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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/39080-h.zip b/39080-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..045304a --- /dev/null +++ b/39080-h.zip diff --git a/39080-h/39080-h.htm b/39080-h/39080-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb78b21 --- /dev/null +++ b/39080-h/39080-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1037 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of My Mother's Gold Ring, by + Lucius M. Sargent.</title> + <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.center {text-align: center;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} +.lowercase { text-transform:lowercase; } + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:smaller; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; } + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's My Mother's Gold Ring Founded on Fact, by Lucius Sargent + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: My Mother's Gold Ring Founded on Fact + Eighth Edition + +Author: Lucius Sargent + +Release Date: March 8, 2012 [EBook #39080] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Paul Clark and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="transnote"> +<p> +Transcriber's Note: +</p> + +<p> +Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as +possible, including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation. +</p> +</div><div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="370" height="600" alt="" /> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> +<p class="center">Number One.</p> + +<h1>MY MOTHER'S +GOLD RING.</h1> + +<p class="center">FOUNDED ON FACT.</p> + +<p class="center">Eighth Edition.</p> + +<p class="center"><b>Boston:</b><br /> +PUBLISHED BY FORD AND DAMRELL.<br /> +1833.</p> + +<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> + +<p class="center"> +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1833, by<br /> +<span class="smcap lowercase">FORD AND DAMRELL</span>,<br /> +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.<br /> +</p> +<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="TO_THE_READER" id="TO_THE_READER"></a>TO THE READER.</h2> + + +<p>This is the first of a series of stories, of which it +possibly may be the beginning and the end. The +incident, which is the foundation of the following +tale, was communicated to the writer, by a valued +friend, as a fact, with the name of the principal +character. Another friend, to whom the manuscript +was given, perceiving some advantage in its publication, +has thought proper to give it to the world, +as Number One; from which I infer, that I am +expected to write a Number Two. The hint may +be worth taking, at some leisure moment. In the +mean time, pray read Number One: it can do +you no harm: there is nothing "<i>sectarian</i>" about +it. When you have read it, if, among all your +connexions and friends, you can think of none, +whom its perusal may possibly benefit—and it will +be strange if you cannot—do me the favor to present +it to the first little boy that you meet. He will,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +no doubt, take it home to his mother or his father. +If you will not do this, throw it in the street, +as near to some dram-seller's door, as you ever +venture to go: let it take the course of the flying +seed, which God is pleased to entrust to the keeping +of the winds: it may yet spring up and bear fruit, +if such be the will of Him, who giveth the increase.</p><hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="THE_GOLD_RING" id="THE_GOLD_RING"></a>THE GOLD RING.</h2> + + +<p>I have one of the kindest husbands: he is +a carpenter by trade, and our flock of little +children has one of the kindest fathers in +the county. I was thought the luckiest girl +in the parish, when G—— T—— made me +his wife: I thought so myself. Our wedding-day—and +it was a happy one—was but an +indifferent sample of those days of rational +happiness and uninterrupted harmony, which +we were permitted to enjoy together, for +the space of six years. And although, for +the last three years of our lives, we have +been as happy as we were at the beginning, +it makes my heart sick to think of those long +dark days and sad nights, that came between; +for, two years of our union were years of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +misery. I well recollect the first glass of +ardent spirit that my husband ever drank. +He had been at the grocery to purchase a +little tea and sugar for the family; there +were three cents coming to him in change; +and, unluckily, the Deacon, who keeps the +shop, had nothing but silver in the till; and, +as it was a sharp, frosty morning, he persuaded +my good man to take his money's worth of +rum, for it was just the price of a glass. He +came home in wonderful spirits, and told me +he meant to have me and the children better +dressed, and, as neighbor Barton talked of selling +his horse and chaise, he thought of buying +them both; and, when I said to him, +"George, we are dressed as well as we can +afford, and I hope you will not think of a +horse and chaise, till we have paid off the +Squire's mortgage," he gave me a harsh look +and a bitter word. I never shall forget that +day, for they were the first he ever gave me +in his life. When he saw me shedding tears, +and holding my apron to my face, he said he +was sorry, and came to kiss me, and I dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>covered +that he had been drinking, and it +grieved me to the heart. In a short time after, +while I was washing up the breakfast +things, I heard our little Robert, who was +only five years old, crying bitterly; and, going +to learn the cause, I met him running towards +me with his face covered with blood.