166 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



said to be the mother of Wisdom I mean Expe- 

 rience. It happens thus : Mr. Noaks gets a pain 

 in his bowels his neighbour Styles experienced a 

 similar pain last week, took brandy, and got well. 

 Relying on this experience, he recommends brandy 

 to Noaks. Noaks takes a glass, and feels better 

 another glass, and feels better still a third cures 

 him. Next year, his son complains of a pain in his 

 bowels ; and his father, mindful of the experience of 

 himself, and eke his neighbour Styles, administers 

 to his son, in full confidence, a bumper of brandy. 

 The son gets rather worse; but then his father 

 recollects that the first glass did not cure his own 

 pain, and so he gives his son another, and advises 

 him to go to bed. Next morning, however, the 

 pain being no better, some other neighbour assures 

 the father that he has often experienced wonderful re- 

 lief, whenever he has had a pain in the bowels, from 

 gin and peppermint. So the father gives the son 

 a bumper of gin and peppermint. But, although 

 brandy, and gin, and peppermint, might have cured 

 the colic-pains of his two neighbours, it would not 

 be found to be quite the thing for the inflammation 

 which is already raging among his poor son's 

 bowels. At last the doctor is called in, who finds 

 that his patient has been labouring for thirty or 



