Southern shield., 1857-01-17
From Porter's Spiri:. perance Question.
BY RICHARD ROE.


 DEAR SPIRIT-Some three or four years since I was guilty of the indis- crction, to call it by no harsher name, of running for the Legislature, in the county of Persimmon, state of Hoosier, i The party by which 1 was nominated and supported, had clear majority of three hundred in the county, and of course my election was a fixed fact. At least l thought SO, until about three weeks before the election. About that time the first wave of the Maine Law excitement reached the state, and ugly questions began to be put to me by voters of both parties.
 To take position on either side was dangerous, and lodging seemed the only safe policy. Fortunately, I had never belonged to any temperance society. That satisfied most of the antics. On the other hand, I never drank anything stronger than coffee, and the temperance men took 1t for granted, 1 was one of them.
 Things went off pretty smoothly in the canvass, and and my opponent were to make our last speeches in one of the back townships, on the Satur- day preceding the election.
 It was hard place for a temper ance man, and l was most thoroughly cross examined during my speech, as to my antecedents in connection with temperance societies, and, especially, whether l had ever belonged to the Sons of Temperance: this order being the peculiar abomination in the neigh borhood. My answers seemed to sat isfy the sovereigns, and was congrat- ulating myself that the ordeal was passed.
 Twas slightly mistaken. Some ma licious political adversary had whis- pered it about in the crowd, that could not bear the taste or smell of whisky. This was a serious and dam aging charge, and my friends, without consulting me, determined that a con- vincing proof of its falsehood should be given, before I left the ground.- Tom W, about as hard a case as the neighborhood afforded, was select ed as committee of one to carry out their resolution.
 Just as had mounted my horse to leave, Tom approached me with a brimming tumbler of new whisky in his hand, and asked me to "iine the boys in horn"
 glanced at the crowd, and saw that least fifty votes were hanging in the scale. It was no time to deliberate, and a couple of swallows of as villain ous whisky as ever came from the still, found their way down my throat.
 A grunt of approval from the crowd told their satisfaction; but was de- termined to have my revenge for the martyrdom l had suffered. Leaning over tdrafsfs ifs'T To9@ e9 96 in i' coiihGenafSSi fS sort of way, I said
 "Tom, carry better liquor than that.''
 "The deviln' said Tom, "do you carry a bottle?''
 "Certainly I do. But you must keep dark, and not let the fellows in town know of it."
 This was a degree of soundness on the temperance question my friends had not dared to hope for in me. It was like marrying a woman for beauty, and finding she had a fortune besides. By the time the crowd had gathered around us, l had extracted from my saddle-bags a bottle of ertract of ginger, and handed it to Tom, with an invitation to "try it.
 Tom did "try it."
 ''Lord gementily!" gasped he, as the burning compound took possession of his mouth and throat.
 "What is that? water-water-wa- ter.,"
 Itold him it was tenth-proof brandy; and the crowd unanimously swore that any man who carried liquor that would make Tom W cry for water, was sound enough for them on the tenn perance question.
 I distanced my competitor at that precinct the succeeding Monday.