which the heart would beat if freed from such control' (p. 75). The effect of a dose of alcohol seems to be to relax this control; and consequently the heart begins to act more rapidly. Another instance of the indirect action of alcohol is seen in cases of protracted weakness of the heart. When the action of alcohol in such cases is beneficial, it seems mainly due to its mildly narcotic and sedative action, 'relieving the centres which modify the action of the heart from the disturbing influence of pain and anxiety' (p. 77). It thus affords a relief from mental strain which may contribute much towards a patient's comfort and recovery.

This narcotic action of alcohol is clearly illustrated by its influence on the performance of muscular acts. Numerous experiments appear to show that under the immediate action of alcohol muscular movements, both reflex (or automatic) and voluntary, are impaired in their strength, speed and accuracy. Reliable evidence that alcohol improves, in normal circumstances, the efficient performance of any muscular act, unskilled or skilled, seems at present to be altogether lacking' (p. 55). It may perhaps be presumed that this general observation applies only to the ordinary conditions of life, and would not exclude circumstances in which some sudden exertion of physical energy is required. But the evidence adduced in this book, as in that of Sir Victor Horsley, appears conclusive that the normal action of alcohol on muscular action, especially of the more skilled and delicate kind, is one of impairment and retardation. Our guides in the present volume do not, however, proceed, like other writers, to the hasty conclusion that this proves the uselessness of alcohol in all circumstances. Because a dose of alcohol impairs muscular action when performed an hour after it has been taken, it does not follow that a man's muscular vigour may not be greater in the morning if he has enjoyed the sedative action of wine or spirits on his muscular frame overnight. It only proves conclusively that alcohol does not stimulate the immediate action of muscles, but on the contrary checks it.

It is the same with the brain. It seems very clearly shown that the efficiency and accuracy of mental acts is impaired, and not stimulated, by the direct action of alcohol. It may, as the Committee says, by exerting

a sedative and tranquillising action on those higher faculties of self-criticism which render a speaker hesitating, set him free to give play to the emotions and perceptions which animate a speech; but it does so at the cost of a dangerous diminution of sound judgment and accurate expression. It seems to be quite unquestionable that, in normal circumstances, if a man desires to do his best, either in physical or mental exertion, he will abstain from taking alcohol in immediate or proximate preparation for his effort.

What, then, remains as the legitimate and beneficial use of alcohol? It is mainly to be found in that sedative action on the nervous system which relieves the strain of excessive work, discomfort or worry. It is illustrated by the value widely attributed to the rum ration, under the conditions of acute discomfort, cold, and nervous strain, inseparable from trench warfare' (p. 127). It was exhibited in a remarkable manner by the experiences obtained and recorded by Dr Parkes, the eminent authority on Military Hygiene, in the Ashanti Campaign of 1874.* Careful observations and experiments were made in that expedition on the relative value of the issue of rations of coffee, meat-extract, and spirits for the support of soldiers on the march and afterwards; and the general conclusion was that during actual marching, the best results were produced by meatextract or coffee. Rum was found to give a temporary stimulus, but was followed by injurious reaction when administered during exertion. But in the evening, after the exertion was over, it afforded a beneficial relief. Thus Sir Anthony Home, K.C.B., who was once Principal Medical Officer on the Gold Coast, reported that

'Rum should only be issued on the principle of a restorative after exhausting labour, such as an ordinary march in this country is. Given at the end of a day's march, it will benefit, and will help to ward off disease (i.e. will sustain against the depression in which disease has its beginning); if given in the morning before a march, in the delusive idea of adding to a man's strength, it will be simply pernicious. Beer or wine would serve the purpose better.'

*On the issue of a Spirit Ration during the Ashanti Campaign of 1874,' etc. By E. A. Parkes, M.D., F.R.S. Churchill, 1875.

Dr Parkes, in summarising the evidence, says that the 'evidence is against the usefulness of rum during marching. Careful trials show that during marching the invigorating effects of alcohol soon went off, and were succeeded by increased languor.' But, he proceeds,

'the reviving effect of the rum when given at the end of the day was strongly spoken to by several of the men. . . . The testimony is, in fact, quite in accordance with physiological knowledge, that under exhaustion after great exertion alcohol will quicken the heart and act for the time as a restorative, though it may be hurtful or not useful during the actual period of exertion. The general feeling of warmth caused by alcohol, and the temporary strengthening of the heart's action, were also, no doubt, succeeded by a slight anaesthetic effect, making the sleep rather more profound.'