</p> + +<p>He said his father had taken him on his +knee, and was playing with him, but had +given him a blow in the face, only because +he had said, when he kissed him, "dear +papa, you smell like old Isaac, the drunken +fiddler." My husband was very cross to us +all through the whole of that day; but the +next morning, though he said little, he was +evidently ashamed and humbled; and he +went about his work very industriously, and +was particularly kind to little Robert. I +prayed constantly for my good man, and that +God would be pleased to guide his heart +aright; and, more than a week having gone +by, without any similar occurrence, I flattered +myself, that he would never do so again. +But, in a very little time, either the Deacon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +was short of change, as before, or some +tempting occasion presented itself which my +husband could not resist, and he returned +home once more under the influence of liquor. +I never shall forget the expression of his +countenance, when he came in, that night. +We had waited supper a full hour, for his +return: the tea-pot was standing at the fire, +and the bannocks were untouched upon the +hearth; and the smaller children were beginning +to murmur for their supper. There +was an indescribable expression of defiance +on his countenance, as though he were conscious +of having done wrong, and resolved to +brave it out. We sat down silently to supper, +and he scarcely raised his eyes upon any +of us, during this unhappy repast. He soon +went to bed and fell asleep; and, after I had +laid our little ones to rest, I knelt at the foot +of the bed, on which my poor misguided +husband was sleeping, and poured out my +very soul to God, while my eyes were scalded +with the bitterest tears I had ever shed. +For I then foresaw, that, unless some reme<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>dy +could be employed, my best earthly friend, +the father of my little children, would become +a drunkard. The next morning, after breakfast, +I ventured to speak with him upon the +subject, in a mild way; and, though I could +not restrain my tears, neither my words nor +my weeping appeared to have any effect, and +I saw that he was becoming hardened, and +careless of us all. How many winter nights +have I waited, weeping alone, at my once +happy fireside, listening for the lifting latch, +and wishing, yet dreading, to hear his steps +at the door!</p> + +<p>After this state of things had continued, or +rather grown worse, for nearly three months, +I put on my bonnet one morning, after my +husband had gone to his work, and went to +the Deacon's store; and, finding him alone, +I stated my husband's case, and begged him +earnestly to sell him no more. He told me it +would do no good, for, if he did not sell it, +some other person would sell it; and he +doubted if my husband took more than was +good for him. He quoted Scripture to show,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +that it was a wife's duty to keep at home, +and submit herself to her husband, and not +meddle with things, which did not belong to +her province. At this time, two or three customers +called for rum, and the Deacon civilly +advised me to go home, and look after my +children.</p> + +<p>I went out with a heavy heart. It seemed +as if the tide of evil was setting against +me. As I was passing farmer Johnson's, on +my way home, they called me in. I sat +down and rested myself for a few minutes, in +their neat cottage. Farmer Johnson was +just returning from the field; and when I +saw the little ones running to meet him at +the stile, and the kind looks, that passed between +the good man and his wife; and when +I remembered that we were married on the +very same day, and compared my own fortune +with theirs, my poor heart burst forth +in a flood of tears. They all knew what I +was weeping for, and farmer Johnson, in a +kind manner, bade me cheer up, and put my +trust in God's mercy, and remember that it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +was often darkest before daylight. The farmer +and his wife were members of the temperance +society, and had signed the pledge; and +I had often heard him say, that he believed +it had saved him from destruction. He had, +before his marriage, and for a year after, been +in the habit of taking a little spirit every day. +He was an industrious, thriving man; but, +shortly after his marriage, he became bound +for a neighbor, who ran off, and he was +obliged to pay the debt. I have heard him +declare, that, when the sheriff took away all +his property, and stripped his little cottage, +and scarcely left him those trifles, which are +secured to the poor man by law; and when +he considered how ill his poor wife was, at +the time, in consequence of the loss of their +child, that died only a month before, he +was restrained from resorting to the bottle, in +his moments of despair, by nothing but a +recollection of the pledge he had signed. +Farmer Johnson's minister was in favor of +pledges, and had often told him, that affliction +might weaken his judgment and his mor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>al +sense, and that the pledge might save him +at last, as a plank saves the life of a mariner, +who is tost upon the waves.</p> + +<p>Our good Clergyman was unfortunately of +a different opinion. He had often disapproved +of pledges: the Deacon was of the +same opinion: he thought very illy of pledges.