Skip to main content

L is for Laudanum.....



Nothing like walking into your local chemist or pharmacy and picking up a bottle of alcohol-laced opium...er, laudanum.

This Victorian cure-all was taken for everything from stomach trouble to insomnia to aches and pains. Nurses were even known to spoon feed infants the bitter, red-brown liquid. What better way to lull a colicky babe to sleep than to dose him up with some alcohol and opiates....

Laudanum was widely used and prescribed throughout the United States and Europe during the Romantic and Victorian Eras. The addictive qualities of Laudanum and the fact it was cheaper in  price than gin or wine--as it was taxed as a legal medicine and not as an alcoholic beverage--made it, initially, a working class drug of choice. Though it found itself latched to the addictive psyche of several well known individuals, including the wife of former president, Abraham Lincoln and the renowned poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Overdose by Laudanum, either accidental or intentional, happened quite frequently during the 19th century. In fact, suicide by Laudanum was not uncommon and would often only take a couple of teaspoons of the medicinal liquid...



Laudanum Lullabies

It might be harsh and bitter, the juice your chemist sells,
but, nothing's better for curing all your worrisome ails,
from raging pains that split your head,
to aches that make you wish for death.
There isn't an ill that can't be cured,
by this unctuous mixture, of that we're sure!

                                                                                             --- e.a.s. demers



Labels:

Comments

  1. Joe RichardsonApril 14, 2012 at 10:48 AM

    I always thought Victorian fainting spells were manufactured drama. But with the potency of self-medication, I'm wondering if they weren't authentic.

    I see "Crest" on the bottle. Forefather to the toothpaste? Maybe I should check the ingredients on that tube in the cabinet...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. e.a.s. demersApril 29, 2012 at 6:34 PM

      Between the self-medication, the corsets and the poisonous wallpaper/playing cards/clothing... it's a wonder we survived past the Victorian era at all... :-)

      Delete
  2. @amiApril 14, 2012 at 10:01 PM

    One thing I've noticed about "cure-alls" is that, apparently, you're cured when you're dead.

    {ami}
    http://sundrysumthins.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. e.a.s. demersApril 29, 2012 at 6:35 PM

      Well, at least you could be assured that the "cure" worked...

      Delete
  3. Alicia Willette-CookApril 17, 2012 at 3:03 PM

    Ah...the good ol' days... :) @Joe, Victorian Fainting also had a bit to do with the tightness of a women's corset as well.

    One wonders if this this is where the "Gothic Horror" genre came from? All the nightmares people had while high on this stuff!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. e.a.s. demersApril 29, 2012 at 6:36 PM

      You might be right about the Gothic Horror... hallucinations abound!!!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Share your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z reflections....

Another A to Z challenge comes to an end--- another collection of posts and poetry have been written, another deep breath of relief is released. For my fellow bloggers that survived as well, it's another 'challenge-completed' notch carved into the writing desk. I've come to enjoy my yearly foray into the world of all things alphabetical. This was my third year, though it was only the second year I had a workable theme (which made the challenge substantially easier than the first year I attempted this challenge.) And, though my first year was difficult because my focus was so scattered, I found this year was more  difficult because I lost the enthusiasm that came with the first year excitement----excitement which helped me plug along until the end of the challenge. Year 3 was a success in the sense that I completed the challenge, though, this was the year that almost wasn't---- Somewhere about a third of the way through the challenge, I seriously considered...
27 comments
Read more

B is for Banshee.....

Irish bean sidhe  and Scottish Gaelic bean sith , literally, woman of fairyland. The mythology and legend surrounding the Banshee is a bit mixed. The most readily accepted story is of a hag-like creature wailing the impending death of someone nearby-- most ancient Gaelic families, especially the more well-to-do families, had their own Banshees that attached themselves to the lineage of the family name. I suppose it was a sign of station for a family to be able to claim their own Banshee--- I mean, who needs an exciting/ tongue-wagging-inciting skeleton in your cupboard when you've got a Banshee wailing in your rafters? The origins of the more familiar Banshee may have stemmed from the ancient Keeners-- women who were employed to sing a lament at a funeral. The best Keeners were in high demand to "wail" and "weep" for the great personage who had fallen. The Great families would boast a bean sidhe  or bean sith--  a fairy-woman Keener--and having foresig...
14 comments
Read more

K is for Kelpie.....

Today's entry is dedicated to my wonderful social club pledge sister, who sent me off from our college sanctuary with a copy of "Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales", containing an inscription that the "magic and mischief of the Kelpie follow me".... She knew I had an affinity for water and for mischief...and for all-things Celtic--so the Kelpie seemed to suit---- though, I'm not quite as savage as many folktales paint Kelpies. Kelpies are Celtic water horses, believed to haunt the lochs and rivers of Scotland and Ireland. The Kelpie was known to appear as a "lost pony", though, its identity is given away by its constantly dripping mane. Most stories give the color of the Kelpie's coat as black, though there are a few that mention the color white. The texture of the Kelpie's skin is likened to the smoothness of a seal, but its temperature is "cold as death to the touch." Like many other tales of supernatural creatures, the Kelpie...
15 comments
Read more