The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-11-21
Entirely Reformed.


One of the strSngest stories Of drunk
ards reformation is told in the Philadel-
phia Times. William H., prosper
oEs tradesman of Eastern Pennsylvania,
lost his property through unforeseen bus
iness troubles, and, leaving his young
family, went West to retrieve his fortune,
but discouraged By want Of success, he
took TO drink, and finally became de-
graded lOafer. He drified eastward again,
and was seen in Troy, y. Y. hanging
around liquor saloons. He had lost his
manhood, and even his very name thav-
ing long been ashamed to be called by il
and men knew him as The Worm Of
the Still.p
once, soon after the arrival Of circus
and meEagerie combination to exhibit in
the city, the drunkari saw one Of the
keepers purchase a pailful Of whisky for
sick elephant. and snsked after him to
the circus tent, following the impulse Of
his raging thirst
The keeper put the bucket Of whisky
down before Betsy, the sick elephant,
and she drank about half oft. The in
telligent brute knew it was medicine, and
did not propose to take more oft than
she thought she needed The bucket,
still half full of liquor, was left standing
near her, and the keepers attention was
called away for moment.
Hardly was his back turned when
bIoatei, red face was poked through I'M
der the canvass, and its pair of watery
eyes were fastened greedily upon the
bucket. Betsy fixed her keen little eyes
On the intruder, stopped swaying to and
fro, and waited patiently to Sc what he
would DO.
He did not notice her The fascination
OF the whisky blinded him 10 everything
else. The bucket was beyond his reach.
He drew himself under the tent until iIe
could clutch it. The instant that be did
50, Betsy flung her powerful trunk about
his waist, aad whirled him high in the
air.
She did not mean him any harm, but
he was tampering with her medicine and
she would not stand that So he had
barely time to give one wild shrek Of
terror. when she tossed him thirty feet
away, where he struck against one Of the
ponderous wheels Of lion cage, and fell
TO the earth with one leg broken, and
three fractured ribs. She did not attempt
to follow and hurt him, for she had no
malice. He was carried away ona stretch
er to the hospital.
The rest of the story IS pathetic TO
nance. The wretched mans recovery
was so slow that fifteen weeks passed be-
fore he could walk on erutches but in
that long time the thorough hospital
treatment had cleansed all the liquor out
of him, and he had begun to look some
thing ike his former self
One day. when party Of ladies visited
the hospital, distributing flowers and
reading matter to the patients, one OF
them, handsome but sad-faeed young
woman, stopped by his chair, and gazed
at him as if strangely startled.
Father she said, you don't remem-
Der me. am your daughter Mary
1t was twelve years since she had seen
him, but she knew him.
She had MIN conveyed to her home as
soon as possible where, in time he was
restored to health, found good employ
ment, and began new lie Of sobriety
and industry, which continued TO the
last.
His adventure with the elephant, 50
nearly fatal to him, proved the means Of
his entire reformation.