McGraw Hill s SAT Subject Test Math Level 1 2 E

2nd Edition John Diehl pdf download

https://ebookname.com/product/mcgraw-hill-s-sat-subject-test-
math-level-1-2-e-2nd-edition-john-diehl/

Get Instant Ebook Downloads – Browse at https://ebookname.com

Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...

McGraw Hill s SAT 2009 Edition Mcgraw Hill s Sat

Christopher Black

https://ebookname.com/product/mcgraw-hill-s-sat-2009-edition-
mcgraw-hill-s-sat-christopher-black/

McGraw Hill s SAT 2014 Edition Christopher Black

https://ebookname.com/product/mcgraw-hill-s-sat-2014-edition-
christopher-black/

McGraw Hill s SAT 2010 Edition Christopher Black

https://ebookname.com/product/mcgraw-hill-s-sat-2010-edition-
christopher-black/

The Empire at the End of Time 1st Edition Frances

Courtney Kneupper

https://ebookname.com/product/the-empire-at-the-end-of-time-1st-
edition-frances-courtney-kneupper/
Clinical Neurophysiology in Pediatrics A Practical
Approach to Neurodiagnostic Testing and Management 1st
Edition Gloria Galloway

https://ebookname.com/product/clinical-neurophysiology-in-
pediatrics-a-practical-approach-to-neurodiagnostic-testing-and-
management-1st-edition-gloria-galloway/

Product Design Modeling using CAD CAE The Computer

Aided Engineering Design Series 1st Edition Kuang-Hua
Chang

https://ebookname.com/product/product-design-modeling-using-cad-
cae-the-computer-aided-engineering-design-series-1st-edition-
kuang-hua-chang/

Police Encounters Security and Surveillance in Gaza

under Egyptian Rule 1st Edition Ilana Feldman

https://ebookname.com/product/police-encounters-security-and-
surveillance-in-gaza-under-egyptian-rule-1st-edition-ilana-
feldman/

Strategic Thinking Illustrated 1st Edition Dennis

Sherwood

https://ebookname.com/product/strategic-thinking-illustrated-1st-
edition-dennis-sherwood/

Concurrent and Distributed Computing in Java 1st

Edition Vijay K. Garg

https://ebookname.com/product/concurrent-and-distributed-
computing-in-java-1st-edition-vijay-k-garg/
Collected Works of Poe Volume II Webster s Korean
Thesaurus Edition Edgar Allan Poe

https://ebookname.com/product/collected-works-of-poe-volume-ii-
webster-s-korean-thesaurus-edition-edgar-allan-poe/
 The Top 25 Things You Need to Know for Top Scores in Math Level 1

1. Mathematical Expressions
Practice evaluating expressions. Be able to substitute a given value for a variable. Know the
order of operations as well as how to perform calculations with fractions, improper fractions,
and mixed numbers. Know how to simplify fractions so that you can present answers in the
lowest, or simplest, terms.
See Chapter 4, pp. 41–46.

2. Percents
Be able to convert between percents and decimals or fractions within a larger mathematical
problem. Know how to find a certain percent of a given number. Be able to determine the
relationship between two numbers.
See Chapter 4, pp. 46–48.

3. Exponents
Be familiar with the rules of exponents and avoid common mistakes, such as incorrectly
addressing exponents or multiplying exponents when they should be added. Know how to
work with rational exponents and negative exponents. Also be familiar with variables in an
exponent.
See Chapter 4, pp. 48–51.

4. Real Numbers
Familiarize yourself with:
• the different types of real numbers
• rational numbers
• natural numbers
• integers
• radicals
• the properties of addition and multiplication, especially the distributive property
• the properties of positive and negative numbers
• the concept of absolute value
See Chapter 4, pp. 52–60.

5. Polynomials
Know how to add, subtract, and multiply polynomials. Practice finding factors of polynomials.
Be familiar with the difference of perfect squares. Be comfortable factoring quadratic equa-
tions, using the quadratic formula, and solving by substitution.
See Chapter 4, pp. 60–68.

6. Inequalities
Know that the rules for solving inequalities are basically the same as those for solving equa-
tions. Be able to apply the properties of inequalities, to solve inequalities with absolute values,
and to relate solutions of inequalities to graphs.
See Chapter 4, pp. 68–70.
7. Rational Expressions
Know that a rational expression is one that can be expressed as the quotient of polynomi-
als. Be comfortable solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations with
rational expressions.
See Chapter 4, pp. 71–74.

8. Systems
Know how to solve by substitution and linear combination. Be able to differentiate among
a single solution, no solution, and infinite solutions. Be comfortable solving word problems
by setting up a system and then solving it.
See Chapter 4, pp. 74–79.

9. Geometric Terms
Make sure you understand:
• points
• lines
• planes
• segments
• rays
Recognize the different methods of describing each. Refer to any diagrams provided or
consider drawing your own to visualize the given information.
See Chapter 5, pp. 81–85.

10. Angles
Be able to recognize an angle and to classify angles by their measure. Know supplementary,
complementary, and vertical angles. Know how to complete several calculations to deter-
mine the measure of a specific angle.
See Chapter 5, pp. 85–89.

11. Triangles
Be able to classify a triangle by its angles or by its sides. Know the sum of the interior angles
of a triangle as well as the exterior angles. This will enable you to determine the measures
of missing angles. For example, a question may provide you with the measure of two interior
angles and ask you to classify the triangle by its angles. You will have to use the given angles
to determine the measure of the third angle in order to find the answer. Other questions
may involve understanding medians, altitudes, and angle bisectors.
You should be able to recognize congruent triangles and to apply the SSS, SAS, and ASA
Postulates as well as the AAS Theorem. Familiarize yourself with the Triangle Inequality
Theorem because a question may ask you to identify a set of numbers that could be the
lengths of the sides of a triangle. Study the properties of right triangles, know how to use the
Pythagorean Theorem to solve problems, and review special right triangles.
See Chapter 5, pp. 89–101.
12. Polygons
Memorize the different types of polygons. Be able to name polygons by their number of sides
and give the sum of the interior and exterior angles. Know how to draw diagonals in a poly-
gon because a question may ask you to find the number of diagonals that can be drawn
from one vertex of a polygon. Review special quadrilaterals and be able to compare them.
A question may ask you to name a quadrilateral given its description or it may ask you to
name the same quadrilateral in different ways.
Also be sure to understand similarity. Some questions may require you to find the measure
of a missing side of a polygon based on the measures of a similar polygon. Others will ask
you to calculate perimeter and area.
See Chapter 5, pp. 101–109.

13. Circles
Know the properties of circles. Be able to select chords, tangents, arcs, and central angles
from a diagram. Questions may ask you to use a diagram to calculate circumference, area,
or arc length.
See Chapter 5, pp. 109–118.

14. Solid Figures

Familiarize yourself with vocabulary for describing polyhedra. For example, questions may
ask you to describe figures by the number of faces, edges, or vertices. They might also ask
you to recognize the shape of the bases. Know the characteristics of prisms, cylinders, pyra-
mids, cones, and spheres. A question might ask you to calculate volume or lateral surface
area given such information as the dimensions of the base and the height.
See Chapter 6, pp. 123–134.

15. Coordinate Geometry

Knowing how to describe a point on a plane rectangular system will enable you to answer
several different types of questions. For example, you may be asked to identify the ordered
pair that names a point or find solutions of an equation in two variables. Be able to find the
midpoint of a line segment and the distance between two points. Other types of questions
may ask you to find the area of a figure given its vertices or the slope of a line. Of particular
importance is to know the standard form of the equation of a line as well as the point-slope
form and the slope-intercept form. A question may ask you to find the equation of a line
given the slope and a point or a line parallel to it.
See Chapter 7, pp. 136–145.

16. Graphing Circles and Parabolas

You may encounter the standard form for the equation of a circle or a parabola. A question
may ask you to find the x- and y-intercepts of a circle given a specific equation or to find the
equation given a description of the figure. The question may provide a description and/or a
graph. Other questions may ask you to find the vertex of a parabola given an equation.
See Chapter 7, pp. 145–150.
17. Graphing Inequalities and Absolute Value
Graphing an inequality is similar to graphing a line. The difference is that the set of ordered
pairs that make the inequality true is usually infinite and illustrated by a shaded region in
the plane. A question may ask you to identify the correct graph to represent an inequality
or to describe a characteristic of the graph, such as whether the line is solid or dashed.
Know that absolute value graphs are V-shaped and be able to match a graph to an absolute
value equation.
See Chapter 7, pp. 151–152.

18. Trigonometry
Study the trigonometric ratios and identities that relate the sides of a right triangle. A question
may ask you to find the length of a side given the length of another side and the measure
of an angle. The information may be embedded within a word problem and may include a
diagram. As always, feel free to draw a diagram to help visualize the problem, but make sure
you then use your diagram to choose the correct answer from among the choices.
See Chapter 8, pp. 153–162.

19. Functions
You should be able to recognize a function and determine its domain and range. A question
may ask you to identify a function from a mapping diagram or a set notation. It may ask you
to identify the domain of a given function from an equation or a graph. Be able to differen-
tiate between functions and relations, and recognize graphs of common functions. Review
compositions of functions and be able to select from among identity, zero, and constant
functions. Know how to determine the maximum or minimum of a function and find roots
of a quadratic function. You may also need to find the inverse of a function or the properties
of rational functions, higher-degree polynomial functions, and exponential functions.
See Chapter 9, pp. 164–179.

