The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1859-03-24
Wild Oats.

Many young man has been lured from
the path of virtue, and entIced into the road
hat leads, by an easy descent, into the ac- 3
cursed valley Of destruction, through the
speech Of some thoughtless per-
son, talking fliPpantly about sowing wild
oats, as a thing to be expected In youth.
II he'd one lesson on thisisubject from the
lips Of an aged counsellor" said valued
friend 10 me, not long since, (which has new
er been forgotten. The timely warning sav-
ed me. IwaS nineteen years of age, and had
just entered college. Young men were there
from nearly every State 10 the Union, and
some Of them already sadly corrupted.
was social, in high health and spirits, and
with an imagination forever carrying me be-
yond the actual and the present. Before I
mad time for reflection, and before even n
consciousness of wrong had reached me, I
was afoat on dangerous seas, my boat glid-
ing swiftly forward. and the Sirens songs
already in my ears. @
Zone night We had a wine party in the
town, which ended In excesses, the thought
of which has called burning blush in my
cheeks a hundred times since. had not
been very we'll for some days previously.
suffering from constant headache and low
febrile symptoms. The dissipation of Q
night turned the scale upon the wrong side,
and was so i'll the next day that it was
thought best to call in ply hysician. He was
an old man, Of the old school Of gentlemen,
and wise, thoughtful and kind. He com.
menced, at once, the business OF finding out
everything in regard to my habits, princi-
pies, and modes of thought, and there was
something in him that SO inspired me with
confidence, that concealed nothing. He
looked grave, and offered a remonstrance.
"Oh," said I, almost lightly, "young men
must sow their wild oats. The ground will
be so much better prepared for seeding
wheat, after the crop is taken."
San error of the gravess chatacter," he
replied, seriously, "and one that has ruined
its thousands and tens of thousands Of young
men. Is a garden better prepared for the
reception OF good seed, for having been first
permitted to grow weeds ! put the ques-
ton to common sense. Are there not some
soils so filled with all manner of evil seeds,
that the gardener, with his utmost toll and
care, can scarcely remove the vigorous
plants that spring to life in the warm sun.
shine and rain 1t is no mere comparison,
that Of the human soul to garden. tis,
IN reality. spiritual garden. Truth is the
good seed which is sown in this garden
false principles the evil seed of wild oats,'
which the enemy's hand scatters, If permit
ted, upon its virgin soil. Now is it not as
much an insult to reason to say that the man
will be wiser, truer and better man, for
having false principles. leading at once to
an evil. sown upon the ground of his mind
in youth, as it is to say that garden will be
more thrifty in after years, for being frat
permitted to grow weeds!
} "My stranger friend I have lived al.
most to the completion of life's earthly cy.
Gle, and have seen a sad number of young
men lost to the world, lost to themselves.
and lost, fear TO the company Of Gods
blessed angels, in consequence Of that sine
gle false idea sown into the earth Of their
minds. Oh, cast it out at once! Keep
; yourself pure. lie, right principles, chaste
> thoughts, noble purposes, manly aims, grow
in your garden-not the accursed wild oats
Be temperate, prudent, virtuous, obedient to
superiors, honorable, kind. Aim TO be q
man-not sensualist, Govern yourself as
man, instead Of letting passion, appetite,
or any sensual desire rule you as a tyrant.
Sow no more wild oats. You will 6nd
trouble enough in your after life with the
. seed already scattered in your felds."
"The scules," said my friend, dropped at
once from my eyes. saw that the good
b. old physician was right, and that this can
u about sowing wild oats involved one Of tht
most dangerous fallacies into which th,
c mind of young man could fall. 1t was m,
J. last folly OF this kind."-Arthar's Hom
y Magazine. ......