</p> + +<p>Month after month passed away, and our +happiness was utterly destroyed. My husband +neglected his business, and poverty began +to stare us in the face. Notwithstanding +my best exertions, it was hard work to +keep my little ones decently clothed and sufficiently +fed. If my husband earned a shilling, +the dram-seller was as sure of it as if it +were already in his till. I sometimes thought +I had lost all my affection for one, who had +proved so entirely regardless of those, whom +it was his duty to protect and sustain; but, +when I looked in the faces of our little children, +the recollection of our early marriage +days, and all his kind words and deeds soon +taught me the strength of the principle, that +had brought us together. I shall never cease<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +to remember the anguish I felt, when the +constable took him to jail, upon the dram-seller's +execution. Till that moment, I did not +believe, that my affection could have survived, +under the pressure of that misery, which +he had brought upon us all. I put up such +things, of the little that remained to us, as I +thought might be of use, and turned my back +upon a spot, where I had been very happy +and very wretched. Our five little children +followed, weeping bitterly. The jail was situated +in the next town. "Oh George," +said I, "if you had only signed the pledge, +it would not have come to this." He sighed, +and said nothing; and we walked nearly a +mile, in perfect silence. As we were leaving +the village, we encountered our Clergyman, +going forth upon his morning ride. When I +reflected, that a few words from him would +have induced my poor husband to sign the +pledge, and that, if he had done so, he might +have been the kind father, and the affectionate +husband that he once was, I own, it cost me +some considerable effort to suppress my emo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>tions. +"Whither are you all going?" said +the holy man. My husband, who had always +appeared extremely humble, in presence +of the minister, and replied to all his inquiries +in a subdued tone of voice, answered, with +unusual firmness, "to jail, reverend sir." +"To jail!" said he, "ah, I see how it is; you +have wasted your substance in riotous living, +and are going to pay for your improvidence +and folly. You have had the advantage +of my precept and example, and you +have turned a deaf ear to the one, and neglected +the other." "Reverend sir," my +husband replied, galled by this reproof, which +appeared to him, at that particular moment, +an unnecessary aggravation of his misery, +"reverend sir, your precept and your example +have been my ruin; I have followed +them both. You, who had no experience of +the temptations to which your weaker brethren +are liable, who are already addicted to +the temperate and daily use of ardent spirits, +advised me never to sign a pledge. I have +followed your advice to the letter. You ad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>mitted, +that extraordinary occasions might +justify the use of ardent spirit, and that, on +such occasions, you might use it yourself. I +followed your example; but it has been my +misfortune never to drink spirituous liquors, +without finding that my <i>occasions</i> were more +<i>extraordinary</i> than ever. Had I followed +the precept and example of my neighbor +Johnson, I should not have made a good wife +miserable, nor my children beggars." While +he uttered these last words, my poor husband +looked upon his little ones, and burst +into tears; and the minister rode slowly +away, without uttering a word. I rejoiced, +even in the midst of our misery, to see that +the heart of my poor George was tenderly +affected; for it is not more needful, that the +hardness of wax should be subdued by fire, +than that the heart of man should be softened +by affliction, before a deep and lasting impression +can be made. "Dear husband," +said I, "we are young; it is not too late; let +us trust in God, and all may yet be well." +He made no reply, but continued to walk on,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +and weep in silence. Shortly after, the Deacon +appeared, at some distance, coming towards +us on the road; but, as soon as he +discovered who we were, he turned away +into a private path. Even the constable +seemed somewhat touched with compassion, +at our situation, and urged us to keep up a +good heart, for he thought some one might +help us, when we least expected it. My +husband, whose vein of humor would often +display itself, even in hours of sadness, +instantly replied, that the good Samaritan +could not be far off, for the priest and the +Levite had already passed by on the other +side. But he little thought—poor man—that +even the conclusion of this beautiful parable +was so likely to be verified. A one-horse wagon, +at this moment, appeared to be coming +down the hill behind us, at an unusually rapid +rate, and the constable advised us, as the road +was narrow, to stand aside, and let it pass. It +was soon up with us; and, when the dust had +cleared away, it turned out, as little Robert +had said, when it first appeared on the top of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +the hill, to be farmer Johnson's gray mare +and yellow wagon. The kind-hearted farmer +was out in an instant, and, without saying +a word, was putting the children into it, +one after another. A word from farmer +Johnson was enough for any constable in the +village. It was all the work of a moment. +He shook my husband by the hand, and +when he began, "Neighbor Johnson, you +are the same kind friend"—"Get in," said +he, "let's have no words about it; I must be +home in a trice, for," turning to me, "your old +school-mate, Susan, my wife, will sit a crying +at the window, till she sees you all safe +home again." Saying this, he whipped up +the gray mare, who, regardless of the additional +load, went up the hill faster than she +came down, as though she entered into the +spirit of the whole transaction.</p> + +<p>It was not long before we reached the +door of our cottage. Farmer Johnson took +out the children; and, while I was trying to +find words to thank him for all his kindness, +he was up in his wagon and off, before I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +could utter a syllable. Robert screamed after +him, to tell little Tim Johnson to come +over, and that he should have all his pinks +and marigolds. When we entered the cottage, +there were bread, and meat, and milk, +upon the table, which Susan, the farmer's +wife, had brought over, for the children. I +could not help sobbing aloud, for my heart +was full. "Dear George," said I, turning +to my husband, "you used to pray, let us +thank God for this great deliverance from +evil." "Dear Jenny," said he, "I fear God +will scarcely listen to my poor prayers, after +all my offences; but I will try." We closed +the cottage door, and he prayed with so +much humility of heart, and so much earnestness +of feeling, that I felt almost sure, that +God's grace would be lighted up in the bosom +of this unhappy man, if sighs, and tears, +and prayers, could win their way to heaven. +He was very grave, and said little or nothing +that night. The next morning, when I woke +up, I was surprised, as the sun had not risen, +to find that he had already gone down. