The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-11-03

I NAAG y Ou ~ NAEAuAuE 10 LlAE I'll
o treaties of his physician, he was sOOl
enjoying another fearful slUmber
when his wife returned, bathed hi
feTerish brow, gently smOOOthed tn
raven locks, and most fervently di,
she pray not only that his healtl
might be restored, but that he nigh
be restored to her the same fond af
feetiOnate husband he once rras. Sh,
then retired to her own room that h,
might enjoy undisturbed, his quie
slumber. On his waking, the dOetel
observed a still more natural anC
life-like expression in his eye, end ev
identity signs that health was return
ing. He spoke of another vision tha
had visited his pillow, and wept upOI
awaking to find it but dream.
L''When shall VIZ king be allowed
To gaze upon thy perfect charms,
And clasp the once without a cloud
A child Ofearth within these aTmSe"
"oh what pride to say-thIs, this,
Is my own angel"
"YOur dreams seem to be having :
better effect than my medicine. You
had better try and sleep once more
and if the angel comes again put you
arms about her and open yours at the
same moment, and perhaps you will
see her" He followed the advice,
anu though the doctor suspected he
was not sleeping very sOUndly ne per.
, mitted his wife to visit him again.
As she bent gently over him and
pressed her lips to his forehead, he
suddenly threw his arms around heI
/. { and croza1 SfaadfasfIxr II, bar foao &, -, -,
ment, then looked dOUbtingly at the
doctor, as if for assurance that he was
not sleeping, then ne relipquished
his grasp and turned from heTas when
first startled by the sight OF the mon
ster. Mrs. Lazelle fell upon her
knees by the bedside and murmured
'AIy husband, my dear, dear, hus-
baRdPi
"But where is Mr.. st. Clair?'
He retired from the party that eve-
ming heart-broken and despairing.
For several weeks he yielded to one
unceasing round of dissipation, until
he had so far debased all the noble ell
ements of character that sorrow had
lost its pOignanoy. He then alterua-
ated between SCIENCES of gayety, study
and debauchery. In his rational mo-
ments he gave his attention to the
law, which was his chosen profession
and at intervals his far reaching judg-
ment, towering intellect, and eloquent
address, were objects of the wide
spread and profound admiration. He
was great admirer Of Edgar A. Poe,
and his most sublime speeches were
| embellished with quotations from
that distinguished poet. He so far
adapted his manners and morals that
eulOgizing his eccentricities seemed
/ his best self-defense. He returned to
his home at the north, and as the hu-
man mind must have something to
engross it, he to whom all social and
domestic endearments were lost, turn
ed his attention to the affairs of the
State. The excitement of politics
proved the most satisfactory aliment
/ to Lnind that disdained to feed on
the petty affairs of neighbOrhOod Cos
sip or sectional interest. He never
won his way to distinction by slow
degrees; but his first ambition was
| Washington, and he reached it with
none of the tedious waiting and serv-
ing from Alderman in 4 country vii
lage through all the progressive steps
usually requisite to a seat in Congress.
Though comparatively young in years
and indisputably lax in morals, with
his oath of Office, he swOre eternal
death to theslave power. To strength
en- him in this purpose, he had the
benefit of an early education rigidly
opposed to slavery, and an intensified
zeal OecasiOned by seeing the dearest
Of earthly interest borne beyond his
reach by this tidal wave. Among his
first acquaintance and warmest
friends may be mentioned the Hon.
Mr.. Granger from Louisiana, to whom
the reader has previously had a par
tial introduction. In politics they
were Numerically opposed to each
other, but socially they were attract
ed by mysterious influence, and many
warm and interesting debate ensued
in private as well as in the legislature
halls. Mr.. Granger was a man of
large views and great magnaminity
of character, and but for the fact "bY
this craft we have our wealth, y would
have been as much opposed to slav-
cry as Mr.. st. Clair.
"It seems to me,n remarked Mr..
Granger in one of their private enter
views, "that you have quite enough
to do to extirpate the sin that lies at
your own door, and 1 believe to-day
if it were possible to dethrone drunk
EN- men from their seats in Congress
and free our country from this terri
bic seourge, it would do more for our
perpetuity rs a nation and happiness
as individuals, than to uproot slavery
from its foundation
'Intemperance is a question Ofmere
individual concern, and it is not the
province of the nation to meddlewith
it at all. 1t is every mans privilege
to drink if he chooses, or to let it
alone if he prefers" replies Mr.. st. |
Clair, slightly stung by his friends re-
mark.
II cannot quite agree with you that |
it is not a subject of national interest |
for there are more at this very hour /
signing and dying from the effects of 1
intemperance at the north than are /
groaning under the yoke ofOppressiOn 1
in the South :"
"You speakas though intemperance |
belonged peculiarly to the north. I /
think have seen its effects quite as
plainly under more sunny sky, |.
while slavery you must acknowledge /
is purely Southern institution"
''That is just the distinction I was /
about to make. Slavery is a question /
of mere sectional interest, and con- /
fined to a certain race. 1t is not .
known to exist to any considerable .
extent except in America, and here /
it is bounded by strictly defined lines
and restricted to an individual class,
while intemperance reaches from the
frozen serpent Of the North to tha
sunny climes of the South. The cold
and the heat are alike adapted to its
growth. 1t belongs to no country
and no class; but is the common
of the world, and is held
as dear by the subject as by his soYer-
eign, and upon its broad platform the
Senator and the ditch digger stand
upon equal footing, and while slav-
cry gives the white man a superiority
over his cOlored brother, ,intemperance
elevates the negro to common level
with his master; and which shall we
most, the benighted
African who tolls all day in the cot
ton fields, and lies down to peaceful
quiet sleep at night, or his intelligent
master, who with reason dethrOned
wallOws in the mire at his feet, and
fights the demon from his pillow at
night gr /,
Mr.. st. Clair was silent, and Mr..
Granger continued ~ am willing to
admitted that slavery is an evil. An
evil too, sufficient magnitude to sink
q nation beneath its guilt, and our
glorious stars and stripes are already
in human gore with the blood of the
mangled and distorted; but great as Z
this evil Is, claim it has in this a
parallel if not a precedent. This
practice which renders man a beast,
yea, more, a DeUH."
"There is not statesman of any
note living whoever claimed that in
was as great an evil as
slavery"
THAT is possibly true. A great
many erroneous views have been en-
IeTtained by men who have won un- ,
merited laurels. To entertain but one
eading idea at time is sscharacteris-
lie of the American people, and slav-
cry at present happens to be the CEN ,
raj thought, and all other questions ,
however intimately or remotely con- ,
leoted with our interests as a peOple
AN run rampant with the public !
mind, while in their wild zeal they !
pursue like bloodhOunds in the track
)f this iaded and worn down pame.U ,