Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1857-05-06
by DR. .. =. GRAHAM, WAKE CO., n. G.

a. Ardent Spirits.
ny DR D. ~ GRAHAM, WAKE CO., N. C.
1t is perhaps difficult to determine sat
isfactorily, in what way the eabuse of ardent
spirit first mauffests its influence over the
outward man. 1t frequently, however,
seems first to appear in an alienation of
those kind and tender sympathies which
bind the individual to his family and friends;
those lively sensibilities which enable him
to participate in the joys and sorrows of
those around him
At length he becomes irritable, peevish
and profane; and finally appears lost to
every thing that respects decorum in ap-
pearance, or virtue in principle, till finally
the course is marked out and the steps ia.
ken in that process by which the virtuous
aud elevated man sinks to ruin And how
many towering intellects have been shat
tered and lain in ruins by its power how
many warm and philanthropic heart has
been chilled by its icy touch 1t has re-
yelled equally among the enlightened and
the ignorant, the rich and the poor, seizing
Its victims with an unsparing grasp from
every class Of society.
BY the results of fatal experiment,
fertile in the production of misery and
wretchedness, the conclusion has at lLngth
been forced upon many, that the use and
abuse Of .sscoholic liquors are inseparable;
that their use in any degree whatever can
never promote either health or happiness,
and that, apart from its moral degradation,
the consequences are ever the most deplo-
rable But shall not admit the identity
Of the use and abuse of ardent spirit, nor
shall attempt to draw the line of delnark-
alton between its abuse and Legitimate use.
That its habitual use, however, is constant
ly fraught with the danger of its subsequent
abuse, is lamentable fact of which we
have occular dem nstration almost daily
Like every other vice, it is begun, perhaps
pursued in moderation, till at length a
thirst is insidiously y eugend' red aud finally
q sort OF monomania which nothing short
of its most sordid abuse can allay 1t is,
as displayed in such man, in the confirmed
drunkard, that design noticing some of
the physical effects of alcohol.
But even were | competent to the task,
1t is not my purpose to give detailed or
very special pathology of drunkenness !;
embracing as it would almost the whole
catalogue Of diseases Except such as are
specifc) to which the human system is
heir. Such is its vitiation of the whole
human economy, that predisposition to
disease, both functional and organic, fol-
lows with locomotive speed in train of its
evils. Having set up this predisposition,
the persistence in its use seldom fails to
call it into action for there is scarcely a
morbid affection to which the body is liza
bic that has not, in some way, been pro-
duced by it, nor an already existing disease
that it has not aggravated. This predispo-
sition to disease and death characterizes
the drunkard in every situation ia life.
The primary effect Of ardent spirit, as
observed in fit of intoxication, is func-
tlonal arrangement of the brain, and con-
sequeutly OF the nervous system generally.
But IN the confirmed inebriate, this cnceph-
alie arrangement doubtless often merges
into organic disease, indicated by the clou-
ded and impaired JudgInent, the cnfeeDfeo
and not unfrequently obliterated memory,
the vacant and wandering mind, the un-
meaning stare and hysterical laugh The
solicitations of friends, the claims of do
mestic happiness, of wife and children, of
patriotism, of virtue; even the appeals of
conscience, are alike iD vain, while his
perverse ungoveruabe will is the only
monitor to which he yields obedience
The question naturally arises; in what
does this abnormal condition of the encep-
alon consist Is it hardening of the
delicate texture Of the brain itself, or has
the throne Of reason become tottering sim
ply, from long continued or oft repeated
functional disturbance Now, it is fact
familiar to anatomists, that alcohol, even
when largely diluted, has, by its action on
the brain after death, the effect of harden
ing 1t, and may 1t not effect, in the same
way, the living tissue Actual demonstra-
tion would appear to corroborate this sup
position, for on examining the brain after
death OF such as have long been accustom
ed to the free use of ardent spirit. il is
said, that the organ is generally foupd
harder than IN those who have led temner-
ate lives This condition seems 70 be fnllv
attested by all the intellectual phenomcna
displayed in the inebriate while living
inflammation of this important organ
either acute or chronic, is also FREQUENT
consequence of intempcrance. The acute
form may come on suddenly, even during a
debaueh, and is marked by furious. wild
delirium and every appearance of active
congestion. Under these circumstances
tue patient often sinks in a very short time
even iu few hours The chronic form,