The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-07-29
md Miss Danser was fully that, Il no,


older.
In the course OF three months Boyd
and Miss Danser were engaged, anc
Aleck did very well in his work, lapsing
occasionally into drink.
One week | missed him.
The woman with whom he had
boarded said he had been drinking very
heavily and had gone out one ght,
since which time she had heard nothing
from him. l sent to Miss Danser. She
wrote that he had called upon her in an
intoxicating condition, and had behaved
so badly that she, thinking her father
would find him, had compelled him to
leave and she had heard nothing of him
since. ! felt alarmed and sought the
aid of Supt Jordan. Aleck was found
on Blackwell's Island.
QUEER HOME FOR A GAMBLER.
On his release he came, naturally, tc
me. ! braccd him up. encouraged him.
gave him work, and at his request call
ed upon Miss Danser l found her in
Elizabeth street, think, in quaint lit
tie house, pictures of religious subjects
on the walls, hymn books and Bibles,
tracts and volume of Mrs. Heman' s
poetry on the table. While waiting
for her l took up Mrs. Hemans and
found that she had marked,
And was His mortal hour beset
With anguish and dismaya
How may we meet our conflict yet
In the dark narrow ways
How, but through Him, that path had trol
Save or We perish, Son of God;
and others. but that particular verse
UNDERSIGNED half a dozen times. Well,
now, just imagine the position.
A gamblers home, gambler
daughter. gambler with the reputa.
ton of being the sharpcst of his class;
cruel. crafty, merciless to all his vic.
Tins, but enveloping this one child
with the hottest of sentiments, the
| sweetest of affections. the care, the
thought, the love, the protecting yearn-
ing for his daughter and his daughter
good; and here in this room, the room
of the gamblers daughter, within call
of other rooms less sacred. were these
emblems of her faith, these indices oil
her thought, these flowers upon the
pathway of her existence.
had a painful half hour with her.
She admitted with fearful protesta-
tons her love for Aleck; she told how
greatly she desired his happiness here
and hereafter; but through it all it was
painfully evident that as a Christian
woman she believed with faith that
| could not be turned. 1t would be sin
| for her to link her life with a man who
under the influence of liquor, yielded
up everything that was true. everything
| that in her Judgment was worth living
for.
Yet made as good fist Of it as
could, and finally secured her promise
that if Aleck would sign and keep ;
pledge of total abstinence for montl
she would receive him, and that mean
while he might write to her once F.:
week. OF course / knew that ended it
for the moment man and woman, sit
uated as they were, begin to write, look
ing forward to meeting, the veries
blind man must be able to see the Ger
tain end.
The end came.
They were reunited and day was Sc
for their marriage, against which thu
father made most vigorous protest, bu
yielded, as fathers generally do, aidet
somewhat toward that step by the fac
that Aleck had taken and had kept hi
pledge for three consecutive months.
In an evil hour the young man wa
sent to report French ball.
The city editor instructed him to re
main until the closing of the doors, no
to be content with the ordinary routine
report, but to supplement it by truth
full and provable record of the late
scenes and the hurley-burley which
generally attends the breaking up
Bright and handsome, dashing and full
of life, he was favorite in the com
mittee-room, and, yielding to tn
pressure of hospitality, took glass o
wine. Thoughtlessly he took anothe
and landed in the station-house.
| Reckless, he plunged into the vortex
He was not content with that dis
grace, but, wildly tempting his fate
dove to the dregs. Danser, with al
outburst Of passionate fury his daugh
ter had never seen before, swore to XII
him at sight if he ran across his path
My favor could not longer shield him il
the office, and he sank, little by little
to the depths of dirty, loathsome va
grant. Time and again, in the earl
hours of the morning, when the cit
was asleep, he crawled into the publ
cation Office, his stockingless feet il
rubbers, scantily clothed, SO foul AM
disagreeable as to be absolutely often
sive, and begged for the 1east pittance
/ Danser went on blithe1y and bravel
through life. His daughter thinne
down. Her face was like parchment
her eyes, always large, stood so prom
inent under her arched brows as t
seem distorted. Her lips became thi
and puckered. Never strong, alway
puny in appearance, she literally shriv
elled. Danser grew old and strong an
stout, and very, very rich. He tempt
ed his daughter with money. He beg
ged her to go abroad, he sought i
every possible way to distract her al
I tention and divert her thoughts, bu
. with a manner almost distract sh
! pushed him gently one side and devot
ed ali her sharpened intellect, all he
time and all the money she could &c
, from her over-generous father. to tn
on-goings of her church, her missio
or her school.
Il THE DREADFUL END.
One day shortly after Iyron row wa
, pulled down to make way for the ne7
, building of the Stats Zeituog, whe
, the entire triangle fronting what is no.
, known as the Brooklyn bridge entrance
, was occupied with timber and stone
: standing with friend and lookin
5 from the window Of my Office idly, m
) attention was attracted to figure bei
nearly double. sitting on a long joist.
It was a man.
RI On his disheyclled head was no ha
on his feet no shoes, On his body
r ragged shirt and worn and hoIey pa
t Of trousers, held ia place by one dilal
: idated suspender. Newsboys plague
him, newsgirls jeered at him, a loafin
, policeman. swinging his club, looked o
approvingly.
t Had he been dog think l shoul
, have jumped into the ring.
h It was no dog.
: It was my old boy, Aleck. Quicl
+ quick we had him in an ambulance, quic
|, We drove him to an hospital and ther,
i Washed and cleansad and fod I'll