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Show I ! j "a noble reformation. I Q j -ejaaeaaaaeaw P"J I N mlsiratile hovel, I few iJl L mllra fn.in the populous I i My of l . woman lay dying. Tiill. nie and want 33 P linii done their Inevitable 1r woik. for she waa a drunk- nl's wife. The ai-ant furniture of the 3 1 1n pl l 1 ! room waa shabby anil Worn, and not even I lie moat meagre ttomforta of 1 1 f were lo In found terltliln Ha piiunllil Interior. Tlif d.vlng wife, with two daiightera, ef I lio respective ages t three and fourteen yeara, comprised the half-Inrvrd half-Inrvrd and othr-rwlae neglrrtr-d family fam-ily of F.ikm li (lolilwall. The half-nakrd lill.Ir. n r walling nut their mlarry nd irili'f at their mnther'a bedside, for slie had Juat anpialnied ttiiih. the elder, Willi I hp etartllng fart that the dreaded moment In whli'h aha must leave ihi'in to the rold merries of the World waa now rapidly approaching. Kiinrli inlilwalt waa stretched out tlxm Iha hare lioarda In a drunken stupor, n quart liottlf half filled with avhl'ky within easy reai h of him. lie Waa snoring heavily, hla fai-a purple ml Miinti'd. and hla whole appear-fence appear-fence hetnkrned a moat miserable and s' degraded wretch. Hut In tha midst of hla besetting aln Knoch iloldwalt waa not wlllioiit some redeeming quail-lira. quail-lira. " He never waa known In abnae or rrtal. treat hla family llliir hy word or Mow, lint Ihmuu'h hla Inordinate love Tor etrong drink waa led to neglect them In a nioat ahamrfut and unpar- ' ktoiiahle manner. To use a trite phrnae, "rum had maatered h.m" had got the complete upper hand of him. If It waa to lie hut one thing, either drink fur blmsrlf or fond for hla family, ha Would hare taken the drink, though he It the arnuiit figure of atarvallnn glaring hla sick wife and hungry ehll-lren ehll-lren In the fai-e. , tie knew that hla wire waa falling Dally, and that the physician who attended at-tended her aa a matter of humanity. Dot pay to hla praise he It spoken fnconrairfd no hopea of her recovery; tnd yet to hla atupcned .nca It could anly aptnar that ahe muat rer eon-tlnue eon-tlnue the drudge and martyr ahe had tippn. He eould not aeem to reallae (he possibility of her dying, or the llll more startling reality that It waa folmarlf who waa killing her. He had onre loved her Irnly and earnestly, and would allll were not all lila acnaca lilunli'd or paralysed hy the finlaon. It lit Dow, aa he lay out-elretrhed out-elretrhed upon the hare iHiarda, Moated Moat-ed and heaallv, and niluroua with Hie disgusting- ellluvla of Tile rum. he looked, aa he really waa, a besotted , tirute; and yet thla man had hern hli-aard ly nnltire In the beginning with more thnn average Intellect. Kor aom mlnuli'a the dying woman tind brcn. lying quite allll and calm, scarcely Beemlng lo notice the heart- remllna grief of the children, when flic suddenly aroiiaid herself from the tcmpornry atate of apathy Into which be had fnllcu. t.ud anhl: "llulh, ilnrllnir. wake your father. I muat nut die without making one laal ! efTnrt to reclaim him. "then I Ural , knew him no truer or more loyal heart aver hent In the lireaat of mini: hut. alnal the accursed rum bna deadened all Ha finer llniulca." It i 1 1. the older daughter, went hastily, hast-ily, and shook hrr fntlier somewhat roiiffltly hy the ahouhlcr licfura ahe runlil arouae lilm. At length he raised himself on hla elliow, anil hla liliod- hut eye wnnilercd vacantly for a moment around the deaolate room. He thi n reached for til bottle, exclaiming, ' e lie did ao: "Whata-lilc up? Nolmdy hurt I (lleaa iiot." "Iluah:" aald Ilulh. tearfully. "I "fear poor mother la dying, and ahe wlhea to talk with you. Don't drink gnln, pupa at lenat not nnw-lt will only atnpcfy you; you won't remember what alte anya. Without heeding fhe eblld'a appeal er the Bad nioana of the heartbroken wife, he drew out Ihe rork with an tinatcaity bnnd. and took a drrp draught of the fiery pnlaun. "Ifa Ylcluala and drink, riutliy." he in lit. tasnerliig to hla feet, and an-rtroarhlog an-rtroarhlog the bed. "Wlint's the mat-j mat-j ter. 8tile-hlct Ain't the nelBlihora trmiu'ht In nothing?" "It la not of the iielghliora' klndn'B r neglect that 1 would now apeak." anld Kuale (iulilwalt, In a fi-eble but farnrat voh. "It la of you. Knoch, nd the wretched end you are aurely j routing to nnlcaa you abandon that whUh haa brutallied, and will deatroy . you tHNly and auul. I have alwaya I been a good and true wife to you: nl- waya willing to take my Bhnre, ami much more than my Bhnre, of the bur-J bur-J den "I Me! I know II, Kuale. Tou'ra a nice old gal; but what the deuce la ? up?" Interrupted the Inebriate, with a 1 maudlin attempt to maka light of the wlfe'i