HISTORY OF SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF HARD DRINKING.

AFTER introducing the want of appetite for food ariſing from the indulgence of drinking ſtrong liquors, I cannot well diſmiſs the ſubject, without adverting more fully to its painful influence upon the conſtitution, which I have obſerved with more anxiety, as the ſufferers are often thoſe of the more delicate part of the female ſex, whoſe habits of intemperance are not unfrequently intro⯑duced by thoſe who ſhould have been the guardians of their health.

THE miſeries entailed by theſe indulgences, differ much as to their progreſs and violence, and even the [2]ſymptoms vary ſo much, as to admit of obvious diſ⯑tinctions.

THE firſt I ſhall notice, as being generally leſs painful, though equally permanent, are the ſymptoms more eſpecial⯑ly attendant on perſons who have, early in life, habituated themſelves to drink freely of wine of various kinds, and from their ſituations in life, undergone a change of climate, as from Europe to the Indies, &c. Punch-drinkers, likewiſe, have been liable to ſimilar complaints. The firſt appear⯑ance of diſeaſe is loſs of appetite, which at length is ſo weakened and vitiated,, that after taking food, before the return of the next meal, a kind of heavy pain of the ſto⯑mach, with a conſtriction of the muſcles of the abdomen, come on, and with a ſlight effort, a ſweetiſh, brackiſh, or acid fluid, is thrown up, and the pain and conſtriction for a ſhort time ſubſide. For ſeveral years in this unhappy ſtate, the patient drags on a life, rendered now and then more ſupportable, either by renewed potations, or exputations, till at length the bodily and mental powers become impaired: the object grows emaciated, the whole body ſhrinks; nei⯑ther ſwelling nor dropſy appear, though the countenance looks ſallow; the region of the liver is not enlarged, and the liver itſelf ſeems leſs than natural: the urine is not very high coloured; the faeces are hard and dark-coloured; the ſtomach will take and retain food, but after receiving it, [3]it is oppreſſed, and feels tightened or contracted in its dimenſions; the patient expreſſes it, as if it were tied by a ſtraight bandage; the ſame ſenſation affects the inteſtines, and the abdomen ſuffers ſuch irregular conſtrictions, as become evident to the external touch, the muſcles being drawn into irregular action, the ſurface of the belly is di⯑verſified with protuberances and cavities: ſometimes the ſpaſmodic ſtrictures run tranſverſely, and raiſe this ſurface like waves of the ſea. The pain continues increaſing to ſuch exceſs, that the miſerable ſufferer is obliged to preſs againſt a table or ſome hard body, to mitigate his diſtreſs, till vomiting brings a reſpite; or he haſtens this operation, by thruſting his finger into the throat; and thus relieves himſelf till the next reception of nouriſhment, when the ſame tragedy is repeated. The matter diſcharged is thin, acrid, ſour, ſweet, or brackiſh. Sometimes, inſtead of conſtipa⯑tion, an occaſional purging enſues, and mitigates the pain, whilſt it ſubdues the conſtitution; and after years of miſery, the victim ſlides into a fatal decay; but long before this, the powers of the mind have been debilitated, and its recol⯑lection and actions impaired.

THE ſecond train of diſtreſsful ſymptoms which I ſhall relate, more generally ſucceed the free uſe of ſpirits, or of wines with the admixture of ſpirits, as Madeira; and eſpe⯑cially [4]where late hours and illicit amours have been ſuperadded.

THE early ſymptoms of complaint are, a pain and oppreſ⯑ſion about the pit of the ſtomach after eating, or diſtenſion from fluids; this pain extends to the breaſt and ſhoulders; there are frequent eructations of wind, which ſeem to burn the throat as they aſcend; theſe ſymptoms, which are uſual in affections of the liver, and particularly in bilious effuſions, are at firſt ſo trivial, as ſeldom to alarm the fears of the patient, or he ſlightly mentions them as ſymptoms of the gout, whilſt he attempts to avert the preſent ſuffering, by indulging more freely in the very cauſe of the miſchief, till repeated fillips of raw ſpirits, or a dilution of the poiſon, render exiſtence miſerable.

THE appetite now totally fails, but an inſatiable thirſt con⯑tinues, and if it be not ſupplied with an exhilarating cordial, the vital ſpirits inſtantly flag, and ſuch horrors take place as are dreadful even to a bye-ſtander; the poor victim is ſo de⯑preſſed, as to fancy a thouſand imaginary evils; he expects momentarily to expire, and ſtarts up ſuddenly from his ſeat; walks wildly about the room; breathes ſhort, and ſeems to ſtruggle for breath; if theſe horrors ſeize him in bed, when waking from ſlumber, he ſprings up like an elaſtic body, with a ſenſe of ſuffocation, and the horrors of fright⯑ful [5]objects around him; at the ſame time the pain of the ſtomach continues and augments; the fight of wholeſome plain food gives diſguſt, inſtead of appetite; drink is his cry; or if hunger is excited, it is after high-ſeaſoned, ſalt, or acrid nouriſhment.

