For instance, I repeatedly have put this
point to the test:--I work say from breakfast till one o'clock, when,
if I feel at all hungry, I join my family at lunch; if now at lunch I
eat very lightly, and take a glass of ale or whisky-and-water, I feel
disposed, about a quarter of an hour later, to leave my work, which
has, for the time, become irksome to me; and perhaps a couple of
hours will pass before I care for steady work again: on the other
hand, if I eat as lightly, or perhaps take a heartier lunch, but
drink water only, I sit down as disposed for work after as before the
meal. In point of fact, a very weak glass of whisky-and-water has as
bad an influence on the disposition for work as a meal unwisely heavy
would have. It is the same in the evening. If I take a light supper,
with water only, I can work (and this, perhaps, is bad) comfortably
till twelve or one; but a glass of weak whisky-and-water disposes me
to rest or sleep, or to no heavier mental effort than is involved in
reading a book of fiction or travel. These remarks apply only to
quiet home life, with my relatives or intimate friends at the table.
At larger gatherings it seems (as Herbert Spencer has noted) that not
only a heartier meal, but stimulants in a larger quantity, can be
taken without impairment of mental vivacity, and even with advantage,
up to a point falling far short, however, of what in former times
would have been regarded as the safe limit of moderation.
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