Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-07-21
For the VERMONT FARMER.
Essay Read at the Roxbury Reform Club
by SARAH BRIGHAM MANSFIELD.


where are the husbandmen 2"
A spray from the tidal wave Of temper
ance that is sweeping through our land has
fallen upon us. Shall il nourish and
strengthen US, shall our souls reach out for
it like the thirsty flower for the drops Of
evening dew, or shall the blight Of indiffer-
ence leave greater dearth in our hearts
than before Where are the workers
How many ladies among us would 60 down
into saloon as did those ladies in Maine
and lift the PROSTATE form of some besotted
wretch, and walk with him through the
streets of even this small town. Would
they not rather toss their ringlets, gather
their garments more closely about them aud
pass by on the other side And yet his
soul is as precious in the sight of God as
their own. How many men would do this
out of compassion and pity for them. They
might possibly condescend to march them to
the police station. Did those ladies forfeit
one whit of their dignity or scf-respect Z? A
thousand times no Angels of mercy they
were, however of the finest culture they must
have been, for culture alone weeds. out false
notions, false pride from the heart and makes
us true men and women.
For men who have no desire for strong drink
to abstain from its use is really no virtue in
them. Yet they are apt to wrap their robes
of selfrig hteousness about them and say in
their hearts | am safe from this curse OF in
temperance. Alb, no That son, the pride
of your heart, the hope OF your declining
years, whose golden head rests so con6d-
ingy upon your breast may have an inborntaste
for the "ardent" handed down from his ci-
der drinking ancestors to whom the
ruby glow of the wine may be fascinating
as the gaze of the poisonous serpent, and
more deadly than the miasmas that surround
the tabled Upas.tree
Ladies and gentlemen, this is subject of
serious, Of vital Importance. The woman
who could so far forget her womanhood as
to treat it lightly, deserves a foretaste Of
the misery that has fallen to the lot of thou
sands Of wives and mothers in our own Green
Mountain state. Sit not idly back with
folded hands and laugh at those who try to
do Take hold with energy and right
good will and strive to bring some poor soul
into the ranks of temperance lest that dread
fsnd who has darkened so many homes, take
seat at your own Preside
Years ago young man Of my acquaint-
ance, kind hearted, generous to fault, but
who loved social glass now and then with
friend, went up to the capital of our state
to celebrate the Fourth of July. OF course
he must have something to exhilarate and of
course meeting so many young friends Of the
same mind, by the time he was ready to
return home, he commenced to feel its in.
fuence. He got along very well on the
cars, and friend helped him aboard the
stage coach at Middlesex for Waits6eld.
More and more the subtle influence Of the
poisonous drug came creeping over him and
vainly he strove against its power. At
length the coach giving sudden lurch poor
Alex went down, the great numbering wheels
passed over him, crushing out his young
life ere yet it had reached its prime. When
the news and manner of his death came to
US, an aged lady turned to me aud said,
"Aud no drunkard shall enter the kingdom
of heaven" cast look of reproach upon
her, so cruel it seemed, thinking of him cut
down in his young manhood, thinking Of that
stricken home. Yet they are words Of
"Holy Writ"
Fond mother who shall say that your son,
or my son, may not meet with such fate ?
God in his mercy forbid it Or even a
worse going down step by step-stcp by step
slowly perchance, yet just as surely engulfad
in the awful abyss Of intemperance at last.
And it behooves us as mothers, to grasp at
every means in our power to save them, to
avert this dreadful doom Let it not come
back to reproach us that we left any means
untried. Our chi ldren, more precious to us
than our hearts blood for whom no sacri-
fee is too great to make for whom we
would lay down our lives in a moment, what
shall we do to save them from this dread
full curse 2 However closely we watch over
them in some upguarded moment, the
tempter may lure them away from US. The
fatal wine.cup has such witchery about it
for the young-the serpent that lies coilod
in its ruby depths is such myth to them. Then
shall we not do everything in our power to pu-
rIfy the moral atmosphere, to elevate and
make better the condition OF society thus
making our children more secure Has the
temperance organization so long established
in this place done all the good that is posi-.
bic for it to do? Is there nothing left to do
While one soul is struggling in the grasp of
the "rum demon" let US not say our work is
done. "The fields are white for the har-
vest" Then rally to the call, lovers Of tenn
perance, never lessen the ardor of your zeal
until the last sheaf is safely garnered.