It is, I believe, an admitted fact that even people who
are considered to be strictly temperate as a rule, habitually take
more wine than is good for them. With regard to tobacco, I cannot help
thinking that its introduction by civilised races has been an unmixed
evil. History shows us that before it was known the most splendid
mental achievements were carried put, and the most heroic endurance
exhibited, things done which if it be possible to rival, it is quite
impossible to excel. The soldier, and sailor, the night-watchman
especially in malarious districts may derive comfort and benefit from
its use, and there I think it should be left; for my observation has
induced me to think that nothing but evil results from its use as a
luxurious habit. The subject is doubtless one of vital interest and
importance; but I must end as I began by disclaiming a right to
dogmatise.
G. F. WATTS.
Feb. 19, 1882.
PROFESSOR ANDREW WILSON, Ph. D., F. R. S. E.
The question you ask concerning the effects of alcohol and tobacco
upon the health of brain-workers, relatively (I presume) to myself, is
a complex one. Personally, I find with often excessive work in the way
of lecturing, long railway journeys, and late hours, writing at other
times, that I digest my food with greater ease when I take a little
claret or beer with meals. Experiment has convinced me that the slight
amount of alcohol I imbibe in my claret is a grateful stimulus to
digestion.
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