Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1857-02-12

Indeed in this l might say the circle
: Of your duties concentrate. Make
it the polar star of all your actions
And however much you may b.
tossed about by the vino and waves
of passion and prejudice still keeE
your eye upon it and never lose
sight of it. If you DO the mists
and clouds of selfshness and dishon
esty will envelop you and darken
your pathway and disastrous ship.
wreck will be your inevitable doom
Be truthful at all times and under
all circumstances. Be certain that
you do not cultivate habits of prevar-
ication and exaggeration; but tell the
truth and nothing but the truth.
When you begin to leave the plain
open path of truth to stray aside
into the narrow crooked by paths of
falsehood you will perceive your de-
partures to grow greater and greater;
you will soon wander so far off and
become so lost that a return to the
true path will be next to impossible
ity, and you will find yourselves
converted into those detestable char
acters in whose word no reliance can
be placed. Then would say by all
means indulge very sparingly in wild
and extravagant assertions. Think
before you speak and be certain when
you speak to tell the truth. With
out truthfulnesss in a high degree
it is impossible to form a truly good
and noble character. There is not
brighter jewel in youthful character
than truthlulness. We naturally ad-
mire him who will Away tell the truth.
Who can read unaffected that SIM
pie story of George Washington,
who, when but small boy cut his
fathers tree, and on being asked by
his father if he had done it, nobly
and heroically exclaimed; Father,
you know can't tell lie. | can't
tell lie Ii was this same truth
fulness which he manifested SO
young that entered in and helped to
form that truly good and generous
character which we all love so much !
to honor and revere. And i. has
ided in placing him upon the pin
nacle of fame so high that the shafts
Of caiumny and detraction have
never reached him but to fall harm
less at his feet. / would hold up to
your admiration the character of
this great man and amidst the mul-
titude of virtues that cluster. SO
thickly around about him, would
not have You pass this by unnoticed.
| would have you to dwell upon it
with admiration and delight; until
you feel determined that you too
will make characters noble and wor-
thy of admiration for their truthful
ness.
Be temperate. Indulge not in
the Intoxicating bowl. There is
nothing scarcely so ruinous to char /
acter as habits of intemperance. - |
Never Aatter yourselves with the !
lelusion that you can drink to any
extent you may desire; and then
quit. This is to say the least of it
a dangerous experiment. My own
observation has proven to me that it
will not do to tamper with this
Gre-Waier. / have seen the expert
ment made over and over, again and
again, and have seen honest, clever.
promising young men, converted into
reeling, staggering drunkards. You
may say that 81 have right to
drink as much as / please" Well
perphaps you have, and | am not
now discussing your rights, bat only |
advising you as to, the safe course
10 pursue. But you may say there
is no use in a mans drinking too
much, just let him drink enough |
and then stop. He is fool to make
himself drunk. All! Alas! How
many fools are there? Look around
and solve the question for yourselves
The great difficulty is in drinking
moderately and then stopping before
you are injured. This it is next to
to do. You may DOW
have but little fondness for ardent
spirits; but continue on drinking it
daily for few years, and ere you
are aware, you will be completely
under its influence. And then as a
giant it will fasten It's iron grasp
upon you, and never relax its deadly |
grip till it has triumphed in your