Show 1 41 i 1 8 REFORM CLUB A snoten for whom it my zuay concern it 14 r BY liy sylvanus SYI syl iVANUS COBB JR JB there was a quartette of free and jovial spirits in Il urville burville and john digby was the acknowledged leader thereof peler peter slade and tom lowden and sam pepper were his associates they were four young men freehearted free hearted and generous with great capacity for enjoyment on a certain monday evening they were assembled in the small parlor of Lush tons tavern for the purpose of having a good time as the they y were wont to assemble often the season was winter and the beverage they were indulging in was a compound of rum sugar milk and egg familiarly known among the initiated as tom and jerry at an aa early stage of the wassail before sense had been submerged peter slade suggested that he had a complaint to make against one of the dignitaries of the town and thereupon he opened his vials of denunciation upon parson meekly the old clergyman of the place As near as I 1 can find out he said the parson just about the kameas called us by name and held us up as a set of graceless scamps scalps not quite so bad as that said john digby he did certainly allude to us very plainly but the worst ho brought against us was that we were prostitute ing noble powers and opportunities to base and sinful purposes rather bather flattering I 1 thought especially the noble 1 ill jil powers flattering witha with a vengeance growled tom lowden what business is it of his ay chimed sam sann pepper what business is it of his and then look at the hullabaloo making over th this is foreign mission it was in connection with that that parson meekly attacked us better look at home I 1 think weve suffering enough under our very noses that had better be looked out for first so cried slade 1 I say says charity begins at home what do you sa say joherl john yohn john digby had listened attentively and during the conversation he haj had had turned his glass bottom upward upon the table there may be truth in what you say he slowly and thoughtfully replied rous tous lied I 1 shourd but people e ople opie who live in glass houses nt throw stones we may object to furnishing our money for fur these foreign inis missions upon the plea that charity begins at home and all that but the question may come back Wha what have WE done for this charity at home what have WE done toward alleviating levia levla ting the distresses of the poor of our own town and if we done anything in that direction if we dont open our hands in charity at all what right have we to say in what direction others shall aim their good works blank were the looks that greeted this speech the trio of listeners were taken aback they expected this from their leader now look here boys continued john digby pushing his inverted glass away awny to the centre r of the table and leaving it there 1 I dont like this overhauling that at parson barson meekly beekly gave us any better than you do and d I 1 propose to i shut him up hiyah hi yah shouted sam pepper the talk im with you are you zure sure youve got the courage sam yes I 1 str sir I 1 count me ie in 11 said tom and me abed added peter lets shut the old fellow up the pro gramme jack well answered digby soberly 1 I have planned that we will take the wind out of parson Mee meek lys klys sails by establishing a reform club of our own and starting a missionary society on the same basis ehl look ye boys people besides the parson are talking pretty hard about us and well shut them all up in a lump id like to astori Bh lem cm id like to hit back in the most effective way id like to make lem em take the back track here in burville in their own business 11 his hearers were interested and listened eagerly what Is ia W it tell us how its to be done they asked have you got the courage to do it well weli follow you said peter slade blade honor bright lr gyes dyes yes 11 then listen hold on cried sam pepper lets fill up before you commence I 1 not with old Lush tons tens tom ardd arid d jer jerry ry 11 ret returned arned jack we shall want the cost of of f it for another purpose turn your glasses bottom u up for fon the present there a go now ow listen we are in the habit of meeting here at the tavern three evenings in the week and our OUT expenses for liquor and cigars are at least two dollars au an evening arent they this was admitted by a nod and in addition to this I 1 spend at least a dollar more each week for tor beer and tobacco on my own hook how is it with you the others acknowledged that a dollar a week was little en enough ou b thus resumed J john oh digby we have ten dollars a week as the result of our combined and individual expenditure for rum and tobacco 1 I for one think I 1 could manage to live through the rest of the winter without any more of it and for the sake of the experiment I 1 would be willing to put my share of that ten dollars a week to a charitable use here it is in the beginning of december and the winter has opened hard there are poor families not far away which we can bless with our sympathy and our help we might knight organize a benevolent society or a missionary society upon our own hook do you begin to understand they understood him perfectly and since ne lae would lead they were ready to