Spirit of the age., 1860-11-07
0tiginal papers.
AN ADDRESS

I(eItECTeH on hEN. u. "a DbUubASat A FccSte''e
OF FranIiin Female CdlLege, HOLLY Spri7gs,
Miss. betore the Grand L0dge Of the Sfgte
of UissjssiDDi, If the IadependeHt OrdeT :
Of GOOD Templars, July 20h, 1860 !
tp,,5lsbed in tic Spirit Of tho Ago, BY re. :
oue,t Qf the Grand LOdgeI I
I,o,rs AND GENTLEMEN II is a fact known I!
- IN that Intemperance is an incubus upon !
orr moral and physical natures It's evils gre !.
n.ny and manifold. They, are ~ f'caL ; |:
t.lectial and moral persdaal socs Gnu 80
nestle temporal and cternai ;-eNtellulne
=, the loss Of health, the loss dfproperty, the
ioss IF rcnntation, the ruin Of the family and
~ a,ta;l;ny of wretchedDess and disease
VIZ ss',sss who are dearest by the ties of {
P.'-' uPo. no the unfortunate inebriate. There
- = complication Of evils not to be computed
nv any single suffering or loss evils that
onfrun all the sober calculations of reason.
and battle the powers OF descriptive elo-
qucncc.
The body of man as it issues from the
hands Of the Creator is a noble structure
the tenement Of the immortal mind, the pa.
lace of the soul, and the temple Of God. This
wonderful piece of work. displaying the me-
chanism of Divine Architect i'm its system
of bones, muscles, nerves and blood vessels
its organs Of sense and powers of motions
"
directed countenanccs, may be abused, weak.
kened, tortured and destroyed But Of all
the methods that have ever been devised for
injuring and killing the body the introduc-
tion OF alcoholic posons has been the most
doleterious and destructive Other diseases
have proved fatal In some instances, but the |
victims of this maady are numbered by
thousands and tens Of thousands. The |
plague will sometimes sweep over an entire |
city or province; but this evil has passed !
with fearful power over all nations. The !
pestilence may visit the earth and the an |
gel Of death flap his dark, raven wings
over an aifrighted people for a season, but
when the summer is past, and the pure winds
OF Autumn and the frosts of winter come
round again, the voracious destroyer retires,
and generation may pass away before he
will revisit the same spot. On the other
hand, lntemperance has drawn his dark pail
over the heavens and crimSomed the earth
year after year, and century after century,
lie never ceases the cry give give The
thirty thousand victims Of the last year seem
to have whetted his appetite for larger ban
quet during the present
The wise man Solomon, describes the eff
feet Of this vice upon the body "Who hath
wo, who hath sorrow, who hath wounds
without cause, who hath redness-of eyes p
They that tarry long at the wine, they that
go TO seek mixed wine" The ordinary OBJ
server cannot fail to notice the immediate
physical effects: redncss Of eyes and face
sbloated countenancc-a tremor of the hand
caused by impaired muscular strength-relax-
alton of joints-trembling of the nerves-de-
rangcmcnt of the stomach-the liver STEPPED
in alcoholic fire, and contracting so as to per-
form its functions imperlectly-the heart no
longer dilated with courage-a loss of appe-
tite, and host Of other evils which eventu-
ally end in death.
But these are merely the erternal symp-
toms Of abused nature. We cannot know
the internal anguish and disease caused by
this vice, ere the unhappy inebriate is per-
mtted to sleep his ingl0rious sleep in the
grave. But we have the testimony of the
best physicians Of this country and of Eu-
rope, that large portion of the bodily all
ments OF Incorporate men, have their origin
in the use of alcoholic drinks.
Consider the effect of the use Of intoxica-
ting drinks upon the intellectual nature OF
man. No part of the body is more injured
by intoxication than the brain. Now the
mind is so intimately connected with the
brain, that the former must sympathse with
the latter in the rayages Of ntemperance.-
The memory becomes feeble and treacherous.
The Judgment loses its discriminating power
Reason is dethroned, and the entire intellec
tual being debased. Some Of the nobleSt sons
Of genius have been hopelessly ruined by this
habit Within the range of your acquain.
tance you may have known young man
whose early prospects were most flattering.
lie received from ma ure high intellectual en-.
dowments. Ills finished education and stu.
houS habits would have secured him high
and honorable position in his profession, il
thp Ttta hnH n
pride OF fond parents and the admiration o
the social circle. In the march of his prince
ly mind you looked forward to the time wher
he would occupy proud emincnce in tht
eyes oil hlS countrymen. But the tcmptel
came, and he fell where many mighty mer
have fallen. The latter part of his career wa
so sad that you cannot recall il without a de
preston upon your spirits.
lntcmpOrancc has entered the halls of sci
ence and slain some of her most gifted sons
1t has robbed the pulpit of some OF its bright
est ornaments, and the bar some of it
ablest advocates. Many of the most eminen
of every profession have given the wor
melancholy proof of the power Of the des
troyer. Many an intellectual orb, that ros
bright and cloudlcSs, made an early set, &C
ing down in darkness, even in the morning
of life. Those who now might be shnin
stars of the first magnitude have been quencl
cd IN the hlackness OF despair.
To the action of powerful mind, healthy
vigorous frame is necessary. The mcnt;
and physical action and reaction must b
equal, or hndngits energies unsustaried, til
mind soon becomes discouraged and falls int
despondency. The flow of animal spirits, tn
fire and ygor of the imagination, the fulnes
and power OF feeling, the comprehension an
grasp OF thought, the fire Of the eve, tone
of the voice and the electrical energy of u
terance, all depend upon the healthy and VII
orous tone Of tho animal system By wha
ever means the body is unstrung, the spir
languiShes. AS soon as the brain is iniure
the intellect, by sympathy, suffers, and wit
the ruin Of the body comes the wreck of Il
soul.
The moval evils Of intemperance are SUI
AS result from the utter prostration Of Il
moral feelings. You cannot expect CORE
department from one whose heart is Who'll
destitute OF the fear of God. The finer fe
ings Of the soul, and the affections of t
heart are blunted by this vice. The ineb
ate loses the capacity of feeling as a son,
husband, or father. With the loss of {
social affections will come a deterioration
all moral energies. The heart is harden,
the conscience scared and the whole spiritu
nan paralyzed. However high his origir
moral endowments, however fine the textu
Of his soul, however excellent his educati