Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-06-13
FASHIONABLE POISONING
OfPnine and Ether ia the Psr;s,
Club Room ana 0pera ne IL"

Would you believe that Soma 49,
me pieasure In poisoning the,nseIva,
11iP;y because their neighbors do IT.
o., IL -, however, a TACT recently affirmed
ILu PROVED by DIR. Regnard at the Sor
poL.e' Inc large audience of the Asso
'oiDtpI 0Glentlfque seemed to be com.
PIeUely dlsmayed at his revelations
opon large table in the amphitbeatrc
were disposed a series of the most bril-
llant-!iSooklng caskets, plated with GOLD
ana silver, or perhaps of bronze, or inlaid
WIN pearl. You would think. TO see
mem, that you had grand displav of
IIeweiry laid out before you. Such is not
however, the case. What YOU see is only
an admirable collection of syringes Some
OF them are enclosed in elegant cigarette
cases, others are contained in charmin0
little retlcules, or in smelling-salts TASKS
Inc cases serve to mask the instrument
and the little vial which goes with It.
And wherefore these instruments M
hegnard tells us these luxurious imnIa.
ments are designed for the pleasure-Iov-
ing people of Paris, who can no Ionoer
ma IN the theatre, or in gambling. horse
racing and other designations the emotion
al eXcltements which they seek for So
eagerly, These are the persons who mr..
chase these marvellous caskets, which will
at least lend them temporary elasticity
although they can hardly reiuvenate the
used-up brain. The walls contain a soIu-
ton OF morphine, and the syringes are
used to inject it beneath the skin. Do
you wish to know how a person becomes
a morphiomaniac in the world of fashion
lie tells his friend that he has tired of
habltual pleasures; that the greatest of
them have lost their power to please.
The friend replies that he had been in a
similar condition. He had found conso-
lation, however, in morphine; the drug
had restored his tone and brilliancy. No
more than this is necessary to make
morphiomaniac out of blase man or a
nervous woman. But as it is necessary
to dissimulate and preserve a sentiment
of careless ease in the pursuance of the
dread habit, one of the luxurious caskets
with its golden syringe is purchased.
While, therefore, the ordinary syringe
used for the purpose may be had for a
dollar and a quarter, the fashionable syr-
inges will sometimes fetch as high as $40.
They are often given as New Years pres
entS. 1t is with these instruments, which
they always carry with them, that gem
tlemen at their club or ladies in their
opera boxes revive the almost extin-
guished sensations and sentiments of the
past.
Instead of morphine injections some
persons inhale ether People become
etheromaniacs for the same reasons that
they become morphiomaniacs. 1t is
vogue, a phantasy, which provokes these
abominable intoxications. There are also
morphiomaniacs who habituate them
selves by degrees to the poison to dimin-
ish the violent pains of gastralgia, or
facial neuralgia; and we have whole
category of persons who poison them
selves simply as matter of caprice. Dr.
Regnard divides morphiomaniacs into
two groups-those who poison themselves
honestly and those who do so because it
is the fashion. The deplorable facility
with which it is possible to procure solu-
tions OF morphine favors the development
of this new malady among the idle and
degenerated beings of high society. DR.. |
Regnard abused these homeopathic per-
sons in the wittiest way. Nevertheless,
L recognized several morphiamanics in
the audience who applauded the lecturer
in the heartiest manner. - lie Progress |
Medical.