National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-02-14
MISCELLANEOUS.
"HInL ! mr. nIIdn rou pAplg,



II occasions less regret TO see a man auafF
ing his poisonous drink in tho gilded saloon
than II does 90 hear him speak aud SEQ him
act after he has staggered within the sacred
precincts Of his home. II is here that he
grcets his wife and little ones here that he
Is most noble or most brutal here that tho
good or evil germs Of his influence are PLANTED,
and 1t is IN this soil that they take deepest
root aud live TO bless or to curse, according to
the fruit borne In after generations.
II the man is unkind, his wife and children
suffer; and that suffering is pcrpetuated
throughout all their lives he IL kind, and
still the gcnerous'hcarted husband aud father
they become familiar with his condition aud
learn to tolerate and excuse it. Then the boy,
e7;vvn,iuR Il lgas ah owl unau il 10. may iuiiiow
In the footsteps of his parent-follow moro
rapidly than If each day was filed with
drunkard's blows aud curses. In either case,
the influence of such man is degrading; aud
1t Isl degradation that knows no limitation.
IL may cease when he reforms; it is more
likely to reach into the future and provc n
source of new misery.
1t is only the speech Of little child that
calls forth these words, aud yet. when re-
peatod to the reporter, 1t sounded very much
like an argument against intcmporanCe. Nay
it was moro than an argument, it was a june
ton of the present with the future-connee.
tion forced and imperative. The story is
quickly told:
A gentleman Of this city, who for wears has
been moro or less under the influence of liquor
and whose red nose and bloated figure stamp
him as an inebratC, had gone homo to his wife
and children In his usual condition He was
not uukind in act or in words. II was his de-
light to play AT games with his little ones MS
he was able, and to entertain them with won
derlul stories On this occasion the family wero
all together in the sittug.room, and the usual
games having been played, little Freddie a
lad about six years of age, had climbed upon
his fathers knee, and was asking him all sorts
Of boyish questions. He talked as q child will
of what he would do when he was o "big
man. asked If he would be like papa then;
aud finally, after long and serious look into
his fathers face, with every shade of childish
curiosity in voice and glance, put to him this
bewildering query:
Papa, when | grow up to be man, will
my nose be red like yours, and my face all
sweledY All why should that swollen face
grow redder than twas won't to be2 Why
should his arms so quickly draw that boy To
his breast And why should tears flow aud
voice tremble MS he replied in words and tone
that made the mothers heart glad
mo, Freddie; please God you won't be
like me when you get TO be a man, and neither
will your father, my boy, for from this houI
he will lead II sober life"
"Be like HING He had not thought Of
that before, and the bare possibility staggered
him. All the love in his fathers heart cried
out against such fate. That boy His
pride going about with a bloated face and
poisoned breathe No, no lie was not pre-.
pared for that Never before had he seen his
own looks so clearly; they were reflected in
tho boy's-the boy grows to manhood; and
honor, affection and reason came to the rescue.
The child had preached a sermon no orator
could deliver, and innocence and ignorance
had accomplished what learning and logic
had aimed at in vain. Those words went
home. Cedar Rapids Republican,