For John's Sake Part 23

Years pa.s.sed and Donovan Ryan went down to a drunkard's grave unwept and unhonoured. With rapid footsteps his wife followed him, leaving to the children as her legacy, the craving for intoxicants which had been engendered in their infancy and ministered to with such a.s.siduity in following years.

Is the story improbable, impossible? No, for thousands of lives cursed with the disease of drink attest its truth.

There was a ray of hope seen; there was help offered in earlier years; but some hand, perhaps that of the wife and mother, quenched the hope, and thrust aside the offered help, and forced those for whose salvation it was responsible into paths of ever-deepening darkness and rayless despair.

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HOW JARVIS WAS SAVED.

"IT'S quite true, ma'am, I've been a drinker; but, indeed, I've given it up, and if you'll only give me a chance of redeeming my character, you shan't ever regret it."

The lady who was thus addressed looked up from the letter she had been reading, somewhat doubtfully, at the speaker who was a woman past her early youth, red-faced and coa.r.s.e-featured, but with honest gray eyes and a set mouth that bore witness to the purpose indicated by her words.

"But you lost your last situation by giving way to drink," said Mrs.

Reston.

"Yes, ma'am, I did. I had got into the habit, and nothing was kept locked up, and I couldn't help taking it when the longing came on me."

The woman was singularly frank the lady thought, and after further conversation, it was decided that she should enter Mrs. Reston's service as cook.

"You will find no temptation to drink here," said Mrs. Reston. "I keep all intoxicants under lock and key, and the housemaid does not take anything of the kind. So you see, if you really wish to reform you have a good chance, and, indeed, if I did not think you were sincere in your wish to turn over a new leaf, I would not engage you."

The woman's voice broke a little as she thanked her future mistress and left the house.

"Really, Edmund, I was so struck by her intense desire to begin a new life, and as in every other respect her character was unimpeachable, I thought here was a fine opportunity of putting the golden rule into practice," replied Mrs. Reston to her husband's remonstrances upon the rashness of her proceeding.

"What a woman you are! You know that such an argument is unanswerable, and I must retreat from the field vanquished," laughingly remonstrated the husband, and the matter dropped.

"Now, Jarvis," said Mrs. Reston, when a few mornings later she had given her orders to the new cook, "I dare say you will miss your usual stimulant for some time, and you are quite at liberty to make yourself coffee or cocoa whenever you wish, and if there is any other way in which you may be helped to fight against your besetment let me know, for I want you to look upon me as your friend."

Cook stammered something unintelligible, and, somewhat surprised at her agitation, Mrs. Reston left the kitchen.

"If this don't beat everything! Nothing but lectures and black looks have I ever had before, and now to think of a real lady speaking so kind, and saying she wanted to be my friend!" And, in her excess of astonishment and emotion, Jarvis stood and watched the milk for the pudding she was about to make boil over, and then mechanically emptied what remained into the coffee dregs which were yet standing on the breakfast table. Weeks pa.s.sed away and Mr. Reston ceased to tease his wife about her latest philanthropic effort, and Mrs. Reston forgot to watch Jarvis with anxiety, and dismissed all misgivings as to the prudence of the step she had taken.

"Breakfast not ready yet! how's this?" asked Mr. Reston one morning, entering the dining-room at the usual time, to find the housemaid just commencing to lay the cloth, and his wife looking troubled.

"It can't be helped, dear. Symonds has been single-handed this morning, for Jarvis is not down yet," replied Mrs. Reston. Her husband raised his eyebrows and coughed significantly as he sat down and took up his newspaper.

"What's the matter with your paragon, my dear?" he presently said.

"I haven't asked her yet," was the dry answer. Mr. Reston thought he had better not pursue the subject, and relapsed into silence. After he had left the house, Mrs. Reston examined the contents of the cellaret, and came to the conclusion that Jarvis had been helping herself in large quant.i.ties from the stores of wine and spirits kept there.

She had been visiting with her husband the previous evening, and the housemaid had also been out, thus leaving every opportunity for Jarvis to indulge in the stimulants she had stolen.