AT this time, if a dropſy, or fatal jaundice, do not terminate exiſtence, the legs ſhrink, are ſwarthy-coloured like the reſt of the body, and ſometimes purple ſpots appear and diſappear for many months; the extremities feel ſore to the touch, and upon ſcratching them, exude blood: the thighs likewiſe ſhrink; but the body, and particularly about the re⯑gion of the liver, enlarges, and the hardneſs of the liver may be frequently traced: the face is nearly copper-coloured, is emaciated, ſometimes with little ſuppurations, which dry and turn ſcaly; the breath ſmells like rotten apples, and the morbus niger, or vomitings of a fluid like that of coffee-grounds, ſnatch the patient from complicated miſery. Some⯑times a purging, or bloody diſcharges, haſten the cata⯑ſtrophe.

THE third train of ſymptoms to be deſcribed, is not con⯑ſined to age or ſex, but is in general more frequently the attendant of the female ſex.

THE perſons liable to the ſymptoms, have been thoſe of [6]delicate habits, who have endeavoured to overcome the nervous debility, by the aid of ſpirits: many of theſe have begun the uſe of theſe poiſons from perſuaſion of their utili⯑ty, rather than from the love of them: the relief, however, being temporary, to keep up their effects, frequent acceſs is had to the ſame deluſion, till at length what was taken by compulſion, gains attachment, and a little drop of brandy, or gin and water, becomes as neceſſary as food; the female ſex, from natural delicacy, acquire this cuſtom by ſlow de⯑grees, and the poiſon being admitted in ſmall doſes, is ſlow in its operations, but not leſs painful in its effects.

THE ſoberer claſs of tradeſmen, alſo, who occaſionally in⯑dulge in their ſixpenny-worth of brandy and water, gradually ſlide into the ſame unhappy habits, and entail upon their conſtitutions the ſame miſery, which I ſhall now introduce.

THE firſt appearance of indiſpoſition very much reſembles what has been laſt deſcribed; and under the deception of the gout, the fuel is heaped upon the fire, till the deluſion has been too long maintained to admit of retreat: in general, at leaſt, the attachment to the uſe of ſpirituous drinks, be⯑comes ſo predominant, that neither threats nor perſuaſions are powerful enough to overcome it. The miſerable ſufferer is ſo infatuated, as, in ſpite of locks and keys, to bribe by high rewards the dependent nurſe, privately to procure it.

BUT the concluding ſymptoms are very different from either of the foregoing hiſtories: frequently, indeed, the appetite for food vaniſhes, but ſometimes continues vora⯑cious; and, at the ſame time, whilſt the body is coſtive, and no vomiting enſues, the lower extremities grow more and more emaciated; the legs become as ſmooth as poliſhed ivory, and the ſoles of the feet even glaſſy and ſhining, and at the ſame time ſo tender, that the weight of the finger excites ſhrieks and moaning; and yet I have known, that in a mo⯑ment's time, heavy preſſure has given no uneaſineſs. The legs, and the whole lower extremities, loſe all power of ac⯑tion; wherever they are placed, there they remain till moved again by the attendant; the arms and hands acquire the ſame palſied ſtate, and the patients are rendered incapable of feeding themſelves. Thus for years they exiſt, with no material alteration in the ſize of the body, or aſpect of the countenance.

WHETHER they really undergo the agonies they appear to ſuffer, I much doubt, as at this period their minds appear idiotiſh: they often ſhriek out with a vehemence that may be heard at a conſiderable diſtance, but upon enquiring about the ſeat of pain, they have been vague and indeciſive in their anſwers. When a cramp comes on the lower ex⯑tremities, involuntary motions draw up the legs, and produce the moſt piercing ſhrieks: and the features of the face, al⯑tered [8]by convulſive twitchings, excite pain in a ſpectator. For ſome months before they die, theſe ſhrieks are more in⯑ceſſant, and as violent as the ſtrength will admit.

THEY talk freely in the intervals of mitigation, but of things that do not exiſt; they deſcribe the preſence of their friends, as if they ſaw realities, and reaſon tolerably clear upon falſe premiſes.

MOSTLY before they die, they take leſs food; ſometimes a purging ſucceeds, of a thin ſubſtance, and of a dark green colour; ſometimes a vomiting of black matter; but moſt generally they gradually ſink from the accumulation of pain and debility. There is rarely any fever. They do not, as in the preceding ſtate, fall into dropſies, but uſually become paralytic: the breath is not offenſive, nor is there the ſame difficulty of breathing, or horror of ſuffocation: whether the imperceptible and gradual augmentation in the uſe of ſpirits, is the cauſe of this difference, I am not certain; but the difference is conſiderable, as muſt appear from their hiſtories, which I have drawn from actual obſervation.

