The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1859-11-12
DIR. GUTHRIE'S APPEAL.

At the annual meeting of the Scottish
Temperance League, noticed last month,
the Rev. DIR. Guthrie concluded one of his
inimitable appeals, by the following touch
ing allusion to case which had passed
under his observation that very day:
81 was visiting today, and | hold in my
hand letter written by dying man.
His home, three years ago, was one OF the
happiest, sweetest, tidiest, and most COM
Portable homes of any working man IN
Edinburgh. He is now dying of consump-
tion-his life is draining away, his cheek
is hollow, his eye is prominent, his voice
sepulchral. There he lies on his dying bed.
When first went to see him, beside him
lay child of three years old, which was
lifted out of the bed beside him by its
mother Of all the pitiable, touching OBJ
jects l ever looked on, it was the most
touching Its limbs and arms were re-
duced to skin and bone. Its ankles were
bandaged up with scrofulous sores, and its
mouth was drawn together 1t had the
sweetest face | almost ever saw. There
was the dying husband, and there was the
dying child, and there was woman
three years ago as respectable, genteel-like,
and | know as tender mother as was
in all Edinburgh And six days ago the
missionary of the district was heard tosay
that that woman had smitten her dying
husband and was like to kill her child !;
I went there this day, and with tears fall
ing on the face of that poor young corpse,
NJ he hot +ha Oh,
On the Sabbath morning the gray dawn
looked in upon room, and what saw it
there2 A mother lying in the bed, the
pillow where that child was lying stained
with its life-blood-th child dead and the
mother dead drunk-and with that poor
infant corpse before her but yesterday
think that scene, as | told her, might have
sobered bacchanalian-she took chair
and hurled it at her husband, the dying
man, far gone in consumption. Can men
see that, and go quietly back to their work
May all the curses of gracious Heaven
be upon that vice may God blast that
tree that can produce such scenes of mis-
cry in this world Idetested drinking be-
fore-I detest it ten times more now.
ana now ministers Vi INC SoSpeI-How
Christian elders, in the face of this vice,
can 90 on with their indulgences, is to me
a mystery. cannot understand it. do
not condemn them-by their own hands
they stand or fall but before them l charge
drink with breaking more hearts-with de-
stroying the ties of more familes-with
running more bodies-with sending more
souls to perdition than almost all the other
vices in this country put together. And
would appeal to my brethren if there were
any of them here. You are no better for
it-you are the worse for it. 1t does your
body no good-it is, l believe, the might
est agent the devil ever invented to ruin
souls. I call upon them, as l did the last
time I was here, on their knees, over their
Bibles, with the example of Christ before
them, to consider this question and am
certain if they do so in a right spirit, they
will come to a right conclusion. Theywill
do what have done, and have never re-
GREETED it, and | know I never will regret
it, by giving myself heart and hand to this
cause, until by Gods blessing we triumph.