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From the Washingtonian Journal.
What la Bums
I asked an aged man, a man of cares,
Wrinkled and curved and white with hoary hairs
‘"Rum is the tyrant of the soul,” he said,
“ Yeyoungaud fair, takewarning from the dead.’’!
I asked the dying drunkard, e’er the stroke
Os ruthless death, life's golden bowl had broke;
I asked him, What is rural “Rom,” he replied,
“ The curte of earth—nr RC!N!”—and he died.
I asked a weeping wife; she raised her eye,
All filled with tears, and this was her reply :
“Rum dashed from me fond hopes of earthly bliss,
And made this life a cup of bitterness.’’
“ Rum robbed me of my all 1 Yes, he,
Who by high heaven vowed he would cherish me:
Whose noble spirit brooked not sin’s control,
Has fallen, a victim to the damning bowl.”
I asked the dreary army of the dead,
Which spurned the sacrifice for them once shed:
A hollow murmur struggled from earth’s pores—
“ We touched it, tasted, and our souls are lost.”
I asked a spirit lost; but O the shriek
That pierced my soul! I shudder while I speak :
It cried— “ Death ! everlasting death ! to sigh,
And plead tor death, and death forever fly !’’
I asked my biblc, and methinks it said
“ The souls that taste, have (rom God’s spirit fled;
From his blest face, by Rum those souls are
driven—
A drunkard’s spirit cannot enter heaven.”
~TEiiIfi!PERAIKIOIE.'
From tue Saturday American.
James Thompson;
08, THE BITTER FMJIT3 OF A FAMILY
If CUSTOM.
A TEMPERANCE TALE—BY S. S.
It is but a few years since when the
custom of dram-drinking prevailed in
most of the families of our respectable
Farmers, without exciting any dispara
ging remarks among neighbors, or awa
kening any serious apprehensions of evil,
in the minds of parents, children, or
friends. Custom even reconciles people
to dwell on the brink of volcanoes, or
the surface of trembling ground that
covers cities swallowed up by the rave
nous jaws of repeated earthquake. There
is no evil that habit will not render us
callous to. It was so in D county,
a few years back, when James Thompson,
an opulent Farmer, became one of the
most noted men in the neighborhood tor
his liberal hospitality—his free habits of
drinking—and his uninterrupted career
of prosperity. His cattle were the best
in the whole county —his horses, either
for draught or saddle, unrivalled—his
sheep the fattest, his dniry the sweetest
—his crops the most abundant, and his
plantation the neatest in the whole vi
cinity. Every thing good was always
compared with something better belong
ing to Farmer Thompson. “ Yes, yours
is a fine horse, but ho is not equal to Far
mer Thompson’s bay.” “Never saw
finer cattle, except Farmer Thompson’s
last drove.” “ Capital wheat! but it
don’t come up to James Thompson’s.”
These were the common exclamations of
his neighbors, among the amateur far
mers, who looked to breeding and to
crops as the great object of life. While
among the young men of the county, no
lass in the country round was extolled
with more rapture and enthusiasm than
“ Rose Thompson.” . At ‘Harvest home,’
who cavried away more hearts with her
than Rose Thompson? She w’as the
belle of the county—the toast of every
village—the model of every pretty maid.
Nor was her brother less admired by the
girls of the county. We say her broth
er, for at the time we speak, she had but
one —but he was a youth among a thou
sand for beauty of face, grace of form,
goodness of heart, and vivacity of intel
lect. “ Young James Thompson beats
all 1 ever saw !” was the exclamation of
all the girls of the county. “He is rath
er delicate for a farmer’s son, but he is
beautiful, let them say what they will.
“Yes, yes!” would respond an old aunt
or grand-dame, “ that’s true enough—
but after all, handsome is that handsome
does. If he does not follow the footsteps
of his brothers, and die of the black jug,
he may do well enough; but iarmer
Thompson does love a dram over much.”
“ Poh! poh! he does no more than all
the rest do. What is custom is custom.
