Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1860-01-07
msd
NUMBER 43.
Ah!Let Woman Speak.

The distress and suffering entailed unen the
female Sex by intoxicating liquors, has been
sounded in the public ear until it has become
an insipid tale-tOd without effect but its
truthiuness will never be impaired 70 long -
the corrupting beverage is drank by men,
Ex-GoverhOr Briggs, Of Massachusetts,, relates
touching aud telling incident Of IN old w0- 4
man addressing n large audience on this tOPir,
with magic EFFECT. He says:
I'm a thriving borough in Pennsylvania. :
the inhabitants had assembled, AZ wns their
custom, TO decide what number, II any, Ofh-
ctnses the town should petition from the
County Court, from whence they were issued.
There was q full attendance. One of the
most respectable Magistrates Of the borough
presided, and upon the platform were seated,
aTnong others, the clergyman Of the -SillsgG,.
one of hi> dcacons, and the physician.
After the meeting had been called to order,
one Of the mort respectable citizens Of the Dor:
ongh rose. and after a short speech, moved
that the meeting petition for the usual nun.
bcT Of Licenses. They had better license good
men aud let them sell. The proposition SEEM
cd 10 meet with almost universal favor. 1t
vas an excellent way to get along quietly, and
one, and then another expressed their hope
that such n course wOnld be adopted.
The President was about to put the ques-
ton to-tlie meeting when an object rose in q
distant part Of the building and all eyes were
Instantly turned in that direction. IL was an
old woman, poorly clad and whose caTe-wOrn
continuance vas the painful index OF no light
suffering. And vet there was something in
the flash Of the bright eye that told she had
Ohcc been what she was not She addressed
the President, and said with his permission
she wished to say a few words to the meet
ing. She had come because she had heard ,
that thy were to decide the license question.
lou, 4aid she "al know who am. You
once knew Inc the mistress Of one Of the best
estates in the borough. once had husband
and five sons; and woman never had kinder
husband-mOther never had five better or
more allcctiOnatc sons. But where are they
now: Doctor, ask where are they now p
In yondcr burying ground there are Aix graves
filed by that husband and those five sons,
and oh they are all drunkard's graves. Doc
tor how came they to be drnnkardSg You
would come and drink with them, and you
told them that temperate drinking wOnl6 do
them good. And you too, sir" addressing
thc clcrgyman, would come and drink with
my husband, and my sons thought they may
drink with safety, because they saw you drink.
Deacon, you sold them rum which made them
drinkards. You have now got my farm and
all my property, and you got It all by rum
" And now" she said, II have done my
errand. 90 beck to the poor house, for that
is my home. YOu reverend Sir, you Doctor,
and you deacon, shall never meet again,
until meet you at the bar Of God, where you,;
too, will meet my ruined and lost husband
and those five sons, who through your means
aud influence fill the drunkard's graves"
The old woman sat down. Perfect silence
prevailed until broken by the President who
rose to put the question to the meetiOg-- shall
we petition the Court to issue licenses to this
bourrough the ensuing year and then one
unbrOkcn "NO (which made the very walls
rc-ccho with the sound, told the result of the
old woman's appeal"