Wichita eagle., 1886-09-04
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ABSINTHE DRINKING.
GROWTH OF THE HABIT AMONG
FASHIONABLE YOUNG AMERICA.

now tne Seduct1vc Liquor Is Made.Ef
fccts Upon the Drinker-The Terribl,
Reaction-Physical Effects Upon tn.
French Army-A Curse.
Absinthe is supposed to be made in Franc,
and Switzerland, and this supposition is baset
upon the fact that Somebody ct ils" appears
amid a lot of French on the label, with the
name Paris and red seal with q French In
scr1ptlon ornamenting the cork Swiss alb
sinthe is said to be the best, but whether any
OF the good kind ever gets to this country Is
unknown. The absinthe is made by pound
ing up the leaves and Towering tops OF diff
ferent species Of wornwood and maceratlnS
them in alcohol After soaking, the mixture
is distilled, little anise oil is added, and the
emerald liquor obtained is the real absinthe.
When tumeric and indigo and blue vitriol en-
ter into its composition as it does in adultera-
tons, then it i, really splendid drink Any
man who would drink it would surely put an
enemy irto his mouth to steal away his
brains but it would be only very petty lar
ceny after all.
A TINGE OF ORIENTALISM
The American drinking custom is hardly
favorable to the use of absinthe. It's a
dolce far niente drink. 1t mustn't be got
49, ''ANN 40 "a SUPP Inc q Hiail DOlIS Ills
whisky when he wants to catch street car.
1t wants surroundings that smack OF the Ian
guid south; nice room, quiet set of COM
panions. 1t must be slipped, as it is dripped,
slowly, like connoisseur sips his sherry. It
must be held up in the glass, so that the light
will catch it and give it beautiful topaz hue.
so one can imagine be is slipping nectar.
The exhilaration steals over the frame
gradually, little more with each sip, and
the drinker slips slowly, easily, dreamily into
that condition when all jokes are brilliant,
and rank truisnls develop into original flashes
Of philosophic knowledge, and the world
seems good and life seems worth the living.
Then the drinker remembers all his warm
poetry, and his mind takes on a tinge of
orientalism It is delightful, indeed, but
Americans can hardly get up, or rather come
down, to that style. In New Orleans and
through the far south this is possible, but
above the line time is more nearly SYNONYM
for money, and people want their pleasure all
in heap.
1t appears that absinthe drinking is on the
increase in st. Louis of late, the only reason
to account for it being the fact that it is
foreign drink and that swells drink it on east
Its chief quality is that of e1hilaration; it
really resembles in its direct action nothing
so much as cocaine. It acts almost instan-
taneously. The liquid, as it passes down the
sasophagus seems to smooth the kinks out Of
the backbone on the way down. 1t straigthens
the drinker up. The eyes dilate and it gives
feeling of strength to the muscles. 1t will
be seen what temporary godsend it is to the
man who. after debauch is afflicted with
nervousness.
Powerful a stimulant, it has its culmin-
ates in a terrible reaction. and like every
drug, it is resorted to to cure the evil it has
caused, and eventually enslaves the man or
woman who toys with it too freely OF
course, all men do not become slaves to it, as
all men do not teconle opium fiends who 'hit'
the pipe. But its a bad thing to become ac-
customed to- The drip is the fashionable
way to drink it, but fashion becomes forgot
ten by the .bsinthe slave, and he soon drifts
into taking it undiluted and in enormous
doses, just as the morphine victim becomes
accustomed to taking enough Of the sleepy
drug to kill half a dozen men. Its terrible |
results have never become, in this city,
matter of scientific observation or Of restric-
tive legislation, and, judging from the drink
ing peculiaritie. OF Americans, it never will
be-
TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES.
victims of the drug are often seen, and in
France Italy and Switzerland it is regarded
as the greatest curse. It's use in the army
and navy OF France is prohibited by law. 1t
first came INTO notice at the time Of the Al
gerian war, from 1874 TO 1S47, when it was
recommended for use by the soldiers in their |
liquor as a preventive Of fever. It developed |
in few year. that it was running the army. |
Observation by medical men resulted in dis !
coveries that deadly as it was when pure, it |
was rendered even more SO by adulterations.
It's use, in the first place, impaired the di- |
gestive organ. and spoiled the appetite. AS a /
necessary consequence sleeplesSneSs followed, |
with all the terrible torture that that implies. |
The minds of the absinthe fiends became de- |
ranged. They saw beautiful visions such as
il Is alleged the hashecsh eaters only know.
They became exalted and pitched to a high |
key, and then there came the most terrible
depression, ending cften in suicide, and
oftener still in inbecility. Loss OF brain and
nerve power, degeneration of the muscles,
and all the moral pcrver.ons springing there
from were among its effects
Physical decay of the most disgusting kind
was noticed in the victims, and they had to
be kept from public view. These in one gen.
Grafton were not enough, but like the curse
of the Almighty, the terrible results of the
drink extended to succeeding generations in
imbeciiitv. distortion and diseases most ter
rible On this discovery the army and navy
was forbidden TO use the liquor, but the peo-
pie were left 10 drink it, and in all the big
cities to-day the absinthc fend is as proris-
cuous as the opium, morphine and choral
victims ere in America.
\ strange thing about absipthe Is that not
withstandinc il. terrible effects, as e.tab-
lished beyond doubt over and over again,
there are few barkeeper. who believe that it
is at all dangerous. They viii insist that it
is not as bad as whisky, and that they
have known men who drank it straight with
out dilution. for years and it never hurt
them. The berk-eper isn't much generally
at physiology, or psychology, for physicians
in France pronounce rs unsound any one
addicted TO the use OF the liquor, and hos
pitals on east contain numerous wrecks from
its use-St Louis GlobS-Dsmocrat.
Iran1ways run from one end of the Gale
Auturo Prat to the other, being drawn by
,orses The car has two benches running
engthvise on top, and there the second-class
ride, the ascent being made by
means Of a spiral staircase in rear OF the car.
The fare is five cents for first class and two
nd one-hsls cents for second, in their money,
which IS about half the value of ours The
rivers are all men, bat all the conductors
re women, and some of them are really very
retty. they collect the fares and register