In my day I have seen wealth melt like the snow and sink into this vortex where it was lost forever to him who had possessed it. I have seen families that were once the very embodiment of prosperity and happiness scattered to the winds by this monster curse. I have seen pride tumble into the gutter from a pedestal upon which it once stood admired and respected; and oh, I have seen manly and female beauty fall beneath its infernal spell. Could I this moment, with one sweep of my pen, rid the land of this mighty demon, I should account myself the happiest of mortals in performing the act. There is no sacrifice too great that tends to its utter destruction, and no mission more holy than that which struggles toward its annihilation. Every effort that has been put forth in the cause of temperance and morality by those good men and true who are working in this field toward elevation of society, and to save the natural man from himself, is approved by Heaven so palpably that a blessing follows close upon its heels. Hence our ministers and temperance lecturers should be sustained to the fullest by the head, the heart and the pocket of a nation. What we want are good and faithful citizens--men who are true to themselves and humanity, and these are not to be fostered in a gambling or a liquor saloon. In this relation parents and perceptors must constantly keep stretching out their hands and plucking the young brands from the burning. Nor is it necessary to effect this that the regime to which we would submit them should be severe or uncongenial. Youth is the time of sunshine, and we must not cloud it with rules or precepts antagonistic to its joyous essence. We must give it judicious scope, and surround it with healthy and innocent enjoyments and amusements. And while we should, as it is our duty, inculcate morality and religion, we must remember that a healthy mind and body are indispensable to the true growth and development of both.