INTEMPERANCE UNSCIENTIFIC. 43 



Stimulation is a draft upon vital capital, when interest alone 

 should suffice ; it may be needed at times to bridge a chasm, 

 but habitual living beyond vital income infallibly entails bank- 

 ruptcy in health. The use of alcohol in health seems practi- 

 cally restricted to purposes of sensuous gratification on the 

 part of those prepared to pay a round price for this luxury. 

 The three golden rules here are never drink before breakfast, 

 never drink alone, and never drink bad liquor ; their observ- 

 ance may make even the abuse of alcohol tolerable. Serious 

 objections for a naturalist, at least, are that science, viewed 

 through a glass, seems distant and uncertain, while the joys of 

 rum are immediate and unquestionable ; and that intemper- 

 ance, being an attempt to defy certain physical laws, is there- 

 fore eminently unscientific. 



