The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-07-04
DOMAIN OF TEMPERANCE.
DEATH OF A DRuNkARp.


AS priest, l have been attending
death-beds for the last twenty years.
have seen death approach in his
majesty, in every form that he could
assume. have seen him as he came
to lay his icy hand upon the heart
of the young man, and still it into
the calmness of death. / have seen
him approach like gentle woman
whose coming was expected, whose
face was wreathed in smiles, who
came only to take the soul, and, by
and easy transition, bring it into the
presence of Jesus Christ and leave it
there.
| have seen death approach, like a
thief in the night, and steal behind
the strong man, and simply lay his
icy hand upon him, and bear him
away, without another thought. But
never, never have seen the terrible
grim conquerer assume all the hor-
rors of hell, and bring with him in
his train, before the very eyes of the
sinner whose sands of life were pass
ing away, all the terrors of that hell
that awaited him-never have seen
him approach surrounded by devils,
except when he came to the bedside
of the drunkard, dying in his sin!
Oh, ii the greatest drunkard, the
greatest of all slaves to that vice
that ever lived upon this earth were
only to hear what / have heard, and
see what 1 have seen, that man
would never taste the accursed drink
again, even if it was to save his life
for thousand years.
| remember being called in to the
bedside of a man who was dying
from excess of drinking. I went in
to the room, indeed, not without fear
Four men were holding him down in
the bed. 1t seemed to him, in his
delirious mind, that in holding him
down in the bed, they were sinking
him, inch by inch, into hell! He look
ed around him with his awful, terror
stricken eyes. He cried: 81 am on
a bed of fire! Oh God, 1 burn! 1
burn! the blood is boiling in my
veins! Devils! will you not let me
rise from this bed of torment and of
flames! Will nobody help mel"
He went on while his great chest
was heaving, as he writhed like one
possessed by thousand devils, to
get away from their grasp. He saw
devils around him. Sinking on the
pillow where he was lying, and en-
deavoring to shake them off, he said:
Save me! save me!-there-there
are seventy-seven devils! Oh, where
shall fly from this hell around me-"
Thus was he when I entered the room.
His shriekS were terrible to hear.
Truly the tone of the despair of hell
was in his voice. / came over and
laid my hand upon his fevered head.
Keeping perfectly calm, l tried, if
there were any mesmeric influence in
me, to give peace to him.
For a moment he grew calm; he
knew me. "Ah! Father Tom, is it
your" Eyes, l am here" Tell me-"
he said, "tell me, have you the bless
ed sacramento" ooh, BECOME" he
cried, you and your God! Begone!
He is not my God! will mot have
Him, or belong to Him. There are
those around me who will take me
away forever! Begone!"
With these words he heaved one
mighty sigh-his heart broke with the
excess of his terrible delirium-and
he fell out of the hands of those who
held him, a corpse-his last breath
blasphemy. Many time and Oft
for I knew him well and intimately
many time and oft l had said to
him: "My friend, you are every day
preparing for the curse that will come
upon you with your last hour, upon
your death-bed. You are preparing,
by drunkard's life, to meet drunk
ards DEATH" He did not listen to
me, That drunkard's death he died;
and I greatly fear that an eternity of
sorrow will not be enough to repair
the loss Of his immortal soul.
Father Tom Burke. o. p.