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +first, I felt alarmed, as such a thing had become +unusual with him, of late years; but +my anxious feelings were agreeably relieved, +when the children told me their father had +been hoeing for an hour, in the potato field, +and was mending the garden fence. With +our scanty materials, I got ready the best +breakfast I could, and he sat down to it, with +a good appetite, but said little; and, now and +then, I saw the tears starting into his eyes. I +had many fears, that he would fall back into +his former habits, whenever he should meet +his old companions, or stop in again at the +Deacon's store. I was about urging him to +move into another village. After breakfast, +he took me aside, and asked me if I had not +a gold ring. "George," said I, "that ring +was my mother's: she took it from her finger, +and gave it to me, the day that she died. I +would not part with that ring, unless it were +to save life. Besides, if we are industrious +and honest, we shall not be forsaken." "Dear +Jenny," said he, "I know how you prize +that gold ring: I never loved you more than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +when you wept over it, while you first told +me the story of your mother's death: it was +just a month before we were married, the +last sabbath evening in May, Jenny, and we +were walking by the river. I wish you +would bring me that ring." Memory hurried +me back, in an instant, to the scene, the +bank upon the river's side, where we sat together, +and agreed upon our wedding-day. +I brought down the ring, and he asked me, +with such an earnestness of manner, to put it +on his little finger, that I did so; not, however, +without a trembling hand and a misgiving heart. +"And now, Jenny," said he, as he rose to +go out, "pray that God will support me." +My mind was not in a happy state, for I felt +some doubt of his intentions. From a little +hill, at the back of our cottage, we had a fair +view of the Deacon's store. I went up to +the top of it; and, while I watched my husband's +steps, no one can tell how fervently I +prayed God to guide them aright. I saw +two of his old companions, standing at the +store door, with glasses in their hands; and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +as my husband came in front of the shop, I +saw them beckon him in. It was a sad moment +for me. "Oh George," said I, though +I knew he could not hear me, "go on; remember +your poor wife and your starving +children!" My heart sunk within me, when +I saw him stop and turn towards the door. +He shook hands with his old associates: they +appeared to offer him their glasses: I saw +him shake his head and pass on. "Thank +God," said I, and ran down the hill, with a +light step, and seizing my baby, at the cottage +door, I literally covered it with kisses, and +bathed it in tears of joy. About ten o'clock, +Richard Lane, the Squire's office-boy, brought +in a piece of meat and some meal, saying +my husband sent word, that he could not be +home, till night, as he was at work, on the +Squire's barn; Richard added, that the Squire +had engaged him for two months. He came +home early, and the children ran down the +hill to meet him. He was grave, but cheerful. +"I have prayed for you, dear husband," +said I. "And a merciful God has supported<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +me, Jenny," said he. It is not easy to measure +the degrees of happiness; but, take it altogether, +this, I think, was the happiest evening +of my life. If there is great joy in +heaven, over a sinner that repenteth, there +is no less joy in the heart of a faithful wife, +over a husband, that was lost, and is found. +In this manner the two months went away. +In addition to his common labor, he found +time to cultivate the garden, and make and +mend a variety of useful articles about the +house. It was soon understood, that my +husband had reformed, and it was more generally +believed, because he was a subject for +the gibes and sneers of a large number of the +Deacon's customers. My husband used to +say, let those laugh that are wise and win. +He was an excellent workman, and business +came in from all quarters. He was soon +able to repay neighbor Johnson, and our families +lived in the closest friendship with each +other. One evening, farmer Johnson said to +my husband, that he thought it would be +well for him to sign the temperance pledge;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +that he did not advise it, when he first began +to leave off spirit, for he feared his strength +might fail him. "But now," said he, "you +have continued five months without touching +a drop, and it would be well for the cause, +that you should sign the pledge." "Friend +Johnson," said my husband, "when a year +has gone safely by, I will sign the pledge. +For five months, instead of the pledge, I have +in every trial and temptation—and a drinking +man knows well the force and meaning of +those words—I have relied upon this gold +ring, to renew my strength, and remind me +of my duty to God, to my wife, to my children, +and to society. Whenever the struggle +of appetite has commenced, I have looked +upon this ring: I have remembered that +it was given, with the last words and dying +counsels of an excellent mother, to my wife, +who placed it there; and, under the blessing +of Almighty God, it has proved, thus far, the +life-boat of a drowning man."