Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-01-29
: THE cHLoRoFoRM HABIT.
A Man Driven to II by Stock Gambling
Is Cured by Hard Rowing.

nonal, you know" Then he took a
small bottle, and with a small glass meas
are he carefully meted out the dose.
There are thirty drops of pure chloro-
form here, he said; "when you 20 to
bed pour the chloroform upon the center
Of a folded handkerchief, lie upon your
nde on the edge of your pillow, and in
hale the drug, carefully keeping your
mouth closed. Sniff away at it just as if
i were smelling salts; the pain will dis
appear, and YOU will sleep like a top"
Now / longed for night, When it ar
rived / jumped into bed, thirsting for
sleep, and carefully carried out my in
structions. Having lowered the gas |
took the folded handkerchief, emptied
me contents of the little bottle upon its
senter, laid my head upon the edge Of
the pillow, closed my eyes and mouth,
and proceeded to iahale as directed.
Gradually, yet rapidly, a feeling of drow-
siness crept upon me. FIRST / seemed to
be looking upon a black and inky dark
ness; then the darkness seemed softly H.
Eliminated by nifi,te points Of light, like
distant stars. Presently the light Of
these stars became more intense, and |
noticed that they were arranged in innu-
merable parallel rows. 1t gave me "a
strange pleasure to gaze upon them.
Now the pain in my face disappeared,
Che stars seemed to grow brighter and TO
increase in size. Then suddenly they
all began to ~revolye at the same
instant. / gaEed at them this,
ut any rate, was the sensation)
With a sort of pleased establishment and
suriosity. As / gazed they reyolved still
more rapidly; then / heard a putting
NOISE, which increased in rapidity, ex-
actly resembling the sound made by a
distant engine leaving a station, and then
/ sank into a deep, tranquil, dreamless
deep, which lasted all the night. In the
morning | wokJ greatly refreshed and
she pain in my face had gone. The n
sound nights rest had done Inc an i'm
mense amour. Of good. Ny mind no
longer dwes painfully upon my miser-
able trouble. | could face the share list
with calInno.S. Once more | vas a COM
paratiyely Happy man, and | went on
with my ordinary a~vocations in a half
Jubilant ss.te.
But again that night sleep avoided me.
l counted 1000. | repeated the multiple
cation table, 4 tried 10 picture in my
minds eye an innumerable succession of
sheep Jumping over a hurdle, | tried TO
recall the last Sunday sermon; all to no
avail. Morning came 10 find me still
a,,l ,...l.E.I .U1 a. r.all.-al q.
call again upon my friend the dentist. l
did So. but nv visit was not altogether a
success. On learning what | wanted my
friend sternIy refused fresh supplies.
ChlorofOrm. he said. was a dangerous
drug; TO Use it once was all well enough;
the habit of taking il was worse than
dram drinking. When ] began to entreat
he bowed me out Of the room.
| Indignantly marched TO the nearest
shemist's and asked for an ounce Of
ohloroform As calmly as if | had been de-
manding u black draught. The chemist
inquired IL | were a chemical man. and
upon my replying in the negative de-
clined to supply me. Afterward | went
to four other chemists with the like re-
suit. How l obtained the drug at last is
neither here or there; but by the exercise
Of some ingenuity | became possessed of
a pound bottle Of chlorofOrm and Il two
drachm glass measure graduated in
drops. And now | found myself in pos
session Of a panaCea more potent than
poppy or mandragora, or all the drowsy
syrups Of the world" Every night ]
used to procure sound and comfortable
sleep. and | went on doing ~ unconscious
Of my danger. For three whole months
/ continued in this course. The habit had
mastered me from the first. Til, Is an
honest confession and not a sermon, and
i am bound 10 state that the only incon-
venicnce | ever experienced was a slight
feeling of nausea in the morning. Tvs
distinct desires irreeistibly prompted me
the one an intense longing for sleep and
a refuge from mental worry, the other a
laundering after the pleISurable sensations
which the inhalation Of the drug inyari-
ably produced.
BY this time the habit had taken such
a hold upon me that during the DAYTIME
l could think Of little else but If my
pleasure ocome. Toproduce the desired
effect the dose had been slowly increased.
| was now inhaling regularly sixty drops
every night.
Probably | should not be here to tell the
tale if | had not become engaged TO be
married. Ny two future brothor,-in-law
invited mr. Ia accompany them in II boat
ing party on the upper Thames. / ac-
cepted; and then IL suddenly struck me
that | should h. deprived for one whole
week at least OF my ~fayorite drug. de-
lection in such ~indulgences would GER
tainly break off the marriage. II would
not do g. be- found out; 80 | started with
out a single drop If my divine elixir. /
was quite out Of practice IN s%culiing and
mt night time | lay down To rest tired asa
dog and dead beat. That was my saliva
ton. Islept like n top, and ] have never
inhaled a single drop Of chloroform since.
know "A good deal more about it now
than | did then. 1 know now that had |
shifted In my sleep on to my face |
might have been suiTOcnted, and pro-
baby would have been. ! know now
that had vomiting taken place-and it Is
one OF the commonest results Of the in
halation Of the crug-there was every
likelihood of a similar result. know,
too, that with a slightly larger dose there
was every chance Of my being found
dead in my bed.-Cor. st. james
Gazette.