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Til K IVASIIIIIIITTlTTlN:
aFguWa. 3O, 1843.
Washington Total .fbsUntnee Pledge.
IVe, ui'imc names art hereunto annexed, desirous
of forming a Society for our mutual benefit,
and to guard against a pernicious practice,
■which is injurious to our health, standing and
families, do pledge ourselves as Gentlemen,
not to drink any
Spirt tons or Malt Liquors, Wine or Cider.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.
Rev. W. T. Brantlv, Dr. F. M. Robertson,
“ W. J. Hard, Dr. D. Hook,
•• C. S. Don, S. T. Chapman, Esq.
“ Geo. F. Pierce, James Harper, Esq,
Col. Joiin Milledoe,
• - -:.-£.?:..~--r=rT=-.. -i'- -
{Uy- To Diatart Subicribehs.—rust Masters arc au
thorized by law to remit money to the publishers ol
newspaper* and periodicals in payment of subscrip,
tiont. Subscribers to the H'athingtonian can therefore
pay for their papers without subjecting themselves or
the publisher totho expense of postage, by handing the
amount to the Post Master, with a request to remit it.
OCT We have been gratified with the
general good order preserved in the . city
in the midst ofall the hilarity of the sea
son. The only exception that we have
observed, was on Sabbath night, when,
regardless of tho sacredness of the day,
some persons were engaged in letting off
“poppers,’* and other fire-works. Wt
suppose that none but boys were thus en
gaged to the annoyance of all who desire
to worship God on that holy day; but it
was not excusable even in the thought
lessness of boyhood. If they had them
selves no conscience, or sense of proprie
ty to deter them from desecrating the
Lord’s Day, their parents should have re
strained them. The peace of the city,
the morals of our youth, and tho spread
of religion depend greatly upon the strict
observance of tho Sabbath. The reputa
tion and, the welfare of any individual,
family, town or country must sufTer bj
the desecration to purposes of labor or
amusement of that day which God has
solemnly set apart for himself.
CCTWe have not seen a drunken man
in the streets of Augusta during the ho
lidays. There has been, doubtless, much
drinking going on behind the scene's; but;
it has not come out to open daylight. It
is one important effect of the temperance
movement that occasional drunkenness
has become more disgraceful than it was
formerly reckoned, and drinking at all is
quite in disrepute. There can be no
question that there has been a great
change in this respect. The quantity
drank, and the frequency of intoxication
among respectable people, are greatly di
minished.
OCT We are gratified to learn that the
friends of Temperance have raised the
means wherewith to defray the expenses
of Mr. John Hawkins, the celebrated and
successful advocate of the temperance;
cause, and that he has already been in
vited to pay us a visit. lie is now at
Columbia, S. C. We hope he will find
it convenient to accept the invitation. A
visit of a few days from him just now,
may, and, we trust, will, do much to
arouse the flagging zeal of the Washing
tonians of Augusta.
OCT It has been objected by some con
scientious religious people, that the ad
vocates of temperance principles laud
them so highly as to substitute them in
the place of the higher and holier prin
ciples of religion. If this be, to any con
siderable extent, the fact, there is certain
ly just ground of objection therefrom, j
Now we have heard full many a temper
ance speech, we have listened to many a
discussion of the topic, and we have read
much on the subject, and we have never
known! such ground to be assumed, nor
scarcely ever such a tendency to he justly
chargeable upon what was said. That a
few individuals should become fanatical
zealots in this cause, is no more than was
to be expected. But that men of ill-ba
lanced minds and ardent temperament,
should have rushed to extremes, is no
proof that the cause is not a good one,
and its principles sound and true. And
surely, if one who has a breast to feel for
human woe, and to weep over human
guilt, will but seriously reflect on all the
complicated miseries, and the horrid
i crimes that rise up in the train of intem
jperance—“ln long array a numerous
! host”—he must be removed beyond the
bounds of his usual emotions. What
wonder if, when he engages in efforts to
stem that fiery torrent, he passes beyond
• the bounds of strict moderation, and at
tributes a disproportionate value to the
virtue of abstinence from all that intoxi
• cates ! The evil is so great as to defy
adjust estimate of its enormous magni
tude. His soul is stirred up within him
towage perpetual war against it. If he
*i is too ardent, too sanguine, it is the error
jof a generous mind, filled with the desire
of doing good to his fellow-men.