</p> + +<p>The year soon passed away; and on the +very day twelvemonth, on which I had put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +the ring upon my husband's finger, farmer +Johnson brought over the Temperance book. +We all sat down to the tea-table together. +After supper was done, little Robert climbed +up and kissed his father, and, turning to farmer +Johnson, "Father," said he, "has not +smelt like old Isaac, the drunken fiddler, +once, since we rode home in your yellow wagon." +The farmer opened the book: my +husband signed the pledge of the society, and, +with tears in his eyes, gave me back—ten +thousand times more precious than ever—<span class="smcap lowercase">MY +MOTHER'S GOLD RING</span>.</p><hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="MY_MOTHERS" id="MY_MOTHERS"></a>MY MOTHER'S +GOLD RING.</h2> + +<p><b>Sold by the publishers, Ford and Damrell</b>, +at their Office, in Wilson's lane, near the U.S. Branch Bank, +Boston, at 6 cents single, 50 cents per dozen, $3 per hundred, +$25 per thousand. Individuals or societies supplied with any +number of copies at short notice.</p> + +<p>N. B. Number Two may be expected soon.</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Mother's Gold Ring Founded on Fact, by +Lucius Sargent + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING *** + +***** This file should be named 39080-h.htm or 39080-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/0/8/39080/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Paul Clark and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: My Mother's Gold Ring Founded on Fact + Eighth Edition + +Author: Lucius Sargent + +Release Date: March 8, 2012 [EBook #39080] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Paul Clark and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + Transcriber's Note: + + Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as + possible, including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation. + + Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. + Bold text has been marked with =equals signs=. + + + +[Illustration: cover] + + Number One. + + MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING. + + FOUNDED ON FACT. + + Eighth Edition. + + Boston: + PUBLISHED BY FORD AND DAMRELL. + 1833. + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1833, by + FORD AND DAMRELL, + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. + + + + +TO THE READER. + + +This is the first of a series of stories, of which it possibly may be +the beginning and the end. The incident, which is the foundation of the +following tale, was communicated to the writer, by a valued friend, as a +fact, with the name of the principal character. Another friend, to whom +the manuscript was given, perceiving some advantage in its publication, +has thought proper to give it to the world, as Number One; from which I +infer, that I am expected to write a Number Two. The hint may be worth +taking, at some leisure moment. In the mean time, pray read Number One: +it can do you no harm: there is nothing "_sectarian_" about it. When you +have read it, if, among all your connexions and friends, you can think +of none, whom its perusal may possibly benefit--and it will be strange +if you cannot--do me the favor to present it to the first little boy +that you meet. He will, no doubt, take it home to his mother or his +father. If you will not do this, throw it in the street, as near to some +dram-seller's door, as you ever venture to go: let it take the course of +the flying seed, which God is pleased to entrust to the keeping of the +winds: it may yet spring up and bear fruit, if such be the will of Him, +who giveth the increase. + + + + +THE GOLD RING. + + +I have one of the kindest husbands: he is a carpenter by trade, and our +flock of little children has one of the kindest fathers in the county. I +was thought the luckiest girl in the parish, when G---- T---- made me +his wife: I thought so myself. Our wedding-day--and it was a happy +one--was but an indifferent sample of those days of rational happiness +and uninterrupted harmony, which we were permitted to enjoy together, +for the space of six years. And although, for the last three years of +our lives, we have been as happy as we were at the beginning, it makes +my heart sick to think of those long dark days and sad nights, that came +between; for, two years of our union were years of misery. I well +recollect the first glass of ardent spirit that my husband ever drank. +He had been at the grocery to purchase a little tea and sugar for the +family; there were three cents coming to him in change; and, unluckily, +the Deacon, who keeps the shop, had nothing but silver in the till; and, +as it was a sharp, frosty morning, he persuaded my good man to take his +money's worth of rum, for it was just the price of a glass. He came home +in wonderful spirits, and told me he meant to have me and the children +better dressed, and, as neighbor Barton talked of selling his horse and +chaise, he thought of buying them both; and, when I said to him, +"George, we are dressed as well as we can afford, and I hope you will +not think of a horse and chaise, till we have paid off the Squire's +mortgage," he gave me a harsh look and a bitter word. I never shall +forget that day, for they were the first he ever gave me in his life. +When he saw me shedding tears, and holding my apron to my face, he said +he was sorry, and came to kiss me, and I discovered that he had been +drinking, and it grieved me to the heart. In a short time after, while I +was washing up the breakfast things, I heard our little Robert, who was +only five years old, crying bitterly; and, going to learn the cause, I +met him running towards me with his face covered with blood. + +He said his father had taken him on his knee, and was playing with him, +but had given him a blow in the face, only because he had said, when he +kissed him, "dear papa, you smell like old Isaac, the drunken fiddler." +My husband was very cross to us all through the whole of that day; but +the next morning, though he said little, he was evidently ashamed and +humbled; and he went about his work very industriously, and was +particularly kind to little Robert. I prayed constantly for my good man, +and that