Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-12-11
THE BOTTLES STORY,

THE Notifies STORY,
And what It Did for Tenn Bsraaby.
81 believe I'll have glass of something
comfortable" said Tom Barnaby.
Tom Barnaby was not a member of any
temperance society whatever, and had no dis
like to the taste of liquor. Not that he was a
drinking man. Oh, dear, no Never was
drunk in his life never even slightly over
come by liquor But still--well, still, every
now and then nice glass of something COM
Portable struck Tom In a pleasant light, and
he generally took it when it did.
Tonight 1t was cold and chilly and gloomy,
and the wind ratified the shutters, and Groom
ed down the chimney, and made'a banshee
Of itself along the street and Tom, who was
not very fond of reading, could not lose him
self in book or magazine, and there was no
one to talk to, and the resolution above re-
corded seemed to be the most natural thing in
the world
"a glass of something comfortable, " said
Tom, land biscuit, and then III turn in
Then Tom went to the closet to look for a
vessel in which to bring the necessary liquor
for the comfortable something" from the
corner store, and spied on an upper shelf a
green bottle, with fat body and "a long neck,
and he set it upon the table, while he stirred
the fire and put the kettle on, that everything
might be ready on his return.
Mrs. Tom was absent from home, and Tom
was keeping house for himself lie was on
his knees before the stove, ralIing il, when he
heard groan. 1t was faint, PARKWAY
sounding groan but it had such a ghostly
sound that he started
whats that ~ he cried and something
answered
''Only me.
And jumping to his feet, Tom Barnaby
stood staring about for there was nothing in
the room that ought to have had a voice but
himsef-not even a kitten or a canary bird.
"Who is me ~ cried Tom.
''Tom ought to know, " said the voice.
And this time Tom saw il came from the
green bottle
Hanged if it isn't the bottle {" said Tom
SIS it spirits, or what p
And the bottle answered:
eyes, worse luck. 1t is spirits. Bad
spirits, too. Gin, rum and brandy-whiskey
and alcohol !"
'Oh, that kind ~ said Tom.
eyes, - said the bottle give devils. I've
been possessed by them all. Years and years
they led me such life that | wished | was
smashed years and years until your wife got
me and put blessed vinegar in me. Nice,
sharp, respectable vinegar, that never did
worse than give some poor cabbage eater the
collie. And thought | should end my days
as "a decent vinegar bottle, and here ! am-go-
ing to have one of the devils back, | know.
| Oh, what did that dear woman go away for I
| Why did she got
Tom, who had grown used TO the phenom-
enon of a talking bottle, and did not mind il
at all by this time, nodded his head sagely.
Fright there, ~ he said. "It's exceedingly
uncomfortable to have wife away, but you are
| very foolish to talk as you do What harm il
there in moderate drink All you'd hold
wouldn't harm fly You've been listening
| to teetotalers.h
81 haven't been listening to anybody, said
the bottle "I've formed my own conclu-
sions There was time when | thought as
Won do. 1t was when | was "A brand new bot
tie, with gilt label, Best Holland Gin, OF
me, and my owner the liquor dealer, tooB
me out OF my case and handed me over tC
Jack Barker, who bad just finished painting
the store.
/ "IIere, Jack, says he, this will help yor
keep Christmas.
"'Thank ye, said Jack; and Off wen
under his arm.
"And there, in a bright little room, with
pretty wife and nice old grandfather, ant
two cunning little babies looking on, III
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 tn
babies looked at the light shining through M
green sides and the gilt label on me. Ant
the old grandfather said the drink had gon
to his head, and he should have to be carriet
up stairs, and they laughed at that, becaus
it was such good joke.
81 liked myself then and what was in me
'Before ] was empty the first time fel
pleased to be such a favorite as l was.
''Ah, dear, was filled up again and again
and again; and after a while | began TO sc
things changing about me. The wife's fac
was not so bright the old grandfather neve
laughed the baby's toes were out and on
day Jack staggered in, took me up, drank tn
last drop from me, and tumbled into chair
The wife began to cry.
"'Oh, JaclIl' says she. oh, Jack hoy
| hate that dreadful bottle! We were s
happy before it came into the house!'
, ''She blamed me, but l knew il was tn
evil spirit in me that she meant.
"'You've lost your place, Jack, says SHE
Everything has changed. You don't Low
me any more. You don't care for the chi
dren. It's all that bottle
''But Jack was too tipsy to care what sl
said. He staggered over to the table, too
= me by the neck, and carried NE to liquC
store. There they put another devil into INT
That one drove the furniture out nE the house
bit by bit it was pawned.
n 'Then they left the house itself and wei
in cellar somewhere. She took in washing
some of the money she earned went for mo-
= evil spirits to fill me.
Didn't loathe myselfi One night | 81
on the table and saw the old grandfather lyir
dead and Jack drunk ON the floor at the fo'
: of the bed Didn't loathe MYSELF | trit
to toppe Off, but | couldn't manage it.
y ever bottle did desire to smash ITSELF di
: But it was no use. Happy bottles, beautif
cut glass cologne bottles, innocent water bo
y ties have been broken when they most desire
n to last, no doubt; but |, who had become
$ dwelling place for devils, lasted
!, "They carried the old grandfather ava
Il and his poor daughter got black dress som
!. how. One night Jack went sneaking out
the house with bundle under one arm al
is me under the other. The bundle was i
is wife's mourning dress for her father.
J.. took il to pawn-shop and pawned it
enough TO fill me twice The poor lit
woman never had a decent dress again.
- ''She was in rags. She was hungry. i
seen Jack clutch her hand and wrench I
money she'd earned for her children's bre
~ | e,,,,, Il o,I tI,au no off NTH mo ThtnL