Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1857-05-15

a convict IN the Ohio fenltentlary,
writes the following solemn and pa
thetic letter to his brother. We hope
it viii both deter men from drinking,
and excite taxpayers TO prohibit q
traffic which burdens community with
more than half Of all the criminal
and State prison expenditures:
.. CoLUMBus, ONO, Oct. 26, 1856.
s My DEAR BRoTHER: 1 write this
with a trembling hand, for / have
just received sad and painful tidings
-tidings which have filed my soul
with indescribable horror, anxiety,
and anguish. / have learned that
you, my brother, r,-whom i love better
than any other man on earth, that
you, after having had before you ex-
ample after example of the conse-
quences Of dissipation, and of drink
ing Rum; having heard the orphan
cry for bread the fond mother plead
for her much beloved SON the sister,
on bended knees, implore mercy for
her only brother; have seen yourown
brother consigned to the dark cell Of
gloomy prison, there to drag out
weary and miserable existence of ten
long years. l have learned, / say,
that you, after having witnessed all
these, the consequences of dissipation
and of drinking Rum, have recklessly
launched into dissipation; have un-
resistingly suffered the Rum Fiend'
to rivet his chains upon you and have
gone to drinking-God pity and save
you, brother-have gone to drinking
Ruml the bitterest curse that man is
heir to; the deadliest bane in exis-
tcnce; the very extract Of the doubly
distilled essence of ,coe and ddmndfion,
tempered with the flames Of HellI /
tremble for you, my brotherl Are
you not afraid? Are you not afraid
that you will provoke God, who is
already Justly indignant to real an
ger? and that He will visit you with
Judgment? Are you not afraid that
that you will be lost or is your mind
so clouded that you cannot compre-
hend your danger? l beseech you to
stop and reflect before you take an
other step; consider the ways before
you; there are two-one, { on the
threshold Of which you now stand, }
Broad and winding and aziope,"
Where sAlk pale Want and Care,)
attempting with porhdious hope,
And ending in despairl'
The other,-
Narrow and straight, but it's the way,
Wherein both Peace and Plenty smiling stand;
Wherein fair Love and Truth walk hand In nand,
And sweet content doth hold the sway,
It's ending is In Heaven.
Which viii you cnoose? OH choose
the latter wayl | appeal TO your
reason. Is it not reasonable to choose
the latter way? Choose it. >
x x 4 Be not deceived, for such,
alasl are among the evils occasioned
by drinking Rum. If you neglect
your trust, and those souls are lost,
what will be your answer when you
appear before the Judgment bar OF
God, and he asks you for an account
Of your stewardship? You will be
speechiess, appalled, Oi if you would
avoid that awful situation, bring your
children up in the right way, and
attend to the salvation Of them souls
But, my dear brother, you can neith-
er bring them up in the right way,
nor attend to the salvation of their
souls, (nor conscientiously fulfill your
duty to your beings in gener-
al, unless you attend first to the sal,
vation of your o,cn soul Therefore
once for all, / appeal to you in the
name of God, quit evil company,
leave off drinking Rum, reform, and
attend to your souls salvation with
out delay. e-fIct--
I've but one thing more to ask ofyou,
and that is, put your shoulder to the
wheel of the Temperance Car, "and
give it a ''lift," i. O., be not merely a
Temperance man, but be Temper
ance advocate.