It is very probable that some of the
• members of our temperance societies may
satisfy themselves with being total absti
’> nence men, while they with all men
should be content with nothing short of
the regenerating grace of God, and a life
-in correspondence therewith. But the
same difficulty exists in regard to every
• virtue :—that of honesty, truth, chastity,
P &c. Many, satisfied with possessing
e these virtues, rest in their morality, and
resist all persuasions to embrace the reli
c; gion of Jesus Christ. This is not an evil
y I peculiar to temperance ; it is an exhibi
- lion of the native pride of the human
e | heart, that persists in substituting any
virtue that man possesses in place of the
V grace that God bestows.
f| But let the objector come along with
- as, and labor to correct the evil if hej
• thinks it exists. lie does not attack ouri
' principles, but only the undue importance
1 attached to them. Let him come and
■ advocate those principles on their true ba
• sis ; let him locate them in their proper
■ position of subordination, and then press
ithem upon the attention of men. We
" invite all who agree with our principles
>to co-operate with us. If we do wrong,
1 come and set us right. It is a poor way
1 to help a good cause, or to discharge one’s
own duty, to stand aloof and cry out toj
them who qrd tugging at the wheel—
•‘you do not go to work right, you arc
awkward bunglers.” Come and put your
own shoulder to the wheel, and show us
j how the thing should bo done, if you think
1 1that we do not doit well. It is vastly:
(easier to find, fault with the imperfections
i;of those who are doing a great work the
11best way they know how, than to goa-|
| bout to accomjdish that work wisely and;
■ well
Our paper is devoted not only to
1 the cause of temperance, but also to that
l of good morals, and good order. These
1 we deem so inseparably connected with
temperance that the advocacy of the one
implies the advocacy of the other. We
are laboring humbly, but honestly, and
earnestly for the good ofour fellow-men. I
If our unpretending sheet succeeds in res-'
cuing one inebriate from the grasp of the'
monster against which we contend, —if!
; :it confirms one Washingtonian in his re
solves, and deepens his attachment to the
'jeause, —if it checks one vicious habit, —
if it imparts one ennobling sentiment, wo
labor not in vain. We hope for many
such results to flow from our efforts :
who will not wish us “ God-speedl”
’ The Lectures before the T'raiikllu Lite-;
rary Society.
We were gratified to see a good audi
ence at the Lecture on Thursday night,
. and had only to regret that, from the
shortness of the notice, or misapprehen
-1 sion of the object of these lectures, there
were so few ladies present. We cannot
Jfor a moment suppose that the ladies of
Augusta are indifferent to information so
important as that which it is the object
of the lectures to communicate. Some
were under the erroneous impression that
i they were delivered to the members of
I the Society alone, and that the presence
of ladies was not desired.
The undertaking is a very commenda
ble one and, though our community has
not the reputation of being a very litera
ry one, we are well persuaded that there
i is among us the intelligence, and the thirst
for knowledge that can appreciate and
i sustain the effort.
' The Lecture on Thursday night by Dr.
. Robertson, was on the arterializalion of
the blood, and the generation of animal
heat. The fixed attention of the large
i and highly respectable audience gave
! ample testimony to the interest of the
i subject and the ability of the lecturer.
- v I
■ Few of those who heard the lecture, — i
s certainly none of the unprofessional au
ditors—left the room without carrying!
t with them information altogether new as
> well as highly important;—and, we doubt
1 not, the impression was made most forci
bly on every mind, as the lecturer feel
jjingly said—that “we are fearfully and
- wonderfully made.”
