New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-06-21

thrown the last spadeful of earth upon
the little mound over the remains of a
fellow mortal turns to the neighboring
bush, on which hangs his tattered
jacket, for a "swig'' at the bottle /;
after which he gathers up his tools,
and slowly and painfully totters home
ward, to attend to his duties to the
living. Every person, even Congress
men, drink and what is queer no one
can fix the precise date at which they
will leave off, and attend more closely
to the vital interests of the nation.
The deacon drinks, ard it is said the
parson, that good old man, after fin
ishing a round of social visits, not I'M
frequently returns to his own dwelling
so mellowed" by the soothing in
huences of the cordial" welcomes of
his pensioners as to really feel that
this is not such a very bad world after
all.
Before we proceed further we wish
to present a few facts concerning al
cohol.
Alcohol, as extracted from fer
mented liquor, was unknown to the
world until about the year 1000. When
this process was first accomplished in
Arabia, no person knew what this prod
uct of distillation was; nor was there
any language that had for it even a
name, They, however, called it al
cohol; and that is now the chemical
name in every country. This word
had previously been used in Arabia as
the name of fine powder which the
ladies used to give brilliance to their
compilations. Alcohol was soon as
certained to be a poison, and no one
J then thought of using it as drink.
: About the year 1880 it began to be
used in the south of Europe as med
icine, and from thence its use grad
ually extended for that purpose over
various parts of the civilized world,
Judging from its immediate effects il
was thought to increase life, and was
, denominated aqua cite, water of life
: Theoricus, not long after, wrote 6
: treatise upon it's wonderful curative
= power, in which he says: " 1t slowetl
. age, it strengtheneth youth, it helpetl
= digestion, it cutteth hegme, i
" abandoneth melanchOlie, it rel
isheth the heart, it tighten
:, eth the mind, it quickeneth tn
a spirits, it cureth the hydrOpsia, i
g healeth the strangarie, it pounceth tn
= stone, it expelleth gravel, it puffetl
. away ventositie, it keepeth and pre-
serveth the head from whirling, tn
= eyes from dazzling, the tongue fror
y lisping, the mouth from snailng, tn
teeth from chattering, and the throa
! from rattling; it keepeth the weaso
n from sitting, the stomach from wan
J bling, and the throat from swelling;
y keepeth the hands from shivering, tn
% sinews from shrinking, the veins fror
crumbling, the bones from aching, an
=, the marrow from soaking"
u Such were supposed to be its won
- derful virtues, and many began t
= think they could not live without il
~ Ulstadius, another writer, ascribes to
- this most singular praise. He say:
= at will burn being kindled." An
- this he considers as demonstrative {
its peculiar excellence. 1t was no
therefore, strange with such views
its power as a medicine, that me
should begin to conclude that it mu,
t also do good in health, especially whe
ID they were peculiarly exposed and III
der severe labor, nor that they shoul
Ill introduce the use of it for the purpos
IS of preventing as well as curing dis
st eases. This was the case, particular
&c in the mines in Hungary and after
ward, in 1881, it was introduced by tn
English as a kind of cordial for thei
le soldiers, while engaged in war in tt
lie Netherlands, and finally spread as
lie common beverage among all nations.
10 No nation ever adopted its use with
out its producing an untold amount {
= crime and woe, more fatal than the mos
lie malignant pestilence yet until With
d, a brief period, men were blind to tn
,e evil, and, consequently, everywhere il
creased its use, under the idea that the
, were promoting their own benef
* Some of the reasons for this delusiol
= and the causes why the quantity use
$ was constantly increasing, are give
~ by an intelligent writer. "Sueh is th
" nature of alcohol, that its first effect 0
III the human system is a quickening (
action, animation, excitement. Thi
is by fundamental law of our nature, is
n source of pleasure. This preser
!. pleasure men mistake for real coed.
~ also arouses for a moment I'll
at reserved and dormant energies
I'd the system which are not needle,
TO and were not designed for ordinar
~ healthful action, but were intended fl
special emergencies and which ca
10 not be drawn out and used on Ordinar
ID occasions without necessarily shor
" ening human life. This awakening
rs dormant energy men mistake for a
:. increase of real, permanent strength
81 "The system, by this poison, havin
a. been over excited becomes deranget
an and having been over wOrkedwithol
- any new strength communicated it
>, of course weakened, and therefor
soon flags, becomes tired, and is e.
IN hausted. Now, according to anothC
re fundamental law, there is pain, lal
< guor, and inexpressible uneasinei
Al IL e,,Ge,