The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-08-18
THE WINE cUP.
AN APPEAL TO WOMEN

! Lwr'teb for ana sent ~ request 10 the
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No problem however intricate has more
; deeply engaged the profuudity Of the an
. cient philosopher, or made the hearts Of
I strong men beat with tbroes OF greater
anxiety. than the present subject eff Prohi-
bition. 1t is engrossing the attention OF
the whole political world and stirring with
in the breast of every deep thinker a sick
euing horror, at revelations OF the imagina-
ton Of what may come to pass ii something
Is not speedily done to arrest the onward
course Of the monster II Is a great, a
grand, a glorious scheme. IL is as lofty an
undertaking as the Son Of Man himself
would iHstigate ia the heart Of every living
creature, wreathing his brow with divine
halo, and calling forth each elevating i'm
pulse Of his soul The deadly yipers of
Bacchus have fastened heir langs upon the
nOblest intelects Of the land, aud already
j. the cruel poison mingling with the hearts
life blood while the merciless coils are
crushing slowly but surely bones and stu
ews for untimeiy graves Some hearth
stones have always been saddened some
nother,, sisters and fathers hearts have
always ached, while the bloody sweat of
mortified pride stole down the forehead and
blended with the binding tears of love, as
they saw hopes shattered aad idols crushed
at the gaming table, in the wicked death of
some creature once god-like in his mould.
But now the whole country Is at stake
every household, more or less, is assailed,
and woman next to public interest is the
greater sufferer. The sunny South, the
lovely Eden OF America, j. fast fading into
poverty. This once boosted sanctum of the
greatest statesmen, the most adrot generals,
the garden spot OF wisdom, will soon be
waste, and intellect 50 degenerated that
even a brilliant star of oratory will be
ashamed of its light amid the gathering
gloom.
The United States boasts of having $780,
600 confirmed druHkards, who annually
contribute to the country 300 murders, 400
suicides, 200, 600 orphans, and to the pris-
ons 100000 persons for which the sober
people are taxed $40 00O 900"
Where upon the face of the earth is to
be found such another blackened record ?
Where so great victory for the demons of
Pandemonium If the wine cup is the
DEVILS citadel as It's said to be, no wonder
then the welkin Is ringing 50 loud an alarm
throughout the land and calling to the res
cue every man, woman, and child, to aid
in the utter demolition OF the demon. With |
i'm the bosom of even the most self-sacrific- |
ing there beats pulse of selhshness, and |
no one can 50 deeply sympathize with those !
III distress he who himself has passed |
through the refiners hands, and tasted of
the bitter cup held to the reluctant lips |
thp, il Of
such vital Importance if the welfare Of the |
country as well as the happiness of the |
household is in peril, let sel6shness prompt |
the onward move, though ali the lofty emo |
tiOns for which women Is famed, remain |
dormant. The hour has come for deep |
thought, and plain terms must usurp the |
sweet words of hltteTy. The matter must !
be looked sternly face to face. The day has
arrived for the proof OF intellectual equality
of the sexes; or the name of woman to
shine with reiulgent glory, as the aIder,
the abettor of man, in his most glorious re-
formations, or be forever blemished If she
proves 10 be Il milestone locked around his
neck, and thus through her instrumentaiity
he is foiIed in the accomplishment of his
godliEe purpose. Man may destroy the
branches OF this deadly upas blooming and
tl0urshing IN our midst, but woman must
uproot the tree. Man may deny the nause-
Gus waters flowing from the stream, but in
the hand of women Is the key to the reser
vor. Man may pass his laws and establish
them abroad, but unless they are practiced
around the hearthstone; unless the hand of
women is raised with all its winning grace,
in the cause, the monster only slumbers, to
suddenly awaken as soon as the tolls of
coercion are withdrawn, and mangle her,
its fosteress, as she turns to flee, alas too
late from the horrid red jaws and blood
dripping tongue.
Woman has Il loftier sphere than even
the politician to fill. Her kingdom Is her
home and there she rocks the world in the
cradle; there she moulds the character of
man, carving precepts upon the pure white
tablets of his soul, so indellibly sometimes
that even the shaEpest incisiOns of the
wicked cannot erase. She gIrdS his armor
on and sends him forth to gather the Grim
son laurels from the CORY battlefield, to
rule the ballot-box, or with his mysterious
mind to frame the wonderOus laws before
which nations DOW subservient. Some writer
has truthtully said that: there are some
women who have little white souls like
doves, and when they enter the heart of
man, it is with him rs if the Holy Spirit
were there, and they nestle III him and keep
him FROM evil" What a marvellous thought
What a glorious idea. to keep an immortal
soul from evil to bold within a soft, deli
cate little pink palm 4 key to q human
fingers the reins that wieid the destiny of a
great noble, breathing mortal. But, oh,
shuddefiu4,y think too, for moment, OF the
responsibility appended TGrn the key and
let demons in that heart and What Will be
the sequence ?-bloody hands. Draw the
reihs ai..9s guide him into darkness and what
will be the terminus shrieks from the
bottomless abys that arouse the merclless
yultures Of remorse.
As man destroys the whisky goblet |
abroad, let women demolish the wine cup
i'm the sweet seclusion of her peaceful home, |
and thus with her own hand help to COM
plete the eradication of the greatest curse
upon earth. Wine fosters an APPETITE for
something stronger, and so long as the germ
- sept alive there Is sure probability OF a /
plant. Let the germ b DESTROYED and all
hope must die If nothing is left to foster
the taste according to the laws of nature, it
must perish for the want of nOurishment. |
How can full refoFmation be enacted with |
our unity Coercion may sRceeed for a |
time, but what future posteTity needs, Is /
sure, firm reformation, with faith, strength, |
and a stern sense of duty for its rocky foun-
dation L now lies in woman's bower to |
help man lay that foundation. First, by |
her own example of abstemeouaneSs sec |
orally, by u use af that gentle persuasive
ness, in which she has been clothed by hes
maker for his own good purposes. Wave
on wave rolls by upEa tnS pSS"AA va 0'iNS,
| but none go unfreighted. Every moment /;
bears its own responsibilities.
Oh. let every thinking woman enlist IN !
| the salvation Of fathers, brothers and sons. |
and as the stalwaFt arm of man is barred
abroad, let each true feminine heart at
/ home breathe prayer for success, until the |
wine cup is known no more, and the mon |
| ster is eternally exterminated Home in |
| huence forms the character at last. Remem- |
! Ter IN every cup of wine are dancing de |
| mons and ahen YOU present the sparkling |
beverage to a friend, ii his hand you place |
the cleaning dagger, in his heart you plant |
the seed of murder. Let Us, one aud all, |
| pledge ourselves to its everlasting destruc-
lion SAN SouCI