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UNITED STATES  OF AMERICA
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FOUNDED  1836
WASHINGTON,  D. C,
GPO   16—67244-1
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DELIVERED BEFORE THE
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FOR THE
SUPPRESSION OF INTEMPERANCE,
AT THEIR ANNUAL MEETING,
JANUARY 6, 1817.
BY ALEXANDER READ, M. D.
JPuMtsi&cB oj> request of tfce ©octet*.
     NEW-BEDFORD:
PRINTED BT BENJAMIN LINDSET.
1817.
 
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ADDRESS.
      To the friends of religion, of order, and of
humanity, every institution, which embraces for
its object  the promotion of individual happiness,
and the public welfare, must be peculiarly interest-
ing.   The present is, indeed,  an age  of wonders,
in which unparalleled exertions are making by the
virtuous and enlightened of every nation, for the
diffusion  of light and knowledge, peace and har-
mony, throughout the world.   The considerations
of party and of sect have been lost in an enlarged
spirit of charity and philanthropy ; in the exercise
of which, the triumphs of virtue and religion have
been widely extended.   These effects have result-
ed from that principle of union and  co-operation
among the friends of mankind, which is absolutely
necessary for  the accomplishment of great and
noble «nds.  Individual  efforts, however vigorous
and well directed, can ensure but little success.—
The disproportion between the objects to be attain-
 ed, and the means which individuals can furnish
 for their attainment, often opposes an insuperable
 barrier  to  any  undertaking  of magnitude, and
 serves  as a plausible excuse for indolence and ap-
 athy,  But when  the advocates  for religion and
 morality-'ttriitte their strength  and  energy, difficul- 
4
ties vanish, which before seemed insurmountable,
and  licentiousness and  infidelity  shrink appalled
from their presence.
  Disinterested benevolence and humanity, in no
instance shine more conspicuously, than in the nu-
merous associations which have been formed, with-
in a  few years, for the suppression of vice and im-
morality.   The best feelings  of the  human heart
have been drawn forth in sympathy for those  mis-
erable beings who are madly,  or insensibly, gliding
down the current of vice, into the abyss of wretch-
edness and  woe.  We, my brethren,  have asso-
ciated for the purpose of suppressing Intemperance ;
a vice, which annually brings its thousands of de-
luded victims to an untimely  grave.  That  our
Undertaking is great and important, will be readily
acknowledged by  the  sober and considerate  of
every class.   Its nature is such, as to excite a  deep
interest in every heart that relents at the sight  of
human degradation and misery.  We seek not the
meed of popular applause, or the admiration of the
giddy world ; but we seek to  rescue our fellow
mortals from that dread gulf, where fame, fortune,
hope, health and life perish together.
  To accomplish the objects  contemplated in our
association, the most active  benevolence, acute dis-
cernment, and persevering exertions are requisite.
Our  task is arduous and difficult;  but a conscious-
ness  of doing our duty, should  stimulate and em-
bolden us to pursue with patience and address,
those means that will best subserve our benevolent
purposes.   Will not our  reward  be  sufficiently
ample for the most unwearied toils and persevering
endeavours, should  we save one  of our'fellow 
3
being* from temporal disgrace and ruin, and rescue
an immortal soul from the "blackness of darkness
forever"? That  our united exertions may, by the
blessing of Heaven, produce such  important and
happy effects, we are encouraged to believe, from
the success that has attended similar efforts.   Can
we look  with cold indifference upon  the  rapid
march which intemperance and its kindred vices
are making in our peaceful and happy country, and
not make one effort  to  oppose their destructive
course ?  Reason and conscience distinctly tell us,
that we cannot do this and remain innocent.
   We must expect to meet with opposition in our
exertions to check the prevalence of vice and im-
morality in any form ; tut especially when they
sre directed to  the suppression of intemperance.
Would to Heaven, that our designs were misinter-
preted and opposed by none but the vicious and
profane.  But ignorance, interest and prejudice will
often  excite a spirit of opposition  in  men, from
whom we might rationally expect better things.
Let us not, however, shrink from the performance
of. duty for fear of  giving offence, or of being re*
proached with intermeddling with the affairs  of
others.   Shall we consign a friend or neighbour to
everlasting infamy, rather than give a temporary
wound to his disordered  feelings ?  Do we hesitate
to snatch the  poisoned bowl from the lips of the
infatuated wretch, who eagerly seeks by this means
to close his miserable life ? The inebriating draught
of the intemperate man  will produce  disease and
death with as much  certainty, as the most subtle
poison in nature.  Shall we neglect  to  impress
upon him the imminent danger  of his practices, 
6
because immediate death is not always the conse-
quence ? Can we view him blindly rushing towards
the precipice which  o'erhangs perdition, and not
make one effort to arrest  him in his mad career ?
