Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-06-12

repeated the words, 81 hereby SOL
emnly promise, God helping me, to
abstain from all distilled, fermented
and malt liquors, including wine,
beer and cider" What was the girl
saying?
He raised his head and saw her
push the cup to his lips. "Drink it,
you must be i'll, its 80 hot"
Then the arch-fend began :
"Drink it, man (; you won't break
your pledge it just meant you must
not get drunk any more /; everybody
drinks cider (; don't be silly!
AS of old, he yielded, and greedily
drained the cup.
Then a great jagged streak of
lightning pierced the black clouds,
like the finger of God writing in
wild, weird characters, His wrath.
The thunder shook the house, fill.
ing the air with its mighty roar.
And with the crash there came to
the heart Of this man tho conscious
ness of what he had done.
Sometimes it seems as though the
human heart were too small to be
the abiding place of the demons
Remorse and Despair. What pleasure
can outweigh the anguish heart
can feel when first it realizes broken
vow Unless that heart be 80 far
removed from its Creator as to be
insensible to His wrath.
The man had touched no liquor
for days and the taste of alcohol il
the cider ran him wild.
He started up, pushing the cur
into the girls hand without a word
of thanks, rushed down the hill, III
the mountain side, into the heart o.
the storm.
The thunder doomed. The light.
ming played up and down the noun
tain side. The pclting rain made
every little gully a boiling stream
whose roar seemed as the laugh OF
the dark angels as they followed him
in hellish glee.
But the man saw nothing, heard
nothing, knew nothing except that
he had broken his vow. God was
angry with him. Did not the very
mountain in the fury of the storm
tremble with His wrath, and that
he would give all for one drink O.
whiskey to quench the thirst that
was burning his heart, his brain like
the fires of hell
Twas Saturday afternoon and
when the girls brothers returned
from town she noticed they were
unusually quiet.
After they had unhitchcd the team
and were drawing the night water
for the stock she went out to the
well and asked for the news.
"There's none in town, but as we
were crossing the mountain we found
a man lying by the road You know
that big poplar at the corner of tho
river cross road ? Well, lightning
had struck it and a limb hit this fcl
low on the head. thought he wa.
dead at first, but when | bent over
him he opened his eycs-and Mary
it scared me. | never had any one
look at me that way. He couldn't
speak at first, but after bit he said,
Cider first-now whiskey = l hat
a bottle, so | gave him drink
(You know | thought | ought tt
bring some home for sickness.)
eve took him to town and he KEEP
begging for whiskey all the way
until by the time we got there h,
was sure right
eve took him to DR.. Manly's ant
he said he might get over it, bu
didn't think he would.
"lIc said he was stranger wht
had joined q temperance union som,
woman had gotten up T; shows how
much good it does bet he wa,
drunk to start with or he wouldn'
have been out in the storm.
cdr. Manly said he must have beer
drinking for years. That's why h,
didn't think his head will get well
Hasn't any constitution"
That night when the girl went tt
her room she blew out the lamp ant
sat down by the window in the dark
ness.
The moon had risen and flooded
the yard with its soft light. Dowr
at the foot of the hill a small stream
swollen by the rain, gurgled over the
rocks. There was heavy mist OF
the mountains and the sheet light
ming still played about their sum
mits.
Down in the barn horse restlessl,
kicked against the door of its stable
A cat scurricd across the yard a.
if afraid of the great patch of moon
light.
And az the girl rested her tirct
head on the window sill and though,
over the cvcntiul day she wondered
if Shp had ouythint, tn do ,r;tb tb,