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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
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 THE COLLECTION OF 
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UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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(iRjaaxajams ron TsiaPERANCEj 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE STUDENTS OF THE 
 
 wirai^i^ia^a^^ 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA, 
 
 March 13th, 1831, 
 
 AND PUBLISHED BY THEIR REQUEST. 
 
 B¥ E. MITCHELL, 
 
 PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, ETC. 
 
 Printed by J. Gales ^ Son, 
 1831. 
 
 «J*«2^ 
 
i 
 
 -•% 
 
 
t 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The University of North -Carol in a has suffered, in common 
 with the other literary institutions of the Country, from the evils 
 against which *he following Discourse is directed. It is not suppos- 
 ed they have been felt more severely here than elsewhere. In the sum- 
 mer of 1829, some of the Students formed themselves into a Temper- 
 ance Society, and since that time it has been in our power to say to 
 Parents, that there is one form of vice from which they have nothing 
 to fear for their sons at the University. Whatever maybe the merits 
 of the general Temperance question (and the writer has no doubts 
 Hpon that point, or respecting the issue to which it will be brought in 
 the course of the next ten years) it will not be denied, that the per- 
 sons by whom this particular Society was established, and by whom, 
 it has been supported, have rendered an essential service to the peo" 
 pie of this State, nor deemed strange that the author of the following 
 pages should feel a deep interest in its permanence and prosperity. — 
 Besides these statements, no apology will be necessary for having 
 furnished this Discourse for the Press. The train of remark and ar- 
 gument presented in it, does not differ, in some places, froim what may 
 ^e found in certain recent publications. It is known that it was writ- 
 Hen out and delivered in the first instance more than a year ago. 
 * University of N. C. April B, 18^1. 
 
 \ 
 
V,: 
 
 " TiMOiav J, 23. "Drink ISO Ioniser water but use a lltric wine fiV 
 ihy s iov: Kipj j.^.s fji\iP, .-'r" '1 ' ^^ iim n>'<'<^^'> infirmities. "—•'*•**— *»»^ 
 
 IT is knowu to rao?t of my audience., tliat vritliiii a few 
 years tlie public mind ht\s in vnrious ways been awaken- 
 ed to a cousiderafion of tiic miscliiefs of Intemperance. -— 
 Methods liavc been eagerly enquired afier of arre^jting the 
 progress of an evil that is pouring down like a deluge over 
 ihe land and burying th? liappincss of thousands of fami- 
 ih'.fi in hopeless ruin. The plans proposed for effecting 
 this object arc abundantly f^implc. They consist merely 
 in Hie formation of societies tlie membeis of vrhick bind 
 ihciiiselvcs. c-iilier indefinitely or for a certain time, to ab- 
 stain altogether from the vsc. of distilled spirits. An as- 
 sociatiou of i his kind already exists in ihc University. — 
 it is not doubted that the good work which has i)een be- 
 giUi wiU be carried on with nnremittiog zeal^ and as most 
 of us are likely to be compelled to take some attitude — - 
 that of eitlier frieiid or foe to the new instikition that iff 
 sjiringing up iu the country^ it is important that its princi- 
 ples and objects should be well understood. It would 
 appear at first sight to be impossible, as it certainly is un- 
 reasonable, that the hostile feeling of any one should be 
 excited ; the meml>ers proposing to bind themselves only 
 to abstinence^ and not other people Experience has how- 
 ever sliewis, that no benevolent undertaking can iTe carried 
 into efiect without a struggle with men, who from various 
 |inotives of interest or passion, are led to oppose it The 
 attention of my hearers will be called to three diiferenr 
 points. 
 
 I. To the necessity of some measures for arresting the 
 desolating progress of Intemperance in this land. 
 
 II. To the adequacy and expediency of the means pro- 
 posed for effecting the object in view. An opportunity 
 'vill here be aflPovded' of answering; i^ertain objection^? felia-t 
 
^•y has liithevto been ibnnd for it — i| embraces not tlie ani- 
 mal part of our natmc only in the circle of its ravaj^cs, but 
 the entire man. Tiie undeishu^ding and ilic heart sink 
 alike; every glorious faculty obscured, and every amiable 
 and lovely feeling destroyed. 
 
 Hence is the injustice apparent of permitting .our anger 
 to burn too hotly against tlie man wlio has fallen a victim 
 to habits of Intem]jerance, and of regarding him as a being 
 under the influence of a kind of charm which )2e ha^ the 
 power to break loose from and escape, if he would. Prob- 
 ably no one living is more sensible than he of the ]nesent 
 degradation and final ruin he is bringing up(m iiiuiself : 
 many a melancholy hour do his thoughts dv.eU upon the 
 calamities that are about to overwhelra him, many a bitter 
 tear does he drop upon those chains that have already be- 
 come too strong for him to break, lie forms many a beauti- 
 ful scheme of reformation — as he is giving it the finishing 
 touches, he feels the strong and unnatural appetite he has 
 jcreated commence it gnawings, and turns for relief to the 
 glass where, with the means of present gratification and 
 enjoyment, he well knows that the elements of future and 
 remediless disgrace and sufiering are mingled. 
 
 Hence also is manifest the danger of the most distant 
 approaches to that gloomy gulf, deliverance from which is 
 bardly, if at all, (and the hand of Almighty God being 
 Tisibly stretched out to pluck us from ruin) to be expected. 
 Xiet no one regard Intemperance as a monster from whose 
 jaws it is easy to escape when we have been once brought 
 within the circle of his power. Experience has ])roved, 
 that no amount of native talent, of information or lirmness 
 of character, is a security. If the grim tyrant habit have 
 thrown his chaiiis around us, it is all but hopeless to strug- 
 gle with our fate. Before those chains shall have been 
 iairlyri vetted, our whole constitution, physical, intellectual 
 and moral, will have undergone a change, and we shall no 
 longer be the men we were. 
 
