Oxford Democrat

A Tragic Incident of the Crusade.

The Boston Advertiser gives the following account of the sudden death of a saloon keeper from excitement at a visit from a praying party:

The temperance question is receiving a great deal of attention in East Douglass at present. On Fast Day a union mass meeting was held, and a committee of ladies and gentlemen appointed to wait on the liquor dealers. On Saturday the ladies called upon one of the principal saloons, the proprietor, Mr. L. Simpson, having refused to see the gentlemen, and were received very politely. He was asked if he thought it right to sell liquor, and responded, Yes, as right as for grocers to sell groceries." One of the ladies then read several passages from the Bible, remarking, Let us see what the Lord says." On hearing the Scriptures relating to the anger of the Lord with drunkards and those who sell liquor, the proprietor turned pale, trembled violently and clutched the counter convulsively for support. The many loungers in the saloon were stupefied, and only offered assistance when urged by the ladies. On being led into another room he cried several times, "O God! have mercy on my soul :" Immediately his tongue began swelling, filling his mouth to such an extent as to render it impossible to articulate. The ladies did all in their power to render him comfortable, and a physician was sent for, who, on arriving pronounced it a case of apoplexy, and in a short time the man died. The community was of course startled with the news, and the feeling for Mrs. Simpson is intense. The ladies all agreed that it was the direct work of the Lord, and even some of the frequenters of the saloon acquiesced in this decision.