Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1884-12-09

an I % ulAmt Tor tuts ftAtc 1 uetu a
Kind Of poor. weak wife to you. instead
Of the good. noble woman you deserve.
and 30 you have been disappointed. and
gone to drinking on account Of H. Oh.
u have
II didn't hardly mean 10 tell you that
last. stranger bat you see ! m At IL. and
nigh, - well tell IL all. D'd you ever
hear anything like Il Ia all your life >
10 have her blame herself fof my drink.
in, when Id ben q, !, for more'n ten
years, aud want ~ to be though, Of In
the same year with her! Ba, that. just
like D.ck. Ga. she's woman, she Is
| cant tell you anything Abou, il. stranger.
bat Anyhos. Just promised Dick by all
tha, ~As holy. thA, this should be the
las, time. and I'd quit forever. And !
meant to keep my promise, when ] made
il. did. 20 help me God
"well. We sat there. and by and by
Dick fel, better. and she said jus, the
bes, things 10 mc.-didn', say one word
again, me. you know. and Kind o KEEP,
iAlkin' quietlike Aboa, other things. ,ill
Ne both 70, to f,elin' happy again. al
most a. though nothing bad gone wrong
And then. jus, sfore had TO 20. Dick
says. George. | want TO say little prayer
And 40 We kneeled down together and
.he pa, both her hand. In mine and hii
her fee on my neck. and she prayed
She ,Ays. 90. Father in heaven, help
George 10 b. VIA, he really IL. the besi
man IT, the world and help me 10 be TO
him the bcs, wife ihA, ever lived. Amen.
Stranger there ain, many words in ,ha,
payer; bat II the bes, preacher that
ever wen, 20 glory bad a prayed
mon,h. he ooaldn', a said anything bet.
tern that And then We stood up.
and Dick kissed me. and wen, ou, aad
started down 10 headquarters.
mos. /; may seem strange 10 yol, and
Almo., out o. ress5n. stranger. bat a.
sure a. YOU live. after all thai. pfAyin
and al. stopped and 90 driak afor,
I gof dozen io,oaf lts fact. Not a.
ten minute. after Dick had said tact
h,,le prayer. and Id swore Id never
tosch another drop i ssallosed glass
% shisky straight. That seems awful.
don't u' Well. ii wAs; but Il didn't
seem - 20 me thea. didn, mean 10 BE-
.uch a oonfounded liar Ahd sneak - !
really vas. loa see. ! made myself
think IL was r,ally the best thing 20 do.
A. Joe Jsff,ron says in RIP ! thought
| ~ouldn't count lhs; time. tell you
he csa play that enough 20 raise fellefs
hair. tha, knows what's What loa
see. wAs ell unsirung In my nerves from
my spree the day before, and Dick get
tn' bold o me the Nay she did uns,fung
me al the worse and ! though, Id
take one glass iOf medicine-Jas, 10
brace up. you know. and steady my
nefve. That's the way | reasoned to
m,sslf bat Is va. all iraad-lls, q
h.lli.h fraud. and ho,hiag else Wha,
/ really wanted was s,raigh, whisky.
and taats the way with ell these feller'
that quit only ja', for medicine. and
take bit,eu aud .csbery cordial. aud
une,urc o. rhubarb. and al ,ha, Kind o
truck. Oh. knos how they do, Tor
I've been there. and lied !, on, With the
be., u en-
The train stopped =, .,a,ion and my
companion stepped oa, upon the platform
% batter the boys who wefe bfsking q
do-n ffeigh,. Returning. We went on
II tell you stranger, man : q curious
animal. He'll no, only lie 10 Others
about whisky, bat he'll lie 70 himself.
Hell he jus, a. fast as be can talk.
about anything connected with bis drink
IN That's q pretty rough thing TO say,
bot is 10. and there's millions o mend
tell yon 10. II they'd be hones,, bat they
wont b.. that's what's the matter with
EN-. loa see what man wants u
somebody thA, he can 80 TO. and just
Know han from head 10 foo,-knOs how
Internally weak. and sneAken aud lyin''
and mean be il, on ,hi, whisky business,
and then give himself up and tell EN- the
whole thing jas, as IL is. keep no,hin
back. and then have EN- keep track OF
him. don't mean in any snsskin Kind
Of a way. a. though they kind o felt
above him. and looked down on him. a.
though he was poor devil that they
had 70 be bored BY lookin' after not
that. bat lo1k after him |. mother
would after her baby tia, was weak. and
slck. and coaldat 10 alone, aud had to
be helped. tell you that's What TEL
ler ~an,s when be gets TO go'n on whis-
ny. But. Lord. just signin' a pledge
don't amount 20 much. 20 real old soak
e.. II he hain, 20; some friend TO back
him up.
"Now. you see how !, was with me.
| promised jus, as saeredly as could.
never 10 dnnk again. and ! meant TO
do =. said. and yet I've told You jas,
what | d,d. You see. I goi Of alone and
%, beat Jy a good ercu'e Well, | took
one drink aud 1t sieadlsd me down, and
ii made me feel 30 good, that pretty soon
1 took another. You see, | thought
then Id kinder taper of, and u would
be easier. That's another good excuse.
YOU see. And that night | went home
and spoke up . cheerful to Dick as
though it VAS all right. and Id kept my
word. aud she let on as though she
though, | had. ARd that's where we
boiL missed ~ You see. Dick knew
Id been dnnkin'. but she loved me 50
she couldn't bear 10 le, me know she did,
aud | though, Id drunk once, aud she
didny fnd me out. and 80 | could again.
But the thing run along. and every day
Id drink more or less. and jus, a eassin
myself for !, every time, too, but still
ksepin' a, il. tall one day abOu, month
after my frs, spree got to goia' again
and il was the same old story night over
only worse. Stranger. there Amt no.
BODY bu, what's been through something
o the Kind that knows anything about
IL.
"well, | was brought home again
drunkefn ever. But Dick Was jus, the
same. She never said. I'll told you 90,
n, .nv,hing Ike that, but got night 10