follow in fact they rather liked the idea there was a charm of novelty and originality about it that captivated them it would be fun to purchase flour and meat and tea and sugar and fuel and go around and assist the poor and the ohe needy they were young men full of life and good feeling and had caroused only because of the fun of the thing here was promise of the fun in another direction and they would go for it the matter was discussed and finally settled they would make a square week of it at the beginning 16 during the week said jack we w will ill lii look up the cases of destitution n and suffering and on next saturday afternoon we will meet and compare notes then we will take our ten dollars and do what we can for those who are suffering most we must be methodical in this we are not to spend a penny in in this work of charity which is not saved by the cutting off of some useless expenditure of our own and he of us who buys a cigar through the week shall deduct ithrom it from his contribution on saturday if we would be methodical suggested peter we must organize I 1 say it we are going to do anything of this kind let us do it shipshape ship shape peters proposition was unanimously accepted and thereupon they proceeded to organize the organization arrived at was very simple but nevertheless effective fec tive they elected john digby diab y to serve as president and as treasurer and as secretary and then they elected an executive committee of four consisting of jolin john digby peter slade blade tom lowden and sam pepper and then they settled the bill at the bar and went home saturday evening came and the reform clun met at digrys shop and each member was ready with his report they were sober and thoughtful they had thought when they separated on monday bionday evening that they should meet wilh the spirit of frolic in in their new work but the scenes which they had witnessed in the interim had changed the current of their feelings entirely my souli scull exclaimed sam pepper 1 I never dreamed what sorrow and suffering there was right here in our little town last night I 1 went down to the widow Bash lots and ifould her with asick child absolutely freezing and starving 1 and 1 I 11 said tom lowden found poor old uncle ben driscoll and his wife both in the same plight the old man is down with the rheumatism and when both he and aunt sally sat and cried like babies with fear of going to the poor house I 1 tell you it brought the tears to my eyes and so the reports were made and then they planned how they could best use their ten dollars it seemed like a drop in the bucket when set against all the suffering and want they had found but it would do something on that saturday evening the widow bashlor bent over the bed of her sick child with weeping and with walls wails of anguish the howling blast piped without and the keen frost nipped within she summered suffered because she had not yet brought herself to beg for herself bhe would rather die than become a pauper but for her child gloh oh god have mercy cyp A walling wailing cry like this had birst from her lips when the tramp of feet at her door attracted her attention and presently a gentle rap followed she answered tile the summons and found four young men upon the stoop she knew them well for they had been schoolmates with her son who had gone away to sea and never returned and they came into the house and brought with them wood and provisions and they piled up the fuel upon the hearth until the bright flame leaped and roared and the sick child stretched out its wasted arms to embrace the genial warmth and they brought forth bread and tea and sugar and butter and cheese all ali all AIL right said sam pepper who regarded these as his es especial V ecial charges in answer to the widows widow a ejaculations of amazement we are john digrys reform club and we are going into the missionary work and such folks as you are we want to convert want to convert you from suffering to comfort if we can so keep up a good heart and let us defor you what your own willie would have done if he had lived be comfort for us well call often you shant want if we can help it the widows sobbing bursting return of gratitude and her eager heart sent prayer of blessing cannot be reproduced by tongue or pen when the young men had reached the high highway way sam pepper burst forth boys as true as heaven I 1 exchange the blessing of teat that poor widows heart for all the joy that ever came in the old way at the tavern theres something more than fun in this and his companions agreed with him in another part of the town on the outskirts of the village in a poor thatched hut lived ben beu driscoll and his wife sally in other years they had been well and happy and although never forehanded yet they had not known want until old age and sickness had deprived them of the ability to work and on this cold winters night uncle ben and aunt sally sat and shivered over the embers of such poor stuff as they had been able to gather from the snow covered hedges and the old man sighed as he thought of the almshouse alms house if we could only get through the winter but who s to help us and uncle ben and his wife wire were aroused from their stupor of chill and hunger by the tramp of feet and the hum