Savannah morning news., 1885-01-18
A FAT BLACK BOTTLE.
Filled to the Cork With Five Dollar
Treasury Notes.

Treasury Notes.
There came to light in Macon Wednes-
day, says the Telegraph and Messenger,
New Years story that would titly adOrn
a temperance lecture.
A bright little girl gave away what was
regarded as a very pleasant secret. 1t
happened in this way: The Telegraph
man stumbled into a millinery store Wed
nesday, and while waiting to get the at
tention of the lady who makes the female
population pretty, idly listened to a con-
VersatiOn between a customer-eVldently
the wife of a mechanic-and the milliner.
The lady was looking at a very pretty hat
for her little girl who stood at her side
with hungry eyes. The hat was purchas-
ed, and the Telegraph man mentally
thought it looked like extravaganza Tor a
mechanics family to throw away four
dollars and half on little girls hat.
AS this was the only purchase in which
the child seemed interested, she idied up
to where the Telegraph man was standing
and artlessly said 'We dot lots er
money nOw.' The reporter here men
tally cursed himself for forgetting to buy
ticket for the last lottery drawing.
"Where did you get it, sis?"
"Papa broke tn bottle"
''BrOke the bOttleg'
money as it TODD be, an we's 'ich now"
No true reporter can be idle when such
an item as this is in speaking distance,
and it was not more than a few minutes
before the child's mother was persuaded
into telling the following story, and vet
she never dreamed that every word Of it
was being j0tted down by the shorthand
finger OF memory upon the thumb-WOrn
pages of a mental note book.
ha u1 1rrl, : bo Ia. y r,F a
drunkard's wife, and | am too happy now
to go over what and now much ! suffered
Ny husband drank heavily and often half
of his wages went for drink. He kept a
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 a humOr. Our
Oldest boy was in the crib very sick with
fever, and there was not a cent of money
in the house to buy him even the eheapest
toy. My husband had been away from
home all day and being drunk had tor
gotten all about his Christmas. | put NV
husband TO bed and returned to the bed.
side Of my dying boy to watch ana weep
1t was nearly daybreak when | saw my
precious son sinking fast. Rushing out
Cf the house | called in a lady friend. and
lNs GlGeD MAD
somewhat sODered him, and as he loved
his boy deyOtedly, he was soon bending
over the little fellow, begging him to say
something to him.
The llttle fellow slowly turned his eyes
toward his father ard said: 'I'm going
TO die, papa, for | see the angels beckOn-
ing me TO come. This is Christmas morn
ing, papa; please let me see what Santa
Claus put in my stocking Nv husband
went 10 the mantel and took down the
little stocking. 1t was empty! He stood
still and stared at it for a minute. and
God only knows the agony of his heart in
that snort time. He turned to the bed,
not knowing what to say, but our boy
would not have heard him had the poor
mans breaking heart allowed him to
speak. Our boy was dead!
The day before New Years nv bus-
band called for the bottle. May God tor
give me for my feelings at that minute
for L wished he, too, were dead. /
obeyed him mechanically. To my sur
prise he took the bottle in his hands and.
pouring the whisky on the ground, SAID !:
L viii drink no more; and the money |
would spend for whisky we VIII put in
this bottle, and at the end Of FIVE wears
we will break it and all enjoy the con-
tents You can imagine how happy |
was. lie had sworn off many times be-
lore, but l knew he was in earnest this
time. We made a calculation and esti-
mated that whisky cost him, taking the
past year as a basis, on an average of s.
q week. You see good deal OF his money
went to pay court fines for drunkenness.
Wen, it was decided to put 50 a week in
the bottle for five years, come what
would. The time was out last New
Years day, and the big black bottle was
broken. Now figure up how many So
bills that bottle cORtainedw
1.-Two hundred and sixty"
"Ies, or $1,000. But this was not all.
We saved enough in that time outside of
the bottle to buy little home"
but are you not afraid that in break
ing the bottle your husband will break
his resolutiOn?V
NO; because we have started another
bottle 0ank," said the lady with happy
smile.
The husband is a Macon mechanic.
well known, and enjoys the respect and
esteem of all. He says he never knew
how much genuine pleasure there was at
home with mis- loved ones until he got So
Der enough to appreciate It, and to fill in
stead OF empty The fat black bottle.