The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1877-11-20
A Short Temperance story.

A 7 n certain town meeting in Penn
IA sylvania, the question came In
whether any persons should be licensed
to sell rum. The clergyman, the deacon,
the physician, strange as it may now
appear, all favored it. One man only
spoke against it, because of the mischief
1t did. The question was about to be
put, when there arose from one corner
of the room miserable woman. She
was thinly clad, and her appearance in
dicated the uttermost wretchedness, and
that her mortal career was almost clos
ed. After moments silence, and ALI
eyes being fixed upon her, she stretched
her attenuated body to its utmost height
and then her long arms to their greatest
length, and raising her voice to a shrill
pitch, she called to all to look upon her.
Yes ~ she said, " look upon me, and
then hear me. All that the last speaker
has said relative to temperate drinking,
as being the father of drunkenness, is
truth. All drinking of alcholic poison,
as beverage in health, is excess Look
upon me You all know 1 was once the
mistress of the best farm in town; you
all know, too, that / had one of the
best-the most devoted of husbands.
You all know L had fine, noble-heartedt
industrious boys Where are they now =
Doctor where are they now? You all
know. You all know they lie in q row,
side by side, in yonder church-yard; all
everyone of them filling drunkard's
grave! They were all taught to believe
that temperate drinking was safe-that
excess alone ought to be avoided; and
they never acknowledged excess. They
quoted you, and you, and you, pointing
with shred of finger toward the min
lister, deacon and doctor, as authority.
They thought themselves safe under
such teachers. But 1 saw the gradual
change coming over my family and its
prospects with dismay and horror. l
felt we were all to be overwhelmed in
one common ruin. tried to ward off
the blow, tried to break the spell, the
delusive spell, in which the idea of the
benefits of temperate drinking had in
volved my husband and sons. L begged,
prayed; but the odds were against me.
1.-The minister said the poison that
was destroying my husband and boys.
was a good creature of God ; the deacon
who sits under the pulpit there, and
took our farm to pay his rum bills, sold
them the poison the doctor said q little
was good, and excess only ought to be
avoided. My poor husband, and my
dear boys fell into the snare and they
could not escape; and one after another
they were conveyed to the sorrowful
grave of the drunkard. Now look at
me again. You probably see me for the
last time. My sands are almost run out.
l have dragged my exhausted frame
from my present home-your poor house
to warn you 'deaconl to warn YOU.
false teacher of Gods word - And with
her arms flung high, and her voice rails
ed to an unearthly pitch, she exclaimed.
6 l shall soon stand before the judgment
seat of God. l shall meet you there,
you false guides, and be a witness against
you all !"
The miserable woman vanished. A
dead silence pervaded the assembly: the
minister, the deacon and the physician
hung their heads; and when the presi-
dent of the meeting put the question.
" shall any license be granted for the
sale of spurious liquors?" the unani-
nous answer was No."