第 58 节
作者:
谁与争疯 更新:2021-02-19 00:36 字数:9322
Rum; ruin; racket!
At first she 〃moral suasion〃 tried;
But lawless men mere 〃talk〃 deride:
'Twas then she seized her household ax
And for enforcing law by acts;
Found nought to match it。
The work thus wrought with zeal discreet;
Has saved that town from rum complete;
Proving that woman's moral force
Like man's; is held; as last resource;
By sword or hatchet。
And following up that dauntless raid;
The nation welcomes her crusade;
All o'er the land; pure women charmed;
Are eager forming; each one armed
With glittering hatchets。
Talk of 〃defenders of the nation!〃
Woman's slight arm sends consternation
'Mong its worst foes; on social fields;
Worse than the 〃Mauser;〃 when she wields
The 〃smashing〃 hatchet。
Mahommed sought by arts refined;
To raise his standard o'er mankind;
But found success for aye denied;
Until at length he boldly tried
The battle…hatchet。
When soon his power imperial; shone
O'er countless tribes; in widening zone;
And wine was banished from the board
Of Moslem millions; by the sword
And victor's hatchet。
So may it be with this great nation;
When woman tests her high vocation;
Persuasion proves a futile power
To quell the joints; but quick they cower
At the whirling hatchets。
True chivalry must come again;
And men; more noble; but less vain;
Responding to its modern sense;
Guard woman; while in self…defense
She plies her hatchet。
When honor bright appeals to men
〃The weak confounds the mighty;〃 then
Side doors and slot…machines must close
And such games hide; when women pose
With sharpened hatchets。
'Else are men brutes; and all their pride
And gallant valor; they must hide
In coward shirking。 This shameful end
They must accept; or else defend
The 〃home…guard〃 hatchet。
'Tis woman's crucial; fateful hour;
Her fine soul's test; 'gainst man's coarse power。
In war; she can not be man's peer;
But for home's weal; all men sincere
Bow to her hatchet。
Man's 〃Vigilance〃 is oft condoned;
When Vice and Crime has been enthroned。
Shall women then; be more to blame;
When she In Virtue's sacred name
Raises her hatchet?
'Tis she must grasp the nation's prize
A pure; proud home; earth's paradise。
The joints must go; but; never till
Woman exerts her potent will
And holy hatchet。
As men; once slaves; their freedom gained
By force; and power at length attained;
So; cultured brains and force combined;
Shall mark the sphere of womankind
And surely reach it。
In valor; more Joan d'Arc's are needed;
Woman's high social power's conceded;
But she herself; must blaze the path
To public morals; by her own worth
And 〃Little Hatchet。〃
C。 BUTLER…ANDREWS。
Dr。 Howard Russell told in his address at Kokomo; Sunday; March
24; how when Mrs。 Nation was on her way from Topeka to Peoria
recently; a passenger on the same train came into the car where she
was and sang a song of his own composition。 He was evidently a farmer
with a large stock of mother…wit。 He was lame; and limped into the
car; and hopped up and down while he sang。 A great deal of merry
enthusiasm was aroused; and the car; packed full of people; expressed
their appreciation by round after round of applause。 It is evident that
Mrs。 Nation is quite popular in that part of the country。
The song is as follows:
Hurrah; Samantha; Mrs。 Nation is in town!
So get on your bonnet and your Sunday…meeting gown。
Oh; I am so blamed excited I am hopping up and down;
Hurrah; Samantha; Carrie Nation is in town!
Get you ready; we are going to the city;
Where the 〃Home Defenders〃 are all feeling gay;
And the mothers all exclaiming; 〃Its a pity
That Carrie Nation does not come here every day。〃
I want to hear that mirror…smashing music;
And to look in Mrs。 Nation's blessed face;
And to see the saloon men all cavorting
With that hatchet bringing sadness to their face。
Hurrah; Samantha; Mrs。 Nation is in town!
