The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1855-10-19
! he ,Afunkafo his Story.

real life:
A few sabbaths since. at morning service.
enc ofthe most degraded specin ems of hu.
manity that ever greeted my vision, came
staggering into the chapel of the House of
Industry. His wild and frightful looks. raq-
ged and dhty beyond description, his face
bruised and swollen, rendered him an object
OF disgust and terror. He seemed 10 look Az
the children with wonderful interest. occa.
sionally muttering to himself: Beautiful
beautiful o, that mine were here!r He
sat an hour or two more, and then with a
long earnest look at the children, staggered
out OF the chapel, and went up to the Idarl
valley OF the shadow of death"-Cow Bay.
AS the bell rang for service in the after.
noon, and while the children were CLUSTERING
together, the sarheswild-looking man stag,
gered in once more. He surveyed the face
OF the children with the closest scrpt;nv
and at length his eyes rested on two br;obt.s
eyed little girls, who were singing one of.
their little hymns. He sat immoyable ne n
statute during the whole service. gazing in.
tently on the faces of those two c6ildreS
The service closed, the congregation dis
Persed, yet he fingered, aud the fears came
coursing down his face, thick aud fast.
DR.. S-----asked him "what was the mat
ter ?'
II am drunkard A wretch-an ont.
cast, homeless and without penny. Once
l had a home and friends-father. mother
wife, children, and hosts offriends, who L.,
ed and respected me-. Time passed on. and
became a drunkard T. One friend after
another left me still drank on, and down.
down fell. Father and mother both went !
down to their graves with broken hearts. -,
My poor wife clupg to me when all Others
deserted me. l still drank ON, pawned one
article after another, TIL all was gone. and
when my wife refused to give me her we'd
ding ring, which she had clung to with To-
nacity OF a death grasp, felled her to tbei
earth. seized her fBger, tore off the RING. and
pawned it for rum. That fatal blow mao. :.
dencd her, and, in despair, she too drank
and together we wallowed into the eufter.
"lenniless we begged our way from Verz
mont TO this great city. Here we hired a
small cellar, in dark, distnaI street. and
sent our children out to beg. Many a weary
day we spent ia that dreary cellar, while our
children were wandering in the streets befy-
ghg For their drunken parents. About for
ty days since my little girlswe out to beo,
and from that hour to this hare not seer,
them. Without food or fire .clunr to NV
dismal abode, till hunger forced me out TO
search for my children. Nv degraded w;ss
had been sent to Blackweil's Island. ais = Va
grant, and alone | went to the Islands. 10
the house OF refuge, to the Tombs, aud in
despair wandered to the Five Points, and
for the last few days had Iived in Cow
Bay, among beggars and thieves. To-day
saw two children, who ifthey had not look
ed so clean, and sung so s@eetIy, would
have called them mine. O.! would to God
they were J"
"Fsii n:e the name, said DR. S.. 1abd
| will see." In a few moments two inter
esting little children were led toward him.
AT the sight of this fearful looking man thew
shrank back. The poor man spraDp 10 his
feet, exclaiming, "They are mine mine -
My children, don't you know your poor old
fuhera Come TO me my Children. Fatbes
loves you, he won't hurt yof.n He reached
out his arms the little ones were ti,n;d nj
first, but they soon climbed up their fathers
knee. while the tears were streaming down
his face. -
kiss your poor drunken father, nv child.
rem" But the face of the man was so black
and filthy, not place could be found
Soon they forgot the dirty face, and remem-
bered their poor degraded father; and each
entwining their little arms around his neck
and fondly kissing him, the elder one said.
with a voice that touched every heart !:
"Father, we are SO happy here that we want
to stay. Won't yoa come and i've here too
papaa What makes yoe drink sol Dear
papa, do sign the pledge, and not drink any
more. Mr.. Pease found us in the street beg
ging, and now we are happy Do, papa.
come live here, and be good to us as YOU
used to be-"
The fathers heart was overwlreinred--b
sobbed and groaned aloud. For more tbx !,
an hour they SAT together, till at last the
man arose, still clinging to his children. am j
exclaimed 'eThe pledge the pledge !! i IN.
never drink againl"
1gave him the pledge, and from that
hour he has faithfully kept it. He is now 4
man again engaged in business, earning ten
dollars per week, and none could recogp;ss
in the well dressed man--who still boards II,
the house--the degraded original, whose
portrait can still be seen at che House of In
dustry, daguerrcotyped in its striking defor.
nifty and squalon
AMAs in California, Under sentence Of