The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1877-04-04
MISCELLANY.
4 PHrsfoIAx,s sfoRY.

DR.. Munro of Hull, gives this incident in
his life as practicing physician. 1t is a
story with an unmistakable moral:
A hard working, Industrious, God fearing
man, a teetotaler of some years standing, suf-
fering from an abscess in the hand, which had
reduced him very much applied to me for ad-
vice. I told him the only medicine he requir-
on in his system, and to repair the damage
done to his hand, he was to support himself
with bottle of stout daily. He replied
g l cannot take it, for have been teeto-
taller for some years.
ssWell," said, if you know better than
the doctor, it is of no use applying to me-"
He looked anxiously in my face, evidently
weighing the matter over in his mind, and
sorrowfully replied:
doctor was drunken man once, and
should not like to be one again."
He was, much against his will, prevailed
upon to take the stout, and in time he recover
ed from bis sickness. When he got well,
of courses praised up the virtues of stout as
means of saving his life, for which he
ought to be thankful. / rather lectured him
on being such fanatic as to refuse taking
bottle of stout daily to restore him to his
former health.
lost sight of my patient for some months;
but am sorry to say that on one fine Sum-
mer's day, when driving through one of the
public tloroughfares, / saw apcor, miserable,
ragged looking man leaning against the door
of common public house, drunk, and inca
pable of keeping an erect position. Even in
his poverty, drunkenness and misery, dis
covered it was my teetotal patient, whom l
had not SO long ago persuaded to break his
pledge. l could not be mistaken.
had reason to know him well, for he had
been amember of Wesleyan Church, an in
defatigable Sunday school teacher, a prayer
leader, whose earnest appeals for the saliva
tion of others l had often listened to with
pleasure and edification. Immediately went
to the man, and was astonished to find the
change which drink, in 30 short time, had
made in his appearance. With manifest sur
prise, and looking earnestly at the poor
wretch, / said
IS, is that your"
Yes, it's me. Look at me again don't
you know me 9'' he answered, with stagger-
ing reel.
" Yes, know you," said, "and am sur
prised to see you in this drunken condition. l
thong lit you were tectotaler?"
AZ was before took your medicine he
answered, with peculiar grin upon his coun-
tenance.
81 am sorry to see you disgracing yourself
by such conduct"
Rousing himself, as drunken men will at
times, to an extraordinary effort, he scofiingly
replied
"Didn't you send me here for my medi-
ciae ?'
And with deliriohs kind of a chuckle he
hiccoughed out words shall never forget
"Doctor, your medicine cured my body,
but it damned my soul ~
Two or three of his boozing companions,
hearing our conversation took him under their
protection, and l left
AS drove away my heart was full Of bitter
reflections that had been the cause of ruin
ing this mans prospects not only for this
world, bat for that which is to come. You
may rest assured did not sleep much that
night. The drunken aspect of that man
haunted me, and l found myself weeping
over the injury had done him.
rose up early next morning and returned
to his cottage, with his little garden in front,
on the outskirts of the town, where | had
often seen him with his wife and happy chill
dren playing about but found, to my sorrow,
that he had moved some time before.
At last, with some difficulty, l found him
located in low neighborhood, not far distant
from the public house he had patronzed the
day before. Here in such home as none
but drunkard could inhabit, found him
laid upon bed of straw, feverish and pros
trate from the effects of the previous days
debauch, abusing his wife because she could
not get him some moro drink she standing
aloof, with tears in her eyes, broken down
with care and grief, her children dirty and
clothed in rags--all friendless and STEPPED in
povertyl
What wreck was there J
Turned out of the church Of which he was
once an ornament, his religion mortified, his
usefulness marred, his hopes of eternity blast
ed, now poor, detected slave to- his passion
for drink, without mercy and without hope.
talked to him kindly, reasoned with him.