Forbid it, justice !  forbid k, humanity!
   The debasing nature and  destructive effects of
intemperance, will be readily acknowledged.  No
deviations from the path of duty so forcibly- im-
tpeach  all pretensions to the  character of rational
beings, as an  inordinate use of spirituous liquors.
But are  the community in general aware  of the
extent of this brutalizing  vice ?  Do they consider
the  millions  of  property squandered, and  the
thousands of once valuable citizens self-destroyed
and lost to society ?  From authentic documents it
appears, that, in this country, not less than twenty-
Jive millions of dollars are annually expended for this
destructive  poison.  In the  same space of time,
more  than  six thousand lives are sacrificed to this  .
idol of human folly and  madness.  By this enor-
mous consumption of ardent spirits, not only the
physical strength of the nation is materially affect-
-ed, but  moral principle, that bond of  union and
.confidence in  society, is relaxed and dissolved.
   When we  witness the ravages which intempe-
rance is making within the sphere of our acquaint-
ance, do not our consciences upbraid us for crim-
inal indifference or cold neglect in the performance
of duty  towards our deluded brethren ?  However
disgusting the spectacle which  the inebriate pre-
sents to our  sight, yet he is an  object of pity and
compassion, rather than of reproach and contempt.
He is our brother and our fellow; and though the
 blush of ingenuous shame forgets to  cover.him, 
7
yet we must not leave him to perish, without as-
sistance, as if  his crime were inexpiable, and his
body infectious to the touch.
  I trust it will not be deemed improper, and cer-
tainly not unprofessional on the present occasion, to
take a slight survey of the effects of ardent spirits
upon  the human system.—This will naturally lead
to the suggestion of the most promising means for
the prevention and cure of those evils, against
which our efforts are principally directed.
  The; effects  of all intoxicating liquors  discover
themselves in two forms;  either in immediate
drunkenness, or in a numerous  train of diseases
and vices of body and mind.  The first  effects o_
inebriating liquors are such as  naturally tend' to
enslave the votaries of passion and appetite, and to
rivet  the  chains of the willing captive, ere  he is
aware of his danger.  The anxious mind is render-
ed heedless and tranquil, and every painful affec-
tion of the  soul  is alleviated  or relieved—The
powers of the imagination are enlivened, and the
spirits flow rapidly, giving  birth to wit and hu-
mour.  The victim of delusion looks with rapture
to the deceitful bowl, which carries in its draught
every degree of sensation, from  pleasure to pain 5
from  the purest perceptions of intellect, to the last
confusion of thought.   That disguise, which  man-
kind in general naturally carry about them, is now
laid aside.—The demure philosopher and  the noisy
buffoon become companions, and join with equal
zest in the loud laugh and jocund ciirse.  Infirmity
acquires  strength, and  timidity  gains courage.—
The gloomy hypocondriac forgets the phantoms of
his distempered imagination, and the desponding
youth forsakes his solitude and silent  shades. 
8
   These may be termed  the seducing pleasures of
 intoxication.  All beyond is chaos and madness.
 The frailties of the disposition are now unmasked,
 and the secrets of the breast are  exposed without
 reserve.  Resentment and ferocity characterize the
 illiterate and rude ; while cultivated minds are less
 desperate and ungovernable.  Feuds and animos-
 ities  arise, and  bloodshed  and  death not unfre-
 quently terminate the drunken reVel.   At such an
 hour as this, the  infuriate  Alexander, heated and
 mad with wine, plunged his sword into the bosom
 of  his.dearest friend and companion, Clytus, who
 in the fury of battle,  had rescued him from im-
 pending  death.
  To this stage of ebriety, stupor succeeds ; volun-
 tary motion is lost, and
                 " Their feeble tongues,
     " Unable to take up the cuinb'rous word,
     "Lie quite dissolved."
  How justly are the  evils and effects of  intempe-
rance delineated by the wise king of Israel: " Who
hath woe ?  who hath sorrow ? who hath conten-
tions ? who  hath babbling ?  who hath  wounds
without cause ? who hath redness of eyes ?  They
that tarry long at the wine j they that go to seek
mixed wine."
