The stuff creates a habit most
insidious and difficult to break, a longing more exacting than
hunger. It is almost as fatal as cocaine in its blasting effects
on mind and body.
"Wormwood," he pursued, still rummaging about, "has a special
affinity for the brain-cells and the nervous system in general. It
produces a special affliction of the mind, which might be called
absinthism. Loss of will follows its use, brutishness, softening
of the brain. It gives rise to the wildest hallucinations. Perhaps
that was why our absintheur chose first to destroy or steal all
things green, as if there were some merit in the colour, when he
might have made away with so many more valuable things.
Absintheurs have been known to perform some of the most intricate
manoeuvres, requiring great skill and the use of delicate tools.
They are given to disappearing, and have no memory of their
actions afterward."
On an ink-spattered desk lay some books, including Lombroso's
"Degenerate Man" and "Criminal Woman." Kennedy glanced at them,
then at a crumpled manuscript that was stuck into a pigeonhole.
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