is buffeted hither and thither, at the mercy of its angry waves—­now dashed on jagged rocks, bruised and bleeding—­then engulphed in raging whirlpools to suffocating depths—­anon, like a worthless weed, cast high into the darkened heavens by the wild water-spout, only to fall again into the surging deep, to be tossed to and fro on waters which cannot rest!  Rash youth!  Would you launch away on this sea of death?  Quaff of the intoxicating bowl, and soon its hungry waves will be around you.  Would you avoid a fate so direful?  Seal your lips to the first drop, and the drear prospect will sink forever from your vision!

Young men who would guard themselves against the baleful habit of intemperance, should shun all resorts where intoxicating drinks are vended.  They should avoid throwing themselves in the way of temptation.  “Lead us not into temptation,” should be the constant prayer of the young.  When by any combination of circumstances, they find themselves in the company of those who quaff of the poisoned bowl, whether in public or private, they should exercise a manly pride in firmly refusing to participate in their potations.  This is a legitimate and commendable pride, of which the young cannot have too much.  Let them place themselves on the high rock of principle, and their feet will not slide in the trying hour.

    “Oh! water for me! bright water for me,
     And wine for the tremulous debauchee! 
     It cooleth the brow, it cooleth the brain,
     It maketh the faint one strong again! 
     It comes o’er the sense like a breeze from the sea,
     All freshness, like infant purity. 
     Oh! water, bright water, for me, for me! 
     Give wine, give wine, to the debauchee.”

“The young man walks in the midst of temptations to appetite, the improper indulgence of which is in danger of proving his ruin.  Health, longevity, and virtue depend on his resisting these temptations.  The providence of God is no more responsible, because a man of improper indulgence becomes subject to disease, than for picking his pockets.  For a young man to injure his health, is to waste his patrimony and destroy his capacity for virtuous deeds.

“If young men imagine that the gratification of appetite is the great source of enjoyment, they will find this in the highest degree with industry and temperance.  The epicure, who seeks it in a dinner which costs five dollars, will find less enjoyment of appetite than the laborer who dines on a shilling.  If the devotee to appetite desires its high gratification, he must not send for buffalo tongues and champagne, but climb a mountain or swing an axe.  Let a young man pursue temperance, sobriety, and industry, and he may retain his vigor till three score years and ten, with his cup of enjoyment full, and depart painlessly; as the candle burns out in its socket, he will expire."[2]

[Footnote 2:  Horace Mann.]