The Portland daily press., 1862-11-29
The Temperate Drinker.
BY T. 8. ARTHUR.

Il y
tossed his head with an air of independent con-
tidence.
"You ought to be- urged his friend.
"Why, know how to make a proper use of
liquor
Will you answer me that question:"
"a proper use of it is to drink it temper
ately, when you feel need of a little stimulus"
"What do you mean by temperately, Har-
ry?"
"I mean moderately; or in quantities so
small as not to produce intoxication."
"How often ought this moderate portion to
be taken? Oh, I recollect now-you said that
it should be taken whenever the need is felt of
little stimulus. Now suppose this is felt
twice in the day, would that be too often to
take littlep'
"No, of course not. take glass at least
twice day, and sometimes as often again"
you do?"
Certainly do.''
:" The time has been, suppose, when you
didn't take more than single glass a day"
+" Yes, But it was, believe, because l
couldn't get any more"
AT least, you drink more frequently now
than you did year agow
Yes, believe | do
How do you account for that%
"On the principle that can bear more now
makes it stronger, SO does the habitual drink
ing Of liquors make the nerves able TO bear
more powerful stimuants."
" Are you not afraid, Harry, to practice up
on such principle? Are you not afraid that
the habit will grow upon you, until, before you
are aware, 1t has obtained the mastery"
" No indeed. Not l. / know myself too
we'll"
depend upon it you are on dangerous
tha Facts i'm
able, prove that no one becomes drnnkard
suddenly-that no drunkard ever intended to
become a slave to the love of strong drink"
sPerhaps so. But have no fears. have
always been a temperate drinker, am one now,
and intend remaining one as long as live"
"Will you go to the Temperance meeting
with me tonight, Harry?" his friend asked,
after the silence of a lew moments.
.What for"
" A very popular lecturer is going to speak.
think be would interest YOU"
I" l don't see very clearly how am to be in
terested in dry temperance lecture"
you MAJ not fnd it quite so dry as you
imagine. Indeed from what | have heard
of this man, who is said to be one of your
rough hewn strong, original thinkers, l am
pretty certain that you will not fail to be high
ly interested.-He has himself felt, in his own
person, all the horrors of drunkenness; and
Ndi3 luCitiOAt, du0 aoIo cpCdh otAOuSil dlu
feelingly."
"One of your reformed drunkards %
Yes. Did you ever hear one OF them make
an address, or relate an experience?
No.
1Then come tonight by all means. 1t will
be treat to you."
Henry Ellis, was the young mans name,
promised after little further persuasion that
he would attend the meeting-though he still
ha
spent.
At the time appointed, Henry Ellis entered
the hall where the meeting was to be held, and
took a seat in front of the stand. After the
preliminaries of the meeting were over, short,
stout, hard-featured man arose to address the
audience.
"Rough-hewn, sure enoughw Ellis muttered
to himself-"and no doubt original enough
Well, perhaps l may hear something worth
laughing at. Let US see.'
"Well, my friends" began the speaker, in an
easy, familiar oti-handed style,-"You want me
to make speech for you, aud | suppose must
do 1t. 1t will be rough, but TO the point. aud
IL hit some OF you pretty hard, you mustn't
get angry. never could get along by whip
ping the devil around the pump. II must be
face to face, arms length, or not at all. I've
spoken every night for the past week, in differ
ent villages, round about upon all kind OF sub
itNN&. Aft put IL W Tue DTtMcEs
hard, tell you. One man swore that be would
shoot me. But In, not afraid. Ny cause Is a
good one, and II l maintain 1t maniully, IL will
bear me on safely TO the end-leaving not even
the smell OF fire upon my garments. Next
walked into the liqor-sellers like thousand OF
bricks, aud made them fiutter like hens ia a
barnyard with hawk over their heads. 1t
touches their pockets, this temperance move
ment, and stains their respectability-so II does
A..4 "a Al
nne palaces and money wrung from worse
than widows and orphans, do not give them
the standing in society that they once had.
The peoples eyes are opened, and they see
plainly, they call things by their right names,
and estimate by truer standard.
"Having, therefore, curried off and rubbed
down the dstillers, and brewers, and liquor-Iner-
chants, and charged home upon them the res
possibility of misunderstanding must now
turn my attention to class OF the community
who have quite as much to do with 'drunkard-
making Who are they? you ask. will tell
you. They are the temperate drinkers. Some
of you look surprised-prick up your ears, and
become all attention. It's fact, can tell
you, and I'll make it as plain to you as that
two and two make four.
"Answer me thia question. Would there be
single drunkard to-day, Ii there had not been
moderate drinkers a few years ago? No,
VI COuISC Iot l. uG luUutIdtt uTllktT Is tue
blossom-the drunkard is the fruit. Or, to
give you something more striking, will Use
the language of brother lecturer. The diff
ference, says he, between temperate drnSer
and drunkard is the same as that between
pig and hog. The pig is pretty fair begin
ming OF hog, and the temperate dIinker is q
pretty fair beginning of drunkard You can
no more have drunkard without moderate
drinker than you can have hog without
pig. This is plain talk, my friends, and some
will call it extremely yulgar-especially if il
hits them little hard. No doubt it is very
vulgar and nnrefned to say pig and hog. The
eating of ''them ere" animals is quite genteel,
but to name them is shocking. Well, perhaps
1t is. But We can't help it. Homely illustra-
tions are generally the most forcibe, because
their truth is less clothed, and consequently
more apparent.
"Now hope you all understand the position
I take. And you all see that weighty re-
sponsibiity rests upon the moderate drinker;
for without his cooperation, it would be Inn
possible for all the distillers and rumsellers in
the world to make single drunkard. He
may answer me, that if all the responsibility
does rest upon him, it is responsibility that az
fects none but himself Let me beg your par
don, my friend. l assmme that YOU will be-
come drunkard. which is a very natural in
ference, as you are in the only possible road
leading to that wretched state.-Well, you
have passed the point up to the time when you
were fully able to control yourself. and are
now a passive slave in the hands of the most
heartless, inhuman tyrant, that ever cursed
the earth. You are married. The gentle
maiden who won your hearts first and best af-
fections, became, years ago, your wife; and
around yon are clustered the sweet pledges of