, 1876-07-01

bustuJ III u very SuOIb tluCe AOSt UuOuF
regulations.
It was only some six months since that l ex-
perienced any ill effects of my habit. Gout
gradually set in, which was by no means plea
SAINT to a man fond of dancing. Besides, l
developed an apoplectic tendency, which ac-
qnaintances remarked upon; like the elder Nj.
Well r, [ swelled visibly sudden rushes Of
biz to my head rendered me at times nearly
Often on entering or leaving a room |
)erClu,liged to put out my hands ana grope my
VIII; and blindman's- buff is an amusement for
yh, n | never had any partiality. Consulting
ooE physician-not q hydropathise, understand
- once ordered me to g cease the use Of
.nts"-the technical way Of saying
az drinking E" / demonstrated but be Was
pontei. Dry. said "Not too suddenly -
but0g a~l'epl4ed " At once ~ To my mild
ura agal it would be best to "taper OFF, he
ma0ught or that a taper was burning at my
vita ars u that splits We're the oils which fed
the me. He said "Snuf it out at once
cut { 6 the fuel ~ To my representations that
CO 4 not live he replied that [ might as we'll
die olo way as ano her that if continued 10
drinI my death vas certain that if stopped,
there was a chance for m3. Aud he clappod a
stop on futther objections by refusing to treat
nv case at all unless | abandoned drinking be.
fore coming under his hands Ale was worse
than whisky, because more bulky wine more
dangerous than any thing else, because SO insi-
dious and seductive,
lie had been the physician of myself and Of
my fathers family have no family Of my own
since first the family was founde and there
was none other in the city to whose hands [
could commit myself with confidence. SO |
Welded to his ultimatum, converted my dami-
Johns into yet more fragmeutary divisions, aud
became a water-drluker on thu spot.
The first day Of my new experience | suffer
cd Slightly, but still | suiforod-nor was I
strong. My hand was shaky in the morning
and [ said to myself: "This comes Of tenn
perance." Through the day | folt singuIarly
strange my voice was tremuious l planted
my foot upon the pavement in an uncertain
way, and had a general impression that had
lost something. At my regular dinner-hour l
was appetiteless. | retired to bed wretched.
Nv dreams we're unpleasant and the next
morning | woke with an uncomfortable sense Of
unrefresheduess. My hands we're bot, aud my
face, though pale, was burning. In making my
toilet several attempts were necessary to enable
me to part my hair in a line any thing like an
approach to straightness for my h6 in IS
manipulations of the comb, dotted uP and down
like a ~dairy-maid's in printing butter. AS for
breakfast, [ was conscious of ne fast to break.
Mechanically, however, | appeared at table.
But toast, tea, mullins, eggs had lost their pow
er of fascination. Hot and tempting though
thew were, looked upon them coIdly So
tremulous and uncertain was my hand that in
attempting to drink my tea I nearly poured it
into my ear. While being shaved, subsequent
ly, found it next to impossible to sit still. Seve-
raj times in my nervous starts the barber CASH
ed my face and chin.
A blank, horrible day seemed before me.
Time. like a leaden weight, hung upon my soul.
To some simple business calculation which tbs
cashier Of our house tried to present to me, I
found it impossible to listen. The figures were
before my eyes, and [ attempted to grasp them.
They danced and jostled each other like pup
pets at a booth-the mines wagging their
heads at me mockingly, and the sevens curling,
up their tails 10 derision. The cashier, motto
ing nv be wildered air and look, attempted to
explain his tones fell upon my ear as monoton-.
ously and meaninglessly as rain upon a cottage
thatch. AS he proceeded droning out his details
a single rage took possession OF mel and 1
believe l should have throttled him where
he stood had I not seized my hat and abruptly
Quilted the ofioe.
It seemed to me that the open air would
bring relief; but it did not. Wake NOT with
nv accustomed frmness Of tread, but with a
jerkiuess, as a jumping jack might it endowed
with automatic motion, Somehow | scarcely
knew when my feet touched the ground 10
seemed that l was stopping upon air. A TREND
met me, aud, with a familiar slap upon the back,