God would be pleased to guide his heart aright; and, more than +a week having gone by, without any similar occurrence, I flattered +myself, that he would never do so again. But, in a very little time, +either the Deacon was short of change, as before, or some tempting +occasion presented itself which my husband could not resist, and he +returned home once more under the influence of liquor. I never shall +forget the expression of his countenance, when he came in, that night. +We had waited supper a full hour, for his return: the tea-pot was +standing at the fire, and the bannocks were untouched upon the hearth; +and the smaller children were beginning to murmur for their supper. +There was an indescribable expression of defiance on his countenance, as +though he were conscious of having done wrong, and resolved to brave it +out. We sat down silently to supper, and he scarcely raised his eyes +upon any of us, during this unhappy repast. He soon went to bed and fell +asleep; and, after I had laid our little ones to rest, I knelt at the +foot of the bed, on which my poor misguided husband was sleeping, and +poured out my very soul to God, while my eyes were scalded with the +bitterest tears I had ever shed. For I then foresaw, that, unless some +remedy could be employed, my best earthly friend, the father of my +little children, would become a drunkard. The next morning, after +breakfast, I ventured to speak with him upon the subject, in a mild way; +and, though I could not restrain my tears, neither my words nor my +weeping appeared to have any effect, and I saw that he was becoming +hardened, and careless of us all. How many winter nights have I waited, +weeping alone, at my once happy fireside, listening for the lifting +latch, and wishing, yet dreading, to hear his steps at the door! + +After this state of things had continued, or rather grown worse, for +nearly three months, I put on my bonnet one morning, after my husband +had gone to his work, and went to the Deacon's store; and, finding him +alone, I stated my husband's case, and begged him earnestly to sell him +no more. He told me it would do no good, for, if he did not sell it, +some other person would sell it; and he doubted if my husband took more +than was good for him. He quoted Scripture to show, that it was a +wife's duty to keep at home, and submit herself to her husband, and not +meddle with things, which did not belong to her province. At this time, +two or three customers called for rum, and the Deacon civilly advised me +to go home, and look after my children. + +I went out with a heavy heart. It seemed as if the tide of evil was +setting against me. As I was passing farmer Johnson's, on my way home, +they called me in. I sat down and rested myself for a few minutes, in +their neat cottage. Farmer Johnson was just returning from the field; +and when I saw the little ones running to meet him at the stile, and the +kind looks, that passed between the good man and his wife; and when I +remembered that we were married on the very same day, and compared my +own fortune with theirs, my poor heart burst forth in a flood of tears. +They all knew what I was weeping for, and farmer Johnson, in a kind +manner, bade me cheer up, and put my trust in God's mercy, and remember +that it was often darkest before daylight. The farmer and his wife were +members of the temperance society, and had signed the pledge; and I had +often heard him say, that he believed it had saved him from destruction. +He had, before his marriage, and for a year after, been in the habit of +taking a little spirit every day. He was an industrious, thriving man; +but, shortly after his marriage, he became bound for a neighbor, who ran +off, and he was obliged to pay the debt. I have heard him declare, that, +when the sheriff took away all his property, and stripped his little +cottage, and scarcely left him those trifles, which are secured to the +poor man by law; and when he considered how ill his poor wife was, at +the time, in consequence of the loss of their child, that died only a +month before, he was restrained from resorting to the bottle, in his +moments of despair, by nothing but a recollection of the pledge he had +signed. Farmer Johnson's minister was in favor of pledges, and had often +told him, that affliction might weaken his judgment and his moral +sense, and that the pledge might save him at last, as a plank saves the +life of a mariner, who is tost upon the waves. + +Our good Clergyman was unfortunately of a different opinion. He had +often disapproved of pledges: the Deacon was of the same opinion: he +thought very illy of pledges. + +Month after month passed away, and our happiness was utterly destroyed. +My husband neglected his business, and poverty began to stare us in the +face. Notwithstanding my best exertions, it was hard work to keep my +little ones decently clothed and sufficiently fed. If my husband earned +a shilling, the dram-seller was as sure of it as if it were already in +his till. I sometimes thought I had lost all my affection for one, who +had proved so entirely regardless of those, whom it was his duty to +protect and sustain; but, when I looked in the faces of our little +children, the recollection of our early marriage days, and all his kind +words and deeds soon taught me the strength of the principle, that had +brought us together. I shall never cease to remember the anguish I +felt, when the constable took him to jail, upon the dram-seller's +execution. Till that moment, I did not believe, that my affection could +have survived, under the pressure of that misery, which he had brought +upon us all. I put up such things, of the little that remained to us, as +I thought might be of use, and turned my back upon a spot, where I had +been very happy and very wretched. Our five little children followed, +weeping bitterly. The jail was situated in the next town. "Oh George," +said I, "if you had only signed the pledge, it would not have come to +this." He sighed, and said nothing; and we walked nearly a mile, in +perfect silence. As we were