20. Counting Problems

Some questions may require you to use the Fundamental Counting Principle. For example,
you may need to calculate the number of possible combinations given a number of models
of sofa and a number of different fabric patterns. Know what it means for events to be mutu-
ally exclusive. Be familiar with factorials and the process of finding permutations.
See Chapter 10, pp. 181–183.

21. Probability
Practice determining the probability that an event will occur. Read every question carefully.
Identify the desired event and the total number of possible outcomes. Differentiate between
dependent and independent events. Some questions may ask you to determine the prob-
ability that an event will not occur. Pay attention to the wording as you read the answer choic-
es so that you choose the answer that correctly answers the question posed.
See Chapter 10, pp. 183–184.
22. Central Tendency and Data Interpretation
Knowing common measures of central tendency will enable you to answer some questions
involving statistics. For example, a question may provide a set of data and ask you to deter-
mine the mean, median, or mode. Others may provide you with one of the measures of cen-
tral tendency and ask you to determine missing data. Some questions may ask you to reach
a conclusion based on a histogram or frequency distribution.
See Chapter 10, pp. 184–187.

23. Invented Operations and “In Terms Of” Problems

There is a good possibility that you will see a question that introduces an invented opera-
tion. This type of question will show a new symbol that represents a made-up mathe-
matical operation. The symbol will not be familiar to you, but it will be defined for you. You
will need to use the definition to solve for a given variable. You may also encounter a ques-
tion involving more than one unknown variable. In these questions, you must solve for one
variable in terms of another.
See Chapter 11, pp. 189–190.

24. Sequences
Sequences are common question topics. Be able to distinguish between finite and infinite
sequences as well as between arithmetic and geometric sequences. Questions may ask you
to find the sum of the terms for a given sequence or the nth term in a sequence.
See Chapter 11, pp. 190–194.

25. Logic and Number Theory

Questions in this category require you to use reason to identify the correct answer. Review
conditional statements, converses, inverses, and contrapositives. A question may provide a
statement and ask you to identify a statement that is equivalent. Other questions may pro-
vide descriptions of variables and ask you to identify true statements about those variables.
Once you determine an answer, try actual values in the problem to check your conclusion.
See Chapter 11, pp. 194–197.
This page intentionally left blank
 McGRAW-HILL’s

SAT
SUBJECT TEST
MATH LEVEL 1
Second Edition

John J. Diehl, Editor

Mathematics Department
Hinsdale Central High School
Hinsdale, IL

Christine E. Joyce

New York / Chicago / San Francisco / Lisbon / London / Madrid / Mexico City
Milan / New Delhi / San Juan / Seoul / Singapore / Sydney / Toronto
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,
no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-160923-4

MHID: 0-07-160923-7

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-160922-7, MHID: 0-07-160922-9.

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use
names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such
designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To
contact a representative please visit the Contact Us page at www.mhprofessional.com.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding
that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, futures/securities trading, or other professional service. If legal advice
or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers

TERMS OF USE

This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this
work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may
not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or
sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill’s prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any
other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.

THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCU-
RACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION
THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PAR-
TICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements
or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy,
error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any
information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special,
punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibili-
ty of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or
otherwise.
 CONTENTS

PART I. ABOUT THE SAT MATH LEVEL 1 TEST 1

Chapter 1 Test Basics / 3
About the Math Level 1 Test / 3
The Level 1 vs. Level 2 Test / 4
How to Use This Book / 6

Chapter 2 Calculator Tips / 7

On the Day of the Test / 8

Chapter 3 Diagnostic Test / 9

Answer Key / 25
Answers and Solutions / 25

PART II. MATH REVIEW 37

Chapter 4 Algebra / 39
Evaluating Expressions / 41
Order of Operations / 41
Fractions / 41
Simplifying Fractions / 41
Least Common Denominator / 42
Multiplying Fractions / 44
Using Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions / 44
Variables in the Denominator / 45
Percents / 46
Converting Percents to Decimals / 46
Converting Fractions to Percents / 47
Percent Problems / 47
Exponents / 48
Properties of Exponents / 48
Common Mistakes with Exponents / 49
Rational Exponents / 50
Negative Exponents / 51
Variables in an Exponent / 51
Real Numbers / 52
Vocabulary / 52
Properties of Real Numbers / 53
Absolute Value / 56
Radical Expressions / 57
Roots of Real Numbers / 57
Simplest Radical Form / 58
Rationalizing the Denominator / 58
Conjugates / 60
Polynomials / 60
Vocabulary / 60
Adding and Subtracting Polynomials / 61
Multiplying Polynomials / 61
Factoring / 62
Quadratic Equations / 64
ix
x CONTENTS

Quadratic Formula / 65
Solving by Substitution / 66
The Discriminant / 67
Equations with Radicals / 67
Inequalities / 68
Transitive Property of Inequality / 69
Addition and Multiplication Properties / 69
“And” vs. “Or” / 69
Inequalities with Absolute Value / 70
Rational Expressions / 71
Simplifying Rational Expressions / 71
Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions / 71
Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions /72
Solving Equations with Rational Expressions / 73
Systems / 74
Solving by Substitution / 74
Solving by Linear Combination / 75
No Solution vs. Infinite Solutions / 76
Word Problems with Systems / 78

Chapter 5 Plane Geometry / 80

Undefined Terms / 81
Lines, Segments, Rays / 83
Angles / 85
Measures of Angles / 85
Supplementary and Complementary Angles / 86
Vertical Angles / 87
Linear Pairs of Angles / 88
Triangles / 89
Types of Triangles / 89
Sum of Interior Angles and Exterior Angles / 90
Medians, Altitudes, and Angle Bisectors / 92
Congruent Triangles / 93
Isosceles Triangles / 95
Triangle Inequality / 96
Pythagorean Theorem / 97
Special Right Triangles / 98
Parallel Lines / 100
Polygons / 101
Types of Polygons / 102
Perimeter / 103
Sum of the Interior Angles / 103
Sum of the Exterior Angles / 104
Special Quadrilaterals / 105
Similarity / 106
Ratio and Proportion / 106
Similar Triangles / 107
Circles / 109
Chords / 109
Tangents / 110
Arcs and Angles / 111
Circumference / 113
Arc Length / 114
CONTENTS xi

Area / 116
Area Formulas / 116
Area vs. Perimeter / 118
Area Ratio of Similar Figures / 119
Figures That Combine Numerous Shapes / 119

Chapter 6 Solid Geometry / 122

Vocabulary for Polyhedra / 123
Prisms / 124
Distance Between Opposite Vertices of a Rectangular Prism / 126
Cylinders / 127
Pyramids / 129
Cones / 130
Spheres / 133
Volume Ratio of Similar Figures / 134

Chapter 7 Coordinate Geometry / 135

Plotting Points / 136
Midpoint / 138
Distance / 138
Slope / 140
Slope of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines / 141
Equations of Lines / 141
Horizontal and Vertical Lines / 142
Standard Form / 142
Point-Slope Form / 143
Slope-Intercept Form / 143
Determining x- and y-Intercepts / 145
Circles / 145
Parabolas / 147
Graphing Inequalities / 150
Graphing Absolute Value / 151

Chapter 8 Trigonometry / 153

Right Triangle Trigonometry / 153
Relationships Among Trigonometric Ratios / 156
Secant, Cosecant, Cotangent / 156
Cofunction Identities / 158
Inverse Functions / 159
Special Right Triangles / 160
Trigonometric Identities / 161

Chapter 9 Functions / 163

Functional Notation / 164
Functions vs. Relations / 167
Graphing Functions / 169
Composition of Functions / 169
Identity, Zero, and Constant Functions / 170
Determining the Maximum or Minimum / 170
The Roots of a Quadratic Function / 172
Inverse Functions / 173
Rational Functions / 175
xii CONTENTS

Higher-Degree Polynomial Functions / 176

Exponential Functions / 178

Chapter 10 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability / 180

Counting Problems / 181
Probability / 183
Mean, Median, Mode / 184
Data Interpretation / 186

Chapter 11 Number and Operations / 188

Invented Operations / 189
“In Terms Of” Problems / 190
Sequences / 190
Arithmetic Sequences / 191
Geometric Sequences / 192
Logic / 194
Number Theory / 196

PART III. SIX PRACTICE TESTS 199

Practice Test 1 / 201
Answer Key / 216
Answers and Solutions / 216
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 222

Practice Test 2 / 225

Answer Key / 240
Answers and Solutions / 240
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 246

Practice Test 3 / 249

Answer Key / 264
Answers and Solutions / 264
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 270

Practice Test 4 / 273

Answer Key / 288
Answers and Solutions / 288
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 295

Practice Test 5 / 297

Answer Key / 312
Answers and Solutions / 312
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 319

Practice Test 6 / 321

Answer Key / 338
Answers and Solutions / 338
Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses / 345
PART I
ABOUT THE
SAT MATH
LEVEL 1 TEST
This page intentionally left blank
 CHAPTER 1
TEST BASICS
About the Math Level 1 Test
The SAT Math Level 1 test is one of the Subject Tests offered by the College
Board. It tests your knowledge of high school math concepts and differs from
the SAT general test, which tests your math aptitude. The test consists of 50
multiple-choice questions and is one hour long.
The SAT Subject Tests (formerly known as SAT II Tests or Achievement
Tests) are the lesser-known counterpart to the SAT, offered by the same
organization—the College Board. But whereas the SAT tests general verbal,
writing, and mathematical reasoning skills, the SAT Subject Tests cover spe-
cific knowledge in a wide variety of subjects, including English, mathemat-
ics, history, science, and foreign language. SAT Subject Tests are only one
hour long, significantly shorter than the SAT, and you can take up to three
during any one test administration. You can choose which SAT Subject Tests
to take and how many to take on one test day, but you cannot register to take
both the SAT and Subject Tests on the same test day.
The Math Level 1 test covers the following topics:

Approximate Breakdown of Topics on the Level 1 Test

Number and
Operations
10%
Data Analysis,
Statistics, and Algebra
Probability 28%
8%

Functions
12%

Trigonometry
6%
Plane
Geometry
Coordinate 20%
Geometry
10% Solid
Geometry
6%

The Math Level 1 test is designed to test a student’s math knowledge, abil-
ity to apply concepts, and higher-order thinking. Students are not expected
to know every topic covered on the test.

