Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-01-16
RitGratnrt.
For the vERMoSr FARMER.
JUDGE BLAIR.
The Way of the TFdnsgressOr
Is Hard.

BY FRANKLIN n. GAGE.

and went to his room"
Drunk again Have l got to endure
this any lOnger7 Must the whole family be
disgraced by this boy No; he shall not
remain in my house another day. [ have
exhausted every possible means to reform
him. Did 1 not tell him only yesterday that
he could not stay here another hour Il he
came home drunk And in sheer defiance
of my authority he is drunk again within
twelve hours. 1t is beyond endurance.
will turn him out and disown him."
Judge Blair rose and walked the ROOM
filed with wrath. He was a stern, unyield.
ing man, exceedingly proud and aristocratc
He was proud of having descended from one
of the first families of his native state
Proud as he was Of his ancestry, he was no
less so of his own wealth and position in So
ciety 1t was his boast that there was no
stain on the family name No one had ever
done anything to dishonor it. 1t was terri
bly, CALLING then to such mans pride to
have his only son common drunkard.
Judge Blair walked the room nursing his
wrath until it had complete control Of him.
No; he would not submit to such disgrace
Judge Blair was not drunkard. He
was one of the few men who are so consti.
tuted that they can drink two or three glass.
es day and never seem to care for more
The appetite for strong drink did not seem
to grow on him as it does on others. Both
he and his wife used it daily before his son
Edgar was born; and when the boy grew up,
during all his childhood he had his wine with
the rest. Judge Blair was frequently re-
monstrated with for doing this, but he scoffed
at the warnings of his friends. He even
appealed to the sacred Scriptures to vindi-
cate the practice. He was not afraid of the
results. His father had done the same by
him, and he, Judge Blair, defed anybody to
show man more temperate than himself
And so Edgar Blair was brought up to take
his daily dram. When he was eight years
old his mother died. Before her death she
began to show the effects of her indulgence
in strong drink. If death had not come to
her then, she would undoubtedly have be-
come subject of daily intoxication.
After his mothers death Edgar was put
in charge of the housekeeper, and the same
course of indulgence continued. Year after
year stole away. Judge Blair married
again. But this time he married a woman
of discernment and discretion. She very
soon discovered that Edgar, then fifteen
years of age was fast becoming drunkard.
She told the judge her fears he was start
led, but would not believe it; but ere long
he became convinced that it was only too
true.
Then he attempted to arrest the evil by
not allowing Edgar to have anything to
drink, while he continued to use it himself,
keeping the wine on the table the same as
before But it was already too late There
were always enough ways for Judge Blair's
son to get all he wanted to drink. He had
inherited from his parents an appetite for it,
His father had fostered and fed that appetite
from his infancy, and his doom was already
sealed it had been written thousands of
years before, in these words al, the Lord
thy God, am jealous God, visiting the in
EQUITIES Of the fathers upon the children to
the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me and do evil" Judge Blair had not
needed these words Of warning. In defiance
Of them he had sown the seeds of intemper-
ance. Was he to reap his reward or would
the Judge of all pass him by, and not visit
his iniqulties on the head Of his only child
Alas the naughty man, too late, saw his
mistake. His efforts to reform Edgar were
fruitless; he kept going on from bad to
worse. While the father persisted in daily
indulgence, his efforts were powerloss to re-
form his son. And so the boy became
hopeless drunkard.
In every respect but one Judge Blair
might well be proud of his son. He was
well formed and good looking; he had
clear, beautiful complexion, and deep, dark
eyes; he had no ordinary intelcct,-he was
greatly gifted; rightly trained up from in
fancy, he might have made man of extra
ordinary abilities. Edgar himself was aware
of this, He felt that the power was 10 him
to rise in the world He was ambitious, and
when at last he began to realize his danger
he strove to master his appetite and save
himself. But he little dreamed of the pow.
er of the terrible propensity he had inherit
ed. Resolve as he might, temptation was
sure to assail and overcome him. His hours
were constant struggle. His mind was
constantly filled with agony when he was
not drunk, All his promises and resolves
were fruitless. He was going down to de-
struction, awfully conscious that he had no
power to stay his course When he was
called into his fathers presence on the morn
ing our story opens, he obeyed the summons
filled with shame, agony, and desperation.
$50 you have been drunk again ?" said the
Judge sternly, as Edgar entered the room,
Edgar made no reply. How could he,
knowing the accusation to be only too true
"Ah! see how it is; you not only DISC
hey me, but you are sullen, and defy my au.
thority."
"Oh, Father! exclaimed Edgar, in tone
Of the deepest humiliation, God knows
have done all l could to obey you and resist
temptation. But have failed and | do
not dare to promise again"
at makes no difference whether you prom.
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