THE PRICE OF A DRINK by Josephine Pollard

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 17, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 16.

THE PRICE OF A DRINK.

By Josephine Pollard

"Five cents a glass!" Does any one think That that is really the price of a drink? "Five cents a glass," I hear you say, "Why, that isn't very much to pay." Ah, no, indeed; 'tis a very small sum You are passing over 'twixt finger and thumb; And if that were all that you gave away, It wouldn't be very much to pay.

The price of a drink? Let him decide Who has lost his courage and lost his pride, And lies a groveling heap of clay, Not far removed from a beast, to-day.

The price of a drink? Let that one tell Who sleeps to-night in a murderer's cell, And feels within him the fires of hell. Honor and virtue, love and truth, All the glory and pride of youth, Hopes of manhood, and wreath of fame, High endeavor and noble aim,— These are the treasures thrown away As the price of drink from day to day.

"Five cents a glass!" How Satan laughed, As over the bar the young man quaffed The beaded liquor; for the demon knew The terrible work that drink would do; And ere the morning the victim lay With his life-blood swiftly ebbing away; And that was the price he paid, alas! For the pleasure of taking a social glass.

The price of a drink! If you want to know What some are willing to pay for it, go Through that wretched tenement over there, With dingy windows and broken stair, Where foul disease, like a vampire crawls With outstretched wings o'er the moldy walls. There poverty dwells with her hungry brood, Wild-eyed as demons for lack of food; There shame, in a corner, crouches low; There violence deals its cruel blow; And innocent ones are thus accursed To pay the price of another's thirst.

"Five cents a glass!" Oh, if that were all, The sacrifice would, indeed, be small! But the money's worth is the least amount We pay; and whoever will keep account Will learn the terrible waste and blight That follows the ruinous appetite. "Five cents a glass!" Does any one think That that is really the price of a drink? —Josephine Pollard, in N. O. Christian Advocate.