Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-01-02
Bottle.


"Sucde;" Murder; :" Drunkenness !"
these words epitomize much of the heaviest
news Of the past week. Our readers cannot
fail to be shocked by the dreadful iteration
and reteration of them. We dare not saw
how many separate families have suddenly
been made wretched by tragedies sampled
nv the self.murder by poison Of a beautiful
Young bride of seven months in New York.
because she found herself tied to a drunken
husband; the suicide with a pistol of
bank president in Chicago, because he was
inseparablv united to drunken wife; the
shooting of his three children, and then of
himself in New York, by husband and
father who was tired of trying to live with
drunken wife; and the homicide, by the
knife, of young woman in this city, a
harmless, faithful operative whose misfor-
tune it appears to have been at the critical
moment to have crossed the path of des-
perado who was maddened by liquor to that
degree that he "was bound to kill somebody"
To all appearance, if intoxicating liquors
could have been annihilated or, what would
come TO the same result in the end if all
these parties could have been emancipated
from their influence, these frightful catas-
trophies might have been spared, and these
darkened homes been bright with the peace
of God to-day.
And SO the demon rages-in high places
and in low places-simultaneous carrying
tribulation and desolation every-whither in
his train.
And the dismal record goes on Day after
day and week after week, news columns are
filed with similar-if not equally appalling
illustrations of the awful harm which is
being wrought, in this nineteenth century
and this Christian land, by the use of in.
toxicants as beverage. Wretchedness so
insupportable as to drive beautiful women
and strong men to murder themselves, and
their little ones, as, in their apprehension,
the least of two evils and with remedy
so simple, easy and absolute as total absti-
hence, at hand
viii nothing wake people up to the i'm.
port of these things Must this horrible
curse rage and devastate forever
The practical difficulty is that this kind
of life lies along the downward slope of an
| inclined plane, so that bv the time the ex-
hilarating and ENJOYABLE stages are over
and the foreshadows of the dreadful end be
gin 10 strike upon the Mortified eye, mo
mentum of habit has been generated so ur
gent and irresistible as almost-in many
cases, altogether-to put it beyond The power
of the enfeehled will to break this bondage
and regain the lost freedom.
How many there are who are to-day nursing
such habit, by the needless indulgence
perhaps in compliance with Fashionable
social usages, of what seems to them per-
fectly harmless custom. 1t NAV be that
these words may fall under the eye of some
of these persons. Suffer then, we entreat
you, the word of exhortation. What real
good does it, will it, can it do you. TO con-
tinue to drink even AZ moderately " as YOU
claim is your habit now. If you are sick,
and drink as a medicine, get well, we i'm
plore you, and leave off this, with all physic.
as soon as may be. If YOU are well we doubt
il yourselves imagine that wine or brandy
are really calculated to make good health
better. Forfend we beseech you, your own
future: make it at once aud forever i'm
possible that you shall ever come under the
consuming power of this horrible habit of
drunkenness. And then remember YOUR
children. Boys and girls, bright beautiful.
lovely and loving to-day; keep them So.
Fortify their future. Do not let them have
fathers or a mothers example to tempt
them into this downward road of death.
How few art the years since all those on the
earth who to-day are suffering unspeakable
| horrors i'll consequence of their bondage to
strong drink We're the careless, sunny, merry
children of somebody. Oh, do not tempt
your own flesh and blood There will be
bad people enough to do that, without your
being accessory before the fact Have
mercy on other peoples children, too. For
Gods sake and for mans sake do all you can
to make strong beforehand against tempta
ton those who may be tempted, as well as
to recover those out of the snare of the devil
who are taken captive by him at his will.
Three things seem to be practicable IN
reference to the subject which is enpha,zeI
by these tragedies of the week. We beg
our readers to give them favorable con
sidcratiou
The first is, to make the personal habit
and influence clearly. faithfully, wihsomely,
and unchangeably, on the side of abstin.
ence and safety.
The second is, TO unite with all good citi-
zens in procuring the enactment and en-
forcement Of such laws as shall remove
temptation from our streets, and hotels, and
hauntng-places.
The third is, to seek to stimulate and
guide the prayers aud labors Of the churches
in this channel of effort and influence. When
temperance Ill any community is universally
recognized as one of the objective points OF
gospel success there for which Gods people
ought especially to labor, the day OF doom
OF many distilleries will have come.-Con.
gregdiiOndiia.