The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-07-01
THE BOTTLE.

temperance society whatever, and had no
dislike to the taste of liquor. Not that he
was a drinking man. Oh, dear, mol Never
was drunk in his life; never even slightly
overcome by liquor. But still-well, still
every now and then a nice glass of some
thing comfortable struck Tom in pleasant
light, and he generally took it when il did.
Tonight It was cold and chilly and gloomy,
and the wind ratified the shutters and
cTooned down the chimney, and male
banShee OF itself along the street, and Tom,
Who was not very fond Of reading, could not
lose himself in book or magazine, and there
was no one To talk 10, and the resolution
above recorded seemed To be the most natur-
al thing in the world. "a glass of some
thing comfortable said Tom, 'and bis
emit, and then I'll turn IN"
Then Tom went To the closet 10 look for Il
vessel in which to bring the necessary liquor
for the comfortable something from the cor
ner store, and spied IAN upper shelf green
bottle, with fat body and a long neck,
which had nothing i'm it, and smelt of moth
ing, and ne set it upon tire table, while he
stirred the fire and put the kettle on, that
everything might be ready on his return.
Mr.. Tom was absent from home. and Tom
was keeping house for himself. He was on
his knees before the stove, raking it, when he
heard a groan. 1t was Il faint, far-away
sounding groan; but il had such ghostly
sound that he started:
What's that he cried; and something
answered:
Only me
And jumping To his feet, Tom Barnaby
st.sOd staring about: for there was nothing i'm
the room that ought to have had voice hut
limSelf-not even kitten or a canary bird.
Who j. meg cried Tom.
Tom ought 10 know" said the voice.
And this time Tom saw that it came from
the green bottle.
Hanged if it Isl the bottle" said Tom
is il spirits, WHAT
And the bottle answered:
'NeS worse luck. IL j. spirits. Bad spirits
too. Gin, rum and brandy-whisky and
aIchol"
"Oh. that kind?" said Tom.
Yes" said the bottle Five devils. I've
beer possessed by them all. Years and years
they led me such a life that ! wished | was
smashed; years and yeas, until your wife
got me and put blessed vinegar i'm me. Nice
sharp. respectable vinegar that never did
worse than give some poor cabbage eater the
collie. And thought ] should end my days
in decent vinegar hottie. and here | am
going To have one of the devils back. | know.
oh, what did that dear woman go away for?
Why did she CO.
Tom, who had grown used Ia the phenom-
rnon Of a talking bottle. and did not mind
it at all by this time, nodded his head
sagely.
Right there" hc said. Its exceedingly
uncomfortable Ia have your wife away. hut
NOu are very foolish IL talk as YOU do What
harm is there ian Il moderate drink? All you'd
hold wouldn't harni fly. You've been lis
iening 20 tcetotallcrS.'
I haven hcen listening la anybody" said
the bottle. I've formed my own conclu-
SiDnS. There WAS time when | thought a.
fio. 10 was when [ was brand new bottle,
with glt label Best Holland Gin ON me,
and my owner. the liquor dealer. took me
cat 90 my case aud handed nae over 10 Jack
Barker, who hat Just finished painting the
store.
e Here. Jack, says he. this will help you
keep Christina
Thank We. said Jack; and of went I'M
der his arm.
And there. in a bright little room with Il
pretty wife and nice old grandfather. and
Two cunning little babies looking on, he
opened me.
- What nice smell" said she-the pretty
wife.
And then he made some stuff with lemon
and sugar. and they all drank some; and the
babies looked at the light shining through
my green sides and the gilt label on me.
And the old grandfather said the drink had
gone 10 his head, and he should have TO be
carried upstairs, and they laughed at that,
because il was such good joke.
Il liked myself then and what was i'm me-
Before ! was empty the first time / felt
pleased To be such favorite a. | was
All. dear, was filled up again. and again,
and again; and after while i began Ia see
things changing about me. The wife's face
Was not - bright; the old grandfather never
laughed; the baby toes were OUT and one
day Jack staggered in, took me up drank
the last drop from me. and tumbled into a
chair The wife began To cry.
''Oh, Jack" SAYS she. oh, Jack, how
hate that dreadful bOttlei We were so happy
before il came into the house"
she blamed me, but knew il was the evil
spirit in me that she meant.
=. You've lost your place, Jack says she.
Everything has changed. You don't love
me any more. You don't care for the chill
drcn. Its all that bottle
But Jack was too tip>y To- care what she
said. He staggered over to the table. took
me by the neck and carried me To- IA liquor
store. There they put another evil into me.
That one drove the furniture out of the
house; bit 10y bit il was pawned.
Then they left the house itself and were
! In n cellar somewhere. She took i'm washing;
some Ol the money she earned went for more
evil spirits to ill me.
Didn't lOathe myself? One night | sat
on the table and saw the old grandfather ly-
ing dead and Jack drunk on the floor at the
fs-,t OF the bed. Didn't l loathe myself? I
tried 10 tOpple of. but ! couldn't manage il.
If ever bottle did desire To smash itself, /
did. But 10 was no use. Happy bottles.
beautiful cut-class cologne bottles, innocent
wapr bottles have been broken when they
most desired to last, no doubt; but /, who
bad become a dwelling place for devils, |
lasted.
They carried the old grandfather away,
and his poor daughter got black dress,
(somebow- One night Jack went sneaking
, ont OF the house with a bundle under one
arm and me under the other. The bundle
was his wife's mourning dress for her father.
BE took il 10 a pawnshOp and pawned it for
enough 10 ill me twice. The poor little We
man never had decent dress again.
she was in rags. She was hungry. I've
seen Jack clutch her hand and wrench the
money she'd earned for her children's bread
from il and then 90 off with me. Think OF
IL, ] had to aid and abet him, and hear her
say things about me that were very natural,
seeing that she did not know how hated the
devils that lived i'm me but that were hard To