The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-02-05
A FAT BLACK BOTTLE.
Filled to the Cork With Five Dollar Treas
ury Notes.


ury Notes.
There came to light in Macon yester
day New Years story that would ftlJ
adorn a temperance lecture.
a bright little girl gave away wha
was regarded as pleasing secret. /
happened in this way: The Telegraph
man stumbled into a millinery store yes
terday and while waiting to get the at
tentinn of the lady who makes the female
population pretty, idly listened to q
conversation between a customer--evi
IDENTIFY the wife of mechanic-and the
mlliner. The lady was looking at
very pretty hat for her little girl who
stood at her side with hungry eyes
The hat was purchased, and she Telegraph
man mentally thought it looked like
extravaganza for mechanics family tc
throw away four dollars and half on a
little girls hat.
As this was the only purchase in which
the child seemed interested, she sided up
to where the Telegraph man was standing
and artles>ly said: "We dot lots er
hOhCy INV AoS 'St'o'sS ~ 'Si = IL .''e''c
cursed himself for forgetting to buy a
ticket for the last lottery drawing.
"Where did you ge' it, sis 2"
"Papa broke th' bottle.
"Broke the bottle p
"Essur; th' bottle was JUS as fuller
money as it TODD be, an we's Itch now"
No true reporter can be idle when
such an item as this is in speaking dis
tance, and it was not mnre than few
minutes before the child's mother was
persuaded into telling the following story,
and yet she never dreamed that every
word of it was being jotted down by the
shorthand finger of memory upon the
thumb worn page of a mental note
book:
II have passed through the ordeal of a
drunkard's wife, and am too happy
now to go over what and how much 1
suffered. My husband drank heavily
and often half of his wages went for
drink. He kept large black bottle of
whisky all the time in the house, in
addition to what he drank in town. On
Christmas Eve night FIVE years ago he
came home drunk, and as something had
gone wrong with him, he was in the
worst kind of humor. Our oldest boy
was in the crib very sick with the fever,
and there was not cent Of money in the
house to buy him the cheapest toy. My
husband had been away from home all
day and being drunk had forgotten all
about his Christmas. put my husband
to bed and returned to the bed side of
my dying boy to watch AID weep. 1t
was nearly daybreak when | saw my
precious son sinking fast. Rushing out
of the house 1 called in lady friend,
and then aroused my husband. The
sleep had somewhat sobered him, and
as be loved his boy devotedly, be was
soon bending over the little fellow, beg.
ging him to say something to him.
"rbe little fellow slowly turned his
eyes toward his father and said: I'm
going to die, papa, for l see the angels
beckoning ME 10 come. This is Christ
mas morning, papa; please let me see
what Santa Claus put in my Str csing.
Ny husband went to the mantle and took
down the little stocking. 1t was empty |!
He stond still and stared at it for min.
ute, and God only knows the agony of
his heart in that short time. He turned
to say, but our boy would not Ave heard
him had the poor mans breaking heart
allowed him to speak. Our boy was
dead
'.The day before New Years my hus.
band called for the bottle. May Gnd
forgive my feelings at that minute, for l
wish he, too, was dead. l obeyed him
mechanically. To my surprise, he took
the botlle in his hands and, pouring the
whisky on the ground, said: L will
drink no more; and the money | would
spend for whisky We will put in this
bottle, and all enjoy the contents" You
can imagine how happy | was. He had
sworn off many tines before, hut knew
he was in earnest this time. We made a
calculation, and estimated that whisky
cost bin, taking the past year as a basis,
on an average of five dollars week
You see gond deal of his money went
to pay court Gnes for drunkenness. Well,
it was decided to put five dollars week
in the bottle for five years, come what
would. The time was ont last New
Years day, and the hig black bottle was
broken. Now figure up how many five
dollars that bottle contained" !"
1.-TWO hundred and sixty"
eyes, or $1,000 dollars. But this was
not all We saved enough in that time
outside of the bottle to buy little
home"
"But are you not afraid in breaking the
bottle your husband will break his reso
lution%
''No; because we have started another
bottle BANK" said the lady with happy
smile.
The husband is Macon mechanic
we'll known and enjoys the respect ant
esteem of ALL. He says he never knew
how much genuine pleasure there was
home with his loved ones until be 60
sober enough to appreciate it. and to I'll
;,.tood of am nfv the fat black bOttIe