The Red Cloud chief., 1885-04-24
IN HIGH LIFE.

the Failures at the Gifted from Intern
perance-sad Habits Generally Formed
In Youth.
a poor, ragged drunkar! ut the lar
Of a police court, sad sight As it is.
needs no explanation; every spectator
perceives that he is Il man in ruins. lie
was born; he WAS an limo cent chi!u,
the pride and darling of his parents: he
, became a man. with the hopes and the
ambitions of a 4 Yielding TO in
sidious temptation. he lost power over
himself. and sank rapidly to be the
wreck we see him now, the scott Of the
t~houghtlcss. the shame of his family, an
object of abhorreIcc to himself The
tragedy is all too obvious. and, alas!
how common.
There is another intempcrance which
Fan not Toe described in the police report
by those horrible words. "a simple
drunk The police do not see it. or.
ii they do, they call a carriage and
carry il home. Ii does not wear ragged
clothes, nor reel along the highway.
Kings palaces conceal IT.; venerable
colleges cast Ovcr il the austcre mantle
If gray antiquity; distinguished clubs
give it scope and privacy. l. hlights
the very flower of our Face. and few
yer know the worm in the bud that
docs the mischief.
We love Ia decorate our vices with fine
nafncs.
When n great genius d~ctcrioratcs in
its prime. and fails just when naturally
20 .hn,,ll Il, 80. ~ lNhtuf n,.l 10 81.
best. we do not like To attribute the
premature obscura.iOn Ia 4 cause so
commonplace rs the indulgence of a
morbid appetite for strong drink. We
would gladly decorate il with q finer
name.
A scene in London was described to
ne a VIII !c ago by a late valued con-
trihutor to this periodical. Ii occurred
about three o clock in the morning at u
dinncr-party of some of the brightest
spirits OF our time. The king Of the
feast was The first of living writer's in
his kind Of literature. and his name is
honored now. wherever the English
language is read, and far beyond its
realm. He WAS a man in the prime of
his years. but i'm TIE wane of his pow
crS, for he married his admirable talents.
he dul.cd his finer sense. he obscured
the light within him. by gluttony and
wine-bibb!ng.
IL am curse I with an appetite" he
would say. when l leave the Il nEer-
table. it Is with "a feeling that | would
like to begin End do it all over again"
He sat upright ut the table ut three
O'Clock in the morning. for he had 4
peculiarly of constitut on which. as he
said. made his legs drunk long before
his head was touched. He WAS still
talking gaily, if not brilliantly. though
h, could not nov from his chair. His
carriage was announced. 1t was his
own carriage. for he was then ut the
summit of prosperity. HIS W men,
servants. who knew well what they had
TO do. for they had had much practice.
IN doing it, came upstairs into the
dining-room with his hat and shawl
They drew back his chair. put on his
hat, lifted his giant form in their arms.
and carried him down To tho carriage
door. His American friend followed.
dumb with establishment AstoundcL
rs he was. he could not help remarking
the familiar dexterity with which the
two servants performed their part
There. on the sidewalk. the brilliant
and famous author. the prize OF his
country, fell upon the neck of his
friend. Rugged. kissed and blubbered
over him. ard refused to get into his
carriage. After awhile, however. part
" BY humoring him. partly by force.
the men lifted and pushed him in. on
reaching his home Il s;mil.r scene oc-
CURED. and the day had begun to
dawn before the two servants succeeded
in getting him upstairs - his own
room. A few months after. he died
suddenly of a disease caused and noI
iShci by such excuses.
That such a man. so gifted and so
y~cll-disposcd T. use his gifts for the
public good. should pass away in MS
Urine was a mel ancholy event indeed:
but Il was o the worst consequence of
his bad habits. They married and low
eIed all his writings. even the best. and
his powers diminished a> his fame in
creased. We find that his works writ
ten ut forty-five were less vigorous. less
genial and less true. than those written
at thirtv-tive. and his last product on
shows scarcely a glcam OF his former
power.
The reason OF TINS Is now Wen KNOWN.
Several men of science have pursued
courses Of experiment with = view to
ascertain the precise working OF aico-
holic drinks IT, the human system.
There was an English DIR. Percy who
injected two ounces aud a half OF aico-
hol into the stomach of 8 dog. The
animal dropped dead; whcreupon. the
doctor instantly removed the brain. and
distilled from il a very large proportion
of the alcohol which he had admins
tered. The alcohol. rs the doctor re-
marked. had rushed to the brain. and
Killed the dog as if by = blow upon the
cad. 1t was q blow IN n head.
The brain of drinkers has been fire.
nuently dissected. and. it has been dis
covered that the alcohol has permanent
IL DESCENDED the cells of which it is COM
nosed. Il makes the brain coarse and
16sbby. thus diminishing its force.
During the last hundred years this
hahit OF drink has marred and de-
stroyed more talent and more genius
ahan al other causes put together. II