Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-04-16
Written for the Spirit of the Age.
off was a Man"

NobAA AAAAAA "A = HNANS0 ~ $4,000 bNb hA
would not get drunk. Father drinks reg III,
ularly, and he don't get drunk" Such was W
the declaration of a lady,, whose future tn
in life depends in a greater or less degree pc
upon the choice she makes of q husband. ey
Such an expression from alady, falling up Of
on the ear of some unguarded youth, (per- ef
haps her lover) may induce him to try to a
follow the exampH of "Father,'l but n
from a popularity of constitution or'want o.
of proper self control, may prove his final u
ruin. But there is no blame to be attach d
ed to the lady. Father drinks" and it r.
is an inherent principle in children to
think their parents do right. How impor- t
tant, then, that parents set before their t
children examples worthy of imitation. @
But who will assert that a practice of 7
regular drinking is worthy to be handed J
down from parent to child, since it is man c
ifest that moderate drinking is the avenue a
to intemperance, and a prelude to a long l
train of moral evils that followin its wake F.!
Did you ever know a man who became a
drunkard of choice T? Yet we are told there
are four hundred thousand drunkards in
these United States, thirty thousand of
whom fall annually into the ~drunkard's
grave. At this ratio, for the last fifty
years one million FIVE hundred thousand of
our fellow beings nave fallen victims to In
temperance ! J! And l think | may as
sert without the fear Of contradiction, that
not one of that vast number believed in
the out set that he would ever be a drunk
ard. Then if all intemperance is preceded
by the moderate use of ardent spirits, how
,,nu;ao 4boE ~ &c opa choJ1ll cot tho /
example before their children. In the
short space oftime allotted to man ON earth
(say three score and ten years. more than
two millions of human beings go to the
drunkard's grave. Just think of it and
tell me if it is not time all men had repu-
dated this practice.
But you say " because others get drunk
it is no reason [ should" But [ tell you
it is a reason why you should. You are
human as well as others, made of the same
materials, constituted more or less alike,
subjecttothe same passions, prejndices, tenn
pers and dispositions and if others have
gone to ruin, it is the very best reason why
you should shun the path which they have
trod. 1t is the moderate drinkcr, and not
the drunkard himself who is responsible for
the evil. No man gets drunk for the love
of drunkenness, for even the incorporate
man himself, when sober, is disguised with
the gymnastics of the drunkard. Go to
the aims house, ortothe drunkards wretch
t ed abode, skthe unfortunate inmate whose
example he followed Ask him if he pre-
" ferred the misery, wretchedness and deg
radiation of the drunkard to that OF the
d sober and v%irtuous life of the temperate
le man and he will tell you'll had NJ
: thought of becoming a drunkard. Nj,
h father drank; he put the cup to my lip
ID when | was young; | saw no evil IN it.
he thought | could do like father, and | sal
as as others vainly say, if | could not drin
m without getting drink, | would not drin
G. at all. But when | got to where | woul
rt have stopped, | found | had passed til
gh Rubicon," and it was now too late.
es had acquired an Unsuitable appetite for ru
ms that no will, no power could control" :,
Tf formerly was. A constant application
Ier ardent spirits upon the nervous system h
changed the whole of his moral and ply
cal economy. His mind has become 0
ia fuse, his sensibilities blunted and the who
of his nervous system SO shattered and d
is ranged that he has no will, no power
resist the tcmpter.
Id, How many honest resolves does t
the drunkard make when coming out of a
ers of intoxication, "that he will drink
OF more" But alas his will is not his ow
be- he is q slave to vice; for no sooner dc
pes the tempter set before him the goblet
tul sparkling wine, or baldface whiskey,
Ike Non, Enclor1 r",, +1ao L. ,I-.l.
zen petite is aroused, and in vain are his b.
resolves against intemperance. And
the this comes from the common error in m
lis that he can drink in moderation and ney
ing get drunk. No man would ever 90 to
ou- grave a drunkard, if he could drink
ut, moderation and not get drunk. But as
to love for drink increases, his power of C
ms. troll gives way, and so deceptive is Il
practice that he is the last man on earth
- think himself in danger of being a drul
IN ard. If you do not wish to offend the r.
she ular drinker, never tell him he is in dan.
re- of intemperance. | have heard men
lous they were never drunk in their lives, WI
Is they were so intoxicated they could scar
Fps ly keep their feet.
ma Parents, have you any assurance t
last while you are giving your children strC
ank drink, creating and fostering in them
that appetite for ardent spirits, that they
hlle not become incorporate? When you
learning them the art of distilling, h
tch- you no fear that they will fall a victim
most that poison you have 50 often sent fl
lnds your d~istillery to blast a fathers hope
ntly to break a mothers heart, by destroy
nth the promise and reputation of their darl
pied boy " Be not deceived; Gods not nc
the ed; for whatsoever aman soweth that S
hou- he also reap" Perhaps you have mac
wing fortune in this way hat will be squan,
h all ed by your children in dissipation.
DIED rent, if you would have your children so
-, virtuous and happy, never set before Il
tne examples that may prove their ruin.
pro- warn them by precept and example
mess shun the inebriating bowl as you We
'rave the providing beast of the forest, or
ds- yenomous reptile that turks beneath t
'elng pathway. E
Bonaehord, Va.