The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-03-29 00:00:00

P Cr DDLETOWN.

TIMPIRANCE Mar/um—ln connection with the
Puddletown and Athelhampton Band of Hope a public
meeting was held in the Congregational schoolroom, on
Monday evening, when, notwithstanding the severe
snow storm, there was a good attendanoe. The Rev.
Mr. Kyd presided. Blr. A. Danielle, of Dorchester,
conveyed a party over, who quite enlivened the pro-
ceedings of the evening by the very able rendering of
a dialogue, in two parts. The meeting commenced by
the singing of the hymn "Lead us Onward, 0 Lord,"
after which the Rev. Mr. Kyd offered an appropriate
prayer. In the course of the chairman's opening
remarks he showed the danger of moderation, and the
duty of abstinence. The speaker put the question
" Did all agree with what he had said /" then "Could
any deny it? or disbelieve it ?" No one replying to
the questions asked, Mr. Kyd said he had made them
all teetotalers in principle, and he hoped they would
practice what they believed. (Applause.) —Mr. A.
Danielle, of Dorchester, delivered a very interesting
address, in the course of which he pointed out that
when he was a boy no one ever spoke to him about
teetotalism; but how glad they ought to be, they had
such a man as Mr. Kyd to lead and direct them in the
way they would have them go. He (Mr. Danielle) had
now been a total abstainer for twelve years and six
months, and during the whole of that time he had to
take ;to his password, which was not • very long one,
but, still a good one—" No." When tempted he had
always been able (by the help of God) to overcome evil
with good. He concluded a very interesting address
by earueetly appealing to the Band of Hope to take up
his password, and always use it when tempted.
(Loud applause.) Miss Dovnaton here sung a
solo entitled "No One Cares for Me," and was
applauded. A dialogue, in two parts, entitled
"Harriet Harland's Husband; or the Man without a
Fault," was next given by Miss A. Downton, Mies F.
Carter, J. Phillips, and F. Dubai, from Dorchester.
This dialogue greatly interested the audience, and
received a well-merited applause.—Mr. Bell, of Bland.
ford, agent for the Dorset County Temperance
Association, then addressed the meeting. He re-
marked that it was often said that • man was what a
woman makes him. About 12 months ago last
Christmas he witnessed something similar to what
this dialogue represented. He was at a large
temperance meeting, at the close of which four men
signed the pledge, one of which was in particular a
very hard drinker. A friend of this hard drinker
afterwards asked him if he was going to keep it. The
man said he had been on the down-tine long enough,
and now be was about to go on the up-line. This
man was blessed with a good wife who had been a
total abstainer for many years, and;although a mother
of a long family, she had not taken any stimulants.
His wife was fortunately present at this meeting,
and was very glad to see her husband taking the step
which she for a long time had been trying to get him
to take. She promised him that night to help him in
every way possible to keep his pledge. When Mr.
Bell visited him, to his great satisfaction, he found
that he had kept to his pledge firmly. A great bless
ing was that the wife had never mentioned to him
since that he was once a drunkard, or what she had
endured through his conduct. Now this man was
highly respected by everybosly who knew him, for he
does all possible to educate his children, as well as
himself. Mr. Bell said last year 12,000 persons went
to a drunkard's grave and • drunkard's helL A
question was put some time ago to the keeper of a
large gaol—lf he ever had any teetotalers inside?
The gaol-keeper answered "No, very seldom r He,
from that question, saw that this drink was the cause
of so many being inside the prisons, and he signed the
pledge himself, and had now become an earnest
supporter ef the temperance cause, and strongly
advocates its principles inside the gaol of which he is
master. Mr. Bell explained that drunkenness would
never be stopped until the drink was cleared off;
until, as it were, the tap was stopped. (Applause.)
He asked, was strong drink to win the day; or was
temperance to do so? If temperance was to do so,
how was it to be done? By everyone becoming •
personal abstainer. Mr. Bell concluded a very
lively address by strongly advising all present
to join that Band of Hope. (Applause.)—Mr. Childs,
of Athelhampton, proposed a cordial vote of thanks to
the Dorchester friends for coming out to give them
such an enjoyable entertainment, and to the chairman
for presiding.—Mr. Child suitably seconded. Miss F.
Carter presided at the harnaoniutn, and suitable
hymns were sung at intervals.