REPORT OF DR. FRED. W. RUSSELL.
565
Many of the men are portly and dignified. Hackmen are gross. They are the hardest drinkers of the city. Medical men claim a great exemption from dyspepsia among the beer- takers. Certainly the pale face of the dyspeptic was not common on the streets. Rotund ruddy faces predominated. Among the young soldiers, of whom there were above twenty- five thousand about the city, there was a bronzed healthy look quite refreshing to see. They were allowed remarkable freedom about the city, but, among the hundreds on the street daily, I never saw one intoxicated. This liberal use of beer throws increased labor on the kidneys, which accounts for certain unpleasant features of life in continental cities.
The use of wine is far more common than that of brandy, rum, and whiskey. At the restaurants a large variety of brands is offered to the visitor. The best Austrian wines are considered to be the Gumpoldskirchen, Bisamberg, and Voslau, and these are drank in immense quantities. They are not unlike a Hock wine, and contain a very small per cent, of alcohol (Hock wines contain from 11.93 per cent, to 14.37 per cent, of alcohol). They are furnished, too, at a very low price.
The Hungarian wines, which have been mentioned in connection with the Esterhazy wine-cellar, are much stronger. I find a curious statement in a Vienna publication, that these wines are too strong for the climate of the city, though wholesome in Hungary; as if the people did not care for the intoxicating properties of their drink.
The beer is of two kinds; the Vienna a coarser quality, and the Pillsner, so-called, originated, I believe, in Bohemia. This Vienna beer is about the same in quality as the Bavarian or Munich beer, but is claimed to be superior. Immense quantities of it are now manufactured for export, Dreher being the most prominent manufacturer. The Pillsner beer is comparatively a new article, being an attempt to make a lighter, less intoxicating beverage. It is slightly more costly, of a lighter color, and more limpid, and does not wear so well in its use as Vienna beer. The latter seems to contain just the elements needed with the peculiar food of the people, supplied in a cheap, non-intoxicating form. This brand costs about four cents a seitl or glass, and Pillsner five cents.