62
ALCOHOLIC POISON,
frequent incident of old age, even in those wh
are not spirit drinkers, and is especially liahl to
occur in the small arteries of the brain The .
of a voto! not only facilitates this morbid roc.
ss, but adds to the dane ich i
present with it under iy vorsh
cumstances. When the arteries are thus weak.
ened, a little extra supply of blood in the bro
a “rush of blood to the head” will often oc.
sion rupture of some one of them, and apo lox,
with paralysis or immediate death is the result,
Alcohol, even in very small quantity produces
congestion of the brain, and thus renders an ag a
person doubly liable to death from apoplex *
Are we not justified, then, in the ion th t
alcohol is not only less desirable for the old th .
for the young, but is far more dangerous ? -
19. Alcohol Drives away Dull Care
It will not be disputed that alcohol will dissi
pate caves, and pains, and sorrows. It makes
: poor, homeless friendless, poverty-stricken
‘etch feel as rich as a kine
doomed murderer forget that he on ne
into eternity from the gallows, It mak the
fallen outcast from society forget her shame, In
short, it makes the user momentaxi] oblivi ;
to all that is unpleasant in life, yore
But the release thus obtained is on] for
moment, and it is inevitably succeeded b -
turn of the same old burden, rendered ome all
THE DRUNKARD'S ARGUMENTS, 63
ing and onerous by the stings of conscience and
the goadings of remorse.
When a man’s brain is so benumbed that he
does not know his real condition, and loses sight
of the realities of life, he is likewise incapable of
appreciating any of those higher experiences and
sentiments which constitute the highest enjoy-
ments, the true realities of life. Only gross and
sensual pleasures can be experienced when the
mind is befogged by alcohol.
920. Alcohol Inereases Mental Power.
Thousands of editors, lawyers, students, au-
thors, and even clergymen, keep beside their mid-
night lamps a bottle of wine or brandy, and con-
sider one as indispensable as the other. They
imagine that with the frequent drams they quaff
from that green bottle, they imbibe an increase
of mental vigor. Thousands of lecturers, orators,
and ministers, sip a glass of sparkling poison just
before they step upon the platform. The first
_ imagines that alcohol 1s necessary to enliven his
energies and sharpen his memory. The second
relies upon alcohol to burnish his eloquence. The
third depends upon the poisonous beverage to
quicken his pious zeal, intensify his fervor, and
lend him inspiration for the duties of his office.
We might justly dwell upon the absurdity of
such practices, and well question the efficiency of
a gospel shrouded with the fumes of alcohol; but
we will only quote the words of Dr. James Ed-