ROBUR-THE NEW DRINK.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 255, 23 January 1874, Page 4

ROBUR-THE NEW DRINK.

■ /By degrees the mysteries-of Robur im-. der its (to 1 me) novel and bacchanalian as-' fleet were unfolded, and I was put in the , possession of the following facts:—First, that Kobur is the new ' that a distinguished physician mid nrem-. ber of the Royal Society pronounces "flo-: bur, on analysis; to be " a' cordial and tonic stimulant, holding in solution, 1 in a very agreeable formj'ingredients calculated to, exhilarate ; the system'without*'subse- ' depression; and'that, being\pure it must. take?.a high - position as a-"spirit ,\ for .augmenting' the vital forces and dis-' " Y placing/ many of the' - pernicious /drinks , - jthatnovv flood the -market; to' the ,niani- | (feat injury,of the public "," Furthermore," , r ,'leaiMit (not without a 1 feeling ofWe and •veneration) that Robur—not ;as ' a Body, ".but as a Spirit—had been sat upon "by> Dr' '-■' 'La'rlkester, likewise an F,l£ S., --and"that . "the,/eminent coroner (may he never sit . jupon\wje /) had pronounced Eobur to, be " atf agreeable melange of alcohol,'tannin; theine, sugar, and some ingredients pf-a tonic-flavoring 'nature. .There 'was';" according to Dr. Lankester, in the sample of Robur before him, nothing extenuated so far as the purity of the component parts fyivjis'-v concerned, and nothing set down in ".nfalioe, in the way of fusil'oil. ■ The coroner found Robur pleasant to the taste, and' with the flavor and. constituents of tea; -. and he had no doubt of its superiority, as a medical stimulant, to the -common -forms ' kX brdndy, whisky, gin", and rurhY'A's're- ,•" garcls the ta'nnin in the Kobur," that, was) to act as an astringent-r-a quality so ' frequently desirable to',bibbers, with 'weak stomachs, and the presence of whichforms so wholesome an addition to port, burgundyj , claret, and 'other red wines. ' The opera-"; tfon^f'the* theino ' would. ,be*' ; Biniifar , 'to that*'exercised "by-tea itself; while the "V volatile flavoring'and'tonic principles derived', from tea no't only"—I am , quoting -, jfy,Dt.. .''LankestetViO -my.-.' Suturday, Re- ' "/'viewer'—"not only > give tneir' peculiar Y flavor .'to'Robur, but act, as, veritable tonics Y' and stimulants upon, the nerves" of the ' ■'- * stomach and the sytem' generally/'' The -' saline principles' are small in quantity,'and ' ''of a kind-not'ttf interfere in any way "with ! , r ,the beneficial effect of Robur as niV article [of'diet or a medical' prescription, and the '"' '•• amount of sugar present is not. sufficient '„ to lea'l to fermentation. Kobur is wholly ' destitute of acidity. Thus far Dr. Lankester ; and the coroner is y substantially confirmed by the testimony of. Dr. Arthur Hill Hassall, author of *' Food.and its Adulteration," who has likewise analysed Eobur, and found •it to consist '- of grain ' spirit, combined with the constituents of , tea, |" The combination," observes* Dr. Hassall, •' is a remarkable one; and there can be no doubt but that the action 'is materially modified by the presence of the tannin and the theine of the tea." Tea "in this connection" seems, to "me to officiate prettv nearly as, accordingto Bishop Blomfield, an archdeacon discharged his duties—namely, "by performing archidiac wial functions." , j , Certainly the scientific picture thus drawn of Robur is a very flattering-one. - ' ■ I was/.enabled tq realise a most vivid idea ,-, of the product aq the only spirit free from j fusil or essential oil, and containing ,a tonic stimulant in addition to alcohol., T need not point out to scientific donvivants ■ r ' that the flavoring matter in tjrandy and ' ■'■' .whisky is of a sedative and not of a stimulative nature, and that there iscqnse--' quently an unpleasant reaction on \ the nerves when the effect of the .alcohol has, ■ passed away. I have heard this reaction qualified as " meo-grims," .as ''bluede,yils," as " horrors," and as " seediness," .and I am told', (on the best authority) that (the best' corrective for' such seediness is brandy and soda-water. Scotchmen,pre- , »fer a hair of the dog which has bitten |them, in the shape of a dram of whisky; swells stroll languidly into that famous • .druggist's shop in Piccadilly, and call for " it "pick mo up." People with headaches as bad. but whose means are exiguous, V .indulge in two-pennyworth of sal-volatile with a Jjttle gentian and a dash of essence , 'of ginger; but the Wise Man (who has made an arrant fool of himself on the pre*. ,vious eyening) sticks to Soda and B. Has atilck'to it hitherto, T should say. In future if tlje warm recommendations of Drs,. '.'/'''

Ijankester and Hassall" produce a proper effect on the public inind, ''Soda and B. and'all the druggists' condiments will be superseded, and the oi-fly.r^gnisedi''pick me up" will Lio Kobur. will it be, it may be lisked, if a rash toper gets tipsy on Rubur over-night? Is he to tipple more Robur, in order to get sober, the next morning 1 ? The triumphant answer to this, as given by the gentlemen who manufacture the,Tea-Spivit for the benefit of the public, will be to the effect that, although it is possible to get "tight" on liobur, it is nevertheless the only cup which really cheers, and which fails to , give a headache in the ; morning.—Georqe Augustus Sola, in Belyravia