The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1860-12-20

Bot l could say no uoreI only prayed thAt
God would guard him. and then w= oonyerse3 on
other subjects. I could spend but : Lay with
hin. but We promised e correspond often
Three years more pAs~d, during which John
Aut=-~lu wrote - u- - la.=. once 4 month. and
0f-=n-r sometimes Bat - lie end Of THAI time Uls
letters ceased coming. aud / received ID more :c-
two year-. when / again found myself n his Ia
tive town. IL va e4-ly IL The afternoon wh=n l
arrived, AM l tc5k dinner - th= hg'-l-
had finished ny NAL AMI was l5uuE.ng II
front 4 the hotel. wen Aw . funeral proc
-i5n winding INFO . distant church yar1. | ask
= tl- landlord wAl>e funeral u VS.
Mrs. AR6ers5ns h said. - h spoke I
noticed = slight dropping u the had. q II II cot;
him l. s4y -.
"Wha;. John And=-s5n's WIFE" I yenturei.
No, h said. b. !; : bis mother. and = he
told ne This h= turned away buc : gentleman
near u who overheard o1r conversation - once
took Up the theme.
oar hos- don; ssm inclined u converse on
that subject he remarked with q shrus: inQuir-
ing. Did YOU know John Anie-~on2"
He VS. ny scaoJlm-te IN byyHooi and ny
b1s1m friend II youth. l tod him
He tlen led ne one side. and spoke - follows
Poo John He was the pride Of the town
II years ago. This man opened me hoc=. - that
lms. AMI sought custom - giving wine sUQE-rs.
John was p0eeen: - many %. them. the Say@t d
tie gay. and the mlst generous Ut the party. In
fact, lie uaid fr n=1rly al u them. Then he
b=2n u - down hill. Stree - Tins. true
friends have prevailed 0n hin = stop, but his
stops were u short dur-uon. ! short season Of
sunshine would CLEAN upon his home. and then
the night Came more dirk and dreary than before.
He said he would never get drunk again. but skill
lie would take = glass Of wine with Z friend ,
That glass Of vine was but the gate that let in
the food SIX years aga ne was worth sixty thou-
sand dollars.
:. Yesterday. he borrowed the sum Of fifty dol
lars u Lay his mothers funeral expenses. That
poor mother byre W 8 long a. she could. She
saw her son-her darling boy - she always
called him-brought home drunk many times.
And she even bore blows from him, But now
she rests. Her darling wore her life away. and
brought her grey hairs in srrow - the grave
Oh hUUe tuis NAV reform him
d" But his ?" l asked.
" Her heavenly love was held Up thus far, but
she Is only the shadow Of the wife she was six
years ago" he returned
NJ informant was deeply affected. and - was
l Consequently I asked 10 more.
During the remainder Of the afternoon debst-
tel with myself whether 70 call UPON John al all.
But finally | resolved 70 %. though | waited till
after tea. l found john and his wife alone.
They had both been weeping, though could SO
AT q glance thar Ellen's face WIS breathing with
hope and love. BGJJh she wa= changed-sadly.
painfully -. They were glad = SO NE, and NY
hand was shaken warmly.
Dear c. don't >ty = woT' Of the past.
UylIl uEEll. --Es6llZ nv l-l4- : e---llA tlllr-
=. | know YOU spoke the truth hye years ago. |
was going down hill. But l have gone a. far as
| cln-here l stop o. the foot Everything Is
gone but nv wife. | have sworn and nv cath
Shall y kept-Elea and | are going 10 be happy
now
TIE poor fellow burst into tears. Ellen fol-
lowed suit, and | kept their clnP4ny- | could
not help crying Ike = child. Ny God what =
s!ghr, The once noble. true man - iallen-be-
come . mere broken gl4ss-;he last fragment
only rejecting the image il once bore . sup
port al the tJyt Of hope. Logging = grain Of
warmth FIR the hearts Of himself and wife,
And how had houor-d and loved that man
AMI how | loved him still Oh | hopad-
ave. more than hoped believed that he would
BE saved. And a. I gael upon ais wife-so
trusting. - loving, - true, and - hopeful, ever
in the midst OF living death-T prayed more
fvryently than | ever prayed before, that God
would hold him uI-lead him back u the top Of
the hill.
In the morning I saw the chiIdrsn-grown TO
two Intelligent boys; ana though they looked
yale and wan. V; they smiled and seemed happy
when their father k.ss-d them. When | went
away, John TOOK he by he hand and the last
words h said were:
Trust me. Believe NE now. I will be 4
man heucefJrth, while life lasts
\ lizzie over twJ years had PASSED when l rad
IN i newspaper tie death u Ellen Anderson. l
started iJr the town where they had lived. - soon
- possible. thinking l might help some one, \
fearful VresenIim-nt possessed ny mind
=. Where Is John Anders-n?" was my first
question.
e. Don't know. He's been gone these last three
months. His wife died in the mad house last
week.
:. And the children ?"
d" Oh. they both died before she did"
/ staggered tack and hurried from the place.
| hardly knew which way I went, but instinct
lei me to the church ward l found four graves
which had b7en made in three years. The
mother, wife, and Two children slept in them.
q. And what has done thIs2" ] asked myself.
And = voice answered from their lower resting
places:
.. The demon Of the wine-table.'
Buc This Was not all the work. No. no. The
next | aw-Oh. God. was far more terrible!
saw it in the city COURTROOM. But it was the
saw my legal friend IN tue day following the
trial. He said John Anderson was in prison. |
TO 50 him The turnkey conducted me
- his cell. The key turned in the large lock,
the pOnderous door with 4 sharp creak swung
IT, hinges. and | alw 4 dead body SUSPEND
ID BY tie neck from q grating window look
j upon the horrible face | could ~ee nothing Of
John Andersen there, hut the face | had sen in
the courtroom was sufficient . connect the TWO.
md l knew that this was all that remained Of
him whom [ had :, loved.
And this was the last of the demon work--he
act in the terrible drama.Ah, from the first
'parkle OF the red wine il had ieeu down. down.
until the foot Of the hill had been finally
When I turned away from the cell and once
more walked among the flashing saloons and
halls. | wished that my voice had power TO
thunder the life story Of which l had been a Wit
lee Iutn the ears Of al living men