MR. GOUGH'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.*

NOTWITHSTANDING US prolixity, this is an interesting and entertaining volume. Mr. Gough is known to the public as a powerful advocate of total abstinence, or as he prefers to call it, of temperance. He is pre-eminently the man of one idea, and has one object, to which he has dedicated his life. To achieve this object he has been known as a public speaker for more than a quarter of a century, and if during that period he has been libelled not only by men who detest his views, but also, and mainly by brother teeto- talers, it must be acknowledged that his sufferings for the " cause " are light compared with the advantages he has secured by it. An entire absence of reserve on the part of the writer forms the most extraordinary feature of the Auto- biography. He tells us all his sins and all his virtues, his suc- cesses and his defeats, what people say against him and what has been said in his favour. He describes his personal appearance and the emotions of his mind ; occasionally even his very deeds of charity are chronicled, nevertheless, the egotism which pervades this bulky volume, although a thing to wonder, at, can scarcely be termed offensive. Moreover, it reveals to us the secret of Mr. Gough's success. He is evidentlra man of a highly nervous or- ganization, and with an extraordinary sympathy for others, which rarely fails to attract those who come under its influence. With an impulsive nature, a warm heart, considerable gifts of oratory, and a distinctly defined purpose—as to the wisdom of which, apparently, not a doubt has crossed his mind—it is scarcely a mat- ter of surprise that he should have won men to his side, and have enabled many a drunkard to gain a victory over his besetting sin.

Objections to his arguments do not disturb Mr. Gough. One thing he sees clearly, that if a man drinks wine or beer moderately he may get drunk, while if he drinks nothing but cold water he cannot get drunk, and this very obvious fact affords him all the ground he needs upon which to place his feet as a promoter of total abstinence. In his speeches he appeals to the feelings rather than to the intellect of his hearers, and in the Autobiography, as in his public oratory, he speaks as one who, having been himself saved from destruction by the pledge, would have all others enter into life through the same gateway. Intense earnestness always com- mands respect, and Mr. Gough, who is sometimes humorous, and often pathetic, never failed either in America or in England to arrest the attention of his audience. As a writer his deficiencies are manifold, but the Autobiography, we doubt not, will make its way in spite of them. It is easy to point out that the remark- able freedom of Mr. Gough's confessions is not likely to benefit the public ; that the tedious comments on his speeches or character in the British Banner, the Morning Star, and other defunct or un- known newspapers are unworthy of reproduction ; and that, in short, the volume would be more deserving of praise if the half of it had been omitted. Five hundred and fifty pages devoted to the doings and sayings of a temperance orator is an unreasonable demand upon a reader's time, and Mr. Gough should have re- membered, while writing them, that the progress of civilization and Christianity is not wholly dependent on the cultivation of a taste for cold water and lemonade. Of course, too, there is much in the volume from which men who live moderately and hold moderate views are compelled utterly to dissent. But the writer's enthusiasm for the "great cause" does not surprise us, when we remember how nearly he was ruined by intemperance; and the horrible story of his life as a drunkard proves that for him and for men who, like him, have become enslaved to a base passion, total abstinence is the only remedy.

* Autobiography and Personal Recollections of John B. Cough, with Tteenty-air rears' Arperience as a Public Speaker. Illustrated by George Oruikshsnk and others. London: Sampson Low, Bon, and Marston. 1570, a specific complaint should be applied also when the complaint

does not exist.

It will be seen from what we have said that there is much in

the Autobiography likely to weary readers who are not teetotalers, but the man who understands the art of skipping—a necessary art in these days—will be able to extract the cream of the volume

without any serious fatigue.

Mr. Gough, as we have observed, possesses both pathos and humour, and although we may be inclined to agree with the wish expressed by one of his hearers, that he would talk less about his mother, it must be allowed that the incidents he relates of her are such as may well cleave to her son's memory. Fifty years ago,

Mrs. Gough, a simple-hearted, God-fearing woman, worn out by constant poverty, was the village schoolmistress at Sandgate, and Mr. Gough relates how when he was sent off to push his way is the United States, his mother, after bidding him farewell, lingered in the twilight to catch a last sign of her boy :— " I mounted the roof of the London night coach, and was quitting the village, when on turning round to take a last look of it, I saw a crouching woman's figure by a low wall near the bathing-machines. My heart told me at once it was my mother, who had taken advantage of half-an- hour's delay at the inn door, and walked on some distance to have one more glance at her departing child. I had never, till then, felt that I was loved so well" The good woman followed her son to America, died in the most abject poverty, and was buried in a pauper's grave. Such an end seems sad enough, but the life had been one of daily beauty, and not only is it evident that John Gough owes much to the example of his mother, but it is pleasant to read that on his return to England, and to Sandgate, a few years ago, he found that among his old acquaintances her name was still held in affectionate

remembrance.