 I seems hardly necessary to state in detail how fatal 
 are habits of Intemperance to the poor wretch wlio has 
 3>ecome their victim. Standing high perhaps in the society 
 
of wliich lie is a iiieml^r, he iintls the lespecfc with wliicli 
 an antecedent lil'c of virtue, leiiiperancc and inte2;rity has 
 been rewarded, ])iissing silently iuvay, like the snows ut 
 spring, beneath the influence of tlie sun. The old, Avhosb 
 conduct used to shew how highly they prized his friend- 
 ship, and the young, who were once so eager to exhibit 
 evidence of their esteem and roi^^ard, now pass him by with- 
 out any more tiian a cold and distant salutation. His opi- 
 nion has no longer (lie same weight in cases of doubt and 
 perplexity. His neighbours think tliat a cloud has settled 
 down upon his judgment and darkened that mental ey?. 
 once so clear and keen. He begins to suspect, himself, 
 that mankind do him no injuslicc. Flis affairs are involv- 
 ed in confusion and disorder, and either his schemes ar.^ 
 not laid v.ith his nsual sngacity, or the turns of acci- 
 cident and fortune are very much against him. He ^nih. 
 that he has lost a portion of his power for both physical 
 and mental exertion His iumily appear melanclioly and 
 dejected, and it is in vain that lie, waiies up all his wit and. 
 tries by the most sprig!) tly sallies to revive their drooping 
 spirits. They used to meet him when he returned from a 
 distance with countenances lighted up with smiles, and 
 welcome home the protector, husband, friend and father. 
 But the time comes at length, when his wife and childreu 
 no longer rejoice at his return, but as he approaches they 
 stand silent ; their hearts wrung with unutterable sorrow, 
 and turn away their eyes and refuse to look upon the ruia 
 and degradation of what was once so venerable and lovely. 
 Oh, if there be any one thing beneath the circuit of the 
 sky of Avhich there is any liope that it will awaken the 
 strong feelings of nature, tiiat are either asleep or dead 
 within him, and rouse him to one last despairing efiort to 
 shake ofl' his chains and regain his freedom, it is that dis- 
 tress of his family. Eut often, as we know, even that is 
 unavailing. The voice of tlie strong appetite he has crea- 
 ted is louder than the voice of nature, and the mansion thrst 
 lias hitherto been the abode of love and ])eacc, becomes 
 the very scene of his excesses, and vvhen his brain is lieat- 
 ed to phrenzy, the arm of violence is perhaps raised again-t 
 a woTnan— the wife »f ids bosom, or asL-ainst those chiidr?::! 
 
 I 
 
<sl 
 
 who should be the objects of his tejulerestiove.. Eutwhy 
 pursue the melancholy story, the particulars of which, 
 from the unhappy frequency of thejr occurrcuccj are but 
 too well known to us all? Why speak of the ruin of his 
 credit, the wasting of Ills property, the quarrels (with his 
 "best friends too) into which lie is betrayed, when petulant 
 and ill uatured through the effect of intoxication? His 
 friends deriving no ])leasure from his society, at length 
 forsake him. His estate is squandered, and his children, 
 (because the wealth that should have co:iie down to them 
 from their ancestors, is intercepted in its descent by the 
 author of tiieir being, whom thelaw of nature that binds even 
 the brute creation J required to be their friend and protector) 
 are driven away to seek their fortune iu some foreign land 
 and on a distant shore. 
 
 The poor wretch himself feels at length the access of 
 those diseases of which he has been so long sowing the 
 seeds. The poison he lias been for years taking into his 
 system operates decisively. He sinks beneath a compli- 
 cated load of disorders and infirmities — shall I say into a 
 late or an early grave? An early giave, inasmuch as he 
 lias but just reached the age when the sober and temperate 
 part of mankind are in theirprime — a late one also, for he 
 has long since ceased to be useful in the world, and ceased 
 therefore to execute the office for which God created him, and 
 for which his life was prolonged from day to day— and again I 
 say, an early grave; for has not he died too soon, who has died, 
 as there is but too much reason to fear, with his sins unrepented 
 of, and therefore unforgiven ; who was unable to endure the 
 scrutiny which mankind are accnstomed to institute, and 
 by which they try each others characters ; how shall he 
 abide the inquisition of that Holy God in whose sight the 
 heavens themselves are impure. ^ 
 
 But suppose the man who has killed himself with strong 
 drink to be committed to the grave, his past conduct does 
 not cease to influence the happiness of mankind, and hie 
 follies and crimes continue to live iu their effects when he 
 is no more. 
 
 If we diligently anquire what is that more than any 
 
other tbins; — perliaps I mii^lit .safely vsay, wbicli more thaa 
 all other things, influences the peace and prosperity of a 
 commiinity, we shall find it is t!»e education of its younger 
 members. Mankind are every where the same at their 
 birtli, but the eiiect of early impressions is infinite. If 
 t!ie child ,be taught from bis very earlie&t years to lisp hi^ 
 little prayers, and as lie advances towards manhood care 
 be taken to imbue bis ,'^outbfal mind with the pure princi- 
 ples of virtue, morality and religion ; if he be taught to as- 
 pire to every thing that is good and generous and kind and 
 iiobk'. that child can iiardly fail, when he shall ripen into 
 a man, of becoming a worthy and useful citizen. If all the 
 youth of a country be thus educated, that will be a happy 
 country. 
 
 But if on the otlier band, the heart of the child be left 
 -iin uncultivated field, wliere weeds and brambles may spring 
 up and grow and flourish if they list ; if he be permitted 
 to select his associates amongst the abandoned sons of idle- 
 ness and guilt; that child, unless there be something very 
 peculiar in bis moral and intellectual character, v* ill be 
 very likely, to say the least, to prove a curse to the society 
 in v.hich he lives. If the youth of a country be generally 
 thus neglected, no matter what may be its physical advan- 
 tages or the form of its government, its soil may be fertile 
 as the borders of tlie Nile, its government monarchical, 
 aristocratical or democratical, as you choose, tiiat country, 
 taken as a v»hole, will be poor and wretched. It is vain 
 to think of legi;slating for such a country under the idea of 
 making it peaceful, Nourishing and happy. We may bor- 
 row the pen of Draco, and \vrite the statute book from end 
 to end in letters of blood ; we may crown the summit of 
 every mountain and hill with a gibbet and a prison — a- 
 midst all that apparatus of law and justice, vice v/ill pre- 
 sent herself with a bold unblushing countenance in the 
 most public places^ and laugh the lawgiver and judge to 
 ^corn. 
 
 Now it is most evident, that however well the drunkard 
 may provide for tlic intellectual education of bis family 
 (and the probability is fliat he will mske but indifferent 
 
provision) their moral aud reli2;ioiis education must he ml'^ 
 serahly neglected. How will he dare to asscmhle his 
 children about him to unfold and explain to them the dis- 
 tinctions between good and evil, vice and virtue, with their 
 eternal sanctions — reconiinend the one and warn them to 
 avoid the other — lie Vvliose conduct is an open violation of 
 the laws of morality and religion every day that he lives? 
 It sometimes happens undoubtedly, tliat when one pa- 
 rent is thus fovgctfal of the duties they both owe to theii 
 common offspring, the other steps forward to supply the 
 deficiency and becomes boili father and mother to the chil 
 dren. But it is most unreasonable to expect, tiiat where- 
 ver there is an intemperate father, there v/ill be a sensible 
 and judicious mother. And even supposing this to be the 
 case, she can in part only and not entirely remedy the evil. 
 The child needs the unwearied exertions of both parent'^ 
 l^ form him to usefulness and greatness, and when he ih 
 blessed with the guiding hand of but one, and tlie influence 
 of the other is employed so far as it goes to render the 
 care and labour of tliat one unavailing, it is very evidenl: 
 he v/ill never reach the eminence lie Vtould have attained 
 had both acted in concert and harmony. And very often, 
 as experience abundantly shows, the drunkard not (mly 
 ruins himself but (his children copying Iiis example and 
 acquiring in early life his habiis) drags down ail that are 
 connected with him to ruin. 
 
