Uealtli Tract, Ho. lO.
Alcoholic Poison,
Young man, do you drink ? If so, stop a mo-ment and listen to a few facts. We will give you facts, not mere theories, scientific facts. We are not going to preach a sermon to you, we merely wish to have a little friendly chat; and we promise to be perfectly fair and candid, hop-ing you will consider thoughtfully and carefully the facts which we present.
Old man, do you drink? You need notan-swer, for your blooming nose, and trembling hands, and bloodshot eyes have already answered for you. They advertise you as a drunkard wherever you go. Everybody knows it, and you need not be offended because we have told you a notorious truth. Have the kindness to pause a moment, won’t you. You need not be in such a hurry to imbibe another glass of liquid fire. You have already drank your hogshead of the devilish stuff, and you have but a few more drams to drink; so you had better be moderate. We are going to talk a little to this young man, a neigh-bor of yours, about “ Alcoholic Poison,” and we want to use you for illustration. In the mean-time, if you stay, perhaps you may learn a fact
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or two yourself, if your brain has not become too hard to receive the impress of an idea.
Alcohol Is a Deadly Poison.
A gill of the pure article will kill a man as
Sick as a bullet through his brain. Do you say at no one drinks it pure ? Very true, though more than half, of some liquors, is alcohol; and if the quantity of the poison taken is smaller, the work of poisoning will only be more prolonged. Many poisons act slowly, but none the less surely. Alcohol in small doses is one of these.
Alcohol the Result of Decay.
״ But,” you say, “ alcohol is found in wheat and rye and barley; it cannot be so very poisonous.” You are mistaken, sir. The Creator never made alcohol. There is not a vegetable that grows which contains it. Not a single animal, man excepted, ever produced it. It is a product of decay. By means of fermentation, the starch and sugar of grains or fruits is decomposed, alco-hoi and carbon di-oxide (carbonic acid) being pro-duced as the results. The carbon di-oxide escapes as a gas, leaving the alcohol behind as a fluid. Alcohol, the great destroyer, is itself the offspring of destruction.
Alcohol Is a Chemical Agent.
The chemist can make alcohol from the ele-ments themselves, just as he can make iron rust or carbonate of soda. It belongs to the same class of compounds as fusel oil and naphtha. It veiy closely resembles benzine and petroleum in its properties, being, like them, very inflammable. It is most useful to the chemist as a burning fluid.
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ALCOHOL DESTROYS THE. BODY.
Alcohol Destroys the Body.
Alcohol is one of the most destructive agents that can be taken into the body. Placed upon the skin it raises a blister. Held in the mouth a few minutes it occasions an intense degree of irritation, and so deadens the nerves of the tongue that the sense of taste is nearly lost. When it reaches the stomach, it corrodes the mucous mem-brane of that organ, induces inflammation, and occasions the formation of ulcers. When it is ab-sorbed into the blood, it cuts the delicate corpus-cles in pieces as a sausage grinder does a piece of pork. Those which it does not destroy, it renders incapable of service in the body. The ultimate effect of this drug is to injure every fiber of the body, and to shrivel and harden the tissues.
Alcohol Paralyzes the Nerves and Hardens the Brain. 1
When the alcohol in the blood reaches the centers of the nervous system, it paralyzes them just as does chloroform or ether, which are both made from this drug; its effect is the same, only less powerful. A man who is “ dead drunk ” is in essentially the same condition as a man who is insensible under the influence of chloroform. All the tissues are more or less hardened by the use of alcohol, but the brain suffers more than any other organ in this respect. The brain of an old drinker is almost pickled.
End "of a Drunkard’s Career.
Young man, look at this poor old wreck of hu-inanity. He is a specimen of the work of rum. Do you ask for evidence of the truthfulness of the
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statements made concerning the effects of alco-holic poison ? here you find it. Notice his trem-bling hands; they indicate a shattered nervous system. Mark his ruddy nose; its hue is evi-dence of a paralyzed circulation. Every blood-vessel in his body is relaxed, distended, and en-gorged with gr03s and poison-laden blood. Listen to his senseless words; his very brain is paralyzed. Notice his tottering gait, the certain symptom of a fatal malady. Does he enjoy existence ? Can he appreciate the glorious beauties of the natural world, or “ look through nature up to natures God” ? Oh, no; his brutal, gross, be-sotted mind knows only one enjoyment—-drink.
A few more weeks will end his sensual career. A few more sips at the poisonous cup, and he will drink the bitter cup of death; and such a death as he will die ! Among the woful sights that meet the human eye, a drunkard's death surpasses all in horror. No pen can picture half its wretchedness, no tongue describe its awful agony.
In face of facts so plain, can any man dispute the charge that alcoholic liquors are a curse to humanity, poisoning the body and dethroning the mind ?
Young man, reform at once, before both mind and body are alike debased.
Old man, reform, if yet you may, before you sink into the dark oblivion of a drunkard's grave.
For a descriptive lint of temperance and health publications, including bound hooks, tracts, and pamphlets, addrous the publishers of this tract.
HEALTH REFORMER, Battle Creek, Mich.