384 , OF GIVING ALCOHOL 



and not unfrequently give rise to serious disturbance 

 of digestion ; but when one feels depressed and 

 miserable from a feverish cold, three or four glasses of 

 wine may be taken within a very short time with 

 benefit, and with a feeling of immediate relief. Persons 

 accustomed to alcohol in one form may take with 

 advantage some other alcoholic fluid during illness. 



If at the outset we have any reason to apprehend 

 that an attack of fever is going to be severe, it is very 

 desirable to administer small quantities of alcohol 

 early in the disease. In this way the stomach may be 

 accustomed to the remedy ; whereas, if its use is 

 postponed until the patient is very ill, and alcohol 

 required in very large doses, the stomach is often in so 

 highly irritable a state as to reject it. The patient's 

 life may be in jeopardy from this circumstance, or 

 fatal exhaustion alone may actually destroy him. 



Of giving Alcohol to Young Persons. My conclu- 

 sions as regards giving alcohol to the young are in 

 the main not at variance with the opinions of those 

 who advocate extreme temperance. My own expe-. 

 rience leads me to believe that the majority of young 

 healthy people would do well without alcohol ; and I 

 believe the habitual daily consumption by young 

 persons even of a moderate quantity of wine or 

 beer, is quite unnecessary, and mere waste, while in 

 some instances it is positively injurious to health. 

 At the same time there can be no doubt that in 

 certain cases where the health fails in children, and 