leaving the village, we encountered our +Clergyman, going forth upon his morning ride. When I reflected, that a +few words from him would have induced my poor husband to sign the +pledge, and that, if he had done so, he might have been the kind father, +and the affectionate husband that he once was, I own, it cost me some +considerable effort to suppress my emotions. "Whither are you all +going?" said the holy man. My husband, who had always appeared extremely +humble, in presence of the minister, and replied to all his inquiries in +a subdued tone of voice, answered, with unusual firmness, "to jail, +reverend sir." "To jail!" said he, "ah, I see how it is; you have wasted +your substance in riotous living, and are going to pay for your +improvidence and folly. You have had the advantage of my precept and +example, and you have turned a deaf ear to the one, and neglected the +other." "Reverend sir," my husband replied, galled by this reproof, +which appeared to him, at that particular moment, an unnecessary +aggravation of his misery, "reverend sir, your precept and your example +have been my ruin; I have followed them both. You, who had no experience +of the temptations to which your weaker brethren are liable, who are +already addicted to the temperate and daily use of ardent spirits, +advised me never to sign a pledge. I have followed your advice to the +letter. You admitted, that extraordinary occasions might justify the +use of ardent spirit, and that, on such occasions, you might use it +yourself. I followed your example; but it has been my misfortune never +to drink spirituous liquors, without finding that my _occasions_ were +more _extraordinary_ than ever. Had I followed the precept and example +of my neighbor Johnson, I should not have made a good wife miserable, +nor my children beggars." While he uttered these last words, my poor +husband looked upon his little ones, and burst into tears; and the +minister rode slowly away, without uttering a word. I rejoiced, even in +the midst of our misery, to see that the heart of my poor George was +tenderly affected; for it is not more needful, that the hardness of wax +should be subdued by fire, than that the heart of man should be softened +by affliction, before a deep and lasting impression can be made. "Dear +husband," said I, "we are young; it is not too late; let us trust in +God, and all may yet be well." He made no reply, but continued to walk +on, and weep in silence. Shortly after, the Deacon appeared, at some +distance, coming towards us on the road; but, as soon as he discovered +who we were, he turned away into a private path. Even the constable +seemed somewhat touched with compassion, at our situation, and urged us +to keep up a good heart, for he thought some one might help us, when we +least expected it. My husband, whose vein of humor would often display +itself, even in hours of sadness, instantly replied, that the good +Samaritan could not be far off, for the priest and the Levite had +already passed by on the other side. But he little thought--poor +man--that even the conclusion of this beautiful parable was so likely to +be verified. A one-horse wagon, at this moment, appeared to be coming +down the hill behind us, at an unusually rapid rate, and the constable +advised us, as the road was narrow, to stand aside, and let it pass. It +was soon up with us; and, when the dust had cleared away, it turned out, +as little Robert had said, when it first appeared on the top of the +hill, to be farmer Johnson's gray mare and yellow wagon. The +kind-hearted farmer was out in an instant, and, without saying a word, +was putting the children into it, one after another. A word from farmer +Johnson was enough for any constable in the village. It was all the work +of a moment. He shook my husband by the hand, and when he began, +"Neighbor Johnson, you are the same kind friend"--"Get in," said he, +"let's have no words about it; I must be home in a trice, for," turning +to me, "your old school-mate, Susan, my wife, will sit a crying at the +window, till she sees you all safe home again." Saying this, he whipped +up the gray mare, who, regardless of the additional load, went up the +hill faster than she came down, as though she entered into the spirit of +the whole transaction. + +It was not long before we reached the door of our cottage. Farmer +Johnson took out the children; and, while I was trying to find words to +thank him for all his kindness, he was up in his wagon and off, before +I could utter a syllable. Robert screamed after him, to tell little Tim +Johnson to come over, and that he should have all his pinks and +marigolds. When we entered the cottage, there were bread, and meat, and +milk, upon the table, which Susan, the farmer's wife, had brought over, +for the children. I could not help sobbing aloud, for my heart was full. +"Dear George," said I, turning to my husband, "you used to pray, let us +thank God for this great deliverance from evil." "Dear Jenny," said he, +"I fear God will scarcely listen to my poor prayers, after all my +offences; but I will try." We closed the cottage door, and he prayed +with so much humility of heart, and so much earnestness of feeling, that +I felt almost sure, that God's grace would be lighted up in the bosom of +this unhappy man, if sighs, and tears, and prayers, could win their way +to heaven. He was very grave, and said little or nothing that night. The +next morning, when I woke up, I was surprised, as the sun had not risen, +to find that he had already gone down. At first, I felt alarmed, as +such a thing had become unusual with him, of late years; but my anxious +feelings were agreeably relieved, when the children told me their father +had been hoeing for an hour, in the potato field, and was mending the +garden fence. With our scanty materials, I got ready the best breakfast +I could, and he sat down to it, with a good appetite, but said little; +and, now and then, I saw the tears starting into his eyes. I had many +fears, that he would fall back into his former habits, whenever he +should meet his old