The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-07-10
Miscellany.
The Power of Music.

One evening some time since, as Mr.. Theo-
dore e. Perkins was sitting in the room OF
the Howard Mission, New York, conversing
with the Rev. Mr.. Van Meter, they were in
terrupted by the entrance of wild looking
man who exclaimed:
SIS Awful GARDENERS here ?'
NO." replied Mr.. Van Meter.
''Then," exclaimed the man, in accents o.
despair, 81 am lost II Awful Gardiner was
here, he could save me; he'd know how, be-
cause he's been the same road but now Pm
lostw and drawing bowie knife from under
his vest, he was about to plunge it into his
bosom when Mr.. Van Meter sprang forward
and caught his arm. Seeing that it would
be useless to attempt to wrest the knife from
his grasp, Mr.. Van Meter sought to distract
the mans attention from his suicidal pur-
pose but the unfortunate creature was seiz-
ed with a fit OF delirium tremens and became
unmanageable.
Mr., Perkins, not knowing what else TO do,
sat down at the melodeon and began to play
and sing, "Come We dsconsolate." The effect
was magical. The man became sufficiently
calm for Mr.. Van Meter to march him up
and down the room, while Mr.. Perkins con-
tinued to play and sing. From "Come We
disconsolate," he struck into "Jesas, to thy
dear arms l flee." The effect was still more
marked. After singing that beautiful hymn,
your mountain" AS the strains of this ex-
qusite composition filled the room, the ma
MAC paused, sat down, covered his hands and
sobbed like child-or rather like broken
hearted remorseful man, By this time Mrs.
Van Meter, who was present when the man
first burst into the room, came in with bowl
of strong coffee, which she had thoughtiully
made, and as soon as the weeping stranger
became sufficiently composed, she gave it to
him. That quieted his nerves and renewed
his strength, and in little W lille he became
completely restored to the possession of his
faculties.
"Who is this man ?" was the question which
rose spontaneously to the lips of his deliver
ers. But all efforts to ascertain who he
was proved fruitless. He persistently refus-
ed to give his name or to furnish any clue to
his residence or identity. Mr.. Perkins accom-
panied him to the st. Nicholas hotel where
he took room under an assumed name. But
in his conversation he had char ced to men
ton a clergyman living in Newport, r. l.
whom Mr. Van Meter knew. The latter i'm
mediately wrote to the clergyman, stating the
case, and asking him to come to the city. The
clergyman came by the first boat, and was
taken at once to the hotel where they fortu-
nately found the poor man. The clergyman
knew him well. He was a rich resident Of
the city of Hartford, Conn.,, highly connected,
mdIIlCu anu idbucI vi several CUllu-
rem. On coming into his patrmony, he had
taken TO dissipation, and the result is indica-
ted in the foregoing sketch. But his day of
salvation had come. The clergyman took
him back to Hartford. He threw off the
thraldom to rum which had degraded him.
He took his former position in society; and
he is now living in Hartford, a respected
Christian man, and alfording in his own per-
son and history the most remarkable in
stance of the triumph of music over delirium
that has ever come to our knowledge.-NY Y.
journal of Music.
*Orville Gardiner a reformed drunkard, gam
bier, and pugilist once noted in New York city.