The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1861-01-03

ct worthy tue tllIe OF man, lOr DClleSe
a man may displace some few figures in
the great type of his manhood, and still
retain the general semblance and charac-
ter of man but when he wantonly sui
lies the purity of his person, he has wide
" departed from the trusts which his
Creator reposed in him, and clouded one
of the brightest gems with which the
crown of his manhood was first adorned
OF all the glorious ideals of God out of
which the reals have grown, there are
in this world none mere g!oriously beau
tiful than human beings. Mans peer is
not upon the Earth; in his physical per-
fectIon he towers erect and alone-the
finished monument of his Creators in
ventlve genius and architectural power;
and there is something within the monu
ment-a spirit which permeates every
grain and fibre, and forever swells it grand
ly Up to the appointed height and proper
tions, and on the fair front Of this beau
tiful monument of material man, is en-
graved the throne Of Reason, where she
sits aud holds her queenly sway over the
hordes of passions that cluster at its base.
And there eyes that shine and tones that
speak, and faces lit up with the effulgence
of feeling mingled with the calmcr shades
of thought. in a word it is man and all
these gifts and graces of person are trusts,
How sad thing it is to once have been
man and ever become less; to betray
these trusts, to form habits which tend to
erase these signs of superiority, and leave
in their place the blank of inferiority
Do you tell me, o trembling devotee at
this shrine Of unholiness, that you are as
much man as ever; that your shoulders
are as broad, your limbs as strong, and
that you can see and hear as well as the
temperate aud righteous Then let me
tell you, that you are mistaken and even
if you are not, I would add that an eras-
ure of the senses and diminution of mus
cular power, are not the only means Ma
ture has of expressing her indignation at
the insults you have cast upon her; she
does not always write herself In capitals
to be seen, or speak in tones of thunder
to be heard but her delicate Inscriptions
are written on every feature of a perfect
manhood, and she breathes in the gen
tlest irtonations of the voice, as well as
in the roar of the hurricane. She design
ed you to be the mirror of her freshness
and youth, longer than during the period
of merest infancy. She intended you
should remain the embodiement of her
beauty aud power until the honors Of long
continued strength and maturity should
be gradually changed for the benignities
of ripe and venerable old age. Let us
see how you have entered into her plans
how you have cherished the spirit Of
her institutions. Lift your hat. All !
here are threads Of silver among your
locks, and you are only twenty-five. Your
eyes that should beam with joyancc deep
and clear, are dim and weak the light of
trusting innocence which beamed from
their transparent depths in childhood,
eclipsed by the fire Of unholy passions.
As Nature planned them, your teeth were
to be sound and even, clean and white;
but in that polluted chasm you call mouth,
there is an assemblage Of half decayed
instruments of mastcation, black as Ere
bus with smoke of uncean offerings you
have burned before your deity. But this
is not enough as though dccaying at the
vitals, there comes ali odor in your breath
sickening to inhale, aud 1t makes the
frame shudder like blast from the poi
son Upas. Do you suppose that being,
perfect in all His attributes, and near
whom no unclean thing can approach,
would acknowledge such a wretched car
ricature as the work of His hand? No.
as at present, you are Satan's representa-
tive not the Almighty's.
Beside all that concerns yourself, you
have your relation to society, aud here |
pronounce you robbcr of the worst de-
scription for while the highway man
only takes my purse, you enter room
where | have just as good a right to re-
main as you have, and deliberately COM
mence to rob me of my share Of that
sweet and vital element which is of more
worth than money ana eSSentlal 10 my
very existence. The robber of the com
mon right to pure air, is no better than
the robber Of the public purse; on the
contrary, he is just so much more an en-
emy to community, as the former tran
scends the latter in importance; and If
he who lightens the National Treasury is
made tc feel the penalty of the law, SO
ought he who infriuses on still more
indelienable right, to be punished with
corresponding severity; but as no legal
action is to be had on the question at
present, you chewers and smokers will be
permitted to 60 on committing your
nuisances until society can tolerate them
no longer. la the mean time you are
indebted to the superior courtesy of those
with whom vou associate for preserving