3
4 PART I / ABOUT THE SAT MATH LEVEL 1 TEST

When determining which SAT Subject Tests to take and when to take
them, consult your high school guidance counselor and pick up a copy of the
“Taking the SAT Subject Tests” bulletin published by the College Board.
Research the admissions policies of colleges to which you are considering
applying to determine their SAT Subject Test requirements and the average
scores students receive. Also, visit the College Board’s Web site at www.
collegeboard.com to learn more about what tests are offered.
Use this book to become familiar with the content, organization, and level
of difficulty of the Math Level 1 test. Knowing what to expect on the day of
the test will allow you to do your best.

When to Take the Test

The Math Level 1 test is recommended for students who have completed
three years of college-preparatory mathematics. Most students taking the
Level 1 test have studied two years of algebra and one year of geometry. Many
students take the math subject tests at the end of their junior year or at the
beginning of their senior year.
Colleges look at SAT Subject Test scores to see a student’s academic
achievement, as the test results are less subjective than other parts of a college
application, such as GPA, teacher recommendations, student background
information, and the interview. Many colleges require at least one SAT
Subject Test score for admission, but even schools that don’t require SAT
Subject Tests may review your scores to get an overall picture of your qualifi-
cations. Colleges may also use SAT Subject Test scores to enroll students in
appropriate courses. If math is your strongest subject, then a high SAT
Math score, combined with good grades on your transcript, can convey that
strength to a college or university.
To register for SAT Subject Tests, pick up a copy of the Registration Bul-
letin, “Registering for the SAT: SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests,” from
your guidance counselor. You can also register at www.collegeboard.com or
contact the College Board directly at:

College Board SAT Program

901 South 42nd Street
Mount Vernon, IL 62864
(866) 756-7346

General inquiries can be directed via email through the website’s email
inquiry form or by telephone at (866) 756-7346.
The SAT Math Level 1 test is administered six Saturdays (or Sunday if you
qualify because of religious beliefs) a year in October, November, December,
January, May, and June. Students may take up to three SAT Subject Tests per
test day.

The Level 1 vs. Level 2 Test

As mentioned, the Math Level 1 test is recommended for students who have
completed three years of college-preparatory mathematics. The Math Level 2
test is recommended for students who have completed more than three years
CHAPTER 1 / TEST BASICS 5

of college-preparatory mathematics. Most students taking the Level 2 test

have studied two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and one year of pre-
calculus (elementary functions) and/or trigonometry.
Typically, students who have received A or B grades in precalculus and
trigonometry elect to take the Level 2 test. If you have taken more than three
years of high school math and are enrolled in a precalculus or calculus pro-
gram, don’t think that taking the Level 1 test guarantees a higher score. Many
of the topics on the Level 1 test will be concepts studied years ago.
Although the topics covered on the two tests overlap somewhat, they dif-
fer as shown in the table below. The College Board gives an approximate out-
line of the mathematics covered on each test as follows:

Topic Level 1 Test Level 2 Test

Algebra and Functions 38–42% 48–52%

Plane Euclidean Geometry 18–22% —

Three-Dimensional Geometry 4–6% 4–6%

Coordinate Geometry 8–12% 10–14%

Trigonometry 6–8% 12–16%

Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6–10% 6–10%

Number and Operations 10–14% 10–14%

Overall, the Level 2 test focuses on more advanced content in each area.
As shown in the table, the Level 2 test does not directly cover Plane Euclid-
ean Geometry, although Plane Euclidean Geometry concepts may be applied
in other types of questions. Number and Operations was formerly known as
Miscellaneous topics.
This book provides a detailed review of all the areas covered on the Math
Level 1 test.

Scoring

The scoring of the Math Level 1 test is based on a 200 to 800-point scale,
similar to that of the math and verbal sections of the SAT. You receive one
point for each correct answer and lose one-quarter of a point for each incor-
rect answer. You do not lose any points for omitting a question. In addition
to your scaled score, your score report shows a percentile ranking indicating
the percentage of students scoring below your score. Because there are con-
siderable differences between the Math Level 1 and Level 2 tests, your score
on one is not an accurate indicator of your score on the other.
You can view your scores online by logging into your My SAT account
approximately three weeks after the test. Refer to the College Board website
to see on what date your score will become available. Just like the SAT, you
can choose up to four college/scholarship program codes to which to send
your scores, for free and the College Board will send a cumulative report of
all of your SAT and SAT Subject Test scores to these programs. Additional
score reports can be requested, for a fee, online or by phone.
6 PART I / ABOUT THE SAT MATH LEVEL 1 TEST

How to Use This Book

• Become familiar with the SAT: Math Level 1 test. Review Chapters 1
and 2 to become familiar with the Level 1 test and the guidelines for cal-
culator usage.
• Identify the subject matter that you need to review. Complete the diag-
nostic test in Chapter 3 and evaluate your score. Identify your areas of
weakness and focus your test preparation on these areas.
• Study smart. Focus your studying on areas that will benefit you.
Strengthen your ability to answer the types of questions that appear on
the test by reviewing Chapters 4 to 11 as necessary, beginning with your
weaker areas. Work through each of the questions in the chapters in
which you are weak. Skim the other chapters as needed, and work through
problems that are not clear to you.
• Practice your test-taking skills and pacing. Complete the practice tests
under actual test-like conditions. Evaluate your score and, again, review
your areas of weakness.
CHAPTER 2
CALCULATOR TIPS
The SAT: Math Level 1 test requires the use of a scientific or graphing calcu-
lator. The Math Level 1 and Level 2 tests are actually the only Subject Tests
for which calculators are allowed. It is not necessary to use a calculator to
solve every problem on the test. In fact, there is no advantage to using a cal-
culator for 50 to 60 percent of the Level 1 test questions. That means a cal-
culator is helpful for solving approximately 40 to 50 percent of the Level 1
test questions.
It is critical to know how and when to use your calculator effectively . . .
and how and when to NOT use your calculator. For some problems, using
a calculator may actually take longer than solving the problem by hand.
Knowing how to properly operate your calculator will affect your test score,
so practice using your calculator when completing the practice tests in this
book.
The Level 1 test is created with the understanding that most students
know how to use a graphing calculator. Although you have a choice of using
either a scientific or a graphing calculator, choose a graphing calculator. A
graphing calculator provides much more functionality (as long as you know
how to use it properly!). A graphing calculator is an advantage when solving
many problems related to coordinate geometry and functions.
Remember to make sure your calculator is working properly before your
test day. Become comfortable with using it and familiar with the common
operations. Since calculator policies are ever-changing, refer to www.college
board.com for the latest information. According to the College Board, the
following types of calculators are NOT allowed on the SAT Math test:

• Calculators with QWERTY (typewriterlike) keypads

• Calculators that contain electronic dictionaries
• Calculators with paper tape or printers
• Calculators that “talk” or make noise
• Calculators that require an electrical outlet
• Cell-phone calculators
• Pocket organizers or personal digital assistants
• Handheld minicomputers or laptop computers
• Electronic writing pads or pen-input/stylus-driven devices (such as a
Palm Pilot).

There are a few rules to calculator usage on the SAT Math test. Of course,
you may not share your calculator with another student during the test.
Doing so may result in dismissal from the test. If your calculator has a large
or raised display that can be seen by other test takers, the test supervisor
has the right to assign you to an appropriate seat, presumably not in the
line of sight of other students. Calculators may not be on your desk during
other SAT Subject Tests, aside from the Math Level 1 and Level 2 tests. If
your calculator malfunctions during the test and you don’t have a backup
or extra batteries, you can either choose to continue the test without a cal-
culator or choose to cancel your test score. You must cancel the score

7
8 PART I / ABOUT THE SAT MATH LEVEL 1 TEST

before leaving the test center. If you leave the test center, you must cancel
scores for all subject tests taken on that date.
When choosing what calculator to use for the test, make sure your calcu-
lator performs the following functions:

• Squaring a number
• Raising a number to a power other than 2 (usually the {^} button)
• Taking the square root of a number
• Taking the cube root of a number (or, in other words, raising a number to
the 1 power)
3
• Sine, cosine, and tangent
• Sin −1, cos −1, tan −1
• Can be set to degree mode

Also know where the π button and the parentheses buttons are, and under-
stand the difference between the subtraction symbol and the negative sign.
Since programmable calculators are allowed on the SAT Math test, some
students may frantically program their calculator with commonly used math
formulas and facts, such as distance, the quadratic formula, midpoint, slope,
circumference, area, volume, surface area, lateral surface area, the trigono-
metric ratios, trigonometric identities, the Pythagorean Theorem, combina-
tions, permutations, and nth terms of geometric/arithmetic sequences. Of
course, if you do not truly understand these math facts and when to use them,
you end up wasting significant time scrolling through your calculator search-
ing for them.

