T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur is best known as the author of innumerable 19th-century temperance novels and moral story collections. To a reader today, the sentimentalism, stiff characterizations, contrived story lines, stilted dialogue and constant harping on moral themes are apt to cause laughter more than anything else. Still, looking beyond these flaws it is easy to see that the theme of the book asks a question our society still struggles to answer today: If someone gives alcohol to a friend who can't handle it, how responsible are they for what happens afterwards? ( )