Part 7 (2/2)
And here let us say that in this matter of an inherited appet.i.te there is a difference of views with some who believe that appet.i.te is never transmitted but always acquired. This difference of view is more apparent than real. It is not the drunkard's appet.i.te that is transmitted, but the bias or proclivity which renders the subject of such an inherited tendency more susceptible to exciting causes, and therefore in greater danger from the use of alcoholic drinks than others.
Dr. N.S. Davis, in an article in the _Was.h.i.+ngtonian_, published at Chicago, presents the opposite view of the case. The following extract from this article is well worthy to be read and considered:
”If we should say that man is so const.i.tuted that he is capable of feeling weary, restless, despondent and anxious, and that he instinctively desires to be relieved of these unpleasant feelings, we should a.s.sert a self-evident fact. And we should thereby a.s.sert all the instincts or natural impulse there is in the matter. It is simply a desire to be relieved from unpleasant feelings, and does not, in the slightest degree, indicate or suggest any particular remedy. It no more actually suggests the idea of alcohol or opium than it does bread and water. But if, by accident, or by the experience of others, the individual has learned that his unpleasant feelings can be relieved, for the time being, by alcohol, opium or any other exhilarant, he not only uses the remedy himself, but perpetuates a knowledge of the same to others. It is in this way, and this only, that most of the nations and tribes of our race, have, much to their detriment, found a knowledge of some kind of intoxicant. The same explanation is applicable to the supposed 'const.i.tutional susceptibility,' as a primary cause of intemperance. That some persons inherit a greater degree of nervous and organic susceptibility than others, and are, in consequence of this greater susceptibility, more readily affected by a given quant.i.ty of narcotic, anaesthetic or intoxicant, is undoubtedly true. And that such will
”MORE READILY BECOME DRUNKARDS,
”if they once commence to use intoxicating drinks, is also true. But that such persons, or any others, have the slightest inherent or const.i.tutional taste or any longing for intoxicants, until they have acquired such taste or longing by actual use, we find no reliable proof.
It is true that statistics appear to show that a larger proportion of the children of drunkards become themselves drunkards, than of children born of total abstainers. And hence the conclusion has been drawn that such children INHERITED the const.i.tutional tendency to inebriation. But before we are justified in adopting such a conclusion, several other important facts must be ascertained.
”1st. We must know whether the mother, while nursing, used more or less constantly some kind of alcoholic beverage, by which the alcohol might have impregnated the milk in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and thereby made its early impression on the tastes and longings of the child.
”2d. We must know whether the intemperate parents were in the habit of frequently giving alcoholic preparations to the children, either to relieve temporary ailments, or for the same reason that they drank it themselves. I am constrained to say, that from my own observation, extending over a period of forty years, and a field by no means limited, I am satisfied that nineteen out of every twenty persons who have been regarded as HEREDITARY inebriates have simply ACQUIRED the disposition to drink by one or both of the methods just mentioned, after birth.”
The views here presented in no way lessen but really heighten the perils of moderate drinking. It is affirmed that some persons inherit a greater degree of nervous and organic susceptibility than others, and are, in consequence, more readily affected by a given quant.i.ty of narcotic, anaesthetic or intoxicant; _and that such ”will more readily become drunkards if they commence to use intoxicating drinks.”_
Be the cause of this
INHERITED NERVOUS SUSCEPTIBILITY
what it may, and it is far more general than is to be inferred from the admission just quoted, the fact stands forth as a solemn warning of the peril every man encounters in even the most moderate use of alcohol.
Speaking of this matter, Dr. George M. Beard, who is not as sound on the liquor question as we could wish, says, in an article on the ”Causes of the Recent Increase of Inebriety in America:” ”As a means of prevention, abstinence from the _habit_ of drinking is to be enforced. Such abstinence may not have been necessary for our fathers, but it is rendered necessary for a large body of the American people on account of our greater nervous susceptibility. It is possible to drink without being an habitual drinker, as it is possible to take chloral or opium without forming the habit of taking these substances. In certain countries and climates where the nervous system is strong and the temperature more equable than with us, in what I sometimes call the temperate belt of the world, including Spain, Italy, Southern France, Syria and Persia, the habitual use of wine rarely leads to drunkenness, and never, or almost never, to inebriety; but in the intemperate belt, where we live, and which includes Northern Europe and the United States, with a cold and violently changeable climate, the habit of drinking either wines or stronger liquors is liable to develop in some cases a habit of intemperance. Notably in our country, where nervous sensitiveness is seen in its extreme manifestations, the majority of brain-workers are not safe so long as they are in the habit of even moderate drinking. I admit that this was not the case one hundred years ago--and the reasons I have already given--it is not the case to-day in Continental Europe; even in England it is not so markedly the case as in the northern part of the United States. _For those individuals who inherit a tendency to inebriety, the only safe course is absolute abstinence, especially in early life._”
In the same article, Dr. Baird remarks: ”The number of those in this country who cannot bear tea, coffee or alcoholic liquors of any kind, is very large. There are many, especially in the Northern States, who must forego coffee entirely, and use tea only with caution; either, in any excess, cause trembling nerves and sleepless nights. The susceptibility to alcohol is so marked, with many persons, that no pledges, and no medical advice, and no moral or legal influences are needed to keep them in the paths of temperance. _Such persons are warned by flus.h.i.+ng of the face, or by headache, that alcohol, whatever it may be to others, or whatever it may have been to their ancestors, is poison to them._”
But, in order to give a higher emphasis to precepts, admonition and medical testimony, we offer a single example of the enslaving power of appet.i.te, when, to a predisposing hereditary tendency, the excitement of indulgence has been added. The facts of this case were communicated to us by a professional gentleman connected with one of our largest inebriate asylums, and we give them almost in his very words in which they were related.
