The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-02-01
BETTER THAN A PLEDGE.
How DIR. John Wesley Brown Helped
Man to Give Up Liquor.

Man to Give Up Liquor.
A Cleveland man tells this pathetic and
characteristic story of the late Rev. DR..
John Wesley Brown, the incident occur
ring while he was rector of Trinity
church in this city. The story was told
the narrator by the doctor himself.
One evening u stranger called at the
rectory ON Superior street adjoining the
church. He was q we'll dressed. well APP
pearing man, but evidently in deep trou-
BILE.
"Dr. Brown" he said, 81 have come to
you for advice and assistance. | am Il
victim of the drink habit. | have an eX-
cellent position-l am cashier for a
wealthy corporation-and / know | CAN
not retain it unless | reform. l want
you to draw up pledge for me-make it
as strong as you can, pleasc-and l will
sign it, and you will witness it,
DIR. Brown leaned back and looked at
the man.
"How long have you been drinking to
excessY he asked.
The man told him it was five or six
years; ever since he obtained his present
position. He only drank to excess when
he was with his friends. He never drank
at other times. When he was with his
friends, be would forget himself and over
step the limit. Sometimes he didn't go
on a spree for a whole month, but the at
taczs were growing more frequent. lie
seemed to be losing his will power.
MY friend" said the doctor, "you
don't need pledge. l see in you vic
tim Of good comradeship. You are far
from being an ordinary drunlard. IL
you signed a temperance pledge and
broke it, as you undoubtedly would do,
it would still further degrade you in your
own eyes. do not advise the pledge"
The man looked dumfounded.
"But what am to doT' he gasped.
The doctor drew a card from his desk
and rapidly wrote a few lines.
'gThere," he said, "read that"
This is what the man read:
ITO my friends: l find l am becoming
a victim of the liquor habit. If do not
quit, l am sure to lose my position and
ruin myself. For Gods sake, don't ask
me to drink with you"
"There," said DR.. Brown, "sign that,
and l will sign it as witness. All |
ask of you is to show the card when
temptation is at your elbow, and if you
fall come here and tell me about it.
There! Good night"
1t was a full month before the man
returned, worried and detected.
81 expected you long before this" said
the doctor as he greeted the stranger.
"Tcll me about it. Did you show the
cardT
eyes" replied the man. "The first
time was the very next night after call
ed on you. A good friend. railroad man,
came into the office and after l had
checked up his accounts said, Come,
Charlie, let's go over to the Oyster House
and have a drink Well, sir, l was
reaching for my hat when / remembered
the card. l took it out and handed it to
him. / thought he would never finish
reading it. He looked at me, and he
looked at the card, and then he slowly
put his arm down on the counter and
said, Charlie, I'd sooner cut that hand
off than ask you to drink again.. Well,
sir, l showed that card several times
after that, and every blessed man
showed it to took it seriously. Sometimes
they said, All right, old boy. Some
times they laid it down without word.
And then-it was last night forgot
about it. and here l am"
You are doing WE'LL" said the doctor.
"Have courage, and try to make the IN
terval little longer next time
1t was three months before the man
came back. The next time it was six
months.
"And now" said the doctor to the mar
rator at is nearly two years since his
last call, and have every reason to be-
lieve that he will not find it necessary
to come to me again. So, you see.
was quite right. 1t wasn't pledge that
he needed ."-Cleysland Plain Dealer.