The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-24
THIRTY YEARS OF WHISKY.
MIR. Nasby Abandons His Effort to Pulveriz
the Rum Power.

HEr. Hasby Abandons His Effort to Pulverize
the Rum Power.
Detroit Free Press.
Nasty has reformed. There is no longer the
shadowiest doubt about it. He was in Detroit
yesterday, and was met by a former fellow
drunkard, who expressed anazenentat the revo-
luton that abstinence has wrought in the re-
nowned humOrist.
81 know it is almost Incredible said Nasty,
''but it is a fact that have not tasted alcohol in
any form for eighteen months I'm completely
reformed,
obviously was the reply
"Oh Ali Of course, You refer TOTO
well, to this nosel'
Precisely. But don't want to seem often
siyely personal
Don't apologize. can afford to talk about
it, because I'm ahead
"Weli, then, how did you bleach iti"
"By letting whisky alone When / was in
london some time ago I met an American ply
stefan there who said to me one day: Locke, l
can bleach that nose Of yours IN teree Gays.
Been experimenting with certain chemicals for
twenty years. No humbug honor bright L
can do the work Haven't made my discovery
public yet, but I'll give you practical demon
Stration Of its efficacy
with that he came at me with q bottle OF
something other and a eamels hair brush and
proceeded to paint the red out I wouldn't SUD
NIT to his manipulatons, but inasmueh as he is
an eminent authority on diseases of the skin,
have no doubt that he can really restore rum
my nose as he claims. Name Is Sherman and
suppose he is still in London.
"How did l happen to stop drinking2 Bust
nessi About the time / stopped my business
manager came to me one day and told me that
20 per cent Of the subscriptions Of my weekly
paper were to expire in a week, and it was neces-
sary for me to jump into the breach and prevent
permanent dropping out / appreciated the
seriousness of the situation, and swore / would
go to work in earnest. He said he must have
two or three serial stories. and the best Nasty
letters that could write. besides lot Of other
plumber
II had been hard drinker for thirty years,
and had lost my powers ofintelectual and physi
cal recuperation
up to about forty years of age 1 had been
able to go to bed religiously drunk every night
and attend to business with reasonable industry
every day. When this crisis came of which /
speak was swallowing more than forty drinks
Il estimate the quantity in gross at two gal
lons-of raw whisky every twentyfour hours.
II couldn't work. Application was out of the
question. | would lie in bed until II o'clock in
the morning, and on awakening used to contem-
plate my boots half an hour at time with not
enough energy to pull them on. Habitually
drank five or six WHISTLES before breakfast and
then at breakfast would take another nip, with
couple of soft boiled eggs-no appetite am
bition. When tried to write couldn't make
it go-brain sluggish, body enfeebled and final
destruction near at hand
well, sir, | swore to get out the work that
was demanded of me, but I'd keep putting it off,
nevertheless, helpless and-no, not hopeless
produced line Then fully realized what
miserable victim / was One morning while I
lay in bed, staring as usual at my boots, l sud
denly resolved that | would never drink another
drop of alcohol I dressed, went down to the
Office, told the business manager that I was
ashamed of the manner in which l had failed to
respond to his necessities, and added that he
probably would not see me in the Office for
three days Didn't say a word to him about my
resolution on the whisky question.
"All that day | smoked necessarily spending
most Of the time the docks walking bare
headed, with my face against the breeze. The
weather warm, and L was full of fever
but held out and at IL o'clock went to bed.
Next morning, to my great surprise, l was
able to eat small piece of porter house steak
hadn't touched it at breakfast before
in twenty years. That was hopeful incident.
At noon l ate a fair lunch. This was better At
night slowed away well mans dinner That
was the best of all; for when a drunken man can
eat you may conclude that he is not lost In
three days coffee began to taste good and solid
food had flavor that was delicious. My re-
covery was quick
did your craving for liquor continue for some
timel"
Il think not It was a moral as well as a
physical overturning in my case. That is the
better condition to which | had come so soon
was cause of more pleasure and exhilaration
to me than any quantity of alcohol could make
possible simply couldn't afford to put in peril
that rational happy condition"
DO you never feel desire to drink at this
stage of the hghtF
Possibly DO At least and at most, along
about o'clock in the afternoon | feel deep
depression-not for want of nip so much as
because l tired with work. The natural
impulse then is to stimulate, but l beat it
down without great effort, and in little while it
passes"
II am absolutely certain that if were to take
one drink should take forty. Alcohol runs
through my veins like quicksilver
''NO. do not believe l shall ever resume
inherited cast-iron consttution-ougnt to live
1870 years in all, but threw away thirty years
by dissipation, and so | shall live to be only 100
''Fun2 Well, no. Can't say that sober man
has much Of that sort of fun that tine drinker
has; and it may be doubted whether many re-
formed druukards ever enjoy mere physical ex-
istence after reformation with the same eager
zest they knew in convivial days Why,
when | used to go over to Chase'S and get in
four or five drinks 1 owned all that side of the
street On ten drinks had quite a comfortable
balance of ready money in bank. At the twenty
stage of my drinks | owned the whole city Of
Toledo. Haven't been very wealthy lately from
that point of view.
II want to add to this my conviction that
rum is disease, not vice"