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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