Mrs. Reston also remembered that on returning home she had found the key of the cellaret, which she had missed, lying on the floor close to the side-board, and the door locked as usual. Symonds had come in to prayers alone, and said that cook had gone to bed with a bad headache.

"Send Jarvis to me as soon as she comes down," she said to the housemaid, who answered her summons.

"It's too disappointing," she soliloquised; "I felt so positive that Jarvis would do well; I am sure there is nothing I have left undone to help her in her attempts to abstain." Kind, good Mrs. Reston, there is just one thing you have left undone; but when you shortly learn how you have failed to do all that was necessary to effectually help your weak sister, will you have sufficient courage and love to enable you to remedy the past and help to save a soul from peris.h.i.+ng in its sin?

There was a knock at the door, and Jarvis entered with swollen, downcast eyes and face redder than usual.

"Well, Jarvis," said Mrs. Reston, after a moment's silence.

"I've got nothing to say, ma'am; I can go as soon as you like," sullenly replied the woman.

Mrs. Reston sighed. Was it any use to give Jarvis another trial, or should she send her away at once? She looked at the half-averted face and the nervous hands that were busily folding and unfolding the hem of her ap.r.o.n, and with a wave of pity surging in her heart for the sinning, suffering creature before her, said quickly and tenderly:

"But I don't want you to go, Jarvis. I want to save you, if you will let me. Come, tell me what else I can do for you."

Jarvis looked up, half doubting the evidence of her senses.

"Ma'am," she gasped, between heavy, choking sobs; "do you really mean to say that you care about saving such an ungrateful wretch as me?"

"Why, Jarvis, of course I do. I will do _anything_ to help you."

"Would you, oh would you do anything, ma'am?"

Again Mrs. Reston repeated the a.s.surance. Battling with her emotion, Jarvis said: "I'm ashamed to ask such a favour at your hands, ma'am, but I believe there's only one thing under heaven that would be the saving of me."

"What is that, Jarvis?"

There was a long pause, and then Jarvis blurted out: "I've never signed the pledge, ma'am; but if you'd draw up some kind of a promise to keep from the drink, and put your own name to it, and let me sign after, it would be the saving of me."

"What a strange thing to ask, Jarvis! What good would it do you to know that I, who am always moderate in my use of stimulants, had given them up?"

"Oh, ma'am, it would make me feel that somebody in this wide world cared enough for me to give up something for my sake. I've never had any one to care for me since my mother died fifteen years ago. I made up my mind that I would be independent of every one and look after myself, and when I felt dull I just took a gla.s.s, until I got into the habit of taking too much. When I came here you were so kind to me that I couldn't help feeling you were different to my other mistresses who only seemed to care how much they could get out of me, and I've been that grateful, ma'am, I would have done anything for you; but last night I got low, and the longing for drink took me, and something whispered: 'There's your mistress for all her kind words, she's none so different as the rest of them, only she's got another way with her. You're a good cook and suit her well while you keep from the drink, and she thinks if she speaks fair she'll manage you well enough.' And then, ma'am, I thought of your beautiful wines which you could take without any harm to yourself, while my beer had done such cruel work for me, and suddenly the thought came: 'Why, your mistress cares for those luxuries that she takes every day far more than she does for you, you poor thing; she wouldn't give them up to save you from filling a drunkard's grave.' Then I grew desperate, and came in here to see if there was anything left about, and the key for once was in the side-board, and, and----"

"Yes, I know, my poor Jarvis, and now let me tell you that I do care more for you a thousand times than for the luxuries you speak of, and to prove it, I will never touch them again. I promise that, for your sake, Jarvis, do you understand?" For Jarvis was standing looking stupified.

Her wide-open eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she fell at her mistress' feet, and seizing her hand covered it with kisses.

"Oh, ma'am, you've saved me, you've saved me," she said again and again.

Yes, Jarvis was saved. From that time she steadily fought against her deadly sin, until its besetment lost all power over her.

After years of devoted service she became the happy wife of one who loved and trusted her, and to whom she confided the story of her past degradation, and how she was reclaimed by the efforts and self-sacrifice of her former mistress.

[Ill.u.s.tration]