We understand that the next Lecture
. will be delivered on Thursday week, Jan
} uary 11th, and that the subject will be, —
3 the last Revolution in Poland. The
r deep interest that all lovers of liberty
; feel in that unhappy country —the still
recent memory of her last struggle,—
. and the fact that the lecturer was himself
on the spot, participating in the move
. ments of those exciting times, —will, we
, are confident, secure a full house,
f The place of Lecture is the Presbyte
, rian Lecture Room, and the hour 7 P.
, >l. The invitation is extended freely to
all the community.
, Q&- We do not know what fair hand
' penned the following lines, but they are
* evidently the language of one who is a
■ dear lover of her native land, and who
I feels at heart that “there is noplace like
■ home.” In deference to so amiable a feel
' ing, we can forgive even the disparaging 1
tone of the third and fourth stanzas.—
' Has not some one of our readers who is
“in the vein,” a word to say in behalf
i of “the sunny South”?
, i For the Washingtonian.
The Blight Sunny North.
1 Oh ! the bright sunny North, I would I was there, j
To drink its cool waters and breath its pure air ;
To roam by its wild streams that wander away,
Thro’thc deep tangled glen where no sunbeam can stray
, To lie on their green banks and hear the low tone,
Which soothed me to calmness in days that are gone.
To roam through the forests, and feel the fresh breeze,
From my brow as it sweeps thro’ the whispering trees ;|
To hear the sweet bird songs that float on the air,
And their still sweeter voices that ask of me there,
To wander again in each old beaten track,
And bask in the smiles which will welcome me back.
Ah ! here are the thoughtless, the gay and the vain,
j And folly, and fashion and vanity reign ;
| Love, friendship, or sympathy ! seek for them here !
! As well seek for icebergs on sunny Cashmere.
IT here are sniiles ever beaming;cold meaningless smiles
I Like the sun’s dazzliug beams on the lar Iceland Iles:
; Where his glory’s enkindled almost to a blare,
Yet ’tis cold still, and freezing beneath the bright rays
| There are forms ever passing like “visions of light,’’
j And facua divinely, enchantiugly bright;
There are voices, sweet voices that's music to hear : j
Yet trust to them never—the heart speaks not there, j
But the bright sunny North ! there’s joy on its hills : j
Therejis mirth.tameless mirth, in its clear flashing rillsj i
There is song in its woodlands, end light on its flowers :j
There is prayer in its homesteads, and love in its bowers;
Contentment and liberty breathe on the air,
And brave hearts, and true ones, make paradise there.
N. C. W.
For the Washingtonian.
We are now numbering the last hours
of another year, and we shall soon be
niunberinj' the last of our lives. How
solemn this association of ideas! How
favorable the season for anticipating those
reflections which will crowd upon our
minds, when time with us shall be as near
!its end, as is the present year. Let us
then, friendly readers, make a suitable
[improvement of this interesting occasion ;
[and first,
Have we lived through this year, as we
shall wish we had done when the night
comes in which no man can work? If
we have not, —if “glory and virtue” have
not been the objects of our pursuit, Oh !
how vain and useless has been our exist
ence —how ungrateful has been our con
duct, to that kind Being who has pro
longed our lives that we might attain
both —how despairing our anticipations
of his favour for the future ! In this me-;
lancholy case, there is one only cheering
ray of hope, and that is found in the as
surance, that a labourer is welcome into
the vineyard of holiness, even at the ele
venth hour of the day. Oh! may this
hope be embraced by us all. Again,
Have we been ready throughout the
year for every good word and deed ? Have!
we done any good thing ? Have we tri
ed to do good ? Have we won any one |
from vice ? Have we caused any one to
love virtue? If our answers to these
queries are negative, we are strangers to;
the sweetest consolations known to man
in his pilgrimage through life—we are
strangers to the love of God—we are
strangers to the love of our neighbors—
and we are strangers to the comfortable
' assurance of eternal life and bliss. Oh!