On the Day of the Test

• Make sure your calculator works! (Putting new batteries in your calcula-
tor will provide you with peace of mind.)
• Bring a backup calculator and extra batteries to the test center.
• Set your calculator to degree mode, since all of the angles on the Level 1
test are given in degrees.
CHAPTER 3
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
To most effectively prepare for the Math Level 1 test, you should identify the
areas in which your skills are weak. Then, focus on improving your skills in
these areas. (Of course, also becoming stronger in your strong areas will only
help your score!) Use the results of the diagnostic test to prioritize areas in
which you need further preparation.
The following diagnostic test resembles the format, number of questions,
and level of difficulty of the actual Math Level 1 test. It incorporates questions
in the following eight areas:
1. Algebra
2. Plane Geometry
3. Solid Geometry
4. Coordinate Geometry
5. Trigonometry
6. Functions
7. Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
8. Number and Operations
When you’re finished with the test, determine your score and carefully
read the answer explanations for the questions you answered incorrectly.
Identify your weak areas by determining the areas in which you made the
most errors. Review these chapters of the book first. Then, as time permits,
go back and review your stronger areas.
Allow one hour to take the diagnostic test. Time yourself and work unin-
terrupted. If you run out of time, take note of where you ended after one hour,
and continue until you have tried all 50 questions. To truly identify your weak
1
areas, you need to complete the test. Remember that you lose of a point for
4
each incorrect answer. Because of this penalty, do not guess on a question
unless you can eliminate one or more of the answers. Your score is calculated
using the following formula:
1
Number of correct answers − (Number of incorrect answers)
4
The diagnostic test will be an accurate reflection of how you’ll do on the
Level 1 test if you treat it as the real examination. Here are some hints on how
to take the test under conditions similar to the actual test day:

• Complete the test in one sitting.

• Time yourself.
• Use a scientific or graphing calculator. Remember that a calculator may
be useful in solving about 40 to 50 percent of the test questions and is not
needed for about 50 to 60 percent of the test.
• Tear out your answer key and fill in the ovals just as you would on the
actual test day.
• Become familiar with the directions to the test and the reference infor-
mation provided. You’ll save time on the actual test day by already being
familiar with this information.

9
This page intentionally left blank
CHAPTER 3 / DIAGNOSTIC TEST 11

DIAGNOSTIC TEST
MATH LEVEL 1
ANSWER SHEET

Tear out this answer sheet and use it to complete the diagnostic test. Deter-
mine the BEST answer for each question. Then, fill in the appropriate oval
using a No. 2 pencil.

1. A B C D E 21. A B C D E 41. A B C D E
2. A B C D E 22. A B C D E 42. A B C D E
3. A B C D E 23. A B C D E 43. A B C D E
4. A B C D E 24. A B C D E 44. A B C D E
5. A B C D E 25. A B C D E 45. A B C D E
6. A B C D E 26. A B C D E 46. A B C D E
7. A B C D E 27. A B C D E 47. A B C D E
8. A B C D E 28. A B C D E 48. A B C D E
9. A B C D E 29. A B C D E 49. A B C D E
10. A B C D E 30. A B C D E 50. A B C D E
11. A B C D E 31. A B C D E
12. A B C D E 32. A B C D E
13. A B C D E 33. A B C D E
14. A B C D E 34. A B C D E
15. A B C D E 35. A B C D E
16. A B C D E 36. A B C D E
17. A B C D E 37. A B C D E
18. A B C D E 38. A B C D E
19. A B C D E 39. A B C D E
20. A B C D E 40. A B C D E
This page intentionally left blank
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
calibre, trifling persons, incapable of serious reflection or of a serious
purpose, their very terrors being trivial and transitory, who do not
care for the ruin in which they are involved. Generally speaking,
however, drunkards hate the servitude into which they have had the
misfortune to fall; they long to escape from it, have often tried to
escape, and if they have given up, it is only after having so many
times slidden back into the abyss, that they feel it would be of no
use to climb again. As Mrs. H. B. Stowe remarks, with that excellent
charity of hers, which is but another name for refined justice, "Many
a drunkard has expended more virtue in vain endeavors to break his
chain than suffices to carry an ordinary Christian to heaven."

The daily life of one of the steady drunkards is like this: upon getting
up in the morning, after a heavy, restless, drunkard's sleep, he is
miserable beyond expression, and almost helpless. In very bad
cases, he will see double, and his hands will tremble so that he
cannot lift to his lips the glass for which he has a desire amounting
to mania. Two or three stiff glasses of spirituous liquor will restore
him so far that he can control his muscles, and get about without
betraying his condition. After being up an hour, and drinking every
ten or fifteen minutes, he will usually be able to eat a pretty good
breakfast, which, with the aid of coffee, tobacco, and a
comparatively small quantity of liquor, he will be able to digest. After
breakfast, for some hours he will generally be able to transact
routine business, and associate with his fellows without exciting their
pity or contempt. As dinner-time draws near he feels the necessity of
creating an appetite; which he often accomplishes by drinking some
of those infernal compounds which are advertised on the eternal
rocks and mountain-sides as Bitters,—a mixture of bad drugs with
worse spirits. These bitters do lash the torpid powers into a
momentary, morbid, fierce activity, which enables the victim to eat
even a superabundant dinner. The false excitement subsides, but the
dinner remains, and it has to be digested. This calls for an
occasional drink for three or four hours, after which the system is
exhausted, and the man feels dull and languid. He is exhausted, but
he is not tranquil; he craves a continuation of the stimulant with a
craving which human nature, so abused and perverted, never
resists. By this time it is evening, when all the apparatus of
temptation is in the fullest activity, and all the loose population of
the town is abroad. He now begins his evening debauch, and keeps
up a steady drinking until he can drink no more, when he stumbles
home to sleep off the stupefying fumes, and awake to the horror
and decrepitude of a drunkard's morning.

The quantity of spirituous liquor required to keep one of these

unhappy men in this degrading slavery varies from a pint a day to
two quarts. Many drunkards consume a quart of whiskey every day
for years. The regular allowance of one gentleman of the highest
position, both social and official, who made his way to the Inebriate
Asylum, had been two quarts of brandy a day for about five years.
The most remarkable known case is that of a hoary-headed man of
education and fortune, residing in the city of New York, who
confesses to taking "fifty drinks a day" of whiskey,—ten drinks to a
bottle, and five bottles to a gallon. One gallon of liquor, he says,
goes down his old throat every day of the year. Before he is fit to eat
his breakfast in the morning he has to drink twelve glasses of
whiskey, or one bottle and one fifth. Nevertheless, even this poor
man is able, for some hours of the morning, to transact what people
of property and leisure call business, and, during a part of the
evening, to converse in such a way as to amuse persons who can
look on and see a human being in such bondage without stopping to
think what a tragedy it is. This Old Boy never has to be carried
home, I believe. He is one of those most hopeless drunkards who
never get drunk, never wallow in the gutter, never do anything to
scare or startle them into an attempt to reform. He is like a certain
German "puddler" who was pointed out to me in a Pittsburg iron-
works, who consumes exactly seven dollars' worth of lager-bier
every seven days,—twenty glasses a day, at five cents each. He is
also like the men employed in the dismal work of the brewery, who
are allowed as much beer as they can drink, and who generally do
drink as much as they can. Such persons are always fuddled and
stupid, but seldom drunk enough to alarm their neighbors or
themselves. Perhaps they are the only persons in all the world who
are in any degree justified in passing their lives in a state of
suspended intelligence; those of them at least whose duty it is to get
inside of enormous beer barrels, and there, in darkness and solitude,
in an atmosphere reeking and heavy with stale ale, scrape and mop
them out before they are refilled. When you see their dirty, pale
faces at the "man-hole" of the barrel, down in the rumbling bowels
of the earth, in one of those vast caves of beer in Cincinnati, you
catch yourself saying, "Drink, poor devils, drink! Soak what brains
you have in beer!" What can a man want with brains in a beer-
barrel? But then, you think again, even these poor men need their
brains when they get home; and we need that they should have
brains on the first Tuesday in November.

It is that going home which makes drunkenness so dire a tragedy. If

the drunkard could only shut himself up with a whiskey-barrel, or a
pipe of Madeira, and quietly guzzle himself to death, it would be a
pity, but it could be borne. He never does this; he goes home to
make that home perdition to some good souls that love him, or
depend upon him, and cannot give him up. There are men at the
Asylum near Binghamton, who have admirable wives, beautiful and
accomplished daughters, venerable parents, whose portraits are
there in the patient's trunks, and who write daily letters to cheer the
absent one, whose absence now, for the firsts time in years, does
not terrify them. They are the victims of drunkenness,—they who
never taste strong drink. For their deliverance, this Asylum stands
upon its hill justified in existing. The men themselves are interesting,
valuable, precious, worth every rational effort that can be made to
save them; but it is those whom they left at home anxious and
desolate that have the first claim upon our consideration.
With regard to these steady, regular drunkards, the point to be
noted is this: very few of them can stop drinking while they continue
to perform their daily labor; they absolutely depend upon the alcohol
to rouse their torpid energies to activity. Their jaded constitutions
will not budge without the spur. Everything within them gapes and
hungers for the accustomed stimulant. This is the case, even in a
literal sense; for it seems, from Dr. Day's dissections, that the
general effect of excessive drinking is to enlarge the globules of
which the brain, the blood, the liver, and other organs are
composed, so that those globules, as it were, stand open-mouthed,
empty, athirst, inflamed, and most eager to be filled. A man whose
every organ is thus diseased cannot usually take the first step
toward cure without ceasing for a while to make any other demands
upon himself. This is the great fact of his condition. If he is a true
drunkard, i.e. if he has lost the power to do his work without
excessive alcoholic stimulation, then there is no cure possible for him
without rest. Here we have the simple explanation of Mrs. Stowe's
fine remark just quoted. This is why so many thousand wives spend
their days in torment between hope and despair,—hope kindled by
the husband's efforts to regain possession of himself, and despair
caused by his repeated, his inevitable relapses. The unfortunate man
tries to do two things at once, the easiest of which is as much as he
can accomplish; while the hardest is a task which, even with the
advantage of perfect rest, few can perform without assistance.

