The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-08

1T causeth a man to strike his own
brother" continued the venerable
stranger, land it Standeth like a stone
wall between father and son. Yea,
there is nothin' that bringeth SO much
misery into the land
do you mean the green watermel-
on or the Panama canal?" 1 asks, not
quite SEEM my way clear.
Il meaneth that emblem of wicked
ness and misery in the middle of thy
face, commonly referred to as the nose
or the conk-the emblem that rideth
around the kentry with you and gives
you away every hour in the day fur an
old soak. 1 have waited here to strug-
gle with thee and ask thee to put thy
name to temperance pledge.
Then 1 was Wroth- From my ear
lest infancy L have drunk only butter
milk or cold tea, and the redness of
my nose for eight months in the year
is simply caused by sunburn. True,
on rare occasions I have turned to my
Pain Alleviator, knowing that there is
z per cent of alcohol in the same,
but never in doses large huff to max"
me see two old bosses DRAWN me
along when L know there was only
one
Il don't want to hurt the feelin's CT
a eller-pilgrim, 1 remarked after a
While, but [ Wouldst gently intimate
that you are either a fool or a Hari"
Base son of a gun, who Sucketh at
the mouth of bottle and jug, come
down here whilst 1 punch thy head!'
agin the programme, 1 slid softly to
the earth and put up my dukes. I
hev mission myself, as the rea der
knows by this time, but 1 seek to ac-
complish it by moral suasion. Still,
there are occaShunS when l am called
upon to lift up the hams attached to
my wrists and indulge in right swings
and left hooks, and at SIGH times /
give my ambishun full scope and let
her run away and knock down hitch
in posts. There was a smile of tri-
umph and a look of complacency
about the venerable pilgrim as he cum
to time. and there was no doubt in his
mind that he would make me a con-
vert to his cause in about five minitS
The race is not always to the hump
backed and bow-Iegged, however !
When 1 got myself limbered up II
l. nccked that old cri.tar right and
left and turned his joys into mournin |
and pretty soon he was hollerin' that
he had huff. Then / wrote out a
pledge that he would take at least six !
drinks of whisky a day for the rest /
of his life, and when he had signed |
1t L let him up and sent him on his |
way.
The cause of temperance is one near
my heart, and 1 would not belittIe it !
or bring it into diSreSpect, but it should |
be strengthened and upheld by moral |
suaslon alone You can't keep a man |
away from the home-wrecker by
to punch his head, and |
when yours has been punched instead |
your mission falls to the ground.
was continuin' my progress towards |
the town of Stop Here and communin' |
with myself over these things, when |
arrove at the ford over Jim Crow |
creek, and there saw a sight that ap-
pealed to all the humanity in my |
boundless natur'. 1t was an old man |
seellin' to drown hisself in about six |
inches of water. He was risin' of So |
with long, white hair, and it was hard /
to find his nose and mouth fur the
wrinkles. He was lynn on his face in /
the bed of the creek and swallerin' wa
ter by the gallon, but death refused to
reach out his clammy hand and clutch /
the wrinkled throat.
There is evidently sunthin' up
here?" / said as I halted on the banks
of the Hmpid stream and took a long |
look at the old man.
You betcher lifei'' he replied, as he
sat up and returned my gaze.
IS it a case of attempted sufcide?"
That's what she be, and bein I'm
On the Wilder Snyder's land, she'll hev
all the funeral expenses TO pay
And what's the cause 2'
''Unrequited love, stranger. I love
the wilder, but she won't requite |
iurn her catsi She says she'd marry a |
eritter of go, but when it comes to 20
years more she turns me down and 1
nothin' left me but suicide. Stranger,
lake a long look at me. Note these
gray hairs and all the rest
I'm a lookin',' says l.
DO I look to be 80 years old?"
I'm afraid you do
Had I orter quit tryin' to jump the
-ope and gambolin' about like a spring
amb?'
IF you don't you'll get a fall that
will break your neck. If you could he