Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-05-07

miah, let us each one begin over against his
own house. II we can no more than make
our own defense complete, surely we shall
not have labored in vain.
When, in ancient times, God forewarn ed
Noah of the destruction which should be
dealt to the people who obeyed him not,
and commanded him TO prepare place OF
refuge for himself and such as should be
saved from the threatened flood, meanwhile
preaching to the people and warning them
of the wrath of God because of their wick
edness and unbelief, and the woe which
would surely overtake them If they heeded
not the warning, what was the result of the
labors of this faithful preacherp For one
hundred and twenty years he continued to
proclaim the word revealed to him. Young
men laughed ut the warning and kept on in
their sins; they grew old and still the min
lister oil God foretold the same doom; still
he builded the ark, and men scoffed because
the flood came not, yet his .ftih never wav-
cred. Still he labored. and, though reviled
and jeered at, still he warned men of the
destruction he firmly believed would be vis-
tied upon them, and with what successP
Think you he felt his labors had been in
vain when he beheld every member of his
own family believer in the might and power
of God, and ready not only to entrust them
selves to the protection of the ark of refuge,
but to assist in its building9 No doubt Noah
lamented that no more could bo induced to
believe and be saved from the destructi on
xu binh axxyaifaH thnnt l,ttfx w bn Hnftht
that in the preservation of his own house.
hold alone, he felt that God had rewarded
him for his labors and his faith?
Then, sisters, while we labor. earnestly la
Dor to save our country from the ruin which
intemperance will surely bring, let us not
feel that our work is in vain, though our in
huence be never felt beyond our own hearth
stones.
But it cannot stop here. II by our exer-
tions to make home pleasant, our influence
ever judiciously exerted for the right, we
are so blessed as to save husband, u son !,
or brother from the snare, who can tell
the influence he in turn may exert upon 9TH
ers, thus extending the tiny ripple of good to
the mountain wave which may relieve the
almost stranded ship!
Do you say "my hus band, or my brother
is safe. l have confidence in his integrity,
have no fear of his fall?n Then thank God
that he is still free from the enthralllng vice,
but while you rejoice in his safety, look
around you and see how many have fallen,
in whose fidelity and firmness you have
placed scarcely less confidence than in that
Of your own dear ones. Witness the homes
made desolate, the families sundered, the
children beggared, the hearts broken, where
once Love and Happiness reigncd supreme,
and read in this ruin which rum has wrought
the danger which threatens even him who
now stands by your side free from the dead
ly curse.
Then with your whole soul labor in this
worthy cause not selfishly, for we shall be
blessed even rs we extend the blessing to
others, yet in all our exertions for the re-
hood, let us not forget TO see well to it, so
far as the responsibility and the power lie
with us, that over against our own house the
wall of defense is strong.
And, above all things, let us train our
daughters rs well rs our sons, to realize the
woe which intemperance will cause, not on
ly to individuals, but the sure destruction it
will bring to our whole country if its prog
ress be not stayed. If our girls, everywhere,
could be brought to see the power they hold;
if they would only take firm stand and
never associate with young mon who in-
dulge in the social glass, above all things
never encourage the attentions of such with
view to marriage indeed, would
the cause of temperance, or, rather, of total
abstinence, find an ally of sufli cient power
to accomplish wonderful results.
Oh, girls! pause before you link your lives
in the holiest of bonds with those whose
lips, though now uttering words of endear-
ment, may, bloated with rum, curse you (;
whose hands now clasping yours in love-
may, actuated by the maddening fury of in
toxication, be raised to infict a deadly bio
upon yourself or your innocent ba be |;
whose lofty intellect, before which men bow,
and in which you so justly take pride, may,
clouded by the fumes of hell's own beverage,
be sunk to the level of the idiot or the beast !:
aye, pause before you take this moment
Gus step and ask yourselves whittier you are
about to plunge.
But here is The trouble. Our girls associate
with young men whom they know do not
refuse the invitation of n friend to take n
social glass. They observe many excellent
qualities which command their respect
perhaps amiability. liberality, industry and
prudence, intellectual power,-and when
the question is asked on whose answer de-
ponds n lifetime of veal or woe, of happiness
or misery, they examine the heart rather
than exercise the judgment, and find that of
this respect for many admirable qualities,
love has been born, and they cannot answer
mo-
Then again say, do not accept such men
rs your associates. Do you fear that thus
you would send them all to swift destruction?
Danish the thought. The more young men
realize the high stand which women may
take in this matter,-the more they see us
adhere to a fixed principle of right not only
for our good but for their own, the more
they will realize the degradation to which a
lack of principle may lead them. Thus may
they be led to release themselves from the
snare which is just enwreathing them in its
meshes, and seek the society of the pure
minded women whose adherence to princi-
pie has wrought 80 mighty an influence
noble, manly, worthy to be respected for all
good qualities, but most of all, for their un-
waverng integrity to the strict principles OF
total abstinence.
Then let MS all, mothers and daughters,
wives and sisters, join heart and hand in
this needed work. Praying for divine guild
ance, let us each choose that portion of the
broad field of labor best suited to their pow
ers and opportunities, and, sustained by