i 
 
 'r;-' > ■::i'.i; 
 
 P 
 
 WE'B-D6HER;r-v;M-D 
 
 'yk 
 
 «ii!ip 
 
 |llustrai^ed 
 

 J^clyix 
 
Charles Josselyn. 
 
YOU 
 
 AND YOUR DOCTOR 
 
Y O U 
 
 AND 
 
 YOUR DOCTOR 
 
 HOW TO PROLONG LIFE 
 
 A PRACTICAL BOOK ON HEALTH 
 AND THE CARE OF IT 
 
 iA Fearless Expose of all Quacks ami Frauds Within 
 and IV i thou t the O^iedical Profession 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM B. DOHERTY, M. D. 
 
 MEM»:!< KSNTUCKV STATS MCDSCAL SOOICTY 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 Laird & Lee, Publishers 
 

 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year nineteen 
 
 hundred, by 
 
 WILLIAM H. LEE, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 7 
 
 CHAPTER I. Life 10 
 
 II. Physicians and Quacks 26 
 
 III. Physicians and Faddists 68 
 
 IV. The True Physician 94 
 
 V. Some Anatomy 107 
 
 VI. Don'ts X15 
 
 VII. The Baby— The Child 122 
 
 VIII. Air 151 
 
 IX. Food 168 
 
 X. Drink 182 
 
 XI. Work and Worry 192 
 
 XII. Bathing.— The Sick Room 209 
 
 XIII. Accidents and Emergencies 215 
 
 XIV. Hemorrhage ^ 221 
 
 XV. Sleep 224 
 
 XVI. Summary and Conclusion . . . , 244 
 
J0t iJxt ixuilx mvtfi mt lit^t 
 
YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 The cry of suffering humanity is certainly this: 
 N Tell me, tell me, all you can! 
 
 Help me, help me, all you can! 
 
 This treatise, dear reader, does not propose to 
 follow in the wake of pamphlets and almanacs scat- 
 tered broad-cast throughout the land, nor to fall m 
 line with those who make the unwarranted, boast- 
 ful promise of "curing," upon short notice, every ill 
 that flesh is heir to. 
 
 Its aim and merit consist rather in giving valu- 
 able and reliable information, counsel and direction 
 for avoiding quacks and the prevalent habit of self- 
 medication; in helping to prepare the way and the 
 means of forming healthier, hardier generations; 
 and in raising the voice of warning against the 
 
 (T) 
 
 G15TS7 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 money-making schemers, who are to be found, un- 
 fortunately within, as well as without, the medical 
 profession. It accentuates the importance of the 
 services of a competent physician. As we consult 
 the lawyer in our secular troubles and business en- 
 tanglements, so should we seek the physician in our 
 bodily ailments. No one else can safely take his 
 place. It is the life-long study of the worthy physi- 
 cian to investigate the cause, to prevent, and to 
 treat, sickness in all its multifarious phases, in order 
 not only to alleviate, but also to eradicate, if possi- 
 ble, the causes of disease. Invaluable, therefore, 
 are the services of the true physician. His calling 
 is of the highest order in the sphere of mortal activ- 
 ity, because it has for its object the preservation of 
 hfe, which we value, or ought to value, more than 
 all else in the world. The physician can undoubtedly 
 prolong life, but may not prevent death; the pilot 
 can steer the ship, but he cannot quell the storm; 
 the agriculturist may sow the seed, but may not 
 reap the harvest. Now here is the trouble; here is 
 the danger. The physician is generally not called 
 upon as soon as needed; or when called upon, he 
 cannot arrive in time to administer the aid required. 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 The following pages are therefore intended to 
 supply, for every emergency, plain and useful in- 
 formation, direction and advice, concerning what 
 can and should be done until the physician reaches 
 the patient. They give the needful instructions to 
 thwart the insidious approaches of disease, and to 
 preserve the blessing of health to a ripe old age. 
 Finally, they contain ready suggestions for all acci- 
 dents with regard to health and life. 
 
 That all these desirable purposes may be realized 
 for the benefit of every reader of this book, is the 
 ardent wish and sanguine hope of the author. 
 
 Confidently he offers to all, not the uncertainty 
 of theories, but a fund of facts, gathered through 
 many years of careful study and observation in 
 medical practice. He may say, in all sincerity, with 
 Montaigne, "I have here only made a nosegay of 
 culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my 
 own but the string that ties them." The author's 
 motto is: 
 
 In life, do all the good we can, 
 Especially to fellowman. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 I. 
 
