LITERARY WORK.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1068, 13 October 1882, Page 4

LITERARY WORK.

In rrsponsn to a c'rcnlai recently sent out by Mr. Arthur Roatle, who has been collectin'' information as to the hja l its rt literary men in regard to stimulants, the AhheMiogno gives an inter' sting and characteristic record o’, ■his experiences The h-t'er appearing; in his paper, Lea Mowles, states thin he has published 150 volumes, small .and great; that he scarcely ever leaves his work table, and never takes walk mg exercise ' et, he < over ha- a trace of headache, or brain weariness, or constipation, or any form o itnnary trouble, ifec., a statement wh : cb the sequel shows to need quafificalion Snufl-tnking he has sometimes practiced, but he vigorously condemns it He has aequoed 12 foreign langu ges bv a ntethl d of his own, and with regard to his acquirements in philolo y and chronology, he says, “ I was one ot the most extraordinary person ilities of my-time, -a’d Francois ' rago sometimes laughingly threatened to have me burnt as a so-cerer.” On one occasion, when in Munich fora few weeks and spending his e\enings with Bavarian savants, who each smoked four or five cigars and drank three or four po-s of beer daily (Steinbeil,the most illustrious, boasted of smoking 6000 cigars a year), the Abbe came to arm ke three or four cigars a day. He had also anew taken to snuff, so that, when preparing his calculus ot variations, a veiy difficult mathematical wmk, he would rmplains snuff-box (which 1 e’d 25 crammes) in a day. Hut one day he was surprised to find himself painfully unable , to recall the meaning of foreign words and remember dates with which he had been familiar. Thereupon he formed a heroic resolution, and s nee August 3 , 1863, when lie smoked I hr' e cigars ami took 25 centimes worth of snuff, he has. up to 25th June 1882, touched neither. This was, for him, a complete ressmvetion, not only of memory, but of general health and well-being ; he lias had indefinite capacity of work, unconscious digestion, perfect assimilation of food (of which he can take more), etc. For the rest, he mentions, that he takes a small cup of black coffee in the morning, and when all but two to three spoonfuls lias be-n, drunk, he adds a small spoor,fu 1 of brandy or other alcoholic liquor. This is the ration ot stimulants, He goes to lied about 9, and rises at 5, “ full of vigour.” The Abbe is over 80.