Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-12-20
A Short Temperance Lecture From the Old Sea
Captain.

A Short Temperance Lecture From the Old Sea
Captain:
ESSEX, W., Dec. 7, 1878.
To the Editor OF tho Free Press and Times
A short time after the war l was chief
officer of one Of the Brazil steamships. Your
father, the good old professor, was pas
senger from st. Thomas. At meridian be
was always at my state room door. to ge'
my chart with position of the ship, and be
would then show the other passengers where
we were. 10 coming towards the coast OF
America we encountered heavy southeast
gale, bringing thick weather. no observa-
ton for So hours, when at IL O'Clock at
night, midnight darkness and tog. We
struck II fathoms of water off Barnagat
Shoals. As We hauled the ship off shore our
lookout sung out, Pilot boat right under
the bows" We wer'n't long getting out and
burning signal lights and using every exer-
ton to get that pilot on board, and when
be stepped on deck how joyfuly we received
him, and as soon as daylight came, signals
were boosted so that other ships could see We
had a pilot. And this is just what feel IL
nv duty to do since l tackled ship OH shore
for blue water. Forty five years as moder
ate drinKer and tobacco user has shown all
the dangers. and have been helping tie
ladies form unions in this county. This Is
the work that We lsymen can do. and not
pot it all on to the ministers. notice 10
talking about temperance to professors land
moderate drinkers) they are about equally
| divided, in going two entirely different roads
d.. bora I'D
! tobacco users will say "Oh, well. lam on
| to 20 so far as to require total abstinence
we are apt to 20 too far in this thing
| Another will say: "Oh. yes, want all the
hard drinkers to sign the pledge, but | can
not. | must have my cider" and this class
will live at hard-pan economy, vile sell
eggs and every chicken to get calico dresses,
aud out Of an estate OF forty or fifty thou
sand dollars will pay the poor minister S25
or $50, and at the same time drink up
cider enough II kept for vinegar to pay all
these bills and be liberal. Hardly any
tobacco user but spends $25 year-my
bills were twice that-and they never look
at the example dragging the young men
into the rear ranks to fill up where the
1000 drunkards of Vermont are dropping
of. "0h, We don't drink to hurt any
body"-but hang around the porch OF an
| old tavern and spend hours over an old
pack of cards; all this shows the moderate
drInker as plain as flies show in molasses.
Another class will say we haven't time to
attend to temperance; but let US get the
drinkers converted. Ono Of our good
ministers took some handbills to post for me
to call temperance meeting, KEEP. them
in his pocket until after the time OF meet
ing and was ''sorry,"- forgot all about
it," Ii learned me one thiDg,-if want
ANYTHING done, to attend to 1t myself. |
have thus far helped form two unions with
abou: 20 names and will 20 to any town in
the county. free of charge. to help others,
for believe the ladies are the ones to pull
US out Of the mud | know Ono thing. the
devil would have got me sure, but Tor my
wife's prayers and persistent tfcrts Lager
beer and cider know to be worse than rum .
Tor it leads the young man step by step to
fill a drunkard's grave. Lager got ny
name from the head OF the list OF promo
ton, in the early part of the war. This mis-
cradle doctrine of moderate drinker, from
me, ruined my only son. He came out Of
the war captain, had risen from the
ranks. was temperate, but following me, an
inveterate smoker. Through the influence
of his commanding general he got high
position alter the war. Smoking led to
wine and in a lew years be died OF broken
down constitution, out Of business, ruined
by my example.
don't expect to revolutionize the world ;
but intend to preach by example and pre-
cept total abstinence as long as live. lust
read Q letter from and old sea- captain friend,
who says: "0h, don't bother about cider II
wont hurt anybody" Now | have no faith in
his tsck,ng ship tor blue wster-ss he said
he did last year. have talked that way
many times, but the first thing | knew