Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1884-04-12
Rum AND TOBACCO.
What a Veteran hns to Say About Their
Use.

" max IL veteran hn9 to Say About Their
Use.
In an interview with P. T. Barnum
10y New York Sun reporter, the follow
ing conversation took place:
"How long have you maintained such
regular habits p
''As far as practicable since 1847, when
| became teetotaler, although when /
was travelling Snowman my hours were
necessarily not so good"
t'Di. you drink much priof to 1847?"
"Wel, wouldn't have allowed any
body to tell me so, but when look back
over that time / know now that did.
When / built my magnificent Oriental
country seat, Iranistan, was proud OF
the house, but ten times prouder of my
wine cellar than Of anything else I had.
] was not in the habit of drinking dis
tiled liquors, but every day at dinner
took my bottle Of champagne, or its
equivalent in other wines or malt liquors.
| did 10 business after noon, and nv
mother-in-law used to say sometimes
that was heady after dinner. I felt
quite offended at the suggestion and
threatened to go back to whisky if it
was repeated, for really considered my.
self quite temperance man, since I
drank only wine, and thought my after
dinner feelings were due to overeating
rather than drinking. But I got the
Rev. DR.. Chaplin to come up to Bridge
port and deliver a temperance lecture,
. for the subject Of which he took the
moderate drinker,' and saw myself in
quite new light. I realized for the first
time the bad example was setting, and
when l went home that night was so
worried that could scarcely sleep. The
next morning I had my coadhman knock
the necks off all the champagne bottles
| had in my cellar, some five or six
dozen the port end other medicinal
wines 1 gave away in cases of sickness,
! and the liquors I returned to the dealers
That was the end of my drinking. As
bumblebees are biggest when they are
first hatched, so / was, in the first heat
of conversion, an enthusiast on the SUBJ
| ject of teetotalism. I went all over
Connecticut and New York delivering
free ltctures on the subject, and even
went out to Wisconsin,, stumped the
| State at my own expense, and at least
helped to carry it on a temperance plat.
! form"
''You swore off on tobacco also?"
'Yes-or at least stopped its use. l
never chewed, but I was great smoker
When I went over to England lecturing,
ii 1856, after the Jerome Clock Com.
rany disaster overwhelmed me, was in
such situation that every pound was
Of importance to me, and as | was then
using every week a sovereign's worth OF
cigars, thought would practice econ
omy ai stop it. One Sunday chewed
chamomile flowers all day instead Of
smoking, by a druggists advice, and
they almost killed me. The next day
went to smoking again, and continued il
up to 1860. I could give up liquor cas-
lily enough but not tobacco, and aver
aged ten cigars day. One day in 1860
on my way down to the museum, feI
a strange choking sensation away dow1
III my throat, and then throbbing o.
raipitation of my heart. l had noticed
il little for year before, but paid NJ
particular attention to it until then.
asked nv manager, Greenwood, what i
was, and lie said it was heart disease
and the symptoms l described as min
meant death. That scared me prett,
hallv l determined to give up bust
ness at once, retire to the country. AM
prepare to die, but before doing so con
suited DR.. Willard Parker. He examine,
me. and said !: You may have a yer
hard heart, for all / know, but you hav
4s strong 4 one as there Is IN New York
Nicotine Is all that is the matter wit
YOU Stop smoking. did SO at once
] was 50 scared, and never smoked agar
For wear, however. / used TO carry bit
of ca!arnus III my pocket TO chew o
when | wanted to smoke"