 We made choice of an intemperate father to sit for the 
 portrait we have drawn, and to furnish materials for this 
 brief and melancholy history. U'e might have selected 
 any other member of the fjimily ; have told how the 
 timid maiden flies the presence of the intemperate 
 youth, or laments with bitter and unavailing tears the, 
 hour when she consented to listen to liis addresses ; we- 
 might have told of his father's shame and sorrow ; how grief j 
 like a sharp arrow pierces his mother's soul, and how his 
 day closes in clouds and darkness when it is hardly yei 
 beirun. Wc mi^ht have described the career of the intem- 
 perate mother — but here the subject becomes too revoltin,2r 
 and horrible, and it is unnecessary to dwell upon it. 
 
We need no holy Prophet, with a breast labo«ring with 
 the inspii'iitioii of the Almiglity, to inform us that intempe- 
 rance is a criitt'.^, and to denounce it as a tiemondous evil. 
 
 ^ God liath already made known to us by infallible marks^ 
 by the effects w'lich are associaUul with it and follow it^ 
 the nature of tliis species of excess, and no nation or people 
 under heaven has ever mistaken tiie import of these indica- 
 tions. Jew and Gentile, the white man, the red man, t!i© 
 African, Turk and Pagan, believer and infidel — all hold 
 the same laui^^uage respecting it, all warn mankind against 
 it as a dreadful whirlpool, ihathas already swallowed up, 
 and will hereafter swallow up, wealth, distinction, talents, 
 beauty, youth and venerable age. The ancient Spartans 
 used to make tiieir slaves drunk in the presence oX / 
 their children, that they mij;;!)! inspire the future guardians 
 of their country with a suitable abhorrence of so degrading 
 a vice. Ilohhes, the enemy of revealed religion, who was 
 willing, as much as in him lay, to break up and destroy 
 the distinction between vice and virtue, taught that volun- 
 tary drunkenness is a breach of the lav»' of nature, which 
 directs us to preserve the use of our reason. 
 
 Calculations may be seen in different publications, of 
 
 ». the amount that is wasted annually in these United States, 
 in the preparation and purchase of ardent spirits — ^-and with 
 no benefit wliatever to our population. i3ut of this I do 
 not propose to speak at the present time. The mere ex- 
 pence the nation could bear, large as the sum is — amount^ 
 ing to some millions of dollars, that is thus needlessly 
 thrown away every year. But this is little compared with 
 the expenditure of a different kind by which it is accom- 
 panied, the annihilation of moral worth and virtuous cha- 
 racter, of ijope, respect and love, that attends it. How 
 many joyful countenances do the effects of Intemperance 
 every year sadden ; how many hearts are wrung with 
 unutterable sorrow. Rusli computed, many years ago, 
 that four thousand persons die annually in these United 
 States from the abuse of intoxicating liquors. His esti- 
 mates are supposed to have been much too low at the tira^, 
 when they w«r« made; they certainly fall very greatly ji«- 
 
as 
 
 iiiiid the amount of mortality arising from this source at 
 the present day. If we ask what it is that crowds the cri- 
 minal docket of our Courts with causes, every lawyer will 
 point to Intemperance as the ever-bubbling and perennial 
 fountain from w hich the mischief flowed. If we look into 
 the poor-houses, jails, hospitals and lunatic asylums, from 
 one end of tlie land to the other, and enquire what it is 
 that has brought the wretched inmates there, we shall learn 
 that more than one-half, nearly three-quarters, may safely 
 assign too free a use of ardent spirits as the cause of their 
 ruin. The country is deprived of the labour of these per- 
 sons, amounting to many thousands, and burthened with 
 their support — their friends and relatives are sharers in 
 their infamy. 
 
 These are evils of the present life. If it were allow ed 
 ine to borrow from the Angel mentioned in the llevclations, 
 the key of the bottomless pit, to unlock its iron gates, call 
 forth such of its inhabitants as the sin of drunkenness caused 
 to be thrust down into that gloomy and eternal prison, and 
 compel them to tell the history of their fall, and with what 
 punishments a just God now visits their transgressions, I 
 should obtain materials for a darker and more heart-rend- 
 ing tale. 
 
 Is not some remedy for the evils of Intemperance loudly 
 called for? If a remedy of safe and easy application shall 
 be devised, can any man claim to be considered a worthy 
 member of the society in which he lives who shall refuse 
 his aid in applying it ? I proceed, secondly, to consider 
 the adequacy and expediency of that proposed by the 
 friends and patrons of the Temperance Society. 
 
 They regard it as a settled principle in that philosophy 
 which treats of the nature of man, of his grandeur and 
 meanness, of his moral weakness in the full possession of 
 intellectual strength, that he is too frail a being to be trusted 
 with the unrestrained use of intoxicating liquors, such as 
 they are presented to us the result of the refinements of mo- 
 dern art. The soundness of this principle men m/ y pre- 
 tend to doubt; but if there be any truths that have been 
 established on the basis of full and frequent experiment, 
 
m 
 
 this is of tlie mimber. The trial has been made in every 
 quarter of the country ; the nortli, the south, the east, the 
 west. Many thousands of human lives have been con- 
 sumed in providing materials for an accurate decision. The 
 inevitable conclusion is, that it is unsafe for any living man 
 to confide in his skill to elude, or his strength to re- 
 sist, the attacks of this destroyer. The learned and able 
 judge, the statesman, skilful in unravelling the tangled 
 web of political intrigue, the recluse scholar, the merchant, 
 the planter, the preacher of the holy Gospel of Christ, 
 have all seen a dark and disastrous eclipse come over their 
 fair prospects. What has happened to them heretofore, 
 will unquestionably be experienced by others placed in the 
 same circumstances hereafter, unless some speedy and ef- 
 fectual remedy, some means of averting the evil be pro- 
 vided. But against the foe to human happiness of which 
 we are now speaking, we have but a single means of secu- 
 rity. Our only safety is in flight. Some of my hearers 
 may think themselves secure : thRitheij can come into con- 
 tact with the flame without being burnt — the man who 
 collects their bones after the conflagration is over, commits 
 them to the earth, and sits down to write their epitaph, 
 will tell another tale. 
 
