Arkansas weekly mansion., 1883-10-20
THE BEER-SHOP.
A washerwonan's Story.

bltt HIS LOT pOOs udTy. IL
wa, not long before she carne to grief.
| wonderfully prospered. What with
| Mikes daily wages and her own, and
| the money the .b'ys' earned selling
papers. they had become quite rich peo-
| pie They owned their bit of a house
and had a snug little sum laid by. And
now the desire to rise crept into Mary'S
ambitious heart "Nhy shouldn't t they
live in IA fine house some day and be a
| good rs the best?" s-N
So she persuaded her steady old ~,
band to set up @heer-Shop-a fayE.sssS
| way of making money with that cl!is1l
| of people-and only three months after
| wards she came to me in great distress
| and poured out her soul in sorrow and
repentance.
Its all along O. that cruel beer
shop she groancd; ct ruined us in
tirely! Be the Howly Father!' she
| cred, throwing up her arms in pas
SION of misery, Il wish this tongue had
been pulled out o me mou,h-I w sh
black death had come to me, before lver
1 coaNed my Mike to go into it! An he
always the hest of husbands! ManNs
the tine he's got up in the dead o the
night to get me dh7ink o. ,Cathcr--hc
has indadc, mum. And that fond o
the childer-coaXin' an tain EN-
from mornin' til night; and now he Is
that savage w.d EN- that they run and
hide when he comes a-near the house!
Many the bloody fight we We had along
of 'em! Oh that j, their poor mother,
should have to he always a-watchin',
watchn' ,-Slapin' or wakin'-lest harm
come to 'em from their own father.
God Knows said she, scornfully,
barring bruised and bloody arm, Its
littl l., 7 fno fcr
match for Mike, dhrunk or sober!
harm a few bruises" with u sniff of
dsdain and putting down her sleeve.
\ little while after came the dread
climax of her woe. ] wish l could tell
the story in Mary's very words:
For weeks gone, mum, Mike was
niver. niver sober at all. Up in the
mornin' and out for dhrink--mad crazy
in it all day an all night till his strength
was gone from him intirely; then slaPin
in his clothes wheriver he happened to
be till he wakes, then ups an to the
drinks a"in.
.Well, mum, this is how it was: That
nirht the childcr was to bed an asleep,
an | sat in me rockin'-chair croonin' to
the baby-our little Dinny-an' feelin
a grain o comfort creepin into my poor
heart. How could help it?-the baby
was a-smiln' up into me face, an for
minute l forgot me trouble-yis, thank
God thank God!" she burst out vchc-
mently, her poor old face drcnched
in tears. '.Thank God for that last
blessed minute that / hid my baby in
these arms forgot that had made me
home Il hell an me husband auirl!'
L shall never forget the power and
expression of her words and looks.
Even while 1 wept could but admire,
what | had often noticed, her wonderful
dramatic power
..Yis," She went on, II did forgit, an
| began to coax mcself into beravin
as things would all come right. Now
that we had gi up the beer shop long
since, Mike would come round in time.
Poor Mike! ME heart warmed to him:
$50 was a-settin' there soft an tin
der like, an the child was smlin' in
ME arms, when L heard Mikes step on
the stairs He burst into the room
tlourishin' his big stick in his fist, an
he comes up to me-the bloody muir
therin' villain '--drags the baby out OF
mo arms, ups wild Il windcr an heaves
him out into the road 1 springs to the
door, an he hits me on the head with
his club an rushes out.
81 Law there on the floor till me sinses
comes back to me an then thinks me
o the baby. goes as fast as L can crawl,
with the blood stramin' from me head,
out into the street, an there, in the
middle of the road lay me baby stark
dead the breath gone out of his little
body intirly! his head hit on sharp
stone, an that was what kilt him.
81 kneeled me down in the bloody
road an took me baby to me heart an
prayed to God to sthrike me dead; but
Inc didn't, num-" she added, dryly'
wipinG her eyes "An 1t glao l. am
now that he didn't, for poor Mixes
sake an the childers'.
..Weu mum. whin Mike come to his
self in the mornin' he was jist wild wild
orief. 1t was all Father Riley an
could do to hold him from b'atln his
own brains out.
AN would We behave it now? whin
7 that murdered baby S mother, saw his
heart a-breakin' in him, an heard him
uroanin' an cryin'. l forget everything
in the whole world-baby an alan
list remembered poor old Mike, an L
loved him jist the same-the bloody,
murtherin' villain!
but. mum, it was that timpted him
in the f,lst place-don't We fOrgit that!
..Well. Father Riley hushed it up an
made it look right to the neighbors-it
little they knew, anywav-an' now he's
helpin' us to begin all over ag ln-God-
dlemiehty forever bliss him.
1--WE try not to reminder how the
babv went-Mike an l debut iist to
think as he's gone to Paradise. But
oh. mum, l can tell it to yerself how
these arms ache for him sometimes =
how in the dark night when Mike
asleep 1 puts out me hand to draw the
baby to me an he is gone from me! Oh.
l can tell it to the likes o We. for it's
yerself as is mother an knows.