Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1863-05-15
Original.
o TEMPORA! 0 MORES!--No. 8.
BY MEDDLER.

"Then with a plen :eous draught refresh thy
soul,
And draw new spirits from the generous bowl,
Inlaming wine, pernicous to mankind,
Unnerves the limbs, and dulls the noble mind )"
7'ranslat. Homer.
1ntemperance has long been one of the
most baneful and dreadful scourges with
which society bias been inflicted. Itmerits
the denunciation and Reputation Of every
minded man, and certainly no effort
should be omitted which can strike, with
any effect, against the strong and sturdy
growth it has assumed in the public tole-
ration. But the nature and purpose of
these necessarily brief dispositions, Gf
they deserve the name, will not permit
me to enter upon so broad "a undertake
ing, and to speak here of intemperance
as a general question. That is the work
of Ministers of the Gospel, and Professors
and Lecturers of a like pious nature. 1t
is my purpose to consider the subject on
ly in the relation it bears to young men,
and to show them, as far as may be ne
cessary, how false and ill-founded is the
notion, now 50 prevalent among them
that it has any kind of connection with
the principles which should control the
conduct of gentlemen in their intercourse
with each other. cannot describe this
vice better than by giving it the denomi-
nation of :" fashionable drunkenness. =
Upon all occasions of parties, public ex-
hibitions, fetes, festivals, and the like, it
is the pride and the boast of many young
men to be drunk and he who declines
one of their glasses is denounced at once
as behind the times; unfit to be in a
crowd; or, perhaps. unworthy of the as
ISOLATION of such fast and fashionable
gents as they esteem themselves. Who
does not know that many boy, whose
moral training at home is perhaps excel
lent, and who fain in his heart would not
be subjected to such vicious influences,
is induced to take the first step to intem-
perance, and is thus ruined forever, by
this system Of reproacb upon his imputed
backwardness He dislikes, Of course,
to be scorned for his stupidity, or laugh.
ed at for his greenness, and soon he knows
as we'll what is a "gin cocktail" a
punch" or take it raw" as the
most noted topper. And then how he de-
lights to say to his companion, you were
not half as drunk as was )" or, perhaps,
{" didn't take more than four or FIVE
drinks during the whole day" This is
no fiction. 1t is but too true and faith
full a picture. | travelled a short dis.
lance, some time since, in stage coach.
with six young gentlemen, all strangers
to me, and upon the bottle being, of
course, passed around in very short
time after our start, the one seated next to
me partially declined, with myself, the
the urgent invitation to drink, and was
tbereupon led to hope that had lnckily
met with companion who had the moral
courage to spurn the degradation of
drunkenness, at the expense Of being
charged with want of appreciation of
the modern manners Of sol distant gen.
ilemen. The rest drank, and soon became
very merry. The bottle came again, and
with repeated and more pressing solicita-
tons. Ny friend endeavored again to
decline. but this fashionable party would
take no refusal they became clamorous;
they represented the felicitous state Of
their own feelings they sang 6ne songs;