The Occasional Drunkard is a man who is a teetotaler for a week,

two weeks, a month, three months, six months, and who, at the end
of his period, is tempted to drink one glass of alcoholic liquor. That
one glass has upon him two effects; it rouses the slumbering demon
of Desire, and it perverts his moral judgment. All at once his honor
and good name, the happiness and dignity of his family, his success
in business, all that he held dearest a moment before, seem small to
him, and he thinks he has been a fool of late to concern himself so
much about them. Or else he thinks he can drink without being
found out, and without its doing him the harm it did the last time.
Whatever may be the particular delusion that seizes him, the effect
is the same; he drinks, and drinks, and drinks, keeping it up
sometimes for ten days, or even for several weeks, until the long
debauch ends in utter exhaustion or in delirium tremens. He is then
compelled to submit to treatment; he must needs go to the
Inebriate Asylum of his own bed-room. There, whether he raves or
droops, he is the most miserable wretch on earth; for, besides the
bodily tortures which he surfers, he has to endure the most
desolating pang that a decent human being ever knows,—the loss of
his self-respect. He abhors himself and is ashamed; he remembers
past relapses and despairs; he cannot look his own children in the
face; he wishes he had never been born, or had died in the cursed
hour, vividly remembered, when this appetite mastered him first. As
his health is restored, his hopes revive; he renews his resolution and
he resumes his ordinary routine, subdued, distrustful of himself, and
on the watch against temptation. Why he again relapses he can
hardly tell, but he always does. Sometimes a snarl in business
perplexes him, and he drinks for elucidation. Sometimes melancholy
oppresses him, and he drinks to drive dull care away. Sometimes
good fortune overtakes him, or an enchanting day in June or
October attunes his heart to joy, and he is taken captive by the
strong delusion that now is the time to drink and be glad. Often it is
lovely woman who offers the wine, and offers it in such a way that
he thinks he cannot refuse without incivility or confession. From
conversation with the inmates of the Inebriate Asylum, I am
confident that Mr. Greeley's assertion with regard to the wine given
at the Communion is correct. That sip might be enough to awaken
the desire. The mere odor of the wine filling the church might be too
much for some men.

There appears to be a physical cause for this extreme susceptibility.

Dr. Day has once had the opportunity to examine the brain of a man
who, after having been a drunkard, reformed, and lived for some
years a teetotaler. He found, to his surprise, that the globules of the
brain had not shrunk to their natural size. They did not exhibit the
inflammation of the drunkard's brain, but they were still enlarged,
and seemed ready on the instant to absorb the fumes of alcohol,
and resume their former condition. He thought he saw in this morbid
state of the brain the physical part of the reason why a man who
has once been a drunkard can never again, as long as he lives,
safely take one drop of any alcoholic liquor. He thought he saw why
a glass of wine puts the man back instantly to where he was when
he drank all the time. He saw the citadel free from the enemy, swept
and clean, but undefended, incapable of defence, and its doors
opened wide to the enemy's return; so that there was no safety,
except in keeping the foe at a distance, away beyond the outermost
wall.

There are many varieties of these occasional drunkards, and, as a

class, they are perhaps the hardest to cure. Edgar Poe was one of
them; half a glass of wine would set him off upon a wild, reckless
debauch, that would last for days. All such persons as artists,
writers, and actors used to be particularly subject to this malady,
before they had any recognized place in the world, or any
acknowledged right to exist at all. Men whose labors are intense, but
irregular, whose gains are small and uncertain, who would gladly be
gentlemen, but are compelled to content themselves with being
loafers, are in special danger; and so are men whose toil is
extremely monotonous. Printers, especially those who work at night
upon newspapers, are, perhaps, of all men the most liable to fall
under the dominion of drink. Some of them have persuaded
themselves that they rest under a kind of necessity to "go on a tear"
now and then, as a relief from such grinding work as theirs. On the
contrary, one "tear" creates the temptation to another; for the man
goes back to his work weak, depressed, and irritable; the monotony
of his labor is aggravated by the incorrectness with which he does it,
and the longing to break loose and renew the oblivion of drink
strengthens rapidly, until it masters him once more.

Of these periodical drunkards it is as true as it is of their regular

brethren, that they cannot conquer the habit without being relieved
for a while of their daily labor. This malady is so frequent among us,
that hardly an individual will cast his eyes over these pages who
cannot call to mind at least one person who has struggled with it for
many years, and struggled in vain. They attempt too much. Their
periodical "sprees," "benders," or "tears" are a connected series,
each a cause and an effect, an heir and a progenitor. After each
debauch, the man returns to his routine in just the state of health, in
just the state of mind, to be irritated, disgusted, and exhausted by
that routine; and, at every moment of weakness, there is always
present the temptation to seek the deadly respite of alcohol. The
moment arrives when the desire becomes too strong for him, and
the victim yields to it by a law as sure, as irresistible, as that which
makes the apple seek the earth's centre when it is disengaged from
the tree.

It is amazing to see how helpless men can be against such a habit,

while they are compelled to continue their daily round of duties. Not
ignorant men only, nor bad men, nor weak men, but men of good
understanding, of rare gifts, of the loftiest aspirations, of characters
the most amiable, engaging, and estimable, and of will sufficient for
every purpose but this. They know the ruin that awaits them, or in
which they are already involved, better than we other sinners know
it; they hate their bondage worse than the most uncharitable of their
friends can despise it; they look with unutterable envy upon those
who still have dominion over themselves; many, very many of them
would give all they have for deliverance; and yet self-deliverance is
impossible. There are men among them who have been trying for
thirty years to abstain, and still they drink. Some of them have
succeeded in lengthening the sober interval, and they will live with
strictest correctness for six months or more, and then, taking that
first fatal glass, will immediately lose their self-control, and drink
furiously for days and nights; drink until they are obliged to use
drunken artifice to get the liquid into their mouths,—their hands
refusing their office. Whether they take a large quantity of liquor
every day, or an immense quantity periodically, makes no great
difference, the disease is essentially the same; the difficulties in the
way of cure are the same; the remedial measures must be the same.
A drunkard, in short, is a person so diseased by alcohol, that he
cannot get through his work without keeping his system saturated
with it, or without such weariness and irritation as furnish irresistible
temptation to a debauch. He is, in other words, a fallen brother, who
cannot get upon his feet without help, and who can generally get
upon his feet with help.

Upon this truth Inebriate Asylums are founded; their object being to
afford the help needed. There are now four such institutions in the
United States: one in Boston, opened in 1857, called the
Washingtonian Home; one in Media, near Philadelphia, opened in
1867, called the Sanitarium; one at Chicago, opened in 1868; and
one at Binghamton, New York, called the New York Inebriate
Asylum. The one last named was founded in 1858, if the laying of
the corner-stone with grand ceremonial can be called founding it;
and it has been opened some years for the reception of patients; but
it had no real existence as an asylum for the cure of inebriates until
the year 1867, when the present superintendent, Dr. Albert Day,
assumed control.

The history of the institution previous to that time ought to be

related fully for the warning of a preoccupied and subscribing public,
but space cannot be afforded for it here. The substance of it, as
developed in sundry reports of trials and pamphlets of testimony, is
this: Fifteen or twenty years ago, an English adventurer living in the
city of New York, calling himself a doctor, and professing to treat
unnamable diseases, thought he saw in this notion of an Inebriate
Asylum (then much spoken of) a chance for feathering his nest. He
entered upon the enterprise without delay, and he displayed a good
deal of nervous energy in getting the charter, collecting money, and
erecting the building. The people of Binghamton, misled by his
representations, gave a farm of two hundred and fifty-two acres for
the future inmates to cultivate, which was two hundred acres too
much; and to this tract farms still more superfluous have been
added, until the Asylum estate contains more than five hundred
acres. An edifice was begun on the scale of an imperial palace,
which will have cost, by the time it is finished and furnished, a
million dollars. The restless man pervaded the State raising money,
and creating public opinion in favor of the institution. For several
years he was regarded as one of the great originating philanthropists
of the age; and this the more because he always gave out that he
was laboring in the cause from pure love of the inebriate, and
received no compensation.

