Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1857-10-29
LHE RECLAIMED.
BY JOHN B. COUGH.

There is no power on earth will make 6
man fiend like the power of drink. One
circumstance in my own "reminiscences,
will give to you. l was asked by IN in
dividual to 90 and see the hardest case
then in town. l said.
II have no right to go and see him; he
will say to me, "Who sent you to me-
who told you l was a drunkard! You
mind your own business and I will mine
you wait till you are sent for; and when
want you 1 viii send for YOU" 81 have
no right" l SAID, ''to go to him."
SWELL" said he, he is hard case, h
beat a daughter of his, fourteen years o.
age, with shoemaker's strap, so that she
will carry the mark to her grave"
'sSaid /, He's BRUTE"
sHis wife is very i'll now with fever
and the doctor thinks she cannot get ovel
it; the man has not been drinking for some
days, and if you can get at him now
think you might do him good"
l thought | would go. l knocked at the
door; be came to open it. He had been
to one Or two of our meetings. The mo-
ment he saw me he knew me. Said he
"Mr. Cough, 1 believer"
ayes, that is my name: would you be
good enough to give me glass of water,
if you please"
"Certainly," said he, "eome in."
So l got in. | sat on one side of the
table and he on the other. There were
two children in the room playing together
and door half way open that led into
the room where the wife was i'll. sat
and talked with him about everything l
could think of but the subject. 1 talked
of trade and crops, railroads and money
matters; and then drinking and be headed
me off again. l looked and | thought l
saw malicious twinkle in his eye, as much
as to say. "Young man, you are not up
to your business yet"
II was about to give it up; but l think
providentially, l saw the children" l said
to him:
"You've got two bright looking children
there, sir"
"Oh! yes, yes, bright little things"
Said l, "you love your children, don't
you?"
"Bless the children, to be sure l love
them."
Said 1. "Would you do anything to
benefit your children q
He looked at NE rs if he thought some
thing was coming after,
"Weil to be sure, sir, man ought to do
everything to benefit his children.
Then l stood up, so that L might get
out of the door as speedily as possible,
and said: s-'
"Don'L be angry with me; am going
TO ask you plain and simple question !;
you know who am, therefore you won't be
angry? Suppose you never used anything
more intoxicating, don't you think your
children would be better otf!'
"Well," said he, "you have got me this
time"
Said l, "You have got wife haven't
you?'
"Yes, sir, as good woman as ever a
good man had tor Wife.
"And you love your wife T.
'sTo be sure do; it is natural that a
man should love his wife?''
"And you would do anything You could
to please your wife,"
"Well l ought to-"
"Suppose you were TO sign temperance
pledge, wo'd that please her9"
"By thunder, rather think it would; l
could not do the thing that would please
my wife like that If l was to put my
name down there, why the old woman
would be up and about her business in two
weeks"
GAS she is sick, said l then you will do it.
ayes, l guess 1 will do it.'
And he at once opened closet, took
out pen and ink, land l spread out the pledge
and he wrote his name.
The children had been listening with
eyes, ears and mouth wide open while we
were talking about temperance. They
knew what drinking father was; they
knew what the principle Of abstinence
would do for him; and when he had sign
ed, one said to the other:
"Father has signed the pledge"
40! my!'' said the other, "now I'll go
and tell mother and away she ran into
the other room.
But the mother had heard of it, and l
listened her calling.
"Luke! Luke! come here q moment"
Said he, "Come in here along with me-:
come in and see my wife,"
l went and stood by her bedside. The.
face was ghastly pale, the eye large and
sunk deep in its socket; and with her long
and bony fingers she gripped my hand,
and with the other took the hand of her
and began telling me what a
good husband she had.
"Luke, said she, is kind husband and
good father; he takes care of the children,
and is very kind to them, but the drink,
o the drink makes terrible difficulty"
That difficulty! God only and the
crushed wife of the incorporate man know
and think about it.
The man shook like leaf; he snatched
his hand from the grasp of his wife, tore
down her night dress from her shoulder
and said:
"Look at thatr' and on her thin neck,
close to her sbonlder, was bad mark
Said he ''look at that" and when I saw
the mark of bruise, felt my flesh creep. |
Said he 'look at that, sir! / did it three
lays before she was taken down upon her
bed, and she has told you that she had |
good husband. Am q Am l a good hus-
band to her? God Almighty forgive me ~ |