A Frisky Case
Weems presents many examples of questionable judgment and moral behavior, accidents, and wrongful death caused by an overindulgence of alcohol.
While the image above shows a group of men gathered together, not unlike any gathering one would see today, it is the after effect of drinking and the man's actions that are central to this picture. After jumping upon the table, "...to profanely mock a pious old Quaker preacher--his drunken companions in the meantime all around him, reeling and roaring, excessively delighted with his wonderful humor. But behold! just as he came to the ending clause of his sermon--"O what a great fall that would be !" one of the sots, by the way of practical pun, overset the table on which he stood; and down headforemost on the floor came the drunken preacher, and fractured his skull so miserably that he died the next day." (p.15-16)
