New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-08-13
an EXTRAORDINARY BEVERAGE.
From the New York Pdst.l

Who will believe, at this late hour O. the
clock, when it is about time to say ''good
night forever" TO all Intoxicating beverages,
that new "drink" has been invented.
which, although far from being delightful
| to the eye" or "tickle to the palate," is
nevertheless of such a fascinating and
| drunken nature that it threatens to
4 supersede gin, whisky and Jersey light
| ming" as popular source of intOxication.
Such, however, is the fact, and chemistry
has been put to her tiercest agonies to COM
! pei her, like the ancient Pythoness of
| Delphos, when some impetuous Alexander
is in the extremities of his fate. to blab the
| profane secret-and here it is.
| Methylated spirit is alcohol which has q
certain quantity of wood spirit and naphtha
added to it to render it nauseous and nom
| palatable. This process exempts it entirely
| from the excise duty in England. 1t is pre-
| pared there for manufacturing purposes,
| and large portion of the tinctures and
I other medicinal preparations are made with
| it. From methylated spirit a sulphuric
ether is made, which retains the peculiar
| flavor impaired to the alcohol. On good
authority, it is said that this ether is exten-
slvely and habitually used as an intoxicat-
ing beverage. and has supplanted and sup
plies the place of gin and whisky in certain
| counties in Ireland.
1t is very startling to learn that even
pure ether, which has long been admins
tered incidentally in small quantities as an
an9sthetlc, or a powerful diffusible stimu-
liant, should be drunk as a common bever-
age but it is almost incredible that this
nauseous kind of ether should be partaken
of morning. noon and night, healths drunk
IN 1t, and bargains made over it. The prac-
tice began about five years since;
one OF the causes which led to its
use being the laudable efforts of the
Catholic priests to induce their focks
to abstain from whisky; another cause
being the cheapness of the new drink. Its
use is almost altogether confined to the
counties of Londonderry, Antrim and
Tyrone, and prevails chiefly in the towns of
Draperstown, Maghera, Corkstown and
Armagh. The ether manufacturers of Dub
lin, Edinburg and Glasgow supply the de-
manu, ana the consumers are mostly small
farmers, and to some extent, the mill hands
and other operatives. The probable con-
sumption is about ten thousand gallons
yearly, one manufacturer sending to Belfast
four thousand gallons yearly.
1he price of methylated ether is one shil-
hng and slxpence per pound, while that
made from pure spirit is five shillings per
pound. There are seven and half pounds
to the gallon; one gallon of ether will 90 as
Tar as three and half gallons of whisky.
Inc amount taken is not small, as a medicinal
dose Is one drachm or. under, and tipplers
take three or four drachms. unmixed with
water, in which it is only slightly soluble.
The practice is, first to take a mOuthtul of
water, then to drink the ether, and then to
take a second drink of water. Intoxi-
cation IS more rapid but more eyanescent
than that produced by alcoholic drinks, and
probably differs widely in its character, re
semDllng more the effect produced by the
!nhalatlon OF nitrous oxsde gas. Taken
INTO the system it appears to be all
eliminated through the lungs and pores,
ana no trace is found elsewhere. The
drlnker IS readily discovered by his breath,
Whlcn, however, IS not offensive, like the
breath of the alcoholic drinker. There is
reason to suppose that the hahitual ether
drinker incurs more i'll effects from it's use
than from drinking alcoholic liquors; in
deea, III this respect it is certainly less
noxlous than sophisticated spirituous
liquors. The small quantity of .naphtha in
methyiated ether, although it gives it a
nauseous flavor, does not make it more in
furious.
Ether has the same constituents as alco-
hol, namely, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen,
and DIFFERS from it in having one atom of
water less in its composition 1t is called |
sulphurIc ether, but pure ether contains |
neither sulphur or sulphurie acid. Taken |
haDitualiy and frequently, its effects on the |
system would be very different from that of |
alcohol. 1t has no affinity for water; while !
alcohol; after being freely imbibed causes |
thirst, Dy It's absorbing the moisture OF the |
mem mbrane. Peleira states that the |
chemist Brequet drank a pint of ether to |
allay the agony of intestinal Inflammation.
But the record of cases in which ether J