A man who is constantly travelling from place to place, and meeting with a vast number of people, must have many amusing incidents to relate. Mr. Gough has the rare art of telling them without waste of words. Here is one worth transcribing which occurred upon a coasting voyage :—

"We had a man on board so notoriously wicked that we called him the Algerine. His profanity was frightful. Utterly ignorant, all he knew of prayer or Scripture was the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, and the first clause of the Lord's prayer. During fair weather he was a great braggart and bully; when the gale so increased that we were really in danger, he began to show signs of fear, and soon we heard him muttering, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth—oh ! oh !—our Father shart in heaven—oh !—we're going down —d— the luck—oh! oh! oh !—In the beginning—oh !—murder d—. the luck—our Father (d'art in heaven.' When the jib blew away he was ordered by the captain to go out with another man on the bow- sprit. 'No! I won't—our Father shart in heaven—no !—I won't- d—d if I do,' and there lay poor Jack prone upon the deck.—' Get up, you lubber !' said the captain.—' Our Father Elbert in heaven !' said Jack.—' You need to be started with a rope's end,' said the captain.— ' In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'—' You fool ! get up! You'll be washed overboard,' said the captain.—' Oh! oh !—our Father shad in heaven,' said Jack, as he crawled to one of the rings of the hatchway, and clung to it with both hands."

Here is a characteristic account of Mr. Gough's personal ex- perience as a total-abstinence lecturer :—

" Sometimes, when speaking on temperance, I seem to be absolutely engaged in a battle, the enemy before me,—not as a man of straw, but the real, living horror ; and in the wrestling with that, face to face, hand to hand again—like the blind war-horse when hearing the trum- pet's charge—rush on, fearing and caring for nothing, but that I may deal heavy blows and send the fiend away crippled and howling In Jersey City, while addressing young men, I felt something of this power over me. I was in a pulpit ; on either side of the desk was a marble scroll with sharp edges; I struck my clenched fist with great force on the sharp edge of that marble ; for a moment I saw stars ; strange colours danced before my eyes ; but I continued speaking more than an hour after the blow. When I concluded I dropped on the seat, and the minister threw a glass of water on my face, startled by my paleness. My hand was frightfully swollen and very much discoloured ; and before morning every nerve from my fingers to my lips throbbed with pain. I had injured the bone of my hand, so that for some time I could not write without suffering, and my hand is tender in that spot to-day."

In the exercise of his vocation many a droll incident has occurred, which Mr. Gough enlivens his pages by recording. Take, for example, the following specimen of an extempore prayer offered by a coloured man in Charlottesville, who belonged to the University of Virginia :—

"He told the Lord, We've come here to have a temperance meeting. and Brodder Gough is a gwine to lecture to the coloured people; and if dere's anybody cum in here pejudiss,—and I know dere is ;'—then he related a conversation he had held before he came in, and prayed 'dat de Lord would show dose people dat likker isn't good,' &c.,—with a side glance at me. Then he rambled off into petitions for everybody ; for 'De University of Verginny, whar / bilong ; for me, for my wife, for my

Another time, Mr. Gough having told the minister of the chapel that the height of the platform was so great he feared he should be unable to lecture, the reverend gentleman, to his infinite dis- may, introduced the subject in his prayer. "We pray," he said, "that the height of the platform may not so interfere with the

comfort of the lecturer, but that he will be able to give as good a lecture here, as it has been reported in the papers he has given in other towns in the country." This reminds Mr. Gough of another prayer, which was offered up by "the most religious man in the town" the day after the battle of Lexington. "0! Lord," he cried, "I never see such a day as it was yesterday, and I don't believe you ever did." Mr. Gough is fond of telling us that his

appearance is very far from attractive. On one occasion, the crowd prevented him from reaching the pulpit in which he was to lecture, and on asking a man to let him pass, he replied, "You don't believe I'm such a fool as to suppose that such a muff of a fellow as you could bring all these people together !" On another occasion he was introduced to the audience by a Scotchman, who said, "I wish to introduce Mr. Gough, who is to lecture to us on

temperance, and I hope he'll p rove far better than he looks to be." Sometimes, on the contrary, the attempt at least would be made to give a favourable impression to the audience, as when a chairman said :—" I rise to introduce Mr. Gough, famous in both hemispheres for his sublime as well as his ridiculous." Another gentleman, who stumbled over his h's, said :— " Ladies and gentlemen, hi wish to hintroduce the horator of the hevening. He cornea from the hother side of the Hatlantio ; he is to- speak on the subject of temperance—a very dry subject—but when we ear hour transatlantic horator discourse on the subject of temperance, we may imagine the miracle again performed by which the prophet was. refreshed with the water proceeding from the jaw-bone of a hass."

No wonder that Mr. Gough prefers the freedom of lecturing without the encouragement of a chairman.

We may observe, in conclusion, that it is impossible to close- this volume without a kindly feeling for the author. It is, full of egotism, full to overflowing of sins against good taste, but the integrity and straightforward earnestness of the writer are, we think, beyond all question. Mr. Gough has exerted a vast influence for good, and chiefly over men and women who could never rise from their degradation by any change less radical than that which he advocates. We hold that temperance is a higher virtue than total abstinence ; but there are numbers who cannot practise it, and upon them the enthusiasm and sympathy of a man like Mr. Gough may have a lasting influ- ence. When even a great and good man like Dr. Johnson found himself unable to drink wine in moderation, and therefore gave up the use of it altogether, it is easy to understand how firmly the vice of drunkenness may lay hold of weaker persons. To hun- dreds of such fallen persons Mr. Gough has held out a hand, and however much we may differ from his views, and the views of the societies for which he has laboured, we cannot but wish him pro- longed success in his strife with a terrific evil.