The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-04
pEAp11Esr OF STRONG DRINKS.
The Growing Habit of Taking Absinthe
"A Terrible and Insidious Intoxicant.

Inc growing HeDlJ OF taxing IA DSHutAo
"A Terrible and Insidious Intoxicant.
From the Nep York Graphic.
"Gimme an absinthe frappe."
with settler, sirF
"Umw and the first speaker leaned
heavily against the mahogany rail Of
luxurious down town bar. He was hand
some, haggard youth, and he had plainly
been making a night Of it. His sallow face
grew asheu as the odor OF a strong cheese
carromed against his nOstril. His eyes we're
trimmed with leaden streaks, and deep
shudder from moment TO moment denoted
that his stomach had gone back on him.
The roSy-cheeked bartender drew his
snowy cuffs farther out of the sleeves of his
fresh lawn jacket Then he poured into
thin glass small quantity of the greenish
fluid that smells and tastes like paregoric
over cracked ice. He elapsed a silver
shaker over the tumbler. shook the fluid
vigorously, and drained it into another and
smaller glass. Then he fixed seltzer into
the compound, and the young man clutched
and drank it thirstily. With distinct inn
provement in his gait and manner, he saun-
tered out. This was clearly corpse reviver.
This young man had put life in his nerves
and death in his muscles. He had settled
his stomach and disturbed the action of his
heart. When the effects of this drink wore
off he would need couple more BY night
fall he would be consumed with burning
thirst. If he drank heavily of absinthe-
and pint of absinthe is equal in injurious
effect to gallon of whisky-giddiness and
a tingling in his ears would follow the
thirst. Mental depression would ensue,
and, finally, hallucination and loss of brain
power. The absinthe tippler of several
years suffers from muscular quiverings, loss
of physical strength, elnaciaUion and sal
1Nxu Tie 4 t,rn,
ruined and paralysis finally sends him to
the grave
Absinthe is the deadliest intoxicant in the
world and its use is increasing. Its slight
est use is its abuse. And it is easy to form
the habit of taking it because the intoxica-
ton it causes is exhilarating and pleasant,
and it needs a very small quantity to do the
work. The drink was introduced into New
York by Frenchmen and travellers, and it is
now common beverage in hotels, clubs
and fashionable barrooms. French soldiers
introduced it into Paris after the campaign
in Algiers in 1874 In an astonishngly
short period it permeated the civilized
world. To-day its manufacture is one of
the largest liquor trades of Europe Neuf-
chatel, i'll Switzerland is the headquarters
for its manufacture. Two millions of gal
Ions yearly are made there. What France
makes and does not consume is sent for the
most part to America.
1t is pretty, seductive and insidious
liquor. The taste is pleasant and not at all
Ike spirituous compound. Yet it is made
by MASKING together the leaves and flower
ing tops of four species of NORWOOD, with
sweet flag and angelica root and star anise
fruit and macerating them in alcohol The
compound is distilled after eight days soak
ing and anise oil is added to give it taste
limitations are made of essential oils and
harks with blue vitriOl. This is quickly
fatal But the genuine is deadly enough.
The imitation is very close too, and import
ers themselves are often deceived. On gem
eral principles it may be said that the aver
age absinthe tippler in this country has
never tasted the genuine absinthe in his life.
The hospitals are rapidly getting TO know
the victims of abSinthe. Its effects are
frightful and unmistakable, and very few of
its devotees are ever restored to entire
health. A new and special treatment is
even now being experimental with by some
of the Belle vue physician