River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1893-08-03

with me but he wouldn't have il. He
, said there was something wrong about
the limit of inebriety had set, because.
while he was still able To apologize for
his condition, he had lost all desire m
do 50. / wasn't really much alarmed.
because / thought one night of it would
settle him II didn't. though. lie was
at il again next day. and the next.
There was a pretty row on when his
father and mother heard of IL But that
didn't worry him any. He kept it up
| like an old rounder. I've known him
to get two policemen drunk in one night
miserable judge of whisky he was,
too.
1T soon seemed inevitable that the
I family was To produce two highly sue
eessful drunkaris. and then il became
a question of which one the girl stood
the best chance of saving.
while Ed and his wife were debat-
I ing over it, il came - jules mind one
/ day that. for one of the interested par
ties, she 'Llaving much voice in
/ the matter One morning, without say
| ing anything to anyone, she locked
/ George in his room and fed him on milk
toast and Apollinaris water all day.
Toward night she let him out He gave
her 10 understand that his craving for
strong drink was next thing to uncon-
trOllable and that she had got to marry
him; otherwise he could never conquer
it. She said she would marry him when
he kept sober six months, regardless of
what his father and mother might say.
II seems she had will of her own. only
she had To cry good deal to get it in
! working ortier.
''YOu can Imagine how anXiously we
all watched George. and what a relief
it was TO every one. when he began to
show that he had conquered his appe-
tite for too much whisky.
He finished out his period of proba-
ton soberly, and the wedding came of.
The day before, he said to me: Well,
uncle. its pretty tough when a man
has to make a reprobate of himself be-
fore he can marry the woman he loves;
but ] think did tolerably we'll
IL think you did. my boy said,
considering your lack of natural quail
ifieations: but don't see that you were
forced into it
Yes; hut / was he said. Lee
drank hard, and every one, even my
own people. said what IA bright fellow he
could be IL he would only let liquor alone;
then they gave him the girl loved,
because / didn't happen to be a drunk
ard. ! jus; thought I'd see il whisky
| straight, as You called il. wouldn't
bring my merits out into little strong
er relief
Then you didn't have a strong appe-
tite for liquor. | asked him.
"'Not bit of it,, he said. 4 found
hard drinking to be hard work; and, &
tell the truth about il. that last month
of my brief career as a dipsOmaniac was
a fake. / just kept out late and lit
tered my room up with empty bottles.
But he swOre me To secrecy. And TO
this day they all think Julie pluclied
him from the burning"
And what became of Lee after his
| brothers marriage?" / asked.
well, now. do you know that's the
funny part of il. AS soon as George
started in. Lee became alarmed about
him. and in his efforts to keep George
straight he got to keeping sober him
I self. tieorgc's misdeeds seemed to open
his eyes and give him disgust for that
sort of thing. lie Strengthened up and
married an old flame of his who'd Tilted
him when he first began to get wild.
They're both heads of families now
/ H. l.. Wilson in Puck