Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1853-08-27
nliscella 6.
A TGetOtalcrS SiOry.


Among the energetic workers Of the pres
ent day, the teetotaIers are unquestionably
entitled to take a first place. Those who are
not teetotalcrs cheerfuIly admit this. We
have seen the fruits of their labors, and can
bear witness that they are good. We have
seen them raise from the very sink of vice
and deprayity, men whom every other miss
onary had given up in dspair. We know
many whom they have elevated from pau
perism into comfort, from pollution into cleanli,
ness, from degradation into responsibility,
from habitual drunkenness TO habitual sobie-
ty.
Many are the thrilling tale that teetotalers
could tell, of men dragged from the slough
Of sin into The pure air and sunlight OF social
well being and welldoing. But teetotalers
are not literary; the hardest workers among
them are working men, who have been their
own educators. They have no time to write
tales, ifthey had the literary culture. But
teetotal literature is advancing, and the day
may come when some genius will arise from
the ranks OF the teetotaers, to portray the
condition of the drunkard and stir up uni
versal desire to alleviate their lot and rescue
them from the depths of vice and misery.
We shall never forget tale Of a rescued
drunkard, told by one of the teetotai lecturers
1t was statement of his own experience, and
its truth can at this day be attested by thou
sands. The story was told in rather broad
uncOuth dialect, for the speaker had originally
been factory workman, and had raised him
self by his own industry and energy, chiefly
| in this very teetotal cause, to respectable
and highly useful position in society. We
despair of being able to impart to our readers
the ful force of the story as told dy the mar.
rator, or 10 produce any thing like the thrill
effect which he produced upon the meeting
in queston-for there is an electric influence
in the spoken words, which is lost when it i:
attempted to commit them to the written pa
Iper:
81 was out on my first teetotal Journey
said the narrator, "and was very new to my
mission. | remember that | was dressed il
a velveteen cut away-coat, with white mother
of pearl buttons-just a raw factory lad, full
of enthusiasm for the cause: but that Is worth
good DEAL you know
Il reached a town in the northern part of
the country. 1t was a fine summer evening
when | went out into the street to address
the people, borrowed chair from a poor
woman, after being rebuffcd from several
doors, and carrying it into an open space
near which some children were PLAYING and
laboring people were sauntering about after
their days work, planted the chair there
mounted it, and began to speak--not without
great Gutteriugs at heart, and serious gualms
as to the success of Ray speech.
rAt the sound Of my voice the children
ceased from their play and gathered round
me, and several Of the saupterers turned
aside to hear what l had got to say. AT first
some thought that | was selling pills: others
took me for a Mormon and when | began to
talk about teetotalism-th new tangled doc.
t:ine OF fabstaining altogether from intoxca-
ting drink-my sender audience began tc
giggie, some Of them jeered at fustian-i Jacket,
and several ofthem guffawed outright This
was not very encouraging beginning for a
raw speaker.
"While was talking, saw a drunken
man staggering along in the distance, with
a lot of boys about him, calling out names,
and provoking him to swear at them in re-
turn. He seemed to notice the little group
collected about me, and, like most drunken
men when they see crowd he Immediately
made towards u.s. Now. thought l. my eve
ning's work is fairly spoilt: This drunken fcl-
low will put the 6nisher to my speech; and
as he come rolling along, some of the crowd
gleefuily called out, as if they expected a
row. Here comes Charley Brown-a real
teetotaler: hurrah for Oharley!' The chill
dren set up shout; the drunken man stag
gered in among the audience; and went on
with my speech.
Il could not keep my eyes of the man; he
was frightful example of the degradation
to which habitual drunkenness may bring
one He was tall and powerfully made, but
he was clothed in rags, dirty and unkept.
and his face was one mass of red blotch. The
man fixed his drunken eyes upon me as
spoke, and felt encouraged by his attention
degraded and outcast though be looked.
went on in homey words drawing picture
OF tho wretched life of drunkard, his beg
CARED home, bis neglected children, and his
ruined wife; and urged again and again that
the only radical cure was the teetotal one