Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1868-08-11
From the Pail Mall Gazette.
Alb sinthe.

a-a-l- 60
A quarter of a century ago, absin- |
the was the drink of French coach
men, grooms and footmen, Of the low
est class; to-day its most admired
lovers are to be found among educat-
ed and well-to-do Parisians. Litera-
ry men, professors, artists, actors, mu-
sicians, fnanciers, spectators, shop
keepers, even women, yield them
selves up to its seductive influence
to those undefnable provocations
which seem they say to impart renew
ed activity to an enfeebled brain, de-
veloping world of new ideas, and
which thus, it is believed, have inspir-
ed many noble work of imagina-
ton in literature and art. 1t may be
81; but theu those who hablJually
excite the brain with absinthe, soon
discover that they can produce posi-
lively nothing without its aid, and
that a time arrives when heavy stu
por supersedes that excitement of the
intellectual faculties which once SEEM
ed so easy and so harmless.
After the first draught of this pois-
on, which Dr. Legrand, who has stud
led its effects, pronounces to be one
Of the greatest scourges of our time,
you seem to lose your feet, and you
! ,oo,r+ 70 = bo,u1looo ,ooI,,, ,ritbor+
horizon. You probably imagine that
you are going in the direction of the
infinite, whereas you are simply drift
ing into the incoherent. Absinthe
affects the brain unlike any other
stimulant; it produces neither the
heavy drunkenness of beer, the furi-
Gus inebriation of brandy, nor the ex-
hilarant intoxication of wine. 1t is
an ignoble poison, destroying life not
until it has more or less brutalized
its votaries, and made driveling idiots
of them.
There are two classes of absinthe
drinkers. The one after becoming
accustomed to it for a short time,
takes TO imbibing it in considerable
quantities. when al. of a sudden de-
lirum declares itself. The other is
more regular and at the same time
more moderate in its libations; but
upon them the effects, though neces-
sarily more gradual, are none the
( less sure. Absimthe drinkers of the
former class are usually noisy and
aggressive during the period of intoX
ication, which, moreover, lasts much
longer than drunkenness produced
by spirits or wine, and is followed by
extreme depression aud a sensation
of fatigue which is not to be got rid
Of After a while the digestive or
gans become deranged, the appetite
enntinnpS To diminish until it is alto
g6th6f lOSt, ana an intense thirst sup
plies its place.
Now ensues a constant feeling OF
uneasiness, painful anxiety, accom-
panied by sensations of giddineSs and
: tinglings in the ears; and as the day
declines, haliucinatiOns of sight and
hearing begin. A desire of SecIusion
from friends and acquaintances takes
possession of the sufferer, on whose
c0untenance strong marks Of diSquiet-
ude may be seen; his mind is oppress-
ed by settled melancholy, and his
brain affected by sort of sluggish
ness which indicates approaching
ldlocy. During its more active mo-
ments he is continually seeing either
some imaginary persecutor from
whom he Is anxious to escape, or the
tancied denunciator of some crime he
dreams he has committed. From
these phantOm5 he flies to hide him
self or advances passionafely toward
them protesting his innocence. At
this stage the result is certain and
dissolution is rarely delayed very
long.
The symptoms that first cause dis
quiet to the habitual absinthe drinker
is a peculiar affection of the muscles
!, commencing with itful contraetions
of the lips and muscles of the face
and tremblingS in the arms, hands
and legs. These are presently ac
companied by tinglings, numbness
and distinct loss Of physical power
the hair falls off, the countenance be-
comes wan and sad looking, the body
, thin, the skin wrinkled and of vel
lowish tinge-everything, in short
indicates marked decline Simulta
= neously with ali this lesion of the
brain takes place; sleep becomes
more and more disturbed by dreams
' nightmares, and sudden waking; or
, dinary illusions succeeded by giddi
/ ness and headaches, eventually give
place TO painful hallucinations, to de
= lirum in its most depressing form, by
r pochondria and marked impedimen
of speech In the end come entir,
; loss of intellect, general paralysis, ant
a death. ..-.+ ii.
d There are two kinds of absintht
0 consumed in Paris, the common anl
< the Swiss abSinthe the latter of which
t possesses almost double the intoxica
5 ting properties of the former A few
: years ago the consumption Of the
8 common absinthe was three times
r that of the Swiss but now the proper
e tions are reversed, and four times as
; much Swiss absinthe is drank as of
: the common quality. According tc
: official statistics, France receives
; from Switzerland nearly 100000
a gallons of the noxious compound an
: nually; in addition to which an enor
nous quantity made in Paris is sold
as the yeritable Swiss production.
L. Couninp a abSintba Ia diStillod from