Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-10-02
AhsiNIIlG.

1T Is now nearly century since French ref
ugee named Ordira1re settled In the small VII.
iage OF CouTet. in the Val Travers In the can
ton OF Neuchatel, Switzerland. DR.. Ordfnaire
IVES medical man, aud very clever one for
the time In which he lived. and he soon made
himself useful to the people of the Val Travers,
among whom doctors and medicine had hitherto
Deen almost unknown. The doctor prepared
bis own medicines, as was not unusual I'm those
days; and though he seems to have been regu-
larly qualified practitioner 1t is evident that he
had not that contempt for panaceas which is
usually to be met with in the profession In
ceed, tbere was one universal remedy which he
held IN high esteem, and compounded With his
own hands from various aromatic herbs after a
secret recipe known only to himself. THIS went
by the name Of Extract of WormwOod,n and as
many persons declared that he had completely
cured them, the doctor naturally prescribed and
recommended 1t TO others. Before his death he
gave the recipe to his servant, .'Mamsell Grand
pierre" and she sold it to the daughters of
LleuI enant Henriod, who grew the necessary
plants and herbs in their own garden, distilled
tie elixir over the kitchen fire. and sold 1t to
peddlers: Since that Time the manufacture has
increased In other hands, until the quantity OF
absinthe now made In the Val TraverS amounts
to 81 400 gallons annually
1t is from the yellow flowers of the common
NORWOOD, ATtf1RiSfG dbSaTlfhi,tTl that the
tinctureS and extracts Of the Val Travers are
made; and these are said TO be very efiicacious
In cases OF Indigestion, though the remedy
would seem at best to be but a dangerous one
III this were all, however, there would not be
much to say upon the subject; it is when, by
the admiXture Of other aromatic ingredients,
the extract Is converted into the famous, or
rather Infamous, absinthe liqueur, that 1t Ia
consumed in large quantities, and becomes of
Iealy terrible Importance. In what its pecu-
mar Charm consists scientific men have StrlVen
IN vain TO discover; but that it does possess
deadly and well-nigh Irresistible power of fas-
clnatlon Is only too evident from the large
quantities sold In France, Germany, Swltzer-
land, England, and North America notWith-
standing the perniciouS effects it Is well known
to produce.
opium, affects the whole nervous system In
general and the brain In particular; it produces
actual organic changes In the delicate net
work OF the brain, and these are, of course, &C
companied by corresponding arrangement OF
all the mental powers.
The end of the habitual abafnthe drinker Is as
terrible as 1t is sure and inevitable. He becomes
first btutalized, dull. and obtuse, then he goes
iavlIg mad, and finally is either partially or
entirely paralyzed unless disease OF the liver or
stomach puts more speedy end to his eXis-
tence. The nqueur Is the more seductive and
dangerous because at first it seems TO 1nvigorate
the digestive organs, while in reality 1t is doing
them nothing but harm. Until the very day
when he is seized with Illness y says Dr. Defiant,
1.-The victim seems to be in unusually good
health; but the first time he is subjected to
medical examination 1t Is found that his whole
than to cure an absinthe drinker, for his first
illness Is usually also his last, and is terminated
by DEATH"
Great efforts are now being made in France
and Switzerland to check the practice OF alb
stnthe drinking. which is unhappily largely on
the increase. From the various statistics pub
lished from time to time we ga, her that whereas
In the year 1864, out Of hundred cases of In
sanity or tdocy, fourteen were traceable to
dram drinking, the percentage has since risen
TO twenty-five; and 1our-niIh5 Of the cases of
Insanity occurring among officers may be put
down TO the use Of apsinthe Ii is moreover.
an established fact that the children OF alb
sinthe drinkers are generally born with tenden-
cies to some Of the worst forms of disease, such
as epilepsy, etc. The most effectual way OF
meeting the evil would be prohibiting the man
ufacture OF the iqueur; but as this Is impracti-
cable, all that can be done Is to point out the
fatal danger Of absinthe drinking, and to urge
those who are not yet utterly enslaved to save
themselves by gradually Diminishing their &C
customed potion. In month they will be-
quantity; In three months Ii they persevere, the
victory will be won. They Will find their con-
fesseelly difficult task easier II they take a cup
OF coffee in place OF the absinthe.