The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1882-06-16
sam l my Brothers Keeper"
BN LYMAN POTTER

J was once ntara spring in which,
Tor curb, was piece Ut hollow log.
"A niue sirl, leaning over the side TO
ioOk nj something at the bottom, fell in
heat foremost. Without help sine
must drown. conld rescue her:
but what business was il of mine?
did not push her in; and was | my sis
Ier's keeper! pulled her ont at once,
without waiting 10 think OF any such
questions. There was no merit in
this; II was the natural impulse of a
six-year-old boy. But It had let her
drown, what would have been the unan-
imous Judgment respecting me?
would have been justly considered I'M
commonly depraved. No one, think,
will dissent from the opinion that, in
sncli circumstances, we are our BROTH
cr's keeper.
In further illustration of this subject
| will relate, substantially, an allegory
of Doctor Bsbb's: There is near
town beautiful hill covered with at.
tractivc flowers and Astounding In de-
licions berries. The owner welcomes
all comers to pluck the flowers and
c6iinion resort for children. But
there is one serious drawback the hill
ia fnll or rattjasuat.s. au6 o,o,.,
aud ibcn n chill 10 ,,;,,o,, ~"
The narenis are ala,med snI fo uJs
tbe;, ch;ldro, m ,,o =. ~. LII 81 C oiu
of the children obey, and some do not.
alarm;mg ,,nuhers all oo,na ~ az"
obedient ,alI victims IN the snotas
which crawl 70 the town rho an,hor'
lilies resnIve to eyte, inmate Tho snsioa
bnt are n,et Inv The clajn, M nr;voto
Iown,r,hin. T.ev are some ~ In
come 70 The nronrie,or of tIe h;,, and
he forbids The entrance mon his
vrounJ or any one fnr ,he nnrnnso 30
kiIliuv than ICheu INV nan on,,os
fnr Ills nur,,sa he nyooo",ios am5
nunishes HIM ne n ,,asnassor liz sau u
r. Tho MAYER o,J nol;ca. s.I,ha s,aa. os
are NV ind;viIn.i nronor,r. II ,ho"'
wouJe, i,'t', ynnr ;,risdi,,;nv' ,,n, 'non
III than h,t nn,y ,nu mronn 20 'an
encroacbmc,t "po" my s nersous, Than al,
ty. do not compel YOUR children to
come into this place of danger, If /
,nnhe the place as attractive as possible
Wy my n" - f-n;.e "a.
sliiles vi we'co"ie' IS your business
~ sec 'l'a' '.ie. a'e Nv: a''rac.eu irom
'nG Piuoes Vi oo"iPa'a'iVo saey'
nave ,lie 'o"hs'nen q rieh'' oesplte
sue" rcasons, 10 'eno'' .ne ua"eer'
anu spo" mat '''e' arc oi'iio'e" Keep
CTS
cannot eApect 80 uuauilious ah ai-
1ir IalIve answer as ~ tIe iormer case
.iney Gu" no. oo u """o"' e"'o""te'-
"H oPPosl.ioh'
iiau l See" one poy piu"se a"o.hc,
NWitii whom he hau Oeen quaTTeIint)
lh,o 'ne water anu holo MN tnere,
WI" Tue asowe. purpose Vi browning
nun, l couiu not nave rescued tnat D0y
wlthout interfering WIN What tne
stronger ciaiuleu az MS personal rlght
OF revenge.
Hso Tue priest ana the Levlte ana
the Samaritan Deen traveiiing togeth-
er, anu seen man attacked Dy tnieves
tney couiu NOT nave SHOWN themselves
that mans keeper from EARN without
interfering with what the thieves
Fight or f0D1eft," no '""'" """'"""'
There may be some who will claim
that to rescue boy from being drown
ed by his enemy, or to destroy den of
rattlesnakes against the protest of that
den's owner, or to shield man from
highway robbery, il to interfere with
that which is none of our business.
W it'll such, if such there be, have no
argument, for there is no common
ground upon which we eau stand; but
to all who agree with me that we
should show ourselves our brothers
keeper under such circumstances,
appeal that it is as much our duty to
protect our brother against the greater
evil of intemperance the greater
crime of drunkard making.
Can there be a greater evil than the
untimely death of a well-beloved
child? A mother has two little chill
dren. more beautiful, in her ewes, than
an ything she ever beheld. One little
prattlcr falls into the water and is
drowned. The other grows up to
manhood under a parents fostering
care. But the mothers eve can not be
e ,mpanlOns ne wanders 10 'rsttIesiake
hill and is bitten by beautiful little
snake that lies coiled at the bottom of a
wine glass. The poison is too weak to
kill. 1t causes no present pain. 1t
excites to higher enjoyment of sur.
rounding pleasures. The flowers are
more beautiful, the fruits more deli
ciOus, his companions more agreeable.
Next morning he 10 little depressed:
his mind more sluggish; his limbs less
active; he knows not why. He is moi
aware that it is the effect of the snake
bite of the day before. lie remembers
the delight of yesterday, and, to renew
them, he again visits the hill. These
visits he daily repeats, and is daily bit
ten by snakes of increasing size and vi
rulence, until there is snch fire In his
blood that the only respite to his ter.
ment is the infusion of fresh venom.
In short, he ia hopeless drunkard,
brawling In the saloon, quarreling In
the street, wallowing in the gutter;
and goes to his grave a despised hui