Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-04-14
THE HUSBANDS PRESENT; A Tru,
Story,
by sYLVANUs CoBD, IR.

| by sYLvANUs CoBD, IR.
1t was bitter cold night, on the twen-
ty-fourth of December. The snow lay
deep upon the frozen earth, and the bright
moon, riding half way up the heavens,
lent a crystalline lustre to the scene. In
| the high road, short distance from qui-
ct, rcposing village, stood the form of a
human being.
His garments were scant and tattered,
by far insufficient to keep out the biting
frost; his frame shook and trembled like
the ice-bound boughs of the weeping will
low that grew near him, and his face, as
the moonbeams now danced upon it, ex-
hibited all the fearful footprints of the de-
mon, Intemperance.
Poor, wretched and debased, he look
ed and such, in truth, he was!
Before him, at the end of neatly fen
ced and trellised enclosure, stood small
cottage. 1t was elegant in its simple
neatness, and just such an one as the
humble lover of true comfort and Joy
would seek for home. The tears rolled
down the bloated cheeks of the poor inc
briate as he gazed upon the cottage, and
at length, as he clasped his hands in agony
he murmured:
ooh, thou fond home of happier days,
thou lookest like heaven of the past
Beneath thy roof was married to the idol
of my soul, and within thy peaceful walls,
God gave me two blessed children. Then
peace and plenty were mine, and love and
Joy were mine. My wife-God bless her
gentle soul-was happy then, and my
childrcn-may heaven protect them
laughed and played in gleesome pleasure.
Gladness smiled upon us then, and every
hour was a season of bliss. But I lost
thee, as the fool loseth his own salvation!
Six years have passed since the demon l
took to my heart drove us from your
shcltering roof And those six years -
o, what misery, what agony, what sor-
row, and what degradation hava they not
brought to me and my poor family -
Home, health, wealth, peace, Joy and
friends are gone-all, all gone! o, thou
fatal cup-no, ! will not blame THEE =
1t was IL who did it Year after year
l tampered with the deadly sting. when i
knew that destruction lurked in thy smiles.
But, but" and the poor man raised his
eyes to heaven as he spoke, "there is
room on earth for another man-GnG I
tCiU be that man :"
Within the only apartment of misera-
bic and almost broken down hovel, sat a
woman and two children-a boy and
girl. The cold wind found its entrance
through hundred creYices, and as its
biting gusts swept through the room, the
mother and her children crouched nearer
the few embers that still mouldered upon
the hearth. The only furniture were four
poor stools, rickety table, and scanty
covered bed; while in one corner, nearest
to the fire place, was heap of straw and
tattered blankets, which served as rest
ing place for the brother and sister Part
of tallow candle was burning upon the
table, and by its dim light one might have
seen that wretched mothers countenance.
1t was pale and wan, and wet with tears.
The faces Of her children were both buri-
ed in her lap, and they seemed to sleep
peacefully under her Prayerful guardian
ship.
At length the sound of footsteps upon
the snow-crust struck upon the mothers
ears, and hastily arousing the children,
she hurried them to their lowl ly bed, and
hardly had they crouched away beneath
the thin blankets, when the door was open
ed, and the man, whom we have already
seen before the pretty cottage, entered
the place.
With trembling, fearful look. the wife
gazed up into her husbands face, and
seemed ready to crouch back from his ap-
proach when the mark of tear-droP up
on his cheek caught her eye. Could it
be, thought she, that that pearly drop was
in truth tear ? No--perhaps a snow
flake had fallen there and melted.
Once or twice Thomas Wilkins seemed
upon the point of speaking some word to
his wife, but at length he turned slowly
away and silently undressed himself, and
soon after his weary limbs had touched
the bed he fell asleep.
Long and earnestly did Mrs. Wlkin,
gaze npon the features of her husband af
ter he had fallen asleep. There wa
something strange in his manner-some
thing unaccountable. Surely he had no
been drinking; for his countenanee hst
none of that vacant, wild, demoniac lool
that usually rested there. His feAturs'