Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-12-22

see and tends not TO produce that preernaturai ex
citation ia the system which follows the drinking Of
ardent spirits, when sufficient is taken to aay the
thirst and eliminate the juices Of the body, no more is
called for-not with spurious rotations, when
those are resortcd to in debility TO raise the standard
Of health which had perhaps been lowered by their
previous exhnus,ng, effects the relish thus acquired
for them instead Of being saiated is augmented, de.
mandng immediate repetition of the draugh TO satisfy
the unconquerable DESIRE and this only increases the
craving and establishes an impression counter 10 that
induced in aaying natural thirst with good cold water
This unsatished craving moreover,i often engender-
ed when splrirs administered a restorative after
fevers and this in after life not unlike the appetite
created by opium, demands continual increase in
the quantity TO bring about its previous happy result
state not widely differing from the enjoyment. of the
idiot, for the fool is happy that he knows no more
Thus the deudcd topper is led step by step by this
Fictitious appetite to the shaking ofhis thirst but
| to disease and ruin.
When ardent spirits were considered as an intgra'
part of aliment, drinking then deemed conducive
to 10th health and enjoyment, but how widely differ
ent is the present estimation Of their USE II is now
known from practical experience well as: observa-
ton that far from sustaining health they are abso.
lutey preudical to both animal and organic life.
Alcona II IS true dtIOIuS very cOHVeHlcIt
for many Of the gums such as camphor OPIUM and the
like is often more ready a, hand than other snmulents
and its internal use frequently followed in cases of
sudden exhaustion by the resuscitaon of the exhaus'
ted powers, nevertheless, if its therapeutic effects in
this respect have lain the substrum to depraved ap
pc,,es and formed the propensity for the future drunk
ard we have just reason for deporng its udmnstra-
ton though may have saved life, especially as there
eabundan substitutes for it in other remedial agents
To the questions which may be asked what are the
poisonous effects of which You complain detrimen,
al the human sys,eml If ardent spirits taken
in moderate quantities whct be the HARM so long
DIS the very bread eat contains alcohol? We would
reply that alcohol its uncombined state produces
beverage unnatural excitation Of the capillary
sells Of mucous membranes, the parts to which il
first comes in contact when drunken thence it is alb
sorbed into the circulation of the blood thereby the
1 secretions and vital powers become deranged thu
brain and nervous system being overtaxed, exhaustion
follows consequently apoplexy, palsy, deirum tire
mems and other physical suff.rings the natura
results All this may take place not from proceeding
intoxicaton alone but from habitua pplng in small
quantities also. Indeed consider continued cours
J Of dram drinking, however small in quantity, NOR
preidicia to health than occasional fits ofdrunkennes
for in these the system is usually less expur
gated for the time Of the unwelcome intruder and il
the interim the functions Of life their lost ant
ncmal state and for while dame natures joys are il
tone again. Not with the habitual dram drinker in
. stead OF this depurave process the deranged acton
n continues, predsposon to disease is insidious
formed and is perpeually increasing until nature
brought to a stand, and the day of reckoning come.
We know say our que.ist there is day Of reckonin
for the liquor we drink which to be sure amounts t
1ay n hoe, 40 tla
v ton? We would rather have you explain 1.-THE modu
operandi they call it the Of its operatin
in the system which these poisonous affects of whc
you speak are produced. Most happily will under
take this difficult task, though it is driving me ulmos
!. beyond soundngs. In order to do this must resor
Al for few. moments 10 modern physiology and Patio
n ogy to aid me in the undertaking. 1t is affirmed tina
q the animal organism must be nourished and sustane
by highly organized atoms, parts Of other organ
IS sms. No part of an organized being will serve a
u food for the vegetable until by qualification and deca
+ it has assumed the power ofinorganic matter Ever
y thing in animal organism TO which the term motio
may be applied proceeds from the nervous apparatus
e Animals therefore, are distinguished from vegetable
= by their system and faculty of motion
Plants being destitute of lhi nservous system depen
It on external heat and light for that latent mo,ion
to speak which constitutes the circulation oflhe sap
h Thus the assimilation Of their food formation an,
l. growth depend entirely external causes. The ami
y NAL body produce in itself that source Of ma,ioi
J. that is, supply and renew the apparatus a
well as generate the nervous power, which is indis
pensbe 10 the vital process, but the process of for
II motion and growth the same in both, although tn
Il vegetable does not depend on nervous power for it
formation and growth, the may be said in regar
10 the process of circulation nutrition in The animal
,ho,. r.. H.
process state ofres for these functions continue
parts when The have become totally paralyse
y as well ds in their normal state-and although lh
i animal body requires for its nouiishmen food tina
is nssnula,ed to itself and that digestion, secretion
and circulation are under the influence ofnertous pow
e er, yet the force that gives the wonderful properties
observed in the gem, the leaf and the radical fbres
The vegetable is the that residing in the secre
n ting membranes and glands of the animal which ena
bles its organs TO preform their own proper functions
but the heat generated keep up these various functions
! in the animal proceeds from very different source
e This depends not only on vital power but the mu
tua chemical union between the elements OF food Ia
# ken into the circulation and the oxygen inspired by
the lungs well as that nIained in food and
conveyed by the circulation of the blood every par
Of the animal body. Thus the chemical ainities an
aly,ical and synlhetca results which take effect be.
tween these elements and The oxygen cannot be per-
feet without disagreement Of heat as well as the
formation OF other vital results Any foreign agency
or mpuriiy on either side must necessarily interrupt
, more less this chemical union and destroy tina,
equilibrium Of action which the phenomna of life
depend, Without the vital influence and chemical
union therefore, the vegetable life alone is manifested
in paralysed portion of the body. Thusit follow,
aprori that in proportion as this proper balance of
action is interrupted rendered imperfect predlspo.
siton to disease is engendered.
, Now to the question. 1t is apparent. simply from
the effects consequent upon drinking alcoholic liquors
that the vital functions have became both impaired
and interrupted. The preternaiural exca,ion in the
mucous membranes occasions of course, a preternat
ural absorption not only Of the impure elements ofim-
perfect Digestion but of the alcohol ITSELF thereby aug
mening the amount Of elementary particles and over
drawing upon the vital power, total partial exhaus-
ton succeeds Hence the chemical union between the
oxygen and the carbon hydrogen nitrogen, sulphun
phosphorus and the other elementary principles of