companions, or stop in again at the Deacon's store. +I was about urging him to move into another village. After breakfast, he +took me aside, and asked me if I had not a gold ring. "George," said I, +"that ring was my mother's: she took it from her finger, and gave it to +me, the day that she died. I would not part with that ring, unless it +were to save life. Besides, if we are industrious and honest, we shall +not be forsaken." "Dear Jenny," said he, "I know how you prize that gold +ring: I never loved you more than when you wept over it, while you +first told me the story of your mother's death: it was just a month +before we were married, the last sabbath evening in May, Jenny, and we +were walking by the river. I wish you would bring me that ring." Memory +hurried me back, in an instant, to the scene, the bank upon the river's +side, where we sat together, and agreed upon our wedding-day. I brought +down the ring, and he asked me, with such an earnestness of manner, to +put it on his little finger, that I did so; not, however, without a +trembling hand and a misgiving heart. "And now, Jenny," said he, as he +rose to go out, "pray that God will support me." My mind was not in a +happy state, for I felt some doubt of his intentions. From a little +hill, at the back of our cottage, we had a fair view of the Deacon's +store. I went up to the top of it; and, while I watched my husband's +steps, no one can tell how fervently I prayed God to guide them aright. +I saw two of his old companions, standing at the store door, with +glasses in their hands; and, as my husband came in front of the shop, I +saw them beckon him in. It was a sad moment for me. "Oh George," said I, +though I knew he could not hear me, "go on; remember your poor wife and +your starving children!" My heart sunk within me, when I saw him stop +and turn towards the door. He shook hands with his old associates: they +appeared to offer him their glasses: I saw him shake his head and pass +on. "Thank God," said I, and ran down the hill, with a light step, and +seizing my baby, at the cottage door, I literally covered it with +kisses, and bathed it in tears of joy. About ten o'clock, Richard Lane, +the Squire's office-boy, brought in a piece of meat and some meal, +saying my husband sent word, that he could not be home, till night, as +he was at work, on the Squire's barn; Richard added, that the Squire had +engaged him for two months. He came home early, and the children ran +down the hill to meet him. He was grave, but cheerful. "I have prayed +for you, dear husband," said I. "And a merciful God has supported me, +Jenny," said he. It is not easy to measure the degrees of happiness; +but, take it altogether, this, I think, was the happiest evening of my +life. If there is great joy in heaven, over a sinner that repenteth, +there is no less joy in the heart of a faithful wife, over a husband, +that was lost, and is found. In this manner the two months went away. In +addition to his common labor, he found time to cultivate the garden, and +make and mend a variety of useful articles about the house. It was soon +understood, that my husband had reformed, and it was more generally +believed, because he was a subject for the gibes and sneers of a large +number of the Deacon's customers. My husband used to say, let those +laugh that are wise and win. He was an excellent workman, and business +came in from all quarters. He was soon able to repay neighbor Johnson, +and our families lived in the closest friendship with each other. One +evening, farmer Johnson said to my husband, that he thought it would be +well for him to sign the temperance pledge; that he did not advise it, +when he first began to leave off spirit, for he feared his strength +might fail him. "But now," said he, "you have continued five months +without touching a drop, and it would be well for the cause, that you +should sign the pledge." "Friend Johnson," said my husband, "when a year +has gone safely by, I will sign the pledge. For five months, instead of +the pledge, I have in every trial and temptation--and a drinking man +knows well the force and meaning of those words--I have relied upon this +gold ring, to renew my strength, and remind me of my duty to God, to my +wife, to my children, and to society. Whenever the struggle of appetite +has commenced, I have looked upon this ring: I have remembered that it +was given, with the last words and dying counsels of an excellent +mother, to my wife, who placed it there; and, under the blessing of +Almighty God, it has proved, thus far, the life-boat of a drowning man." + +The year soon passed away; and on the very day twelvemonth, on which I +had put the ring upon my husband's finger, farmer Johnson brought over +the Temperance book. We all sat down to the tea-table together. After +supper was done, little Robert climbed up and kissed his father, and, +turning to farmer Johnson, "Father," said he, "has not smelt like old +Isaac, the drunken fiddler, once, since we rode home in your yellow +wagon." The farmer opened the book: my husband signed the pledge of the +society, and, with tears in his eyes, gave me back--ten thousand times +more precious than ever--MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING. + + + + +MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING. + +=Sold by the publishers, Ford and Damrell=, at their Office, in Wilson's +lane, near the U.S. Branch Bank, Boston, at 6 cents single, 50 cents per +dozen, $3 per hundred, $25 per thousand. Individuals or societies +supplied with any number of copies at short notice. + +N. B. Number Two may be expected soon. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Mother's Gold Ring Founded on Fact, by +Lucius Sargent + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING *** + +***** This file should be named 39080.txt or 39080.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/0/8/39080/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Paul Clark and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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