 In other cases, mankind have long since seen and ac- 
 knowledged their weakness, and provided a remedy for it. 
 The history of nations has demonstrated, that it is unsafe 
 to trust any being born of a woman with absolute and un- 
 limited power. For though that power may be employed 
 virtuously and for the advantage of others for a while, it 
 fails not to corrupt the heart of its possessor, and become 
 an instrument of mischief in his hands at last. Hence it 
 is, that all wise and enlightened nations limit the preroga- 
 tives of their Sovereigns by constitutions and bills of right^ 
 and that in our own country, the power of the civil ruler 
 is very accurately defined. The wisdom of this procedure: 
 of preventing the mischiefs which human Aveakness would 
 produce, since for weakness we cannot substitute strength 
 in the human character, has been for some time fully un- 
 derstood and acknowledged. It is only recently, that the 
 
iifieessity of employing the same methods against the evils 
 of Intemperance has been felt, and those metliods resorted 
 to. The reasonableness of tlie remedial plans proposed by 
 the friends of the Temperance [Society, is therefore appa- 
 rent, as also that they involve no considerable difficulty, or 
 important sacrifice of interest or feeling, and that just in 
 proportion to the extent in which they are adopted, they 
 must be efi'ectual. They have been supposed however, to 
 be liable to certain objections, wliicli will now require a 
 careful consideration. 
 
 I. It is said, they arc at variance with what is contained 
 in the sacred Scriptures;, where wine is spoken of as a 
 blessing bestowed in love and kindness by the Deity upon 
 man ; in the use of v, hich we are moreover warranted, by 
 no less an example than that of Christ himself. 
 
 This objection admits of so very simple and obvious an 
 answer, that it would not be regarded as worthy of the 
 particular notice which under the existing circumstances, 
 we feel bound to give it, had there not appeared in cenain 
 aiewspapers having an extensive circulation in our country, 
 and the editors of which would doubtless claim that they 
 , jihould be considered as respectable publications, some very 
 arrogant sneers at the Temperance Society, so connected 
 with a reference to the sacred Scriptures, as plainly to im- 
 ply a belief on the part of the writers, that the principles 
 of the Society and the word of God are at variance. If 
 this stupendous ignorance be found in men claiming to be 
 qualified to inform the minds of their fellow-citizens on va- 
 rious topics of politics, taste and morality, it may safely be 
 ^supposed, that there are plain, unlettered persons, in every 
 congregation, who need information upon these subjects, 
 and there is a necessity for shewing that the members of 
 the Temperance Society have not gone to work to improve 
 the code of morals contained in the Bible, 
 
 It is granted then, that the temperate use of wine is war- 
 ranted by what we find in that holy book. I shall cite 
 ©nly a few of the more remarkable passages. Wine was 
 one of the offerings which the Israelites were required by 
 j5ie Leviticsil law to presejat daily aUibe altar of tkeir GotW 
 
^^ Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar, 
 two laiuhs of the first year^day hy day continually, and 
 with each tlie fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offer- 
 ing." E.vodtis xxix, 36. In the 104th Psalm, it is said 
 of God, that ^^ he causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, 
 and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth 
 fruit out of the eartii, and ivine that malceth glad the heart 
 of man. and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which 
 strengtheneth man's heart." The first of the miracles 
 wrought by Jesus of Nazareth, was that of turning water 
 into wine, that a marriage feast might be celebrated in a 
 suitable and proper manner. Ke was afterwards, in the 
 course of his ministry^, in the practice of driuliing wine 
 occasionally, and as he himself declares, was reproached 
 by his enemies on that accouut. ^'•' For John the Baptist 
 came neither eatiug bread nor drinking wine, and ye say 
 he hath a devil. The J^on of Man came eating and drink- 
 ing, and ye say, behold a gluttonous man and a wine- 
 drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners." Finally-, 
 Paul recommends wine to Timothy, his fellow disciple and 
 evangelist, in the words of our text : "^ Drink no longer 
 water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and. 
 thine often infirmities." 
 
 These passages, the friends of Temperance and Tem- 
 perance Societies have no wish to keep out of view. They 
 have no occasion for concealment of any kind, and are 
 perfectly willing that the texts which appear to make most 
 strongly against them should stand in the front of the bat- 
 tle. We remark, in reply to the objection, that the Tem- 
 perance Societies are few in number, and it is believed 
 there are none in North-Carolina, whose constitutions re- 
 quire of their members abstinence from wine. It is the 
 use of ardent or distilled sjnrits. that is prohibited. If any 
 one shall pretend to say that this is a captious and frivo- 
 lous distinction, the contrary may easily be made to ap- 
 pear. 
 
 The juices of many fruits have the property, when se= 
 parated from the tough and tasteless pulp in which they 
 arft eoMtained^ of undergoing a total change in many of 
 
their properties, and especially in their action upon the 
 living animal frame. They pass through the process of 
 fermentation, and from sweet and inert liquids, become 
 capable of producing a high degree of excitement in 
 the system. When an intoxicating liquor is procured from 
 the grape, we call it wine. Butbesides the grape there are 
 many other substances from wliich it may be obtained ; 
 indeed there is hardly any vegetable matter that is used for 
 food, whicli Avill not afford it. When derived from grain 
 of any kind, it takes the name of beer or ale ; when from 
 honey sodden in water, it is called mead. Hoav many 
 different liquors of this kind the ancient Hebrews were in 
 the practice of forming we do not know, but whether nu- 
 merous or few, they seem to have all been classed under the 
 single denomination bi strong drink. These two therefore, 
 "vvineand strong drink, both of them the products of simple 
 fermentation, were the only intoxicating liquors known in 
 the world before the canon of Scripture was closed and the 
 last Apostle slumbering in his grave. Neither of them 
 was much stronger ; (especially when manufactured in a 
 rude way by a simple people, and before the grape by long 
 continued culture had arrived at the perfection in which it 
 is now produced on the hills of France and Italy) ; than 
 cider or ale. 
 
 From sucli substances as these, so long as the method of 
 procuring any thing more stimulating and powerful was 
 unknown, but little danger was to be apprehended. To 
 induce intoxication, they must be taken in such quantities 
 into the stomach : they create, as I am informed by those 
 who ha^e made the trial, a sickness so distressing that 
 there ife little desire of experiencing their operation a se- 
 cond timfe. Though persons might be found therefore in 
 the land of Judea, from the time of Moses to that of Jesus 
 Christ, who would be guilty of the sin of drunkenness, 
 just as there are men in every country who will abuse the 
 blessings of food and sleep and be sluggards and gluttons ; 
 the mischiefs of Intemperance were inconsiderable, compar- 
 ed with what they are at the present day. The use of wine, 
 with a moderate degree of caution and prudence, was safe. 
 
