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fiong the members in relation to it)—the Board,
a meeting held on the 18th inst., advised its
tieal; was then brought up for some action on
by the Society:
(§ Resolved, That when any member shall de
§e to withdraw his or her name from the list
ached to the ‘ pledge' adopted bv the Society,
:h desire shall be signified in writing, address
fto the President, which shall be read at the
ular meeting next ensuing, and his or her
ne shall thereupon be erased by the Secretary.” j
WAfter some little discussion, it was
" Resolved, by M. M. Dye, That in consequence !
of tile small attendance of members present, the
consideration of this subject be deferred till the
next meeting.
On motion of Richard Allen, Esq. it was
Resolved, That the Secretary be respectfully j
requested to have published in the papers of the '
city, the aggregate number of persons (designat
ing sexes) who have joined the Richmond Coun
ty Washington Total Abstinence Society, since
its organization, and also the aggregate number
of persons who have withdrawn, and that he
be also requested to publish similar returns
monthly, provided the publishers of said papers
will insert the same gratuitously.
The meeting was then addressed by Messrs.
Charles H. Kennon, Win. 11. Platt, and Rev’d.
Wm. J. Hard; when seven persons came for
ward and signed the pledge.
Omnotion, the Society adjourned to meet on
Friday night next, in this place.
WM. HAINES, Jr. Secretary.
From the Charleston Observer.
The truth of the following Narrative is vouch
ed for on the most respectable authority:—
Suicide.
In a pleasant village in Worcester county,
Mass lived the person whose name and memory
now bear the above designation. In youth he
was respected, in manhood, viewed as a pattern
of industry, frugality and economy.
Such was he when the writer first knew him—
when he first took up his residence in Decatur,
Georgia.
As our intention is not to extend, but to con
dense, our story shall be short.
Two years had passed here, and his betrothed
with a brother’s family arrived, anti Elisha, for so
we shall call him, vowed constancy ofaffection to
his amiable bride.
Years (lowed apace; He appeared the very
pattern of kindness and attention to his wife, and
■on the addition of a first born to their family, the
father’s heart beat high with emotion. Wo see
them now a happy, prosperous family; but we
must with pain turn another leaf. It will unfold
♦o view the practice of so called regular temperate
drinking. This page is read by a few only, lor
no one suspects that Elisha is becoming a drunk
ard; but habit strengthens; his thirst increases;
he betrays the confidence of friends; his business
is gone; he becomes a confirmed inebriate.
A violent attack of delirium tremens threatens
to terminate his existence. He recovers; but no
advice ot’fricnds, no entreaties ofhis wife, no con
sideration either of present or future good can
deter him from resuming his practice ofdrinking.
Death slowly, but surely and certainly seems
to be stamping his image on the countenance of
this victim of intemperance. His kindness is
Ranged to indifference towards his wife and
Children. Those whom he is bound to protect,
Shun and fear him. And who would not fear a
drunken maniac? Not fear one who not only
threatens to take his own life, hut that of his wife
also! Not fear, when pistols and razors are pre
pared and brandished with threats to terminate
nis own or her existence! Not fear one whose
Season is dethroned by intemperance! O how
Many sleepless nights has that wife passed in
(Weariness and grief. Instead of words of affec
tion from one whom above all others she had
loved, she receives nothing but taunts and re
proaches.
Having taken his rest during the day, he with
the fiendishness of a demt.n, swears she shall not
enjoy at night the repose she so much needs,
Jknd which he cannot obtain. In vain does she
him to be calm. “Elisha, why do you thus
disturb my rest?” She receives for answer, “if 1
Cannot sleep, you shall not.” She expostulates —
Elisha, this is not in fulfilment of your most sa
cre.l promises when I became your wi e. 1 have
left ail, all my friends far, far away—have placed
tuy affections on you. O, do not thus requite my
affection” With scorn lie replies —“sou had
your choice to marry me or let it alone; and now
you must abide the consequence.”
“Yes, Elisha, I had my choice, but, you are not
what you were when you first possessed my affec- :
tions.” “ Well,” then says Elisha, “go home to
■ your friends as soon as you like. 1 will drink till
1 die, and if tile Almighty does not soon take my
f life, I will take it myself.”
What female heart would not sink under the
B accumulated load of poverty and wretchedness
I which fell to her share. But hoping against all
ground of hope, she would say—“ My husband,
| only abstain from strong drink, treat me as you
» f once did, and 1 shall be in a measure happy.”