I WOULD not, however, infer, that every ſpirit-drinker acquires the ſymptoms of diſeaſe above related, or that other [9]diſeaſes do not more frequently ſucceed this dangerous habit: liver diſeaſes, of various kinds, it is well known, uſually reſult from intemperance, and dropſies often ſucceed; but from ſome circumſtances in the conſtitution, or from the mode of indulgence in liquors, the ſymptoms I have de⯑ſcribed have ſeverally occurred where no dropſical affec⯑tions have ſupervened. There is ſomething in ſprituous liquors, ſo injurious to the human frame, that too much at⯑tention cannot be paid in diſcouraging the uſe of them. Many of the unhappy victims I have attended, aſcribe their ſufferings to the unguarded advice of ſome medical practi⯑tioner, who has, under the idea of wine turning ſour on the ſtomach, permitted a little drop of brandy and water to be ſubſtituted; ſeldom, indeed, a day paſſes without introducing me to the ſick bed of ſome deluded object of miſery; and it is from the moſt decided conviction of the injury, that I would guard every perſon from beginning with even a little drop of this faſcinating poiſon, which once admitted, is ſeldom, if ever, afterwards overcome. Whenever I hear the patient plead for ſome ſubſtitute for beer or wine, under the ſuppo⯑ſition of their turning ſour, my fears are alarmed, and my endeavours excited, to pluck the unſuſpicious patient from the brink of deſtruction; this plea is never made, till the exhilarating influence of ſpirit has been experienced; and not a moment ſhould be loſt, in warning ſuch objects of their danger.

SOME, who avoid brandy, have been induced to take rum, from a vulgar opinion, that it is more oily and balſamic; the argument is erroneous, for what balſamic qualities can empyreumatic oil contain? Others, who condemn both brandy and rum, make no objection to gin, becauſe they think it diuretic; but ſo far from it, that half the dropſies among the lower claſſes of the people originate, or, at leaſt, are confirmed by the uſe of this ſpirit; they are all poiſons, and are nearly alike deleterious.

WHEN the effects of ſpirits on the conſtitution, have not greatly contaminated it, beyond the frequent recurrence of ſickneſs and vomiting; after interdicting ſpirits altogether, the patient ſhould be allowed to fix upon ſome one ſpecies of nutriment; and, whatever it is, ſhould be confined to it alone, and that in the ſmalleſt quantities poſſible, and at re⯑gular ſtated diſtances, that the preceding portion may be properly digeſted, before any addition be allowed: when the ſtomach has thus acquired more tone, either ſome new, or an increaſe of the former nutriment, may be admitted.

I ONCE attended a lady, who could not retain any food on the ſtomach above an hour or two. I requeſted her to fix upon ſome light nouriſhment that ſhe could palate, and ſhe mentioned milk: I then reſtrained her to four table-ſpoonfuls of it every ſix hours, and afterwards increaſed the quantity [11]as the ſtomach could bear it. From this ſhe went to broth, and thus gradually acquired ſuch a ſtate of the ſtomach, as to bear the uſual food of the family; and for four years paſt ſhe has enjoyed good health, with the moderate uſe of a glaſs of wine, or beer, but not one drop of ſpirits.

BUT in ſome caſes, where the habit of drams has been long continued, the total and ſudden omiſſion of them, has ſunk the perſon into irretrievable debility. Here this pernicious cuſtom muſt be left off gradually. A man who uſually drank twelve drams a day, being convinced of his approach⯑ing miſery, took the reſolution to wean himſelf from this poiſon; he always drank out of one glaſs, into this he daily dropped a drop of ſealing-wax; by this means he had twelve drops leſs of ſpirit every day, till, at length, his glaſs being filled with wax, his habit was cured.

THE ſame advantage has been obtained, by taking the dram, or glaſs of cordial, out of a quart bottle, which is to be repleniſhed each time with as much water, and by this means gradually diluting the remaining liquor, till its ſtrength becomes wholly ſubdued, and little more than the ſubſtituted water remains.

PAINFUL indeed is this truth, that when the indulgence in ſpirituous liquors is rendered habitual, it is extremely dif⯑ficult [12]to overcome. Although the miſerable object is per⯑ſuaded, that it clouds his reaſon, debilitates his mental as well as corporeal faculties, debars him of all the cheerful gratifi⯑cations annexed to health and virtue; yet ſo exceſſive are the debility and tremors of the body—and ſo horrid is the deſpondency of the mind after the exhilarating effects of theſe liquors have ſubſided, that without a perſeverance in determined efforts to vanquiſh this habit, a repetition of the deluſive poiſon will be indulged, till reſolution is too tran⯑ſient and weak to enable the victim to ſtop at the precipice, which terminates his painful exiſtence.

MAY ſuch, however, as have ſtrength of reſolution to re⯑flect upon their danger, be encouraged, by an aſſurance, that however great the debility may feel, and ſtrong the idea of diſſolution may appear, yet from mere debility alone, life is not in danger; and this is a certain fact, that the lon⯑ger and more frequently the evil habit is reſiſted, that habit becomes leſs powerful, whilſt the ſtrength of the conſtitution proportionally augments, and thereby renders the victory leſs difficult than might at firſt appear; and what exertions are more intereſting and worthy of a rational being, than thoſe which ſubſtitute vigour and health of body, for agita⯑tion, tremor, and pain; and ſerenity and cheerfulneſs of mind, for horror, deſpondency, and ſuicide?