The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-14

| Temperance IL Is good tulng.
! And | can give an excellent temper
ance story without aiding a particle
OF fctlon to the facts. says New
York correspondent of toe Cincinnati
Enquirer. AS | was walking with
one of the house surgeons through
the alcoholic ward Of BsllVue HospI-
tai the other dag | saw a face that
was familiar to ne. The owner was
a young woman who had been
brought in several days before, suf.
fefiog from the ailment that 8ftijctei
! all the occupants Of the alcoholic
ward. She lay in 4 cot, looking
quite peaceful. her eyes closed, the
white coverlid drawn close up under
her chin. Save for a great pallor
and certain old, faded look that
came not OF years but OF reckless
living. toe face would have been
pretty, as it lay framed in the spots
less pillow, motionless as a picture.
The patient was asleep, and with
every minute that she slumbtred was
putting the fever and the frenzy
further away. She had slept unin>
terruptedly for seven hours, the
nurse said and it was believed that
when she awoke she would be hungry
and far along On the road to recOv
cry. | cast about in my mind to
think where l had seen the face, and
at length ] remembered.
Four years ago last winter | lived
on East Eighteenth street. near
Second avenue. and it was my hab-
it to 60 of an evening to Schmenger's
beer saloon on Third averue, to
pass q social hour over glass of the
Munich Royal brew and a cigar.
Schmengec's was family resort and
a very quiet and respectable place.
Among the many groups that used
to establish themselves there with
more or less regularity was one cons
sisting Of all elderly woman, a young
man and girl. | took them to be
Germans. The woman and The
young man were Enthusiastically that.
but of the girl | was in doubt. NV
curiosity was not very great, and it
was only after observing them for
several months that / accidentally
learned something about the.3.
One rainy March afternoon I was
throwing dice with JOHN Meyer. the
bartender, when the trio came in.
The girl looked very pretty. The
wind and rain had had their way
with her face, and it was rosy with
bushes. l should say that she was
about twenty years Of age. She had
superb figure and black hair and
eyes, 1t was hard for me to keep
my eyes off her and TO follow the
dice, upon the tura of which the best
cigars in the house depended. Johns
attention was also frequently divert.
ed by the three, though not in the
same way. They kept him measur'
ably busy supplying them with what
they wanted to drink. 1t occurred
2 to me after while that they were
: drinking a good deal. | said as
much to John, but he only shrugged
his shoulders and said that they
were used to it. When they first
came in they had pory OF brandy
all round to take off the chill Of the
weather. 1t vas not quite sufficient
and they had another, and then q
third. From the brandy they turn
ed to beer, choosing the heavy Ba'
: varian variety, and they drank SIX
glasses each of it before going home
to supper. AS they passed out
: John, who was smoking a Reina that
4 [ paid for, told nae that the young
mau was q musician in Damrosch'<
/ Orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera
7 House, that the elderly woman wa:
his mother, and that the girl was hiE
| wife. They had beer coming tC
Sohmenger's for year, John said
S and what they had drunk that after
f noon was nothing unusual for them
He had served the rosy checked gic
with twenty glasses Of heavy beer II
the course of an evening Of 6v'
hours. Shortly sitter that | removed
= from nv Eighteenth street lodgings
and changed circumstances inter
rupted my habit of going TO Schmen
gers. l did not see the girl agaIi
:, until saw her in the hospital.
: I felt an interest in the case. lii
patient had been bro1ght t. Belle
yue, suffering from acute alcphoH
= mania, by two officers Of Captain
=, Clinch}'s police, which patrols tn
~ district in which Schmengsr's i
aolI,J etotion ,