The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1870-07-21

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when came of age. I had led a strange
harum- scarum life, but hated no one.
There was that much good in me at
lsast-I could love people. | pitied the
poor, and gave away my money as
though / been prince But though /
had strong head, Was often drunk as
a fool, and I slept as frequently under
the table as in bed. Once n boat load of
young fellows, all Of us in liquor, upset
in the middle Of the Hudson. and every
one of them was drowned but myself.
Ouce | staggered over precipice, and
laid for months helpless on my back in
consequence. But l always went back
to the bottle at last. The only thing
that ever brought me % a full stop, even
for while. was little Lofty Allen. She
was just out Of school, aud rs beauti-
fll Us any thing living could be. She
was "a r'erEyman's daughter, and very
good. Little Saint, | used to call her,
and she scolded me for that; but she
liked me. | never allowed her to know
that l had been drinking, and, to please
her, | listened TO her fathers long SER
mons, prosy as they seemed to me: and
as | was in Il strange place, where no
one knew me, | passed with the whole
family as a very good young man.
did not intend to be i lfypocrite; only
fancied that | was right enough to
yield to the odd preiudiccs of the Old
folks, just as one would say "thee" and
"thou,' in talking to Quakers, if one
lived among them.
81 had never thought that drinking
or gambling were sins. 1 had never
considered these things, and many
others. in that light. | would not have
been mean for the world, or what I
considered humanity or dishonorabic.
For the rest had no code of right or
wr0ug Whatever But | wanted to
marry Lofty Allen, and [ would have
done anything to win her. She dawn
ed on me like II Vision OF Heaven. | no
longer cared for the society of other
men. In all the world | wanted only
her And at last she promised to he
my wife, and her parents maTe their
consent, and we were to be married
when autumn came. All through the
summer lived new and holy life
Thoughts that had never filled my soul
before, filled it now. Her purity sur
rounded me; unconSciously | became n
better man. literally worshipped her.
would have died for her mt any
moment, and | cannot to this hour
believe that any man ever loved
woman as loved Lofty Allen.
"Tho day before our wcddi
bright October day-we spent in,uk
woods together. 1t was warm, 9wa
weather. We rambled where we wven
and met but one person in all nd,
hours, THAT one was not pleasant ,wn
10 meet in a lonely pl4cc-a hilnd-
ruilian, half drunk, with a great aers
under his arm. He said somet to
lnSOieHttO Lofty as We passed, iOur
insulting tone; but it seemed ttaws
that it was best to appear not to he4 to
for the creature was more brute but
man, and Lofty tremblcd SO that | sing
n,t Ioo,.o ,,or ;t,,+ p-,,,.;
oI r,iu,. lao,,or i,,,a .,,, .,.o,,,, ,,ic.
W. - cav '"' 80 am ~ I'VE
"'S' was q r''" P"'|">e S''""E
/ the pace, and Lofty was one Of ing
"''l'''' "''' "' way ."99 '''e'''9el'' w.
,'' "''"'ouS 'oii'e' '''"'''S' ~
'''7 ''''o' nan annoy c'' we H"' t
''se'''f t' '"5'' hungry al" "ear!,'
1'N'' "''''i "iio' ~''""'" "7 r
'''' "''7 oo''''tE' "ni '''' ,
49, ''''''S "''"' =,
| lhefe was, OIL course no Gang
/ oe'HS i"Se forever III any place so
low" ana villages nut uhoer'
e''cN'h7'ances II was very o'p'c'
~ H'N h''''i'fs vi the "'''hf VIC M''
occasion it"S2 at nome. IN the ho'''
discovering our whereabouts l cii''"''
" 'I'e' ana saw hot Iar """!' 'he
ol Ao"ae' 1oH&ia t1t9 We "i |
QUE S'eP3, ana llhaiIy fo"'ie4 H. h'''
was o'''S sihaii an" Hl'hy taEc.'"N'
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