of voices and very shortly the door of their cabin was opened and john digby and his companions entered A tire speedily blazed upon the hearth and a goodly store of provisions was opened upon the table the old man wondered and tom lowden made answer its all right uncle ben den this is jack digrys reform club weve stopped our rations of spirit and tobacco and are going to invest the result in a missionary enterprise we want to convert you and aunt sally if we can condart Co nvart us tom I 1 aye ay e convert you to comfort and peace inease and perhaps also convert you to the belief that theres a grain of good left in humanity still we mean to take you in hand for the winter and you shant suffer if we can help it the boys did not leave the cot until they had helped the aged couple to a hearty meal and had bad piled up fuel enough to last till they came again and when they finally withdrew the song of blessing was sounding in their ears andson and so the he reformers went on until their nights work was done and when they came to separate they declared that they had found such enjoyment as they had never known before during the succeeding week three new members were added to the club men who were vere willing to cut off expense for rum and tobacco and devote the proceeds to the relief of the poor and distressed of the town and ere eye long digrys reform club became beame c a noted institution in the town the projectors thereof could hardly credit the evidence of their own senses sense in contemplating the results of three months labor two and twenty members had joined and the fund for relief amounted to almost forty dollars a week as each man was pledged to pay in weekly I 1 Y t the he exact sum his spirit and tobacco had cost him if he continued to use tobacco he took a lower place in the company and the use of spirit as a beverage was sufficient cause for expulsion aheu people saw the great good that was being done they were anxious to give their aid and be counted in with the th happy crew but the laws of the club were fixed no money would come to its fund except such as had been saved by the donor from the conquest of some evil habit or the cutting off of some mine useless luxury it was a bright sabbath lu la spring time and it had been told that parson meekly was going to preach a sermon upon digrys reform club and the old meetinghouse meeting house was filled to overflowing the clergyman read his text from st johns gospel can there any good thing come out of Nazaret nazareth hf come and see and when he had told the story of digrys club and pictured the good results of its labors he proclaimed to all go ye and do likewise once john digby and his compatriots had fancied that it would be a proud moment when they had brought the old clergyman to recognize the worth of their labors but the blessings of those upon whom their bounty had fallen had made such sweet music in their ear aarsand sand the satisfaction of duties truly done had dropped so soothingly upon their souls bouls that they found no room for that baser pride which they had aforetime anticipated iem lew nem new york ledger PRESIDENT SMITH AND PARTY the following concerning the movements of president smith and party we find in the millennial astar of dec 10 president george A smith elders lorenzo Ij orenzo snow feramorz eera Pera morz little Ii ittle lttie paul A hettler So george dunford Du oford thomas W Je Buluga an aej i sisters elim eli B R snow add clara fi little left london on the ohe evening of saturday nov and proceeded to harwich there they shipped on board the steamer richard young and started at 2 a in of dec lat for rotterdam we learn by letter from president smith dated rotterdam dec ath that anost most of the little party suffered from bea sickness in crossing the channel president smith accompanied elder hettler Bc on a visit to here were some ofero achet tiena tiers relatives who belong to a colony of Moravia ns anich settled at III hi 1745 and were mostly from germany having emigrated froni from that country because of religious intolerance bro george A writes vr ites their settlement is a model of 0 industry cleanliness order aid a id temperance they have purchased the title of the land they live on and their improvements are of a permanent character on the ard 3rd instant the party went to the hague they spent we the day in eight seeing and the evening very pleasantly with the hon chas T gorham the american Ame minister and hla hia ills his esti estimable matle matie lady jady who had bad invited the party to tea on the ath the cathedral at haarlem was visited the party were entertained for an hour with music from the tho grand organ at this place the afternoon was spent in the painting galleries and aud in the kings palace at amsterdam this palace stands on over thirteen thousand piles this is accounted for by the fact that the site of amsterdam was originally a salt marsh the ball bali room boom in this palace is very fine it is one b hundred un and twenty feet long sixty feet wide and one hundred feet high the walls being of marble on the ath the party visited the navy yard and other places of interest and returned to rotterdam in the evening on the ath they were to leave the domain of holland and enter that of belgium |