Mexico weekly ledger., 1878-02-21
rms itself-awakens the slumberlnp

into action-after great results, there
will and does come a power, the ne
culiar and proper and only name of
which is womal's influence, which
nothing ever has-which nothing ever
can withstand, in every good cause /;
even the gates of He'll shall not pre-
vail against it, for it becomes Gods
weapon, with which His right hand
deliyers the. blows.
Take for illustration of this the
work in which We are now engaged.
In a city whose whole population may
number 1--WE thousand, four thousand
of these four-fift Is of all the souls
within our walls, wearing honestly and
proudly the blue. From prattling
infancy, though all the scale of exis-
tence to the oldest inhabitant, all
standing out boldly and honestly in the
full sunlight, on the high broadway
of temperance and virtue ; and among
them many who have supped sorrow
with their wine and ''trod the wine
press" worse THAN alone" as bonds
men of Satan. Best of all, in all our
camp is not one Achen, nor on the
march not a straggler and all this ac-
co nplished in five short weeks!
What agencies have wrought out
this great salvation? Speeches from
this platform? Nay verify! 1t was
woman's forces gone aoutr fte re-
sults-the power of woman's influence
leading the hosts out of the land of
bondage to sin, to poverty, to de-
cease, to shame, to crime, across the
Red Sea of intemperanee, into the
land of promise where the rich pos
ses sings of temperance lay.
l At the command of her quiet, small
voice, even the blood-tinged waters
of that sea opened, and all the people
passed through dry-shod safe!
Such are the grand results Of this
decisive action, and yet the half is
not told, nor can be known until the
coming years shall give forth the ripe
fruits of our garnerIngs in. You and
/, my middle-aged friends, will die
without the sight Of the second vim
tage. These can only be determined
and measured when these little mai
dens and boys, who sea our colors
and march under our banners now,
shall have grown to middle age.
When these girls shall be wives and
natrOns, when these boys, needing
the temperance gospelwe have proach-
ed shall become men and citizens ;
having charge of the affairs of the city,
county apd State.
Ii thirty years addition to the more
than fifty | have already lived, has
one attraction more than amy other
to make it desirable, it would he that
I might tarry, during these years in
this city of noble, grand women and
good men, and measure, comprehend,
enjoy, the glorious fruits of our victo-
nv, a victory, not only bloodless, but
first pure and peaceable.
While this power of wo mans in
fuence is so grand and magnificent
in its strength, its chiefest glory Is
in the fact, demonstrated by the his
tory of the ages, that in the great
conflict between truth and error, vice
and virtue, right and wrong, which,
being declared in Eden, has from that
day To this, been fragrant md waxing
hotter and hu ter through the centu-
ries until now, it always rallied under
the dove-wiuged banner OF truth and
virtue and right. And however the
enemy may KAYE changed its coiors
or whatever new disguise it may have
assumed, or IN whatever new locality
it may have pitched its camp, or upon
what new and unleard of field it may
have set its squadrons. still woman
with an intuition like unto inspira-
ton, has never been betrayed into
ambush, nor deceived into the enc
mics camp, nor allured into it's SER
vice, but even amid the densest
smoke and heaviest thunder of the
direst conflict, has discovered her
proper banner, her own troop, her
own commander, and with the thrill
ing battle cry, let us conquer or die,
has gone into the strife. .
But grand as is this power OF fe-
male influence when organized, there
is something poetical i'll the quiet,
unobtrusive and perhaps unrecorded
exercise of her influence by the indi-
vidual woman, working out through
quiet, though kind words, or simple
ministries of love magnificent results
and victories. In a thousand instan-
ces what has not been so done How
many men are there moi to day, full
of usefulness and of honors, all OF
which is due to just such Influences,
words or acts:
Who can tell how many young men
who tonight stand shoulder to shout
der with us in our grand army, were
induced to enlist by some unrecorded
and unknown exercise of a sisters
love the suggestion or smile of APP
proyal of some lady friend or on the
advice of some matron may remain
unknown, until the revelations across
the river.
What, even the simplest act a lady
NAV do, NAV accomplish in the way
of rescuing the tempted or saving
the beleaguered is we'll illustrated in
the light of Il conspicuous page, alike
of American History and biography
Seventy years ago Richmond Vir-
cinia in population, commerce, wealth,
learning and polite society was the
American metropolis. In that city
combined Romen solidity wi Ii Athe-
MAN elegance and oriental luxuri-
ance. To it was attracted from all
p,rts of the Union the lawyer, the
| divine, the gentleman of leisure, the
lover of poetry and song, as we'll as
the admirer OF elegance and Belle Let
tiers. Among those thus attracted
and who gravita,ed thither was a
Young man, William Wiz, then no
more than tiirty-two years OF age, OF
excellent family, of noble presence,
generous impulses and great power
of elequenec as well as of much ge-
Mus.
He had all the advantages of a SUI
perior scholastic education, and in
IL, -rh nl,.a,n1 snctruatioV