Temperance and teetotalism : an enquiry into the effects of alcoholic drinks on the human system in health and disease.

  • Carpenter, William Benjamin, 1813-1885.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Temperance and teetotalism : an enquiry into the effects of alcoholic drinks on the human system in health and disease. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ]9 surpass tlmt of the greatest victories -which history records ^ for let ihcvi begin and persevere, without fear of ridicule or ob- loquy, and wo feel assured that they will make certain progress, though it may be slow. In reply to our second query, whether abstinence in cold climates is attended with positive benefit. Dr Hooker writes : ‘ I do think that the use of spirits in I cold weather is generally prejudicial. 1 I speak from my own ex-perience. Jl is verij pleasant. The glass of grog warms the I mouth, the throat, and the abdomen; and I this, when one is -wet and cold, with no I fire, and just before turning into damp : blankets, is very enticing; but it never j did me one atom of good: the extremities i are not warmed by it; and when a con- j tinuance of exertion or endurance is called for, the spirit does harm,yb?‘ then you are. colder or more fatigued a quarter or half an hour after it than you would have been without it. Several of the men on board our ship, and amongst them some of the best, never touched grog during one or ; more of the antarctic cruises. They wore ' not one whit the worse for their absti- nence, but enjoyed the same perfect health i that all the crew did throughout the four I years’ voyage. Many of our men laid in ! large stocks of coffee, and when practica- I ble had it made for them after the watch j on deck. These men, I believe, would , willingly have given up their spirits in exchange for coffee; but we could not ensure them the latter on the requisite occasions. To the southward of the an- tarctic circle, or of lat. 50°, you may say, it blew a gale three days out of five; there was always a heavy swell running; the whole ship and bedding were damp from ; condensation, where not so from shipping i seas ; the atmosphere of the lower deck (with hatches battened down) such that : you could not see from one mess-table to i another; and this for days together. ' There is neither standing, sitting, nor I lying in comfort. All hands, olBcers and . men, up and ready; the one watch on deck, the two others on the qui vive for any emergency. In cruising amongst the ] ice, the ship is perhaps put about every half-hour; and we have been for sixteen i hours in this state. Every time we go on ; deck we are drenched with cold salt wa- ter, which sometimes freezes as it falls ; I and when you go below, there is really j nothing to do but “ lick your paws,” as the men say. Nothing hot can be got.’ Certainly a more uncomfortable situa- ! tion, short of positive danger, can scarcely j be imagined. Let us see what Dr Hooker I says of the use of spirits on these occa- ! sions, in answer to our third query— j whether there exist any circumstances, which in his opinion render the occasional use of alcoholic liquors beneficial. ‘ This is perhaps as extreme an instance as I could bring forward of the demand for spirits. Now I do not believe that to “ splice the main-brace ” half a dozen times, or even more, in this sixteen hours, I would do any good in the way of giving j ! strength ; but to refuse the nien some | grog would be a great hardship. I have seen grog given half a gill at a time, thrice (I think) under such circumstances, | with no perceptible harm ; but I do not j suppose it did any good; and more would, I I am sure, have done mischief. The fact of giving it did good in one way;— j it made the men joyful, not from excita- i tion, but as we all rejoice in cutting the | Christmas pudding; and I quite believe ■ that under that continued exertion the bad effects were dissipated. But this is | a very different thing from doing any real j physical good. I can well suppose the effect to have been, though inappreciably, the contrary. Of one thing I am sure, and that is, that no one was more ready for a repetition of the exertion from taking the stimulus ; the intervening time W'as more pleasantly and comfortably passed. It may be a question whether, granting the spirits to have done some good towards exhilarating, when no modern appliances could be available, it would be desirable to withdraw it on such occasions.^ It is a choice of evils perhaps. ‘ I know of only one occasion on which the spirits appeared indispensable; and that was, when a little more exertion at the crowning of a mighty and long-con- tinued effort was demanded. Thus the ship, when sailing in the pack-ice, is some- times beset, or falls to leeward into the lee-ice. This takes two or three minutes; but if there is much wind, it takes many hours to get her out. Not being in com- mand, the sails are of no use ; and the ice prevents her moving in any way but with it to leeward. Underthese circumstances, the only way to get her out is by fastening ropes from the ship to the larger masses of ice, and -warping her out by main force against the wind. Now I have seen ever)' officer and man in the ship straining at the capstan for hours together, through snow and sleet, with the perspiration running down our faces and bodies like water.