Emma George 1842

Description

The Temperance Movement of the early nineteenth century began in the United States prior to 1808. Preachers, most notably John Bartholomew Gough, promulgated a pledge of abstinence from members of his congregation. While temperance efforts have existed as long as spirits have, the movement was not as popular until this period of time, when the use/misuse of distilled beverages became more pervasive in society, affecting mostly women, as evidenced by the plaintive verse that Emma stitched on her sampler:

The
crime of
drunkenness
dispels reason
drowns memory
diminishes thought
distempers the body
defaces beauty corrupts
the blood, inflames the liver
weakens the brain turns men
into walking hospitals, causes
internal, external and incurable
wounds is a witch to the senses
devil the soul a thief to the pocket
the beggar’s companion a wife’s
woe and children’s sorrow
makes man become worse than
a beast a self murderer
who drinks to other’s good
health and robs him
self of his own
The root of
all evil is
drunkenness

The original sampler is in the collection of The Scarlet Letter. Stitches used are cross, over one and two threads of linen. On 30 count linen, the finished sampler, like the original, will measure 15-3/4″ x 12-1/4″ It is recommended for beginning level needleworkers.