The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-03-05
TEMPERANCE.
Mr.. COUGH.


Sketch ofthe Eminent and Successful Tenn
peralce Advocate2His Last WORDS.
The last words uttered by Mr.. Cough
before he was stricken down by an apo
plaotic fit on the lecture platform in
Philadelphia were: 81 have seven wears
IN the record of my own life when [
was held in the iron grasp OF intemper-
ance. / would give the world to blot
it out; but, alas! I can not" Stepping
forward with impressive gesture the
lecturer said: Therefore. young men,
make your record clean"
Mr.. Cough was aa Englishman by
birth and was of humble parentage.
He was born August %. 1917. His
father was soldier in the British serv-
ice, and his mother was during a score
! of years the schoolmistress in the viii
lage of SYNDICATE, where they resided.
In his youth he knew what poverty
was, for when the elder Cough was alb
sent in war time Mrs. Cough was some.
times sorely straitened for means. The
boy appears to have had educational
advantages, however, and when eight
years old was a remarkably good read
er. Often while reading to his mother
as she sat working by her cottage door
| strangers would stop to listen, and he
was frequently sent for TO read to ladies
and gentlemen at the village library.
When he was twelve years old his father
decided to send him to America with
family then about to emigrate. in order
that in this country he might learn
| trade and establish himself in life. The
family settled on farm in the interior
of the State of New York. He remained
with them two years, bat in 1881, hav-
| ing obtained his fathers consent, he
went to the city of New York so learn a
| trade. Meanwhile he had become a
member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. Shortly after his arrival in
New York he found employment in the
| Methodist Book Concern as errand-boY
and as a learner of the book-binder' S
trade. He became si1illful workman,
and as his prospects began to improve
he sent for lis parents and sist-c' to
join him. His mother and sister ar
| rived in 1888, but his father did not ac-
company them, being loath to LOSE his
his pension Of twenty pounds sterling
per annum. For short time the fam
lily lived comfortably and in happiness,
but the depression in business which
| occurred in 1888 resulted in loss of
employment and in series of severe
trials. In the summer of 1884 Mrs.
Cough died of apoplexy, and soon
afterward Mr.. Cough commenced that
career of dissipation which came so
near wrecking him wholly, and which
| in his lectures on temperance he has
| described with such terrible vividness.
He had been under the influences CT a
mothers love, and had been a pure
] minded young man. After his moth
| er's death his ability as a story-teller
and a mimic made him welcome to a
certain circle of young men. He be-
| came an inebriate and sank so low that
his companions, who had enticed him
into evil ways, forsook him. During
the years from 1884 to 1912 he went from
place to place, sometimes appearing
on the stage as a comic singer or as a
low comedian, and sometimes working
at his trade, but always sinking lower
and lower into the depths of scottish
ness. In 1883 he went on fishing
voyage from Newburyport, and was
gone several months. On his return
he married and did well for time, but
relapsed. A child was born to him but
died in infancy. Left at one time by
his wife, who went to Providence to
care for an invalid sister, he came near
being burned to death in his own bed,
which, in his drunken carelessness, he
had set on fire. Delirium tremens fol-
| lowed, and then his wife died, and at
| last he seemed to be without friend
in the world. The story is a terrible
one, and it would be charity not to re-
peat it, were it not that Mr.. Cough in
his own inimitable way has tod it
again and again IS warning to
others. The turning point in Mr..
Coughs life was in October, 1872 On
Sunday evening he was walking
along the streets of Worcester, miser-
able and hopeless, when he was touched
upon the shoulder. Turning he met the
kindly glance of Mr.. Joe Stratton, who
asked him to 20 TO Temperance
injecting the next night and sign the
pledge. He promised to do so, and
went. Another attack of delirium fol
| lowed, nearly costing him his life. Re.
covering, he kept his pledge five
months, when he fell, but was soon re.
stored, and since then he has been a
thorough-going Temperance man. His
qualifications for public speaking were
called into requisition, and for about
forty years he has been one of the most
welcome occupants of the lecture plat
form, not only in this country, but in
England. He has been heard with
eagarness by all classes OF society, and
his work in the Temperance cause has
been broad and effective. Probably no
man has ever appeared upon the lee
ture platform more frequently. He
has travelled something like half a mill
ion miles, and has delivered something
like eight thousand lectures. la his
later years he has taken other subjects
in addition to Temperance to talk
upon. He has been interested always
in religious matters, and has delivered
number of addresses at religious
| gatherings. In 1873 he was in England,
and while there spoke number of
times. He was warmly welcomed
there, and was heard by immense
audiences. This was his second visit,
his first having been made in 1858.
Speaking of this remarkable man the
/ N. Y. EG0n1iner says:
"H;s influence in the cause of Tenn
perance has been beyond human COM
| putation. He has carried conviction
into thousands Of hearts, and thou
sands Of homes have cause to bless his
name. He had long made his home at
/ Worcester, Mass, where his house with
I its fine library. its spacious. rooms and
| its surrounding estate of two hundred
and forty acres, is said to be exception
ally attractive. AS a popular lecturer
his income was large, bat his heart
was large, too. For years he support
ed the widow and children of the
stranger who first. induced him to take
the pledge, and his hand was always
open to the needy. 1t IS not thought
l L. I L l.. Il sI1,,a Il