  Let us next attend to the effects of intoxicating
liquors, as  they appear in  a hideous catalogue of
diseases of body and mind.   Some of these appear
during the paroxysm of drunkenness; the most
common  and fatal of which, is apoplexy—This is,
in fact, but the last stage of ebriety.   The power-
ful  stimulus of alcohol,, which is  the intoxicating
principle  of all liquors, may directly operate on the 
9
nervous system, and destroy the cause of vitality ;
or it may occasion such an accumulation of blood
in the vessels of the head, as to induce apoplexy, by
compressing the brain, the source of  sense  and
motion.   The first is generally  induced by the in-
gurgitation of a large quantity of undiluted spirit,
the last follows the slower mode of  intoxication
from wine or strong malt liquors.   When a large
quantity of  ardent spirit is swallowed at once, it
acts so suddenly on the stomach and nervous  sys-
tem, that the common phenomena of ebriety do
not appear.   There is no time given for the regu-
lar succession of those feelings and passions, which
always appear under the more tardy exhibition of
wine.  It approaches  at once to the most danger-
ous point. The miserable wretch often falls down
insensible, as soon as he  has finished the draught.
Arsenic has seldom been taken  in such quantity, as
to  destroy life so quickly as ardent spirit.  That
metallic  poison  probably acts  by first destroying
the organization of  the  stomach, while the other
directly assails the vital  principle in the  nervous
system.   The frequent instances of death from ap-
oplexy, as an attendant or consequence of intempe-
rance, ought  to serve as an awful warning to the
inebriate. Were it  not that  "madness  is in the
hearts of men while they live," the thought  of a
rational being sinking into eternity from the board
of gluttony, riot and intemperance, would appal the
most obdurate and insensible of mortals.   Epilepsy
and convulsions are not infrequent occurrences in
the early stage of ebriety. These affections are pecu-
liarly apt to occur where a predisposition exists,
           2 
10
 and ought to render the subjects of it duly cautious
 in approaching the table of excess.
   The  diseases  induced by habitual intemperance
 are  numerous and complicated, and generally of
 a dangerous  or  mortal nature.  Inflammation of
 the brain, of the stomach, of the eyes, and of the,
 liver;  gout, schirrus,jaundice, indigestion, drop-
 sy, atrophy or emaciation of body,  palpitation  of
 the heart, palsy, melancholy,  madness, and idiot-
 ism, constitute but a  part  of the deformed list.
 That habits  of intemperance predispose to fevers,
 has been abundantly proved in the malignant epi-
 demics  which have prevailed in different parts of
 the country for several years past.  The intempe-
 rate seldom  escape  an attack, and more rarely re-
 cover, when affected.
  Diseases of the liver, both  of the  acute and
 chronic kind, are  very common effects of  hard
 drinking.  How aptly does the fable of Promethe-
 us, on whose liver a vulture was said to prey con-
 stantly, as a punishment for his stealing fire from
 heaven, illustrate the  painful effects of ardent spir-
 its upon that organ.  Jaundice  is one of the many
 disgusting appearances which  intemperance gives
 the external  form, and may properly be deemed
 the birthright of dram-drinking.  When this takes
place, the person may  be justly considered  a vete-
 ran in the squalid host of inebriates.
  When we consider  the number and importance
 of the organs concerned in the process of digestion,
it seems inevitable that they should be deranged by
intemperance.  The stomach,  by degrees,  grows
 torpid, from the  frequent repetition of immoderate
 stimuli, until it  feels a disrelish for  that mild and 
11
 bland nourishment, which,  in its healthy state, it
 seeks and requires.  In this way, acidity, flatulence
 and nausea are produced, which are soon succeeded
 by nervous irritability and pain, and the fate of the
 deluded inebriate is almost certainly fixed.   To re-
 lieve  these distressing sensations, he flies to  his
 bumper, and  thus every succeeding draught  ex-
 ceeds its predecessor in quantity, and he becomes
 a confirmed drunkard.  Withhold  his  customary
 potation,  and a scene is presensed at which the
 finer feelings of the heart recoil with horror. Fran-
 tic gestures, looks of despair, groans, sighs, weep-
 ing and gnashing of teeth,  are but a describable
 part.
   When the inebriate has resisted the evil effects of
 habitual indulgence for a considerable time, drop-
 sy  and palsy  mark  him for their prey,  and appear
 as the harbingers of dissolution.   Look at the slave
 of  intemperance  in the morning!  How wretched
 are his tardy hours spent in mute dejection, or list-
 less inactivity.  His enfeebled stomach loaths  the
 nutriment which nature kindly proffers ; and his
 trembling hand is scarcely able to raise the cup to
 his polluted lips.  The accustomed draught restores
 a little temporary strength to his debilitated frame,
 but tremors  and languor soon succeed, unless the
 unnatural stimulus is immediately repeated.  Un-
 der such  circumstances,  we may conclude with
 certainty, that the " silver cord of life" is  nearly
 loosed, and  the  " wheel broken at the cistern."