But the time came when his real object and true character were
revealed. In 1864 he carried his disinterestedness so far as to offer
to give to the institution, as part of its permanent fund, the entire
amount to which he said he was entitled for services rendered and
expenses incurred. This amount was two hundred and thirty-two
thousand dollars, which would certainly have been a handsome gift.
When he was asked for the items of his account, he said he had
charged for eighteen years' services in founding the institution, at
thirty-five hundred dollars a year, and the rest was travelling-
expenses, clerk hire, and salaries paid to agents. The trustees were
puzzled to know how a man who, at the beginning of the enterprise,
had no visible property, could have expended so much out of his
private resources, while exercising an unremunerated employment.
Leaving that conundrum unsolved, they were able at length to
conjecture the object of the donation. One of the articles of the
charter provided that any person giving ten dollars to the institution
should be a stockholder, and entitled to a vote at the election of
trustees. Every gift of ten dollars was a vote! If, therefore, this
astounding claim had been allowed, and the gift accepted, the
audacious villain would have been constituted owner of four fifths of
the governing stock, and the absolute controller of the entire
property of the institution! It was a bold game, and the strangest
part of the story is, that it came near succeeding. It required the
most arduous exertions of a public-spirited board of trustees,
headed by Dr. Willard Parker, to oust the man who, even after the
discovery of his scheme, played his few last cards so well that he
had to be bought off by a considerable sum cash down. An incident
of the disastrous reign of this individual was the burning of one of
the wings of the building, after he had had it well insured. The
insurance was paid him ($81,000); and there was a trial for arson,—
a crime which is easy to commit, and hard to prove. Binghamton
convicted the prisoner, but the jury was obliged to acquit him.[3]

Such things may be done in a community where almost every one is

benevolent enough to give money towards an object that promises
to mitigate human woe, but where scarcely any one has leisure to
watch the expenditure of that sacred treasure!

The institution, after it was open, remained for two years under the
blight of this person's control. Everything he did was wrong.
Ignorant, obstinate, passionate, fussy, and false,—plausible and
obsequious at Albany, a violent despot at the Asylum,—he was, of all
the people in the world, the precisely worst man to conduct an
experiment so novel and so abounding in difficulties. If he had a
theory, it was that an inebriate is something between a criminal and
a lunatic, who is to be punished like the one and restrained like the
other. His real object seemed to be, after having received payment
for a patient six months in advance, to starve and madden him into
a sudden departure. The very name chosen by him for the institution
proves his hopeless incompetency. "Inebriate Asylum!" That name
to-day is, perhaps, the greatest single obstacle to its growth. He
began by affixing a stigma to the unfortunate men who had honored
themselves by making so gallant an effort at self-recovery. But let
the man and his doings pass into oblivion. There never yet was a
bad man who was not, upon the whole, a very stupid ass. All the
genuine intelligence in the world resides in virtuous minds. When,
therefore, I have said that this individual was an unprincipled
adventurer, I have also said that he was signally incapable of
conducting an institution like this.

While we, in the State of New York, were blundering on in this way,
permitting a million dollars of public and private money to be
lavished in the attempt to found an asylum, a few quiet people in
Boston, aided by a small annual grant from the Legislature, had
actually established one, and kept it going for nine years, during
which three thousand inebriates had been received, and two
thousand of them cured! The thing was accomplished in the simplest
way. They hired the best house for the purpose that chanced to be
vacant, fitted it up at the least possible expense, installed in it as
superintendent an honest man whose heart was in the business, and
opened its doors for the reception of patients. By and by, when they
had results to show, they asked the Legislature for a little help,
which was granted, and has been renewed from year to year ever
since. The sum voted has never exceeded five thousand dollars in
any year, and there are three men in Boston at this moment
reclaimed from drunkenness by the Washingtonian Home who pay
taxes enough to support it.

In an enterprise for the management of which no precedents exist,

everything of course depends upon the chief. When you have got
the right man at the head, you have got everything; and until you
have got the right man there, you have got nothing. Albert Day, the
superintendent for nine years of the Washingtonian Home at Boston,
and during the last year and a half the superintendent of the Asylum
at Binghamton, has originated nearly all that is known of the art of
curing the mania for alcohol. He struck into the right path at once,
guided by instinct and sympathy, rather than by science or
reflection. He was not a professional person; he was simply a
business man of good New England education, who had two special
qualifications for his new position,—first, a singular pity for
drunkards; and, secondly, a firm belief that, with timely and right
assistance, a majority of them could be restored to self-control. This
pity and this faith he had possessed for many years, and they had
both grown strong by exercise. When he was a child upon his
father's farm in Maine, he saw in his own home and all around him
the evils resulting from the general use of alcoholic liquors, so that
when the orators of teetotalism came along he was ready to receive
their message. He is one of the very few persons now living in the
world who never partook of an alcoholic beverage,—so early was he
convinced of their preposterous inutility. Losing his father at thirteen,
he at once took hold of life in the true Yankee way. He tied up his
few worldly effects into a bundle, and, slinging it over his shoulder,
walked to a farmer's house not many miles away, and addressed to
him a plain question, "Do you want to hire a boy?" to which the
farmer with equal directness replied, "Yes." From hoeing corn and
chopping wood the lad advanced to an apprenticeship, and learned a
mechanical trade; and so made his way to early marriage, decent
prosperity, and a seat in the Legislature of Massachusetts. From the
age of sixteen he was known, wherever he lived, as a stanch
teetotaler, and also as one who would befriend a drunkard after
others had abandoned him to his fate.

I once heard Dr. Day relate the occurrence which produced in his
mind the conviction that drunkards could be rescued from the
domination of their morbid appetite. One evening, when he came
home from his work, he heard that a certain Jack Watts, the sot of
the neighborhood, was starving with his wife and three young
children. After tea he went to see him. In treating this first patient,
Albert Day hit upon the very method he has ever since pursued, and
so I beg the reader will note the manner in which he proceeded. On
entering his cottage he was as polite to him, as considerate of his
dignity as head of a household, as he could have been to the first
man of the village. "Mr. Watts," said he, after the usual salutations,
"I hear you are in straitened circumstances." The man, who was
then quite sober, replied: "I am; my two youngest children went to
bed crying for food, and I had none to give them. I spent my last
three cents over there," pointing to a grog-shop opposite, "and the
bar-keeper said to me, as he took the money, says he, 'Jack Watts,
you're a fool'; and so I am." Here was a chance for a fine moral
lecture. Albert Day indulged in nothing of the kind. He said, "Mr.
Watts, excuse me for a few minutes"; and he went out, returning
soon with a basket containing some flour, pork, and other materials
for a supper. "Now, Mrs. Watts, cook something, and wake your
children up, and give them something to eat. I'll call again early in
the morning. Good night."

Perfect civility, no reproaches, no lecture, practical help of the kind

needed and at the time needed. Observe, too, that the man was in
the condition of mind in which patients usually are when they make
the confession implied in entering an asylum. He was at the end of
his tether. He was—to use the language of the bar-room—"dead
beat."

When Mr. Day called the next morning, the family had had their
breakfast, and Jack Watts smiled benedictions on the man whom he
had been wont to regard as his enemy, because he was the declared
enemy of Jack Watts's enemy. Now the time had come for a little
talk. Jack Watts explained his circumstances; he had been out of
work for a long time, and he had consumed all his substance in
drink. Mr. Day listened with respectful attention, spoke to him of
various plans for the future, and said that for that day he could give
him a dollar's worth of wood-chopping to do. Then they got upon
the liquor question. In the softened, receptive mind of Jack Watts,
Albert Day deposited the substance of a rational temperance lecture.
He spoke to him kindly, respectfully, hopefully, strongly. Jack Watts's
mind was convinced; he said he had done with drink forever. He
meant it too; and thus he was brought to the second stage on the
road to deliverance. In this particular case, resting from labor was
out of the question and unnecessary, for the man had been resting
too long already, and must needs go to work. The wood was
chopped. The dollar to be paid for the work at the close of the day
was a fearful ordeal for poor Jack, living fifteen yards from a bar-
room. Mr. Day called round in the evening, paid him the dollar
without remark, fell into ordinary conversation with the family, and
took leave. John stood the test; not a cent of the money found its
way into the till of the bar-keeper. Next morning Mr. Day was there
again, and, seeing that the patient was going on well, spoke to him
further about the future, and glided again into the main topic,
dwelling much upon the absolute necessity of total and eternal
abstinence. He got the man a place, visited him, held him up,
fortified his mind, and so helped him to complete and lasting
recovery. Jack Watts never drank again. He died a year or two ago in
Maine at a good age, having brought up his family respectably.

This was an extreme case, for the man had been a drunkard many
years; it was a difficult case, for he was poor and ignorant; and it
made upon the mind of Albert Day an impression that nothing could
efface. He was living in Boston in 1857, exercising his trade, when
the Washingtonian Home was opened. He was indeed one of the
originators of the movement, and took the post of superintendent
because no one else seemed capable of conducting the experiment.
Having now to deal with the diseased bodies of men, he joined the
medical department of Harvard University, and went through the
usual course, making a particular study of the malady he was
attempting to cure. After nine years' service he was transferred to
the Asylum at Binghamton, where he pursues the system practised
with success at Boston.

I visited the Binghamton Asylum in June of the present year. The

situation combines many advantages. Of the younger cities that
have sprung into importance along the line of leading railroads there
is not one of more vigorous growth or more inviting appearance than
Binghamton. Indications of spirit and civilization meet the eye at
every turn. There are long streets of elegant cottages and villas,
surrounded by nicely kept gardens and lawns, and containing
churches in the construction of which the established barbarisms
have been avoided. There is a general tidiness and attention to
appearances that we notice in the beautiful towns and villages of
New England; such as picturesque Northampton, romantic
Brattleboro', and enchanting Stockbridge, peerless among villages.
The Chenango River unites here with the Susquehanna; so that the
people who have not a river within sight of their front doors are
likely to have one flowing peacefully along at the back of their
gardens. It is a town, the existence of which in a State governed as
New York is governed shows how powerless a government is to
corrupt a virtuous and intelligent people, and speaks of the time
when governments will be reduced to their natural and proper
insignificance. Such communities require little of the central power;
and it is a great pity that that little is indispensable, and that Albany
cannot be simply wiped out.

