The Wilmingtonian., 1886-02-27

peranre.
On this night, after speaking not quite
three-quarters of an hour, he glided into a
talk on the deadly effects of drunkenness
He was never more fiery, never more elo-
quent He gesticulated abundantly and
threw all the dramatic power of his nature
into his words. His audience was mag
netized and thrilled as seldom in their lives.
He adjured young men with all the inten-
sity of his soul to abjure the serpent of
alcohol. Heraised his tones, and in feryid,
powerful voice exclaimed:
YOUNG MAN, MAKE YOUR RECORD CLEAN
Immediately after it was observed that he
thew his arms into the air, and that his
head dropped upon his chest He was always
intense dri ratio, and the audience thought
this was me gesticulation. Some were
even still deceived when the orator fell for
ward upon the patform. But he did not
rise Some of those present lifted him and
carried him to sofa. There was intense
excitement among the overwrought audience
then. A physician present came forward,
examined him, and sail that Mr.. Cough was
stricken with apoplexv. His left side was
suddenly paralyzad. He fingered two DAYS,
unconscious, and died. Death came to him
In the way that all warriors who fight the
gooi fight would choose-suddenly in battle,
with his armor on. But the last message he
left his fellow man is strangely significant
When ne uttered the words his feet were
already upon the borders of the invisible
country.
young man, keep your record Clean"
1t is John b. Coughs message from the
other word
His history is familiar TO almost every
child in America. He had been lecturing on
r... H. aI. ,,Nf,
remember, so long, indeed, it almost seemed
that, like Tennyson's brook, he had been
going on forever Yet we find that he was
only 6S years of age-not SO very old, after
all, in these times when people live TO be 1l0.
But he had spoken in public more times than
any her man living probably than any
other man dead. In one year he lectured
1856 times 81 times more than there were
DAYS In all be had delivered at the time Of
his death about s, 800 lectures, and had tray
eled half a million miles. 1t is not too
much to say either that he permanently re-
formed hundreds If not thousands of drunk
ards He did this all the more effectually
because he was a reformed drunkard him
self. Those cold, rigid purists with ii turnip
in their breasts instead of heart who sit
calmly back and lecture the drunkard on
the enormous sin of inebriety, little know
the molten FIRE of craving that consumes
his soul But John B. Cough knew how it
was himself The snakes, the scorpions and
the burning.eye demons of delirium
tremens had lashed him in the midnight
watches His final escape from alcohol is
one of the most magnificent triumphs of the
human will on record, il it was indeed
-. ard .se e
of and beyond him elf
~, y To- hnxya mi
M to do great work. He himself always
felt it to be so. His gifts and the money
they brought him were alike used for th'
good Of his fellow man. His birth wa
English, his origin so poor and humble tha
when he was IL years old his father appren
ticed him to family coming to America
He sent the boy away from him and acros
the water, in the hope that in the new worl,
he might rise above the poverty an lowh
ne s from which there was no hope that b
could EN- rye in the old. Poor people can
not afford to have feelings.
He worked on a farm at first; then be
came a bookbinder in Methodist publish
ing house. He was of q warm genial nature
with marvellous dramatic talent, lie neye
had more than the rudiments of an educa
ton The power he possessed came who'll
by nature He sunk, in youth, to the lowe:
from one situation after another, He ma
ried, but lost his wife and infant child /
death 1t was said that his drunkenne
partly caused the death of his girl wife. /
felt as If it was so, and drank deeper
drown the sting Of it. A Quaker Mr., Stra
ton, found him reeling crazy drunk throue
the streets Of this city in 1912, and induce
him TO go to temperance meeting and sig
the pledge. After that came terrific stru
gle OF week to keep tho pledge. II
struggle nearly killed him. He came o
of it weak as an infant, but he triumphe
Shortly afterwards he began lecturing. L
chapter of his autobiography in which
described the horrors Of that week is almO
blood chilling He had power of langua
which put things with the vividness Of
lightning flash. He went to lecture in En-
land on temperance early in his career, al
the students of Oxford university hissed a
egged him, SO unpopular was his cause
the land of porter and brown stout.
Once after signing the pledge he relapse
but only for a short time. An Engli
writer says it is mainly to John b. Gou
that the United States owes its comparati
freedom from drunkenness He lectuI
over forty years and never oVercame
stage fright. He always wanted TO +
away the first moment when he faced
audience This feeling grew on h
of late years He never wrote out
lecture or made a note of his speecl
beforehand. A neighbor of his told
last fall that Cough was poor man.
charity was as large as his earnings.
had a teautiful country home near he
He was much beloved by his neighboIs
principal treasure of his home was a vt
fine collection Of the art works Of Geo
t.ah ba let nil :
friend of Cough. Among those VIII
Coughs bounty supported in rec,nS We
we.e the widow and children OF Mir Sbl
ton, the good Quaker who reclaimed
from in brety. 1t is good TO cave sue
rocord as his behind one
ELIZA ABcHARI