Telegram-herald., 1891-02-01

O&4os - Re*0s
| "Yea may BET know that my hese<-
ting ssn % drink, bat It's . fact Il i
he ens great shadov ! have 70 guard
against. yet never betrayed . trust or
neglected . duty While sader TIE Ia
naenes Of liquor"
| fhs above and what follows. WAS told
| 10 ne by . nan highly educated, fnll
Of religious feeling. and talented, and
the conversation sas brought on b
seeing the patrol wasoa take . poor
besotted wretch 10 the bFideweil, and
BY my statement that never drank =
drop. why 90 DRINK Well. the
reason viii be As surprising 70 VOC as
| the fact that a man who knows as well
as | do tie evil rssalt OF the hablt
should have such folly to fght w.th. |
| drink. not because | become despond
eat, Or blue a they term Il. bat hecause
arr naturally high spirited and elsIed
with pfospF rity when q comes nay way.
| wear out and suddenly sink 10 tie
very dephs OF a hell of dependency
and liquor elates ana dracs me up 10
enjoy IT, The awakening. emphAuesiy
no, while under the lntinence-well
II IS hard 10 say what my feelings axe.
10 start out with = determination TO
become intoxratedy Mo; l think
not. The only drias | really enjoy Is
the iirst and, Strange 10 say, that after
| have go lar succnmbed To the mend
as TO take the first drink, Il seems 10
warp my Judgment into convincing me
that another won't hurt me, and an
other. AMI so on, until l reach state
OF elatlon, followed by-well, il de-
ponds on circumstancss-fury, anger,
love, hatred, dispalr, joy,ality, uneon-
sciousness and remorse. Yes, the re-
morse of q man of my education and
training is q fearful thing To contem-
plate, aud II is my great safeguard"
pass on a block and run into the
arms of a reporter IN the third stage OF
liquified hilarity. "Hello, ole boy.
(hic) 'ow're. any-wt hlclay," twining
himself around my shoulders and low
ingly putting his face near mine, blow
ing q breath composed OF a horrible
mixture OF gin, beer, cheap whisky,
and cheaper cigars into my shrinking
nostrlls, he conhded to me the fact in
maudlin manner that newsman's
life OF seven days grind was dead
tuif," and one had to have some enter
tainment once IN n while. which, ac-
cording TO his Interpretation, meant get
ting outside of "A three dollar Jag"
and losing several days brushing the
"cobwebs OH has mind"
The two extremes: One, educated
really religious, knowing he has q
irightful demon to struggle with, who,
by subtle arguments, leads hlm on 10
do that which he knows he ought rot
do, and leaves him to heart-rending
struggle with his remol se-stricken
conscience, said struggle being his only
safe guard, or rather his only hope 10
prevent re-occurrence of the event
which may some day land him behind
the bars as q criminal for some act
committed when not IN his right mind,
and the other:
"Gets on q toot" just because his
overstrung nerves play out Of harmony
and IN his ignorant folly he does that
which some other ignorant chap has
told him will "drlve away dull care"
and gets drunk. Remorse?
Well, l apprehend all the remorse he
has is, that he has q horrible taste in
his mouth, his hat weighs a pound or
two and his money is gone till next pay
night.
We can understand mans mind
giving way under the STRAIN of financial
or physical affection so far as to warp
his good Judgment and lead him into
paths of periodic or even hahitual in
toxicatiOn, but a man who deliberately
commits the insane folly of running
health, purse, moral and social stand
ing by getting drunk for "fun," or the
man who becomes so elated with sue
cess of any description as to get into a
state of ecstasy requiring stimulants to
tone him down, are almost beyond ordi-
nary comprehension, especially where
in both cases they are well enough edu-
Gated to know better. The human
mind and all humanity, in fact, are
queer things and wise was Socrates, in
deed, when he said Gnothi Seanton,
"know myself"
JESSE LANCE.