lt.

Coffee and tea are generally consumed merely for the pleasure which the
warm drink gives. Both, however, have a certain stimulating effect on
the nervous system, and when a tired woman refuses food but drinks cup
after cup of strong tea, the exhilarating effect can be produced only at
the expense of nerves and muscular tissue which must be later atoned
for. Similarly, when a man under stress drinks strong black coffee to
keep up, he must pay the penalty for the stimulant. The natural forces
of the human body are able to do normally a certain amount of work,
their ability to perform this work being directly proportioned to the
energy derived from the food-supply taken into the body.

No amount of tea, coffee, or alcohol will add to the living tissue of
the system; it merely goads the nerves and muscles to further action,
however tired and unwilling they may be. When the stimulant is stopped,
or after a time in spite of the stimulant, the exhausted nerves and
muscles refuse to continue, and the depleted body stops work and may
even die. A certain amount of stimulants at infrequent intervals for
particular occasions may do no harm, but the pity of it is that the
habit once started, the ultimate effects are forgotten in the apparent
relief of the moment. In the case of tea, besides the stimulating
effect, a certain substance known as tannin is developed, particularly
when the tea is boiled, and this substance is really harmful on account
of its strong astringent property, which acts injuriously on the
membrane of the stomach. The bitter taste of the tannin is disguised
when milk is used with the tea, and it has been pointed out that tea
used without milk or cream is safer than tea with milk, because without
the milk the bitter taste would prevent the tea being boiled so long.

Alcohol is stimulating in its nature, because of its setting free from
their usual control by the will the unconscious elements of the brain;
while the effect of alcohol on the system as a whole is, as has been
carefully proved by scientific investigation, unfortunate in every
respect. Whether the alcohol be in the form of whisky or brandy or gin
or in such milder forms as wines, beers, and hard cider, the continued
use of even a small quantity acts adversely on the memory, on the will,
on the intellect, on the inventive power, and on all the mental
processes. It has a deteriorating effect on all the muscular tissue
throughout the body, and whi