West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1882-01-18
WESTVIRGINIAF FREEMAN.
Rum PersOnifed.

ED. FREEMAN; From time i'm
memorial the Devil has had a
gruls, against men. Even from
the early morn of mans history,
when the first Sun, dispensing the
mists of night, let his beams fall
upon the work of creation, when
the Creator looked upon the work
of his hands and pronounced it all
very good, Satan seems to have been
lurking near.
We may suppose that his Satan
icjealousy was aroused when he saw
the finny tribes that swarm the
seas, or when he heard the chant Of
the songster as he hymned his notes
of praise to God from his leafy bow
er, or when he saw the animals that
roam in field and forest, all in their
way speaking in honor of their
Maker
But when he saw man, to whom
He had given dominion over all
other creatures; man with his
symmetrical person, mis- dignifed
bearing, rejecting the image of
his Creator, Satan formed the de-
sign of robbing God of the glory of
his work, and man of his peace,
his happiness, his dignity, his hon
or, and of finally ruling earth, dis
turbing the order of Heaven, and
peopling his own dreary regions
with human beings.
Conscious of his lack of power to
coerce man, he approaches him I'M
der the guise of friendship, and
with lies and batteries he suggests
as measure promotive of human
happiness, and for the qualification
of laudable ambition, just little
experimenting, just little tamper-
ing with the law which God had
given them. His plans succeed,
man is seduced; he lays his foul
hand upon him and mars the image
of the Divine. He touches mans
heart and thus corrupts and embit-
tiers the very fountain and source
of his thoughts and affections, and
turns them away from God, from
holiness, from purity; so that now
out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, for
cations, thefts, false witnesses, bias
phemies He touches mans tongue,
and teaches him to speak great
swelling words of vanity.
Encouraged by his marvellous
success, he sets about the construc-
ton Of implements Of war by which
to subdue and destroy the coming
generations of men. In this he uses
very simple materials. He invents
and gives to man the sword of pro-
family by which God is insulted
and man is degraded; the sword of
Falsehood, by which Truth is
wounded the swords of Slander
and Murder: which blight charac-
ter and destroy life.
He makes other i'm plements of
human destruction, such as Gam
bling, Adultery, Fighting, Fraud,
&C., and then in order that these
may be most successfully used, he
takes certain liquid, and by add
ing few poisonous drugs he makes
a monstrous beast, of gigantic and
unsightly proportions, infuses into
him his own devilish life, gives
him heart harder than adamant,
and fiendish purpose to break the
ties which bind together parents
and children, wives and husbands,
to destroy virtue, mar the Church,
and spread desolation and destruc-
ton everywhere.
He calls the monster Rum, and
commissions him Major General of
all Satanic forces on earth; COM
mits to him all the implements of
destruction above named See the
monster! as he appears on the war
path, swinging from his blazing
girdle his murderous weapons,
stained with dishonor and dripping
with human gore.
Asa policy for the advancement
of Satan's kingdom, he knocks at
the doors of Senate Chambers, Leg
islative Halls, City and Town coun-
ellis, and as a great political and civ
il reformer, with fendish aIdacity,
insists upon recognition and en-