The Dawson journal., 1883-08-16

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Geluge it with rain, | wodld have
sought his house for shelter but wass
afraid, but I had not gone far before
the cloud assumed such fearful,
blackness, that I res olved to risk it
and turning my horse about, was
soon at his house, and then standing
on the threshold, I stood quietly at
the door awhile, hope trembling in
it's sockets, then knocked for admit
lance, to my great surprise he pre-
sented himself at the door with CORY
eyes and disheveled hair he trembled
with emotion and stameringiy asked
me in. The worse was over, compos-
ing himself as best he could, he in
troduced the subject of the sad oc-
currence, said he: 81 suppose that
you haveheard of my recent intoxica
ton" Yes said l. Il have heard it
it all, and no tongue can express my
notification and l continued,
You yourself do not know how in
humanity you acted, you drove your
faithful wife and helpless children
out in the darkness of the night, try
ing to shoot her, after having knock
ed your little son down with a stick"
He looked straightly at me for mo
ment and then replied, "Do you say
| did that?' and then fell to weeping
as if his heart would break. He did
not really know of taese things, for
his good wife, strange to say, would
never speak to him Of his brutality
when drunk. Composing himself
sufficiently he said, swell l will take
vow before you to-day, before you
leave this house, that live or die, l
will never take another drink of
whiskey. I did not encourage him
IN this, for ] remembered that he
had vowed many times, and had fail
ed to perform
The rain falling in torrents for
some time, was unable to pursue
my journey 50 I passed the day with
the unhappy man, until late in the
afternoon, when l proposed to 60
home. "Well," said he, ''you must
administer the oath to me before
you leave, for so. he called it, had
hoped that he's he'd forgotten the
matter, and I confess that was at %
loss to know what was the best to
do. | reminded him of his debility,
and expressed my doubt as to his
competency just then to appreciate
fully the sacredness Of a solemn vow,
reminding him too of the fact that he
had violated several solemn VOWS be-
fore that But he replied, 'You are
mistaken as to my incompetency, and
/ am fully aware of the solemnity
and binding fosce # solemn oath,
and am determined by the grace of
God, that I will drink no more f"
No~ said I, if you depend on the
grace of Sod you can and will re-
form, but If You depend on your
own strength you VIII surely fall
again. He arose from the couch on
which he was reclining and walked to
a table in one corner of the room,
took the Bible in his hand and caine
to me, and knelt down before me
presenting the Bible His wife and
children all were present, I admins
tered an extempore oath, he pressed
the Bible to his lips while the tears
courscd his cheeks, said he, snow
pray for me that I may have grace to
Withstand the temptation in the flu
ture. knelt down by his side
with my right hand upon his head,
and offered a fervent prayer to God
that he would save the poor man,
and set his caytive spirit free. The
wife and all the children were cry
ing and praying for the besotted ia
Their, and he himself wept and often
responed to my petition, with hearty
amens. We rose from our knees,
and after pronouncing a solemn
benediction upon them all, depart
ed. Months sped by, and the man
was sober, and the family cherished
fond hopes that thus it would contin
ne, but, alas in an evil hour he fell
again 10 rise no more
| know not that the man lives, butifhe
does, tits quite sure that he is bound
fast with those slayish chains of his
own forging. If he is dead, his
spirit slrieks "a the regions of DIES
pair, and curses the day that he ever
looked upon the wine when it was
red within the cup. =
Ii disease has entered the system
the only way to drive it out is to
purify and enrich the blood TO this
] end. as is acknowleduel hu all mod