He reiterates the former assertion—“ I will drink
\ till I die, and, if you do not cease your prating, I
; will be your death as well as my own.”
Who can wonder that under circumstances
§■ like these, she should soliloquize thus—“O! my
heart must break, Elisha, my husband, my only
stay on earth, is a drunkard. It is not his nature
to be unkind, but he is so. Oft has ho taken the
.? last cent of my earnings to buy whiskey. Yes,
ami the breast-pin which sparkled on my bosom,
when he first told me he loved me, is pawned for
drink. And my children! our home is gone,
sold by the sheriff, and all for whiskey. Intem
perance was the only cause, for if your father had
been a sober man, lie would not have been in
debt. Yes, my children, your father has degra
ded himself, and reduced us all to poverty, and
stili swears he will die a drunkard.”
But as we promised brevity, we will hasten to
the fatal night of 25th June, 18-12. The scene
i cannot be depicted. It must be witnessed to be
j felt. Elisha had gone to rest, and his wife retir-
Ved; but not to enjoy repose. Elisha arose from
! his bed, went to an adjoining shed-room —his
wife called mildly to him—“ Elisha, are you up.”
: Un repetition ofthe question, he answered, “Yes,
I am up, am going to take my life.”
Who can imagine the feelings of that wife and
: mother, with no one in the house but her two
' little children, as in utter consternation she waits
another answer troni her husband—none came
save the rumbling otlhe rope as he drew it over
the beam. In the stillness of death she arises,
can taintly see her husband; hut by the little light
ot the rising moon, she knows not whether he
might be hanging dead, or wishing to decoy her
within his reach to her own destruction. She
ran for help—neighbors came in; but it was too
I late. He was dead!
Reader! if you would escape any, or all the
evils ot intemperance, use no intoxicating drinks.
From the Temperance Advocate.
Barnwell C. H. July 31, 1842.
In no section of the State, or of the United
States, has the Temperance cause met with more
success than in our District. The village of
Barnwell particularly, has, within the foregoing
two years, become noted for its sobriety and indus
try ; and it is with pride I am enabled to state, it
ranks second to none. There have been estab
lished at Aiken, Blackvilleand Williston, and in
fact, throughout the whole District, Societies, the
members of which continue firm to the cause, and
bless the day they signed the Pledge. The most
dissipated—those who were apparently irretrieva
bly ruined—for whom their friends had no hope,
make the most worthy citizens; and the friend of
tho Temperance cause would enjoy a real plea
sure in seeing how the few, who still continue to
drink, take a careful.survey ofthe premises before
entering the grog-shop; for since their ranks have
been thinned, they have become too individually
conspicuous, and arc aware they are “marked
men.” This is a good sign, and plainly tells that
they cannoteontinue long in that line of business,
anil these are the men who are daily deserting
their comrades. Some ot them, it is true, who
have no regard for their own welfare, or society,
and are destitute of all common feeling, go on as
recklessly as ever; but they aro “ few and fat be
tween.”
The fierce and evanescent flashes,
Will subside in smoke and ashes.
Whenever amisdemeanor or lault, over which
the law has no control, becomes so glaring that
the person who commits it seeks opportunities
when the eye ofhis fellow man is not upon him,
you may rest assured that conscience is at work,
and he will repent. Already have venders of li
quors discovered that drinks are not in as much
demand as formerly, and that destroying men’s
bodies and souls is not as profitable a business as
in “ days gone by;” and they have the melancholy
reflection of knowing, that in a short time, grog
shops will be “things that were,” Trojafail,
Troja fuimus.
When we encounter any opposition, or any
thing calculated to injure our pecuniary prospects,
we either attempt to overcome it, or use such
means as will render its effects less detrimental Jo
our interest. What then must he the feelings of
the grog shop keeper towards the Temperance
cause —the cause that, while producing the most
beneficial results, has blighted all their prospects
of wealth, and caused some of them to close their
doors and seek other employment. I think, as I
heared a very learned gentleman observe the
other day, there is a divine influence at work up
on the minds of all men at present. A complete
revolution has taken place. Some join from one
cause, some from another, and they invariably
adhere to the rules in the strictest sense ofthe
word.