 What is life? Vitality, in the physical sense of 
 the word; resistance to death, a definition which 
 may be censured as an attempt to describe the un- 
 known by the unknown. A cloud of impenetrable 
 darkness hangs over the development, and still 
 more over the origin of life. The scientist of to- 
 day, despite the brilliant advances made in chem- 
 istry, biology and astronomy, is no nearer the so- 
 lution of the problem of the origin of life, organic 
 or inorganic, than he was before the new paths were 
 opened. In the language of Salisbury, *'We live 
 in a small oasis of knowledge, surrounded on all 
 sides by a vast, unexplored region of impenetrable 
 mystery. From age to age the strenuous labor of 
 successive generations wins a small strip from the 
 
 (10) 
 
LIFE U 
 
 desert, and pushes forward the boundary of knowl- 
 edge." 
 
 We are still : 
 
 "An infant crying in the night, 
 An infant crying for the light, 
 And with no language but a cry." 
 
 The easiest and most rational approach to an un- 
 derstanding of the mysteries, both within and with- 
 out us, is the candid admission of, and belief in, a 
 supernal Creator and Ruler. A higher and better 
 reason for all that exists cannot be found. True, 
 there are some, highly learned, who assert that life 
 is nothing but force. But is it not certain that all 
 the combined efforts of scientists cannot produce 
 this force, called life? That they have not and can- 
 not manufacture or substitute the principle of life? 
 All the resources of the laboratory fail to make an 
 animate product. We cannot make mother's milk, 
 though every ingredient it contains can be accur- 
 ately determined. We cannot make the pro- 
 toplasm, or rather bioplasm. Out of dead matter 
 we cannot make living matter. Ah! here is the rub. 
 We are dust, as the Divine Voice has described us, 
 but moving, thinking, propagating dust; and our 
 
12 LIFE 
 
 death is but the consequence of what we call life. 
 Death has been styled the crown of life. 
 
 "Were death denied, poor man would live in 
 vain; 
 
 Were death denied, to live would not be Hfe; 
 
 Were death denied, e'en fools would wish to die." 
 
 II. 
 
 Life represents the survival of the fittest. The 
 physical strength, force or weakness of parents, 
 seems transmitted to their offspring. Tennyson 
 says: "Woman's cause is man's; they rise or sink 
 together. Dwarfed or godlike, bond or free, if she 
 be small, slight-natured, miserable, how shall men 
 grow?" 
 
 We seem, indeed, to a great extent, the creatures 
 of heredity, environment and habits. 
 
 Addison has written a beautiful allegory, in 
 which he compares human life to a bridge standing 
 in the midst of a tide, consisting of three score and 
 ten arches, with several broken arches, making a 
 total of about one hundred. "This bridge," Addi- 
 son goes on to say, "consisted at first of one thou- 
 sand arches, but a great flood swept away nine- 
 
LIFE 13 
 
 tenths of the arches, and left it in this ruinous con- 
 dition. I see multitudes of people passing over it, 
 and a black cloud hanging on each end of it. As I 
 looked more attentively, I saw several of the pas- 
 sengers drop through the bridge into the great tide 
 that flowed beneath it. Upon further observation, 
 I perceived that there were innumerable trap-doors 
 concealed in the bridge, which the passengers no 
 sooner trod on, than they fell through into the tide 
 and immediately disappeared. These hidden pit- 
 falls were set very thick near the entrance of the 
 bridge, so that throngs of people no sooner broke 
 through the cloud, but many disappeared into the 
 depth below. They grew thinner towards the 
 middle, but multiplied and lay closer together to- 
 wards the end of the arches that were entire." How 
 beautifully and correctly are the comparative dan- 
 gers to life in infancy, manhood and old age here 
 represented! 
 
 III. 
 
 One day I had the following conversation with a 
 friend, who leaned strongly to the so-called agnostic 
 or materialistic view of things. "Doctor/' he said 
 
U LIFE 
 
 to me, "what do you call the best part of us?" I 
 answered him that I called it — Life. 
 
 "But," he responded, "you use a word that does 
 not explain itself like the term — vital force." 
 
