human
I 'spose, Mr. Chairman, continued Joe Digg,
gpt
I believe ev'ry word the gentleman has said, continued the drunkard,
human
--here he paused long enough to let an excitable member exclaim
gpt
Bless the Lord! and burst into tears--
human
Ye don't believe it, continued Joe Digg,
gpt
Will the gentleman have the kindness to explain?
human
I'm a comin' to it, sir, ef my head'll see me through, replied the drunkard.
gpt
You folks all b'leeve that its lovin' liquor that makes men drink it; now, 'taint no sech thing. I never had a chance to taste fancy drinks, but I know that every kind of liquor _I_ ever got hold of was more like medicine than anything nice.
human
Then what _do_ they drink for?
gpt
I'll tell you, said Joe,
human
You should hev prayed, cried old Deacon Towser, springing to his feet;
gpt
Deacon, said Joe Digg,
human
I've heerd of your dyspepsy for nigh on to twenty year; did prayin' ever comfort _your_ stomach?
gpt
There's lots of jest sech folks, here in Backley, an' ev'ry where's else--people that don't get half fed, an' do get worked half to death. Nobody _means_ to 'buse 'em, but they do hev a hard time of it, an' whisky's the best friend they've got.
human
I work my men from sunrise to sunset in summer, myself, said Deacon Towser, jumping up again,
gpt
But ye don't start in the mornin' with hungry little faces a hauntin' ye--ye don't take the dry crusts to the field for yer own dinner, an' leave the meat an' butter at home for the wife an' young 'uns. An' ye go home without bein' afeard to see a half-fed wife draggin' herself aroun' among a lot of puny young 'uns that don't know what's the matter with 'em. Jesus Christ hissef broke down when it come to the cross, deac'n, an' poor human bein's sometimes reaches a pint where they can't stan' no more, an' when its wife an' children that brings it on, it gits a man awful.
human
The gentleman is right, I have no doubt, said the Chairman,
gpt
I know it, said Joe Digg,
human
They ort to flee from even the appearance of evil,
gpt
But where be they to flee _to_, Deac'n? persisted Joe Digg;
human
They can come to the church meetings, replied the Deacon;
gpt
said the drunkard, horrifying all the orthodox people at Backley,
human
Does the gentleman mean to convey the idea that all drunkards become so from justifying causes?
gpt
No, sir, replied Joe Digg,
human
But how are they to be 'left out'?
gpt
By temp'rance folks doin' somethin' beside talkin', replied the drunkard.
human
For twenty year I've been lectured and scolded, an' some good men's come to me with tears in their eyes, and put their arms 'roun' my neck, an' begged me to stop drinkin'. An' I've wanted to, an' tried to, but when all the encouragement a man gits is in words, an' no matter how he commenced drinkin', now ev'ry bone an' muscle in him is a beggin' fur drink ez soon as he leaves off, an' his mind's dull, an' he ain't fit fur much, an' needs takin' care of as p'tic'ler ez a mighty sick man, talk's jist as good ez wasted. Ther's been times when ef I'd been ahead on flour an' meat an' sich, I could a' stopped drinkin', but when a man's hungry, an' ragged, an' weak, and half-crazy, knowin' how his family's fixed an he can't do nothin' fur 'em, an' then don't get nothin' but words to reform on, he'll go back to the tavern ev'ry time, an' he'll drink till he's comfortable an' till he forgits. I want the people here, one an' all, to understand that though I'm past helpin' now, ther's been fifty times in the last twenty year when I might hed been stopped short, ef any body'd been sensible enough and good-hearted enough to give me a lift.