Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-06-20
ABsINTHE BECOMING COMMON.
Foolish Priak, Among Rich Young lMen---Ev
Effects of the Habit

! A6SlN HE bECUMiNG COMMON.
A Foolish Driak, Among Rich YouHe !Men.--Evi
Effects of the Habit.
(From the New York Tribunel
" Yes, pou Chawlie, y know s come
to grief altogether, pou old chappie. 1
all comes from that Internal absinthe, Y
know" The reporter was sitting in the
casino, and Immediately behind him were
brace of high-collared, vacuous- ex-
pressioned members of the gilded youth
of our city. "It's awfully horrid stuff,
that, went on the youth, :" and paw old
Chawlie used to suck it down at an
awful rate, y know. See him at DePs
ev'ry afternoon. Well, he got quite
silly, y know. Regular ninny, I assuah
you; so his guv'ner packed him off to
the west, somewhere, where he has a
beastly old uncle, who is In the cattle
line. Has a rancho, y know, and all
that-b1t here's Lily just come out.
Amt she looking we'll ?" and the con-
versatlon which had proceeded by jerks,
turned upon q more cOngenial theme.
What had been said, however, induced
train of thought on the part of the
hearer which caused him to make in
quuIeS HI SuuuIy places.
A nan with q waxed mustache, dia-
moad pin and white linen jacket, who
was dispensing fluids behind the bar of
a wa1l-knOWn up town hotel, was first
applied to. "Much absinthy drunk"
said he, deity squeezing piece Of lemon
peel into a cocktail as finishing touch.
"Well, l should smile. Pretty near
every drink [ mix has a little Of the
green stuff In 1t. LIemme see. I guess
its along of five years or so ago that
1t first came into fashion, and for the last
ItwO or three it's been gettin' called for
more'n more. There amt much of it
drunk meat, but I've noticed that when
a Teller once begins to take it that way
he sticks to it petty close. Bad for the
nerves? / guess not. You Jest get up
OF a mornin' feeling as if yer couldp' +
part yer hair straight, an see if cock
tail or John Collins just flashed with
absinthy don't make q new man Of yer.
Bad for the nerves! Why, you AMT
around much, [ guess, young man, or
you'd NV tumbled to what absinthy was
by this time" and the very diamond in
his shirt front sparkled with scorn AZ the
question.
In the cafe of fashionable and dude
haunted restaurant, an aged and garru-
lous waiter told q different story. 'Eet
ees terrible ting, Eat absinthe," " said
he. 81 see so much messery in my own
Paris from it Eat it make me vair sorree
to see it cen so moch of use in Amer
ique. Zair is young man, two, tree
young mans Eat [ zee ERE too dreenk a
great deal efery day, and they look
terrible bad. It makes ZEN pale, mel
ancholie and fetri. Eet ees a bad ting,
m'sieu, and more young gentlemans I
see every day ordair zair absin, the la
Francis.
Inquiry was made by the reporter at
two uptown saloons and at several
downtown places. In all it was found
that absinthe- drinking had become much
more common in the last two or three
years, and especially among the younger
members of the ultra-fashionable set,
many of whom drink it regularly, morn
ing, afternoon and evening. Said a
prominent importer Of wines and Liquors:
81 import a large quantity now of alb
sinthe. What is called the Swiss alb
sinthe is the superior quality, and it is
manufactured by crushing wormwoOd
| (artemisia absinthum), angelica root,
sweet flag root, star an1se root and some
other herbs, and letting them soak IN
refined alcohol for several hours. Idon't
believe myself that pure absinthe is any
more deleterious than any other iqueur,
but it is so adulterated with turmeric,
indigo and blue vitri0l that il is enough
to poison any one"
1t was stated by physician of large
practice, however, that single large
dose Of " essence Of absintbe admins
tered to dog had caused the animal to
expire in commissions. "The continued
use of absinthe in moderate doses" he
said, ''brings on muscular tremblings
and decrease of strength. The hair of
the tippler falls off, his face becomes
sallow and thin, his sleep is uneasy, and
the end is either epilepsy or partial
paralysis. Taken in large quantities it
brings On the ordinary effect of intoxi-
cation, but the appetite soon goes, con-
slant thirst is induced, followed by
mental oppression, loss of sight and
hearing, and final lapse into confirmed
idiocy, for which there is no cure. I
notice with apprehension the tendency
of our young men to contract this ter
rible drinking habit, and though no pro-
hibitionist, feel that some steps ought
to be taken to restrict the sale Of this
pernicious intoxicant. The use Of it
has been absolutely forbidden in the
French army and navy, which shows
that [ am no visionary in my statement
as to its effects"