THE EUROPEAN SETTLERS 
181 
therefore propose to repeat my diatribes in this book. But it should be added 
that what I object to is not the drinking of good wine or beer, but the con¬ 
sumption of spirits. Whisky is the bane of Central Africa as it is of West 
Africa, South Africa and Australia. I dare say brandy is as bad as whisky 
but it has passed out of fashion as a drink, and therefore it has not incurred 
my animosity to the same extent as the national product of Scotland and 
Ireland. 1 Moreover, brandy is invaluable in sickness. If any spirits are drunk 
it seems to me that gin is the least harmful, as it has a good effect on the 
kidneys. In hot climates like that of Central Africa whisky seems to have 
a bad effect on the liver and on the kidneys. 
I do not suppose these words will have much effect on my readers. 
IVORY AT MANDALA STORE (AFRICAN LAKES COMPANY) 
Alcoholic excess is our national vice, and while we are ready enough to 
deplore the opium-eating-or-smoking on the part of the Indians or Chinese, 
—a vice which is not comparable in its ill effects to the awful abuse of alcohol 
which is so characteristic of the northern peoples of Europe,—we still remain 
indifferent to the effects of spirit-drinking which has been the principal vice of 
the nineteenth century. The abuse of wine or beer, though bad like all abuses, 
is a relatively wholesome excess compared to even a moderate consumption of 
spirits. Though I think of the two extremes total abstinence is the better course 
to follow in Central Africa, I do not recommend total abstinence from all forms 
of alcohol. I think, on the contrary, the moderate use of wine is distinctly 
beneficial, especially for anaemic people. 
Trading with the natives on a large scale is, as I have said, chiefly confined 
to two or three large companies—the African Lakes, Sharrer’s, the Oceana 
Company and Kahn & Co. But a small amount of barter chiefly for provisions 
1 Which alone, I believe, among strong waters develops the poisonous Fusel Oil. 