Would you have him a butt for ridicule,
by pretending to be a saint, when all the
world knows he’s a sinner.” “ Saint or
sinner, Deborah, l would have all men so
singular as to disregard a custom that
may prove the ruin of his family.”
“ So poor young James Thompson is
dead,” said aunt Hannah.
“ I always thought the black jug would
kill him,” sighed Deborah.
“ What horrible doom is it that hangs
over the heads of my poor devoted fami
ly, who no sooner reach the promising
years of manhood, than they fall into a
premature grave!” exclaimed James
j Thompson to his afflicted wife, whose
! sobs and tears broke .forth into heart
| rending sighs which she in vain endeav
| ored to suppress, as she sat at the head of
a coffin, in which lay deposited the fourth
i darling son, whom she had nourished
j with fond affection at the maternal breast.
! The last—the youngest —the best belov
\ ed!
| “ I don’t know ! I don’t know !” ejac
ulated the unhappy mother, at intervals,
in broken accents between her sobs, as
she wrung her hands in agony, and
rocked to and fro in the deep anguish of
her soul; for she had long promised her
self comfort in her old age with this
fourth son, whose docile disposition in
spired the fondest hopes of his virtuous
and long life ; but Intemperance , that
curse of domestic bliss, suddenly fell
upon him 100, and snapped the golden
chain of life, as he stood at the fountain
of Poison, imbibing the draught ofDeath,
and he too followed his three brothers to
that tomb, which, sooner or later, is ever
sure to receive the deluded victims of
Ebriety. This continued succession of
domestic calamities had worn deep fur
rows of grief in the heart of that woe
stricken mother, who would sit for hours
disconsolate and forlorn, her bosom heav
ing with sorrow, as she exclaimed, “ what
is life but the bridge of sighs ?” And most
painfully had the cause of her existence
verified the truth of her saying, for Rose
only was now left to comfort her.
“ But mother ! dear mother!” cried her
daughter Rose, “ you can help it, if you
will. Why not tell father of his own i
limit? You know what they have all!
said, ‘ father drinks whiskey, and why
should not I drink too?’ This example,
mother, has killed them all.”
Rose was dutiful, but she was also a
lover of truth ; she had long witnessed the
cause of her brothers “ taking to the Still,' ’
as she called it—hut with all expostula.
tions with her mother to tell her father of
his fault, had proved unavailing; and she
shrunk with terror at tho idea of doing so
herself, as she had ever regarded her fa
ther with a veneration bordering on awe.
On these occasions her mother would
answer, “Oh! Rose! I dare not. You
know your father never drinks to excess,
and besides, it is not right for a wife to
reprove her husband. If our boys had
drank no more than their father, they
would not have injured themselves. No !
no! no! Your father is not to blame,
and yet, I could wish he would not drink
at all.
James Thomson was a thriving far
mer ; always ready to perform his duty,
vigilant, active, enterprising, and indus- 1
trious; but ho was fond of a hard drink ;
and having a robust and iron constitution,
he could indulge with impunity, in pota
tions that would kill half a score of or
dinary men. His sons, who inherited
the delicate health of their mother, fell
naturally into the habits of their father |
without having the same energy to re
sist tho potent influence of the liquid
poison. Affectionate as a father, kind ns
a neighbor, loving as a husband, James
Thompson enjoyed a fair reputation in
the eyes of the world. Even as a mem
ber of the church, he was not deficient
in his religious duties. He was known
to be free in his habits, as well as liberal
in his disposition ; yet a neighbor would
occasionally remark, in a spirit of perfect
kindness, that “ friend Thompson would
drink rather too freely.” Yet no seri
ous charge of this kind was ever brought
against him. He never appeared intox
icated. Ho was a moderate drinker. —
And thriving as he did in the world, in
dustrious, prosperous and punctual in his
engagements, the world regarded him
with perfect good nature. Added to
this, he had of late years obtained a char
acter for fortitude and resignation, in
never having bowed under the weight of
heavy domestic afflictions, that it was ob
served by his neighbors, “ would have
crushed most men.”