Bolemn warning. "In tha laat (Ire yeara I hare drudged myaelf to death for you and tha ehll-V ehll-V dren, and rum aeruraed rum haa . been th;- whole came of It. I do not mention It to admire you for tha paat, ., or waate further wonls about what l might have been. Hut It la of the future that I would now penk; for I ' am dying, t ran air i l v ferl tha touch of death uimit u - " ; "Tel you ain't . to die 'tnll. . I Pnale." InteiYupli il tr I tly atartled f- Inebrlnte. atuhlioniiv I . II y-i h c 4 no aui h thing! I.I vt . ' -nra longrr, T bet aweet life on II." j "No. Knoch. I ahall not ln.it till the midnight hour I know, 1 feel It; but j 1 am too weak to tllriia the point longer. I want you to he a aulier man. I Knoch. ao that our il IMrcn will hnte aoiur one kealilc i'.,i ircia to look after I I i I -aajaaavaveeae- them, and provide fur them when 1 am gone." "Tell ye ain't goln" ille!" again In-terpoard In-terpoard drunknrd, awaggerlng back and forth unateaillly, but allll clinging with a viae like grip to the bottle; "lire tlioimand year old, bet your huttoiiB." The dying wKe gave utterance lo a deapondent aigh, for ahe aaw how hard a taak it would tie to make an Imprea-alon Imprea-alon upon hla mind In hla prearnt condition; con-dition; but In her great anilely for the future welfare of her children, ahe felt that ahe could not die without making another effort to bring him back. In aome degree, lo hla folicr aenaca. We ahall ace with what edict; and then let Ha adrocatea anawer If rum la nut aecitraed. "t)h. my dear huahaiid! can you, will you not be warned by my dying worda?" The earnrat, licaoechlng tone aeemed to fnateii hla attention for a moment with aoniethlng very nearly akin to partial nnderatamlltig and aolirlety; but the effect waa only momentary. "Pronilao me. If not for my anke." Ihe woman pleaded, "at leaat for the chlldrcn'a anke. that you will become a aoher man that you will never again ralae the polaon to your 1 1 par' "What mean by polaon, tfuala (hlc whlakyr "Yea, huahand. whlaky mm; but more properly polaon; that which haa ao long been your bane, and the aourre of all our preaent mlarry. Hwear to me, before I die, that you will never, never taate It again!" "Couldn't think auch thing. Hitate." anawered ftnldwalt, with a drunken leer of atupld ohatlnacy; for the laat drink waa beginning to manlfeat Itaelf powerfully. "Drink when I want It Hood for me. Vlclitala and drink, both (hie); a'don't aay no mora 'bout It, old woman. Drink alwaya, aura'a born." And Bulling tha action to the word, the miserable creature again drew the cork and ralaed tha hottla to hla parched and awollen IIib; but In the action he Inat hla equilibrium and fell heavily lo the floor. The neit moment ha rolled over on hla aide, and waa aoon nnconacloua; and In thla Btate he continued up to the moment of hla wlfe'a death, which occurred about midnight. Of cnurae ha waa somewhat shocked when he came to a reallilng aenae of hla bereavement, but It did not laat long, for ha drowned In strong drink whatever Borrow or remorse ha was then capable of feeling. The nelghlmra tidied up the children for the solemn occaalon. and Mra. tioldwnlt waa Interred In-terred at the public expense; but the huahand waa too drunk to follow his wlfe'a remains to their laat real lug place, and tho cbllilran went aluna aa chief muurnera. Krom thla hour. If audi a thing ran he believed poaallile, Knoiii Iloldwalt continued to grow worse and worae. lie Bold one article after another of the ahnliby .furniture, when he could And any one unprincipled riiough to purchase, pur-chase, and the meagre sums he nil-lulurd nil-lulurd from time lo time went for liquor, Inatend of food for hla lmlf-alarvcd lmlf-alarvcd children. Aa the cold autumn ulglita approached he aold the very bed from under them, and Iny drunk for a week while the neglected children alcpl on Ihe hn re floor and Buffered for want of the commoncat nuurlahntent. Utile Until had often gated at Ihi-Inilalln.'t Ihi-Inilalln.'t outllma of the grent city only a few nille away, nnd wondered If there were not food enough for all there. At length she determined to run away with her Utile slater, Kva. and arek a home In the great city. Tha father waa too drunk lo take any herd of llielr departure, and ao the houarleaa little wnnilerera drifted out Into the great world of which even the elder knew but little. It waa past tho middle of November, and the nluhla were chilly. Tom Ncwcoinb wna rending the evening even-ing paper In hla wife. Ho was a thriving thriv-ing young trader In 11 . Intely married mar-ried to a moat estimable nnd kind-hearted kind-hearted young lady. It waa near the hour of ten. and while occupied as we hnve staled, they were aroused