The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-05-26
DOMAIN OF TEMPERANCE
THE UNDoING OF THE
PROFESSOR.

| What drink can do to transform a
man is set forth graphically in the
following incident that DR.. Sheehan
recalls, in his book "Parerga.
Il am curiously reminded OF an &C.
| quaintance, who has long since passed
| beyond my ken, but in whom at one
time | felt some interest. When [
| first knew him he was a gentleman
graduate, B. A, or, possibly, M. A.,
| of Cambridge; and in dress, manner,
department, all that could be expect
ed of a scholar and gentleman. Twas
young missioner in an English city,
and had not even a nodding acquaint-
ance with him; but the glamor of a
university education to my magma
| ton hung around him; he was one to
be addressed with dated breath and
whispering humbleness.' 1 little.
thought that the day would come, and
come swiftly, when he would be glad
to get a sixpence from me to buy
bread, or-drink! That word ex-
plains all.
He had come down or, rather,
rushed down the declivities of life
pellmell, and now lay a broken and
distorted wreck amongst the human
debris cast out by fate from the urn
of necessity. The silk hat had given
way to broken bowler; the shining
| boots to patched and broken shoes;
the morning coat, without fray or
crease. to wretched blue serge jack
| q 11n4
a piece of cord, and badly concealed,
or half-revealed by long, grey dust
coat, whitening under time and use.
when I first made his acquaint-
ance, he had not tumbled quite
amongst the potsherds.
'He was bruised and beaten, but
. not a conquered spirit. / cannot re-
member now how | struck up an ac-
quaintance with him, but / well re-
member how deeply l was impressed
. by the wide range of his acquire
. ments, and, above all, by that pecu-
T liar pronunciation of Greek and Latin
which seems to be the cachet of a uni
!. versity training. Yes! there was the
' educated gentleman seen through all
the sad disguise of, rags and penury.
: Nothing seemed strange or unfamiliar
n to him in all ancient and modern lit
, erature
He was eking out a wretched sub
Y sistence at the time, in narrow
f room in a squalid back lane in the
!. city, by teaching few little school
f boys at night little writing, little
II geography and the rule of three. He
: took his PROFESSIONAL fees mostly in
: drink. l could have cried for him.
/. [ was one day deploring his
+ misery when, at certain railway
station which he frequented for obvi-
Gus purposes, he accosted me for a
shilling"
4 The shilling was given, and the
v priest asked the professor to talk
!. with him until the train would arrive.
r The fallen gentleman willingly COM
v piled.
l "Oh, my days work is DONE" he
I said 'You have given me shilling,
r and sufficient for the day is the good
s thereof. But" he hesitated a little,
l. and l thought 1 saw faint pink blush
a steal up on his pallid face-"you,
r eh! are not ashamed to walk up and
f down such public place with me-"
"Not in the least, my dear fellow.
o I am known pretty we'll here. So are
t you. 1t won't affect either of us ma
s terially.' An energetic discussion en-
t sued, the professor striving to main
4 tain that he had had much out of
: life.
n Look at me-" he said.
: 81 looked" says the narrator of the
f incident. "He was not an attractive
: object. The electric bell at the North
| ern Hut marked the anDroach of my
e train
would you believe that | used to
dine with great people at the Criter-
ion, London? Yes sir. l drank cham
payne at six pounds the dozen, and
never smoked anything under a shill-
ing cheroot. =. Here at the Crown,
with a clay pipe, a glass of cognac,
and a clientele of half-drunken labor
7 ers, | reason, argue, talk-am a
; king"
81 babe him goodbye! and took
;, my seat. Two fine ladies dressed
like peacocks, and probably with the
:, intellects of oysters, looked aSkance
at me. AS the train glided from the
platform, I looked out. / thought
saw the frayed skirt of drab over
coat vanishing through the door of
a third-class refreshment ROOM"