we have not answered the purposes of our
creation !—our existence is a blank ! But
the year has not yet expired—we may
: yet do something,—let us be up and do
ing ! Again,
Have we as members of the Temper
■ jance Society, or as the friends of this*
:!glorious cause, done all in our power to
! promote its prosperity, and to increase
t its usefulness ? What have we done for,
•it ? Have we prayed that it might be
come lovely in the sight of all men—
-1 have we held up our hands to sustain
1 those who were praying or otherwise la
' bouring for its advancement ? Have we
- made any sacrifice, or given ourselves
- any trouble at all for its promotion? If
? not, we shall never rank with the Philan
thropist, Howard; with the Reformer.
l! Mathews ; nor with lhe Reformed Haw
kins. If not, to-day and to-morrow, must
fjbe cheerless days for us, if we have sense
•or feeling. If not—we are idlers, in a
: moral vineyard ; drones in a hive of sweet
est honey—and unfaithful soldiers in an,
■ army of glory, engaged in a war of vir
• tue and benevolence. But here too, there
> is time and space For repentance, let os|
not neglect it—let us ere this year passes;
j away, do something to promote this cause.
; to soothe our awakened consciences, and;
( to restore hope to our hearts.
) If we could think that to-morrow would,
, end our lives as it does the year, we would,
certainly try to improve it in the ways;
suggested above ; and as we do not know
’ that it will not, and as a few more days)
, or years will do it, we should act as it]
-'approaching the last day of our lives, in
stead of the last day of the year. Re-|
imember, we shall desire thus to have act-!
led, when that last day come, and then, it
will be forever too late —forever ineffec
tual. Aman.
A Plata Talk tor the People !
I must say something more of the in-!
, consistencies of those whose principles!
and welfare demand the prevalence of
Temperance, and on this occasion I will <
pay my respects to some ladies, and a fa-;
ther whose conduct is extremely repre-;
hensible.
The ladies to whom I refer, know as
well as I do, the miseries and degradation <
brought upon families and individuals by |
strong drink ; they sympathise with thej
sufferers from this cause with a benevo-'
lent intensity to which I can lay no claim;!
[and they feel more accutely indignant
;than I do, at the detestable and horrible
nature of that wicked habit which brings
jso much wretchedness in its train. Yet;
with all this knowledge, feeling and sym
pathy, they have turned away from th«-
contemplation of human sufferings, which;
like “Ministering Angels” they have la !
boured to alleviate, and, with the incon
stancy of the wind, have ridiculed o
youth for taking the pledge, and tempted
and persuaded him to break it, or expunge |
his name from the catalogue of the no
blest army of the nineteenth century.
This I would not do!—Here I acknowl
edge no superiority in these fairest spe
cimens of God’s workmanship ! Butj
this has been done in thoughtlessness —
they had momentarily forgotten their
power over our sex—they had forgotten;
that its influence ‘ brought death into the
’ world with all our woes”—they had for
: gotten too, that they are involved in ali
the miseries consequent upon a bad use;
.j of their power, —and I must deal tender-j
.ly with them. If this hint produces re
formation I am done, but if not, I shall
11 advise w ith “Obed” as to the propriety of!
; leaving the sex to their own wayward
. ness, since after adv ice given them, they
ricontinue to labour to thwart the efforts;
. their friends are making to promote their
> happiness. And that they may appreci
. ate the mischiefs which would be brought
s ;upon them if thus deserted, I will tell
them some of the good “Obed’s” letters
> and police regulations have already ef-;
>'fected :—he says, his spies have not fori
. three weeks reported a single case of a
: young gentleman being stowed away in
» a negro house to hide bis drunkenness
; from his deceived parents, nor one hoist
i ed upon coffee sacks to keep him from
i being trodden to death by a drunken
; crowd, and only one picked up in the
: streets !
But the case of the Father is still more
• inexcusable. He has two lovely sons.
