Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-11-18
A LOST CONSCIENCE.

A conscience had been lost. Yet moth
ing appearti changed. The streets and |
the theater~ were always crowded; people |
continued 10 psss TO and fro; ambitions
still agitate,l the mir. and good luck WAS
his who could catch IL on the wing. No
one noticed that something had suddenly
Disappeared that a certain flute had ceased
To play its part in the gvat orchestra Of
human life thu the contrary. some people
even hegan Ia feel themselves freer and
Drawer Man walked morr arily and un-
dertood better tho~e comnloditirs which
can be found To give dig at a neighbor.
the opportunity of tiattering. OF cheating.
OF making false reports, OF calumniHting.
II seemed ls though all diScomforts had
been spirited away. People no longer
walk~i They seen.ed to he borne up.
Nothing affected them. nothing could
make them reflect, The present, the fu
ture. everything seemed to belong 10 those
happy people who had not even noticed the
loss OF the conscience.
it disappeared suddenly. In the twinkling
Of an eyeI Yesterday IL was still there.
| like tiresome parasite. obvious To every
one. oh;rading itself On the attention.
when suddenly there was nothingl
| Al uatt uir2fP
peared with il, and also the moral inquiet
ude which accompanies AN accusing con
science disappeared likewise,
Now there was no hindrance 70 sailing
with the stream OF life, To absolute amuse
nlent. The wise ones Of this world realized
that they were At length freed from the
last drag which impeded their movements,
| and they at once gave themselves up to
pluck the fruits OF this liberty. There
seemed nothing but rapine and thefts; it
was the beginning OF general ruin.
Meanwhile the unfortunate conscience
lay all lacerated on the highroad. The
pazsers by spat at 1t and pushed IL with
their feet Each one trampled ON IL, as
they would have dous n tattered rag; each
one asked himself with astonishment how
II was possible that such scandal conld
take place in broad daylight in n well reg
nlated town
God knows how long the poor outlaw
would have remained in this state had not
an unfortunate drunkArd picked IL up,
after having coveted the miserable rag
with his drunken eyes, In the hope Of sell
ing Il to procure for himself little brandy.
Suddenly he felt sort OF electric current
circulate through him. He began to look
around him with his dulled eyes Ii WAS
evident To him that his head was freeing
itself Of the fumes Of wine. Little 10y lit
tie there returned TO him that bitter con
sciousnesss of the fact that all his living
forces were destroyed by drink.
At first he felt only fear. that blind feai
which sometimes troubles man when he
feels the presentment OF a menacing dan
ger Next his memory disquieted him, his
; imagination made its voice heard. Hi,
pitiless memory raked out OF the dark eor
l. sk l..f.
cerning acts OF violence Of treason. OF In
Equity, which he had committed. aud nj
. that recalled TO him the withering OF hi
heart. His imagination clothed all thes
details with living forms. There he Is
walked from his long lethargy. but only 4
be turned into a sort OF tribunal befor
which he judges himself.
To the unfortunate drunkard his Who'll
| past seems like continual crime, like
perpetual scandal. He does not proceed b.
iuterrogations, examination, analysis. II
Is crushed mt the outset by the spectacle @
his moral fall, and he feels thousan
= times more punished by this internal tr
bunal, before which he has appeared Of hi
own accord. than he could be by the mos
severe human tribunal. He will not 40
init, In extenuation. that the greater par
OF his East for which he curses himself iii
| uDl Wholly utIfffbi btf nititrEtts Ah
miserable drunkard. hut upon n myster
GUS and immense power which threw an
dragged him into this world similar 10 th
hurricane which. In its turbulence. carri,
frail leaf Of grass across the steppes.
WhHi use is his past, Why has his iii
followed this course aud not another road
What il he bimselff just so many que
tions TO which he cannot respond, excei
by complete ignorance and the most pr
found astonishment. Alas, the awakene
conscience offers him neither hope nor re
onciliation. Hitherto he has lived in
. mist: today the ss,me mist exists, but pc
', Piled with mournful visions For long b
arms have been fettered by heavy chain
now the same chains arc here, but the
weight has doubled because he has unde
stood that they are chains. Our drunkai
began 10 shed useless tears. The gos
folk who passed by began to stop rour
about him, and assured him IL was q
wine which was working In him.
But, my friends, cannot stop weepin
II Is beyond my power said the unhapl
man. And the crowd burst into shouts
laughter and Knocked him. They did q
understand that he had never been le
under the influence Of wine than now. a
=. = that he had merely made sorrowful d
Ill covery which tore his heart. Had {
crowd made a similar discovery they won
have nssuredly understood that there IL
frief. the saddest OF all, that Of fnding
awakened conscience unexpectedly. Til
would have also understood that they
l. were deformei in spirit and as brutaliz
III, ~ this druuknrd who WAS thus lame
ing
mo- reflected the unhappy one,
must rid myself OF It at any price: 9th
wise I am done for"
ma And ne at once prepared 10 throw
find on the public road. but was prevent
by the ssence Of sergeant OF the tos
You, my man" said this last to b
ives shaking his finger at him, "look to me
ny g n you were about to distribute abr
and elandsstins pamphlets- II you do, Il
B.