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THE MIXICOLOGIST.
73
where much beer, porter, and ale are drunk. The
same is true of the cities of Germany, whereas in Scot
land and in Spain there is a happy absence of both
maladies.
So striking has been the coincidence of the association
of gouty disease with the habit of beer- drinking that
doctors have concluded there must be some pathological
connection between them. It has also been found in
individual cases that many patients who complain of
gout have been beer-drinkers, and that they experience
relief immediately on giving up this beverage.
Dr. S. Weir Mitchell declares that the safest drink is
whiskey, provided there is not some objection peculiar
to the individual. Probably most physicians will agree
with the doctor's views generally, though they will all
declare that whiskey, being strong in alcohol, should be
used moderately.
The trouble with beer is that it puts a great tax on the
liver and kidneys. The mere passing off of great quan
tities of liquid is unnatural, and when persisted in, so
weakens these organs as to invite cirrhosis of the liver,
Bright's disease, and other complaints.
Nevertheless, each man is a law unto himself, and
j.