companion at the tea table, and very lovingly does the husband suggest
the pleasant personality of his young wife. One other important
feature is included in the scene; upon the table there rests also a
decanter, in which sparkles the ruby-colored laudanum.

De Quincey's experience with opium had begun while he was a student at
the university, in 1804. It was first taken to obtain relief from
neuralgia, and his use of the drug did not at once become habitual.
During the period of residence at Grasmere, however, De Quincey
became confirmed in the habit, and so thoroughly was he its victim
that for a season his intellectual powers were well-nigh paralyzed;
his mind sank under such a cloud of depression and gloom that his
condition was pitiful in the extreme. Just before his marriage, in
1816, De Quincey, by a vigorous effort, partially regained his
self-control and succeeded in materially reducing his daily allowance
of the drug; but in the following year he fell more deeply than ever
under its baneful power, until in 1818-19 his consumption of opium was
something almost incredible. Thus he became truly enough the great
English Opium-Eater, whose Confessions were later to fill a unique
place in English literature. It was finally the absolute need of
bettering his financial condition that compelled De Quincey to shake
off the shackles of his vice; this he practically accomplished,
although perhaps he was never entirely free from the habit. The event
is coincident with the beginning of his career as a public writer. In
1820 he became a man of letters.

As a professional writer it is to be noted that De Quincey was
throughout a contributor to the periodicals. With one or two
exceptions all his works found their way to the public through the
pages of the magazines, and he was associated as contributor with most