Two miles from Binghamton, on a high hill rising from the bank of
the Susquehanna, and commanding an extensive view of the
beautiful valleys of both rivers, stands the castellated palace which
an adventurer had the impudence to build with money intrusted to
him for a better purpose. The Erie Railroad coils itself about the base
of this eminence, from the summit of which the white puffs of the
locomotive can be descried in one direction nine miles, and in the
other fifteen miles. On reaching this summit about nine o'clock on a
fine morning in June, I found myself in front of a building of light-
colored stone, presenting a front of three hundred and sixty-five
feet, in a style of architecture that unites well the useful and the
pleasing. Those numerous towers which relieve the monotony of so
extensive a front serve an excellent purpose in providing small
apartments for various purposes, which, but for them, could not be
contrived without wasting space. At present the first view of the
building is not inviting, for the burnt wing remains roofless and void,
—the insurance money not having been applied to refitting it,—and
the main edifice is still unfinished. Not a tree has yet been planted,
and the grounds about the building are little more pleasing to the
eye than fifty acres of desert. On a level space in front of the edifice
a number of young men were playing a game of base-ball, and
playing it badly. Their intentions were excellent, but their skill was
small. Sitting on the steps and upon the blocks of stone scattered
about were fifty or sixty well-dressed, well-looking gentlemen of
various ages, watching the game. In general appearance and
bearing these persons were so decidedly superior to the average of
mortals, that few visitors fail to remark the fact. Living up there in
that keen, pure air, and living in a rational manner, amusing
themselves with games of ball, rowing, sailing, gardening, bowling,
billiards, and gymnastic exercises, they are as brown and robust as
David Copperfield was when he came home from the Continent and
visited his friend Traddles. Take any hundred men from the educated
classes, and give them a few months of such a life as this, and the
improvement in their appearance will be striking. Among these on-
lookers of the game were a few men with gray hairs, but the
majority were under thirty, perhaps thirty-two or thirty-five was
about the average age.

When I looked upon this most unexpected scene, it did not for a
moment occur to me that these serene and healthy-looking men
could be the inmates of the Asylum. The insensate name of the
institution prepares the visitor to see the patients lying about in
various stages of intoxication. The question has sometimes been
asked of the superintendent by visitors looking about them and
peering into remote corners, "But, Doctor, where do you keep your
drunkards?" The astonishment of such inquirers is great indeed
when they are informed that the polite and well-dressed gentlemen
standing about, and in whose hearing the question was uttered, are
the inmates of the institution; every individual of whom was till very
recently, not merely a drunkard, but a drunkard of the most
advanced character, for whose deliverance from that miserable
bondage almost every one had ceased to hope. A large majority of
the present inmates are persons of education and respectable
position, who pay for their residence here at rates varying from ten
to twenty dollars a week, and who are co-operating ardently with
the superintendent for their recovery. More than half of them were
officers of the army or navy during the late war, and lost control of
themselves then. One in ten must be by law a free patient; and
whenever an inebriate really desires to break his chain, he is met
half-way by the trustees, and his board is fixed at a rate that accords
with his circumstances. A few patients have been taken as low as
five dollars a week. When once the building has been completed, the
grounds laid out, and the farms disposed of, the trustees hope never
to turn from the door of the institution any proper applicant who
desires to avail himself of its assistance. The present number of
patients is something less than one hundred, which is about fifty less
than can be accommodated. When the burnt wing is restored, there
will be room for four hundred.

Upon entering the building, we find ourselves in a spacious,

handsome, well-arranged, and well-furnished hotel. The musical click
of billiard-balls, and the distant thunder of the bowling-alley, salute
the ear; one of the inmates may be performing brilliantly on the
piano, or trying over a new piece for next Sunday on the cabinet
organ in the temporary chapel. The billiard-room, we soon discover,
contains three tables. There is a reading-room always open, in which
the principal periodicals of both continents, and plenty of
newspapers, are accessible to all the patients. A small library, which
ought to be a larger one, is open at a certain hour every day. A
conservatory is near completion, and there is a garden of ten acres
near by in which a number of the inmates may usually be seen at
work. A croquet-ground is not wanting, and the apparatus of cricket
is visible in one of the halls. The chapel is still far from being
finished, but enough is done to show that it will be elegant and
inviting soon after the next instalment of excise-money comes in.
The dining-room is lofty and large, as indeed are all the public
rooms. The private rooms are equal, both in size and furniture, to
those of good city hotels. The arrangements for warming, lighting,
washing, bathing, cooking, are such as we should expect to find in
so stately an edifice. We have not yet reached the point when
housework will do itself; but in great establishments like this, where
one man, working ten minutes an hour, warms two or three hundred
rooms, menial labor is hopefully reduced. In walking about the wide
halls and airy public apartments, the visitor sees nothing to destroy
the impression that the building is a very liberally arranged summer
hotel. To complete the illusion, he will perhaps see toddling about a
lovely child with its beautiful mother, and in the large parlor some
ladies visiting inmates or officers of the institution. The table also is
good and well served. A stranger, not knowing the nature of the
institution, might, however, be puzzled to decide whether it is a hotel
or a college. No one, it is true, ever saw a college so handsomely
arranged and provided; but the tone of the thing is college-like,
especially when you get about among the rooms of the inmates, and
see them cramming for next Monday's debate, or writing a lecture
for the Asylum course.

This institution is in fact, as in appearance, a rationally conducted

hotel or Temporary Home and resting-place for men diseased by the
excessive use of alcoholic drinks. It is a place where they can pause
and reflect, and gather strength and knowledge for the final
victorious struggle with themselves. Temptation is not so remote
that their resolution is not in continual exercise, nor so near that it is
tasked beyond its strength. There lies Binghamton in its valley below
them in plain sight, among its rivers and its trees, with its thousand
pretty homes and its dozen nasty bar-rooms. They can go down
there and drink, if they can get any one to risk the fifty dollars' fine
imposed by the law of the State upon any one who sells liquor to an
inmate of the Asylum. Generally there is some poor mercenary
wretch who will do it. Until it has been proved that the sight of
Binghamton is too much for a patient, the only restraint upon his
liberty is, that he must not enter the town without the consent of the
superintendent. This consent is not regarded in the light of a
permission, but in that of a physician's opinion. The patient is
supposed to mean: "Dr. Day, would you, as my medical adviser,
recommend me to go to Binghamton this morning to be measured
for a pair of shoes? Do you think it would be salutary? Am I far
enough advanced in convalescence to trust myself to breathe the air
of the valley for an hour?" The doctor gives his opinion on the point,
and it is etiquette to accept that opinion without remark. Not one
patient has yet visited the town, with the consent of the
superintendent, who has proved unequal to the temptation. If an
inmate steals away and yields to his craving, he is placed in
confinement for a day or two, or longer if necessary. It occasionally
happens that a patient, conscious of the coming on of a paroxysm of
desire, asks to have the key of his room turned upon him till it is
over. It is desired that this turning of the key, and those few barred
rooms in one of the wards, shall be regarded as mere remedial
appliances, as much so as the bottles of medicine in the medicine-
chest. It is, however, understood that no one is to be released from
confinement who does not manifest a renewed purpose to refrain.
Such a purpose is sometimes indicated by a note addressed to the
superintendent like the following, which I happened to see placed in
his hands:—
 "Dr. Day:—

"Dear Sir: I cannot let the circumstance which happened

yesterday pass by without assuring you that I am truly
sorry for the disgrace I have brought on the institution, as
well as myself. I certainly appreciate your efforts to guide
us all in the right direction, and more especially the
interest that you have taken in my own welfare. Let me
assure you now, that hereafter, as long as I remain with
you, I shall use every endeavor to conduct myself as I
should, and cause you no further trouble."

Lapses of this kind are not frequent, and they are regarded by the
superintendent as part of the means of restoration which the
institution affords; since they aid him in destroying a fatal self-
confidence, and in inculcating the idea that a patient who lapses
must never think of giving up the struggle, but renew it the instant
he can gain the least foothold of self-control.

The system of treatment pursued here is founded on the expectation

that the patient and the institution will co-operate. If a man does not
desire to be reclaimed, and such a desire cannot be awakened within
him, the institution can do no more than keep him sober while he
remains an inmate of it. There will, perhaps, one day be in every
State an asylum for incurable drunkards, wherein they will be
permanently detained, and compelled to live temperately, and earn
their subsistence by suitable labor. But this is not such an institution.
Here all is voluntary. The co-operation of the patient is assumed;
and when no desire to be restored can be roused, the experiment is
not continued longer than a few months.

The two grand objects aimed at by the superintendent are, to raise

the tone of the bodily health, and to fortify the weakened will. The
means employed vary somewhat in each case. The superintendent
designs to make a particular study of each individual; he endeavors
to win his confidence, to adapt the treatment to his peculiar
disposition, and to give him just the aid he needs. As the number of
patients increases, this will become more difficult, if it does not
become impossible. The more general features of the system are all
that can be communicated to others, and these I will endeavor
briefly to indicate.

