Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-07-25
THE HERALD.
Drunkenness in Wine- drinking
Countries.
New York nhserpar

| walked on leaving the Gaping
crowd staring at the spectac.e. II
England or my own country a man
drunk is sight so common that q
crowd would not gather and gaze on
him as on a wild beast in a cage.
In a journey that has now taker
me through the chief cities of France
Germany aud Italy, this is the frs,
person | have seen drunk. / have
been, and have taken pains to 90
where men would be likely to ge,
drink, if anywhere. If fair, or GU,
ofdoor show, review, national games
or play were going on, it has beer
my practice to mingle with the com
mon people and see how they spend
their time when not at work. The
habits OF the masses of mankind are
study far more interesting to me
than the manners and customs of the
rich and the great. They who have
money and time to spend as they
please, live substantially the same
everywhere. But the poor must live
as they can, and their manner of life
varies with the climate and soil, and
Therefore the products Of the land the,
live in. Nor is it possible to know
the habits OF a people, the working
people especially by simply riding
through the country on railway and
lodging at hotels. Many writer's make
profound observations on the state o
morals and religion, on the domestic
life and habits of country of which
they have seen nothing except throu'f
the windows of a carriage.
To say that this is the first drunk
en- man | have seen in ten months o
travel on the continent, amounts te
nothing unless one has been anon
the people, in their places of enter
tainment and refreshment. 1t woult
be impossible in Dublin, Edinburgh
London, or New York, to make al
evening tour OF the dram shops anf
gardens of amusement without seeing
many people intoxicated. The sa
looms would be scenes of riot ant
drunkenness, from which such a,
could 60 at all would go home to bea
their wives and children. Punch re-
Gently had this terrible satire: two
men are pounding one another in th,
street: another rushes between the n
and cries out +. "a
what do you mean by beating one
another, have you no wives at home
Perhaps there is no worse place
than Naples in Italy or France. 1t ha,
a bad reputation for morals, and i
there is one place where
there would be moro in.
temperance than another, we would
expect it to be Naples. When / was
there last Winter l saw it outside and
in. The streets were like long holi.
day. The people were as lively as il
they were all on spree. | Though,
they were. One evening | was
passing wine-shop. The door was
open, as the shop doors are open al
all times. We would call it a saloon;
drinking saloon. A score of men
and women were sitting at little Ia
bles drinking and smoking, and all
talking in the jolliest fashion. 1t was
not a place that quiet stranger
would care to enter. In Water street
or Baxter in New York it would moi
be safe to go in. But I was disposed
to see just how they managed such
places in Naples, and walking in, ]
took seat by one of the tables, al
which two or three men were sitting
with their wine before them. They
asked me to drink, but | declined. A
waiter came TO me and asked what
would have. l said that | merely
wished to sit for a moment, and Civ.
ing him more than any one in the
room would probably pay for wine
sat and looked on. No one took any
notice of me, though | was certainly
dressed very unlike tho motley com
pany. They were of the lower class
of people such as we at
home would call the lowest. They
were very lively Laughing and talk
ing gaily, not noisily, smoking and
drinking cheap and poor wine, they
seemed to enjoy themselves in their
way, and that way was to please one
another. Not an angry word, not a
dispute of any sort, disturbed the gen.
eral jollity of the hour. The wors,
feature of the place was it's smell.
What with poor tobacco and the gar.
lie that prevades their persons, dress
and breath, and the unspeakabie dirt
in which they have their being, these
low Italians are TO my senses lntoler.
able. | sat in the midst of them as
long as my stomach and nose would
permit, and | left them as quietly as
| entered. Probably none of these PEG
pie would ga away tipsy, but all were
dainking freely, and supposed they
were having a frolic.
Another and better way of learn.
ing the effects of intoxicating liquor
on the people is to read the police
reports in the daily local newspapers
This ! do every day. They are sub.
stantially the same as in the English
and American papers, with this grand
difference, there are no arrests, OIL
very few, of persons intoxicated, OF
who have committed offenses in
consequence of intoxication. will
now take up the daily papers
of this morning in n city of IS coz
inhabitants, whore many kinds o.
vice, including gambling a'd
RIGHTEOUSNESS, abound I do not vel
know what will be the police returns
ofyesterday, but II will see, and repor,
exactly the facts. Only four arrests
are mentioned. These were for, /
High way robbery. 2. Theft of g
watch. 3. Injury to trees in the
park. 4. Begging. | have read the
reports forty days in this same city,
and have not seen one, no not one,