Sharp County record., 1877-09-07
ONLY A HUSH.

crown to be a very hard one. AT neart
he might have been all right II his heau
and his will had only been all rlght;
but these being wrong, the whole ma
chine was going to the bad very taSt'
though there were times when the
heart felt something Of its old truthful
warnings. Tom had lost his place as
foreman of the great machine-Shop, ana
what money he now earned came 1rom
odd jobs of tinkering which he was aoIe
to do here and there at private houses;
for Tom was Il genius as well as me-
chanic, and when AiS head was steady
epouoh he could mend Il clock Or clean
watch rs we'll as he could set up ana
regulate an engine and this latter he
could do better than any other man ever
EMPLOYED blythe Scott Falls Manufactur-
ING Company,
One day Tom had a job to mend a
broken mowing-machine and reaper, Tor
which he received five dollars, and on
the following morning he started out for
his old haunt-the village tavern. lie
knew that his wife sadly needed the
money, and that his two little children
were in absolute suffering from need OF
clothing, and that morning he held a
debate with the better part OF himself
but the better part of himself had become
very weak and shaky, and the demon OF
appetite carried the day.
So away to the tavern Tom went,
where, for two or three hours, he telt
the exhilarating effects of the alcoholic
draught, and fancied himself happy, as
he could sing and laugh; but, as usual,
stupefaction followed and the man died
out. He drank while he could stand,
and then lay down in corner, where
his COMPANION left him.
1t was late at night, almost midnight,
when the landlords wife came into the
bar-room to see what kept her husband
up, and she quickly saw Tom.
"Peter," said she, not in a pleasant
mood, "why don't you send that miser-
able Tom Darcy home? He's been
hanging around here long enough" "
! Toms stupefacrion was not sound
sleep. The dead coma had left his
brain, and the calling of his name stung
his senses to keen attention. He had
an insane love of rum, but did not love
the landlord. In other years Peter
Tindar and himself had loved and
wooed the sweet maiden-Ellen GOss-
and he won her, leaving Peter to take
up with the vinegary spinster who had
brought him the tavern, and he knew
that lately the tapster had gloated over
the misery of the woman that had once
discarded him.
"Why don't you send him home"
demanded Mrs. Tindar, with an impa-
tient stamp Of the foot.
"Hush, Betsy! He's OtmOney. Let
him be, and he'll be sure to spend it be-
fore he goes home. III have the ker-
nal of that nut and his wife may have
the husk!n
With sniff and a snap, Betsy turned
away, and shortly afterward Tom Darcy
lifted himself upon his elbow.
"Ah, Tom, are you awake9"
"Yes.n
"Then rouse up and have a warm
glass"
Tom got upon his feet and steadied
himself.
"No, Peter, won't drink any more
tonight"
at won't hurt you, Tom-just one
glass"
81 know it won't!n said Tom, but
tOning up his coat by the solitary but
ton left. q know it won't"
And with this he went out into the
chill air of midnight. When he had
got away from the shadow of the tav-
ern, he stopped and looked up at the
stars, and then he looked down upon
the earth.
"Aye,H he muttered, grinding his
heel in the gravel, "Peter Tindar is
taking the kernel, and leaving poor
Ellen the worthless husk-a husk more
than worthless! and am helping him
to do it. | am robbing my wife of joy,
robbing my dear children of honor and
comfort, and robbing myself of love
and Wlfe-JuSt that Peter llndar may
have the kernel and Ellen the husk
Wen see!"
1t was a revelation to the man. The
tayern-keeper's brief speech, meant not
for his ears, had come upon his senses
as fell the voice of the Risen One upon
Saul of Tarsus.
"We'll see!" he said, setting his foot
firmly upon the ground; and then he
wended his way homeward.
On the following morning he said to
his wife:
"Ellen, have you any coffee in the
housePn
"Yes, Tom.n She did not tell him
that her sister had given it to her. She
was glad to hear him ask for coffee, in
stead of the old, old cider.
H I wish vou wOuld make = crn GOOD