Signing away his Liberty. He staggers up to the desk, and, with a countenance in which resolution and the comic leer of intemperance are ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE AMERICAN TEMPERANCE REFORMERS. A HISTORICAL SKETCH. "WHAT WILL YOU TAKE TO DRINK?" united to a significant toss of the head, and an unmistakable angular glance from the eye toward well filled decanters; was a question and an action of almost universal occurrence in every house in our land, within the memory of many whose heads have not even yet become gray. And then came the step up to the sideboard; the passing of the sugarbowl and the water pitcher; the cranch and the whirl of the toddy stick in the tumbler; the decanting of the stimulant; the pause of anticipation as the glass was held momentarily in the hand; succeeded by the raising of the same to the lips, with the usual accompaniments of crooked elbow, thrown back head, open mouth-all ending by the final smack of satisfaction, as the empty goblet was laid down to make its moist, round mark on the tray. The imbibing of alcoholic liquids was then general among the American people. They were considered a necessity of life; a certain panacea for all ills; a crowning sheaf to all blessings: good in sickness and in health; good in summer to dispel the heat, and in winter to dispel the cold; good to help on work, and more than good to help on a frolic. So good were they considered that their attributed merits were fixed by pleasant names. The first dram of the morning was an "eye-opener;" duly followed by the "eleven o'clocker," and the "four o'clocker;" while the very last was a "night-cap;" after which as one laid himself in sheets, he was supposed to drink no more that day, unless, indeed, he was unexpectedly called up at night, when, of course, he prudently fortified himself against taking cold. Don't imagine that these were all the drinks of the day-by no means. The decanter stood ready at all times on the sideboard; if a friend had called, he had been welcomed by "the social glass;" if one had departed, a pleasant journey was tendered in "a flowing bumper" if a bargain had been made, it was rounded by a liquid “clincher;" if a wedding had come off, "a long and prosperous life" was drank to the happy pair; if a funeral had ensued, then alcoholic mixtures were a source of "consolation in affliction." Drinking all the way from the cradle to the grave, seemed the grand rule. Dinah, the black nurse, as she swaddled the new-born infant, took her dram; and Uncle Bob, the aged gray-haired sexton, with the weak and watery eyes, and bent, rheumatic body, soon as he had thrown the last spade full of earth upon the little mound over the remains of a fellowmortal, turned to the neighboring bush, on which hung his green baize jacket, for a swig at the bottle; after which he gathered up his tools, and slowly, and painfully hobbled homeward, to attend to his duties to the living. Everybody, even Congressmen, drank; and, what is queer, no one can fix the precise date at which they left off. The deacon drank, and it is said the parson, that good old man, after finishing a round of social visits, not unfrequently returned to his own dwelling, so "mellowed" by the soothing influences of the "cordial" welcomes of his parishioners, as to really feel that this was not such a very bad world after all. Before we enter upon the subject of this article, we wish to preface it with a few facts upon Alcohol. Alcohol, as extracted from fermented liquor, was unknown to the world until about the year 1000. When this process was first accomplished in Arabia, no person knew what this product of distillation was; nor was there any language that had for it even a name. They however called it Alcohol; and that is now the chemical name in every country. This word had previously been used in Arabia as the name of a fine powder, which the ladies used to give a brilliance to their complexions. Alcohol was soon ascertained to be a poison, and no one then thought of using it as a drink. About the year 1230, it began to be used in the south of Europe, as a medicine, and from thence, its use gradually extended, for that purpose, over various parts of the civilized world. Judging from its immediate effects, it was thought to increase life; and was denominated aqua vitæ, water of life. Theoricus, not long after, wrote a treatise upon its wonderful curative power; in which he says, "It sloweth age, it strengtheneth youth, it helpeth digestion, it cutteth flegme, it abandoneth melancholie, it relisheth the heart, it lighteneth the mind, it quickeneth the spirits, it cureth the hydropsia, it healeth the strangurie, it pounceth the stone, it expelleth gravell, it puffeth away ventositie, it keepeth and preserveth the head from whirling, the eyes from dazzling, the