The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-07-23
The Story Of a Bottle.

bllI DutudUN WIS liOl 1t lutIlll)ti VI
any temperance society whatever, and
had no dislike to the taste of liquor. Not
that he was a drinking man Oh, dear, no
Never was drunk i'll his life; never even
slightly overcome by liquor. But still
well, still, every now and then Il nice
glass of something comfortable struck
Tom in pleasant light, and he general
ly took it when it did.
Tonight it was cold and chilly and
gloomy, and the wind ratified the shut
tiers, and crooned down the chimney, and
made a banshee of itself along the street;
and Tom, who was not very fond Of read
ing, could not lose himself in book or
magazine, and there was no one to talk
to, and the resolution above recorded
seemed to be the most natural thing in
the world.
"A glass Of something comfortable"
said Tom, land a biscuit, and then III
turn in"
Then Tom went to the closet to look
for Il vessel in which to bring the n"ces-
sary liquor for the ''comtortabe some
thing from the corner store, and spied
on an upper shelf green bottle, with
fat body and long neck, which had
nothing i'll it, and smelt OF nothing, and
he set it upon the table, while he stirred
the fire and put the kettle on, that every
thing might be ready on his return.
Mrs. Tom was absent from home, and
Tom was keeping house 1or himself He
was on his knees before the stove, raking
it, when he heard a groan. 1t was a
FAINT, araway sounding groan; but it
had such ghostly sound that he started.
~ hats that ?" he cried and some
thing answered:
"Only me-"
And jumping to his feet, Tom Barnaby
stood staring about for there was moth
ing in the room that ought to have had
a voice but hmself-not even a kitten or
a canary bird.
"Who is me 7" cried Tom.
'Tom ought to know" said the voice.
And this time Tom saw it came from
the green bottle.
changed if it isn't the bottle Y said
Tom. SIS it spirits, or what ?"
And the bottle answered:
"Ies, worse luck. 1t is spirits. Bad
spirits, too. Gin, rum and brandy
whiskey and alcohol" :"
''Oh, that kind :" said Tom.
"Ies,' said the bottle. give devils.
Tve been possessed by them all. Years
and years they led me such a 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 i should end lny days as IL
decent vinegar bottle, and here | am
going to have one of the devils back,
know. Oh, what did that dear woman
go away tor? Why did she go?"
Tom, who had grown used to the phe-
nomenon of Il talking bottle, and did not
mind it at all by this time, nodded his
head sagely.
Fright there" he said. ats exceed
ingly uncomfortable to have wife away,
but you are very foolish to talk as You do.
What harm is there in a moderate drink
Ali you'd hold wouldn't harm a lly.
You've been listening to teetotallers."
81 haven't been listening to anybody"
said the bottle. "Ive formed my own
conclusions. There was a time when
thought as you do. 1t was when | was a
brand new bottle, with gilt label, 'Best
liquor dealer, took me out of my case and
handed me over to Jack Barker who had
just finished painting the store.
"'Here, jack says he, this will help
you keep Christmas
Thank ye,' said Jack; and off |
went under his arm.
"And there, in bright little room,
with pretty wife and nice old grand
father, and two cunning little babies look
ing 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 grand
father said the drink had gone to his
head, and he should have to be carried
upstairs, and they laughed at that, be-
cause it was such good joke.
81 liked myself then and what was in
me.
"Before | was empty the first time,
felt pleased to be such a favorite as was.
"Ah, dear, | was filled up again, and
again, and again and after while be-
gan to see things changing about me.
The wife's face was not so bright the old
grandfather never laughed; the babys
toes we're out; and one day Jack stag
gered in, took me up, drank the last drop
from me, and tumbled into chair. The
wife began to cry.
"'Oh, Jack 7" says she. EOh, Jack
how ] hate that dreadful bottle We
were so happy before it came into the
house
'She blamed me, but knew it was the
evil spirit in me that she meant.
"Youve lost your place, Jack, says
she. Everything has changed. You
don't love me any more. You don't care
for the children. It's all that bottle
"But Jack was too tpsy to care what
she said. He staged over to the table,
took me by the neck, and carried me to
a liquor store. There they put another
devil into me. That one drove the furni-
ture out of the house; bit by bit it was
pawned.
'Then they left the house itself and
were in cellar somewhere. She took in
washing some of the money she earned
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