The organ of the temperance reform. (Cincinnati, O. [Ohio]) 1852-1853, 1852-12-24

Well ltsO happenGd that, year alter year
Mickey agfsirs got worse by degrees, aud in
i the thick Of his distress, what does my bold
miller dOSut take unto himself o wife, as he
said himself, 80 double his joys and halVe
his sOriows, which was two TO one Id favor Of
some comfort according to the rule Of three.
How it answered his expectations, it is un-
necessary 10 inquire info; suffice it TO say
that, inasmugh as she brought him nothing il
the way OF worldly gain saving pair Of
bright blue eyes aud stuff gown, all settled
on lCIgCH, his prospects were not materially
brightGnod BY the alliance.
At last CAME the year Of the bad harvest;
tlC crops all failed, aud Che mill game quiet
aud dCsclate; that put the finishing stroke up
on poor Mickey 5 perplexities, and, for the
u first timo in Lis liEo he began to think that
\ there was sucha thing as the future to provide
4 for.
"Musha! then, its time for me to come to
4 my senses, said he one day, as hetook up his
/ pipe after most unsatisfactory meal; ''many
/. is the fine night spint as mach as nd last us
A a month now, and more betoken, it's suppin
H sorra ] am for that same, sure enough.
i "lndeCd, and ye are, and saryc you right
700, +" continued his help-m "But its me
that 8 too be pitied--lue, that niyer had the
good Of it, when it was goin' and nov it gone
--it's Inc that'll have 20 cry salt tears for the
want Of it.. All! ii you had only put by ever
1 so little OF the money you wasted in rollick-
in about, and thratein' thin that gives you the
cold shoulder now, you might snap Yer fingers
at the harvest; aud more betokea, | wouldn't
be shsmin' yenamc by Weariu the same gown
ut market and at mass.
sara be aisy," said Mickey, "where's the
use in tellisi me me what know so we'll al
roadyP I've been fool, as manys the one
has been afbre nc; but I've had my jig, and
now the piper to be paid, out OF my bones,
il not eut0f my pocket
Wei, 20 make long story short, Mickey
: went down the hill in hurry, as easy temper
} cd people generally do when the light Of good
fortune doesn't show them their way. Puz-
zled, confused, and blinded in the thick dark
5 ness Of distress, he made a few Intellectual
!, struggles towards an upward movement, only
soplunge deeper into the miTe Of ldisaploiht-
Uncut; so that tired at last, oil eltdeayOring tC
bullet against The cufreHt Of misfortune, hC
: made no exerti0R to sustain himself, but al
. lowed it to float him where it chose. And
r it is not to be wondered at that amidst the
8 noisy, reckless, revelry Of the village whisky
shop, was his general anchorage and indeed,
! misfOrtune's most dangerous flood tide could
: not have carried him into q worse haven, for
4 I when prospects grow brighter, and pleuteous
} larvests again smiled un0n the land, the hab-
its which lie had acquired in his dependency
: rendcred labor distasteful, and the old mill,
, once more in brisk demand, was deserted for
, tippliug houses.
! Meantime, although the grain was brought
: as plentiful as ever, the business Of the mill
!, was scarcely sufficient to pay the weekly score
{ chalked nd against himself and his gay com
panions, for again they gathered round him.
!. laughing Outrageously at his maudlin lests,
and pounding The tables at His drunken songs.
The labor at the mill was neglected, for
without the eye Of the master, work is badly
4 dope his home was home no longer; his wife's
Y oacR beloved voice grew cold and tame to bis
Il ears compared with the wild hurrahs of his
alc-hOuse friends.
Matters had nearly arrived at desperate
state, when, one summers evening, Mickey
was making triangular surveys Of the road as
usual, his lOcOmotion hayingbeen rendered ex-
tremely uncertain BY copiOus libations OF whis-
Ky punch, when he hapDeHed to strike his foot
against something metallic. Stopping in the
midst of a fragmentary song, he stopped
down, and found it was a R0TSe-sA0e.
'Hurrahl' shouted Mickey, at the top Of
his voice, ''luck' come at last; and indeed,
: not beforcit's wanted"
: For be it understood, that, amongst the
Irish peasantry, the finding Of so common
plaeoa thing as horseshoe, under such cir
{ Gumstancss, is considered TO be the precursor
Of the most illimitable good fortuae, aud SO it
I Sas TO Mickey Mcguire, although not exactly
iatheway he anticipated.
"Ahal'' he shouted iu glee; ''won't this fill
tbc Ould woman heart with joy" for, with
the ccrtsintyof approaching good luck, came
back all hiswarnth Of feeling for his wife; it
4YaS but the pressure OF calamity that deaden-
:, I'd il fora while. "Ihe blessed Heavens be
illraiscd for this, )" cried he, as with the earn.
cstiless Of a trJlo-hearted belief, he knelt aud
, offered upa prayer Of deepfct thankfulness
for the precious gilt which he felt assured
! would bethc instrument Of his delivery from
distress
Rising up thoroughly subdued BY the CRATE
, iul feeling that peTvadcd every sense, he
dashea the tears from his eyes, exclaiming,
!, It'll be a man again now, wild blessin. /"
Then another mood eame over him, and he
kissed aud hugged the horseshoe, capering
about, and making the echoes ring with his
volHble delight.
Many were hecastles in the air poor Mickey
built before he reached home, and, amongst
other notable intentions, | regret to say, that
almost his firstrcsolve was to give such jolli-
IicatiOn to tho whole country round, that the
whisky should flow like pump-water, until
! every soul at the fcast was as drunk asa lord
/ Hehad scarcely made That last resolution
! when he reached his door, at which, according
to his account of what then transpiFed,i he
was inst about to knock, when he felt slight
. tug at The tailsof his great coat, which made
, Inn hald back for second. Thinking, how
ever, that it was only his fancy, he lifted his
haaa again to knock at the do5r, when little
stronger pull at ais coat tail convinced him
, that thcrc was something myeteri0ls in its--
The most intense fear took possession OF him,
as he tremblingly cried
a1fay ths blessed saints above stand betdae
, ma and aH herum II IA hnlitge fha good man.