The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-03-22
Study and Stimulants.
EFFECTS OF TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL
UPON LITERARY WORK.
Conflicting Testimony of Distinguished
Writers.
IN. Y. Corr. Boston Herald.l


his aim has been TO get testimonials from
all the distinguished men of letters in Eu-
rope aud America on the subject of study
and stimulants. He has been fortunate
enough to receive letters from 1913 different
persons on this interesting subject. The
book will be published some time during the
week by Messrs. j. B. Lippincott Il Co.
Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott, editor of the Chris
ton Union, opens the book by virtue OF his
name, the arrangement being an alphabet
cal one DIR. Abbott has no personal expe-
rience either of alcohol or tobacco, but his
Judgment tells him that neither one nor the
other is good in excess. The Duke of Ar
gyle writes: 81 can only say that, during by
far the greatest part of my life | never took
alcohol in any form, and that only in recent
years have taken small mixed quantity
under medical advice as preventive of
gout.n Tobacco he has never touched. Mr..
Matthew Arnold has never smoked, but he
has always drunk wine, chiefly elaret AS a
general rule, he drinks water in the middle
of the day, and glass or two of sherry
and some light claret mixed with water at
late dinner and this, he says, seems TO
suit him very wei. He has given up the
use of beer in the middle of the day, because
the doctor assured him that it was bad for
rheumatism, from which he was sufferer.
Mr.. Arnold thinks that most young people
| and adds; "Real brain work of itself,
| think. upsets the worker and makes him bill
| ious; wine will not cure this, nor will alb
staining from wine prevent it, He, how
ever, thinks that wine used in moderation
seems to ''add to the agreeableness of life
for adults. at any rate, and whatever adds
to the agreeableness OF life adds to its re-
sources asd powers The late George NJ.
Beard does not find that alcohol is so good a
| stimulant as coffee, tea, opium or tobacco.
son myself, he says, ''aleohol has rath-
er benumbing and Supplying effect, whatev-
! er may be the dose employed; whereas tobac-
co and opium in moderate doses, tea and es-
| peeially coffee, as we'll as cocoa, have an ef-
| feet precisely the reverse, Coffee makes
some people sleepy but the majority of per
sons are made waksful by it. Some persons
are made nervous by tobacco in the form OF
| smoking, while with others it acts as Sc
utQNC auu kiiQuCCb stCCps 0Cl. 0Id1lt
| once told DR.. Beard, that If disturbed dur
inst night, or worried about anything so
that be could not sleep, he could induce
sleep by getting up and smoking short
time, few whiffs being sufficient For him
| self, DR.. Beard found coffee the best slim
| ulant for mental work; "next to that tobac-
co and quinine, Dit, as l grow older, OBJ
serve that alcohol in reasonable doses is be-
| ginning to have stimulating effect" Paul
-. g. \
Of tobacco, and very seldom drinks alcoholic
| liquors, but takes wine at all his meals be-
cause he likes it.
Prof. John Stuart Blackie never uses stlm-
| ulants of any kind for intellectual work,
"only glass of wine during dinner to sharp
| en- the Appetite and says of smoking gener-
ally, SIT is vile and odious practice; but
he does not think it unhealthy, unless car
| ried to an excess. The late Louis Blanc
| wrote that he did not know by experience
| what might be the effects of tobacco and
| wine upon the health, not having been in
/ the habit of taking tobacco and drinking al
| cohol Mr.. George w. Childs thinks that
| his testimony can add very little, he never
| having used spirituous or vinous stimulants
| or tobacco in any form. The eminent
| French critic, Jules Claretie, writes: 81 do
not smoke and have never in all my life
| drunk as much as a single glass of alcohol.
1 luis Didlull cuUMS tudL QO uOh IcdQiiE any
| flip or stimulant when at work. And
he thinks that the reason ''we have so many
sickly productions in our literature arises
| probably from the fact that our writers, per-
haps, add little alcohol to their ink and
| view life through the fumes of nicotine
| Wilkie Collins writes: ssWhen am i'll III am
suffering from govt at this very momentl
tobacco is the best friend that my irritable
nerves possess; when am well but exhaust
ed for the time by hard days work, tobac-
CO nerves and composes< me. There is my
evidence iR&zs6 words. When aman allows
hlmsssaaafo become glutton in the matter
III smoking tobacco, he suffers for it; and if
he becomes a glutton in the matter Of eating
meat, he just as certainly suffers in another
| way When / read learned attacks upon
the practice of smoking, / feel indebted to
/ The writer he adds largely to the relish Of
| my cigar" The late Charles Darwin drank
| glass of wine daily, bat he writes; 81
should be better without any, though all
doctors urge me to drink wine, as / suffer
much from giddiness. | have taken snuff
all my life, and regret that | ever acquired
the habit, which have often tried to leave
off, and have succeeded fol- a time. / feel
sure that it is great aid and stimulus in my
work. also daily smoke two little paper
cigarettes of Turkish tobacco. This is not
stimulus, but rests me after | have been
compelled to talk with tired memory more
than anything else. | am 70 years old"
This letter was written on the 9th Of Febru-
airy 1882. Mr.. Thomas A. Edison gets bis
inspiration from chewing tobacco, which he
thinks is good stimulant upon. any one
engaged in laborious brain work. Smok-
| ing he finds pleasant, but too violent in
| its action; and the same remark applies to
| alcoholic liquors l am inclined to think
that it IS better for intellectual workers to
| perform their labors at night, as aftf long
| experience at night work, find my brain is
in better condition at that time especially
for experimental work, and when so engaged
l almost invariably chew tobacco as stimu-
LIANT" Mr.. Edward 4. Freeman, the histori-
| an, has had no experience of the effects of
smoking. He says: 81 tried once or twice
when young, but, finding it nasty, did not
| try again. He finds that a short sleep is
| as good stimulant as he can have. About
alcohol he has never thought. He drinks
| wine like other people, and says: II find bran
| dy an excellent medicine on occasion. i used
| to drink beer, but some of the doctors say
| it is not good for me, and some have recon-
mended whiskey instead; but | really have
| no views on the subject. / nave drunk
wine and beer as have eaten beef and NUT
ton, without any theories one way or anoth-
| err"
| Mr.. Reade included Gladstone among
/ tlO5C Va WuOm uC doho LIS JutobiOlbs Int
answer came from the premier's son, Mr..
| Herbert j. Gladstone who begs to say that
"Mr. Gladstone drinks one glass or two
| of claret at luncheon, the same at din
ner, with the addition Of a glass
Of light port. The use Of wine
TO this extent is especially necessary
to him at the time OF the greatest intellectu-
al exertion. Smoking he detests, and has
always abstained from the use of very
strong and fiery stimulants.' Nine. Henri
Grevile misled Mr.. Reade by her masculine
nom de plume, and he addressed his usual
| questions to her. She replied that she has
had little experience Of either alcohol or to-
bacco. Claret agrees with her constitution
when properly mixed with water Wine,
without water, and every kind of liquors.
MAKES HER VERY ILL,
especially when taken between her meals,
which are only two in number-brealfast at
II and dinner at 7. Nine. Greyille contin-
ues 81 never use any stimulant; my sleep
being scanty, want sedatives rather than
stimulants. / must add, nevertheless, that
once or twice year, when felt very tired
and had some work to conclude, especially
at night, happened to smoke one cigarette
of Russian DaDVrus. which revived me