I recollect I was once going to Augusta, to at
tend the races. I was riding in a sulky without
a cushion, and met my venerable old guardian, the
Rev. H. D , and when he discovered my sit
uation, the kindness of his heart prompted him to
offer ine a buffalo, bear or sheep skin, upon which
he was riding. (1 don’t remember which it was,)
at all events, l accepted of it, promising faithfully
to return it to him, when I came home. Well, I
proceeded on my way rejoicing at the luck I had
met with—remained at Augusta during the week
I —frolicked, drank, and lost the old gentleman’s
property. As I returned, it accidently happened
that I met him, and the first salutation I received,
was “ Where’s my sheepskin?” I replied, it was
lost, stolen or strayed, in fact, non est inventus,
and the only answer I received was, “ You will be
a dead man in ten years.” Now, whether he
meant I would be hung, drowned, either in liquor
or water, (I was not more than half drunk at the
time,) or merely die for the want of breath, I was,
and am now, unable to say; however, lam chari
table enough to believe it was not by the former
means I was to arrive at the “ land of spirits,”
and as he was a staunch friend of the Temper
ance cause, I inferred that lie meant l would be
found some cold, frosty, winter morning, in or
near the piazza of a grog-shop, dead as a door nail,
and I thought I could onserve a beam of pleasure
enliven his countenance, as he imagined to him
self the joy he would experience in pronouncing
over my defunct body the following line of!
Wolfe
“ He lay like a warrior taking his rest:” l
Be that as it may, every succeeding drink I took :
alter that, brought to my mind the fatal prophecy.
The more I drank, the more 1 thought of it; until
I finally signed the Temperance Pledge, think
ing that the only means of proving that my guar
dian was not in the remotest degree, either by al
liance or consanguinity, connected with the race ■
of prophets. And oh! how I now thank him for
using those words—they were the cause of my
earthly salvation, and never, while “memory
dwells within my heart,” will I cease toremember
him with feelings of gratitude and affection,
though, at the time, 1 thought it was a “bitter
pill,” and it cannot be denied that “ his loss was
my eternal gain." T.
Most men regard madness with horror, yet how
few recoil from the practices whereby it is engen
dered ! The annals of the lunatic asylum testify
that intoxication, is itself a species ofmadness, is
the primary cause of one-third of the cases of in
sanity, and yet men drain the wine cup; knowing
that they drink liquid madness.
Abstinence easier than Temperance.
In Robert’s life of Hannah More, we are told
that in 1783, Hannah More sat next to Dr. John
son at a dinner party, at the Bishop of Chester’s
house—She says, “ I urged him to take a little
wine ; he replied ‘ I can’t drink a little, child,
therefore I never touch it. Abstinence is as easy
to me as temperance would be difficult.’
Glorious News. I
The following cheering intelligence is (riven :
in tlie N. Y. American, as an extract ofa letter
from an officer in the army, dated, “ Fort Tow- 1
son, June 2<>.” It is hut just, that the same race |
who bestowed upon the Red Man, the accursed '
poison of flu' “ fire water,” should bring to him i
the only antidote to its destructive effects. !
“ Many of your readers will doubtless be gra- j 1
titled to learn, that the efforts and principles of •
the Washingtonians, which have produced such '
wonderful changes in our towns at the east, are !
in a fairway to effect miracles here, by introduc
ing total abstinence among the Indians. The
American people, who have hitherto done little
else for them than to impart to them the vices of
civilized life, and especially intemperance, the
worst and most fatal ot all, are now making a
feeble and tardy reparation by showing the poor
victims away of escape fiom utter annihilation.
The Indians have heard of the Washingtonians,
and the blessings of many who were ready to
parish will rest upon those who have taught
them the possibility and happiness of reforma
tion.
I had the pleasure, yesterday, of attending a
temperance meeting among the Chocktaws.—
The place selected for the purpose was a beautiful
grove, about fourteen miles from the Fort, where
1 found about seven hundred Indians collected
to listen with many doubts and misgivings, to
this new scheme of some of their chief men. A
few whites were present from motives of curiosi
ty, and some of the Chocktaws, from their dress
and appearance, were familiar with the habits of
civilized life; but the mass of those present were
evidently, by their native attire, the paint and
feathers, untutored children of the prairie and
forest. The exercises were opened by a prayer
in the native tongue, from Pliny Fisk, an educa
ted Chocktaw; at the close of this, a large num
ber joined in singing very sweetly a Chocktaw
hymn. Other hymns, some ot which were com
posed, I believe, for the occasion, were sun» at
intervals between the speeches. The orators
were all Chocktaws, and addressed the people in
their own language. This was, of course, worse
than Greek to me, so that I could not form any
certain opinion of their eloquence, but from their
rap’d and impassioned delivery, and the attention
with which the Indians, notwithstanding the
heat, listened to them for more than four conse
cutive hours, I inferred that their appeals were,
most, forcible and interesting.
