]MEW ENGLAND FARMEM, 



I'UBLISIIED BY JOHN B. RUSSEI.I., TlOGF.RS' BU1I.T)INGP, COXGRKSS STREET, BOSTON.— THOjr.VS G. FESSFNDF.X, n.ITOR. 



VOL. III. 



FRIDAY, NOVEMBEK 20, 1824, 



No. ifj. 



On'gsunl CCojnmuniwu'cHJ 



FOR THE SKTf EXC.I.ANI) FARSIER. 



CONFESSIONS OF AN INEBUIATE. 



Vulnto 7ion!ine, dt te 



Fabulit »!<!/•; <i(«/'.*-^I I OR ACK. 



Mr. Editor — In ymir pnper of Sc]ilnnilior ?.' 

 is ;i co!nniiinic:\Uon from a " Now Enivl^md Yl 

 niiin," lamenlinc; ami ilein'ccatiii^' llit; lale un 

 iilaiTniiiir inci'oasfi of that clirelul pesiilonc 

 (iisbiiialion, I'loni the c(iiisiim[ition of aiileiit s\>:: 

 il^. This monster not only " Inrkelh in dar! 

 nc.ss," hut " waslPlh at noon d.iy." lie rcse..i 

 bios Vira^il's monsi(;r — 



On comnicncemont day, ivr separated. Mel My in\'''iciale hahils increased, and with 

 cniigialod to a distant p.ul of the state of New : diinliin"; 1 soon fonnd, g'encraily, connected, its 

 Yorii, am! cngiiged in tlie practice of the law. io.vom companion — (;ajuv(j. You »vi!l now cer- 



1 heard nothinu: of him after that, until a few tainly con^•iiier mn on tlie high road to niin 



days since, when lie called on me. No longer, i My [irojrrtss on this road was rapid; I fo«p 



however, thai sprightly, all-cheering con\panion ; I'onnd myself, wiihont fi'iends, withont fortune* 



: In; was formerly. In the language of /Eneas, I and without repnialinn. When a man cncoun- 



might have exclaime<l, tors the scoffs and sneers of the world, provided 



,, . ., . ,. , , „ ( ,■ 1 11 ' he enjuy sel'-rsleein, there is hope. But when 



lli'i mihi qtialis eiat quantum mutatis ab illo i , "^ . ■. ,, , , ' , . , , .' 



li.clorr, qui re<lit cxuvias indutus AcldUti.* i 0"^ despises liimseK, he must be dcspicr.bls i&- 



! deed. .Mas! this soon hecame my situation. I 

 in iaci, tlie heatitifiil and iiuiescrihably delicale sunk deeper and deeper in the miVe, till 1 found 

 lurm ol an Apollo lielviderc, was chanjred into I my situation desperate. I was lost, I was un- 

 a mass of hloitod corru|.tion. For the lirm hut 'dJ^g. \ hi.d' travelled down from the sprightly, 



elastic step, the bounding leap, were substituted 



I llic languid, reeling, toltoring gait; — for the 



Mop.ftrum lion-eiv.Ium infornie ingens ciu Uunen ad- brilliancy of two star-like eyes, appeared a cou- 



tmiiti.im,t pie of dnalh-l.ke sockets, not unexpressive, but 



lor he must be blind indeed, who sees not the void of animation. All, by which Jack could 



awful gulf into which he who is add'cled to »r- now be recognizei!, were tUe fragments of a few 



dent spirits, is plunging. 



All classes seem inlocled with the disease. — 

 Were the poorest, the most ignoiaul, anil luin!- 

 blcst portion of society the only one that in- 

 dulges in vile potations oi' f did nun. gin, and 

 whiskci/, the evil would !)e neither remediless, 

 nor deplorable. There would be a reileeming 

 spirit in the most indi;strious, virtuous, and really 

 solid part of the community, — our yeomanry. 

 But alas ! we look in vain, even to them, for 

 hope and consolation. " The whole head is siC|{, 

 the « hole heart is faint." 



Your correspondent adduces a numbf r ot in- 

 stances which have fallen under his observati|ii.l ii 

 I beg leave to ai!d one, not less striltiog twM*"' 

 any which he has exhibited. 



The character to which I allude, permit me 

 Id introduce to your attention, for the sake ol 

 delicacyjnwards the leciings of his respectable 

 connexions, under the name oi' Jack Jovial. 



Jack ivas a class-mate and particular friend of 

 mine at College ; and was graduated ubcut 20 

 years ago. When in college, he was distin- 

 guished by the amenity and gracefulness ot his 

 manners, po^^sessing a foim that would not have 

 disgraced the chisel of Phidias. No one could 

 surpass him in the accomplishments of the bail- 

 room. Terpsichore hersellw'ould have yielded 

 place to»hiin, in passing through the inlricaie 

 mazes of the contra dance, idusic too was bis 

 delight. He could equal the animating hilarity 

 of the morning lark, or the plaintive meloily oi 

 Ihe evening nightingale. 



I used ol'len to warn him against indulging too 

 much in these, as I termed ihem, frivolous a- 

 inusemcnts. Hbs reply would uniformly bn — 

 Tun), you and I, thoui;li agreeing on most oilier 

 subjects, differ in this. You consider thcni a 

 snare, — an allurement to every species of dissi- 

 pation. 1 consider them the "•mint, aniseed, 

 and cummin." Yet while we " neglect not the 

 iveighti<>r mattcis of the law," ivc should nr,t 

 omit tything ikuc. 



