The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-05-14
G15o@QQeOnye
The Factory Girl.
BY T. S. ARTHUR.

The affairs Of old Mr.. Bacon. His
farm, tho best titled and most pro
ductive in the neighborhood, bcgar
to show evidences Of neglect and un
fruitfulncss; and that he was going
behindhand in The world, was too ap
parent in the fact, that, within two
years he had sold twenty acres Of
good meadow, and, moreover, was
under the necessity of borrowing
three hundred dollars on a mortgage
of his landed property. And yet,
Mr.. Bacon had not laid aside his
habits of industry. lie was up, as
of old. with the dawn, and turned not
his feet homeward from the field until
the sun had taken his parting glance
from the distant hilltops.
a kind.hcartcd chccrful.mindcd
man was old Mr.. Bacon, we'll liked
by all his ncighbors, and loved by his
own household. His two oldest
children died ere reaching the age of
manhood; three remained. Mary
Bacon, the eldest Of those who sur
vivcd, now in her nineteenth year,
had been from earliest childhood her
fathers favorite; and, as she advan.
ced towards womanhood, she had
grown more and more into his heart.
In his eyes she was very beautiful:
and his eyes, though partial, did not
deceive him very greatly, for Mary's
face was fair to look upon.
We have said that Mr.. Bacon was
kind-hcartcd and cheerful-rnindcd
man. And so he was; kind.heartcG
and cheerful, even though clouds
were beginning to darkcn above him,
and sigh from the coming tempest
was in the air. Yet not so uniform.
ly cheerful as Of old, though meyer
OF the change tshaf>was in progress,
the change from prosperity to adver-
sity, he did not seem to be painfully
conscious.
Yes, there was something wrong
about the affairs of old Mr.. Bacon.
a habit indulgcd through many
years, had acquired a dangerous
influence over him, and was gradually
destroying his rational ability to act
we'll in the ordinary concerns of life :.
AS young man, Mr.. Bacon drank
"tcmpcratcly," and he drank stem
pcratcly," in tho prime Of life.
and now, at sixty, he continued to
drink 'tempcratcly,' that is, in his
own estimation. There we're many,
however, who had reason to think
differently. But Mr.. Bacon was no
bar-room loungcr; in fact, he rarely,
if ever, went to a public house; 1t
was in his own homes and among his
household treasures, that he placed
to his lips the cup Of confusion.
The various temperance reforms
had all found warm advocates among
his friends and neighbours; but Mr..
Bacon stood aloof. He would have
nothing to do in these matters.
''Let them jo temperance socic-
ties who feel themselves in danger -
was his good naturcd answer to all
argument or persuasion addressed to
him on the subject.
lie did not oppose nor ridicule the
movement. He thought it a good
thing; only, he had in it no personal
interest.
And so Mr.. Bacon went on drink
ing "tempcratcIy,' until habit, from
claiming a moderate Indulgence, be-
gan to make. so it seemed to his
friends, rather unreasonable demands
Besides this habit Of drinking, Mr.
Bacon had another habit, that Of in
dustry; and, what was unusual, tho
former did not abatc the latter
though it must be owned that it sadly
interfcrcd with its efficiency. IIe
was up as we have said, with the
dawn, and all the day he was busy
at work; but. somehow or other, his
land did not produce as libcrally
4 as in former times, and there wa:
slowly creeping over everything
around him an aspect of decay
Moreover, he did not manage, as wei
as formcrly,# the selling part OF hi
business. In fact, his shrcwdness o
mind was gone. Alcohol had con
fused his brain. Gradually he wa
retrograding: and while moro thar
half conscious of tho ruin that was il
advance of him, he was not full.
enough awake or SO oseriously alarmed
as to begin anxionsly to seek for tn
cause Of impending owl. And so
went on until Mr.. Bacon suddcnl
found himself in the midst Of rca
trouble. The value of his farm
Which, arsor parting with the twent,