The Press., 1885-08-27

THE WIDOWS CURSE.
 It must have been about the year 1S44 that we heard from the lips of John B. Cough the following tale, which has since appeared in the story of his life.
 In Norwich, Connecticut, spoke to a large audience in railway station. Mr. Buckingham, who was then mayor of the city, afterwards governor, and subsequent ly senator of the United States-pre sided I knew whom had in my audi ence, and said-'Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Falkener, who lives little way out from here, gave me some interesting incl dents with regard to her son. s& ,. My boy" she said, Twas drunkard. He signed the pledge. He said, Mother, I will go away from home. will not stay this pledge"
 He went away but she continued to hear good news from him. By and by, after he had gone little over two years, d letter reached home to say, "Mother, I am coming home to spend Thanksgiving with you."
 ''My boy is coming home to Thanksgiv- ing !! We'll, his poor old mother will get a dinner for him worthy of New England {; and if there be but one guest, it shall be a famous dinner"
 And he came into the town by stage, which stopped at the door of Solomon Parsons tavern. The stage passed on. It was just after dark. Some young men were in the bar-roOm. #F xE%
 'Helloa, Fred !! and how are you !? What will you have to drink P
 "Nothing.,'s Es$ks
 'sNot on Thanksgiving Come, take a little"
 "No, I'd rather not. I've come home to see my mother. She hardly expects me tonight. thought I'd wait till dark, and go in and surprise the old lady,
 By and by. Solomon Parsons, who was leaning his elbow on the counter, looked at him, and said
 "Fred Falkener. if were six foot tall and broad in proportion, as you are, and yet was afraid of paltry glass of ale, by George! I'd go to the woods and hang myself"
 "Bnt I'm not afraid
 "Oh, yes you are-ha, Ina, ha I say, boys, here's a great big fellow afraid of a glass of lquor. l suppose he's afraid of his mother" .st -t.-s
 This young man, with all the strength of mind to keep that pledge, was weak when they ,jeered and joked him. They handed him the liquor, and dared him to drink it,
 "Well," he said, ''I'm going to mother, and may as well show you that I'm not afraid to drink it.'' .. .
 He drank it. Then came another glass and they piled him with more. Twelve o'clock that night he went into g barn, and was there found in the morning dead
 sMY boy is coming home to Thanksgiv, ing r
 They brought him to his mother, stretch esl on "a plank, with a Sbtffale robe thrown over the body.
 She said to me: Parsons came, and said to him, You tempted my boy"
 "'Well, l didn't know it was youl son.''
 "'You did you called him by name You knew it was Frederick Falkener, ths only son of his poor, crippled mother You knew it., and you have killed him. "sMrs. Falkener, am not used to hay ing such language applied to me. - God forgive me, if I have sinned, saic the poor woman but l put my hand on the face of my dead boy, and I lifted ul my finger, and I cursed him He went out with face as white as chalk" Then I said, 'Ladies and gentlemen Solomon Parsons, the man who tempted Frederick Falkener to his r,lin-Solomol Parsons, who staggers through life under the weight of that poor woman's curse Solomon Parsons is in this hall, and ht sits right there and this same Solomon Parsons keeps grog-shop on the bridge of your city, licensed by the state of Con necticut. Rout him out p And before twenty -four hours had elapsed, bag ant baggage, bottles and demijohns of liquor furniture, licenses and all, were carted ou of the city.
 They violated no laws. They laid h. hand upon him; but they made him g out of himself. They helped him not t pack up single article of his furniture but they went to him in body, and de clared that such man should not be tol erated in the city, and he was obliged t go.-zhe C2aristida.