A REMARKABLE CASE.
A clever, but dissipated actor married clandestinely a farmer's daughter in the State of New York. The parents of the girl would not recognize him as the husband of their child; rejecting him so utterly that he finally left the neighborhood. A son born of this marriage gave early evidence of great mental activity, and was regarded, in the college where he graduated, as almost a prodigy of learning. He carried off many prizes, and distinguished himself as a brilliant orator. Afterwards he went to Princeton and studied for the ministry. While there, it was discovered that he was secretly drinking. The faculty did everything in their power to help and restrain him; and his co-operation with them was earnest as to purpose, but not permanently availing. The nervous susceptibility inherited from his father responded with a morbid quickness to every exciting cause, and the moment wine or spirits touched the sense of smell or taste, he was seized with an almost irresistible desire to drink to excess, and too often yielded to its demands. For months he would abstain entirely; and then drink to intoxication in secret.
After graduating from Princeton he became pastor of a church in one of the largest cities of Western New York, where he remained for two years, distinguis.h.i.+ng himself for his earnest work and fervid eloquence. But the appet.i.te he had formed was imperious in its demands, and periodically became so strong that he lost the power of resistance. When these periodic a.s.saults of appet.i.te came, he would
LOCK HIMSELF IN HIS ROOM FOR DAYS
and satiate the fierce thirst, coming out sick and exhausted. It was impossible to conceal from his congregation the dreadful habit into which he had fallen, and ere two years had elapsed he was dismissed for drunkenness. He then went to one of the chief cities of the West, where he received a call, and was, for a time, distinguished as a preacher; but again he fell into disgrace and had to leave his charge. Two other churches called him to fill the office of pastor, but the same sad defections from sobriety followed. For a considerable time after this his friends lost sight of him. Then he was found in the streets of New York City by the president of the college from which he had first graduated, wretched and debased from drink, coatless and hatless. His old friend took him to a hotel, and then brought his case to the notice of the people at a prayer-meeting held in the evening at one of the churches. His case was immediately taken in hand and money raised to send him to the State Inebriate Asylum. After he had remained there for a year, he began to preach as a supply in a church a few miles distant, going on Sat.u.r.day evening and returning on Monday morning; but always having an attendant with him, not daring to trust himself alone. This went on for nearly a whole year, when a revival sprang up in the church, which he conducted with great eloquence and fervor. After the second week of this new excitement, he began to lock himself up in his room after returning from the service, and could not be seen until the next morning. In the third week of the revival, the excitement of the meetings grew intense. After this he was only seen in the pulpit, where his air and manner were wild and thrilling. His friends at the asylum knew that he must be drinking, and while hesitating as to their wisest course, waited anxiously for the result. One day he was grandly eloquent. Such power in the pulpit had never been witnessed there before--his appeals were unequalled; but so wild and impa.s.sioned that some began to fear for his reason. At the close of this day's services, the chaplain of the inst.i.tution of which he was an inmate, returned with him to the asylum, and on the way, told him frankly that he was deceiving the people--that his eloquent appeals came not from the power of the Holy Spirit, but from the excitement of drink; and that all farther conduct of the meetings must be left in other hands. On reaching the asylum he retired, greatly agitated, and soon after died from a stroke of apoplexy. In his room many empty bottles, which had contained brandy, were found; but the people outside remained in ignorance of the true cause of the marvelous eloquence which had so charmed and moved them.
We have already extended this chapter beyond the limit at first proposed. Our object has not only been to show the thoughtful and intelligent reader who uses alcoholic beverages, the great peril in which he stands, but to make apparent to every one, how insidious is the growth and how terrible the power of this appet.i.te for intoxicants; an appet.i.te which, if once established, is almost sure to rob its victim of honor, pity, tenderness and love; an appet.i.te, whose indulgence too often transforms the man into a selfish demon. Think of it, all ye who dally with the treacherous cup; are not the risks you are running too great? Nay, considering your duties and your obligations, have you any right to run these risks?
And now that we have shown the curse of strong drink, let us see what agencies are at work in the abatement, prevention and cure of a disease that is undermining the health of whole nations, shortening the natural term of human life, and in our own country alone, sending over sixty thousand men and women annually into untimely graves.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Satan sends his trusted servants, Alcohol and Gambling, out upon a mission.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Alcohol meets a bright young man and cultivates his acquaintance.]
<script>