Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-05-09
SOME raroRTrE poTsoys.
Substitutes For Alcohol which Chez,
InebriHte and Ruin.

! Drunkenness Is now known by all
| scientists to be disease, That ie to
say, the brains Of certain Individuals
are so constituted that at times the
desire for some form Of intoxicant Is as
overpowering as the craving for food Of
starving man.
Unfortunately, there are moro ways
than one of getting drunk. Spirits and
beer have played great havoc, but the
substitutes that are being used now by
hundreds OF thousands OF people re fai
woise.
Eau de cologne has boon moro or less
used for many yehrs. But Of late years
the quantities sold by chemists are
enormous. Chemists who supply rich
customers will tell you that fashionable
! ladies buy an amount oil eau de cologne
| that they could not possibly uss for
toilet purposes.
Tbs novice, who, by the way. would
brandy neat, usually begins with i've
or six drops Of eau de cologne taken ON
piece OF sugar. 1t gives glow 10
the cheeks ard sparkle to the eye,
And when woman iH weary after a
dance it is delightfully."- stimulating.
From six drops the dose increases to l..
BY and by 81 or 10 drops are taken in
water. And when we'll into the habit
women drink it by the spoonful.
Of course 1t RUNS the health, for the
lining of the stomach Is quickly ruined,
sleer.essness follows, and after While
meisncholia sets in. England and tho
United States are the leading countries
in emu de cologne tipEling.
Essence Of lavtpdet Is also becoming
much-ueod intoxicant 1t Is quite
common for man 10 walk into
chemists and drink q couple Of drains.
or even an ounce, of this still moro
destructive liquor. Az 10 ounce OF
essence Of lavender is equal to about
ninepenoe worth OF publichouse whisky,
1t eau be realized how dangerous the
practice 10.
Pretty similar to these two intoxi-
cants Is essence Of ginger. But the
ginger is even more harmful. Essence
of ginger is "a degrees over proof, or
about twice as strong al good whisky.
! II 10 quite surprising what lot OF
people drink ginger on the ely. An
allie London barrister never goes to
court without nottle OF it. Clergy
men take It, Literary men take It.
Business men take it. But the greatest
consumers are women.
Usually these people begin by taking
drops for Painful sensations in the
stomach. Then they often get up to q
pint day, and numerous chemists
customers buy essence of ginger by the
gallon.
Capsicum drinking Is one Of the
newest forms of indulgence Tincture
OF oapsioum is very valuable medicine
when properly used. hut il consumed
to excess 1T destroys the body. And
the liking some people get for ID is
extraordinary. An army officer VINO
began taking oapsioum as a ielief for
chilly sensation became SO addicted to
its use that he could take no fluid
without it. He put it in tea, coffee,
beer, and even soup. The consequence
was that from being a happy, CHEEKY
man he became gloomy and melancholy,
and in a twelvemonth he Cooked 20
years older.
Quite different from the foregoing
are ether and chloroform. These ter
rible drugs are used by an immense
number of persons. Men whom you
meet in business ard whom YOU would
never suspect OF giving way to the
worst Of all forms of intoxication go
to sleep every night under the influence
of ether or chloioform.
Chloroform is really not very dis
similar 10 alcohol. Ii Is, in fact, made
from alcohol, and it first excltes and
then stupeties, precisely like alcohol.
In one way IL Is not 30 injurious, for it
does not injure the substance of the
liver and other organs nearly SO much.
But it kills, all the same.
Some. people drink ohlorofoi m, others
inhale il.
The habit is startlingly common in
England, medical men being the most
numerous victims. DR.. Kerr says that
he has found il consumed mostly by
males, mostly by doctors, and mostly
by men between the ages OF 40 and SO.
After the horrible experience Of in
haling the dose there follows perfectly
delicious Inconsistencies OF all dis.
comfort and oil things external to ones
self. BEAUTIFUL visions are seen. One
experiences all the happiness We con-
oeive to exist in heaven. But this
state Ia very transient. Soon there iH
n most unpleasant awakening And
until the next dose is taken existence
is perfect misery. Then ruin progresses
very swiftly. Nausen becomes constant,
dyspepsia Of a severe form comes on,
with hatred OF food. There is an ever
present burning Thirst, horrid pain
In 1.-The heart. The victim becomes
nervous, languid, drowsy, thin, cold,
haggard, worn and utterly hopeless.
He has an hour or two of perfect bliss
every day and % hours OF ALMOST In
tulerable misery. s
The quantity Of chloroform used by
these accustomed to it Is astonishing.
One woman was known to have bought
a pint Of il every day, poured it on her
blanket and inhaled 1t. Yet q single
teaspoonful sometimes kills strong
man. A.t
Ether is quite like ohloroform in it's
effects. But II you inhale it the action
Is much slower, while II you drink it
the action is quicker than thar OF
chloroform. At first IL IS most T.
hilarating. Mixed with whisky it ex-
cites men almost to madness 1t is not
SO dangerous to life as cbloroform,
Hence 1t is more commonly used. 1t
takes terrible hold of the consumer,
and many people get drunk on 1t several
times a day. After time it produces
gastritis.
In ireland some years ago the popu-
lation OF an immense district were,
almost every man, woman and child,
ether drunkards. From Ireland the
practice travelled to Glasgow, down to
Lincolnshire and London, and sven
crossed the Atlantic, 1t is not quite
SO extensively used now, but AZ il IL a
cheap way OF getting drunk there is q
progressive increase of the habit.
Collector of the Port.
Inquiry was made at the Office of the COL