Litchfield enquirer., 1842-02-17

SGroHt and almost within reach of the lec- AIurer. S-.c a scene I had never before Swtncsscd, and urrmbled, l confess, lest She who had raised the storm should be un-! { Sable to control and direct il to the end forI (which |, bad been excited. was mista ' sken. Every new effort was crowned with : snew success. a At length he spoke of the wrongs which Sinlemperauce had heaped on the heads [ a aaHd hearts of women. He related withk alhr:lling minnteneSs the miSeIies which his E sown wife had endured, painting in lan-k s9uage as dark and gloomy as the subjectE 5itseIf, the damp lonely hovel in which for 4years she had resided in the midst of pow aertv aud wre.chcdness and then, as if Suddenly impelled by the irresistible flood ;sof inspiration, gave utterance to one of theN ;s'nost thrilling and lofty pan"gyrics on wo-t ssman l ever heard. As he cnumcratedE aIheir vIrtnes-their patient endurance of awrong, their angelic mcekness in the hourH A,f atllction, their bo!dness in the midst nfE seianger, their cons,ancy, and more than all, atheir never-dy ing hope, his flight was fear atully grand, like mountain piled on monn- Slain, while every nearer sat in brealhlesS X Ssience to catch the towering climax of lhisE sbriIliant display of eloquence and panegyr-E Sic. For my own part, l was wholly un- { zprepared for this effort on the part of the < speaker. l trembled at the giddy height s s to which he had mounted, and sat with my hands grasping the railing, expecting everyh moment to see him buried uader the weight : ani his own gorgeous encomlm but at this z smoment of intense anxiety, the speaker paused on the very summit of his effort, and casting up his eyes exclaimed, in a tone even painful from its clearness andh energy-' Mercitul God what an inex- 2 hauslible fountain of kindness and beneva- man ?
 The effect was electrical. A slight stir l. gthroughout the house indicated the relief ! of the audience, and doubt whether, in al moment after, there was fearless eye in : ! that heterogeneous assembly. For my own part l wept like a child. So brilliant was the picture he had drawn, SO giddy the height to which he had carried himself and so easy, and yet so majestic his de- scent that at the instant of relief I start ed to my feet, and in a moment after foundk myself standing in the side aisle within J few feet of the orator. The first sentence uttered after this change of position arrest ed my attenlion-,he sound of the speak ler's voice seemed familiar. cast scru. linizing glance at his countcnance-anoth- I CT, and anolher-my heart was in my lhroat-the lecturer was Wm. Carleton.
 At the moment of recognition ! forgot Smyself-forgot every thing. Here was the very man whom years before had seen in the lowest depths of degradation. bur- I hen upon society, disgrace to his specie, md an object af pity to all who had known him in his better days. Here he stood be- fore me, redeemed, an apostle of tempe- rance, drawing tears from all eyes, and captivating all hearts.
 On recovering once more the current of
 ,s discourse, found the speaker making m appeal to the incorporate ,o come for
 ward and put their names to the Drunk
 'rd's Constitution, copy of which he
 hrew upon the table before him. lI4 gave plain unvarnished account of the rise and progress of this new movement; spoke of the hundreds and thousands to which the
 ong catalogue of the ransomed had swol- len along the shores of the Atlantic, and
 wound up by urging, once and again all, however low, however debased, to begin g hat night the glorious work ofreform.
 And now commenced scene of thrill
 ling interest. From every part of the house, men and women, eagerly pressed
 oward the table. The old inebriales Join,ed out, whose bodies had been for years sleeping in liquid fire, and youneE men just on the threshold of destruction,
 me after another, placed their names up- , on that strange document. It was grand sight 10 behold women leading up thei husbands, fathers their sons, and sisters thcir brothers. All fear of ridicule was forgotten conviction had overcome every
 ,ther consideration the head and the heart were for the first time, perhaps, for many years, found in harmony, and men did tl,e bidding of their consciences as in
 he days of Panl and his associates. EUcn the MndlOrd shed tears'
 need not describe my interview with Carleton that night. We both stayed at
 he same house, occupied the same room,
 md excepting slight tinge of melancholy, l [ found him the same spirited fellow he was at our 6rst meeting twenty years be- fore. On Ihe following morning we de- parted, he to labor elsewhere in the great cause to which he was devotiBg every thought, and ,o pursue ,iresome jour ney over the almost interminable hills of Berkshire.
 On my return I could not resist the temptstion to take M. in my way. though