The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1909-04-22
a>a,>a,,a,>a>l.>a.
! v. c. T. U. DEPARTMENT.
A Bottle of Tears.

(Contributed.)

glnla VINO Salu he knew the party
and confirmed it in al of its features:
Some years ago Il noble young man
of Virginia was happily married to
one Of the most beautiful young wo.
men of that grand old State. He
possessed beautiful mansion and a
twenty-six mule farm. But a bar
was near his home. The bar-keeper
became his personal friend and IN
time induced him to drink and gam
BILE. AS the years rolled by his tnan-
cial interest failed until his sole pos
sessions were reduced to a home and
a one.mule farm. One night in the
gambling saloon of the bar-room
nearby he was brutally shot to death.
After being buried by some negroes
under an apple tree IN his own gar
den his wife received the following
note from the bar-keeper:
"Dear Madam: This will inform
You that | hold a mortgage over your
late husbands mule and farm, also
the farm implements, also The house
hold and kitchen furniture, also your
household goods, including trunks,
wardrobe and wearing apparel. AS |
wish possession you will do me the
kindness to vacate at once. | here
with send a man to take charge of
the premises, keys, etc, and represent
me in all things"
The following is the answer to this
note:
"Sir, vou demand the keys. !
send them herewith. The one with a
red string unlocks my wardrobe. In
the right side you will find my we'd
ding dress. / never wore it but once.
1t is yours now, by action of my hus'
band, whom | never disobeyed. In
the folds of that dress you will find
a small phial, with few tears in it,
the last l had to shed, but they are
historic. They stand for the birth of
listle girl born under happy roof
of fifteen joyous, girlhood, school
day years, of a Short sweet courtship
and marriage to the bravest, best
man | ever knew, but for whisky;
of the day We moved into this then
we'll kept and palatial home, of the
alas! so short honeymoon spent here.
You will find all of these sweet, sa-
3 cred pleasures in that bottle of tears.
A change, sharp and sudden, came.
You may read it, sir, in the tears |
bequeath you. They will tell you of
the first time my husband crossed
your villainous threshold; of the first
time l detected liquor on his breath,
and of how he put ME gently aside
with a shower of assuring kisses,
saving that for my sake he would
never be brought under the baneful
effects of strong drink; of how he
became a constant tippler; of the first
time his step was unsteady; of his
rapid decline in housekeeping and
home-love; of the ease with which he
misunderstood me; of the first time
he spoke a cross word to me; of the
= first oath in my presence. Ioa will
find it all in the bottle of tears, sir.
You will find there, too, one rainy,
wind.shaken, thunder doomed, light
ning-torched night, in which 1t
looked as If the building would be
demolished. 1t was that storm
shocked night that our first. born,
little Mary, came into this old whis
ky-soaked world. You will find also
rim the bottle of tears he greed-gored
part You played in my house that
night for while one physician at
tended me, another, in an adjoining
room, stood over my poor drunken
!, husband, who was the victim of i'm.
aginary serpents, gorillas and devils.
In reality he was only your victim.
But you will find it, sir,in the bottle
of tears. l saw in the lightning's
glare the storm as it toyed with the