ill very much depend on her
opinions and practice.

It is a point fully established by experience, that the full
developement of the human body, and the vigorous exercise of all its
functions, can be secured without the use of stimulating drinks. It is,
therefore, perfectly safe, to bring up children never to use them; no
hazard being incurred, by such a course.

It is also found, by experience, that there are two evils incurred, by
the use of stimulating drinks. The first, is, their positive effect on
the human system. Their peculiarity consists in so exciting the nervous
system, that all the functions of the body are accelerated, and the
fluids are caused to move quicker than at their natural speed. This
increased motion of the animal fluids, always produces an agreeable
effect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, the imagination is
excited, the spirits are enlivened; and these effects are so agreeable,
that all mankind, after having once experienced them, feel a great
desire for their repetition.

But this temporary invigoration of the system, is always followed by a
diminution of the powers of the stimulated organs; so that, though in
all cases this reaction may not be perceptible, it is invariably the
result. It may be set down as the unchangeable rule of physiology, that
stimulating drinks (except in cases of disease) deduct from the powers
of the constitution, in exactly the proportion in which they operate to
produce temporary invigoration.

The second evil, is, the temptation which always attends the use of
stimulants. Their effect on the system is so agreeable, and the evils
resulting are so imperceptible and distant, that there is a constant
tendency to increase such excitement, both in frequency and power. And
the more the system is thus reduced in strength, the more craving is the
desire for that which imparts a temporary invigoration. This process of
increasing debility and increasing craving for the stimulus that removes
it, often goes to such an extreme, that the passion is perfectly
uncontrollable, and mind and body perish under this baleful habit.

In this Country, there are five forms in which the use of such
stimulants is common; namely, _alcoholic drinks_, _tea_, _coffee_,
_opium mixtures_, and _tobacco_. These are all alike, in the main
peculiarity of imparting that extra stimulus to the system, which tends
to exhaust its powers.

Multitudes in this Nation are in the habitual use of so