HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



THE AMERICAN ONE MAN AXTI-TOBACCO SOCIETY. 



This society, which was born in 1848, was, I be- 

 lieve, the first for this cause ever known in the 

 world. Its founder, George Trask, by a slavery 

 to the weed of more than twenty years, was brought 

 to the gates of death. Looking to God for help, 

 he broke from its bondage. In his own words, 

 "Its renunciation lifted a loathsome incubus from 

 my soul. I came back to a normal condition of 

 body and mind. I ran, I leaped for joy, and 

 sometimes my gratitude to God for the return of 

 health was so intense that I was overwhelmed and 

 wept like a child." 



In all the enthusiasm of a fresh convert, George 

 Trask began to labor with his neighbors, and final- 

 ly consecrated himself to this work, in which he 

 continued through life, undeterred by the greatest 

 obstacles. 



In giving his experience sometime after he says : 



"My clerical brethren have treated me in a style 

 somewhat diverse. Some have heartily bid me 

 Godspeed; some — votaries of the weed — have- 

 eyed me askance, and, I presume, wished me in 

 Japan. Some have played the captious critic — 

 laughed at my work, as they have laughed at all 

 reforms while struggling for life. 



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