530 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



I was called to give an opinion. An examination indicated that 

 this was some condition of shock, or sudden congestion, in which 

 symptoms of intoxication appeared; also his assertion of not 

 having drunk was literally true. A history of moderate and ex- 

 cessive drinking was noted in his parents. 



Second Case. — A clergyman, with a marked history of he- 

 redity. He was under my care for five months, when, one day, a 

 brother clergyman paid him a visit, and no doubt talked very se- 

 verely to him of the sin of drinking. I found him a short time 

 after, in bed, with all the symptoms of intoxication. He had a 

 childish, idiotic expression, and was in a semi-delirious state. He 

 remained in bed two days, and had all the appearance of one who 

 had suffered from alcoholic poisoning. This was the first pro- 

 nounced case I had seen, and could not be mistaken. The sudden 

 emotional excitement precipitated him into the pathological state 

 of intoxication. 



Third Case. — This case was sent to me for an opinion as fol- 

 lows : 



A noted temperance lecturer, formerly an inebriate, for ten 

 years or more had been an abstainer. One evening, while lectur- 

 ing, he was given a dispatch from his wife, announcing the fatal 

 illness of a child. He drank a glass of water, and attempted an 

 explanation to the audience, became confused, staggered, and acted 

 like a man rapidly becoming intoxicated. He was finally led from 

 the stage, and laughed and shouted in a maudlin way. The au- 

 dience supposed that he was drunk, but all the circumstances 

 showed clearly that no spirits had been taken. 



These cases are most strikingly confirmed in many ways, and 

 especially in circles of temperance reformers. One man of my 

 acquaintance, after an eloquent lecture of an hour, during which 

 he most dramatically portrays the conduct and manner of an ine- 

 briate, will go to his room and be practically intoxicated for some 

 time, or until he can procure a few hours' sleep. This man has 

 been an inebriate, but for the past five years has been lecturing 

 on inebriety with great power and skill. He has been in the Pro- 

 hibition campaign, and lectured for months incessantly. These 

 phases of drunkenness are called " queer spells " by his friends, 

 and are guarded from observation. When the lecture is over, he 

 retires at once to his room, and will not be seen until next morn- 

 ing. In another case a man of talent and genius of a high order, 

 who had drunk to great excess for ten years, stopped and became 

 a lecturer. He told me that often the impulse to drink was so 

 strong that he could only resist it by having an audience and op- 

 portunity to talk or plead for temperance. He was really intoxi- 

 cated in his extravagant enthusiasm and dramatic portrayals of 

 the evils of drink. After the lecture was over, he was greatly 



