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X JoLJcj AMÜ GENERAL TEMPERANCE MONTHLY. No 9. BRISTOL, MAY 1,-1872. ONE PENNY. AN ANGEL IN A SALOON. ^ BY JÖHN B. GOUGH. NE afternoon in the month of June a lady in deep mourning, and fol- [ lowed by a child, entered one of the fashionable saloons in the city of N------. The writer happened to be passing at the. time, and impelled by curiosity followed her in to see what would ensue. Stepping up to the bar, and addressing the proprietor, who hap- pened to be present just then, she said— " Sir, can you assist me ? I have no home, no friends, and am unable to work." • . He glanced at her, and then at the little child, with a mingled look of curi- osity and pity. Evidently he was some- what surprised to see a woman in such a place begging, but without asking her any questions gave her some change; then turning to those present, he said— " Gentlemen, here's a lady in distress. Can't some of you help her a little ?" They all cheerfally acceded to this request, and soon a purse of two dollars was raised and put in her hand. " Madam," said the gentleman who gave her the money, " why do you come into a saloon ? It is'nt a proper place for a -lady, and why are you driven to such a step ?" " Sir, I know it isn't a properplace for me to be in ; and since you ask why I am driven to this step, I will tell you in one short word"—pointing to a bottle behind the door, labelled "whisky"— "that is what brought me to this— whisky! I was once happy, and sur- rounded by all the luxuries that wealth could procure, with a fond, indulgent husband. But in an evil hour he was tempted, and not possessing the will to resist that temptation, he fell, andin one sho'rt year my happiness was over, my home for ever broken and desolated, and the wealth some called mine lost, never to return, and all by the accursed wine- cup'. You see before you only a wreck of my former self, homeless and friend- less, and nothing left me in this world but this little child," and. weeping bit- terly, she affectionately caressed the golden curls that shaded a face of ex- quisitive loveliness. Regainingher com- posure, and turning to the proprietor of the saloon, she continued :-■•■ " Sir, the reason I occasiontuiy entera place like this is to implore those who deal in the deadly poison to desist, to stop a business that spreads désolation, ruin, poverty, and starvation. Think one moment of your loved ones, and then imagine them in the situation I am in. I appeal to your better heart, for I know you possess a kind one, to retire fromabusiness so ruinousto your patrons. Did you know that the money you re- ceive across this bar is the same as taking the bread out of the mouths of the fam- ished wives and children of your custom- ers ? That it strips the clothes from their back, deprives them of all the comforts of life, and throws unhappiness, misery, crime, and desolation into their once happy homes ? Oh, sir, let me implore, beseech, and pray you to retire from a business you blush to own you are engaged in before your fellow-men, and enter one that will not only be profitable to yourself, but to your fellow-men also. You will excuse me if I have spoken too plainly, but I could not help it when I thought of the misery and unhappiness it has caused me."