The Ohio star. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1830-1854, 1853-10-05
RAvENNA, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 5. 1853.

Destroyer was nigh, waiting impatiently with his
seythe to strike immortal soul from IFS earthly
body. wondered why men, capable of great ac-
ton, and possessed of strong mental faculties, could
become so beastiy as he who lay before mellow
they could sacrifice all peace, contentmeut and
Joy, to the deathly pleasures of inebriation. l
stood in drunkard's home-the drunkard living
nsensible at my feet and the winters wind howl
ing through the open doorway. How cold. how
cheerless how like thu vault of death thought I, is
this place!
Soon the policeman returned with a candle and
matches. and closing the door to keep out the
winds struck light. Horrible as the place was
in the dark, it was worse in the dim hight of a can
die. There lay the father and husband near the
doorway, covered with tattsred garments. Ofpo-
site him stretched on the floo-. lay the wife and
mother! She was stiff and benumbed wi the
cold, aud nigh unto the gates of death. To one
corner, in pile of rags, lay the two eldest child
rem, sweetly locked in each others arms. At first
we thought they were dead; but, after consdera-
BILE effort, we aroused them from sleep which
came near being their last Poor children
some place where they could get warm. We
wrapped our cloaks around them, and broke up a
table, the only furniture in the room, to make
fire that they get warm. How they huddled
around the flames and patiently bore the pains the
welcome fire produced!
i do not see the baby said the watchman,
some of the neighbors must have taken it.
looked through the room, like him, in vain, for
the infant: and we thought that some kind heart
had saved it from participating in the misery of
that night. The eldest boy, however, whose eyes
were sharper than ours, dspelled our hopes by ex-
claiming
There's sissy, lying under mother!'
He spoke the truth. That drunken mother had
rolled upon her babe and crushed it to death! Ny
heart sickened at the sight, and felt that could
endure more. The watchman-he who was
familiar with crime and misery-was overcome
with the shocking sight 1t was indeed distressing
The neighbors were called up, the corpse of the
child attended to- and its living brother and sister
made comfortable. The father nea ly dead, with
| the unconscious murderer of her child, was remoV
ed to the watch house, that they might not freeze
to death in their miserable hove. TWAS near day
light when separated from the watchman. He
had spoken but little to me for several hours, SO
absorbing the terrible events OF the night; but
| when he shook my hand, as | was about leaving,
he asked mournfuly, Have not shown you the
abode of misery, the haunt of intemperance? =
| Truly he had.
A few days since, while going through the fe-
male department of the country jail, was hailed
| hu ono IF tba priconers who said
| Good mornin' sir!--an' would ye be afther CIV
| fee wild, sir!'
Does the jailor not give you coffee to drink?'
asked.
Not bit of it, please ye, SIR she replied.
sWhy!'
Faith, sir, an cant be afher ten' yes. He
gives me nothin' but wHter, sir, an it makes me
head ache, it does indade SIR
But why do they punish you so ? What have
| you been doing that makes them treat you SO cru
eHy?
i was doin' nothn' at all, at all, sir
What you tell de gemmen dat lie for, gal!' SAT-
large black woman, who was sitting upon th
floor in one corner of the room, smoking pipe
'what you tell de gemman dat lie for, when 20,
debbel fore dey fetched you here?'
The poor woman hid her boated fnce with he
hands, US if conscious she had told lie.
What is your name?' l asked.
Ann Donnelly,' she replied.
Ann Donnelly! why, you are not this woma
who some months since rolled upon your child
while intoxicated. and killed il?'
Och, the divil take ye an how did We know that
sir? she replied changing the tone of her voice en-
tirely; .yere liar an bad luck ye, too, if ye
/, l kilt the baby. 1t died, it did, sllure
1t did die. truly l replied. But how com
, you here? heard that you had refoned and qu
drinking altogether
r r F ait an did but bod luck to always, sir,
met wild temptation an couldn't withstand it.
was workin' at good place, sir, and wild goo
: woman too, but as the divl would have it, foun
: she had barrel O. brandy in her cellar
, Aud you drank of it!
! = How could help it, shure, whin my dress rubl
ed it every time I wns down stars!'
Very easily, ifyou choose. But suppose yc
> got drunk, was dismissed from your pace and the
. returned to your old habits
: 'Fait' an if ye we're preast, SO could not te
it betther.'
How long have you been in jail!'
: Ten days the last time.'
; why, have you been here before!'
Nearly all the time. shure, forthe last six month
Divil of Bit do get OUT or take drap o. liquo
- than the ugly watehmen take me right to Il
watch h-house.
= Where are your two children, Ann?'
:. 'Oh, they are we'll to do in the Poor Hous
shure.'
20 Have you seen them ately?'
Not for five moths, bless ye're heart, SIR
" Would you not like to them!'
sOh, they are we'll to do-betther widout the
! mother, SIR
Il think so. indeed But what has become
your husband, PATTI
:" He's here, too, poor fellow, working hOr-nd
:. the chain gang. They said he robbed Lame Jill
III ,o,,s ,,,onav fll one nipht an' the cDurt mt hi