 Madness and  idiotism by no means unfrequently
 follow  the excessive use of ardent spirits.   A few
 years since, an inquiry was  instituted by the resi-
dent physician of the Pennsylvania  Hospital, into 
12
the proportion of maniacs from this cause.  In one
third of the whole number confined by this dread-
ful disease, it had been induced by ardent spirits.
Drunkenness itself  is a temporary madness; but
in constitutions predisposed to insanity and idiot-
ism, these diseases are apt to succeed the paroxysm,
and often continue for weeks and months.
   On reviewing the preceding list of diseases, which
are but a part of the direful effects of intemperance,
how are we astonished at the infatuation of so many
of the human race !  How madly do they rush up-
on disease and death, merely to gratify the long-
ings of an unnatural and sinful appetite !
   But intemperance is not less destructive to the
intellectual and moral faculties, than to the bodies
of men.  The memory and judgment are impair-
ed, and all the noble and exalted sentiments of the
heart are depraved and perverted.   Genius and tal-
ent  are levelled  with  the dust; and human excel-
lence is brought to bow to  the irrational creation.
Religious sensibility is destroyed^ and  all just no-
tions of a divine moral government, and of future
retribution, are  either perverted or entirely  lost.
Hence we  see the bondmen of intemperance not
only neglectful  of relative and social duties, but
utterly regardless of their obligations to their ben-
eficent  Creator  and Preserver.  Numerous facts
within our immediate and daily observation, attest
the truth of this assertion.  How rarely do we see
the intemperate engaged in even outward adoration
of that Being, from whom they have derived  all
their abused privileges!  Some awakening dispen-
sation  may  drive them to  the house of worship ;
but a lethargic stupor pervades their  inmost souls, 
13
and they return unprofited, or more insensible to
the admonitions of reason  and conscience.  That
sacred volume, which contains the words  of eter-
nal life, is to them a sealed book, and seldom touch-
ed by their unhallowed hands.   They feel no relish
for the sublime pleasures  of  religion and virtue
here, and consequently would be miserable, could
they be admitted into paradise hereafter.
   That intemperance is  a fatal enemy to all  the
pursuits and pleasures of  social life, the  slightest
observation will evince.  How are the fairest pros-
pects of social  happiness in a moment destroyed*
when the bloated visage of intemperance enters the
family circle.  Is he a husband and father ?  With
what anguish and sorrow do a  dejected mother
and weeping children look to their protector and
friend, now forever lost! The  flame of conjugal and
parental affection is smothered or destroyed;  and
he no longer performs the duties,  or deserves the
appellation of protector, father,  and friend.  His
wealth is squandered upon his worse than heathen
idol, until the conveniences,  and even necessaries
of life, are bartered for the fiery draught,  which
only serves to increase his tormenting thirst.  Lost
to all those virtuous sentiments  that dignify and
adorn human nature, he becomes an object of shame
and aversion  to those most intimately connected
by the ties of blood and friendship.  He not only
forfeits the character of man, and becomes a mon-
ument of abhorrence and  disgust to his fellow-
creatures,  but he loses  the respect even of the
brute creation.
   From the foregoing observations, we readily per-
ceive, that poverty and disgrace, disease and death, 
14
 are the natural and legitimate offspring of Intempe-
 rance*   But in the language of the venerable Rush,
 " it is not death from the immediate  hand of the
 Deity, nor from any of the instruments of it, which
 were created by him.  It is death from suicide—Yes,
 thou poor degraded creature, who art daily lifting
 the poisoned bowl to thy lips, cease  to avoid the
 unhallowed ground in which the self-murderer  is
 interred, and wonder no longer that the sun should
 shine, and the  rain fall, and the grass look green
 upon his grave.   Thou art perpetrating gradually,
 by the use of ardent spirits,  what he has effected
 suddenly, by opium or a halter."
  But not to exhaust your  patience in  further
 describing the brutalizing  and destructive effects
 of  intemperance,  let us next institute some in-
quiry into the best means for their prevention and
cure.
  It is to be feared, that many well disposed per-
 sons entertain  erroneous notions respecting the
 practicability of reclaiming the votaries of intem-
 perance.   They  consider  them  as morally  dead^
 consequently beyond the reach of  any remedies,
that human wisdom can devise.  The tear of sym-
 pathy flows easily at the sight of other forms of
 human misery ; but the avenues of pity and com-
 passion are closed, when the wretched inebriate is
presented to their view.  This coldness and indif-
ference towards a class of beings, certainly the most
miserable  that exist in the human form, must be
attributed to incorrect sentiments, early imbibed,
or to a criminal negligence of a proper examination
of the subject.  Are any of their friends labouring
 under  bodily indisposition, which  may  possibly 
15
terminate in a mortal disease, how assiduously do
they urge them to the employment of those means,
that may  conduce  to  the restoration of their
health.   Yet they daily meet those who are affect-
ed  with a disease, which must ultimately  prove
fatal to  body and soul, unless  speedily remedied,
without even admonishing them of their danger.
