The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-07-13
The ABSlNTHE FIEND.
WHAT he is AND WHAT FRANCE
is DOING FOR HIM.

Result Of the Wave Of Purltan'sm
That Has Touched the Whole OF
viIFxation-NationaI Peril Upon
Which War is About to Be Declared.
Persistent rumor credits the French
government with an intention % aoale
the absinthe evil, and certainly much
may be expected from an admlnlstra-
ton that has had the hardwood 10
attack the casinos and to penailze
gambling. writes the Paris correspon-
dent of the San Francisco Argonaut.
France is participating. in a french
way. in the wave of Puritanlsm that
has touched the whole of clvlIlzatlOn.
It is always delight to her to "regu-
larize" something, and when the some
thing is q domestic evil, then duty
and inclination go amicably hand III
hand.
So far the absinthe drinkers are
not seriously perturbed. The green
devil' is just as much IN evidence
as ever it was, and the cafes are
roaming their usual harvest from its
deyotees, The absinthe drinker at
tracts more attention from the TO-
reigner who is visiting Paris for the
first time than perhaps any other 1ea-
ture of French life. In tine weather
he found outside the cafe at one VI
the little marble tables upon the SIDE
walk. and in wet or cold weather ne
is to be found inside the cafe, but
nothing keeps him away altogether,
nor ever will, except restitution or
death. He gives his order, unless he
is an habitue at that particular cafe,
IN which case his order is anticipated
and the waiter brings the tall absinthe
glass. with it's inch or two or nearly
colorless liquor, the two pieces OF
/ sugar. the curious perforated absinthe
spoon, and the bottle of water. me
| spoon is placed bridge-like across the
J TOP of the glass, a piece OF sugar IS
placed in its bowl and the requisite
/ quantity of water is then poured on
/ the sugar so that it may percolate
| through the perforations in the spoon
and SO convey the sweetness to the
alcohol below. But the fascinating
miracle of the proceeding is in the
shimmering green tint that at once
results from the mixture Of the absln-
the and the water, green that at
first is exquisitely bright and transpar-
ent, but that speedily becomes dali
and cloudy, symbolic, we may be-
lieve Of the drinker. Wherever there
is a cafe in Paris, there the abSlnthe
drinker is to be found. He has neither
times nor seasons. He drinks before
meals as an appetizer, after meals as
a digestive, and between meals upon
general principles. After time the
meals become superfluous, but the ap-
petIzers and the digestives still hold
the fort.
Bat it must not be supposed that
the absinthe drinker is necessarily the
absinthe fiend. Absinthe worship is
nearly universal among certain
classes, but complete surrender to its
seductions is by no means the rule.
Worthy citizens, peres de famille, and
honest householders indulge in their
petits verres, and even urSe them
upon their seemingly reluctant wo-
mankind, but habit is shackled by re-
straint, and it would be mistake to
suppose that regular absinthe drink
ing is necessarily an offense either
against the individual or against so
ciety But the army of absinthe
fiends, Of those VINO have reached the
stage of utter abandon. is upon the
increase, and the camp followers upon
that army are violent crimes, suicides
and a moral degradation without its
parallel. It is this that has been
recognized by the government as a
national peril and against which it is
about to declare war.
1t will not be Temperance legisla
ton of the ordinary land approved
kind, because absinthe stands alone
and apart among all other alcoholic
drinks. There is nothing like it upon
the catalogue for the insidiousness Of
its attack, for the manner Of its work
ing, or the utter impotence of its vic
tim. The whisky drunkard has sinned
against the light, and warnings have
attended every step upon the down
ward path. The whisky habit mus
be acquired against the revolt Of ma
ture, but nature seems to make nc
preliminary revolt against absinthe
There is usually no next morning
no enforced and salutary repentance
Absinthe is the green devil tina
drives away the blue devil, tha
leaves the brain in a state Of de
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