The Red Cloud chief., 1886-02-12
TEMPERANCE
a A OF WINE.
The Fssrfsl Woes 1:ssuifiag from the
wiiisai spirif af . Thoushtiess Girl.


mers ago. an incident occurred which
impressed me SO deeply ,hst I write i,
out for the benefit 81 the readers of the
CATisti1n at Hork.
Ii was July. no, and dusty; but a
vet there had not ONE that intense
heat and irouth that parche. the earth
and auses the yerdant forest and
meadow ~ grow brown and -ere.
We took the day boat 10 Albany. and
all day ION. brcathed the deIiciou. All
and Toasted ewes on the eyer-vary
ing Landscape. A large proportion OF
the passengers wrr. ladies. MANY al
whom wvr. seeking rest aud quiciudr
in the country. There wcr. tired
school-teaehrrs who had but ~yesseria,
locked the doors of their class-room-
for the long vacation. Ia whom this
free gladstone day was a for.tas,e oi
Heaven. = party o! young girl artists.
too. were there. with eager eyes and
def. rapid fingers. There is something
peculiarly pleasant about travelling by
water. aside from the scenery or any
external matter. There seems to be an
atmosphere Of frIendliness and good
fellowship that We are not wont 10 ex
D%erience when %journeying by rail. No
aIatter what our station in life, or
where our home. for the time being
We are on the same level. and are f..
miliar a~cquaintances.
II so CHANGED that one Of our number
took up a morning paper and read
aloud an account Of = vigorous Tenn
perance movement in one of the int.ri-
or States. Comments and some dis
cus-iun followed. One after another
joined in the conversation until i'm tina,
part of the boat il became general.
All the ladies professed Temperance
principles. but held quite diverse opin.
ions as to the best methods Of advanc-
ing the cause. Some believed in total
abstinence and would include tobacco
i'm the pledge. Others would draw the
line between distilled and fcrmented
liquors. claiming that wine and beer
were not only harmless but hcalthful
in their effect. The latter class made
frequent illusions to DIR. Howard CrOs-
BY and his reformatory work.
During the discussion. which grew
warmer and warmer. a lady. whom we
had noticed as apparently alone and
u~nscquainted. drew near and listened
with eager attention. She was a little
past middle life. tall and of digniiied
appearance. Her dark eyes and snow
white hair presented as marked \ con-
tra,t rs did her pale face and mourning
garments.
e don't see rs wine can be bad"
said n of the young artists. 1--WE al
ways have wine AT dinner. and papa
and brother Bill often take u glass to-
gether in the evening. I'm sure they
would scorn the idea of being classed
with those who use stronger drinks.
They are splendid men. both Of them"
And she tossed her head with q proud
little air.
The lady in black bent forward. her
thin. white fingers working convulsivc-
ly. and her dark eyes glowing with in
tensity of feeling. Then. ~ il she
could no longer keep silence. she ex-
claimed:
Ladies. l am \ stranger to YOU all.
but l must speak" Assurances of
welcome followed and she began:
Thirty years ago / WAS an only
daughter i'm rs beautiful and happy \
home as any Of YOU can have. But in
that home their lurked an enemy. un.
seen and unsupported. that was des-
tined to make q wreck Of joy and peace
and love.
MY father was a lavish provider.
and enjoyed high living. Wines of
various brands were never absent from
the sideboard. and both wine and
brandy Were used freely i'm the culinary
department. In that atmosphere I re-
my earliest impressions; and
grew up To think no NOR. Of drinking
wine than tea or coffee. At eighteen |
began to receive attention from the
young nan who afterward became my
husband. One day he was dining with
and. as l had before noticed. did
not taste his wine. In a pla, ful way /
accused him Of being ungallant. and
commanded him To drink il.
In a quiet and respectful manner. he
DO not urge me. please. But n
wil!fui spirit possessed me, and / in
declaring that | should be seri-
offended il he refused. He raised
the glass to his lips and drained it to
the bottom"
The speaker paused. evidently strug-
Cling To control her emotions. but soon
continued:
Daring the six weeks that elapsed
between that time and our marriage he
drank wine IN my presence many times.
and ! noted with pleasure that he who
WAS so usually quiet became gay and
witty. But on Our wedding day he
too much. Even l. who knew
nothing of Temperance principles. be-
gan to see nv mistake i'm urging upon
him that first glass. / can not tell you
Of that day (she %shivered) save that
l Saw him becoming intoxicated
and sought to demonstrate. he bluntly
answered: You have yourself to thank
'Ah, il was too true.
before \ year had passed wine no
satisfied his craving and he re-
sorted to brandy. My eyes were now
Tully opened. but it WAS too late. In
his sober moments I tried to reason
him and induce him to let il alone.
He would only reply: Il can't. Ellinor.
| wish i could; but from the moment I
lasted the frs, drop I WAS . lost man.
You will have to bear it.
''He never once argued that he was
I'll right and walking in q safe path: he
to realize his condition and WAS
sad even TO desn.ir. Al times he gave
NE the bitterest reproaches and curses,
put felt that ] deserved them all.
''when our Iirs, baby came. I hoped
that it might prove . tie To hold At
nome the father, for he seldom spsp5
y
y though no earthly power could keep
him. / longed to have him a home.
alreaded his coming. For. Hhen