  To reclaim those from "the error of their ways,"
who have long indulged in an  inordinate  use of
spirituous liquors, is always a difficult, and often a
desperate undertaking.  Many instances, however,
might be adduced, in which  the experiment has
proved successful.   The deluded captive has burst
his  iron chains,  " reason has resumed her empire
over debauched appetite," and  a soul has been res-
cued from the brink of remediless sorrow.  Should
success attend but one attempt in a thousand, still
there is encouragement for vigorous and unremit-
ting exertions.  A consciousness  of having  per-
formed  our  duty  towards our fellow-creatures,
will afford a  theme  of pleasant reflection, when
" nature decays and spirits sink."      ^
  No undertaking, perhaps, requires more discern-
ment, prudence and firmness, than the recovery of
the victims of intemperance.  By long and habitu-
al indulgence, their bodies have  become diseased
and enervated, and their tempers morose, peevish,
and irritable.  Discriminating  judgment is requir-
ed,  to direct us to the proper seasons for adminis-
tering counsel and advice.   If  this circumstance is
neglected, all our attempts will be  worse than lost.
We shall " cast pearls before swine," which will
" turn and rend  us." There are few inebriates,
however, who  do not sometimes feel compunctious 
16
visitings and keen remorse for their miserable de-
flections from the paths of sobriety and virtue.
These opportunities must be improved, to display
before them an accurate picture  of their  vicious
practices, and the incurable maladies, which neces-
sarily flow from habitual excess.   We must care-
fully scrutinize the character and feelings of those
whom we would counsel and reclaim.  Much may
be done by rousing particular passions ; such as a
parent's love for his children, the inestimable value
of character, the desire  of  fame, and the pride of
reputation and family.   A lovely child has forced
tears of contrition from a drunken father, when
nothing else could affect him ;  and the good sense
and prudent management of an amiable wife have
often accomplished wonders, in  redeeming an in-
temperate husband from his miserable servitude.
Numerous instances might be adduced, in which a
sudden sense of shame,  pride and resentment, has
operated as an antidote  to  intemperance.   In the
whirlwind of passion, or the sober calm of  silent
shame, the. chain of habit has been broken, and the
intoxicating charm forever abjured.
   In all  our attempts to reclaim the intemperate,
we must first  gain  their  confidence and esteem.
This may be effected by treating them  with  ten-
derness and respect, carefully avoiding all reproach-
ful language,  and sarcastic reviling.  They must
be regarded as  labouring under a disease of the
mind, in which the soul itself has received impres-
sions incompatible with  its  reasoning powers.   At
such seasons as prudence may dictate, let them be
warned of the ruinous  consequences of  their evil
habits  in this life, and the inevitable doom  that 
17
awaits them in a future state of existence, if they
persist in their mad career.  Let them be feelingly
persuaded to forsake those places of resort, where
strong temptations may assail  them, and to relin-
quish those pursuits, which may lead them into the
society of the intemperate, the vicious and profane.
Paint to them in  glowing colours the sorrow and
wretchedness of their neglected families, struggling
with  incessant toihto gain a scanty pittance ; or,
helpless and infirm, dependent on the cold hand of
charity  for  daily subsistence.   Present to their
view  the  increasing difficulty of  subduing their
evil propensities, the longer they are cherished, and
the danger, and even probability of being suddenly
arrested  by  death, and consigned to everlasting
ignominy and contempt.  But  while wc display
before them a true picture of their unreasonable
conduct, let the .correlation of hope be suggested,
Jest they be urged to despair, when all our exertions
will be fruitless;.   Set before them  the restoration
of health and character, the endearing smiles of an
estranged family, and the  mercy and favour of that
Being, who  is long suffering and kind to the peni-
tent and returning prodigd.  As  an encourage-
ment to their desponding minds, and a a induSce-
ment to attempt an  immediate reform, let  the
numerous instances of honourable  recovery from
their wretched slavery be  stated.  TliU will satisfy
them, that a  return  to habits of temperance and
virtue is not impracticable,  nor  in  fact so difficult
as they imagine ;  and will fortify their resolutions
of repentance and amendment.  By all the consid-
erations that can influence a rational being, let them
be urged to an entire abstinence from  every kind
          s 
18
of intoxicating liquors.  They may contend, that
sickness and death will ensue, if they at once relin-
quish their accustomed draught;  but this is only
the language of an enfeebled mind, swayed by de-
praved  appetite.  If the inebriate  would cherish
the faintest hope of  reformation, he must resolve
to forsake immediately the haunts of dissipation
and excess, and to taste no more forever the poi-
soned draught of the  Circean sorceress.  We are
assured by  some  of the  most eminent medical
characters of the age, whose extensive observation
and experience entitle  their opinions  to our  un-
qualified assent, that a sudden and entire abstinence
from all spirituous liquors is perfectly safe for those,
who have long indulged in  their  use.   No  dan-
gerous degree of debility has ever been found to
follow the subtraction of the unnatural stimulus,
though this opinion has been generally maintained.