When his fourth son, James however,
was struck dead by the Rum Fiend, his
friends trembled for the consequences;
and no farmer of the whole county could
boast of warmer, or more numerous
friends than he could. For this fourth
son, was the child on whom he seemed to
have concentrated all his love; and to
this partiality, in a great measure, was
he indebted for his death; his father
rather giving encouragement to his fond
ness for drink, than otherwise, under the
fallacious, and fatal belief, that a dram
would strengthen him—“ another dram
Jemmy, was his usual expression, when
i he heheld his son weary, or exhausted ;
another dram my hoy, will set all to
rights.”
“ How will neighbor Thompson bear
the loss of James,” was the common re
mark of the vicinity? “If ever a man
loved a child, he loved James. This
will try his fortitude, if any thing can.
He is a hard feeling man ; but there
comes a time for all to feel affliction.”
“ Did you see neighbor Thompson at
church since he buried his son ?” was
often asked by one neighbor of another.
“No!” was the uniform response. “I
should not wonder if the poor man is not
sorrow-stricken for the death of James.
If ever a father had his heart fixed upon
a child, that man is James Thompson.
It will go hard with him now I fear
and all shook their heads in apprehen
sion.
These anticipations were but too fully
realized. Poor Thompson was never
seen at church after the burial of his fa
vorite boy. His eye shed no tear. His
cheek felt no moisture. But the gush
of agony in his heart unmanned him—
convulsed him with unutterable sorrow,
and laid him naked, a new-born babe on
the blazing Altar of Divine retribution.
He spoke little, but his boson) heaved
heavy and long sighs, without the relief
of which he must have fallen dead upon
the spot. What a house of mourning,
and sorrow, was that of farmer Thomp
son now. He stood gazing on vacancy
as if turned to stone —a petrified image
of Sorrow ; awakening only to apparent
consciousness to quaff" the burning con
tents of the whiskey jug ; while his wife
equally overcome by grief, sat incapable
of discharging her usual duties; her
daughter Rose, alone remaining self-pos
sessed to look after the welfare of their
desolated family. All appeals of Rose
to her mother, were now superseded bv
her anxiety for the safety of both her
parents, whose melancholy condition of
ten overwhelmed her in a flood of fears.
How often was she on the point of ex
postulating withj her father, against his
frequent use of the life-killing beverage
—but as the words rose to her lips, fear
and reverence chained her tongue, as
her mind whispered to her, “if mother
dares not tell him of his sin, how can I ?”
Poor girl!—Filial piety may plead in ex
tenuation of thy grevious fault, but what
shall excuse a wife, from so serious a vi
olation of duty, when heaven created
Woman, to act as the good Angel of
Man ; and snatch him from the surging
billows whose jaws so often open to de
vour him ? It is the Wife, who is bound
to become the champion of Temperance,
to the erring partner of her bosom.—
The mother of Rose felt acutely all the
weight of the obligation resting upon
her. A thousand voices rang in her
ears day and night—“ Save him I Save
him 1 Dash the poison cup from his
lips! Tell him before it be too late, and
snatch him from the burning gulf, that
opens to devour him!” Yet each time
did her heart fail her 1 and as it failed,
remorse planted its fangs in her bosom,
and she groaned in agony.
A wandering mind soon began to man
ifest its ravings in the mind of poor
Thompson ; as he muttered incoherent
lamentations, accusing “fortune” of her
perfidy, and upbraining his “ Evil Stars”
with the death of hissons. Everything
—every element of Nature—every agent
of human destiny was in fault; but his
poor tottering intellect could discern no
blemish in himself. As his mental mal
ady grew worse, he began to wander,
with staggering steps, from the firm
house to the church yard, about two
miles distant, where ho would seat him
self upon the grave of his son, drinking,
howling, and lamenting—and calling
upon him “ to get up and come home, for
his mother was waitng for him.” This
soul-harrowing spectacle had been wit
nessed by his half destracted wife, who
had several times tracked him to the spot,
from an apprehension of some evil be
falling him : and the abounding love of
woman awoke in her bosom that dormant
moral courage, which at last dared to
warn him of the dreadful consequences
of the inordinate cup. But alas! too
late did the voice of affection sound the
caution in his ears. Her words fell upon
stone. He gazed at her with a vacant
stare, but understood her not: w)ien she
burst into a flood of tears, and hurried
him home, as she cast back a lingering
look upon the graves of her four sons, all
victims to one vile custom !
