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