So wear your brightest bonnet and your alapaca gown。
Oh; I am so jubilated I'm a…hopping up and down;
Hurrah! hurrah! Samantha; Mrs。 Nation is in town。
OUTCAST。
(Found in manuscript among the personal effects of a prostitute; 22
years of age; who died in the Commercial Hospital; Cincinnati; O。)
Once I was pure as the snow; but I fell;
Fell like the snowflakes from heaven to hell;
Fell to be trampled as filth on the street
Fell to be scoffed; to be spit on and beat;
Pleadingcursingdreading to die;
Selling my soul to whoever would buy;
Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread;
Hating the living and fearing the dead。
Merciful God; have I fallen so low?
And yet I was once like the beautiful snow。
Once I was fair as the beautiful snow;
With an eye like a crystal; a heart like its glow;
Once I was loved for my innocent grace
Flattered and sought for the charms of my face!
Fathers;mothers;sisters;all;
God and myself have I lost by my fall;
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by;
Will make a wide sweep lest I wander too nigh;
For all that in on or above me I know;
There is nothing so pure as the beautiful snow。
How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to go!
How strange it should be when the night comes again;
If the snow and the ice struck my desperate brain。
Fainting;freezing;dying alone;
Too wicked for prayer; too weak for a moan;
To be heard in the streets of the crazy town;
Gone mad in the joy of the snow coming down;
To be and to die in my terrible woe;
With a bed and shroud of the beautiful snow。
Helpless and foul as the trampled snow
Sinner; despair not! Christ stoopeth low
To rescue the soul that is lost in sin;
And raise it to life and enjoyment again。
Groaningbleedingdying for thee
The crucified hung on the cursed tree;
His accent of mercy fell soft on thine ear;
〃Is there mercy for me? Will He heed my weak prayer?〃
O; God! in the stream that for sinners did flow;
Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow。
THE LIPS THAT TOUCH LIQUOR MUST
NEVER TOUCH MINE。
You are coming to woo me; but not as of yore;
For I hastened to welcome your ring at the door;
For I trusted that he; who stood waiting for me then;
Was the brightest; the noblest; the truest of men。
Your lips on my own when they printed 〃Farewell;〃
Had never been soiled by the 〃Beverage of Hell;〃
But they come to me now with the bacchanal sign;
And the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
I think of that night; in the garden alone;
When whispering you told me your heart was my own;
That your love in the future should faithfully be;
Unshared by another; kept only for me。
Oh sweet to my soul is the memory still;
Of the lips that met mine when they murmured 〃I will;〃
But now to their pleasure no more I incline;
For the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
O; John! How it crushed me when first in your face;
The pen of the 〃Rum Fiend〃 had written 〃Disgrace;〃
And turned me in silence and tears from that breath;
All poisoned and foul from the chalice of death。
It shattered the hopes I had cherished to last;
It darkened the future and clouded the past;
It shattered my Idol and ruined the shrine;
For the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
I loved you; O! dearer than language can tell;
And you saw it; you proved it; you knew it too well;
But the man of my love was far other than he
Who now from the 〃tap room〃 came reeling to me。
In manhood and honor; so noble and right;
His heart was so true and his genius so bright;
And his Soul was unstained; unpolluted by wine;
But the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
You promised reform; but I trusted in vain;
Your pledge was but made to be broken again;
And the lover so false to his promises now;
Will not as a husband be true to his vow。
The word must be spoken that bids you depart;
Though the effort to speak it would shatter my heart;
Though in silence with blighted affections I pine;
Yet the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
If one spark in your bosom of virtue remain;
Go fan it with prayer; till it kindle again;
Resolved; 〃God helping;〃 in future to be
From wine and its follies unshackled and free。
And when you have conquered this foe of your Soul;
In manhood and honor beyond its control;
This heart will again beat responsive to thine;
And the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine。
Unknown。
WAR AMONG THE POETS。
From the Royal Arch News; the warhorse of the booze hoodlums;
the snapdragon of the jungle; the siren of Hades。
〃The Lips that Touch Liquor Shall Never Touch Mine;〃 so sings
Miss Cora Vere; who writes jingle for the Anti…Saloon press; and this is
the reply that the R。 A。 News would make:
The lips that touch liquor don't hanker to touch
The lips of a maiden like younot much!
If a mannot a mi