Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-11-11
Dr.. Munsey's Defense.
His Letter to Or. Summers as Read Betore
Holston Conference.


Holston Conference.
Wepubiish below the materialpor.ions Of
the letter of defense and explapetion from
Rev. DIR. u. Munsey, which was read be-
fore the Holston Conference at its late session
in Marion, Va.
Dear DIR. Summers: It unpublished from
one end of this country. to the other that i
use stimulating. spirits too freely. Their use
L have entirely abandoned, preferring 10 be
sick, or dead, thanIto lay myself liable anyy
longer to such com plants. fused them. by.
medical and otherwise respectable advises
ment. Their use saved my life y
In 1865 was sent by Bishop Early,to Alex.
andria, Va. Always having feeble, nervous
constitution, and never fnching in my life
from the post of duty and danger, my health
rapidly began to give way. Exhorted to use
stimulants, L refused. During the eighteen
months was stationed in Alexandria tasted
ardent spirits but few times, and then only
In cases OF real illness never as a beverage
1 never took but one drink as a mere beyer-
age in my life, and that was when a bow. At
the end of my term in Alexandria, / ought
to have located for one year, but II had hor>
ror of such step. Twas then removed by
BishopD oggett'to Baltimore city Baltimore
was our frontier work. The membership was
small; had to make my own congregation.
With such an inspiration l gathered up all
my feeble powers, and did my best, in the
meantime helping other charges all L could.
My efforts to preach at this time were suc>
ceeded by a kind of convulsive vomit, and
this often followed by severe attack ofcramp
collie, which several times threatened my life.
1 was told by friends, and among them the
late Dr.. Thomas q. Bond, NJ d. and Presi-
dent of the Medical University of Maryland,
to use small portion of whiskey or brandy
after preaching, and it would prevent the
vomiting 1 had to do it or give up the sta
ton and stop preaching. tried it and it eff.
fccted cure, and countervailed, after time,
the tendency to collie. The amount used was
small. The first summer I was in Baltimore
was threatened with paralysis, nv health
seemed to give way almost entirely, and was
released from my work for nearly four months.
| recommended my work in October, but to
fill the pulpit had to give up in great de-
gree pastoral visiting. The state of my health
caused me to accept the position of Secretary
of the Board of Foreign Missions. During
that summer was threatened with another
attack, and lost about three months from nv
time, began to recuperate in such way that
thought I would have no more trouble and
if had not been put back into regular work
for year more, would not have been inef-
fective, as l have been now for twelve months.
Our trouble in Baltimore in 1872 kent me
at my post during the summer, till I fell there.
1 stayed, not because was able to do the
whole work, but to prevent Generalization.
1 had to use stimulant, or desert my post In
addition to my threatened attack of PARALYSIS
Harvey G. Byrd, M. D., of Baltimore, be-
ing one OF the physicians who made the. dag
nosis) I have suffered horribly with neu>
ralg!a. My brain would not bear opiates.-
Again had to use whskey or brandy.
ceased awhile last February, but was cons
PEELED to resume their use for while al
ways used them against my will and one
great purpose OF my coming to the country
was TO get my nerves gradually relaxed from
the tensions of twenty-five years, so that I
could live without stimulant. I was max
ing a battle for life, and in me it was no sin
hence | never concealed it. NV intense
horror OF paralysis may have caused me, in
my mind, to exaggerate my danger. It threw
a gloom over my soul. and the year to me has
been one of darkness though l could feel
the strong hand of God leading ME through
the shadows "But He kuoweth the way
that [ take: when He had tried me, shall
come forth us gold" could have spared a
leg, an arm, or even an eye but my tauIt lay
not in them. God touched the point of ann
bition, and will abide Ell is time. He pre-
tormeth the thing that is appointed for me
and many such things are with Him." 1
never dreamed that could and would be mis-
understood and traduced as common drunk.
ard, or that any of my brethren would ever
have believed it. But neuralgia or no neu>
raigla-paralysis or no paralysis. I have aban.
doned its use in any quantity, and in all cir>
cumstances, except the most extraordinary, i.
c., 1t must be matter of immediate life and
death, and never in the sense of tonic, or to
relieve pain, or in any continuous sense what
ever. 1t would be we'll for all to come, under
God, after careful thought, to the same con-
clusion. In the end, all stimulants are physi
cal and moral curses. When am able to
work without stimuant will work when
L am not able to work without stinulant I
will rest. / sacrificed myself to emergencies
without having the power in all instances to
meet them. ought to have taken the ad vioe
OF friends and gone to place where 1 would
have had less responsibility and better sup
port My health is nov better.
Your atfec,iouate brother es ever,
w. Il. MuNsEY.
Jonesboro', Teun, October IT, 1878.
A CONDUCTOR COLLECTING MS FARES
WITH a Cooked REvoLrER.-The Twenty
seventh Regiment N &, N V had ,bn;r