The further scientific investigations recorded by Lord D'Abernon's Committee fully explain these practical experiences of Dr Parkes and his colleagues; and it may be taken as one of the most certain facts respecting the effect of alcohol that, while it is mischievous if used as a stimulant to work, it may be beneficial if used as a sedative and comfort after work.

It is this, probably, which constitutes the chief attraction of alcohol. Men do not drink it as a rule for the mere pleasure of the taste; and, though some forms of it may partially act as a food or at least as food-fuel, it is not for that purpose that people crave for it. But to many constitutions it affords a welcome relaxation of tension after the burden and strain of work.

'An exhausting and worrying day,' say our present authorities (p. 127), 'may leave a condition of tension and irritability which interferes with appetite and digestion; and in such a condition, and in some persons, it may be that wine or other dilute form of alcohol, taken with the evening meal, will assist the assimilation of food. Again, persons who have overworked to such an extent that they have become too tired to rest may be enabled to sleep when they have taken a small amount of alcohol.'

For some years I was engaged in writing leading articles at night; and, when I returned home, between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning, my brain was too excited for

sleep; but a crust of bread and a little claret would give me prolonged and refreshing repose. My experience, in fact, in a hardworking life which has now extended to eighty-two years, has been that alcohol is bad to work upon, but invaluable to rest upon. It has enabled me, indeed, sometimes to do literary work at night after being engaged a great part of the day on the duties of my profession; but only on condition of my interposing a sort of semi-night between the two employments, by two or three hours' rest after dinner, with a good nap. There may be many modifications of this kind in the use of alcoholic drinks; but they are always mere variations of the principle which, after the verdict of this scientific jury, may now be taken to be firmly established-that the chief effect and use of alcohol is to promote rest, and the reinvigoration which rest brings.

This being the case, it would be a positive cruelty to many persons of a nervous temperament to deprive them, by prohibition of the sedative comfort which they find in alcoholic beverages alone; and we may be sure that, if the prohibition could be enforced, the craving of the nervous system would compel them to seek the same relief in more noxious drugs. Tobacco may to some extent answer the same purpose; and it may well be that, as is often urged, smoking, for those whom it suits, diminishes the craving for alcohol. But the rest and cheer given by alcohol render it one of the greatest comforts of mankind; and its abuse by a minority is no sufficient ground for depriving the majority of its enjoyment. That abuse is certainly one of the most grievous evils by which life is demoralised; and one of the best efforts of our day is that of the Temperance Movement.

If that movement is to be fully successful, it must be mainly directed to regulating the indulgence of a natural craving, and not to vain attempts to suppress it. The Church of England Temperance Society was founded on this principle; and I cannot refrain from paying a tribute to the gentle wisdom of its founder, the late Canon Ellison, who made it an essential rule of the Society that it should admit temperate drinkers as well as abstainers. I do not think his name has ever received sufficient honour either during his life or since his death, for the services he rendered to this great cause; and not

the least of those services was the Christian moderation which he maintained in his advocacy. Human life is to a large extent made and maintained by the operation of great passions; and, while it is futile and mischievous to attempt to suppress such passions, the whole happiness of existence and the very essence of civilisation depend on their due regulation. That regulation must be both moral and legal; and its methods can only be effectual if they are based upon a scientific, and therefore true, appreciation of the action of alcohol, its benefit and its danger. That appreciation is at length rendered possible by this volume; and the moral methods for its application are now sufficiently apparent.

In the first place, it is clear that the utmost efforts should be exerted to discourage the use of alcoholic drink during working hours, and especially in the morning. There is no greater violation of the dictates of science than the habitual use of doses of alcohol, as 'liveners,' in the morning hours; and it would be an immense gain if it could be made the settled rule, as I believe it is in India, never to resort to alcohol until sundown. If it could be banished from the luncheon table, and reserved wholly for dinner or supper, there would be an incalculable gain to health. One advantage of such a practice is that it ensures a further important condition for its safe use, on which our advisers in this volume insist. They say that to avoid a continued action on the tissues, such an interval should elapse between the times when alcoholic beverages are drunk as will prevent the persistent presence of a deleterious amount of the drug in the body' (p. 132). If a moderate dose of alcohol be taken in the evening, it will be consumed and otherwise eliminated from the blood before the next evening; and the system will thus be afforded an interval of freedom from the alcoholic influence.

It may be suggested that this consideration affords some guidance in respect to the hours of the licensed sale of alcoholic drinks. A regulation which forbids or greatly restricts its sale during morning hours is, we can now perceive, in accordance with the dictates of science. In the evening, on the other hand, it becomes desirable to associate its use with other circumstances of rest and refreshment; and this points to the desirableness