News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-09-16
GOING OVER THE LINE.
TEACHINGS AFFORDED BY A DRINK
Err WHO HAD BECOME DIS
REPUTABLE.
How They Go On, Step by Step. until They
are Ordinary LOafers,
from the n. Y. SUM-

from the N. Y. Sum-
A genial local politician was entering
an up-to cafe few days ago when a
man, perhaps 35 years of age, and of
seedy attire, stepped forward and asked
him for money.
"Ive been excepting-expecting re-
mittances from England, he said hur
rie lily as he glanced around, ''but they
are de"
''Heres half a dollar" said the poll
t1cian calmly, looking at tbs mendicant
in the eve. sits the first and it will be
the last''
The man stepped back with a con-
fused and hurt look, and the politician
and his companion went on into the
place.
II hated to be rough with that poor
devil" said the local leader, with
mien of unwonted severity, ''but it is a
course 1 always adopt with men when
they slip over the line and become bar
room loungers and beats. Half dollar
is, of course, nothing to me, but I'll
cling to it like death before a man like
that can get it away from me-"
''Who is he?"
liz WIIdI ut HUNS " D0. lie was
a man of consequence a short time ago.
1t has taken him about year to get to
point where he can get the assurance
to brace men for money. I've been a
drinking man for about thirty years, and
I've never been able to get over the sad
fascination which a man who is going to
the dogs exercises over me. Such
man is the man who braced me outside
| met HIM first with a party of eight or
ten wine men-agents, you know, en-
gagged in pushing a certain brand of
champagne. He is an Englishman. At
that time he had one of those clean and
rosy-lcoking faces that we often see in
men of this nationality, and was exqui-
sitely careful about his dress. After
drinking bottle or so of wine he beg
ged leave to have little rye. He drank
no end of whiskey after that, and he
took it in way that never fails to
frighten me letting it roll down his
throat slowly, and losing interest in
what went on about him while the liquor
was in his mouth. 1t happened that my
brother 1n-law and | had been talking
at dinner about heavy drinkers, and
when we were together later at the wine
party-it was IN this very bar, by the
way-I indicat ed the Englishman with
a nod as my idea of heavy and dan
gerous drinker. My brother-in law is
very quick, and he saw what I meant.
BE kept an eve on the Englishman that
night, and has ever since, even going so
far as to protest and plead with him.
1t was useless, as you have seen When
we rose from the table at 4 in the morn
ing we were in a roar Everybody was
singing, joking, or laughing except the
whiskey drinker, whose chm was sunk
on his chest, and who looked Iogy, sui
len, and--well, ugly drunk.
You drink good deal of stuff IN
twenty-four hours" remarked a gray
haired court clerk who had joined the
uttle group
Yes, do" admitted the politician
frankly, ''but l do it in peculiar way.
To begin W th, l never drink before 3
o'clock in the afternoon. Many morn
ing I've got out of bed and struggled
through my office work feeling that I'd
give ten years of my life for little alb
sinthe or good long drink of brandy
aud soda. But no matter how badly l
might want it l drank nothing but
well, guess what2 No, it wasn't milk,
cold tea, coffee, clam broth. or plain
soda, but simple hot water. And it is
drink that gro on a man wonderfully.
positively like it. One other pointer,
if you want to know how | have man
aged to drink so much without having
suffered any i'll effect. Before going to
bed every night, no matter what the
hour or what I've been drinking, | take
my kettle off the gas jet and drink not
less than a pint of hot water I give
you my word, too, that my last drink is
often the one enjoy best If our Eng
lish friend had taken some such precau-
ton as this, he might still be healthy
and hold good place in the business
community"
At this moment the man who had
been SO much talked about came in A
half grown and straggly beard gave an
uncouth lCok to the lower part of his
face, and his eyes were bloodshot and
heavy. His linen was not presentabe,
and his clothes were seedy in the ex-
treme. One or two of the overdressed
young men of the place looked at him
superciliously. but the older ones and
all the walters, bartenders and other
EMPLOYEES responded to his half timid
and anxious nod with grave movements
of the head. 1t is always rather impress
sive to see the courtesy that is shown to
a drunkard at a bar that has known him
in better days, when not sunk too low.
The Englishman bought drink of
whiskey, paid for it with a ffty-cent
piece, Strengthened up, stood looking
at some of the costly pictures, took a
toothpick from the end of the bar, put
it into his mouth, and drifted out with
a pitlful affectation of iauntiness.
''He'll soon leave here for good, " said
the proprietor of the barroom, who had
also joined the group around the poll
tician, and was looking solemnly after
the retreating figure. ''He can't afford
to pay twenty cents drink much long
er, and he'll drift to ten and then a
tive-cent shop. shot a pigeon match
with him in Hoboken less than four
years ago, and he killed, or rather
broke, for we were shooting glass, 50
out of the first 100, and 81 out of the
second, winning the match. He couldn't
hold gun up now, let alone firing it.
All his shooting traps have been bought
by the yellow haired barber there at a
fourth of their value"
Cpd hate to see man go to pieces
that way under my roof, " said the clerk,
crisply.
"Well," said the proprietor, slowly,
"there are times when I've felt that this
business had its drawbacks, but then its
mighty interesting. I've watched that
Englishmen as a scientist would watch
an experiment. He used to take great
pride in his tinger-nails. | noticed one
day that they were little off. After
that they got worse, and finally settled
into mourning permanently Then. he
got to wearing the same collar two days
and once l saw a Zip in his shoe, and
counted to see how many days it would
be before he had it repaired. To my
surprise he did not do anything at all
with it, but let it go. l knew by that
that he was a goner, because to man
of his natural temperament and habits
tear in the shoe ought to have been an
event. Then he began to part with his
things. He'll soon drift away. So
you've all been talking of him, and you
wonder how barroom iOungers are made?
Well, it's blessed sight more than |
can tell you, except that by degrees
they get so that they think more and
more of the stuff, until it finally gets