One of the speakers, who is an educated man,
quoted, in the courseof his address, some remarks
made by Mr. Marshall, at the Tabernacle, and
toid them of'the Washingtonians and the Con
gressional Temperance Society. The interpre
ter assured me that this speech was the most
eloquent ever delivered in the nation.
I think Mr. Marshall would have been amused
if he could have heard his ideas done into Chock
taw. A sturdy and untaught old orator, from
one of the Western districts, spoke nearly an
hour, with a rapidity of utterance that defies con
ception,or imitation in our language. Pronounc
ing his sentences in so loud a tone of voice as to
be heard at a great distance, and accompanying
them with most energetic gesticulations, he
scaroly paused from his violent exertions to catch
breath or remove the perspiration which rolled in
streams from his face. At the close of the meet
ing the pledge was repeated and explained to
those present, and quite a large number assumed
the obligations of teetotallers. I understood,
from one of the principal men, that the number
thus pledged was about three hundred before the
meeting. He likewise informed me that these
efforts would be repeated and continued in all
parts of the nation, and expressed himself much
encouraged to proceed in the undertaking.
The exercises having terminated, we found an
excellent dinner, with true Indian hospitality,
gratuitously provided for the whole assembly, an
appropriate repast having likewise been furnished
for our horses. I retired in the evening to the
Fort, with renewed hopes and pleasant anticipa
tions respecting the destiny ofthc Red Man.”
Seven Wonders of Drunkenness.
1. That any rational being should turn his
back on home —“sweet home"’ —and make the
tavern his abiding place, where he is tempted to
spend his hardwon money, and then when it is
all gone, is turned out of doors. Is not this a
wonder 1
-• That ho should voluntarily take the money
which should maintain his family and children,
and give it to support and adorn the wife and
children of the tavern keeper, who in return
gives him ruined health, blighted character and
empty pockets. Is not this a wonder'!
d. That, any rational being could listen to the
insinuations of t hose interested in his degrada
tion and ruin, and take for his enemies the per
sons who would persuade him to look well to his
own home, his own wife, his own children, his
own health and his own pocket. Is not this a
wonder 1
■l, That brute beasts should drink only pure
water, and that, only when they are dry, and
that man, rational man, heaven-instructed, soul
possessing, immortal man, should not only drink
when he is not dry, but should prefer for his
beverage liquid lire. Is not this a wonder 1
5. That when men are walking in away
which brings wretchedness on themselves, and
trouble and distress on all about them and they
arc advised to forsake the path, there should be so
much difficulty as is found in getting them to try.
Is not this a wonder.
ti. That a human being, wholly dependent on
the God that made him, should wantonly, un
gratefully, and audaciously lly in the face of his
Creator and Redeemer, as the drunkard especial
ly does, and yet he is spared not only days, but
sometimesyears before the sentence goes forth,
‘Cut it down; why cumbcrcth it the ground!’ Is
not this a wonder ?
7. That while drunkenness is emptying our
churches and schools, and crowding our jails and
bridewells, and while Total Abstinence Societies
are, liy the blessing of God, reclaiming many
drunkards from their ruinous habits, the vast ma
jority of Christian ministers and other professors
of religion should continue to drink those liquors
which makes men drunkards and totreat the to
tal abstinent cause witli indifference, contempt
or opjiosition. Is not this a wonder I—Christian
Intelligencer.
I/lst of Payments.
The following persons have paid their sub
scription to the Washingtonian, up to 11th of
June, 1843:
Augusta —Col. John Milledge, S. C. Gren
ville, S. McCarty, C. E. Mustin, Dr. J. L. New
ton, H. A Richmond, F. Burton, L. D. Laller
stedt, H. 11. Risley, Paul Cottel, D. K, Mustin,
Judge John Silly.
Marietta —J. M. C. Shumate.
Decatur —Levi Willard.
Gainesville —C. Peeples.
Sparta —N. C. Sayre.
Union , (A/a.) —J. L. Patton.
Hamburg, (S. C.)—lsaiah Bailey, J. H. An
derson.
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