Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1858-04-29
Gempexante Mlattex.
GERR1rsM1TH ON TEMPERANCE.

0CIkI4 IL Wv
Were this the place for it, / would endea-
vor to make it apparent, that total abstinence
from intoxication drinks is the only sure
prote ction fromit. : L would, in. that case,
expose the fallacy of the doctrine, that TEN.
perate drinking is friendly to sobriety, and
is the cure and preventive of drunkenness,
o" is either.
Temperate drinkers claim great merit for
their pratice-great merit in it is to serve
the cause of Temperance. These temperate
drinkers are, by the way, a very self.com-
placent class of persons. They pride them
selves on being the in medic tutissnaus
iJis-the juste milteu-class of persons ;
equally removed on the one hand, from the
vulgarity of drunkenness, and, on the other,
from the cold water fanaticism. Never
thelcss, at the hazard of rufaing their self:
complacency, 1 must tell them, that they are
more injurious than drunkards themselves
to the cause of Temperance. In point Of
fact, drunkards are helps to the cause ofTem-
perance, instead of being obstacles in its
way Why, our half,milior of drunkards
are our half million strongest arguments for
the necessity of total abstinence !! Indeed,
I would that no perons were able to drink
Intoxicating liquors, without immediatelybe-
coming a drunkard. For who, then, would
drink it, any sooner than he would drink the
poison, that always kills, or jump into the
fire, that always burns2 1t is because so
many, who drink intoxicating liquor, escape
drunkenness, that so many are emboldened
to drink it. I said, that, drunkards serve the
cause Of Temperance. Iappeal to mothers
for the truth of it.
Mothers? when you would most efectually
admonish your children not to drink iutox:
icating liquors, do you not point them to
this, that, and the other drunkard And
So long as your children keep their eyes on
these beacons, they take not one step in the
pathway which leads to the drunkard's grave
and the ~drunkard's hell. But the danger
is that they will avert their eyes from these
beacons, and fasten them on the long and
attractive train of sober, respectable temper
ate drinkers, and follow them. There is not
one youth in this city, whose habits are
perilled by the presence and influence of
drunkards-for the example of the drunk,
ard is too bad to be contagious: On the
contrary, there is not one youth in this city
whose habits are not in peril from,the rex.
ample %oftemperate drinkers. Alas, many a
temperate father has made drunkards Of his
Sous, at his W tablet at his own table,
adorned with decanters of wine-if, indeed,
that can be called wine, whichis so generally,
a vile mixture, containing little, or no wine!
Alas, how seductive is the way to~'drunken-
ness in fashionable life. And why, there
fore, do we wonder that fashionable life is
filled with drunkards? -
To the con6ding and unwary youth, who
is just entering on his c~areerof liquor drink
ing, how polite, attractive, and altogether
uualarming are the drinking usages of fash
ionable life. These usages are commended
by the brilliant wit and fascinating song.
that,are so often associated with them; and
more pernicious than all are the smiles of
beauty with which they are too often garland,
ed. Surely, it is not strange, that, in these
circumstances, this youth should sip a little
wine. Nevertheless, this little slipping is the
beginning of his drunkenness. Surely; it is
not strange that what is SO apparently harm.
less, should wake no feaEin him. Neverthe,
less it is. at the fountain head of his woes
and all his ruin, that this hopeful, happy
youth has now taken his stand. He very
soon learns to drink his'full glass. He very
soon learns to quaff his wine like q gentle.
man. "Like a gentleman Oh, what va
riety of ruin is covered over by this winning
phrase! These, however, are but the first
steps in the way Of drunkenness, which our
tempted youth has taken. His drunkenness
is, as yet, but the little rill, which meauders
through pleasant fields and Aowery gardens.
By and by, he drinks several glasses at his
dinner; and a little further on, he likes
brandy as we'll as wine. That rill of which
we spoke has now become a river, that is
bearing him to his ruin-so gently, however,
that he is scarcely sensible of the motion.
Nevertheless, he is still numbered with tem-
perate drinkers. He is still safe in his own
eyes, and in the eyes Of Others. But time
passes on. His appetite grows every year,
and every month, and every day. His po-
tations become stronger and deeper, and
more frequent. All now see that he is a
drunkard. The gentle river is swollen into
a raging torrent, that is hurrying its freight
its still precious, though temporarily and
e~ternally ruined freight-into the abyss from
which there is no return.
Such is the end of this youth, whom we
choose as the type of iunumerable millions.
How easy he might be saved from all these
transformations and all this ruin of the Cir
ceau cup, had a friendly hand led him,
whilst he could yet be led, to the immove.
able rock of total abstinence! There and
there only, he would have been safe from
all the woes which threaten every liquor
driuker. So long as his feet remained plant.
ed upon that rock, he might have exclaimed 4:
GA thousand shall fall at my side and ten
thousand at my right hand; but it shall not
come nigh unto me. Lam safe"
THE DRUNKARD TO SOCIETY.
The drunkard is not i%niuring himself on