Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-04-12

the point where they have fixed
alcoholic decisions. Such men
are those who often conceive I'm
founded jealousies Of their wives.
They claim they never get drunk.
II they do not, they go crazy. 1t
is as much tragedy one way as the
other"
He let the paper knife fall and
folded his hands on the desk be-
fore him.
"And there have been extraor-
binary cases of the loss of memory
for months, for years, forever, as
the result of the use of alcohol. If
it can be lost for a few hours or a
few days, then, naturally, it can
be lost for months or years or
forever. There was one celebrated
case, attested by physicians and
borne. out by competent witnesses.
Shall | tell youf"
please"
can old man who had been a
heavy drinker died. He had been
a notorious character in the small
western town in which he had
lived. His profanity had been of
an unusual, picturesque, amusing
type. His costume high silk
hat, a frock coat and gray trous-
ers-had been a proverb. Also, he
had been very fond of dogs. Three
weeks after he died, a young man
who had been on many sprees
with him got drunk, and, while
standing in a saloon, all of a sud
den broke into a stream of pro-
family that was a duplicate Of the
language the old man had used.
The young man employed the
same infections, the same ges-
lures, all the mannerisms Of the
old man. he declared that he was
the old man, and introduced him
self to everybody as the old man.
Furthermore, he went immediate
ly to a store and bought and put
on a high hat, a frock coat and
gray trousers. When he came back
up the street to the saloon he, had
several dogs following him. Those
are the main features Of that case.
For seven months the young man
was the old man in every detail
and particular. At the end of the
seventh month, as suddenly as the
thing had come upon him, it left
him. He regained his own person
atty. Of course he remembered
nothing Of the seven months dur
ing which he had been the old
man."
Edith was listening eagerly,
her lips half parted, her breath
coming and going very fast.
"Tell me-" she asked, "have
there been many such cases7"
+" A great many. And, as I said,
there have been, oh, so many,
where the memory left for years
OR for life"
And the remedy2"
MANY can be tried"
And they are not effective
always?''
Mot always"
She grew slowly erect and
leaned toward him, as a fower.is
moved by the wind.
NBut sometimes?"
eyes" he said, the tenderness
mighty in his voice sometimes"
what do you do?"
I'VE talk to the patient, sug-
gest things to him-ideas, words,
places, anything, over and over
again, hour after hour, day after
day. It is with the hope that the
association of ideas will bring re-
sults-that one thing may suggest
another until, like an endless
chain, the words will grow into an
idea that will awaken memory
"And if that fails7"
There is one other hope: The
victim may be cured by acci-
dent That is, for no reason that
is apparent the memory power
may come back. Or it may be
brought back by a shock Of great
Joy or great grief. Those are
things we have not yet been able
Ito explain. But they happen
sometimes.
She drew her underlip between
her teeth and looked at him out
of wide eyes.
And alcohol does these things
to men?" she breathed.
Vetter nodded a little grimly.
These things, and many
others, he assented. 1T destroys
memories, minds, bodies, souls"
He turned half from her again
and looked out to the park. She
waited for him to speak. When he
looked at her again, his eyes ques-
toned her.
-. ~ - nSSNSS& H%&S 49, sTSsn4s SEISA go, Is