The Columbian fountain., 1846-06-15
JIM BRADDOCK'S PLEDGE.
BY T. S. ARTHUR.

i
miles away from the little town in which
he lived, where he entered upon his days
work, resolved that, henceforth, he would
be reformed man. AT first he was ner-
vous, from want Of his accustomed stimu-
lus, and handled his tools awkwardly. But
otter awhile, aE the blood began to circulate
more freely, the tone Of his system came
up to healthier action.
| About IL O'Clock Mr.. Jones came out to
the building upon which Braddock was
at work, and after chatting little, said
"This is grog time, amt it Jim !"
eyes, sir, ! believe it is" was the re-
lply.
'"Well, knock off then for awhile, and
come into the house and take dram"
Now Mr.. Jones was very moderate
drinker himself, scarcely touching liquor
for weeks at time, unless in company.
But he always kept it in the house, and
always gave it to his workmen, as mat
ter of course, at II o'clock. Had he
been aware of Braddock's effort to reform
himself, he would as soon have thought
Of offering him poison to drink as whisky.
But, knowing his habits, he concluded, ma
turally, that the grog was Indispensable,
and rendered it to him as he had always
done before, on like occasions.
"I've signed the pledges" were the words
that instantly formed themselves in the
mind Of Braddock- but were instantly set
aside, as the reason for not drinking would
not have been the true one. Could he have
said that, all difficulty would have vanished
in moment.
"No objection, Mr.. JONES'" was then
uttered, and of he started for the house,
resolutely keeping down every reason that
struggled in his mind to rise and be heard.
The image of Mr.. Jones standing before
him, with smiling invitation to come and
take glass, backed BY his own Instantly
aroused inclinations, had been too strong
an inducement. He felt, too, that it would
have been rudeness to have declined the
profered hospitality. s
aThat's not bad to take, Mr. JONES'" he
said, smscking his lips, after turning off a
stiff glass.
"No, il is not, Jim. That's as fine an
article Of whisky as I've ever seen," MI.
Jones replied, a little fattered at Braddock's
approval of lis liquor. "You're good
Judge ofsuch matters"
al ought to be-" and as Jim said this he
turned out another glass.
"That's right-help yourself" was Mr..
Jones's encouraging remark as he saw this.
"I never was backward at that, you
know, Mr.. Jones"
After eating cracker and piece Of
cheese, and taking third drink, Braddock
went back and resumed his work, feeling
quite happy After dinner Mr. Jones hand
ed him the bottle again, and did the same
when he knocked off in the evening OIL
course, he was very far from being sober
when he started for home. As he came
into town, his way was past Harry Ar
nold's, whose shop he entered, and was re-
ceived with round Of applause by his old
associates, who saw at a glance that Jim
was ga little disguised" Their Jokes
were all received in good part, and parried
BY treating all around. II
When her husband left in the morning
Mrs. Braddock's heart was lightened with
a new hope, although a fear was blended
with that hope, causing them both to trem-
BILE 10 alternate preponderance in her bo-
som. Still, hope would gain the ascen-
dency, and affected her spirits with de-
gree Of cheerfuIness unfelt for many months.
As the day began to decline towards eve
ming, after putting every thing about the
house in order, she took her three chill
dren, washed them clean, and dressed them
up as neatly as their worn and faded clothes
would permit. This was in order to make
| home present the most agreeable appear-