The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-02-27
Depotism of the Poison Vice,

All pOlSOn-hablts avenge themselves Dy
their tyranny over the wll-uower of their
victims. For weeks often indeed for years,
the monitOns OF instinct resist the wiles OF
the tempter; a boy may be coaNed or forced
to swallow spoonful OF rum every day, and
yet ahhor its taste ut the end OF n mouth as
plainly as on the day of the first attempt
Nature protests against the incipienCe OF
life endangering vice, and is apt to enforce
her veto 10y such arguments as nausea and
iCk-headaChe; but IL those warnings are
diSregardcd too often, the sinner is at last
abandoned TO his fate. and his will becomes
a slave TO an unnatural passion for the same
poison which at first formed the object OF
violent aversion. There is an exception TO
that rule Chemistry knows no poison,
botany no deadliest weed, which 10y persist
ont obtrusion into the reluctant organ SIN
cannot he made the object of passionate
craving Millions of men have become des-
perately addicted TO the use OF arsenic and
opium; the natives of Kamtschatka fuddle
with an infusion OF poisonous mushrooms;
the Indians of eastern Nucatan with Clcuta,
or waterhemlock; the Syrians with hash
ecsh, tho Tartars with fermentcd mares
milk, the miners OF the Peruvian serras
with antimony and sugar Of lead, the Malays
wi h the acrid leaves of the betel plant.
II would be mere sophiStry to object that
"a man may contract penchant for any ar
ticle OF Diet The prediction for harmless
or nutritive substances viii never assume
the form of a Misunderstanding and exclusive
passion. A person may lecome very fond
of ripe grapes without being tempted to slay
his mother for bunch of blue Catawbas.
He will not risk his life in midnight RAID
to plunder the vineyards ON keNeys Island.
HIS green grocers will not he knocked down
for crate of ConcordS; he will not board a
freight train and fall like n furnished wolf
upon the contents of the grape car. IL grapes
should be out of season he will not suiler the
tortures of Hades till the object of his mania
.ls u,
fault Of grapes, ripe bananas or a quart of
red raspberries will suit his purpose just as
well.
The passion of the poison slave will accept
no such compromise. In the absence of his
wonted tipple the grief of laudanum
drinler refuses to lie comforted by all the
dainties of n Partisan restaurant. A hash
eesh eater would turn away in disgust from
all the tree fruits of Paradise. Now the al
cohol habit is , characterized by an exactly
analogous influence upon the passions OF It's
victims Confirmed topers iuathe whole
some food and drink while the unsatsiled
rage Of the poson-hunger is gnawing at their
vltals In pursuit of its qualification that
hankering can rise to passion overpower-
ing every better instinct, the instinct of self
preservation hardly excepted. l have known
rum to cause soldiers to leave their post AMI
make rush for the dramshop across the
border, with the full knowledge of running
the risk of being shot for desertion. Baffled
topers will not hesitate TO cheat their neigh
bors and friends; they will deceive their
bcnefactors by the meanest tricks; they
will not shrink from filching the pennies
of a sleeping child. DR. Isaac Jennings
quotes the case of tipper who was set
to work in a Massachusetts, almshouse:
within a few days he had devised various
eXpedients to procure rum, but failed. AT
length he hit upon one that proved success
ful. He went into the woodward of the eS-
tablishmeut, placed one hand upon a block,
and with an axe in the other struck it of at n
single blow With the stump raised and
streaming, he ran into the house, crying:
Get some rum! get some rum! my hand is
OFF, In the confusion and hustle of the oc-
casion a bowl of rum was brought, into
which he plunged the bleeding member of
his body, then raising the bowl to his mouth,
drank freely, and eXultingly exclaimed:
Now am satisfied ~ Yet there is no doubt
that the hero of the above exploit might have
gratfied his craving for various other art-
cles of food or drink without a sacrifice of
blood. A soldier with a crust OF bread in his
pocket would not dream of rsking his life
for the pleasure Of buttering that bread. The
experience of daily life would furnish an
abundance of similar cases to illustrate the
fact that no natural appetite is scharacte erized
by the eXclusiveness OF the alcohol passion
DR.. OSlpdld, in the Voice.