The contest ususlly ended, by his sportinL-ly 

 alluding to my puritanical, or as he waspieased 

 to call if, my .Vethodistical principles. 



*■ I ;haiig*! the name, and th;; story will apply to th'.e. 

 t A huge, horrid, and sliapdcss monster, deprived of 

 .sislit. 



gestures, jiislicad had a peculiar propensity of 

 inclining toward t!:e right, when be would be- 

 -•peak attention ; and bis right hand obliquely 

 extended vvheWie would enlbrce an arsument. 

 liy these peculiarities he was' at last identilied, 

 " I am not surprised," said he, '' at the riilli- 

 culty you cs|ierieiico in recollecting me. I feel 

 that 1 am altered, in i'acl compleleiy changed." 

 lie subsequently gave me the follo»viiig sketch 

 of his life. 



'• You well remember on our parting at the 

 University, you mildlj' cautioned me against in- 

 diilgiiig in the fine arts, and as you lermed them 

 the elegant accomplishments. You feared they 

 >nuid lead nic gently <lown the vale of poverty, 

 and ultimately leave mo in the marsh nf misery. 

 lour (irediclioii, as I may now justly consider 

 if, has been painfully verified. 



.\ller qualifying myself (or the biisiness nf an 

 attorney, by assiduously performing the duties of 

 a clerk in the office of an eminent counsellor, 

 I rep lired to the western part of New York, 

 lull of hope and full of glee, as I alway..s was, — 

 in order, to speak in vulgar language, to set up 

 for myseir. 



There I found a jealousy existing as'ainst 

 what were called ?!ei« comers. I had dilficiiltie~ 

 to encounter. But in the ardour of youth 1 

 doubted not my power to overcome them. 1 

 determined to associate with all classes, and 

 lender myself popidar, by an accomniodaliij.tr 

 spirit. 1 could sing a good song, leii a plausible 

 story, make a graceful bow, and gallant a larlv, 

 so as to excite the cn\y of all surrounding beaux. 

 Here my misfortunes began. In order to a[i- 

 pear complaisant and make a show, it was ne- 

 cessarv to drink freely of wine, brandy & whis- 

 key, according to the company into which I bad 

 fallen. At firs! these wqvg rather ofiensive. — 

 They became however gradually tolerable ; and 

 at last necessary to my happiness. You will 

 readily conceive, that my professional business 

 was not greatly benefitted by this practice. Yei 

 I was not niumploycd. and in the social glass i 

 found consolation for the loss of more profitable 

 engagements. It is a lamentable I'act, that many 

 drink lor employment !' 



* L'-.:'.iKi; that 'jutftor v/ho retarn<^d from toils 

 Ol war triumphaut in £ciuii spoils. — I-'rydex. 



sparkling champagne and rosy claret, to poor, 

 pale-faced, sqii.ilid New England rum. 



Vou now undoubtoiily have a desire to know 

 my feelings, if I had any. They were a cooi- 

 poiind of remorse and shame. I have sften look- 

 ed on the past with most poignant regret, — the 

 present w't'i '''i-^gnst — and the lulure with heart- 

 rending terror ! But all my exertions to return 

 to my former state were in vain. I found, too 

 lale, that the (irst giass always created a desire 

 for the second, and lliat for liie third, and thus 

 they progressed in a geometrical ratio. I feel 

 that I am borne down an aivfiil stream, without 

 the least power to stein the torrent, which wiil 

 shortly hurry me into the vast, the boundless 

 ocean — eternity ! How dreadful the thought ! 

 My situation is precisely that of the poor bird, 

 when fascinated; she reluctantly and under the 

 greatest ^gcny, yet voluntarily, walks into the 

 jaws ({/^^|lt iVjvoiiring serpen'. 



Wheif Ibegan to indulge freely with the cup, 

 I experienced a transient pleasure from the ex- 

 citement of the system, and consequent llow of 

 animal s|iirits ; lesulling in greater brilliancy of 

 imagination and delicacy of fancy. You, Tom, 

 on the morning that succeeded a late frolic, have 

 ex[)erienced a severe head ache, nausea, loss of 

 a(ipctite, and a total inability to enjoy any ra- 

 tional [deasure during the day. Your suflerings 

 were pleasure itself, compared ^v■lth my leelings 

 on many occasions, since I have arrived to what 

 I must acknowledge to be sottislincss or idiocy. 

 Draughts of ardent spirits have long ceased 

 to exhiliiate. They merely confuse, stupify, 

 and ultimately deaden, or rather destroy every 

 ficiilly of both soul and body. I am a lamenta- 

 ble instance of their fatal cfTeels. 1 have un- 

 successfully doubled and redoubled lae dose. — 

 The loss of memory was the first intimation tiiat 

 1 received of the inroads they had committed oil 

 my system. Then followed binguor in the ex- 

 ircmitifs, and rheumatic pains in the back and 

 s'ioulders. Often have I been mortified, being 

 reminded of an engagement, made the preced- 

 ing day, which I had entirely forgotten. Often 

 too have I failed to accomplish some important 

 [>urpose, from univers;il debility. 



These are, however, tolerable evils, compar- 

 ed with the horrid sensations that an inteioper- 

 ate man experiences through the night. After 

 steeping, nay seething every faculty ihrough the 

 d.iy, the slightest noise is alarming, — and the 

 all id'vv of danger terrific. Imaginiilion creates 

 a thoir-.irid frightt'ii! forms, and iaucy decorates 

 them horribly. 1 awake fatigued, nay exhausted. 