There was little danger that an imnatnral appetite for it 
 Avoiiltl be created, especially as in a populous country, but 
 a small extent of territory could be devoted to its produc- 
 tion. It was well fitted, on occasions of festivity and re- 
 joicing, or after the fatigues of severe labor, to prod ace a 
 moderate exhilaration ; in the language of the sacred scrip- 
 tures, to make glad the heart of man. It gladdened his 
 heart without destroying the gentle and virtuous feelings 
 there. Hence it was, that the use of it was sanctioned by 
 the example of Jesus Christ, and recommended by Paul 
 to Timothy 
 
 But in the wine and strong drink mentioned in the scrip- 
 tures there are present two different substances. One is 
 simple water, with a little insipid mucilaginous matter dis- 
 seminated tiirough it ; the other is, that to which the in- 
 toxicating property is owing. Sometime after the canon 
 of scripture was closed, it was discovered that one of these 
 substances is more volatile than the other, so that if the 
 mixture be boiled the portion in which the intoxicating 
 property resides will rise first in vapour^ and by means of 
 a proper apparatus may be collected. 
 
 There is no science over whose history so deep a cloud of ob- 
 scurity hangs as over that of Chemistry, so that we do not know 
 even the name of the individual to whom we are indebted for 
 the process of distillation. It is probable that it was invented 
 sometime in the first century after Ohrist, but not one man 
 in a thousand knew any thing of it, or its products, till 
 many ages afterwards. So deep and general was the ig- 
 norance respecting it, that it has been supposed by some^ 
 that ardent spirits were first obtained from a fermented li- 
 quor by distillation, by a French chemist of the thirteenth 
 century. It is only within the last two hundred years 
 that they have begun to exert an influence upon the morals 
 and happiness of mankind. 
 
 I have been thus particular in tracing the distinction in 
 regard to their origin and history between distilled spirits 
 and the wine and strong drink of the Bible, because that 
 holy book is appealed to by the intemperate men of modern 
 
m 
 
 iiuies, as though it really sanctioned their excesses. Tha 
 man who drinks his pint of whis'keij per day, will 
 quote tlie advice of Paul to Timothy ; ^*^ Take a little tt'mg 
 for thy stomach's sake." There is in the scriptures no 
 warrant for any thing that is condemned by the constitu- 
 tion of the Temperance Society. There is no warrant in 
 them even for the use of the liquors that are sold in the shops 
 under the name of wine, for all these have received, before be- 
 ing shipped from Europe, an addition of brandy to keep them 
 from turiiinj^ sour during their transportation across the At- 
 lantic. And yet we must drink freelj' of them forsooth, l)ecause. 
 Paul recommended wine to Timothy. Is it not aboniina 
 ble in men to form a compound, such as was utterly un- 
 known in the ages when the Scriptures were written, nick- 
 name it wine, and then plead the sanction of the Holy 
 Scriptures for the use and abuse of it ? 
 
 II. It is said, that we need the stimulus ofdistilled spirits to 
 sustain our strength under the fatigues of severe mental and 
 bodily labour, especially when we are to be exposed for a 
 considerable time to the piercing cold of winter, or the 
 fervid heat of summer. 
 
 To this plea for indulgence in the use of spirits, it is 
 suificient to reply, that they were, unknown to the whole 
 ancient world, in Avhich it is nevertheless believed by ma- 
 ny, that our race made its very happiest efforts in every 
 field of enterprize. In the early ages, not less than at the 
 present day, men engaged in the labours of agriculture, 
 commerce and the arts. On them fell the task of subduing 
 the then wild and savage earth, of intersecting it with 
 roads, and adorning it with cities girt with walls, and 
 strengthened with towers — of rearing temples to the Grods, 
 many of which still remain to attest the labour, as well as 
 skill and taste, employed in their erection. They built 
 the mighty pyramids. They had, at the same time, as 
 well as we, to compel the earth to yield subsistence for 
 themselves and their children. These are the works of 
 peace ; the exertions they were obliged to make in time of 
 war were still more severe. The Roman soldier took sixty 
 pounds weight of baggage upoii his eUoulder, and made 
 
m 
 
 i"e2;ulai* marches of twontj miles a day, wUliout repining. 
 Thus equipped, he woiild pass one campnigii amongst the_ 
 snows of the Hhcfitian hilis, and «he next on the huruinji; 
 sands of Numidia, and return with a cheek ruddy Avitk 
 health to his native home. An amount of labour and ex- 
 posure, little, if at all, inferior to that endured by the Ro- 
 man, was connected with the wdnde course of ancient war- 
 fare, by which the conquest of Canaan was effected under 
 Joshua, David's victories atchieved, the Assyrian, Per- 
 sian and Macedonian Empires, in succession established 
 and overturnedj and the hloody drama of history brought, 
 down to within two or three hundred years of the present 
 day. Through the long series of ages that witnessed these 
 atchievemeuts, the art of distillation w as either absolutelj* 
 unknown, or practised in mysterious silence and secrecy, 
 by here and there a solitary alchemist. 
 
 >>or did the mind iu those ancient days, demand the 
 application of stimulants, any more than the body. The 
 orators of Greece and Uoiise needed not those aids and 
 helps to eloquence, which our modern statesmen and de- 
 claimers employ. To the poet, the fervor of his own bo- 
 som — to the philosopher^ the regular and natural operations 
 of his own vigorou.^ and unclonded mind, were fully suffi- 
 cient for the production of those master-pieces of taste and 
 wisdom which have been the admiration of every followisig 
 age. The lips of Moses, the Jewish lawgiver — of David, 
 the sweet singer of Israel — ot the holy and sublime Ii-aiak 
 — of the pathetic Jeremiali — of the Jlc de p. mer of mankind ^ 
 were never polluted by the products of distillation. 
 
 Now 1 beg to be informt tl whether the earth underwent 
 a great and disastrous revolution two or three hundred 
 years ago? IHd it then pass from vigorous manhood into 
 a state of dotage, and do its inhabitants feel the effects of 
 the change? How is it with our youth, the future pillars 
 of the i. hurch, in this our Ameiican Israel, and supports 
 of the Republic through the following age — do they want 
 the native vigour of their sires? iJo their hearts beat so 
 feebly, and drive the purple turient iu so cold and slug- 
 gish a tide alon^ their arteries, that it ha« need tobe waiHieil. 
 
with the cordials prescribed to our forefathers when nature 
 was about to sink beneath the oppressive load of years ? 
 If not, if the earth produces and nourishes as perfect men 
 now as she did in former times, then is the simple fact that 
 distilled spirits were unknown to the heroes and sages of 
 antiquity, an ample proof that there is no necessity for 
 them now. 
 
