Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-09-19
The Story a Doctor Told.

At large and influential meeting held
recently in the Strand, London, Mr.. Munroe
of Hull, made the following remarkable
statement, which we give in his own words :
" Are not medical men, by the promiscu-
GUS ordering of intoxicating drinks for their
patients, answerable for much of the drunk
enness which is now the great curse of the
land Z With regard to the prescriptions of
alcoholic beverages, will relate a circum-
stance which occurred to me some years ago,
the result OF which made deep impression
upon my mind. | was not then teetotaler
would that / had been but conscien-
tiously, though enormously, believed i'll the
health-restoring properties of stout. hard
working, industrious, God-fearing man, a tee
totaler OF some years standing, suffering
from an abscess in his hand which had re-
duced him very much, applied to me for adj
vice. told him the only medicine he re-
qured was rest and to remedy the waste
going on in his system, and to repair the
damage done to his hand, he was to support
himself with bottle of stout daily. He re-
piled, Il cannot take it, for | have been
some years teetotaler. WE'LL | said, if
you know better than the doctor, it is no
use applying to me- Believing, as | did
then, that the drink would really be of SER
vice to him, urged him to take the stout as
a medicine, which would not interfere with
his pledge. He looked anxiously in my face,
evidently weighing the matter over in his
mind, and sorrowfully replied; Doctor, |
was "a drunken man once; | should not like
70 be one again
He was, much against his will, prevailed
upon to take the stout, and, in time, he re-
covered from his sickness. When he got
well, | of course praised up the virtues of
stout as d means OF saving his life, for
which he ought ever to be thankful, and
rather lectured him on his foolishness for
Ueing such fanatic as to refuse taking a
bottle OF stout daily to restore him to his
former health. | lost sight of my patient
tor some months but on one fine summers
day, when driving through one of our pub
lie thoroughiares, | saw poor, miserable,
Iagged-looking man leaning against the
door of a common public house, drunk, and
incapable of keeping an erect position.
Even in his poverty, drunkenness and mis-
cry | discovered it was my teetotal patient,
whom | had not so long ago persuaded to
break the pledge. | could not be mistaken.
had reason to know him well, for he had
been member OF Methodist church, an in-
detatigable Sunday-school teacher, prayer
leader, whose earnest appeals for the saliva
ton OF others had often listened to with
pleasure and ediGcation. | Immediately
went TO the man and was astonished TO find
The change which drink, i'll so short a time,
had worked in his appearance. With mani
tost surprise. and Looking earnestly at the
poor wretch, | said, s. is this you 2
With staggering reel, and clipping his
words, he answered, Yes, it's me. Look at
me again. Don't you know me 2 Yes /
know you, said and am grieved to see
you in this drunken condition. | thought
you were "a teetotaler.'
with peculiar grin upon his counte-
nance, he answered, was before | took
your medicine! am sorry to see you dis
gracing yourself by such conduct. | am
ashamed OF you. Rousing himself, as
drunken people will at times, to extraor-
dinary effort, he chaihngly replied, Didn't
you send me here for my medicine 2 and
with a delirlous kind OF chuckle he hic-
cupped out words can never forget Doc
tor, your medicine cured my body, but it's
damned my soul =
"You may rest assured | did not sleep
much that night The drunken aspect OF
that man haunted me, and | found myself
weeping over the injury had done him.
rose up early the next morning and went to
his cottage, with his little garden III front,
on the outskirts of the town, where | had
often seen him with his wife and happy
children playing about, but | found, TO my
sorrow, that he had removed some time ago
At last, with some difficulty, found him
located in IA couple of rooms in a low neigh
borhood, not far distant from the public
house he had patronized the day before,
Here, in such home as none but the drunk
ard could iuhabit, found him laid upon a
bed of straw, feverish aud PROSTATE from the
previous day. debauch, abusing his wife be-
cause she could not get him some more
drlnk-she standing aloof, with tears in her
eyes, broken down with care and grief, her
children dirty and clothed i'll rags, all friend
less and stepped in poverty What wreck
was there
Turned out of the church in which he
was an ornament, his religion sacrificed, his
usefulness married. his hopes OF eternity
blasted, he was "a poor detected slave to his
passion of drink, without mercy and with
out hope.
81 talked to him kindly, reasoned with
him, succored him till he was well, and
never lost sight of him, or let him have any
peace until he had signed the pledge again.
1t took him some time TO recover his place
in the church, but nave had the happiness
OF seeing him restored, He is now, more
than ever, a devoted worker in the church
and the cause of temperance is pleaded on
all occasions"