Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-08-21
The Original Liquor League.

One day the bad spirits met together and
resolved that our human race were too happy,
and delegation of four INTERVALS were sent
up to earth on embassy of mischief. One
spirit said, /" will take charge of the vine
yards |" Another said, al will look after
the grain-felds !" Another said, al will
supervise the daryl" Another said, 1" | will
take charge of the music" They landed
in the great Sahara DESERT clutched their
skeleton fingers in handshake of fidelity,
kissed each other good bye with lip of blue
flame, and separated for their mission.
The first spirit entered the vineyard one
bright morning, and sat down on the twisted
root of grapevine in sheer Encouragement.
He could not at first plan any harm for the
vineyard The clusters were so full, and
purple, and luscious, and pure. The air
was fairly bewitched with their sweetness
health seemed to breathe from every ripened
bunch. But in wrath at so much loveliness,
the iiend grasped cluster in his right hand,
and squeezed it with utter hate, and, 10
his hand was red with the liquid and began
to smoke. Then the fiend laughed, and said,
as he looked at the crimson stream dripping
from his hand "That makes Inc think of
the blood of broken hearts. | will strip the
vineyard and squeeze out all the clusters,
and let the juices stand till they rot, and will
call the process =" fermentation And
great vat was made, and men, seeing it,
brought cups and pitchers, and dipped them
in, and went off, drinking as they went, till
they dropped in long lines of death, so that
when the iiend of the vineyards wanted to
go back to his home in the pit, he trod on
the bodies of the slain all the way, going
| down over causeway of the dead.
The fpn6 of tho urain-hpld wadpd chin
| deep through the barley and the rye. As he
came in he found all the grain talking about
bread, and prosperous husbandmen, and
| thrifty homes. But the fiend thrust his long
arms through the barley and rye, and pulled
them up and flung them into the water, and
| kinded fires beneath by spark from his
own heart, and there was grinding and
MASKING and stencil. And men dipped
| their bottles into the fiery juice, and stag
gered, and blasphemed, and rioted, and
| fought, and murdered, till the 6end of the
| grain-field was so well pleased with their
behavior he changed his residence from the
| pit to whiskey-barrel and there he sits by
| the doorway, at the bung-hole, laughing
| right merrily at the fact that out of so harm
less thing as barley aud rye he has made
this world suggestion of Pandemonium.
The fiend of the dairy met the cows as
they were coming up full-uddered from the
pasture-feld. As the maid MIXED, he said,
1t will not take Inc long to spoil that mess
| will add to it some brandy, and SUI
gar, and nutmeg, and stir them into a milk
punch, and children will like it, and even
temperance men will take it and if can
do no more, will make their heads ache and
hand them gradually over to the more vigor-
Gus fiends OF the satanic delegation" And
then he danced breakdown on the shelf of
the dairy till all the shining row of milk.
pans quaked.
The fiend of music entered grog-shop
and found the customers few. So he made
circuit of the city, and gathered up all the
instruments of sweet sound, and after the
night had fallen he marshaled band, and
trombone blew, and cymbals clapped, and
harp thrummed, and drum beat, and bugle
called, and crowds thronged in and listened,
and, with wine cup in their right hand, be-
| gan to whirl in dance that grew wilder
and stronger and rougher, till the room
shook and the glasses cracked, and the floor
broke through, and the crowd dropped
into hell.
They had done their work so well, these
| fends of vineyard, and gran-field, and dairy,
| and concert-saoon, that, on getting back
| high carnival was held, Satan from his
throne announcing the fact that there was
no danger of the earths redemption so long
| as the vineyards, and orchards, and grain
| fields. and music paid such large tax to the
diabolical. Then all the satyrs and spirits
and demons cried, " Hear hear !" and, lift
| ing their chalices of fire, drank "Long life
to rumsellers - Prosperity to the gallows !
Success to the liquor-league."