from many lovely eye sparkled still brigb-
ter. The toast-the song-the repartee-
the dance, were given in the fulIness and
Ejoyousness of youth-all were happy. Could
| remain cold and rigid amid such CLEAN
Of starlight beauties, scattering their ravs
around SO lavish favor? No! I gradually
), warmed into fellowship with them, but when
the sparkling wine-cup was presented hes
itated, gazed upon its ruby brightness, and
wildly rushed from the room! I soon re-.
;, covered from the momentary alarm the tenn
tation caused, and again entered the house
A nymph, one so lovel y that to gaze upor
her was to think of the angels in heaven
sat beside me, we talked, her voice was l;kt
a seraph's, so sweet, SO musical, she wa,
tuned to harmony and love: forgot ever,
thing-years seemed to have rolled awav
and the stream Of oblivion swallowed up al
recollection of the past. NY seventeen
years of temperance appeared like specl
on the bright escutcheon of the beautiful
creature before me she handed me th,
( wine cup, filed it to the brim and drank
s Horror! [ felt it coursing through nv veins
; it seemed to call up all the furies of hell