When the drunkard is put to bed, let us suppose that his faculties are
not totally absorbed in apoplectic stupor; let us suppose that he still
possesses consciousness and feeling, though these are both disordered;
then begins “the tug of war;” then comes the misery which is doomed
to succeed his previous raptures. No sooner is his head laid upon the
pillow, than it is seized with the strongest throbbing. His heart beats
quick and hard against the ribs. A noise like the distant fall of a
cascade, or rushing of a river, is heard in his ears: sough—sough—sough,
goes the sound. His senses now become more drowned and stupified. A dim
recollection of his carousals, like a shadowy and indistinct dream,
passes before the mind. He still hears, as in echo, the cries and
laughter of his companions. Wild fantastic fancies accumulate thickly
around the brain. His giddiness is greater than ever; and he feels as if
in a ship tossed upon a heaving sea. At last he drops insensibly into a
profound slumber.
In the morning he awakes in a high fever. The whole body is parched;
the palms of the hands, in particular, are like leather. His head is
often violently painful. He feels excessive thirst; while his tongue is
white, dry, and stiff. The whole inside of the mouth is likewise hot and
constricted, and the throat often sore. Then look at his eyes—how sickly,
dull, and languid! The fire, which first lighted them up the evening
before, is all gone. A stupor like that of the last stage of drunkenness
still clings about them, and they are disagreeably affected by the light.
The complexion sustains as great a change: it is no longer flushed with
the gaiety and excitation, but pale and wayworn, indicating a profound
mental and bodily exhaustion. There is probably sickness, and the
appetite is totally gone. Even yet the delirium of intoxication has not
left him, for his head still rings, his heart still throbs violently; and
if he attempt getting up, he stumbles with giddiness. The mind also is
sadly depressed, and the proceedings of the previous night are painfully
remembered. He is sorry for his conduct, promises solemnly never again
so to commit himself, and calls impatiently for something to quench his
thirst. Such are the usual phenomena of a fit of drunkenness.
In the beginning of intoxication we are inclined to sleep, especially if
we indulge alone. In companies, the noise and opportunity of conversing
prevent this; and when a certain quantity has been drunk, the drowsy
tendency wears away. A person who wishes to stand out well, should never
talk much. This increases the effects of the liquor, and hurries on
intoxication. Hence, every experienced drunkard holds it to be a piece of
prudence to keep his tongue under restraint.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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