Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-02-13

| imentS which used toprlue themselves
on what they could go through in the
way of hard drinking, the amount OF
wine now taken at dinner would, in
the eyes of topper of the Regency, be
regurded as the portion of an ascetic,
barely enough to moisten the throat
And then, after dinner, there are no
wild finishes" There can be no
question, we should say, that gentle
men are nowadays more sober in their
bearing than they used to be; at least
they do not drink so as to lose their
heads or their legs. Admitting, how
ever, that the scandal Of open and un-
mistakable drunkenness has passed
away from the upper and middle class
es, we venture to doubt whether the
drinking habits Of the present time are
in reality so much more sober or
wholesome than those of the last or OF
the penultimate generation 1t must
not be forgotten that man may be IN
toxicated without being drunk. lntox-
ication simply means poisoning, and
the amount Of slow poisoning which is
constantly going on in this way is real
ly very terrible to any ono who knows
the symptoms, and who observes what
is passing around him. Seventy or
eighty years ago men habitually drank
heavily after dinner, and it was cer-
tain!y not an unusual thing to be car
ried drunk to bed. The car0nse fol-
lowed a substantial meal, and the
topers slept off their debeuch. They
spent a great deal of their time each
day in the open air, and their work,
whatever it was, did not involve close,
sustained, exhausting application. 1t
will be at once seen what an advantage
they enjoyed in this respect over the
men Of our own day, who have COM
paratively little out-of-door exercise,
and who have to bear the strain OF III
tense, anxious work, and who, when
they drink, drink in way that gives
the stomach no rest, and that keeps
the nerves in a constantly excited
state. Formerly the very grossne5s OF
the bacchanalian habits of the men re-
volted the women, and kept them TO
great extent beyond the reach of temp
tation. But row ladies and gentlemen
live much more together, and the men
drink so decorously and discreetly that
the ladies fear no harm in following
their example. But in this respect the
capacity of the sexes is certainly not
On an equality, as the prevalence of
what are by courtesy called nervous
disorders among women too painfully
testifes.
We are quite ready to admit that
decorum is in itself good thing. The
familiar spectacle of gentlemen speech
less and staggering from the effects OF
heavy potations could not fail to have
degrading and brutalizing effect upon
the society to which they belonged
1t is morally an advance that men
should be ashamed of being seen in this
odious and filthy condition. But de-
corum may be in itself a snare, and it
is well that the truth, however coarse,
vulgar, and unpleasant it may be,
should be faced. 1t must be remem-
bered that the three-bottle and four
bottle men of other days were after all
exceptional men, and mere handful
in the community, and that, although
most men then thought little of get
ting drunk, this was with great many
an indulgence which they allowed
themselves Lot habitually, but only on
special occasions, and with intervals
between. The main difference be-
tween the drinking habits of the last
generation and of the present would
seem to be, that formerly men, when
they sat down to drink, drank more at
time, while now men drink moder-
ately at a sitting, but in sips or "nips"
drink a good deal during each day
Whether the modern habit is better
than the old is question which pos,
sesses only speculative interest. The
important thing is, that the modern
habit should be recognized as vicious
and unwholesome. We are aware thai
this is quite an old story now, and
perhaps people may be tired of its repe
tition. Unfortunately the necessity
for speaking of it does not appear tc
have diminished.