 But the plea itself is founded on an ignorant and erro- 
 neous idea of the effect of spirits upon the animal frame. 
 If it cannot be safely and truly said, that they convey no 
 nourishment whatever into the system, it is at least certain 
 that what tliey do afford, is too trifling and inconsiderable, 
 to be worthy of a moment's consideration, when reputation, 
 Tiealth, happiness on earth, from whatever source derived, 
 and eternal life itself, are at stake. It is not the kind of 
 nourishment by which it was the will and purpose of tlie 
 Deity, when he created him, that the life of man should be 
 sustained. It is not a kind which can be taken, even along 
 with our natural, proper and appointed food, without bring- 
 ing down the health, bodily strength, and intellectual vi- 
 gour, from the elevation at which they would otherwise 
 have stood, and substituting, in a greater or less degree, 
 physical weakness and mental imbecility in their stead. 
 Let there be two men, whose age, occupation, and the ge- 
 neral tenor of tlieir life are the same, whose original con 
 stitntions were of equal goodness — one of whom is in the 
 habitual use of ardent spirits, whilst the other drinks no- 
 thing but water — we may safely leave it for any one to say. 
 which of the two will retain the greatest share of his native 
 .strength and vigour at the end of ten years. In how many 
 cases do the squalid, sickly countenance and trembling 
 hand of the man, who is from day to day under the influ- 
 ence of stimulants, but never intoxicated, betray his habits, 
 without any need of a neighbour or acquaintance to tell his 
 melancholy story. 
 
 Would you have an example of the natural tenor of the 
 life of the race to which we belong? — look at a healthy in- 
 fant subsisting upon that food which the wisdom of the God 
 of Nature has provided for it. Its existence, so far as it 
 
depcncls upon the nonrishment it receives^ llowa on like a 
 smootli and placid slream maintaining an nniform depth and 
 rapidity in every part of its conrse. How different from 
 this, is that nnevenness and irregularity of feeling, the snc- 
 cession of excitement and languid deljility, which is pro- 
 duced by intoxicating liquors. Tliat man unquestionably 
 lives most agreealdy to the laws of nature and the will of 
 the Deity, whose manhood is an image and counterpart of 
 the unbroken tranquillity of his infant years. If we at- 
 tempt to change this natural state of things, to awaken a 
 Vv^ilder, fiercer joy within us, and by the aid of stimulants 
 to keep the current of health and strength and vigour and 
 animation, above its natural level — we attempt to improve 
 upon the workmanship of Almighty God, and it requires 
 no supernatural wisdom to discover what the result must 
 be. Not only do we fail of accomplishing our object^ but 
 we do infinite mischief. 
 
 It is granted, that a man will accomplish his task (pro- 
 vided it be a brief one) and feel it the less — that his food 
 will be more tasteful, if he is under the influence of stimu- 
 lants to-day, but he will come languid to his labour, and 
 the sensation of hunger will require to be roused by the 
 same provocatives to-morrow. The amount of exertion and 
 enjoyment of which he is capable within the compass of a 
 week or a month, is diminished rather tlian increased at 
 the time ; the demand for a renevval of the unnatural ex- 
 citement becomes, from day to day, and year to year, more 
 and more imperious ; the health and strength sink, fearful 
 inroads are made upon the native vigour of the constitution, 
 and the fatal appetite, that is strong as death and insatia- 
 ble as the grave, is created. Spirituous licpors do not 
 communicate strength. They merely accumulate the energy 
 that should have been spread over a considerable portion 
 of our existence, upon a single point, and exhaust it there. 
 They place the system in an unnatural condition. They 
 give a shock to the machine, which is not great perhaps in 
 any individual instance, nor, if the material of which it is 
 built be good, productive of any immediately visible bad 
 effect; but which fails not^. by beiniz; repeated, to create- 
 
derangement at last, and as in tlie case of atiy other ma- 
 chine, to accelerate the time when it shall be reduced to a 
 heap of ruins. 
 
 III. There are some who do hi^^hly approve of all the 
 objects and methods of the Temperance "society, and w^ould 
 lend it their cordial support, might they be exempted from 
 the restraint it imposes upon its meml)ers on certain days. 
 But that the birth-day of American freedom, or that which 
 gave the Father of his Country to an admiring- world, should 
 pass unmarked by some demonstrations of social and patri- 
 otic feeling, and recourse to those means by which our fes- 
 tivities are easily enlivened, without drawing at all upon 
 our hoarded stores of wit and humour, is what they cannot 
 hear of with any degree of patience. Or perliaps they have 
 a preference for the cold ^^ater method of celebration, but 
 are unable to abide the sneers and sarcasms of such as pur- 
 sue a different course. 
 
 We may remark to these persons, that if the men whose 
 general conduct is marked by strict sobriety, shall deem it 
 appropriate to heat their brains with intoxicating liquors on 
 these occasions, people of looser morals will doubtless feel 
 themselves warranted in going the whole length of an entire 
 and silent intoxication ; and we may enquire whether it be 
 absolutely necessar;y that the 22d of February and the 4th 
 of July, should be selected, of all tiie days in the year, for 
 throwing the reins upon the neck of appetite, and shewing 
 ourselves unworthy of the freedom, with the acquisition of 
 which, those days have so intimate a connection. Is not 
 such a distinction calculated to make them infamous beyond 
 all others in the calendar? 
 
 It is an old-fashioned doctrine, as ancient as the days of 
 Daniel, that " the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of 
 men, Tind giveth it to whomsoever he will." It was held 
 by the sages and patriots of the Revolution. " An appeal 
 to the God of battles is all that is now left us," says the 
 ^^ forest born Demosthenes," in that Address to the House 
 of I. delegates, by which the population of a neighbouring 
 State was first roused to thoughts of resistance to the op- 
 preseions of Britain. It can hardly be necessary for me 
 
to cite the closing words of the Declfira^ion of Inclepeu- 
 deiice. '' And for the support of this declaration, with a 
 firm, reliance on the i)rotection of Divine Providence, we 
 mutually pledge to ea< h other, our lives, our fortunes, and 
 our sacred honor," May not a man calling himself by the 
 name of Christian he permitted to iioldj as those old pa- 
 triots believed, that the Almighty Being, to w!io^ c even- 
 lianded justire they made their appeal, did watch over the 
 destinies of tiie infant !>epublic, and enable our little b?i;k 
 to ride out the dreadful storm that hov, led around her? 
 May he not be pardoned, if he refuse to dishonor the anni- 
 versary of our emancipation^ by the transgression of His 
 laws ? 
 
