The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-11-26
A Woman's Talk on Temperance.
FRAGMENTS FROM MISS FRANCES f. WILL
LARD's ADDRESS IN FREMONT TEMPLE, SUN
DAY EVE, NOV. s, 1855.


FRAGMENTS FROM MISS FRANCES f. WILL
LARD's ADDRESS IN FREMONT TEMPLE, SUN
DAY EVE, NOV. 8, 1880.
Correspondence of the journal
After a few Introductory remarks, Miss Will
lard continued somewhat as follows: There
was time when could not have sung:
81 was not ever thus; nor prayed that
Thou shouIdst lead me on
| loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead Thou me on.
| loved the gairish day, and spite of fears
Pride ruled my will remember not past years.
There is no one present who has been more
blind to the great light of heaven than wa, l.
Only through eyes filed with tears did learn
to see the Lamb. 1t is one thing to read of i'll
ness, when fever rushes through the system,
when the lips are parched and the pulses throb-
bng; when the physician says: at Is the crisis
time" 1t is quite another thing to hear 1t said
of yourself. But | have. With all the bless
ings God had given me. brought up In a careful
Christian home, surrounded by the love of par
ents and friends, at last one night came the cri-
sis of my destiny. After severe illness, had
heard the doctor say,-"It is the crisis time
Then came battle within my soul. The pow
er of evil seemed present. saying, Don't give
up just because you're sick, because your forces
are not well in hand" Then the voice of the
Father would seem to say, II have called you
long, through years of JOY, but now, at last, by
sorrow" Thus, finally, to a .ceptical mind
came the love of God Not always did rest
In that love. But 81 have fought the good
fight sometimes easily, while again, clouds
came between, yet always God came when
most needed.
Everyone has his besetting sin, his weakest
side. You have-I have. And so in our COM
mon sorrow for sin. and eomradeshp of love, |
have come to tell of Gods love, the Infinite
Love, When nv ear is so heavy that mother.
voice sound. like anybodys else. when my
senses are so dull that the touch of her hand is
unheeded, then / want God's hand. You want
His hand to lead you across the river.
Could ask you: Do you believe in Jesus!
most of you would acknowledge an intellectual
belief. down to the eyebrows. if not to the
heart. You then. | would point to the divine
principles of nature, those by which she does
her wondrous works; would point to evil
dnnceS Of Christianity in hi man form. Some
of you would remember mohcr." bearing
patiently with all your faults and fobles.
Some would think of a sister. so sweet and
hcpful or brother, so gentle and houghtful,
always guide. Or it might be the face of
wife, whose life, like star of heaven had led
onward and upward Or father who in adj
yersty sustained by the Everas, ing Arm, had
cbeerfully borne his burden. W. have recog-
nized Gods aid IN the affairs Of our daily life,
and many who had. alas, been cul sed bv the
awful appetite, have, strong in the power of
God, overcome their enemy. Fastening the
driving wheel Of mans power to the almighty
power of God gives force not to be resisted.
shall he free indeed" So much of sorrow and
hardship have | seen caused by drink. and
often usefulness and happiness restored by
simple. earnest owe Of God and His command
mcnts. In one of the meetings in Chicago, held
without break for eight years, man interrupt
ed the meeting A policeman would have put
him out, but the ladies protested, and he re-
maned quietly. At the close be came up and
sail Il have something i'll my pocket to show
YOU" He took out something wrapped in
paper far from clean: within that, another
dngy paper, and at last white tissue paper,
covering Il photograph of nice young man.
W. looked at that, and at this mans face, W tth
the marks Of drink and a rough life upon il.
and asked, "Ig this some friend of yours?'
Not much of friend to me, ma'am," said he.
HES led me one bad step after another. TIL
you would not know we We're the same, but |
thought I'd show ii to you for my mothers
sake" We thought of his infancy and youth,
sheltered in a loving home; Of his young man
hood when, starting out for himself, be had to
run The gauntlet of ruin and the end had come
in shame and sorrow. And the cry that al
ways comes TO helpless humanity in the pres
ence of great evil, arose in our hearts-How
long, oh God, now long. Oh this gospel tenn
perance Is sweet to me. Where would we be
without 1t! Another day, in 1874. after a large
meeting, among the signers of the pledge at the
close was a sailor. His once good face was
sadly blurred by drink; he could not write, but
made his mark and was given a duplicate
pledge AS he turned away the lady said.
"Brother, shall not forget YOU. | shall pray
for you every day The next year. in that
same meeting burly figure rose, and looking
around for minute, suddenly smiled and ex-
claimed, "Oh there she is! | see that good
woman that gave me the pledgel I've come to
tell YOU" and he drew out card very unlike
the clean pledge given him year ago,-''Iye
kept it and tried 1t ever since. 1t stayed in my
mind how she promised to pray for me-" His
father had been a drunkard, his mother Chris
tian woman. And when, on sick bed he had
thought of these women praying for him, he
had thought he had better do his part. He new
er had prayed, but now he said, "Oh God if
you really want to help me, I've Just got around
to where | want YOU" He had tried to get a
religion that gave twelve inches to the foot and
four quarts to the gallon. He bad ''tried to be
what he pretended to be-" Ard before long,
all had learned to respect Temperance Jack.
His was an adventurous life. On one OF his
voyages they landed upon an island where the
condition of the natives stirred him 10 benefit
them. He aroused one or two shpmates, and
they interested the islanders. got some to sign
the pledge and started them on a different and
better plan of living. Did not that little bit of
paper with the pledge upon it fuf its mis-
sion? Did not the adys Kind words bear
fruit: Temperance Jack is now In Colorado,
true soldier Of the Cross. But
you say, 1--WE do not accept your views of
God" | believe in One so vast, 80 mighty. so
wonderful, that | cannot lift up my eyes to
Him. Withal 50 tender and loving that lie
yearns TO take every soul He has made to His
breast and comfort and strengthen it. Have
you ever noticed how God suits Himself to
everything He has created? How He paints
the chalice of the lily and color> the rose; how
even TO the insect Of ii day he gives a FURNISHED
coat Of mail? VIII He not also care for man,
oh We of little faith: Through all time the ma
tons have sought after God, have recognized in
one way or another, an Invisible Power 1t is
an instructive, irrepressibe yearning Of the
human heart. Our fathers found the path of
light that leads to God, and the good old way"
l. good enough for me. | can tell
of one so much to me, so noble, so manly and
chivalric. OF the temptations which crowded
the city street, daily conquered by the power Of
Jesus. He would sometimes say, on leaving
| the church, 'People are kind; they clap you
on the shoulder and say, i am glad to see you