"
"After drinking a certain amount I can live more in an hour than
I could ordinarily in a month," etc. ----
These men who believe that alcohol improves the mind, stimulating
it to better effort, constitute a very large class, perhaps the
largest class of those who drink to excess.
We wish we could persuade such men that they are mistaken in
believing that excessive alcohol feeds the brain.
The man who has drunk too much, and thinks that his mind is
working splendidly, might learn something by studying any sort of
machinery when the belt slips off the wheel, or the screw of a
steamer when the power of the waves throws the screw out of the
water.
While the belt is securely attached, doing its works, it turns
slowly and monotonously.
While the screw is buried in the water, fighting its way and
pushing its load ahead, it turns slowly and laboriously.
When the belt slips off or the screw comes out of the water, the
whole thing is changed. The screw whizzes around like lightning.
The belt rattles and dances.
The screw in the water and the machinery doing its work properly
are like the sober brain.
The brain that is made abnormal by alcohol is simply the screw
out of water, the misplaced machine belt. The brain is no longer
connected with the working realities of life.
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