 IVa shin gton w SIS not more remarkable for the profound 
 wisdom of all his determinations than for the blameless 
 purity of iiis life. Througliout his long career, there ap- 
 pears no stain, no blot. All is cons^istent and correct Hut 
 had Washington appeared, I will not say the victim, but 
 in any way or form, the patron and friend of intemperate 
 habits and practices, how would his glory have been dark- 
 ened and eclipsed. His name would never have been 
 sounded forth through all the eartli as; that of the wise and 
 good. The country is less indebted to him for his services 
 on the battle-iield, important as they were, than for the 
 unspotted purity of his after-life, and the matchless pattern, 
 of excellence, in this vespect, which he left to those who 
 should succeed him. The day that gave him ])irtli is v,or- 
 thy to be kept as an annual festival throughout thi s western 
 continent. Fair rise the sun upon that morn, let no d rk 
 cloud obscure the day, let men then meet in peace and love ; 
 but, O let it not he profaned by foul intoxication, le^t ^is 
 afflicted spirit turn away, and weep over the degradaitan 
 of the country that he saved. We do not object to fe ii- 
 vities on these occasions ; vve only claim that they should 
 be harmless. The children of a certain city in a dishint 
 part of the world, have been in tlie practice of carryi?sg on 
 their youthful sports on the top of a rock whose siden are 
 precipitous and craggy, so that it is certain death to the 
 unfortunate babe who happens to bf* jostled over the ci\:^. 
 
I4i 
 
 Besides this, the rock rises in the midst of pestilential 
 marshes, and many sicken and' die, poisoned by the nox- 
 ious vapours and exhalations that hover round tlie spot. 
 Some of the children propose at length, to remove their 
 play-ground from the rock from whose top they looli down 
 from time to time, and see the bleac hing I>ones of tijeir 
 companions, who have been crushed by being precipitated 
 to the bottom. They propose merely to transfer it to a 
 green flowery meadow, lying in a healthy situation on the 
 other side of the city ; but tliey are withstood by the others,, 
 and railed at as cowardly and fanatical. These are the 
 members of the Temperance Society and their opposers. 
 
 IV. Some will say, ^Mt is plainly expedient and pro- 
 per, that the use of distilled spirits should be laid aside, 
 but vrhy not leave it for every person to provide in private 
 for his own safety ? Where is the necessity of forming 
 Societies, and binding ourselves by promises and written 
 obligations to abstinence?'' 
 
 We remark, in reply, that we have no unreasonable and 
 overweening fondness for this particular method of putting 
 a stop to the mischiefs of Intemperance ; and if the person 
 who does not approve of the plan of forming Societies, 
 will propose another, that shall promise to be both feasible 
 and effectual, and liable to fewer objections, we will very 
 cheerfully adopt his scheme of reformation, instead of our 
 own. Only let the work be done, and we care not how it 
 is done. An overgrown and cruel monster has been for 
 years preying upon the community, and devouring year by 
 year some thousands of our citizens — devouring them, but 
 torturing them beforehand Avith sickness, poverty, shame 
 and madtiess, and every other form and variety of suffer- 
 ing. We have all lent our aid in pampering his fierce ap- 
 petite, and gorging him with the food he loves. J3ut con- 
 vinced at length, of the folly and wickedness of our con- 
 duct, some of us at least, have resolved to turn our hand, 
 and attack this foe to human happiness, and destroy him 
 if we can, and to call upon all such as are not indifferent 
 to the sufferings of their fellow-creatures, to aid 'us in the 
 good and holy work, and so he is really strangled and put 
 to deaths it is to us a matter of indifference how. 
 
2^ 
 
 But there is uo room for the hops of oiii' being ai)le to 
 diminish, in any considerable degree, either in this, oi- in 
 any other country, the mischiefs of Intemperance, e.xcept 
 by the adoption of the particular method tliat has lateiy 
 come into use of instituting Temperance Societies. Kvery 
 other has been fouiid unavailing. The voice of Nature's 
 God has been heard, bidding men beware of the frighii'ul 
 whirlpool that has been opened in the middle of the voyage 
 of life, but heard in vain. The drunkard is seen in our 
 streets, with bis bistory and an account of his preseiit eru- 
 dition inscribed upon his foreliead. *' I entered life Vvitli 
 •'' fair prospects, had talents, an amiable disposition, cha- 
 •^ racter and a handsome property — I married a lovely 
 '• woman, my cinldren were well provided for, virtuous 
 "^ and happy — My neigld)our3 loved and respected me, 
 •• The fatal habit seized me, and all is changed — The vi- 
 •• gour of my constitution is broken down — I am poor, 
 '' friendless, dejected, a bad husb«and, a bad father, a bad 
 ••' neighbour — weary of life, yet fearful of its close." Vv'^itk 
 this warning, written in living characters before their eyes^ 
 men beconie intemperate from age to age. 
 
 The Gospel of our Saviour Christ — that word of the 
 living God, of which is is said, " that it is quick and pow- 
 erful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to 
 the dividing asunder of the soul and body,"' has been 
 brought to bear upon the argument, but accomplishes little. 
 Even in those congregations where the doctrines oi" Christi- 
 anity are preached with plaiuness, truth and fervor, exaui- 
 ples of the vice which is the subject of remark, are not 
 wanting. The Christian Minister, as they have appeared 
 thickening about him, has been ready to exclaim, in me- 
 lancholy despondency, that the sword of the spirit that has 
 been put into his hand to strike through the foes of God and 
 man, has lost its ancient temper — that tlseie is one form of 
 human wickedness which it is incompetent to cut in pieces 
 and destroy. But it has been suggested to him, at length, 
 that it is not a want of keenness in the weapon that has been 
 furnished him from the armory of the Lord, but his owq 
 want of skill in using it, that is the cause of his small sue* 
 
m 
 
 Ci';ss. Instead of brin^in^ forward those 'leiiunciatious of 
 ths sin of drunkiMini^.ss that are contained ia the Scriptures, 
 it is necessary to ^ ) farther hack, and it is the petition in 
 the Lord^s prmjzr, hy ivhich we heq that we may escape 
 temptation, that demands attention The institution of 
 Tt'inperance Societies, is simply a scheme for removing 
 the temptation to an excessive use of intoxicating liquors 
 as far as possible from amongst us, and two m Hives are 
 presented to induce us to lend them our cordial support. 
 
 1. TJie first is personal. Those who become members 
 of the Society and raithlully observe the provisions of its 
 constitution, place themselves beyond the reach oi danger. 
 They draw such a circle about them as the ancient -"sorce- 
 rers are represented as describing upon the sand, when 
 about to summon into their presence a being from the invi- 
 sible vviirld. However wildly ne any I'age without, the 
 evil spirit has no power to pass tliat boundary. 
 
