The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-12-07

habits that wmld cause him to for
get or neglect his young wife, and
really John did believe e7eryy hing
that be said, for he was a good fel-
low. and this should the more i'm
press my young readers with the
danger that turks in evil associations.
More than a month had passed
since John had made these promises
to Lucy and she looked happier and
sweeter than she had ever looked be.
fore, and new gates and pretty orna-
ments around his place spoke we'll in
favor of Johns new ways, or his ''new
leaf" as he called it, but cursed be
the ties which bind to evil ways
the poison WAS there and the fruits
would come.
II came when John was at work
in his new ground out Of sight Of his
house. He was whistling as be
worked and was no doubt thinking
of the sweet wifs at home, when the
rowdy fellows made their appearance
on their way, by near cut, over to
q still not far away. They fingered
with John untilshe stopped his work;
and at last they all sat down on a
log. The conversation was pleasant,
the Jokes were merry, and to make
the story short, they passed around
their bottle and John took little
Just little to be sociable-and then,
as all who have ever handled whisky
may know, it was easy enough to
take little more after the first.
After the second round of the bottle
the rowdies had no trouble. They
soon had John persuaded that he
could slip over to the still with them
and return without his wife ever
knowing that he had been away.
Matters thus understood, the whole
crowd Lit over the fence and were
soon on their way through the woods
to the still.
At the usual hour Lucy had dinner
ready and she blew the horn for
John. While waiting for her hus-
bands appearance she went into her
glass, brushed her hair, primped a
little and came out, smiling, to meet
him when he came-but alas, he
never came.
She blew the horn again, this time
long and loud, and then. she waited
and watched, but never John came
nigh. Again she blew and again she
waited, but John had never come.
She was frightened now and thought
some tree or limb in the new ground
had fallen on John, and quicker than
I could write it, she had secuted like
deer and was standing on a big
stump in the new ground calling:
John, oh, John! Where are you,
John?"
Then she searched every nook and
corner in that new ground, but no
John was there. Faint and exhaust
ed, she threw herself upon the leaves
in the corner of the fence, sobbing
mournfully:
"Oh, John, John; where have you
gomez
Poor Lucy! She lay in the corner
of that fence till John and the row.
dies did come and find her, and John,
for the first time in his life, was
blind, staggering drunk, and for the
first time in his life he was unkind to
Lucy, and told her, in a drunken
passion, that her oil father made his
riches by selling whisky and making
peach brandy.
Those rowdies never bad much
trouble after that in getting John eff
to the still, and it was no great while
till he spent the most of his time
9here, and withcrowdies worse than
these first ever thought of being.
Lucy lost the bloom in her cheeks
and the sparkle of her eye passed
away, till folks who knew nothing of
her troubles said she was dyspeptic
and that she didn't make her home
happy.
So matters were moving till one
cold December night, when few
neighbor women had gathered in to
see Lucy die. John was off at the
still and had been off for a week, and
only got home in time to hear the