The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-10-17
TEMPERANCE NOTES.
MRS. CHANTS STORY.
How q Successful Temperance Worker
Became TeetOtaller.

beCdho LeOIOLhAIeEs
At the recent anniversary of the
Church Temperance Society, in fremont
Temple, Boston, Mrs. Chant made an
interesting and effective address. From
a report of the meeting in the Christian
Register, we take the following:
was not born total abstainer. That
marvellous MONDAY light came to me
that comes to some of US. 1t came
through a great happiness. And, young
women and young men, let God teach
you the common lessons of life through
your happiness, and don't wait to learn
them through great sorrow. l have
sometimes thought, if had not learned
the lesson through this Joy, that /
might have learned it through some
bitter pain. 1t came in this way:
married total abstainer. He said no
word about my joining the movement.
but left me to work out my own saliva
ton. One night, after we had been
married about three weeks, had to sit
up for him. He had driven into the
country in bitter, binding winters
storm, and so l sat up through that
night waiting for him. 1t was the first
night that l had been alone since we
were married; and through the pauses
of the wind came the solemn boom Of
the guns of ships in distress, and / be-
gan to partake of the sorrow of those
who were watching for the sailors out
at sea, and at last / went down to the
shore among the women who were wait
ing for those who were being saved
from the wreck and brought to shore
in the life-boat. When l came home
thought of all the poor women in En-
gland, Scotland and Ireland who were
doing what was doing, and doing it so
differently. l was in beautiful home,
with all the comforts of life around
me, waiting for my husband with
the eagerness of happy love;
and they in poverty and hum
ger, awaiting in some lonely gar
ret the dreaded step on the stairs of
drink-maddened brute, in abject terror
for the coming of their husband. And
then conscience spoke. What was do
ing? He on the safe side; you the I'M
safe. With two people who love each
other we'll, one of two things would GER
tainly happen-either he would drag
me over to his safe side or l would drag
him over to my unsafe side. 1 liked my
glass of wine; l loved my husband;
which of the two was l to choose be-
tween-wine, the thing l liked, or the
being loved? | saw which that night.
And so the next morning there crept
a very meek and very humble figure to
the old rector in the rectory. l said:
81 want to join the Temperance So
ciety." He was very wise l wish
more people were wise in such matters.
He did not crow over memo; he held
out two hands of welcome, and said:
You don't know how glad we shall be.
You will be great help" Now, al
though our rector was a Stanch teeto-
taller, he let me choose my own way of
coming along. l think he knew the
caught Tartar needs skillful handling.
So / joined the lazy division Of the
Church of England Temperance Soci-
ETY., the division of those who merely
promise to help, and not to drink alco-
holic liquor between meals! You see
had said such bad things about blue
ribboned fanatics ! could not belong to
them at once, thought.
Well, the rector set me to work. That
is the way to do. Don't give all the
work to the ready-made saints; set
some of the sinners to work. That is
the way to convert them. Well, he set
me to work to write story and read it
in place that had never heard
woman's voice in public. Ii had seen
her act love-parts in theater, and
heard her sing love songs in the con-
cert hall, and it was not ashamed of
that; but when it came to think of
woman standing on platform and
speaking words of common sense to tho
people, it said it would turn the world
upside down. l wrote out the brightest
story l could think of, wrung out of
some former experience. l stood up
that night in the mission hall half-full
of women with walls on their faces, and
at one end some modest men ready to
run if they could not bear the dreadful
immodesty of the thing. Instead of
running, however, they staid to the
end; and afterward 1 was invited to read
another story.
The next time was my baptism.
Down in front there sat poor,
weather-beaten fellow, and they said:
"If you can only get that man! He is
the worst drunkard in the place" So
into that story put a great deal that
was especially for his good. 1 did not
talk at him, but l read at him. After
the meeting was over, L went down to
try and coax him to come to the pledge
table. l brought him to the table, and
smoothed out the book. This was my
first convert. How delightful it was!
Just as he was going to sign his name,
he turned round and asked one very
simple but awkward question. Il
guess you have done it yourself,
missis?" he said. l gave very awk-
ward answer. Pity my bad taste. l
told him, with little shrug of my
shoulders, that it was not necessary for
me to sign 1.-THE total abstinence
pledge-but that it was the only thing
that would save him. He slammed the
pen down and went down the hall, say
ing: "What is sauce for the goose is
sauce for the gander; and what is good
for you is good for me, reckon" Then
l had an inward fight to nght-one OF
those battles that no one knows but
God anl &. 1,,,t %,