drinking deep of peaceful joy, — a calm bliss of temperate affections, shall pass hand in hand through life, and lie down, not reluctantly, at its protracted close. To them, the past will be no turmoil of mad dreams, nor the future 5 an eternity of such moments as follow the delirium of the drunkard. Their dead faces shall express what their spirits were, and are to be, by a lingering smile of memory and hope. Ahem! Dry work, this speechifying; especially to an unpractised orator. I never conceived, till now, what 10 toil the temperance lecturers undergo for my sake. Hereafter, they shall have the business to themselves. Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two, just to wet my whistle. Thank you, sir! My dear hearers, when the world shall have been regenerated by my instrumen15 tality, you will collect your useless vats and liquor casks into one great pile, and make a bonfire, in honor of the Town Pump. And, when I shall have decayed, like my predecessors, then, if you revere my memory, let a marble fountain, richly sculptured, take my place upon this 20 spot. Such monuments should be erected everywhere, and inscribed with the names of the distinguished champions of my cause. Now listen; for something very important is to come next. friends of mine — and who, nevertheless, by There are two or three honest 25 true friends, I know, they are their fiery pugnacity in my behalf, do put me in fearful hazard of a broken nose or even a total overthrow upon the pavement, and the loss of the treasure which I guard. I pray you, gentlemen, let this fault be amended. Is it decent, think you, to get tipsy with zeal for temperance, and take up the honorable cause of the Town Pump in the style of a toper, fighting for his brandy-bottle? Or, can the excellent qualities of cold water be not otherwise exemplified, than by plunging slapdash into hot water, 5 and wofully scalding yourselves and other people? Trust me, they may. In the moral warfare, which you are to wage, and, indeed, in the whole conduct of your lives, you cannot choose a better example than myself, who have never permitted the dust and sultry atmosphere, the 10 turbulence and manifold disquietudes of the world around me, to reach that deep, calm well of purity, which may be called my soul. And whenever I pour out that soul, it is to cool earth's fever, or cleanse its stains. One o'clock! Nay, then, if the dinner-bell begins to 15 speak, I may as well hold my peace. Here comes a pretty young girl of my acquaintance, with a large stone pitcher for me to fill. May she draw a husband, while drawing her water, as Rachel did of old. Hold out your vessel, my dear! There it is, full to the brim; so now run home, peep- 20 ing at your sweet image in the pitcher, as you go; and forget not, in a glass of my own liquor, to drink -"SUCCESS TO THE TOWN PUMP!" NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. HELPS TO STUDY The Town Pump, or the watering trough of stone or iron, is still a familiar and pleasing sight in the "common (or central square) of most New England villages. Hawthorne must often have seen one. This playful sketch, in praise of the virtues of cold water, was written about 1832, when the temperance movement had just begun. Hence Hawthorne's frequent references to strong drink, and to the occasional overearnestness of the prohibitionists or "teetotallers." A hundred years ago Jamaica rum and hard cider were used in almost every household. It was deemed a proper form of hospitality to offer even the minister a drink when he called, and he usually accepted. It is interesting to compare our attitude on these matters to-day. Of course Hawthorne was not writing this sketch mainly as a temperance lecture. He was thinking of the Town Pump as an interesting and picturesque figure in the town life; of the pleasure it gave to man and beast; of its usefulness in many ways; in brief, of the blessing to all that the simple, familiar, everyday gift of cold water is. Could you write a composition in which you call attention to the blessings of fire, or shelter, or a piece of clothing? 1. Why does the Town Pump choose the noon hour for his speech? Will he have a bigger audience? 2. What importance does he claim as an officer of the town? 3. What example does he set his brother officers? 4. How does he recommend his wares? 5. What people come to drink? What animals? 6. Which does he take especial pleasure in serving? 7. What does he say to the toper? To the schoolboy? To the old gentleman? To the dog? 8. What has been his history? How old would he be as a pump? 9. What other drink does he like to associate with? 10. Which parts of his speech might be taken as a temperance lecture? 11. "As Rachel did of old." Has Hawthorne's memory slipped here? Find the story, in the Bible, of Jacob's wooing of Rachel; and also the story of Isaac's meeting Rebecca, when she came to the well to draw water. Phrases: In perpetuity, for all time; all and sundry, everybody; ale of father Adam (also Adam's ale), water. For Study with the Glossary: Promulgate, municipality, musterday, unadulterated, Cognac, potation, decanter, titillation, Sagamore, capacious, multifarious, combustible, Hippocrates, squalid, delirium, regenerate, predecessor, pugnacity, exemplify, turbulence. THE HERITAGE The rich man's son inherits lands, And piles of brick, and stone, and gold, And he inherits soft white hands, And tender flesh that fears the cold, Nor dares to wear a garment old; The rich man's son inherits cares; 5 The bank may break, the factory burn, 10 A breath may burst his bubble shares, The rich man's son inherits wants, His stomach craves for dainty fare; A heritage, it seems to me, 15 20 One scarce would wish to hold in fee. What doth the poor man's son inherit? Stout muscles and a sinewy heart, A hardy frame, a hardier spirit; 5 10 15 20 25 King of two hands, he does his part What doth the poor man's son inherit? Wishes o'erjoyed with humble things, A heritage, it seems to me, A king might wish to hold in fee. What doth the poor man's son inherit? To make the outcast bless his door; A heritage, it seems to me, A king might wish to hold in fee. O rich man's son! there is a toil But only whiten, soft white hands, Worth being rich to hold in fee. O poor man's son! scorn not thy state; |