Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-01-27
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The saddest words which any man
ever feels himself compelled to utter
are 81 cannot" The most melan-
choly confession % which any one can
be reduced is. the admission that the
thing which it's desirable or necessary
for him to do he cannot accomplish.
When this failure Of force, of strength,
or of courage is the natural result Of
age, of illness, Of povexAY, or when 1t
comes by a misfortune beyond his con-
troll, there Is a consolation In the fact
that he has done what he could. He
can accept the situation with a good
conscience, and, resigning himself to
the unavoidable, find comfort In doing
what he would, if not what he can. But
By far the greater number Of cases of
dependence and irresolution are the
fault. Of the despairlng themselves.
Many men court and cherish poverty,
shame and contempt when, by a firm
exercise Of win, q patient continuance
in resistance, and a manly endurance
of discomfort, they might emancipate
themselves. 1t is simply a shame and
a reproach to themselves that they do
mot. 1t is a mean and wretched spirit,
in which, with every hope on the one
hand and every wretchedness and dis
aster on the other, they supinely per-
nit themselves to sink into misery. If
they alone were the sufferers, their
indifference, still oontemptible, would
be Of the less consequence. But the
friends and connections Of these moral
imbcciles suffer mentally more acutely
than they. They are Inundated in the
shame against which the causes of their
grief themselves are proof. And even
their bodily ~sustenance and comfort Is
sacrificed to the low tastes and base
pleasures of the men who should be
their guides, examples and support.
They blush for those Of whom nature
and affection designed they should
think with pleasure, and speak with
honest pride. In how many social and
family circles does the sad bar to COM
fort and peace exist In the Wfetched
degradation of some friend or member,
whose miserable condition Is almost
entirely his W fault. There is no
man who cannot, If lie will, r%elinquish
scottish habits. "Whatever man has
done, man may do" There is no con-
dition so abasod that men have not
recovered from 1t, as familiar instances
of personal reformation show. And
admitting the worst, that a slave to
intenperance must drink or die, 1t
were much better for him to die than
to live on under conditions which cause
shame aud misery to all his friends.
1t is, we repeat, pitiful for n man pos
sessed Of reason and conscience to say
al cannot" ina matter which depends
entirely upon himself. Medical advice
and the encouragement of friends can
always be had, if there is anything in
the physical state Of an inebriate which
requires assistance. The cures wrought
at inebriate asylums do not depend
entirely upon their location. Much
that is effective in the treatment pur-
sued in these Institutions cal be fol-
lowed anywhere, provided only the
patient will cut 81 cannot " out Of his
vocabulary, and resolve to reform.
The exercise Of reason and resolution
Is all-powerful, if with resolution to
amend the sufferer have such a whole
some d~istrtlst OF himself a, shall make
him not only shun temptation, but
avoid such persons as place 1t in his
way. OF all the sad exhibitions Of
human selflshness and cruelty which
the world affords, the worst Is that OF
the man who hides himself from his
family and friends in the companion
ship of absolute associates. The home
which he makes .wretched becomes
distastefnl to him. The faces Of those
whom he is cruelty abusing reveal
their grief unconsciously. The well
come with which he is met is con-
strained, and fear damps the joy with.
which even his children or kindred
would otherwise meet him. And all
this sorrow and discomfort are Of his
creation, and are by him continued and
prolonged. Removal Of the grief waits
only the substitution for 81 cannot"
of II ,eiU by Gods help" any