Temperance At The White House

On the avenue leading to the white house at Washington thcru in a restaurant where liquor ia pold. A sign is thrust out groeting the approaching visitor with the warning, " Your last chance." As he returns lruiii tlio white house hc is met by tho words on tlie reverse tide, " Your first ohanoe aguo." There is no end to the j i'ikos Mrs. Hay es' t-trict temporáneo principies bave brnuglu f'orth at Washington; hut they are gooiq liuuiored jokes, and the chanca which her exatuplc has wrought astniiishrs old habitués of tliat city. Wben she went to tho white boute, it was, oí' all mansions in the national capital, the OM where liquor - good liquor mul plenty of it-was considered an absolutcly Maential thing. Sinco the mansion was 6rst built the tablo had been supplied with winc. When Mrs. Hayos declarcd pleasantly tliat sho would not offer it to her guests, society stood aghast. The "national honor" was concerned. The subject was even broached in cabinct councils. Neverthelesa, on her own table it han never appeared, nor is it ever offered in tlie white liousc. What is the consequence? lier conduct bas reinfbrcd the temperance uioveuient, anj has helped to uiake temperance fashionable. In Washington, New Yorïc, and l'liiludelpliia, on last new year's day, liquor wai rarelj een in the houses of tho best pcople. In sueh housos, too, it is now seldom offered at eveuing balls or partios wiiere only young men are invited. Mr. Augustus Sala comments on the singularly températe habits of many fashionable American. "A glass of ice water is usually the only drink with which they wash down thcir dinners," ho saya. "I am actually afraid to cali for a glass of beer whilo dining at my hotel, lest I may be regarded as a drundard." Few womon have the influence of Mrs. I layes, but every woman in her own town and villagc can control social opinión to sonie extent, and by banishing liquor frotu her own tablo and house can help to rid our country of its worst curse.