It is interesting to observe the applicants for admission, when they

enter the office of the Asylum, accompanied generally by a relative
or friend. Some reach the building far gone in intoxication, having
indulged in one last farewell debauch; or having drunk a bottle of
whiskey for the purpose of screwing their courage to the sticking-
point of entering the Asylum. A clergyman whom this institution
restored told me that he reached Binghamton in the evening, and
went to bed drunk; and before going to the Asylum the next
morning he had to fortify his system and his resolve by twelve
glasses of brandy. Sometimes the accompanying friend, out of an
absurd kind of pity for a poor fellow about to be deprived of his
solace, will rather encourage him to drink; and often the relatives of
an inebriate can only get him into the institution by keeping him
intoxicated until he is safe under its roof. Frequently men arrive
emaciated and worn out from weeks or months of hard drinking;
and occasionally a man will be brought in suffering from delirium
tremens, who will require restraint and watching for several days.
Some enter the office in terror, expecting to be immediately led
away by a turnkey and locked up. All come with bodies diseased and
minds demoralized; for the presence of alcohol in the system lowers
the tone of the whole man, body and soul, strengthening every evil
tendency, and weakening every good one. And this is the reason
why men who are brought here against their will are not to be
despaired of. Alcohol may only have suspended the activity of their
better nature, which a few weeks of total abstinence may rouse to
new life. As the health improves, ambition often revives, the native
delicacy of the soul reappears, and the man becomes polite, docile,
interested, agreeable, who on entering seemed coarse, stupid,
obstinate, and malign.

The new-comer subscribes to the rules, pays his board three months
in advance, and surrenders all the rest of his money. The paying in
advance is a good thing; it is like paying your passage on going on
board ship; the voyager has no care, and nothing to think of, but the
proposed object. It is also one more inducement to remain until
other motives gain strength.

Many hard drinkers live under the conviction that if they should
cease drinking alcoholic liquors suddenly, they would die in a few
days. This is a complete error. No "tapering off" is allowed here. Dr.
Day discovered years ago that a man who has been drinking a quart
of whiskey a day for a long time suffers more if his allowance is
reduced to a pint than if he is put at once upon the system of total
abstinence. He not only suffers less, but for a shorter time. The
clergyman before referred to informed me that, for two years and a
half before entering the Asylum, he drank a quart of brandy daily,
and he felt confident that he would die if he should suddenly cease.
He reached Binghamton drunk; he went to bed that evening drunk;
he drank twelve glasses of brandy the next morning before eleven
o'clock; he went up to the Asylum saturated with brandy, expecting
to make the preliminary arrangements for his admission, then return
to the hotel, and finish the day drinking. But precisely at that point
Albert Day laid his hand upon him, and marked him for his own. Dr.
Day quietly objected to his return to the town, sent for his trunk,
caused the tavern bill to be paid, and cut off his brandy at once and
totally. For forty-eight hours the patient craved the accustomed
stimulant intensely, and he was only enabled to sleep by the
assistance of bromide of potassium. On the third day the craving
ceased, and he assured me that he never felt it again. Other morbid
experiences he had, but not that; and now, after two years of
abstinence, he enjoys good health, has no desire for drink, and is
capable of extraordinary exertions. Other patients, however,
informed me that they suffered a morbid craving for two or three
weeks. But all agreed that the sudden discontinuance of the
stimulant gave them less inconvenience than they had anticipated,
and was in no degree dangerous. It is, indeed, most surprising to
see how soon the system begins to rally when once it is relieved of
the inimical influence. Complete recovery, of course, is a slow and
long effort of nature; but the improvement in the health, feelings,
and appearance of patients, after only a month's residence upon
that breezy hill, is very remarkable.

There is an impression in the country that the inmates of such

asylums as this undergo some mysterious process, and take
unknown medicines, which have power to destroy the desire for
strong drink. Among the quack medicines of the day is a bottled
humbug, pretending to have such power. It is also supposed by
some that the plan which Captain Marryat mentions is efficacious,—
that of confining a drunken sailor for several days to a diet of beef
and brandy. Accounts have gone the rounds of the papers, of
another system that consists in saturating with brandy every article
of food of which the inebriate partakes. Patients occasionally arrive
at the Asylum who expect to be treated in some such way; and
when a day or two passes without anything extraordinary or
disagreeable happening, they inquire, with visible apprehension,
"When the treatment is going to begin." In this sense of the word,
there is no treatment here. In all nature there is no substance that
destroys or lessens a drunkard's desire for intoxicating liquors; and
there is no such thing as permanently disgusting him with brandy by
giving him more brandy than he wants. A drunkard's drinking is not
a thing of mere appetite; his whole system craves stimulation; and
he would drink himself into perdition while loathing the taste of the
liquor. This Asylum simply gives its inmates rest, regimen,
amusement, society, information. It tries to restore the health and
renew the will, and both by rational means.
Merely entering an establishment like this is a long step toward
deliverance. It is a confession! It is a confession to the patient's
family and friends, to the inmates of the Asylum, and, above all, to
himself, that he has lost his self-control, and cannot get it back
without assistance. He comes here for that assistance. Every one
knows he comes for that. They are all in the same boat. The pot
cannot call the kettle black. False pride, and all the thin disguises of
self-love, are laid aside. The mere fact of a man's being an inmate of
an inebriate asylum is a declaration to all about him that he has
been a drunkard, and even a very bad drunkard; for the people here
know, from their own bitter experience, that a person cannot bring
himself to make such a confession until, by many a lapse, he has
been brought to despair of self-recovery. Many of these men were
thinking of the asylum for years before they could summon courage
to own that they had lost the power to resist a physical craving. But
when once they have made the agonizing avowal by entering the
asylum, it costs them no great effort to reveal the details of their
case to hearers who cannot reproach them; and, besides relating
their own experience without reserve, they are relieved, encouraged,
and instructed by hearing the similar experience of others. All have
the same object, the same peril, the same dread, the same hope,
and each aids the rest as students aid one another in the same
college.

In a community like this, Public Opinion is the controlling force. That

subtle, resistless power is always aiding or frustrating the object for
which the community exists. Public Opinion sides with a competent
superintendent, and serves him as an assiduous, omnipresent police.
Under the coercive system once attempted here, the public opinion
of the Asylum applauded a man who smuggled a bottle of whiskey
into the building, and invited his friends into his room to drink it. An
inmate who should now attempt such a crime would be shunned by
the best two thirds of the whole institution. One of their number,
suddenly overcome by temptation, who should return to the Asylum
drunk, they would all receive as cordially as before; but they would
regard with horror or contempt a man who should bring temptation
into the building, and place it within reach of those who had fled
hither to avoid it.

The French have a verb,—se dépayser,—to uncountry one's self, to

get out of the groove, to drop undesirable companions and forsake
haunts that are too alluring, by going away for a while, and, in
returning, not resuming the old friends and habits. How necessary
this is to some of the slaves of alcohol every one knows. To many of
them restoration is impossible without it, and not difficult with it. To
all such, what a refuge is a well-conducted asylum like this! Merely
being here, out of the coil of old habits, haunts, pleasures,
comrades, temptations, which had proved too much for them a
thousand times,—merely being away for a time, so that they can
calmly survey the scenes they have left and the life they have led,—
is itself half the victory.

Every Wednesday evening, after prayers, a kind of temperance

meeting is held in the chapel. It is the intention of the
superintendent, that every inmate of the Asylum shall become
acquainted with the nature of alcohol, and with the precise effects of
alcoholic drinks upon the human system. He means that they shall
comprehend the absurdity of drinking as clearly as they know its
ruinous consequences. He accordingly opens this meeting with a
short lecture upon some one branch of the subject, and then invites
the patients to illustrate the point from their own experience. At the
meeting which I happened to attend the subject of Dr. Day's remarks
was suggested (as it often is) by an occurrence which had just taken
place at the institution, and had been the leading topic of
conversation all that day. At the last meeting, a young man from a
distant State, who had been in the Asylum for some months and was
about to return home, delivered an eloquent farewell address to his
companions, urging them to adhere to their resolution, and
protesting his unalterable resolve never, never, never again to yield
to their alluring and treacherous foe. He spoke with unusual
animation and in a very loud voice. He took his departure in the
morning, by the Erie Road, and twelve hours after he was brought
back to the Asylum drunk. Upon his recovery he related to the
superintendent and to his friends the story of his lamentable fall.
When the train had gone three hours on its way, there was a
detention of three hours at a station that offered little entertainment
to impatient travellers. The returning prodigal paced the platform;
found it dull work; heard at a distance the sound of billiard-balls;
went and played two games, losing both; returned to the platform
and resumed his walk; and there fell into the train of thought that
led to the catastrophe. His reflections were like these: "How perfect
is my cure! I have not once thought of taking a drink. Not even
when I saw men drinking at the bar did it cross my mind to follow
their example. I have not the least desire for whiskey, and I have no
doubt I could take that 'one glass' which Dr. Day keeps talking
about, without a wish for a second. In fact, no man is perfectly
cured till he can do that I have a great mind to put it to the test. It
almost seems as if this opportunity of trying myself had been
created on purpose. Here goes, then, for the last glass of whiskey I
shall take as long as I live, and I take it purely as a scientific
experiment." One hour after, his friend, who was accompanying him
home, found him lying in a corner of a bar-room, dead drunk. He
had him picked up, and placed in the next train bound for
Binghamton.

This was the text of Dr. Day's discourse, and he employed it in

enforcing anew his three cardinal points: 1. No hope for an inebriate
until he thoroughly distrusts the strength of his own resolution; 2.
No hope for an inebriate except in total abstinence as long as he
lives, both in sickness and in health; 3. Little hope for an inebriate
unless he avoids, on system and on principle, the occasions of
temptation, the places where liquor is sold, and the persons who will
urge it upon him. Physicians, he said, were the inebriate's worst
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebookname.com