Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-05-05

have seen those loved, those to whom[
was related by ties of blood and who
once were all that heart could wish, bend
/ ing under the accursed weight have seen
them fall and sink lower than the grave,
and my heart has been made to bleed. |
am willing, yes, more than willing, to do
all IN my power to assist In ameliorating
the condition of those who are suffering
i from the same unhappy cause, and to help
to save, (if may be) single one from GO
!. ing that way. We are willing to join
crusade, that will march against this the
i arch-enemy of our race, to rescue our own
happy land from under the domiAion of
i drunkenness, for it has done US more harm |
than any foreign foe that ever set foot upon
4 our soil.
sespiciFre canpot be oyerdrawn. Penl
inorpencil, nor the tongue of Angels can
not tell the whole story of RUNS doings.
The annals of time do not bear full re-
cord of its depredations Eternity will
furnish the sequel. Eternity alone will fill
out the awful catalogue of crimes it has pro-
i duced.
Il Reflect for moment on what has fallen
under our own observation, to say nothing
of the accounts we receive weekly and al
most daily Of the numerous murders sui
cides, &c, from different parts of our coun-
try. 1t is fearful to- hear of the number of
suicides that have been committed during
the past year. 1t is without parallel in
our country's history. Some of our most
distinguished and honorable men have, by
their own hands, hurried their souls into
f the presence of an angry God. Not one
of those cases, | can venture to say, but
!, was brought about either directly or indi-
rectly by the use Of Intoxicating liquors.
They may not have been confirmed or
) visible drunkards, but were they, any of
!, them,- cold water men? How can chris
t tians, the friends of temperance, look on un-
|, moved, and remain inactive why do they
r not put forth their united energies to. stay
the fatal plague which sweeps like pois-
r onous simoom the length and breadth of
our country? Do they feel that the enc
: my is too great and too powerful to be
: conquered? That there is a great and
} fearful odds against us in the warfare Do
: their hearts fail them, like those cowardly
: Jews of old, who were afraid to cross the
S Jordan and 60 up to possess the goodly
+ land, because there were giants there
; My friends this is not the genius of
: American Citizens of the 18th century,
But it seems that an apathy-a stupor-
It yea, a deep sleep has fallen upon US with
e regard to the calls that come up day and
4 night upon us saying "avenge me of mine
s. adversary" Let us rouse cur energies
e, once more upon the subject before US, let
: us make the effort to avenge, and to avenge
u speedily, those who cry unto us for help
$. from the lowest depths ofhuman depravity.
d Let us not forget the sovereignty of God.
d There never was an evil under the sun,
is moral or physical, that remedy was not
d provided. 1t is the province of intelligent
n beings to find out and to apply that rene
n dy to suffering humanity. "Inasmuch as
n ye did it not unto one of the least of these
n my brethren, We did it not unto me-"
a The very commonness of the evils OF
al dram-drinking prevents our feeling it, and
D. laying to heart as we should. We hear SO
n, frequently of men being ruined by strong
T. drink that we scarcely seem to notice it
rs the very cause that should above all 9th
le ers stimulate us to action. st. Paul hat
O. his spirit stirred within him when he turn
lis ed at Athens and beheld the idolatry O
ut that City. Who can behold the miserie,
n of intemperance in many of our own villa
ce ges, and not feel his spirit stirred within
of him.
1g No class of society is exempt from its in
as vasions. The Prince, as well as the Peas
e ant has been slain by the mighty power O
lr- the battle
on The fall Of the Roman empire was pre-
If cipitated by the drunkenness of its empe
is rors. Of the ten sovereigns who hav
he reigned in Russia since the accession @
~, Peter the Great, all but four were beast
es- drunkards. Of the Empress Elizabeth
ite is written that she was completely brutife
he by strong liquors, from day to day. Ihav
ess seen the man of genius in our own "swee
ID, land of liberty" groaning under the weigh
ch OF its power like the tall trees of the fores
ia uprooted by raging storms, they have ia
FL len-and been swept away in the deluge
of strong drink.
he We have passed by the hovel of the poe
e drunkard who had dragged out a miserabl
}. existence-sunk in the lowest depths
degradation. We have seen the plaC
where dwelt his miserable wife and chi
dren. Poverty, and wretchedness, an
want was there, which beggared all d
,. scription. If: there is class of persol
90 80 on Gods earth who are objects of pity.
% is the drunkard's wife and the. drlnkap
- children. Young ladies, fear and tremb
at the bare thought of a fate so horribl
ore Spurn from your presence the first a
ed, proaches of him who has formed any al
sh. ance with wine or kindred spirits. u
cen not the confirmed drunkard now, that
do warn you against. No such warning, it
zen to be hoped, is needed in this age of t
world; it is the so called moderate drin
'ro- er, the intermediate link between m
I'M and sots, of whom we tell you to bewal
In The habit will, in all probability, grow Il
but on them until they do become drunkard
then it would be better for you never
rds have been born than to he the compani
to of such one-better that milestone we
the hanged about your neck and you We
fast drowned in the depths of the sea, than
cen fill the place of the drunkard's wife.
fore If anything on earth would tempt me
be- commit suicide, that a0oaid. Sooner,