the stuff that fascinated him. In the case of the soaker a little wine
may be given at meal-times during the first stages of the cure; but he
(or she) will soon reject even wine. Strong black coffee, or tea, should
be given as often as possible--the oftener the better--and iced
soda-water should be administered after a heavy meal. Take this
prescription and let it be made up--Rx Acid. Acet. eight ounces. Sponge
down the patient's spine with this fluid until the parts moistened
tingle smartly; and let this be done night and morning. Also get the
following from your chemist--Rx Ext. Cinch. Rub. Liq. four ounces--and
give one teaspoonful in water after each meal. In a week the drinker
will cease to desire alcohol, and in a month he will refuse it with
disgust. His nerves will resume their healthy action, and, if he has not
reached the stage of cirrhosis of the liver, he will become well and
clear-headed. Recollect that this remedy is almost infallible, and then
even the most greedy of literary students will hardly reproach me for
placing a kind of medical chapter in the quarter usually devoted to
disquisitions of another kind. From every side rises the bitter cry of
those who see their loved ones falling victims to the seductive scourge;
from all quarters the voices of earnest men are raised in passionate
pleading; and in every great city there are noble workers who strive to
rescue their fellow-creatures from drink as from a gulf of doom. My
words are not addressed to the happy beings who can rejoice in the
cheerfulness bestowed by wine; I have before me only the fortunes of
those to whom wine is a mocker. Far be it from me to find fault with the
good and sound-hearted men and women who are never scathed by their
innocent potations; my attempt is directed toward saving the wreckages
of civilization who perish in the grasp of the destroyer.

_March, 1886._