A country church yard is hallowed by
a thousand pleasing, ns well as pensive
and melancholy recollections. That of
Woodville had been the play ground of
the wife and husband, who now mois
tened its sod by their tears. There too
reposed the remains of their parents ,
whom they had followed to the tomb.—
The church stood in the front: a hand
some but plain temple, at whose simple
altar worshipped the sincere children of
| the soil —the honored planters of a free
land.
“It is time dear mother,” said Rose,
as she sat with her that evening, as her
father lay raving and muttering at inter
vals, in the adjoining room, “it is time
that we sent to Doctor Wirmer to see
him ! Shall John go over now ?”
“Not till to-morrow, Rose, replied her
mother; he will be better to-morrow. I
have seen so much of doctors, that I dread
their entering the door—a sadness strikes
me the moment they enter the house;
and I feel a presentiment that chills me
to the heart.”
“Beit as you will mother—l feel very
much as you do. Alas 1 when did they
ever cure any of our family.”
The hope of the father’s improvement
was fully realized the next day. A calm
and composure of unusual serenity ap
peared in bis deportment. He drank
less than common, but still enough to
kill a common man. Rose and her
mother derived the most cheering hopes
of his recovery, from these symptoms,
and joined in thanks and prayer to God
for his gracious mercy.
How delusive are all the hopes found
ed on the Drunkard’s fate! The third
morning from the day of his last visit
to the church yard, his wife and daugh
ter, wearied and exhausted by long vigils,
and who had overslept their usual hour
of rising, were struck with heart-apali
ing terror, when on awakening, they
discovered his bed empty, and the doors of
the house standing wide open. Rose,
however, attempted to calm the appre
hensions of her mother, by assurances
of his being yet about the farm ; but
her search proving fruitless, they pro
ceeded together to the church yard,
where an empty bottle and a handker
chief belonging to him, were found on
the grave of his son; but the miserable
father was no where to be seen. Rose
now proceeded to the neighbors with the
alarming intelligence of the disappear,
ance of her parent; and after some con
sultation it was agreed to drag the mill
dam in the vicinity'. 'Phis was accor
dingly done—and horrible to relate! the
body of James Thompson, once the pride
of the county, an honor to himself, and
the beloved of his family, was drawn to
the shore, bloated, disfigured and revolt
ing—a melancholy evidence of tiie fatal
consequences of Intemperance- The
verdict of the Coroner wrung in the ears
of his widow, a premature doom. She
survived her husband but three months,
dying of a broken heart; but on her
death-bed, she called rose to her side,
and extorted from the weeping girl, a
solemn promise, that if ever she should
become a wife, she would abolish the
custom of drain-drinking in her family
—and never consent to wed a man who
would not sign a Total Temperance
Pledge; on giving a promise to do which,
her unfortunate Mother expired in her
arms.
jpaaiTf ass.
r Proprietor of the Waihikotoniax, has just ro
J- cciveil, ami added to hit heretofore well selected
assortment, a farther supply of
JOT AITO JHEATO3TO
AND OTHER MATERIALS
JoV eftam. and
JOB PRINTING:
—SUCH AS
Circulars, <£l)ccks, Notes, tlcccipts,
HANDBILLS, BI’SINESS (’ARDS,
Invitation Tickets, Bill Heads, Labels, &e. &e,
BOOKS, Pamphlets, Addmesses. Catalogues,
Stc of any size and quality of paper, bound or unbound,
will be dune ill the neatest manner, on reasonable terms
The Proprietor returns his thanks for past favors, and
respectfully requests a portion of its continuance.—
From practical experience in the above business, lie
Hatters himseli that he will be able to give general sat
isfaction. both in execution and price of work.
{yj- Orders from the Country will meet with prompt
attention.
Augusta, September 21st, 1344.
PROSPECTUS.
