The Brookhaven leader., 1886-03-25
TEMPERANCE READING.
JOHN 3. COUGH,
Sketch ofthe Eminent and Successful Tenn.
perance Advocate-His Last Words.

plectlc lit on the lecture platform in
Philadelphia were, Il have seven years
in the record of my own life when [
was held IN the iron grasp of intempcr-
ance. l would give the world TO blot
it out; but, alas! can mott Stepping
forward with impressive gesture the
lecturer said: Therefore, young men,
make your record clean"
MIR. Cough was an Englishman by
birth and was of humble parentage.
He was born August %, 1917. His
father was a soldier in the British serv-
ice, and his mother was during a score
of years the schoolmistress in the vii
lage of Sandgate, 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 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 emigratp, in order
that in this country he might learn a
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, but in 1881, haV-
ing obtained his fathers consent, he
went to the city of New York so learn
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 eTrandaboy
and as Il learner of the book-binder's
trade. He became Il skillful workman,
and as his prospects began to improve
he sent for his parents and sister TO
join him. His mother and sister ar
rived in 1888. but his father did not acs
company them, being loath 10 lose his
his pension of twenty pounds sterling
per annum. For a 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 a series of severe
trials. In the summer of 1894 Mrs.
Cough died of apopleNy, 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 Vividnees.
He had been under the influences of
mothers love, and had been a pure
minded young man. After his moth
eT's death his ability as stOrv-teller
and a mimic made him welcome to a
certain circle of young men. He be-
came an inebriatC and sank so low that
his companions, who had cnticed him
into evil ways, forsOOk him. During
the years from 1884 to 1S42 he went from
place to place, sometimes appearing
on the stage as 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 1888 he went on a fishing
voyage from Ncwburyport, 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 carelcsSncss, he
had set on fire. Delirium trcmcns fol-
lowed, and then his wife died, and at
last he seemed to be without friend
in the world. The story is terrible
one, and it would be charity not to re-
peat it, were it not that Mr.. Cough in
his own inimitable way has told it
again and again as a warning to
others. The turning point in Mr..
Coughs life was in October, 1912. On
a Sunday evening he was walking
along the streets of Worcester, miser-
able and hopeless, when he was touched
kindly glance of Mr.. Joe Stratton, who
asked him to go to a Temperance
meeting the next night and sign the
pledge. He promised to do so, and
went. Another attack of delrium 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
eagerness 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. In 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
a 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. Examiner says:
His 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
its fine library. its spacious rooms and
its surrounding estate of two hundred
and forty acres, is said to be exception