Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1845-02-12
DRUNKENNESS.

IeSdi consequence OF drunkenness, II is
necessary to understand lis immediate and
remote effects on the mind, and the organ.
ism with which it is connected. Correct
Information Of this kind will enable us 10
avoid many of the prevalent errors that
have arisen from vague and imperfect no.
tons respecting the nature of drunken
ness. For the following account, we arc
chiefly indebted TO Hoffbauer and Macnish
The first effect Of alcoholic liquors is
TO exalt the general sentiment OF selfsat.
isiaciion, and diiluse an unusual serenity
over the mind. The intellectual as well
as physical powers act with little in.
crease of vigor and activity, the thoughts
flow with more facility and accuracy, and
the individual becomes perfectly well
pleased with himself and others. He feels
an exhillraiion Of spirits, u sense OF
warmth and gaiety, and his imagination is
crowed with delightful images. The sight
and hearing are very slightly affected; a
low, humming sound is heard in tho pau.
ses OF the conversation, and objects are
enveloped in slight mist which prevents
them from being seen distinctly. Thus
far there is no appearance of drunken.
ness. Soon the torrent of his ideas be.
comes more rapid and violent, and no can
scarcely repress them. This is the mo.
ment of his happiest salies, and he pours
forth his thoughts with a force of express.
sion and richness of conception unknown
in his sober hours, and now he feels the
ecslatic pleasures Of getting drunk. As
yet the brain is in ;olerabe order, but a
great effort is necessary TO relate a story
or transaction at all complicated in its de.
tails, for the thoughts succeed one another
too rapidly to allow sufficient time to a.
range them in The order that the recital
requires. This is the first well marked sym.
tom of inloxicalon. Now his ideas sue.
coed one another with constantly increas.
ing force and rapidly; his sensations lose
their ordinary deIicacy; and his imagna.
tons gains as fast as they lose. His Ian.
gunge is, in some respects, more orator..
cal and poetical, though he now feels an
irresistible propensity TO talk nonsense,
but is perfectly conscious, all the while,
that il is nonsense. His voice is louder, pc.
cause he hears less acuiely, and Judges oil
the hearing Of others by his own. Now
the organic activity Of the brain is at its
height. His Imagination is filed by
strange and queer images, and he is CON
sclous, if SO il may be called, of a sense
of oppression and giddiness in bis head,
His perceptions Of colors, forms, distance,
and numbers become utterly confused; he
one person with another; the
candles burn all colors in succession,
and are multiplied fourfold; and in stretch.
ing forth his glass 10 set il on the table, he
lets il 60 before reaching It's edge. lie is
apt 10 imagine he has offended some one,
and shows ludicrous anxiety 10 apologize,
or that he has been offended, and fixes upon
some one as the object Of hls maledictions,
perhaps his blows. Judging from bis dis
course, his ideas begin to want connexion,
their viyacity, but this vi.
vacity and rapidly Of his ideas give his
passions an insurmountable power against
which reason has nothing TO oppose. and
unless some accident turn him from their
object, he is hurried on wherever they i'm
pei him. Soon his tongue stammers, and
his voice gets thick; his legs falter, he
falls from bis seal, and 10 plunged into a
profound sleep, in which the manifestation
OF his physical and intellectual powers is
extinguished. Ia this condi-
ton, he is said TO be dead drunk. Such is
The ordinary course Of fit Of dIunken.
ness, but il sometimes varies more or less,
with the temperament or habits Of the in
and the attending circumstances
Such Is the Immediate effect Of drunk.
enness on the mind; we have now TO show
how the long continued use of alcoholic
liquors affects the moral and intellectual
powers. Except in some happily.organiz-
ed natures, the original delicacy and
acuteness Of the moral perceptions are in.
blunted; the relations Of neigh.
Dor, citizen, father, spouse, have lost their
accustomed place in his thoughts, great
moral interests no longer obtain strong
hold on his attention; the voice OF distress
is apt TO fall on his car like an unmcanipg
round; and the finer emotions Of the soul,
which will occasionally be felt by the least
cultivated minds, have entirely deserted
his nature. The injury sustained by the
intellect is more obvious, IL not deplorable
The course Of the ideas Is sluggish, and
they want their former force and brilIian.
cy; the mind has lost its comprehensive
ness Of grasp, and experiences difficulty
10 seizing the relations Of one idea TO an
other; il is incapable Of the long continued
efforts which we're once easy; and Of con-
centraiing the whole force Of lis faculties
on the subjects submitted TO lis examina-
ton. Tho consequence is, that the brain
having been so much accustomed 70 arli-
fetal stimulus, according to well-known
law Of the animal economy, becomes in.
cabable OF an effort withou, tho aid Of