Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1868-12-25

Strike when thou wilt the nour Q! 81
But let my iast days be my best
the WINE SELLER.
Nathan Pennyseeker was eerv busy in his
back cellar He went from cask 10 cask, ex.
amining carefully into the merits Of hidden
treasures. Then he was busy before a row
Of shelves il oae corner looking into various
Jars and boxes smelling and tasting.
"This'll help do the business be said.
taking down a package of sugar lead. That
receipt has already been worth hundreds Of
dollars to me. A firs,-rAte article Of wine.
gentleman" be went on talking 10 himself,
ike a school-boy rehearsing his piece.
"First>rate ar.icle-thc pure juice Of the
grape. A little more logwood,n he said,
holding two bottles to the light, one Of which
be had Just filled from huge demijohn,
and which almost stood the comparison with
the 'tes,-bo.tle" truihfuily labeled "cham.
pagne.' "a little more color, and farewell
Newark cider! Here is your regular cham
pegne." And it did sparkle, and give its
color 50 nearly Alright that Nathan was
sure i, woud satisfy the tastiiious wine>bib
bier if only the price was raised according.
ly! chemical transformations are cheap"
was his economical platform, as demJohns
were filled from casks. and bottles from dem~
ijchns, and all duly labeled to Nathans sat-
isiaction, ready for the work Of the day.
Whisky and cider made capital wines
corn and potatoes, apples and curran.s,
with bit o. coloriug and tride for favor
and snap, who cares for the foreign grapes !
Light vines and bright wines can be had
far short Of Madeira or Tuscany And
then he wound up by saying, .lt's blessed
thing for me that the prohibition law was
defeated. | put nv vote in against that with
hearty good will! never was so pleased in
my life as when our good parson East>it-of
argued in favor OF license. of course they
can't maintain such law half quoting
from the parson. "'Of course not. Much
better to make laws that will be en-
forcedv If knew that my clerks would
take few dimes a week from my till, at all
hazards youldn't be foolish 10 make law
that they shouldn't touch a penny? could
not enforce it, and If let them go they'd do
it for some body else; and low should
demean myself By making law and letting
them ride rough shod over my authority,
as well as wrong me out ct my money!
But some how or other Nathan's cons
parison didn't suit bin. Il acted like burr
in his mind. 1t felt uncomfortable and stuck
too close. He did no. mean to make it,
and it wasn't fair comparison. Stealing
was worse than selling vine and brandy,
when you had the government to back you
in il? While he was TINS trying 10 look at
his niIes and his principles in a favorable
light. q little silvery voice called ont al the
head Of he stairs,
'Father.'
L. started him from his rever:e, and he
was glad OF it, There wasno sweeier souLd
to his ears, dnlled as they were to some
things, than the clear ringing voicc Of his
little brunette as he always called the
bright, joyous Bertha, the pc, ard light Of
the house.
Father she called again, I'VE are all
ready; mother says will you Gomez"
"i'll he there in moment, Brunette" be
answered, in tone half impasierce aud hal.
love for be knew very well what they were
ready for, and that he longei TO spring up
and kiss Brunette, He somehow didn't
feel as if they were "aN ready for family
worship.
Yes, Mr.. Fennyseeker vas professor of
religion. and more than that, a man who
asked blessing at the table. and had FAM
ily worship every morning. How much cf
this was due TO his wife, charming Chris
tian lazy, and how much to higher intla>
enoe, be had not stopped carefully TO deter
mine. He cane up, however, tossed and
kissed Brunette, smiled on his wife, took his
easy chair. and the family Bible from the
stand beside i, with readiness, il not with
pleasure.
He has ben reading the New Testament
By course, and this time the scarlet book
mark Brunette had worked for him, led him
TO open at the third chapter Of Romans. As
his eye fell upon the eighth verse, just be-
fore his lips had fairly pronounced the last
words Of the seventh, slight flush passed
over his cheek. sand now, rather, (as we
be slanderously reported and as some affirm
that we say), Let US do evil that good may
come, whose damnation is just
Whether Mrs. Pennyseeker noticed it or
not, he could not tell but somehow . great
GOOD Of light seemed to encircls the page,
and centre on tue verse. 1t flashed upon
Na,hau-al over his heart, lighting up in>
stant!y some Of its darkest corners, ard he
could not possibly help seeing some things
in that light very clearly. II seemed to an
nihilate. in his mind all question about IL
sense law, with . flash. He finished the
chapter and offered q prayer, and then vent
into his counting room and there he began
again to soliloquize.
II really felt like Paul when he was
struck blind near Damascus BY reason Of
the great light he saw, andI felt As if, when
Ikneeled my prayer ought to have begun,
"Lord what wilt thou have me to do 2"
And the answer glowed as it written in scar
let fame before my eyes. "Ssek no refuge
in license--corrupt laws cannot eave.n Bat
Il was too much for me. Very well for the
precept, but, alas, the prectice would empty
NV vine cellar, blow ny drugs, extracts aud
essences to the four winds, destroy three
four,hs ofmy gain.-in short, reduce me to beg>
gary! Blu, that is better than 'damnation 7
Strong words, bu, it is JUSTICE We shall have
TO deal with when the great dec sion settles
our fate. But my license is paid for, and il
| don't sell others will. Ican, it is tue, be
honcs,-scll brandy for brandy and wine for
winr-sWhen what is in the cellar has been
disposed Off put in a voice such as never
sounded from halo Of light I can and
will be- honest. as soon IS can find good
chance to begin. Was text that would be
fnr parson East it.offi | wonder how he't
handle ii! Blu. couldn't suggest il whils
| vote against prohibition. know and an
certain that every one who sells with license
| is lust as guilty as those who sell without