Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-10-26
From the New York Mercury.
THE BROKEN V0W.-BY MYRA.

- a
"Oh! it was SO cold, so dark and cheer d
less! No light, no warmth. Will father tt
never Gomez" And the sufferer tossed =
rcstIessIy about on her rude pallet of straw. /
"He promised me he wouldn't be drunk t
ard any more. He won't break his promise a
will he mother 2" {
A sob of anguish was the only answer,
and the mother folded the scanty covering
about the form Of her child. She took the
thin, white hand in her own, and smooth
ling back the long, golden ringlets with the
other, strove, with tender, loving words, to
soothe the sick one to sleep.
In one of the viIest haunts OF the city
stood a man, apparently about tn irty years
of age. On the counter before him was
a glass of foaming liquor. He stood re-
garding it. ~thoughtfully ever and snon
his eyes wandered away toward the door,
! and then back again to the liquor before
him. Suddenly snatching the glass, he
placed it to his lips. But why that start,
that shudder, that ran through his whole
!. frame ere the contents were drained from
} the .cup? His thoughts went back to the
I scene he had left in the morning. The
: tender, pleading face of his Ally and his
I almost broken VOW flashed across his mind
!, and he dashed the glass resolutely from him
Q and with one stride reached the door; but
Q the hand upon the latch was stayed, and
e the rumseller's harsh, discordanttones broke
g the stiffness: "Herc, here, my coyey yor
n amt gone yet; think Pm going to let yoI
off in that manner after breaking one Q
N best decanters, and spelling my liquor !!
w M I 81 H., -, ohorf Tho Loot con
'e I've got to
ne "Come, come, man! don't give up to h
blues; it's always darkest just before tn
ad dawn, as my old school marin used to sa.
IN, Fill yourself up with some of this warmth
stuff
He mo, no my child, my Ally is dying
tu- And with a desperate attempt, he shook
the grasp of the rumseller.
But the man of liquors was not to
as cheated out of the few coppers that lay
ne; 44AA-AaAketat BIZ d stt15fm as this witbc
something warm inside"
Thus urged, and too weak to resist, I
ON man tossed off glass after glass. and wi
ev staggering steps went out to struggle wi
on =, the cold, piercing storm, and the r1mselI
ESQ sat himself down by his glowing crate. q
counted over the proceeds of his da,
,oIi work. lie counted the money. but NOT T
Tor woe, the Misery, the despairing hopele
ness. the bitter, scalding tears of wiz,
mothers, sisters, children. He cnumerat
or not the agonizing prayers which ascend
,ad daily, nightly to a fathers plying ear.
10 No, ne heard none of these that n;o
i'm mot a sound disturbed the stiffness % g
the clinking of the coin as he caressed
in his hand. For money he had +nrn,
the child from his door. while he tran
formed the father from a man into q hr,,
II. 1eii me that the rumsellcr has a heart.
,Sb soul! No, it is dead within hin.
NV me wlnd still howled mournfully arou,
80 the abode Of wretchedness-tbe moth
an. oent sorrowtul over the form of her Chi
hat the despairing cry of father, still ra,
through the room, when the sound of .
MD preaching footsteps drew the ewes Of /
ven child to the door. The face was a troubl
az half-hopeful look; but as the door omen
,rlv the face was quickly avcrted, and the h.
~ uttered sentence Fathers broken
lprom-," and the eyelids dropped loyinc
We over the clear, pure orbs, and the spirit
leased from its casket, wentup toits Max
dc The mother elapsed the dead treasure
fooI her breast, and strovc in vain to INN,
warmth into the cold, stiff limbs of
,o.o child. She looked in vain for some answ
aIo ing look of sympathy from her husba
90 but there was no relaxation of the bloat
features; adturkenl eer told too plainlytl
III nc was unconscious of the scene before h;
do Mothers, ye that bend agonizingly o,
leU Your dead cherubs, stay those falling tea
and look at that manly form by your ST
md strong in the pride of manhood, with
~drunkard's curse upon his brow, striving
-. assuage your sorrow while his own brea
II. is racked with grief; andthough your !,
ons were more heart-breaking, thank Heay
a. that you are not a drunkard's wife-tba
Him that you have a strong, manly q,
to lean upon, and that the spirit Of 60
child went not out from the BODY crush,
bleeding, to its Maker.