OF THE
SATURDAY EVENING MESSENGER,
A WEEKLY FAMILY NEWSPAPER,
Devoted to Literature, Temperance, Morals, Art,
Science, Agriculture and General Intelligence;
to be published in the City of Augusta, Ga.,
BY W. T. THOMPSON.
Entertaining the belief that a Press, maintain
ing a strictly neutral position in Politics—and yet
neither so pretending or exclusive in its devotion
to Literature as to preclude the discussion of the
ordinary subjects of practical interest—would, if
properly conducted, receive the approbation and
cordial support of a large portion of the southern
public, the subscriber has determined upon the
establishment of such a paper in Augusta, under
the title of the Saturday Evening Messenger.
The present, time—when the heated discussion
of Party Politics is about to subside, and the pub
lic min’d, long surfeited with the discordant cla
mor of wrangling factions, is about to cool down,
it is to be hoped, to at least its temperate degree—
is regarded as a favorable crisis for the introduc
tion of a medium for the dissemination of the
current intelligence of the day, in which Truth
may find its way to the Family Fireside free from
the suspicion of party bias. That such a press
would supply an important desideratum in the
literature of our section, we have the concurrent
judgments of many worthy advisers to attest—
and that the plan is expedient is abundantly es
tablished by the almost universal success of simi
lar journals in other parts of the country. We!
cannot, therefore, permit ourself to doubtbutthat
one respectable “ Family Newspaper” would be
amply sustained at the south, anti wc trust that
we do not count too highly upon our auxiliary
resources, or overrate the advantages of our own
Editorial experience, when we indulge the liope
that we will be able to make the Messenger wor
thy that appellation.
The design of the Messenger is to combine
the useful with the entertaining—to instruct as
well as amuse. With this view its contents will
be carefully compiled and arranged, throughout
its various departments, to meet the wants and
suit the tastes of the various classes of readers ;
and while it-shall present the features of a fi 11. |
COMPREHENSIVE, MISCELLANEOUS NEWSPAPER, ew- 1
bracing every thing that can be brought within
the range of the Newsgatherer and the Litera
teur, it will be the constant aim of the Editor to
preserve in it a high moral tone, that shall render
it unexceptionable even to the most fastidious
taste.
The Messenger will be identified with south
ern interests, and while it will be ever, prompt
| and firm in the maintainance of southern inslitu
! tions and southern rights, it will sedulously ab
stain from the too common section
al prejudice—while it will watch the encroach
ments of northern Fanaticism, it will be without
motive either to magnify the danger or disguise
the truth. & 6
The plan of the Messenger will embrace the
following departments—
ROMANCE. Under this head each number
w-,11 contain a choice original or selected Tale,
which will be preferred for the wholesome moral
truth it may enforce. Tather than the author’s
successful dalliance with the passions and sym
pathies of the hpart. It being thp province of
modrrn fiction to teach as well as entertain, such
stories only as combine the utile dulci will find
currency in the pages of the Messenger.
MISCELLANY. Under this head we shall
endeavor to give the readers of the Messenger a
choice variety of agreeable matter, with occa
sional articles of a more solid and important
character.
FIRESIDt. READINGS. Pains will be ta
ken to make this department of the Messenger
acceptable to the Family Circle, by selecting for
it. from the best writers, short moral Essays and
Poems, such as are calculated to engage, not tax
the attention, while they prompt the pious mind
to devotional thoughts.
THE POLITICAL WORLD. This de
partment will contain the current Political
News of the day, accounts of the actings and do
ings of the National and State Legislatures, of
ficial returns of important Elections, movements
of prominent men, and whatever else of interest
that may lie given without trenching upon party
ground a
_ AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.—
The planter will find a portion of the Messen
ckr devoted to his especial inteiests, in which
will be given seasonable aiticlos on Agricul
tural subjects, drawn from the most reliable
sources.
FOREIGN NEWS. Under this head will
ho found a careful compilation of the latest For
eign Intelligence, in which, whatever is of inter
est to the American reader will be given at
length.
i TEMPERANCE. A liberal space will be
devoted to the advocacy of the Temperance
cause, in which will he brought to bear all the
influence of suasion, warning, and reproof, with
occasional sallies of pleasantry and ridicule.
