News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-04-15

failed in the venture, when footstep
came hurriedly to her side, and broken
voice said. as she looked into the con-
vulsed face that bent above her-Nor-
man Fitz James face, in which love and
pride. anger and shame, were striving
for the mastery.
"Dora, Dora, why this freak2 Is it
is lido you fear for mes'
And looking straight into his eyes,
her own shining through her tears with
a holy tremulous light she answered
simply
Eyes, for you, Norman"
uRut T am no drunkard,n y he cried in |
surprise, as though he had not turned |
the situation over and over in his mind |
during the last hour, and viewed 1t with |
lawyer-like deliberation, always against |
his will, owning, in his secret heart, the
need of reform.
ssNo. not a drunlsesd yet, Norman,
she answered gently ! and her very
gentleness angered hSn. He was pre-
pared for entreaty, anger, but this
gentle firssue-s was fait he had never
thought t0s find ip< shsracter. ''Not
Il drunGart., .,-sfS5Ss, |sol11al, but let me
illustrate my meaning. Suppose q man
should be sailing on the Niagara river,
ten miles above the falls. Is he in any
danger of being dashed in pieces on the
cruel rocks ten miles below, or of going
over the cataract2 Not if he uses COM
mon caution The river is smooth, and
the boat rocks gently over sparkling
waters without feeling the mighty under
current which means destruction. But
we will suppose that he lets his boat
drift down the river, borne by the
treacherous current that is every mo-
ment becoming stronger, every moment
becoming better able to battle his frantic
efforts to reach the shore when it is too
late. Warnings are shouted to him, but
he laughs as he sits in the bow with
folded arms, and refuses to touch the
oars until he feels the strong vibration
of the exultant current that now has him
in its power, sees the shores recedln9
more swiftly, and hears the roar of the
mighty cataract Then, paralyzed with
fear, he springs to his oars, he pulls with
such desperation, perhaps, that they
snap asunder, and he is carried to des-
truction even with arms vainly out
stretc! ed to the friends who cannot
save him."
".That man is me, Isuppose you mean,
| ar Niagara Falls means drunkard's
crave Thank you, Miss Ellsworth"
he said, as he drew back, and anger
flashed in his eyes.
eyes, you, Norman, and many others
like you that are blindly drifting to
destruction, - continued Dora fearlessly,
although her face was very pale. "You
are in no danger if you stop now, Nor
man, but the current is growing stronger,
the appetite is increasing, and it may
be too late to reach the shore"
''And is this your love, your faith in
me, Dora2 Is this the trust that was to
last until death2" he asked reproach-
fully.
cit is because of my love that did
it, Norman. Faithful are the wounds
of friend" she cried with clasped
hands, as she took step towards HIM.
"You know l have warned you, in
directly, of the danger before. You
would not heed me, and now"
"And now you have shown me that
love and faith and trust are gone. No,
take away your pledge, l will not sign
away my liberty" he said hotly, as she
held forth the paper. without perfect
trust there is no love. tbs better to
/ find it out now than afteI3 marriage, /
suppose, but the lesson is a bitter one. !"
''You will sign it2" she pleaded.
''Never!" he answered fercely, as he
strobe towards the door, "Good-by,
and when you hear that AM a drunk
ard, Dora Ellsworth, cherish the knowl-
edge that you made me one."
Alas ger and wounded pride had
conquered love and manhood. The door
closed violently, and Dora knew that
her venture had lost her lover without
saving him.
''It is better, even as it is, than it
would have been if l had not done 1t, "
she said to her father with a brave, little
smile. "Better to love him than to be
drunkard's wife. He is warned OF his
danger now, and he will REFORM"
But even her steadfast faith was sadly
shaken in the days that followed-days
fraught with painful anguish to those
who loved Norman Fitz James the best.
His profession was neglected, and days
of drunken sleep followed nights OF
carousal. His face was flushed, and his
clear eyes were bloodshot. Each day he
turned from the mirror with instructive
loathing, cursing the power that held
him thus, while powerless to break the
chains that bound him. He would have
accepted Dora Ellsworths aid now, but
shame kept him from her, and he drank
the more to drown the memory of what
might have been, Even his home was
Stunned, and he always turned aside to
avoid meeting the two women he loved
best upon earth, who were now untirin9
workers in the Temperance cause-hls
sister and Dora Ellsworth. His mother
had not lived to see his disgrace.
At last, he awoke, one day, from 6
drunken sleep, to find himself on boaro
an outward bound vessel. out of sight o.
! land.
''Here, you land lubber, get up ano
report" " shouted a strange voice, and ht
,, stumblingly followed him on deck
There he learned that he had come OF
board the night before, rather the worse
for liquor, and enlisted as common
sailor for three years. voyage. There
: was no help for it, the once elegant
, Norman Fitz James was a sailor before
the mast.
Ocean life is not one of the pleasantes
} to one accustomed to land, but, in afte
, wears. he always looked back to tina
voyage as the brightest spot in his life
the years when he learned to loathe thu
past and hope for a brighter future
The captain was humane man, and NJ
, liquor was allowed on board the vessel
,, While he was mourned by the few
who cared for his fate as filling
; suicides grave, he was slowly castin!
. aside the chains of his bondage, and
= with renewed health of mind and body
was making plans to redeem the past il
a useful future.
: We. will now pass over an interval o
,, five years. 1t was a bright spring da,
! like that upon which my story opens
= Dora Ellsworth sat in the music-roon
: singing the self same-song that hat
! angered her lover.
Her face wears sweeter, NOR
= chastened look that when last we say
o her, the impress of sorrow rightly &C
n cepted and borne. Her voice filled tn
room with such q wistful, sorrowfu
! cadence that Annie Fitz James pauset
Z as she softly closed the door,
q "Are you ready, Dora2" she asked q
\ the song was finished "You know W
y were to visit Widow Green and Mix
;. McCarthy's family to day."
/. ''Not quite ready, Annie, but l wi
c be in a few moments" and she turne
d partly around, her fingers still light
). resting on the keys 81 am so happ
Al, r n