The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1869-11-05

at the appointed time, sober. II
had learned % work and be useful.
At the end Of twelve months fro,
the night of his Imprisonment, tn
farmer said to him
IL am going to take ride to-day
Thomas. You will 60 with me-
| At tho town where the farmer ME
Tom, he conducted him to q sho,
and had him "riggcl" out in hand
some suit Of clothes, and then pai
him in addition for all the work h.
had performed. Toms amazemen
at this procee ding we would not at
tempt to describe, but it did not q
bate in the least when tho farmc
said ..ata,
You will now go with mo to tn,
town where you were known as ,
'sot.' shall call you Mr.. Brown.
"Why, sir?' vcntured Tom, lis
eyes full Of tears.
"You will see when you get there,
be a stranger to everybody" re-.
turned tho farmer.
Anything you say, SIR" more
deeply amazed than he had yet been.
Arriving at the village, Mr.
brown was introduced to the priuci-
pal citizens. The farmer was general.
x we'll known and respected. Mr..
brown was we'll dressed and made a
,tno appearance. He was invited
with the farmer to dine with the
magistrate, a man before whom he
had been arranged as drunken
vagrant. Had he been suddenly
transp scd to the Moon, to Venus,
to Mars, he would not have been
moro decidedly astonishcd. He knew
nearly everybody why did nobody
know him? Because Mr.. Brown
was no more like Tom Toperly than
a well dressed temperance man is
like ragged, bloated street drunk
ard.
Il believe it is about a year since
poor drunken fellow, named Topper
ly. disappeared from Tho village
Has there ever been any tidings of
him ?'' a
.'Not a word" said the ma gistratc.
''lt is strange. Tom was q good fel.
low, but he would do nothing but
drink gin when he could, he begged
1T, and he never worked only to get
money to buy it,
During this speech Browns face
passed through multitude of singu-
lar expressions. The farmer, watch
ing him, replied to the magistrate.
''Hc was at my house after he left
here, as fond of drink as ever"
"Ill warrant it," returned the
magistrate 'I've no doubt he died
like beast in the ditch.'
MIR. Brown could endure it no
longer. Jumping up TO the conster-
nation Of the magistrate, throwing
the table over he cried:
"No he didn't! Here he isl am
Tom Toperly Don't Mr.. Brown
me any more. You kicked and cuff
fed me about this town, and was 60
ing to send me to the work house,
and called me nothing but drunken
Tom but this farmer made me think
1 was something Of a man, and now l
am not ragged and dirty, and bloat-
ed, but | have got good clothes to
wear, and money in my pocket, I
know how to earn more, and you
have taken me for gentleman"
''Glad Of it., Tom--glad Of it !!
We arc having temperance meetings,
and you shall give us a speech-tell
them your story, Tom. You are a
gentleman, and you shall stay in my
house as loug as you are in town."
exclaimed the magistrate, shaking
him by the hand until his shoulder
achcd.
snake man think he is somebody
If you have to lock him up to do it +;
that is the way to REFORM" cried
Tom. The farmers confidence in my
simple word, that melody would trust
me, made the man Of mo, That I AIN
now.'
Iom told his story to his old
'chums, got number of them to
follow his example, went back home
with the farmer, in the course of
time became his son-in-law, and
died, leaving number of children,
who though they inherited the un-
promising nane Of roperly, have al
ways lived soherly.