The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-01-22
The Good Wife Knew It.

There is q retired cobbler living In
this places, writes an Angelica, n. r..
correspondent. who deserves the ne
spect of his cOuntrymen for moral cour-
age. ..
Ten years ago he was, and had been
for a long time, a confirmed inebriate-
not a periodical spreer, but q genuine
soaker, warranted not to draw 4 sober
breath from sun to SUM-. Occasionally
the fumes Of the whisky with which he
piled himself would clear away from
his befogged brain, and at such times
his mental equilibrium would wrestle
with the problem Of total or even par
tial abstinence. to be utterly wrecked at
the sight of his haunts or the first faint
call Of his system for the stimulant
which long USE had rendered peremp-
tory.
One day. however, q halt was called,
and this Is the way he tells OF it:
II was on my way to the barn when !
saw a small snake in my path. l kicked
it with my boot, and it turned to q bit
of crooked twig, which ! snapped in my
hand and threw away. thought moth.
ing more of the matter until reached
the barn, when, directly before nae, .
second snake twisted across the boards.
With a quick spring I seized it. and II
proved to be q whiplash. A sudden hor.
rible fear made me faint and weak. ]
sat down on the lower rung Of the lad
der leading to the loft and wiped the
cold sweat from my forehead.
"'Snakes. by Jericho! / exclaimed.
That means business
Then I stared straight across . corn.
stalk that soon began slowly to wriggle
and curve. With bursting eyeballs and
all the strength of mind ! possessed ]
forced that corn-stalk back from the
animal to the vegetable kingdom, and
then I staggered feebly out into the
open air. I leaned against o fence, and
for fear I should see more Of those hor'
rible twisting thing. I chung to q post
and closed my eyes.
Thine is called. Jim.' I said to my.
self, whisky and you part company to.
day; and soberer than I had been fol
many months, though with no more
strength than a baby, ! managed to gel
back to the house,
NThere was a fight, though! ! didn'i
tell my wife, for l had made q good many
promises that hadn't held water, and
thought I'd 60 it alone for Q while, ]
got up in the morning after . terrible
night with the thirst Of a chased fox up.
on me. Water wouldn't quench it, and
l tried milk. / crept into the milk-room.
slipped q straw into the edge of q
cream-covered pan, and sucked out the
milk until only the cream was left
lowered smooth and unbroken to the bot
tom. Then / tackled another and an
other, until the fierce craving was some
what dulled. 1t was a household mys
terry what became of the milk. No ca,
could lap it, my wife said, and leave the
sides and cream untouched, and where
did it gop
II let them talk, for the struggle wal
too sore and fearful to be spoken OF, and
l went on driking the milk.
THE road from my house to my shoI
lay by the groggery. When l left my
gate in the morning / took the road
and on q dead run, as II pursued,
made the distance, ran hard all tht
way home to dinner, and back aftel
that meal. never, in fact, trusting my
self to walk, or even take to the side
walk, for months. The cure was slow
/ keep all the brakes hard set yet A
single glass of hard cider would undo
the work of all these years, but you car
bet that glass doesn't touch my lip
while the memory of those little crawl
ing black reptiles stay with me-"
"And did your wife finally learn wha
became of the milkp" he was asked.
Yes and his voice broke. ~ tole
her on her dcathbed. =
Jim, DEAR she said when ] had fin
ished with her hand ciasped in mine
Jim, dear, | knew it all the time"