The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-06-18
Open and Secret Drinking.

When rum loses its traditions of con.
viviality it loses all the poetry, all the
charm that is claimed for it by the vota-
ries of Bacchus. The registering driuker,
the good fellow" who scatters half his
weeks pay on the beer stained bar OF a
Saturday night, aud allows his family TO
suffer for want of food, is vet possessed
of this charm of good fellowship. He
makes his run swiggipg an excuse to as.
semble coteries Of good fellows" of the
same calibre as himself. Without the
good fellowship, without comrades who
will chat and exchange banter with him
at the bar or at the beer tables, his tipple
loses its taste. Solitary drunkenness
would be to such q drunkard an absolute
torture. 1t is rum rs provocation Of
wit and promoter Of good fellowship,
that has charm for him. And the ore
is inseparablc from the other. The sight
of friend and the grasp of his hand
suggests as the first thought, "J,et's have
drink" On the other hand, thirst
makes the proposition, "Mnere can l
men are the open and above. board drink
ers. 1t is they who are held up as fright.
ful examples by the temperance agitators
Of bar.rooms and the saloon keepers.
But there is another class of drinkers
moro numerous than those who, hang
over tho bar and laugh away their lives.
1t is the sly class who stink through the
side doors all alone and have their rum
handed to them in the seclusion of dark
corners. The element of good fellowship
does not spice theil tipple. All is gross
nf F,,r ~, "a,
withnl. The consciousness that the tip.
pier is doing something that is wrong
prompts only schemes of concealment.
They have regulations to lose, and they
prefer TO sacrifice their honor and the
joys of illogical world puts premium on
such sneaking pretences, and holds up
to honor the man who acts lie if be is
only smart enough TO prevent him being
found out.
How cunning they are, these sly tip
piers, after their long practice in deceit |!
How they learn to give drug clerks o
vinous wink at the soda fountain Why,
it's perfect art. And when the marks
Of their potations begin to make their
uI mistakablo manifestations on their
countenances, how carefully they close
all the avenues of ASSAULT How slick
SAoJ oio at CNuuiuB lGchLiOuS. NOW
where q churohman has red eyes and u
nervous tremor that in any one else
would be interpreted to mean that he
had had night with the boys, he escapes
with the explanation that this ia the
season when hay fever comes on him.
And when you see him next with bul.
bous nose all pimpled Ger with the lurid
marks OF Bacchus, no will tell you that
he is suffering from nose cold, another Of
she ~trifing fashionable ailments Of the
time. There is no use you can't nail
these sly drink kers but they take lots of
trouble aud lose lots of time, and die
drunkards in the end, just as the "good
fellows" do. The only difference is that
most of them keep their masks on while
they die, and indeed they often have
their masks buried with them, to deceive
the world. If there is any consolation
al's we'll aud good, but we think on the
whole tho "good fellow" who drinks
openly, without hypocrisy, and for the
conviyiality and camaradcrie of the bar
as we'll as for the effects of the poison,
has the better Of the game all through.
He is the preferable person, in our opin.
lon, In every way, taking him Us man,
oil through. There can be 10 doubt Of
that. The "good fellow" is to be pitied
and guided Alright. The other one de.
serves only exposure aud scorn.--Mew
York Star.