Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1853-02-24
MIS-. lfoRcAN's ,IAIxn Law.
~ ,oHs ssIrH, j.


"euio arink, ana iikelinost men Of his class
when IN lqaor, generally beat bis children
and sometimes bis wife
Mrs Morgan was . noble woman and
ieved ner husband in spite Of all, but after
years Of patience and lfcTbearance, she came
70 the conclusion that Jimmy Morgan. 4,
she called him, should step drink whether
or no LIZ other words, she would manufac
ture private Maine law Of her own.
The occasion was on one day when Jimmy
came home e dinner, half iipsy, which al
ways happened when heIstopped At the tay
ern on his way, and be did this on an aver.
age about twice . week
Now. you Morgan said she, as soon i.
be entered, you've been at the whiskey
bottle again. You needn't deny ii, for
know it BY your looks And By your breath,
soo--go away you nast5 beast-Low dare
you 70 Try 70 kiss ne when you've been
drinking 2 HI
Jimmy had essayed this matrimonial ca.
ress, hoping il might conciliate the good
wife, but finding his purpose foiled, be stood
upon his dignity.
Hpity toity, said hei how you put on
airs: give US some diIner, and don't sulx'
Mrs Morgan did not often get reused,
but she was now She put her arms akin
DO, and answered II
: Not mouthfal of dinner do you get in
this house today, nor any other day, till
you come home SOBER So the sooner YOU
are off. the better
The half tipsy husband looked at her in
amazement For moment he thought of
enforcing his will, asslie had often done Ie-
fore, but whether he hadsInot drank quite G
nough 70 arouse BIS edTfage, or whether.the
blazing eyes Of his bel mhte frightened bin,
he turaei, after LITTLE hesitation, aud left
the house
Ofcourse he went straight to the tavern,
as Mrs Morgan rather expected lie would
And of course, when night came, he was led
home thoroughly inebriated, as She rather
wished he would be- f .
lie hat just sufficient reason left to won.
der 1T the extraordinary care with which his
wife after assisting him TO undress, tucked
him in bed But this, like everything else,
was soon forgotten in = stupid sleep
She waited until satisfied that he was en-
ctirely insensible, when she proceeded to sew
the offender up in sheets, exactly as if be
had been mummy The stitches were not
small but she knew they we're taken with
treble thread, and they would held, espe
cially as be could now use neither hands nor
arms Once OF twice he grunted, as if a.
bout to awake, but she stopped q moment at
such time
At last the proceeding was completed
And now she brought forth large cart
whip which she had borrowed that afternoon
FROM neghbor Z
Now. Jimmy Morgan, said she. npostro-
pAizing him, I'll cure you Of your Lcastlv
habits. or-please God-I'll whip you tlli
Down came the lash, as vigorously IS ner
brawny band could lay, il on again, again,
and yet again, aud itseemed as if she was
never going to stop. And very soon the Of
fender reused from bis siupor, saw what it
was, nd began to beg for mercy
MT till you We promised metz leave off
d.ilking was the ans ker, aud the .blowsade-
sceuded more vigorously than ever
Oh you'll kill me, you'll kill me-"
No. il will do you good Tothink how
drunk YOU we're ten minutes ago, and now
to see You rolling about SO lively never
tell me. Jimmy Morgan, that ] am killing
you after that
Mercy, mercy, mercy roarea the erimi
nal How can you,E Polly, use your hYs-
band so r IsT
:: Il can aud will' and another shower Of
blows descended Ifalloo rs much as you
please, for il will do you good only l can
Tell you one thing, il will not rousethe neigh
Ibots I told them what was going 70 do
II YOU ever came home drunk again Have
YOU had enough ySDf VIII yel promise At
once or are YOU going, To bold out still
4 oh OH OH efoaned the helpless hus.
- IL. .nd tur.s,nt In .yarv dirao.
ton but unable 10 escipe the cataract Of
blows
sWill you promise You'd better do it
tquick resumed his ineYorable spouse, or
Z will Beat you into ajelly These six years
I've borne your drunks nness, but Ill bear
il no longer I've tried coaxlng and I've
tried everything, and ] am trying wkip.
ping. You've beaten me often enough, and
I'm paying you back Promise me at once,
the quicker the better, for I'll not let you up
till you do, even il il keeps me here all night
and if you're sick for year afterwards
II was a good while before the criminal
gave in. lie thought bis wife would tire
out at last, but when the castigator had pro-
ceeded for some time. and he saw no symp.
| toms Of either fatigue Or relenting, he was
/ compelled to succomb,
| sil swear. m swear, he said at last, Ill
do ANYTHING only let me up That's a
dear good Polly Oh Lord, don't whip
,,,a aav more. for I've said ia swear Or r
Mrs Morgan gave him three SSr four sound
cuts more, to mlkeassurancc doubly sure
before she administered the oath, which she
| did at lasts with the Bible IN her hands,
completing tho ceremony by making him
| lie III 4 hoak
From that moment jimmy Morgan was
nercr known to taste liquor lie told his
neiehbors that he had been 50 sick after his
last spree that he bad resolved 70 join the
temperance society, but he did not tell
them what had made him III Mrs. Nor
can. toe. kept THE secret, nursing him
4 throuph his bruscs, which we're neither few
NJ sl;ght However, is she said to herself,
dasne2ate diseases require desperate RENE
a;ss and 20 she never fepented Of the med
;c;ne she had administered, even though her
4 Snsbaad did not earn q dollar for three
Il weeks Il
word more and our tale is told Per.
b.ns other wives might work cures as mirac-
ulsus il they woald TRY Mrs Morgan's
4 Maine Law
IA little by had his first pocket
1 knife. spd for several days used it himself
and extended the privilege Of the occasion
i al use Of his treasure TO his playmaies- -
One evening he was kneeliug e his moth