It is doubted, whether an  instance of  reformation
can be adduced, where the inebriate has gradually
relinquished  his ardent potation.   His only safe
course is to abandon it  at  once, however distress-
ing his  sensations  may be for a season, from the
suspension of  his  customary  draught.   These
pains, which  are but a necessary part  of the cure,
will be of short duration, and his drooping spirits
will be exhilarated by  the return  of health and
peace.
  But we have much reason to fear, that in many
instances, all  our  arguments and entreaties will
prove unavailing, as it  respects confirmed drunk-
ards.   It may then be asked, what further means
can be devised for their relief ? Have we done our
whole duty towards the miserable captives ? There 
19
  is yet one expedient, by which they may be re-
  deemed  from  their worse than Turkish bondage.
t  They must be placed under the " merciful necessi-
  ty" of refraining  from  all intoxicating liquors.
  This might be easily effected, did the community
  entertain correct notions of the injustice and crim-
  inality of supplying them with their bane.  Many
  persons are in the daily habit of selling ardent  spir-
  its  to the  notoriously  intemperate, who  would
  shudder at  the thought of dealing out small  por-
  tions  of  arsenic to  any  human being.  Yet  the
  impropriety of the former practice is as apparent,
  in the light of reason and justice, as  the  latter.
  Ardent  spirits, when used  to  excess, are as de-
  structive a poison as arsenic ; and the one ought to
  be as carefully  withheld from the intemperate, as
  the other from the maniacal and insane.
     Let it not be  said, that we abridge the rights
  and  privileges of any person, when we withhold
  from him the instruments of his own destruction.
  Do rational men decline to furnish the infatuated
  wretch,  who is bent on suicide, with opium, arse-
  nic, or a halter ?  Why  not then refuse to stain
  their garments with the blood of the drunkard,
  by withholding the means of committing the same
  atrocious deed ?  It becomes those who habitually
  supply the intemperate with spirituous liquors, to
  take this subject into serious consideration.   Can
  they expect to stand before their Creator and Judge,
  with " clean hands," and a " pure heart," while
  they are guilty of such cruelty and injustice to their
  fellow-creatures ? Can they expect to be forgiven
  in the sight of Heaven,  on the plea, that "they
  know not what  they do"?  Let that perfect  rule 
20
of conduct be observed, of doing unto  others ;u
we would  that they should do unto us, and the
inebriate will no longer be daily supplied with the
means of self-destruction.
   But the prevention of intemperance is an object
of our association, on  which our strongest hopes
of extensive usefulness are founded.  This part of
our subject remains to be considered.  So impor-
tant a topic demands a liberal discussion j  but  time
will admit of but few remarks.
   It has been justly observed, that habits of intem-
perance have their predisposing causes.   It  may
not be unprofitable, therefore, to suggest a few of
the most important of them.   Among these, the
daily, or frequent use  of spirituous liquors, even
in the smallest  quantities, is the most  prominent
and alarming.  This practice is not only  unneces-
sary, but always in the highest  degree  dangerous.
By gradually accustoming  the  taste and stomach
to the use of ardent spirits, in  some mild form,
men soon acquire an inordinate thirst for them in
a stronger  and  unmixed state, and arc insensibly
led from one stage to another to downright ebriety.
   Another predisposing cause of intemperance is
an improper familiarity with the idle, the dissipat-
ed, and the licentious.   The sociable and imitative
nature of man  often  disposes  him to adopt  the
most  odious  and destructive  practices from his
companions.  It is morally impossible for a  man
to associate with the  intemperate and  profane,
without acquiring their detestable habits.
   Persons of feeble constitutions, especially those
who are troubled with  complaints of the stomach,
are apt to seek relief from ardent spirits, either in 
21
a pure or disguised form.  Let such beware of this
dangerous resort, by which many have fallen sac-
rifices to intemperance.
