The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-07-22
sabbath Gor the yvorklng wan.
Br John ALLEN oursror.


- H,. '@ +t. 'tt+'
But cheer thee, child of travail The
blessed Sabbath Is thine own II is the
excellent gift Of thy Maker-see, then, that
no man rob thee Of the boon II Is the
heirloom Of thy family--see that It be not
alienated from their possession It Is sa-
cred inheritance bequeathed by successive
generations Of the godly--see, then. that it's
frail fences are kept unbroken, and that it's
soil is not, through neglect cursed with stsr-
flity and nakednsss /! The fify.two Sab
baths Of rest with which, the year is inter.
spersed are like patches OF verdure, watered
by ever .springing fountains that dot the in f.
hospitable wilderness, and invite it's fainting
travellers to exhileration and repose. They
are the ports that fringe the sea of human
industry, in which the distressed bark may
find a sure anchorage, and where 1t may re.
new its outfit for time and for eternity.
Oh, precious day the workman's jubilee
1.-The slaves release--the shield of serVi-
tude--the sntidote of weariness--the sus.
pension of the curse How it smoothes the
brow of Care How it brightens the coun-
tenance Of Gloom How it braces the en-.
ervated limbs of Labor ! How itrevives the
dropping spirit Of Despair How 1t gives
wings to the clogged affections and aspira-
tions Of the soul How it pours some drops
Of sweetness on the bitterest lot; and sheds
some CLEANS OF sunshine athwart the saddest
heart How 1t lifts the groveller from his
low pursuits, and fills him with noble self
respect! How it extinguishes the jealousies
and rivalries Of week day occupations, and
links mems hearts in the bonds OF brother.
hood 1t does homage to the glorious attri.
butes of the man, even when it finds him in
the condition of the serf. In most cases it
proclaims to the the servants equal liberty
with the master. 1t is perpetual rebuke
to the reigning rapacity of the world. 1t
deals out, with even-handed justice. the es.
sentialrights Of manhood to all classes alike,
and is designed 10 protect the poor from the
bribes Of wealth, and the weak from the en-.
crOachment Of power. ., a...
Companions of labor think how the ab-
straCtion of the Sabbath would hopelessly
enslave the working classes, with whom we
are identified. Think Of labor thus going
on in one monotonous and eternal cycle
the limbs forever on the raCk--tbe fingers
forever plying--the eye-balls forever strain
ing--the brow forever sweating--the feet
forever plodding--the brain forever .throb-
bing-the shoulders forever drooping-the
loins forever uchiDg-and the restless mind
forever scheming. Think-as your imsgin-
alton beholds the unvarying wheel OF work,
the treadmill Of labor thus going round, and
round, and round, without change, without
punse, from morn to night, from moon to
moon, and from year to year-think, if you
can, of the desolations that must follow this
absolute reign OF Labor over the whole realm
Of time. Think of the beauty it would
eAace, Of the merry heartedness it would ex.
tinguish, of the giant strengths that it would
exhaust, of the aspirations it would crush, of
the sickness that it would breed, of the pro-
jects it would wreck, of the groans that it
would extort, OF the lives that it would i'm
molate, end of the cheerless graves that it
would prematurely dig! See them toiling
and moiling. sweating and fretting, grinding
and hewing, weaving and spinning, stewing
and gathering, sowing and reaping. raizing
and building, digging and planting. unladiug
and storing, striving and strugg gling-in the
garden and in the field, in the granary and
in the barn, in the factory and in the mill,
in the warehouse and in the shop, on the
mountain and in the ditch, on the roadside
and in the wood, in the city and in the coun.
try, on the sea and on the shore, on the earth
and in the earth--in days of brightness and
days Of gloom--in hours of sun and seasons
Of storm--in times of trouble and times of
peace-in the heights of day and in the
depths of through the savageness of
winter and through the gentleness Of spring
lin the energy Of youth and in the impo-
tence of age, when health is merrily dancing
in the blood, aud when disease is eating up
the strength--when death is in the lonely
home, and when happy life enCircles the
hearth. thus the wheel of labor would 90
round with the earth, and the children of in
dustry, chained 10 it's surface, must follow
low it's ruinous circumvolutions, till, ex-
hausted by uun atural efforts, they relax their
hold dron off and suddeuIv disandeari