The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-12-26

(Now Orleans Times-D smoorat.l
!" see that the French government IL
making an effort to suppress the manu-
fsctnre OF Absinths," remarked New
Orleans physician, "and that the medical
corps of.the army has made some very
alarming reports as to the effect Of the
stun on the rank and tile OF the troous.
A similar movement was stAyted In 1880
or thereabouts, ana, IL 1 remember right
ly an order was issued forbidding the sale
OF the cordisl to any soldier. The subject
was discussed at length In tine papers at
the time, but the dealers brought their
influence to bear and the crusade was
ultimately abandoned.
"Absinthe is o strange tlpple," he con-
tinued. land the evidence rs TO It's effects
Is singularly contradictory. some
people drink it all their lives and appar.
entity suffer no bad results, while Others
are reduced to horrible mental anu
physical wrecks by not half as great an
indulgence. More absinthe rs consumed
IN New Orleans than in any other city OF
the United states, and In years past l
have made the habit something OF
study, hoping to discover the exact toxic
properties OF the preparation ana some
1 can't say, however, that was particu.
larry successful. The liqusur is simply
q distlllation OF NORWOOD, known botan
ically as sArtemisa Absinthium-ht nee
the name, absinthe. NORWOOD ITSELF 10
used to some extent as medicins, anu
huid extract made from the leaves ana
tops is regarded as a good tonic IN cases
OF dyspepsia. The extract has some very
slight N Arootio prosrties, but the distilia-
tion seems TO develop nav ana power
full Bgtnt which, IN certain cases, ats
directly en- the BRAN ana great nerve
OF ntres and stimulates them to en- extra
ordinary degree. Tha ultimate effect is
a brs akinz down OF the system, loss Of
memory, inability to articulate, halluci-
nations ami something reese milling palsy.
"Ons absinshs wreck whom l treated
for Ievsral months had strange lapses In
which he would forget his own identity
AMI be unable to find his way home An
other patient was continually using the
wrong words, like man with ephasia.
Ons day he walked into the Office and
said: Doctor, i have run ont OF refer
entail Hs meant to say he had run out
OF medicine, but was absolutely unable
to do 10, ana TO this day 1 never hear tie
word 'referential' without thinking of
him. But as / said before, it all depends
on the individual Some are naturally
immune to the poison and Others are abb
normally sensitive to it. Then, again,
the sym ptoms tdiffer widely, SO widely
that 1t would be impossible to diagnose
a case without knowing something OF It's
histor y. Altogether, the active principle
OF the stuff is q great mystery.
'Hsr in New Orleans absinthe Is gen.
orally drank In combination with anisette
diluted In about six parts OF water.
think the French way OF taking IL Is less
injurious. In Paris the confirm ed alb
sinthe drinker pours about half gill in
the bottom OF largo tumbler and fills 1t
up with water Then, as he sips he adds
more and more water from the carafe
until tho mixture is almost TRANSPARENT.
One glass will occupy him at least an
hour, and he rarely takes a second