by the plalntlvo soba of a child. Tliey opened tha atreet door and discovered the little wanderers seated on the alepa. scantily clnd nnd shivering shiver-ing In the bli nk night air. The klnd-hrarled trader and hla wife took them In. and were much affected by the sorrowful story of llttla Ituth. The next day ahe wna atrlcken down with a fever, and a week after ahe wna luld In her little colli n. It waa the verdict of sympathising friends thai her death wna the reault of neglect and ripoaure. The father waa sent for, and was found Juat recovering from hla protracted pro-tracted debauch. He waa In moat deplorable condition, both In mind and body. Not solitary article of fnrnl-tore, fnrnl-tore, save a broken-hacked chair. r-ninlned r-ninlned In tha hovel. Kverrthlug had gone for ruin, and ha hnd kept on drinking duy and night llll money and credit were both exhnustrd, and then be waa obliged to atop, and In atop-ping, atop-ping, to reflect, lie upbraided hlmaeir now aa the iiiiiMitit of hla wife and child, and wna. when too 1st, thoroughly thor-oughly humbled and repentant. Tom Ni'K.ni'ili waa not only a atrong advocate of tenipci inca, but a Rood Pnuinrltan. lie took Kiioclt Iloldwalt home, gave him Ihe advnutngea of a j huh mid iliate, ami clothed him In a Btiltold manner In attend the funeral. ; W lo n T.'iu Ncwcoinb took hliu Into the ' r'M.m where Hill - Ituth lay lu the cof-j cof-j tin i.k knr!t hci. Ic it. uud burat lutn , tc I i 1 I lici'l" he mid, aa ha turned hla tn?L-ard fnce toward the aoll"?7 wltniH.; iiml I klllul her mother, hen veu foigive mo!" "Nil," nnaweri-d Tom, "it Whm it you; It wna ruin. And now I to you to nmke mo a aolenm prorc-over prorc-over the dead form of your child, aa you hope for mercy In the hereaff never to let the vile polaon pollute r llie more " "I promise!" said Knoch. solemn'', "aa I hope for as ha lion; and If fel lo keep my word, may I auftr In n hereafter never-ending torturea!" ax! from that moment he roao up a n deemed man. never more to alnk unr tha power of the tempter. He g" hla consent to the Newcnmb'a adoptlaj llttla Kva: and a few dnya after l funeral Knoch Iloldwalt atnrted I California. Tomb Newcomb fundi Ing the money for hla outfit and I raiding rai-ding exiM'iiaea. This waa at the brliM of the gold fever. For the next few yeara they receive! an occasional letter from hi in, atatlol Hint he wna doing well, and had keel hla pledge, and then all cnmmunlo tlona ceaaed. tjradunlly the Newconini came to the conclusion that he muat ht either dend. or fallen back again Into his old hahlta of diaalpatlon. Thus, flfteen yeara had pnaaed away alnrt Knoch tlolilwalt'a departure, and llttlt Kva had developed Into a besutlfal girl of eighteen. During these fifteen yeara the Ne-corab Ne-corab family had been Increaaed by the addition of three legitimate mem-hera-two glrla and a boy; but thla did not prevent them from doing full Ju tlca to Eva. who had received every educational advantage that money could procure. It la true, they eould not aeo thrli way clear to do much mora, now that they hnd children of their own to provide pro-vide for and aettla In life; and when Wlnfleld Marsh, one of Mr. Newromb'i clerk s-a very handanma fellow, and of good moral character, on aalary of a thouannd dollars a year-paid court to Eva, tha Newcomba thought favorably of It, and ralaed no oppoal-tlon oppoal-tlon to the match, Mr. Newcomb gave hla adopted daughter a good marriage outfit, and ralaed Marah'a aalary to twelva hundred hun-dred a year. Tba wedding day waa fixed, and the young eoupla were very happy over the prospect of their approaching ap-proaching nuptlnla. They were to begin Ufa humbly, hot they loved each other, and tha world waa all before them. Tha auaplcloua evening had arrived, and the Invited guests were assembled at tha residence of tha Nnweomba, Tha young couple had rented and furnished fur-nished a small cottage or rather Mr, Newcomb hnd furnished It whither they were to retire after tha ceremony, and commence housekeeping. Everything waa In rendlnesa. and Mr. Newcomb waa on tha point of giving awny the bride, when tha street bell rang, and the servant uahered It a mlildle-ngrd gentleman, a Strang to all preaent. He approached Mi, Newcomb with an expression of plena ure, exiinlmlng na he did so: "Ton dn not seem to know nie. am Knoch iloldwalt, Juat returned, ai Ihe saying Is, with a pocket full of rocks, mid not a drop of liquor has paard my llpa since I Inat saw yon." "And you are Just In senion, my dear frlcfx!, !avltnrss your daughter's marriage to a poor but estimable man, one of my clerks," anld Newcomb. "All right," exclnlmed the returned rnllfornlnn: "I will set him up In huali neaa" And ho dld.-Nrw York Weekly. |