The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-03-06
WEBSTER. Idaitor Ito and Is PROPRIETOR. op tc

has has made you aF break IS solemn pledge b e
'f,Bnt. GHettie.f oan,hlyou understand Q
A man may take occasionally q little
more perhaps than his head can bear,
and yet never fall into The pitiable state
you have. .deserib : Heavens, iHettie, q,
he cried, impatiently his temper paling
under the steady resolution Of the face
that could bssso, gentle and sweet, ssyou
pay mo g poor compliment when you
want me to bind myself by written
pledge 1otyto make asbeast Of myself. ~
s4tI did not come here TO exchange
complime said Hettie, sadly, "but
to tell you that I viii never take up The
urden that O rushed my mother into
her grave, voluntarily. !. Never, with my
eyes open will I. Link my life with that
of q man who ever touches one drop OF
liquor. 1T is useless to- repeat the old
arguments, Robert. Moderate drinkers,
occasionally intoxicated, may live for
years only moderate drinkers, but Iwill
never be, tho wife of any, man who has
not bound himself by a pledge never to
touch 1iquofin any form. s3iiiE L3tA9
"A total .abstinences fool ispeered
Robert, now thoroughly angry.
".A total abstinence man." she said
firmly Ka,3 aiV.T 4
II hope you. will be able to find the
soft fool who will put his manhood I'M
der your thumb. 2 For MYSELF, I will
newer bind myself ito a. temperance
What u he argued, s"shali +, the
richest man in M - --3 :, who could marry
almost any girl in my own set, bind my
self to absolute slavery Tor n nursery
beyond the. salary Mrs. Reed pays her,
q drnnkard's child, by her own confess
sion Never. p Ks !. { iss'N-,
He was yery,angry. .tand like MOST an
CRY men, very unreasonable. He; forgot
Hetlie was won, of the gentle maidenly
reticence that had been one;of her great
est charms, of her own modest estimate
of the merits that had won him. He
forgot the times without number when
he had compared her in hi5 heart with
all the maidens he knew, finding her
even prettier, sweeter, more 'winsome
than any. He forgot how he loved her,
in his anger at her resolution.
Aud Hetty, walking Blowly home
ward. ereal lied fiat with her own hand
she had ~ S..sse brig htness ont OF
bard life. Slid loved Robert. Noti be-
,canse he was: s. sich, could give her d;
sofssc siaa
wen. th, had ssfSa q sfoped llin, but for his
tender ohivalr les for her, his noble intsl-'
l,ct, his loving eyes that had sought
her avn with such constant devotion.
She had believed him all noble, true
and manly when he had put yheg little
hand in ills stroiig one and promised to
be his fe.
Six 5aR months Of betroshal had
I7passcd before the summer evening,
when Qhat turned from him, ns she,
stheughS, forever AND My in the last
feY week she she I that feer
fnl, deadly foes to- her hope of happ;r.
ness who was fastening his fatal hold,
upon her lover. The first tine she,
heard Of Robert Grey intoxicated, a
deadly despair grasped her hesrt. She
Thought of lifelong martyrdom from
which she had escaped so Titled time
before, ard she wrote to, her lover
sterbly forbidding him to see her again,
and th1n spent night after night weep
ing for her lost love. Z
But Robert Grey. would not accept
his disniissal, and pl leaded 30 penitently
that love conquered fear, and Hett:e
believed that nese$ ~ again would he
yield to the temptation. Again the
story eamesto her, and half maddened,
uhS liHe soSbelieve the solemn pledge
prSEan begged Linn to come to
herS rSsRd dsSxp1ain away the sie But the
third time che had en- him b. Too well
she knew what the red, wild eyes, the
thick ntteranse, the reelinR step betok-
ened. Only in answer to the most earn
est petition had Eshe nerVed herself to
grant one more interview, and it had
ended in Roberts anger and the failure
of her: own lest hope.
She knew Robert Grey had q sense of
honor as keen as her own. That he
had failed in his promise to her was
because he looked upon it,as q pledge
merely given to answer u girls foolish
tswhim. Once bound before men by q
written pledge, she felt. sure he would
keep it at whatever cost to himself. SO
| she hoped to win him to sign such. n
pledge. There was strong temper
ynnce revivalin M--at that very time,
and on this ehe built n hope not know
inR twas her weakest bold.
For Robert Grey, young, wealthy
and popular, looked upon MI this tenn
!spefanca preaching as direlte1 against
the lower class, sth ssots who rolled in
Egntters, the freluenters of village tav.
ems. That he, n gentleman, should
place his name 10 such a pledge as these
wrescles were s persuadod to sign,
scsmtd TO him in Il measure. TO place
Ehimself upon their level. There, ms lie
told HI tile, iawas s. confession of wopk.
pnsa against which ali of his manhood
l7rosoltcd. ....:.. 49, ....s.- 81
|, The summer days wore. away, and
these two, loving each other fond]y,
| met but neldom only to exchonRe CON