! who like other children were indulged
r until unnatural appetites were formed
t and time only was wanting to make these
’ noble boys the slaves of lust, and to live
■ merely to eat and drink. Fortunately,
however, they learned their danger in
time to avoid the plunge into the abyss
of intemperance and moral ruin. One j
of them took the pledge immediately, and j
'yet continues to maintain his integrity, I
notwithstanding such efforts as those de. r
scribed above, have been made to make I
him falter. The other, and he was most
in danger, for pampered appetite already
exercised considerable control over him,
appalled at the danger to himself and oth
ers from ignorance of the gradual but i'
‘certain uncontrolable power of selfindul- ■
gence, delayed signing the pledge until t
he could get his father also within the |
embrace of this safety pledge. His fath- f
errefused! Yes, the father whose hap. f
pi ness depends upon the sobriety of his f
son, refused to insure it by denying him- f
self unnecessary and injurious indulgen- 5
eies!! Yes, the father rvho will spend j
the decline of life in unavailing and des- 1
pairing regrets, should his conduct lead
i his son to contemn temperance, refused,
by his example, to prevent such a calami
jty !!! Oh ! how unwise such conduct.
But to conclude this communication.
It may now be clearly seen, what is meant I
and desired by union of effort in the cause |
of human reformation. It is not only
co-operation in thought and word, but in
action, and that every day, on all occn-
Jsions, and under all circumstances. Then,
•ins when every member of a family is no- \
b!y labouring for its honorable distinc
tion, will the reformation we plead ad- L
j vance in every direction until it shall
bless the whole world.
A YV ASHING TON I AN.
For the Washingtonian.
j The ambition to make a noise in the I
i world, seems to be universal. It is not I
j confined to our Presidents, Governors. [
■ Generals, Congressmen, and Bear-fight - |
ers, but extends to the little boys, who |
I make our streets musical with their pop
ipers and Christmas guns. Nor is it con- t
I lined to the male sex—but extends to I
wives, mothers and daughters—the wives j
lecture, mothers scold, and daughtersr
pout, titter, and if necessary, scream j.
'with peculiar “emphasis.” Upon the j
'whole, this characteristic of man, makes d
ours a noisy world. And yet, it is not |
desirable that this disposition should,cease |
to exist—noise is better than a death like j
calm—but it is *vory desirable that it I
should be directed to useful objects. I
I
Much of the noise that is ma le is entire
ly useless, some of it very mischievous,
and no little of it is followed by very se
lious regr cts. The great men of the mi
llion, uselessly expend the public treasure
to make themselves conspicuous; the
boys waste their thrips for crackers which
I after the explosion, leaves not a trace of
greatness behind for themselves; the la- I
dies often drive their husbands and sons I
and beaux far away from them by their I
vociferation; and the bear-fighters can I
only insure those regretsjwhich a consci- I
entiousness of cruelty and folly will al- I
ways produce. How much better it would
be it this love of conspicuitv, was direc
| ted to efforts and objects, which after the
jexplosion, would not leave us to feel and
look so much like disappointed men.
w omen and boys !
This disposition to make a noise in the
world, has exhibited itself to a ludicrous
and nischievous extent, during the late
1 Christmas holvdays, and in some persons
w ho properly cultivated, would make them
selves glorious and usefully conspicuous.
I saw one youth annoying a private family
by throwing his explosive materials into
the entry of their bouse, who in original
capacity is not, perhaps, inferior to Bacon
! or Newton ; but who will forever remain
> inferior to them in acquisitions and use
fulness, unless his mind can be diverted
• into a very different channel. It is in
part for his sake that these remarks are
made. Oh youth ! remember that it is
• no trouble for you to learn —remember
that you have opportunities of daily im
provement in knowledge,—and remem
ber that shame, mortification and dishon
or awaits you, if you do not improve and
profitably employ the wonderful talents
which God has given you.
But there is one peculiarity attending
i this Christmas noise that is inexplicable
and mortifying. The commemoration
■ of the birth of the Saviour of the world
is the ostensible object, and yet the wild*
. est demonstrations of yoy are at the Grog
i Series ? It will take a wiser casuist than