Middletown transcript., 1869-01-16

NO wines echoed DucneSne, open
ing wide his handsome blue eyes and push
ing back his wavy, chestnut curls.-
"What Hebe without her cup! Beauty
without its spell Thank you, little
coffee"
He drank the strong decoction. Ap-
parently, it sobered him a little, and he
became conscious that he was not exactly
in the full possession of his senses, for he
abruptly checked himself in a sentence Of
high-fown compliment he had begun, and
buttoned his overcoat, muttcring some
thing about ga great many calls.to make" "
And the three gentlemen departed.
"Aint it funny to hear that handsome
Mr.. Duchesne rattle on SOL" laughed
Evelyn.
Funny! 1t makes my heart ache v'
said Minnie. "Oh, girls, when that young
man came to New York six months ago,
he had not a bad habit in the world
Some one will have heavy account one
one day to render to his widowed mother. "
"But Colonel Clifford told me-" said
Rachel, "that he never had seen him so
much under the influence of wine before" "
"Then more shame to our false and
overstrained ideas of New Year hospitali-
ty, if this is what it leads to-" said Min
ME, with sparkling eyes and burning
cheeks. "How wives and mothers and
sisters can reconcile it to their consciences
I know not There is altogether too much
fashionable dissipation in the world of So
ciety. I, for one will wash my hands Of
it,"
Meanwhile Charlie Duchcsne sprang in
to the front seat of the sleigh, chatting
volubly, while Ashley and Clifford were
both silcnt-one from vexation, the other
from pure amusement.
II am sorry it happened there, of all
places in the world" thought Edgar to
himself. ga regular commentary of Min
MES temperance lecture of this morning"
The next house on their list was close
at hand. Duchesnc reigncd up with a jerk
at the mouths of his fiery horses, and rose
to spring out His foot was perilously
unsteady-it caught in the folds of the
white fox robes and he fell, almost direct
ly under the hoofs of the high mettled hor-
ses.
Ashley and Clifford were at his side in
an instant-at least so it seemed to them
but they were too late The horses had
set off at mad run, almost totally unres-
trained by the terrified groom, and poor
Charlie Duchesne, lay motionless on the
ground, single thred-like stream of GRIM
son yelling out from under his brown
curls, and deeply dying the snow as it
went.
"The horses hoofs." gasped Clifford,
"Iift him up, Ashley-carry him in.
Mop he cried, catching the expression of
the others face, ''surely he is not dead %
''ne is dead" said Edgar, in low,
stifed voice ''Poor boy poor child
Who is to tell his mother this 2"
They carried him into the house and
laid him on the velvet sofa as they might
have laid marble statue. Edgar Ashley
was right-he was quite dead
So ended the last New Year that ever
dawned on this ligh.-hearted child of the
| South.
Late at night Elgar stopped at Mr..
Archer's and told the tale of horror to
Minnie and her cousins.
Minnie" he said, ''the coroner will
render a verdict of Accidental Death, but
it should be Murder, and the murderers
were those women, soft-handed and ten
der-hearted, who held the maddening cup
to that boys lips all the day long! His
death lies at their door. You were right,
Minnie, this morning, and I was wrong.
Oh, if all women thought and acted as you
have done, how much anguish. and crime,
and misery would be spared in the worldp'
From that hour Edgar Ashley never
touched a wine-glass to his lips; and Min
ME knew that her resolute adherence to
the path of duty had not been unrewarded.