Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-30
PERSISTENT DRUNKARDs.
They VIII TurnUp at Belle to be Re-
ueved of Their Bad Feelings,
From he Neao York Sun.

From he Neq0 York Sun.
A seedy-lOoking man rushed into the re-
! ception-room al Bellevue hospital a few
evenings ago and told the Captain of the
watch that a man was dying of a fit at the
! foot OF East Twenty-tourth street. The
Captain looked sharply at his informant
for moment and then said slowly and de-
liberately:
snow, what are you up top
"Nuthin, Cap'n," returned the other,
| sheepishly; ''ye kin do ez you please
faint none 20 my funeril."
| The Captain sent call for an ambu-
lance, which was soon on its way to where
] the dying man was, and the seedy man left
| the hospital.
sit requires more patience than jugful
to run this place of a night" said the
Captain to reporter in Disguised tone.
"NOw, you mark my word; either there
won't be any man at all at the foot Of
Twenty-fourth street when the ambulance
gets there, or else it will be some drunk
who wants to get into the hospital"
"SOme drunkW
Eyes. You may be surprised at what
am going to tell you. We have, right
along, cases Of delirium tremens. FIRE.
quently the patient is some well-known
merchant who winds up a protracted
spree in this hospital. But generally 1t Is
some tough who, being full OF the vilest
liquor and suffering the torments OF the
damned, comes here for relief. The first
time he is brought here he is in an agony
of fear. The hospital appears TO him as
a monster about to intiict the most terri
BILE punishment, and he never expects to
leave the place alive. But on the contrary,
!, T., A.
and other creatures of his disOrdered inn
agination disappear. His torments and
bodily pains leave him, and he is a well
man. Then he leaves the hospital. He
or course begins drinking again at once.
The thirst for liquor is not allayed, and
the idea occurs to him that there is no rea-
son why he should not drink all be can,
for, if he has another attack. he will again
be taken to the hospital and have good
food, treatment, and shelter until he once
more RECEIVERS. The trick succeeds on the
second and third trial. He tells his
friends if he gets drunk to send at once
for an ambulance to prevent his being ar
rested. But he soon becomes known to
us, aud we hand him over to the police, so
as to spoil his little game. Yetthere is not
a night in the year when we do not re-
ceive two or three calls for ambulances
which prove to have been sentout for these
Wl6LCnebs lUey DecOIne 80 bklIllul at
cOunterfeiting persons in fit that only
those who know them can see that they
are only drunk and shamming."
At this moment the ambulance returned
and young man, rough and disgusting
in appearance, was carried in. He was
very drunk, but held his hands to his
stomach as though in agony, land there was
a frOth on his mouth.
ooh, so you've come back, have you.
Mr.. FinneganT said the Captain in a
sarcastic tone. "G,ad l am to see you,
Pm sure. Drunk again and soap frOth on
your mouth, too"
sch, Cap'n, sem fur the doctor; oh, OPm
dyin'; OPm burnin'," cried Finnegan,
rolling backward and forward as though
suffering with cramps.
''Take him to the station" said the Cap
tain, and, despite his means and cries for
mercy, Finnegan was taken to the Twen-
ty-second street station and locked up in
a cell, to be sent to the Island the next
day. "Now, there's fellow" continued
the Captain, "that has been working this
game for over a year. AS soon as he gets
out Of the hospital he begs, or, if neces-
sary, works for enough money to get glOri-
ously drunk. Then he tries to come back
again. He is only one of the many who
taka IN hOgnital faraS