Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-03-10

Amid the various "reminiscences of the |
past which in thick profusion mantles our ,
memories, We find many things to disturb !
the happiness which we are wont to enjoy. !
Translucent thought points with her gol- |
den finger to the lasciviousness of man, t
and wonders why the image Of God thus
deludes himself. Hope shines with efful- {
gence o'er our benighted minds in beams |
too radiant to be lasting, and warns US
"Shun that fiery cup,
Whose ministry of woe,
Can melt the spirits purest pearl,
And lay the mightiest low"
Mind, in its rapid march to greatness,
meets on the pathway of time no barrier
so dreadful, no force so overpowering, as
intemperance, clothed in the garments of
wretchedness and pierced by the dagger of
the Bacchinalian. The soul, in the hope
Of fulfilling the will of God, and in the an
ticipation of endless felicity, is met con-
stantly by the fiery spectres Of the rum
traffic to delude it to endless death-the
minions of Alcohol the co-workers of this
diabolical fend. Oh how unfortunate is
man! How small gale can overwhelm
his barque on the swift current of time,
before it reaches its promised haven of
greatness. How little he thinks, as he
swallows the first draught, that he has ia
ken one fatal step; that his course is be-
gun, which may ere long end in infamy
and disgrace For six thousand years, in
this way has man deluded himself; for six
thousand years has intemperance been the
destroyer of talents and intellects, and the
sender of souls to perdition. How long,
oh! futurity, will he reign predominant
The christian and the philanthropist will
welcome the end of his career and the
day of glory will dawn, and the sun of ed
ucation 60 on in majesty, power and gran
deur to the zenith of universally.
Let us look back, nv friends, at the NY
biological story, when alcohol in demon
like visage appeared from out the burning
lake in the crowded halls of Pandemonium,
TO cfaftn lUSitiraeey n'or the inhabitants of
this terrestrial sphere. Did he receive
dominion over The earth. and seat at the
right hand of his satanic majesty forever
Yes amid the stamping Of countless feet,
he received the Inauguration, and we'll has
he fulfilled his mission.
Twas then on earth curse was cast,
curse that all our hopes would blast.
For nearly every day we learn of horri-
Bile strifes where intemperance claims the
victory, and watts in ecstacy its prize to
the gates of death. It is said to be hor-
rible truth, that intemperanoe annually has
more victims than all the prevailing epi-
denies in the land. And it is computed
that there is enough money expended for
liquor in the United States, if in bank bills
placed end to end, would reach across the
Atlantic ocean! What an amount Think
of this sum- You who are worshipping
at the shrine of Bacchus, and paying trib-
ute to the rum-god behold the folly Of
your course;
Turn from its treacherous tide; e
Repel its siren chain,
Nor let your country blush to own,
Your folly and your shame"
But to the amount let us see what coulC
be done with this vast sum: in the frs
, place, we could educate the poor through
= out the land. Secondly, we could rails
q miserable families from degradation an
!. shame, from misery and want, to an af1u
:, ent position in society, which they woulC
, : have enjoyed had it not been for the vile
. Of the tempter. Thirdly, if this sum wa
!, rightly expended in supporting the caus
. of Christ, how many heather nation,
where the name of God was never heard
could be civilized? /? Idolatry would ia
, prostrate before the power of the gospe
= the banner of Temperance would be ur
" furled, and earth would be an Eden:
l. GA Paradise begun below,
q Where nought is now but sin and woe"
&c Yet, so long as intemperance reigns, an
- you, my friends, refrain from lending you
!, aid in opposition to it, just SO long will th
tears of women and the means of the Of
phan continue just SO long will intempe
~ ance hang his black escutcheon DER th
le grave of talent and greatness, while tt
20 minions of satan rejoiceth. Some of yo
= :, will doubtless say, " have never been il
IS jured by the indulgence of ardent spirit
ne 1t does me no harm" Let me ask yo
Us nv friends, has it ever done you any goo
OF Can it restore fallen fortune, or retire
10 ruined reputation? Can it drain Il
IL cup of sorrow or disappointment? n
IS Echo answers, as it reverberates the neg
Ut tive from the demoralized hut of the in
nc briate, no the lutes of Paradise resoul
'o' the monosylable through the elysian coul
'n' of glory, while angels answer-No! no
re Doubtless there are enemies to the Tel
OF perance cause : enemies who would, Wi
gS the giant power of Hercules, hurl how'll
US vengeance from his -wanton throne al
70 blot the whole order from existence, if th
ch possessed thepower! Suchwill ever be
ay case. Martin Luther when he went fo1
~, to proclaim glad tidings to dying wor
OH received the frowns and anathemas
no scowing Priests and Monks, and was
lu- neunced as hypocrite, as a base aposta
VS. Non dignis honOrs, sed nsortis.
per John Wesley metwith opposition VIII
would have overwhelmed any man but
'or- whose mission was to free mankind fr
pre- the sway of idolatry and the thraldon
acn sin. Christ himself, delivered by the
res taries of satan, died willing sacrifice