_Water_ is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it be resorted to in obedience to the dictates of natural thirst only, and not of habit, and with the precautions already pointed out; but unless the desire for it is felt, there is no occasion for its use during a meal, for the mere purpose of obeying a general rule. Toast and water, whey, beer, barley-water, aërated and soda water, and other liquids of a similar kind, which are little stronger than pure water, may be used, according to the same general principle, by those who prefer them and find them agreeable to the stomach. But with regard to such fermented liquors as porter, ale, spirits, and wine, much greater restriction is necessary, because much good or evil may be done by them when properly or improperly administered. The primary effect of all distilled and fermented liquors is to _stimulate the nervous system and quicken the circulation_. In all conditions, therefore, in which the action of these requires to be increased or supported, they are calculated to be useful; and, on the contrary, where it requires to be soothed and abated, they are sure to be prejudicial. To shew the utility of this principle as a standard, we shall notice a few of its applications. Among the higher classes, it is common to give children an allowance of wine every day from a very early age. To determine the propriety of doing so, let us examine what is then their constitutional state. In infancy and childhood the circulation is rapid and easily excited, and the nervous system is strongly acted upon even by the slightest external impressions. Hence slight causes of irritation readily excite febrile and convulsive disorders. The object of the parent, therefore, is not to stimulate, but rather to _abate_ nervous and vascular action. Wine, accordingly, is not only unnecessary, but _positively detrimental to children_, and it is wrong to accustom them to it. There are individual children, no doubt, who are so imperfectly and sluggishly constituted as to require some stimulus to rouse the system to healthy action, and to whom wine is beneficial as a medicine. But these are the exceptions to the general rule, and to them it should be given only under medical sanction. In youth the natural tendency of the constitution is still to excitement; and consequently, as a general rule, the stimulus of fermented liquors is injurious. During rapid growth, however, the animal functions are sometimes so enfeebled by the great demands made upon them, that not only a full supply of nourishing food, but also an allowance of wine and malt liquor, is required for a time to sustain their energy. In this case the beneficial influence of the fermented drinks is apparent, by their giving tone to the system without raising the pulse or increasing nervous sensibility; but whenever any of these effects is produced, their employment ought to be discontinued.