The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-06-14

spoonful, and Molly said that was
enough. She took the tumbler and
poured few drops of hot water in
to it and bit of sugar, and then
she tinkled her glass against. mine,
just as she had seen us boys do
when we'd been drinking good luck,
and says she: Here's to the old
brown jugp
'Sakes alive thought to my
self that poor Molly had been
drinking more rum than was good
for her; and 1 tell you that it kind
o cut me to the heart. 1 forgot
all about how many times she had
seen me when my tongue was thick
er than it ought to be, and my legs
not quite so steady as good legs
should be; but l said nothing. 1
drank the sentimenr-To the old
brown jag and let it go.
"Well, went out after that to
my chores, and then went to bed;
and the last thing 1 said before
leaving the kitchen--this very
room where we now set in-'We'il
have the old brown jug filed to-
morrow And then | wen t off to
bed And have remembered ever
since that l went to bed that night,
1 had done hundreds of times be-
fore, with a buzzing in my head
that a healthy man ought not to
have. | didn't think of it then, nor
had thought OF it before; but I've
thought Of it good many times
since, aud have thought of it with
won der and with awe.
well, l got up the next morning
and did up my work at the barn,
then came in and eat breakfast, but
not with such an appetite as a
farmer ought to have, and / could
think even that my appetite had
began to fail me. However, L eat
breakfast, and then went out and
hitched up the old mare; for, to tell
the plain truth, l was feeling the
need of a glass of spirits, and !
hadn't drop in the house. 1 was
in a hurry to get to the:village. got
hitchcd up and then came in for
the jug. l went for it in the old
cupboard, and took it out, and
did you ever break through the
thin ice, on nippIing cold day,
and find yourself, in an insta MT,
over your head in the freezing wa
ter? The jug was there, but the
bottom vas gone! Molly had been
and taken a sharp chisel and ham
mer, and with a skill that might
have done credit to a master-work-
man, she had clipped the bottom
clean out Of the old jug, without
even breaking the edges or the side
l looked at the jug, and then ]
looked at Molly. And then she
burst out. She spoke-Oh! 1 had
never heard anything like it. No,
sir, nor have 1 heard anything like
it since. Said she:
" Charles! There's where the
mortgage on this farm came from
1t was brought home in that Jug
two quarts at timei And there's
where all the debt has been! And
there's where your clear, whites kin,
and your clear pretty eyes are 60
ingi And in that jug, my husband,
your appetite is going, also! o!
let the bottom say out forever
Let it be as it is, dear heartl an d
remember your promise ito mep
"And then she threw her arms
around my neck, and burst into
tears. She couldn't speak any
more
'And there was no need. My
eyes were opened, as though by
magic. In a single minute the
whole scene passed before me. l
saw all the mortgages on all the
farms in our neighbOrhoOd; and /
thought where the money had gone.
The very last mortgage father had
ever made had been to pay bill
held against him by the man who
had filled his jug for years! Yes,
1 saw it al, as it passed before me-
a fitting picture Of rum rum :
rum debt !-debt!- IN the
end-Death! And / returned my
Molly's kiss, and said 1:
".'Molly, my own! I'll keep the
promise! L will--so help me
heayenY
"And 1 have kept it. In less than
five years, as Molly had said, the
mortgage was cleared off; my appe-
tite came back to me, and now
we've got q few thousand dollars
ont at interest. There hangs the
old jug, just as we hung it up on
that day; and from that time there
hasn't drop been brought into this
house, for a beverage, which that
bottomless jug wouldn't have held
"Dear old jug! We mean to
keep it, and to hand it down to our
children, for the lesson it tcan give
them-a lesson Of life-of a life
happy peaceful, prosperous and
And as ne ceased speaking, his
wife, with an arm drawn tenderly
around the neck of her youngest
boy, murmured :ergept "Amenw