 "True," I said, "but by 'life' I mean more than is 
 expressed by the term — ^vital force. In the opinion 
 of the agnostic or materialist, vital force means that 
 force only which sustains vitality in the system, and 
 is no more than a quality of the body, however es- 
 sential to it. Life, in my view, and in the view of the 
 vast majority, is far more. It is indeed a force, 
 active, intelligent; it is a vital force, that is, a living 
 force ; for the word vital means living, derived from 
 the Latin word Vitalis.' By life, therefore, is 
 meant far more than a mere form or quality of the 
 body, because superior to it as being the principle 
 which animates and determines the action of the 
 
 body." 
 
 "But," retorted my friend, "does not the brain 
 move when we think or reason?" I made an- 
 swer that there is no proof that it does; to say so 
 was a gratuitous assertion of certain individuals, 
 who, like the materialists, wished to relegate all our 
 
LIFE 15 
 
 powers to our material nature. But all such have 
 the proofs of philosophers and the verdict of man- 
 kind in general against them. I told him that with 
 the majority of mankind, I held that life in man 
 means his mind, his intelligence, joined to an or- 
 ganism, called his body. Hence, this is indeed the 
 best part of us. But, my friend, we are here not 
 concerned in the term, but in the fact. In your and 
 my estimation, our vital activity, our life, is that su- 
 perior part of our existence, upon which depend all 
 our relations with the world and our fellow-beings. 
 That man is not man when dead, is a true saying. 
 Anyone can extinguish the vital spark, but neither 
 the physician, nor any natural agent, can give or 
 restore it. The physician's endeavor is to preserve 
 it to its possessor as long as possible. Say what 
 you will, life is a mystery, whatever anyone may un- 
 derstand by the word. Between the animate and 
 the inanimate there is such a distinction and differ- 
 ence as cannot be measured by any figures of 
 geometry. But, an opponent may say: what has not 
 been done in the past, may be done in the future; 
 if we are not a Darwinian race, we are certainly a 
 progressive race. Conceded; so far as all the powers 
 
16 LIFE 
 
 and capabilities of man can go; but we are limited 
 in our powers, because we are limited in our facul- 
 ties, limited in our whole being. The day will never 
 come when man shall be able to say, I can do all 
 things, and nothing is hard or impossible to me. 
 Never will man be able to put a single star in the 
 firmament, or resuscitate even one dead fly. Man 
 cannot go beyond the laws and forces of nature. 
 Matter, as such, does not include life, for then all 
 matter would have it. Life is consequently an ad- 
 dition to matter. It is, therefore, safe to infer that 
 man can never give life, which is far above and be- 
 yond matter, as such. Hence, this treatise must 
 maintain that life is far above and far more than 
 the mere substance of which our body is composed. 
 The dignity and importance of its subject is there- 
 fore commensurate with the dignity and importance 
 of life itself. But its province is not to explain, 
 but to help preserve life. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Life is organization itself; that is, acting inher- 
 ently and intrinsically within itself. This vital force 
 cannot be studied with mathematical certainty. A 
 
LIFE n 
 
 bullet may be lodged in the brain or in the lungs, 
 or the bowels may be perforated, and the patient 
 live; yet the sting of a bee, or the scratch of a pin, 
 is sometimes sufficient to cause death. Napoleon, 
 reciting his long personal experience in St. Helena, 
 wisely remarked: "Life is a fortress which neither 
 you nor I know anything about; why throw ob- 
 stacles in the way of its defense? Water, air and 
 cleanliness are the chief articles in my pharma- 
 coepia." 
 
 V. 
 
 Life is warmth, growth, repair, and po ver of 
 labor. The first necessity of human existence is 
 warmth, alike indispensable to infancy, manhood, 
 and old age. At every period of the year, in the 
 tropics and at the poles, the human body maintains 
 the same temperature, which is 98^ Fahrenheit. 
 Life may be considered different in quantity and / 
 quality in persons./ Suppose ten men of the same 
 height ,weight and age, after being examined by the 
 best and most careful diagnosticians and found to be 
 equally healthy, and, so far as they were able to as- 
 certain, not la;boring under any disability, were 
 
