, the colour flushing up
to the top of his fair forehead. He tried to speak, but could not for a
while. At last, in a husky voice, he whispered,--

"And so you will give me up to perish, body and soul, and to go down
hill with all my might and main?"

"No, Frank," she answered, having now regained her composure; "no; I
have no wish to give you up to sin and ruin. It will rest with
yourself. I cannot promise absolutely that I will be yours. It will
depend upon--upon--upon what you are yourself when the time comes that
we might marry."

"And you have promised your mother--"

"I have promised--oh, Frank, dear Frank, pardon me if I wound you by
plain, rough words, but they must be spoken--I have promised that I will
never be the wife of a drunkard."

He bowed his head on his hand, and there was a long and painful silence.
Poor Mary, her heart bled for him, as she saw the tears forcing their
way between his thin, pale fingers.

"Mary," he said at last, "you must be mine; I cannot live without you.
Trust me; you shall have no cause to be ashamed of me. I know--I feel
that I have been in great danger of sliding into intemperate habits; but
you shall see me and hear of me henceforth as strictly moderate. I
solemnly promise you this; and on the very day that makes us one, I will
be one with you in total abstinence also. Dearest, will this satisfy
you?"

"Yes, dear Frank; I have no right to ask more, if you _can_ be strictly
moderate; but oh, do not trust in your own strength. Pray for help,
dear Frank, and then you will be able to conquer."

"Oh, of course," he said hastily; "but never fear, I give you my solemn
promise that you shall never see nor hear of any excess in me."

And did he keep his resolution? Yes; for a while. But, alas! how
little do those in circumstances like his really appreciate the awful
difficulties which beset those who are struggling to maintain strict
moderation. This makes drunkenness such a fearful and exceptional
sin,--

"The bow well bent, and smart the spring,
Vice seems already slain."

The resolution is firmly set; the man walks forth strong as a rock in
his determination. He begins to drink; his rock is but a piece of ice
after all, but he knows it not; it is beginning to melt with the warmth
of the first glass; he is cheered and encouraged by the second glass,
and his resolution seems to himself stronger than ever, while in very
truth it is only melting faster and