The Man That Rum Made

This temperance anthology opens with a stark warning about "the man that rum made," using vivid, almost graphic imagery to expose alcohol's ruinous effects on the body, mind, and home. Aimed at young readers and families, it blends moral lessons, cautionary tales, and illustrations to condemn drink and tobacco and to urge sobriety, self-control, and vigilance. In a gentle New Hampshire walk, Grandma Duncan points out a filthy drunkard she once knew as a sweet child and begins tracing the slow, ordinary habits that led to his downfall. Through the story of Joe Brandon, the book shows how vice grows little by little: from spoiled appetite and secret sweets to tea, coffee, cider, and finally tobacco and drink. His rude behavior and physical collapse become a family lesson in how indulgence hardens character and destroys health. Other episodes widen the warning, from a saloon keeper confronted with the misery drink leaves behind to Daniel Naylor's near ruin and hard-won pledge to reform. A child's plea to a tavern keeper offers a final note of hope, suggesting that even the damaged may yet be reached before it is too late. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.