 2. The other motive for enr dliug ourselves amongst the 
 members of the Te.iiperance society, is drawn from our 
 regard fv.r the welfare of our fellow creatures. Granting 
 that the step is not at all neeifal to oar p- r^oaal security, 
 we owe it to the community of which we a;e members. 
 The evil for which we seek to provide a remedy, has been 
 increasiii:'-in m,i2:!)ituJe durins; tite last two hundred years. 
 The nations are in the condition of a man witli a basket 
 upon his shoulder, into which one ounce ball after another 
 has been thrown, until he cries out at lengMi, that he must 
 be relieved, or he shall be crashed. Will you refuse 
 your assistuice? It is in vain that , we claim to have no- 
 thing to do with the business, and plead that the case is 
 one where v/e a; e without responsibility We are respon- 
 sible J". 7r the consequeices of oar eoil example. The or- 
 piias! child whom you shall hereafter casualiv m-^et — whose 
 features ar3 unknown to you — vviio is fatherless, because 
 his f;ith r lulled himself with sLroug drink — and mother- 
 less, be-ause his mother died of a broken heart, may 
 jui-ily lift his little hand, and call the most High God to 
 witness, that you are ihe auch^r of his misi'ortunes, since 
 feut for your example, he would now be enjoyiaj; the biess- 
 
ings of a mother's aflFection and a father's love. But his 
 father heard you sneer at the Temperance Society, and 
 commend the social glass, and thus, through your influence, 
 was led into those evil courses which issued in his ruin. 
 If another illustration of the truth before us and of our duty 
 be called for, we offer the following. There is in a certain 
 part of the country a ford in a stream that is always I'apid 
 and deep, and often swollen by storms. Every year a 
 number of persons are carried away by the impetuosity of 
 the waters, into the bosom of which they sink to rise no 
 more. It is proposed to prevent these calamities by erect- 
 ing a bridge across the fatal stream. It appears that the 
 expence and trouble would be inconsiderable, but there are 
 a number of persons in the neighbourhood who, claiming to 
 be very kind and charitable people, refuse to lend their aid. 
 Such a torrent is Intemperance, and such a means of es- 
 cape do we propose from its dangers. Will you refuse 
 the simple contribution of your name? It is true, that 
 those who enter its waters and begin to feel the influ- 
 ence of the current, raise no loud, imploring cry for 
 help ; if we could trust to the song that is on their lips, 
 we should perhaps be compelled to pronounce them happy. 
 They are insensible to their danger ; but it is not the less 
 on that account, for smoothly as the stream may seem to 
 flow at first, it ere long begins to rush forward with resistless 
 violence, carrying its unthinking victims along with it, 
 down into the unfathomable gulf of everlasting ruin. 
 
 V. Finally, it is said, that there are men of talent and 
 distinction in the country, who stand aloof from the Tem- 
 perance Society, and that their example may be safely 
 followed. 
 
 The fact is admitted, the correctness of the inference is 
 denied. We may remark first, that the number of this 
 class of persons is rapidly diminishing. Our appeal is 
 made so directly to the plainest principles of common sense, 
 that few will hereafter be willing to hazard their reputation 
 for either a sound understanding, or a feeling and benevo- 
 lent heart, by attempting to make a stand against the Tem- 
 perance Society. 4 
 
And secop.dly, if tlicre has ever been, siuce the first set- 
 tlement of this country, a j^-oneration upon whose failures., 
 in regard to certain points of morality, it does not become 
 us to look with too severe an eye, it is that which is now 
 a little past the meridian of life. They £,rew up at a time 
 when the whole*ordVr of Society was unhinged, and the 
 frame of (government overturned to its foundations. Men's 
 minds were too mu( li agitated by the political troubles of 
 the age, to permit them to attend Vvith calmness to the edu- 
 cation of tiieir families. Many of the young men them- 
 selve-M entered the army, aud there learned both the virtues 
 and vices of a camp. What was suffered by the Amedcan 
 soldiery in the wars of the Revolution, is, after all that 
 has beeji written, but imperfectly known. Without tents^ 
 without clothing, wiihout shoes, aud therefore staining the 
 ground witli their blood, as tliey were ma.rched to meet au 
 enemy, always well cqui[)ped'and provided for, and often 
 superior in force, it was hardly to be expected, when wcl. 
 consider what poor human nature is, that they should not 
 be willing, v»'hen au opportunity offered, to forget their 
 carc"^ in a a temporary delirium ; or that they should not 
 bring back with tliem into civil life, the liabits they ac- 
 quired in the army. With regard to those who staid at 
 homo, and were engaged in agriculture, the case was still 
 inuch tlie same. The hush indman committed his seed to 
 the earth, in utter uncertainty whether the enemy would 
 riot come and let loose their war-horses upon his fields, 
 tramjile dov. n and destroy his harvest, burn his dwelling, 
 und devour his cattle. He, as well as the soldier, was 
 under strong, temptations to turn away his eye from the fu- 
 ture, and enjoy the present moment. Under these circum- 
 stances, it v.as to be expected, that a general relaxation of 
 morals would ensue ; that Intemperance would make fear- 
 ful inroads upon the public peace and Jjappiness, and that 
 an evil injiuene* would be shed down upon the next suc- 
 ceeding ^^?nevat|on. . In these facts, we find a cause and a 
 reason, it not an excuse, for the unfriendly regards which 
 some amongst us may be disposed to throw lipon the Tern 
 perance Society. 
 
r 
 
 But before we tlctevmine to copy the prcjiidic'.^, faults 
 And failings of the generation tliat is passing^away, let it 
 be distinctly called to mind, that there is^|iiole host of 
 iheir redeeming virtues wliich never < aVj^^Ri or which, 
 if we possess them, we shall never h|J«Bi{pc)iLmiity of 
 f^.xhibiting. Such were their unsljakei^Hmess amidst the 
 r\an2;ers of a cruel war, and their wisdom in council, when 
 they were laying the strong foundations -f our civil polity, 
 jind providing for the peace and welfare of succeed- 
 ing times. The only virtues which it is in o?n' power to 
 .ultivate, are those of peace. There is little probability 
 that" the generation now coming upon the stage, vvill be 
 railed to tight the battles of freedom. Nor in the v/alks 
 uf civil life, will it ever be possilde for us to confer 
 any great and distinguished favors upon our country or 
 uiankiud. It is in tlje little circle of his friends and neigh- 
 bours, tliM a man will have ability, and chiefly there by 
 the influence of a good or bad example, to do good or evil. 
 It is by a life of industry, iiftegrity and temperance, that 
 be must win an honest fame for patriotism and philanthropy. 
 In the holy cause of Temperance, it does moreover appear 
 5iuital)le that such of the young menofthelandas have been 
 admitted to drink of the well-springs of divine philosophy, & , 
 for the improvement of whose minds the treasured wisdom of 
 ages has been unlocked, and wlio have therefore resources 
 and accomplishments df^Aled to their equals in age, sliould 
 be found in the first ranks; and not inappropriate that they 
 should lead the way. , 
 
 The Merciful God enable us to add '^^ to knowledge^, 
 :emperance," and her kindred graces, and our souls shall 
 forever blesis his holy name. 
 
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