THE COMMERCIAL WORLD. Each
number of the Messenger will contain a care
ful review of the Augusta Market, an Exchange
Table, and Table of Prices Current, with such
se'ections from foreign sources as will put the
reader in possession of the fullest information in
reference to the state of trade
POETRY. At least one of the “ Nine” will
find a homo in the Messenger—but slip will not
tolerate had vrrso, even though it lie original
We shall use the Attic seasoning but sparselv,
therefore it must needs he savory, though we
may be driven occasionally to encourage foreign
manufacturer. In all cases, however, preference
will he given to the domestic article of equal
quality.
LADIES DEPARTMENT. While it will
he the aim of the Editor to make the entire con
tents of the Messenger acceptable to his lady
readers, this head will indicate the column devo
ted more exclusively to their particular interests.
YOUTHS’ DEPARTMENT. Under this
head will be arranged matter adapted to the taste
and capacity of juvenile renders.
ORIGIN AL COM MU NICATIONS. Un
der this head will appear the miscellaneous con
tributions of the correspondents of the Messen
ger, to whom the Editor will give free scope to
discuss all proper matters of general interest,
simply restricting them to the hounds of neutral
ity in. Politic* and Re Haim.
MAJOR .TONES’ CORNER. Having ef
fected an arrangement with our old friend, Major
JosF.prt Jones, of PinovilJe—the same whoso
Courtship has hron given to the world—by which
we have secured his Editorial assistance, the hu
morous department of the paper will he under his
sole and especial charge. From his Cornrr,
which will ho adorned by a full-length likeness
of himself, the Major will hold his weekly par
lance with the readers of the Messenger, in
which he will discourse of men and manners as
they are and asthey ought to be, of matters and
things as they rise, and of his Pincville relations
and friends in particular.
THE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT will
bo under the charge of the subscriber. Os this
feature of the paper, it becomes him not to speak,
further than to pledge himself to the industrious
exertion of his best abilities to render the Mes
senger worthy the patronage of a discerning
public.
TER MS.—The SATURDAY EVENING
MESSENGER will be printed on an imperial
sheet of the largest si/e, (2(i by 36 inches,) em
bracing Twenty-Eight columns of reading mat
ter. The quality of the paper and typographical
execution will he of the most superior character.
Subscription price, S 3 per annum for a single
copy, or S«5 for two copies, payable invariably on
the receipt of the first number, which will be issu
ed on Saturday, the 4th day of January next.
£sp All who are desirous of encouraging the
establishment of such a paper at the south are re
quested to send in their names (free of Postage )
by the first of December.
WILLIAM T. THOMPSON.
friends of the editor are earnestly so
licited to aid in extending the circulation of the
Messenger.
fj’Editors will confer a favor by giving the
above Prospectus a few insertions in their papers.
Nov. 2, 1844. 16
(G 35 r - NOEL continues his
School, for Boys, at the same place, on Macin
tosh street, opposite the Constitutionalist office.
Terms as heretofore.
October 12 13 ts
TQUNHAM & BLEAKLEY, August^
Ga. has now on hand, and will continue t<v
receive during the Fall season, a choice and well
selected assortment of Paper, Books and Fancy
Stationary, which will be sold to Printers, Mer
chants and the citizens generally, at a small per
centage on New York cost. Cash customers
will receive fair value for their money, by giving
us a call. [July 1 ly
ITLOGICAL VIEW of the TESTI-
MONIES TO CHRISTIANITY,—
By E. Starnes. Prepared at the request of tho-
Franklin Literary Society of this city. Just pub
lished and forsale-at this office —Price 37i cts.
Aug. 3,1844.
OOOK Bindery and Blank Book 3lan
ufactory, Macintosh street, adjoining the-
Washingtonian Printing Office. Augusta.
July 25} T. S. STOY
iltaniagc Licenses,
Neatly printed, on paper of various colors—fer
sale at this cfficc.