  Many have sought to drown their sorrows in
strong drink, who have been depressed by the ac-
cumulated  evils and disappointments  of human
life.   But  they have trusted  to a false  friend, a
deception, that lulls into fatal security.   The only
cure for these evils is found in religious and moral
sentiments.   These opiates of the soul do not ter-
minate  their operation by increasing the gloom,
and inducing a severer paroxysm at its next occur-
rence.
  The use  of tobacco strongly disposes to the more
powerful stimulus of ardent spirits, by rendering
w^ater and simple liquors insipid to the taste.  The
practice of smoaking cigars is  generally followed
by the  use of brandy and  water, and  thus the
seeds of intemperance are imperceptibly sown.   I
have viewed with regret  and concern  the preva-
lence of this habit  among  the youth,  and even
children in this  village.  This practice invariably
leads them  to those places, where the idle and the
abandoned  resort, and they become early familiar-
ized with those scenes, which deprave and enervate
the youthful mind.   Unless  parents and guardians
Carefully watch and repress such dangerous habits,
they will find,  that many of  the  youth will be-
come the slaves of debauched appetite, before they
arrive to the age of manhood.
  It is of the utmost consequence, that the young
should  be  apprized of the danger of frequenting
those places,  where the mad bacchanalian  holds his
frantic revels.  Evil communications corrupt good 
22
manners; and vice, by being often seen, loses its de-
formity.  A drunkard, reeling through the streets,
seldom escapes the insult and mockery of school-
boys ;  and the babbling sot may, for  a  time,  be
their sport and derision  ; but a  frequent view of
the object wears off the  sensibility of the eye, and
what they once beheld with disgust, now becomes
their friend and associate.  Many promising young
men have become worthless sots through the  con-
tagious influence of example.
  In order to prevent the evil effects of  intempe-
rance upon the rising generation, let parents sedu-
lously  observe the inclinations  of the  youthful
mind, and properly notice the slightest deviations
from  the path of  temperance and sobriety.  An
inordinate thirst for intoxicating liquors may  be
easily quenched, when first discovered, but it gains
strength by every indulgence, and soon becomes
so interwoven with the  actions of the system, that
it can only be eradicated with the greatest difficul-
ty.  Notwithstanding the seducing nature of the
love of ardent spirits, men do not suddenly become
drunkards.   They acquire their  noxious habits
gradually, and discover  not their oppressor, or his
galling chains, till too late to escape his cruel grasp.
Let those, therefore, who are in the daily habit  of
taking spirituous liquors, consider the danger  to
which they are exposed.  They  are treading in a
path, which leads  to disgrace and ruin ; and the
farther  they  advance, the more difficult  they will
find it to retrace their steps.
  It may be urged, that  ardent spirits are necessary
for those who are exposed to the vicissitudes of the
weather, and endure much labour and fatigue j but 
23
this is far from being true.  The temporary glow
which they produce, renders them more susceptible
of hurtful impressions.   The increased activity
which follows their use in labour, is of a transient
nature, and is always succeeded by a sense of weak-
ness and languor.   Let  the use of ardent spirits,
therefore, be restricted to those limits, which in-
spiration  has  prescribed.—" Give  strong drink"
only " to him who is ready to perish."
  But it is not drinking spirituous liquors to the
length of intoxication, that alone  constitutes in-
temperance.   Many spend much of their time  at
the bottle, and may properly be termed intempe-
rate, who are  able to execute the  duties of their
respective stations.  They have never been so trans-
formed  by liquor as to be unknown by their own
house-dog, and to be hunted, Actseon like, round
their own walks ;  or so foolish in their appearance,
as to be insulted by idle school-boys ;  yet they are
the slaves of depraved appetite.  These sober drunk-
ards, as they  may well  be termed, deceive them-
selves^and others.   Though ignorant of their dan-
ger, they are  travelling  slowly along the road to
ruin, and their journey  terminates  at the same
g0al—bad health and premature death.
  It may be said, that some intemperate men  have
numbered three score years and ten, or even four
score years.—This is undoubtedly true.  But what
kind of life has that been, half of  which has  been
spent under the impression of deranged intellect ?
Their moments of sobriety, if they had any, must
have been a repetition of mental disquietudes, de-
jected  spirits, and  gloomy  apprehensions.  But
thousands die before they arrive at thirty, where 
24
one reaches eighty years.   Those only, who are in-
clined to observation and reflection, are aware how-
great a share intemperance claims, in bringing the
human race to the insatiable grave.