tong from lisping, the mouth from snaffling, the teeth from chattering, and the throat from rattling; it keepeth the weasan from stiffling, the stomach from wambling, and the heart from swelling; it keepeth the hands from shivering, the sinews from shrinking, the veins from crumbling, the bones from aching, and the marrow from soaking." Such were supposed to be its wonderful virtues; and many began to think they could not live without it. Ulstadius, another writer, ascribes to it this most singular praise; he says, "It will burn, being kindled." And this he considers as demonstrative of its peculiar excellence. It was not therefore strange, with such views of its power as a medicine, that men should begin to conclude that it must also do good in health, especially when they were peculiarly exposed, and under severe labor; nor that they should introduce the use of it for the purpose of preventing, as well as curing discases. This was the case, particularly in the mines in Hungary; and afterward, in 1581, it was introduced by the English as a kind of cordial for their soldiers, while engaged in war in the Netherlands, and finally spread, as a common beverage, among all nations. No nation ever adopted its use without its producing an untold amount of crime and woe, more fatal than the most malignant pestilence; yet, unti within a brief period, men were blind to the evil, and constantly, everywhere, increased its use, under the idea that they were promoting their own benefit. Some of the reasons for this delusion, and the causes why the quantity used was continually increasing, are given by an intelligent writer. "Such is the nature of alcohol, that its first effect on the human system is a quickening of action; animation, excitement. This, by a fundamental law of our nature is a source of pleasure. This present pleasure, men mistake for real good. It also arouses for a moment the reserved and dormant energies of the system, which are not needed, and were not designed for ordinary healthful action, but were intended for special emergencies; and which cannot be drawn out and used, on ordinary occasions, without necessarily shortening human life. This awakening of dormant energy, men mistake for an increase of real, permanent strength. The system, by this poison, having been over-excited, becomes deranged; and having been over-worked, without any new strength communicated, it is of course weakened, and therefore soon flags; becomes tired, and is exhausted. Now, according to another fundamental law, there is pain, languor, and inexpressible uneasiness spread through the system, as suffering nature under the awful abuse which has been practiced upon her, cries out for help. A man cannot thus chafe, irritate, and exhaust his system, and not afterward feel uneasiness, any more than he can put his hand into the fire and not feel pain. He violates a natural law, and must find the way of transgressors to be hard. Hence arise two motives to drink again. One is, to obtain the past pleasure, and the other is to remove the present pain. But as the system is unstrung and partly worn out, and is also lower down than it was before, the same quantity will not, the next time, raise it up so high; or cause the wearied organs to cve so briskly. Of course it will not fully answer the purpose; will not give so much present pleasure, or produce so much effect as before. Hence the motive to increase the quantity; and for the same reason, in future, to increase it more, and still more. As every repetition increases the difficulty, and also throws new obstacles in the way of its removal, the temptation to increase the quantity, grows stronger and stronger. The natural life of the system constantly diminishes, and of course, in order to seem to live, what there is, must be more and more highly roused, till, in one half, one quarter, or one eighth of the proper time, the whole is exhausted, and the man sinks prematurely to the grave. There is another principle which tends also strongly to the same result. The more any man partakes of this unnatural pleasure which alcohol occasions, the less susceptible he becomes of the natural and innocent pleasures, occasioned by the use of nourishing food and drink; by the view and contemplation of the works of creation and providence by the exercise of the social affections, and the discharge of the various duties of life. From the above, it is evident that the deranged and exhausted state of the system, from which the uneasiness, when not under the excitement o alcohol, springs, and which causes the hankering or thirst after the poison, is not a natural state; nor is that appetite a natural appetite. Such are some of the reasons why men who begin to drink alcohol, and receive from it nothing but injury, nevertheless, not only continue to drink |