The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-04-09
BEWARE OF DRIFTING.

BEWARE OF DRIFTING,
Few people form habits of wrong-doino
deliberately and willfully. They glide in
to them by degrees and almost unconsci-
onsly; and, before they are aware of dan
ger, the habits are confirmed, and require
resolute and persistent effort to effect a
change. "Rcsist beginnings" was maxim
OF the ancients, and should be preserved as
landmark in our day. The Baltimore
Sun has a good article on the slight begin
nings:of: danger which end in fatal ruin:
MIt,was only the other day that man
fell asleep in his boat on the Nicagara river.
During his slumber the boat broke loose
from its mooring, and lie woke to find him.
self shooting down the rapids, directly to-
wards the cataract. In vain he skricked for
help; in vain he tried to row against the
current. He drifted on and OH till his light
craft upset, when he was borne rapidly to
the brink of the abyss, and, leaping up with
wild cry, went over and disappeared for.
ever.
sin the great battle Of Gibralter, when
the united fleets Of France and Spain at
tackled the impregnable fortress, one of tile
gigantic floating batteries broke from her
anchorage and began to drift directly into
the hottest Of the British fire. The thou
sand men who formed the crew of the un-
wiedly mass vainly strove to arrest its pro-
gress or divert it from its path. Every min
ute it drifted nearer to the English gums,
every minute some new part took fire from
the red-hot shot, every minute another score
OF its hapless defenders were swept like
chaff from its decks. The most superhu-
man efforts failed to prevent it's drifting
with its human freight to inevitable death.
"A ship was wrecked at sea. The pas
sengers and crew took refuge on raft, the
boats having been stove in the attempt to
launch them. For days and weeks these
unfortunates drifted about without oar or
sail on the hot broken tropical ocean. At
last their provision failed, and then their
water. Still they dr;fted about, vainly look
ing for a sail or hoping for sight of land.
The time had now come when that fearful
alternative became nevitable-death from
starvation or of feeding upon human flesh
and they were just beginning to cast lots for
victim, when vessel was seen on the dis
tant horizon. They abandoned their terri
ble design; the stranger would approach.
The ship came towards them; she drew
nearer and near. They strove to attract
her attention by shouts, and by raising their
clothing, but tie indolent look k-out saw them
not. They shouted louder and louder, still
they were not seen. At last the vessel
tackled. With frantic terror they rose in
one body, shouting and waving their gar
ments. 1t was in vain /; the unconscious
ship stood steadily away. Night drew on,
and as the darkness fell, they driaed and
drifted in the other direction till the last
trace of the vessel was lost forever.
$50 it is in life. Tie Incorporate man,
who tLiuks he at least will never die
drunkard, whatever his neighbor may do,
only wakes to find himself drifting down
the cataract, and all hope gone. The SEN
sualist, who lives merely for his own graft.
fication, drifts into all emasculsted old age,
to be tortured with passions he cannot
crafty. and perish by merciless, agonizing
diseases. Tie undisciplined, WHO never
Iesrned to control themselves, who are
spendthrifts, or passionate, or indoent, or
visionary. soon make sl,ipwreck of them.
selves, and drift about the sea Of life tie
prey Of every wind and current, vainlv
shrieking for hep, till at last they drift away
into darkness and death.
take care that you are pot drifting
See that you have fast hold of the helm
The breakers of life forever rear under the
lee, and adverse gales continually blow on
shore. Are you Watching how she headsa
Do you keep firm grip of the wheel If
yss give way but for one moment Won
may drift helplessly into the boiling vors
tex. Young man, take care! Il res.s
With yourself alone, under God. whether
yos reach port triumphantly or drill. to
rain."
A certain dyspeptic whose physicsl ina.
bility to work was attributed to ihdolence,,
was adsissd by a medical friend that the
only way he could ever convince people he