  Permit me, my young friends, to  caution you
against the slightest indulgence in the use of intox-
icating liquors.  Shun the haunts of  dissipation,
licentiousness and excess, as you would the poison-
tree of Java.   In these are sown the seeds  of dis-
ease, pain, insanity, a miserable existence, or a pre-
mature death. Would you be exempted from such
miseries, beware of drinking beyond the limits of
strict temperance.  Though  the wine  may sparkle
in the  glass,  and appear beautiful  to the  eye ;
though it may gratify the taste  and exhilarate the
mind for a  moment, yet, "at the last, it biteth
like a serpent  and stingeth like an adder." Destroy
not your own peace, and the comfort of  your
parents and friends, by contracting a habit, that
debases man below " the beasts that perish."  Let
those minds, which are now  pure and unsullied by
debauch, never become familiarized with the de-
moralizing language, cr the licentious  practices of
the intemperate, the  vicious  and profane.  As
you  value health and happiness, be persuaded to
resist manfully, every temptation to intemperance
and its  kindred  vices, and to pursue  the  path of
wisdom, which leads to respectability and honour,
to glory and immortality.
  Are there  any in this respected audience, who
have  insensibly  become enslaved by an inordinate
love of inebriating liquors ?   Let  me urge  you, in
the language  of  friendship and  affection, to reflect
seriously upon the wretchedness of your situation* 
25
You are rapidly sinking in the scale of being, and
unless  you effect a speedy amendment,  you will
soon have passed beyond the precincts of hope. You
have cherished  a habit, that tends to accumulated
guilt and  misery,  and constantly  exposes you to
sudden  and violent death.  The  brittle thread of
life may be severed during a paroxysm of intoxica-
tion, and you shall awake no more forever, but to
lament  with unavailing sighs  your madness and
folly.  The irrevocable sentence  has  gone forth,
which  fixes  the fate of the miserable inebriate.
That Being,  who hath  said,  " I  am  the Lord, I
change not," hath also said, " drunkards shall not
inherit the kingdom of heaven."   Is not this sol-
emn denunciation sufficient to alarm  your fears,
and  to rouse you from your fatal slumbers ?  Be
entreated  to resolve upon an immediate reform,
that you  may escape the awful doom denounced
against  you.   You are yet prisoners of hope, and
through repentance and amendment, may be happy
here in the  caresses of  your families, and joyful
hereafter in the favour of a merciful God.
  But I must not enlarge upon this interesting and
exhaustless subject.  I have already trespassed too
much upon the time of my associates and friends.
Enough has  been said to convince every  unpreju-
diced mind, that the object of our association is
important, and demands the patronage and aid of
all the  friends  of  religion and  humanity.  My
brethren, the task, which we have undertaken, is
truly arduous, and much  of our success depends
upon our perseverance and zeal.   The benevolent
and  enlightened in other places are engaged in the
same noble cause, and the happiest results may be
           4 
26
expected from such an extensive union of talents
and virtue, for  the promotion of public and indi-
vidual happiness.   " Let us not be weary in well-
doing," but redouble our exertions  to check  the
rapid march of intemperance and its kindred vices,
by every possible means that wisdom and prudence
may dictate.   Our  cause is good, and as such it
will receive the benediction of Heaven, and all op-
position will, sooner or later, meet its du© reward.
May we not hope for an accession  to  our number
of some, who feel a tender sympathy for the delud-
ed victims of debauched appetite ?   To  such  we
would extend a respectful invitation, to unite their
endeavours with ours in the cause  of benevolence
and humanity.
  That some good has already resulted from our
association, I trust will not be disputed.   That it
has not been  in proportion to the magnitude of
our object, we readily  confess.   Our success has
rather been measured by our zeal in the  cause.__
This has been suffered to grow cold and languid,
consequently  our exertions  have  been feeble and
limited.  But,  my  brethren, in such a  cause as
this, cold indifference  and listless inactivity ought
to have no place in our affections.   We are engaged
to promote the present and future well being of
our fellow creatures.  We would save them from
pain, sorrow, and disgrace in this world, and from
consummate wretchedness in the world to come.
With  such an  object  in view,  who  that  " has a
heart to feel," but must be deeply interested in  the
success of our undertaking.
  The revolving year  reminds us of the  necessity
of exercising our  talents in  the cause of religion 
27
and humanity, while opportunity is presented.—
" The places, that now know us, will soon know
us no more forever."   Let us, therefore, be dili-
gent in promoting the objects of our association,
and deem no exertions too great, or any sacrifices
too dear, while there is a human being to be saved
from temporal suffering, and eternal death. Should
we be so happy as to reach the  peaceful  shores  of
immortality, and there meet one kindred  spirit
rescued from  hopeless despair  through our exer-
tions, how ineffable will be our joy, and how ample
our reward.
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