Temperance > Autobiography and personal recollections of John B. Gough

116 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN B. GOUGH.
went to, the heart, the blessing of Heaven upon his friends, the
society, and the cause, attended by his physician and some
friends, he retired from the hall, subdued even to tears by the
trying ordeal through which he had been passing.
The following is extracted from a more extended report
in the same journal:—
The Washingtonian Society of Westborough met at the Town-
hail on Thursday evening, April 20, 1843. The hall was full to
overflowing. The meeting was called to order by the president
of the Society, and opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Harvey,
after which the president introduced Mr. J. B. Gough, the
well-known, eloquent, and successful advocate of temperance;
who, in a very feeling and appropriate manner, stated that,
within a short time he had broken his pledge, but he had signed
it again, again risen up to combat King Alcohol, and that he
appeared before them the uncompromising foe to alcohol in all
its forms, willing to devote all the energies of his body and mind
to the noble cause of temperance; and, with all humility, threw
himself upon the kindness of his friends, stating it was for them
to say whether or not he should proceed, and have their kind¬
ness and support; when the following resolutions were offered,
and unanimously adopted, almost by acclamation:—
Resolved, That as intemperance is the cause of most of the
misery and sufiering that affect our fellow-men, drying up and
poisoning the streams of domestic happiness, it is, therefore, our
imperative duty to exert our united efforts against the monster,
and stand shoulder to shoulder until the evil is banished from
the land.
Resolved, That we highly appreciate the former services of Mr.
J. B. Gough as a Washingtonian lecturer; and, notwithstanding
the unhappy circumstances which have lately occurred, we do
most cordially greet him in the Washingtonian spirit of kindness
and sympathy, and most cheerfully do we give him our coun¬
tenance and support in the glorious cause of temperance.
Mr. Gough again rose, evidently much embarrassed, and was re-