MORE ABOUT THE BAR.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1793, 19 March 1888, Page 4

MORE ABOUT THE BAR.

Middle-aged men tell ia terminable stories about money or smart strokes of business; youn^Btera wink and look no* ■peakably wise as they talk on the subject of the spring haDd'caps ; wild spirits tell of their exparionces at a glovt-fignt m some foul East-end tavern ; . amorous exploits are detailed with a iulnees and freedom which would extremely amazi the ladies who form the eubjeofc of the conversation. In all tho naaty confaaion you never hear a word that can be called maaly, unless you are prepared to allow the manlioeßs of pugilism. Each quarterhour sees the company prow mora and more incoherent ; the laughter gradually becomes senseles3, and loses the last indication of pure merriment ; tho reek thickortß ; the dense air is permeated with' queasy smells which rise from tho fusel oil and the engared beer ;, the shrewd landlord looks on with affected jo'lity, and halls casual friends with eflusive jraltatlona of joy; arid last if ail 't'me" is called, and the ho3t of men pour in'o tbe Btrett. They ore ready for any folly or mischief, aud they are all more or less unfitted for the next day's work. Strangely enoogh, many of those wretched fellows who thus waste time amid sordid Bur* foundings come from refiaed homes ; but music and books and the quiet pleasant talk of mother and sisters are tame after the delirious rattle of the " bar," and thus bright lads go home with their wits dulled and with a complete incapacity for coherent speech. Now let it be remembered that no real friendships are contracted m these oJious dunking-shops — something m the very atmosphere of the pltoe seems to induce selfishness, and a drinker who goes wrong fa never pitied ; when evil days come, the smart landlord ebons the failure, the barmaids sneer at him, and his boon companies shrink sway •s though the doomed man were tainted. Monstrous it is to hear the remarks made about a lost soul who is planging with accelerated speed down the steep road to tuin. His companions compare notes about him, and ali his bodily .symptoms are described with truculent glee m the filthy slang of the " bar." So long as tbe wretch has money he is received with boisterous cordiality and encouraged to rush yet faster on the way to perdition ; his wildest feats In tbe way of mawkish generosity are applauded ; and the very men who drink at his expense go on plucking him acd laughing at him until the inevitable crash comes. We once heard with a kind of chilled horror a narrative about a fine young man who had died of delirium tremens The narrator giggled so much that hia story waa often interrupted ; bat it ran thus—" He was very shakey m the morning, and he began on brandy ; he took about six before his hand wbb steady, and I saw him looking over his shoulder every now and again. In the afternoon a lot of fellows came m and he stood champagne like water to the whole gang. At six o'clock I wanted him to have a cup of tea, buc he said, ' I've had nothing but boc za for ■ three days.' Then he got on to the floor and Bald he ■waa catching rats — so we knew he'd got 'em on. At night he came out and cleared the street with his sword-bayonet : and it's a wondet he didn't murder somebody. It took two to hold him down all night, and he had hia last fit at six m the morning. Died Bcrenming I" A burst of laughter hailed the o'.lmax, and then one appreciative friend remarked, " He was a fool — I suppose he was drunk eleven months cut of tbe last twelve." This was the epitaph of a bright young athlete who had been possessed of hoal h, riches and all fair prospects, No one warned him ; none of thoeo who swilled expensive poisons for which he paid ever refused to accept his mad generosity ; be was cheered down the road to tbe gulf by tbe inane plaudits of tbe lowest of men ;, and one who was evidently his companion m many ' ft frantic drinking-bout could fiod nothing to «»y but "He waa a fool.!" At this moment there are thousands of youths m our great towns and cities who are leading the heartless, senseless, semi delirious life of the " bar," and every possible temptation is pat m their way to draw them from home, from refinement^ from high thoughts, from choate and temperate modes of life, Hordble it is to hear fine lads talking familiarly about the "jompy" •ansationa which they feel In the morning. The "jumps" are those involuntasy twitchings which sometimes precede aad sometimes accompany delirium iremtn*.',. the frightful twitching of the limbs is ! acoompanied by a kind of depression that J takes the very heart and courage out of c man : and yet no one who travels over these Islands can avoid hearing jokeß on the dismal subject made by boys who have hardly reached their twenty-fifth year. The " bar " encourages levity,, and the levity is unrelieved by any real gaiety — it (8 the hysterical feigned merriment of lost aonlfc— "Family Herald."