me of the poor agonised wretch, almost raving. The goblet is at length clutched, somewhat like a drowning man would clutch a straw. Alas ! the goblet is found to be empty, and he is left to Death, more merciful than his gaolers. 114 COOLING DRINKS. 115 Horrible stories, too, have been told of travellers in the desert, who, in their death-agony, have ripped open and ladled out a spoonful or two of water from their camel’s stomach. However, we live in a happier clime ; certain is it that should any one experience thirst in this country, it is not for want of opportunities to drink. Before, however, we proceed to discuss the various methods and recipes for coohng drinks, such as claret- cup, champagne-cup, as well as home-made lemonade, lemon-squash, etc., it will not be out of place to com- pare (as we have already done in cooking) France and England in regard to drinking. If it is urged there is a good old saying that “comparisons are odious,’’ we would add, so also is drunkenness. That this latter vice is the curse of the country, and has been for many years, no one will deny. That of late private tippling in families far above the lower orders is also on the increase, is a fact so patent that it deserves more notice than that it has hitherto met with in purely medical j ournals. Perhaps one of the simplest and most effective cures for the dangerous habit we speak of, is the sub- stitution of some agreeable but at the sa^me time harm- less drink for the usual stimulant. We beheve that this point has not met with the attention it deserves. The public-houses of London are essentially drinking-houses. A poor man, to whom every penny is an object, is almost driven when thirsty to take beer — too often, unfortunately, the beer in question being so adulterated that it helps in the end to increase rather than alleviate thirst. On the other hand, a Paris cafe contains a choice of drinks almost unknown in London, many of which combine a delicious flavour with the advantage of being non-intoxicating. I have known several cases of English lads who, when ii6 PRACTICAL HOME COOKERY. in England, invariably took beer, who looked forward with pleasure to the equally cheap glass of groseille and water when abroad. These to whom I refer were in charge of some race-horses, had been educated at Newmarket, and were constantly in the habit of travel- hng between that place and Paris. Young lads at the dangerous and susceptible age of seventeen too often take to drinking more beer than is good for them, just in the same way that they take to smoking — viz., because they think it will look manly, and not because they really like it. The habit once formed, in nine cases out of ten probably lasts a hfetime ; but the good old saying, that “ prevention is better than cure,” was never more applicable than in the case in point. We would recommend some enterprising grocers during the summer to offer for sale glasses of sj’-rup and water — say groseille — with a small piece of ice in each glass, for a penny ; the profit would be considerable. Were every grocer’s shop in London to adopt this suggestion, I believe more would be done tow'ards checking intemperance than all the efforts of the teetotal societies have done for years.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

me of the poor agonised wretch, almost raving. The goblet is at length clutched, somewhat like a drowning man would clutch a straw. Alas ! the goblet is found to be empty, and he is left to Death, more merciful than his gaolers. Horrible stories, too, have been told of travellers in the desert, who, in their death-agony, have ripped open and ladled out a spoonful or two of water from their camel’s stomach. However, we live in a happier clime ; certain is it that should any one experience thirst in this country, it is not for want of opportunities to drink. Before, however, we proceed to discuss the various methods and recipes for coohng drinks, such as claretcup, champagne-cup, as well as home-made lemonade, lemon-squash, etc., it will not be out of place to compare (as we have already done in cooking) France and England in regard to drinking. If it is urged there is a good old saying that “comparisons are odious,’’ we would add, so also is drunkenness. That this latter vice is the curse of the country, and has been for many years, no one will deny. That of late private tippling in families far above the lower orders is also on the increase, is a fact so patent that it deserves more notice than that it has hitherto met with in purely medical j ournals. Perhaps one of the simplest and most effective cures for the dangerous habit we speak of, is the substitution of some agreeable but at the same time harmless drink for the usual stimulant. We beheve that this point has not met with the attention it deserves. The public-houses of London are essentially drinking-houses. A poor man, to whom every penny is an object, is almost driven when thirsty to take beer — too often, unfortunately, the beer in question being so adulterated that it helps in the end to increase rather than alleviate thirst. On the other hand, a Paris cafe contains a choice of drinks almost unknown in London, many of which combine a delicious flavour with the advantage of being non-intoxicating. I have known several cases of English lads who, when in England, invariably took beer, who looked forward with pleasure to the equally cheap glass of groseille and water when abroad. These to whom I refer were in charge of some race-horses, had been educated at Newmarket, and were constantly in the habit of travelling between that place and Paris. Young lads at the dangerous and susceptible age of seventeen too often take to drinking more beer than is good for them, just in the same way that they take to smoking — viz., because they think it will look manly, and not because they really like it. The habit once formed, in nine cases out of ten probably lasts a lifetime ; but the good old saying, that “ prevention is better than cure,” was never more applicable than in the case in point. We would recommend some enterprising grocers during the summer to offer for sale glasses of sj’-rup and water — say groseille — with a small piece of ice in each glass, for a penny ; the profit would be considerable. Were every grocer’s shop in London to adopt this suggestion, I believe more would be done towards checking intemperance than all the efforts of the teetotal societies have done for years.

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