The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1879-06-24

Zola's story of 'L'Assommoir" re.
calls a chat / once had -itb one who
might be termed n professional drunk
ard. He had suffered terribly from ex-
cessive drinking; he knew its evils far
better than any one could tell him, and
he realized his position thoroughly,
yet he clung TO tho habit and avowea
himself drunkard. Said he "Iye
gone too far and too long on this road
Ny stomach has been made over aud
adapted 10 rum. The organ can't be
revolutionized again. It's too old 10
leave of whisky. To change its feed
would kill me in fortnight II isn't
so good a stomach as the natural one
was, but II stands a pint or more OF
brandy per day. I've trained il 10 that
during these many years, and you can't
teach an old stomach new tricks. De-
lirium tremens? Snnkes? jim Jams?
Yes, I've had touches Of them. You
want 10 know how il feels: I'll tell you,
although never did much more than
just pass the Jim jams frontier. You
have drank maybe a week, maybe more
You have kept extra "full" during that
period. AT last liquor ceases to excite,
brace mp or >tranquilize. You drink q
half pint'of brandy aud il has no more
effect than so much water. Then yon
are close on the horrors. Food wont
help you. Your stomach rejects il.
Now your punishment commences -
You can't sleep. You are weary. OH
so weary, but there is no rest. You
are tired of thinking, vet the tired
brain viii think. You lie down, DROP
into doze for a moment, and wake up
with shock as il touched by an elec-
trio wire. You are covered with per-
spiration. You get mp aud walk the
room, walk the streets-walk, walk,
walk, aud then fling yourself down,
praying for ever SO few minutes sleep.
All this for days with people about
you, and through nights, whose lone,
silent, dreary hours drag, drag, drag,
while thus you lie down and get up,
and merely to kill the time you dress
and undress, while people wonder
what uneasy mortal is fussing in the
next room aud forever going up aud
down stairs. To stay the live-long
night in that lone room is horrible. =
You are stified, buried, crushed in it,
To get out in the street is only TO
change the horror. Your exhausted
body pleads for rest. Your brain
pleads for rest. But no Chinese tor
tursr employed in keeping some mis-
erable criminal awake till he dies was
ever more full of relentless vigilance
than your abused nerves. They are
mad They have multiplied. They
have borne and borne the loads OF al
cohol you have. imposed upon them un-
oil frcnzied with the strain they have
taken the bit between their teeth and
run away with your body and brain. -
You realize this. You feel yourself
borne on from horror 10 horror by this
unseen power within you. breads un-
describable seize upon you. Your
hands have sensation Of being of
enormous size. They do not look il.
They feel it. Your head in like man.
ner feels as il enormously pulled out.
Then your breath comes spasmodically,
hot fushes strike at the region Of the
heart. all the blood seems at times to
rush in that direction, and you fight
aimlessly for life and expect TO fall
dead. This is the commencement Of
the horrors. Now you are fixed for
seeing rats and snakes and yermin. -
New York Graphic.