 j 
 
18 LIFE 
 
 forced to lie upon the ground exposed to a cold, 
 drizzly, rainy night, all being clad aUke, what would 
 be the result next morning? These ten men, who 
 lived through the severe ordeal, would present dif- 
 ferent symptoms expressive of discomfort and dis- 
 ease. One probably would have a sore throat or a 
 marked sensation of chilliness, and, after taking a 
 dififusive stimulant, experience no further unpleas- 
 ant "sequelae." Another might have pain in the 
 chest, with fever, followed by pneumonia (inflam- 
 mation of the lungs). Another, have a pain well 
 marked in the joints (rheumatism). Still another 
 might have diarrhoea. One probably would be af- 
 flicted with an acute attack of nephritis (inflamma- 
 tion of the kidneys or Bright's disease), from which 
 he would eventually die. Of the ten men, all healthy 
 so far as could be ascertained by the experienced 
 medical examiners the day before, one would prob- 
 ably die, several others be ill with various 
 diseases, and one or two suffer scarcely any bodily 
 injury from the exposure to which they were sub- 
 jected. Why such a difference in results? Those 
 born of delinquent, scrofulous, consumptive, ner- 
 vous or rheumatic ancestry, had not the grit, 
 
LIFE W 
 
 the stimulus, the force, the strength or invulnerabil- 
 ity of constitution to resist the pernicious influence 
 of dampness and chilliness, to which they were 
 exposed, while those who were born of healthier 
 parents, better fed and more intelligently educated 
 physically, stood the strain with but little evil re- 
 sults. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Life is resistance to death. It commences in a 
 cell 1/3500 part of an inch in diameter. There is 
 a great deal said and written in reference to the 
 anatomy and physiology of this cell, about which, 
 in truth, we know nothing. The germ cell, which 
 was regarded by its discoverers as a chemical com- 
 pound of oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, related to 
 albumen, or of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, 
 sulphur and phosphorus, and thereby considered 
 within the reach of laboratory manufacture, is now 
 known to be a very complete system of fibres,liquids 
 and granules, far beyond the power of man to con- 
 struct. In this minute cell it is now universally 
 held that life commences. 
 
\ 
 
 20 LIFE 
 
 VII. 
 Vital resistance, or, as the physicians call it, the 
 "vis medicatrix naturae/' is a most potent factor 
 to resist the encroachment of death than the best 
 agent known in the whole pharmacopoeia of med- 
 icine. Strength is increased by being used, and 
 lost by being too much hoarded. Moderate exercise 
 of the brain and muscles is absolutely necessary for 
 the maintenance of good health. The active and 
 laborious, who court sunshine and fresh air, seldom 
 complain of disease. No; these evils are reserved 
 for the sons of ease and affluence; for inactivity 
 produces many evils, induces relaxation of the 
 solids^such as indigestion or glandular obstructions, 
 etc. (The most extraordinary instances of long- 
 evity are to be found among those classes of man- 
 kind who, amidst daily labor and in the open air, 
 lead a simple life agreeable to nature, such as labor- 
 ers, gardeners, and hunters?) Great changes must 
 'take place in our habits, education, mode of living, 
 and environment (surroundings), before the lon- 
 gevity predicted by the prophet Isaiah shall be ful- 
 filled: "There shall be no more, thence, an infant 
 of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days; 
 
LIFE 81 
 
 for the child sliall die one hundred years old. The 
 days of a tree are the days of my people." 
 
 The pleasures of life consist in alternate rest and 
 motion, but they who neglect the latter never enjoy 
 the former. Man is not formed for perpetual study 
 and fatigue of mind. It is wearisome and ruinous 
 to the body, if a recess is not taken, and if repose 
 and exercise do not alternate. Moderate and reg- 
 ular labor coils up the main-spring of life, but irreg- 
 ular sallies break it. The sudden spurts of ball- 
 running, fast cycling, and other violent exercises,! 
 increasing too suddenly the vigor of the heart's i 
 action, is often injurious; but systematic exercise is | 
 beneficial. ^ ' 
 
 The diseases of an agricultural community, or of 
 those of any condition of mankind exposed to the 
 weather at all seasons, are principally of the in- 
 flammatory class, such as pneumonia, pleurisy, 
 bronchitis, quinsy, rheumatism, etc., while mal- 
 adies Oi a nervous character, such as dyspepsia, 
 melancholia, paralysis, idiocy and insanity, are 
 alarmingly on the increase in the people of seden- 
 tary occupations and brain-workers in our cities. 
 Physical strength cannot long be possessed under 
 
f 
 
 22 LIFE 
 
 enervating modes of living; the stature and the mind 
 must degenerate. The rural life occupied a con- 
 siderable portion of the time with the Roman 
 worthies of the old republic, who were early trained 
 to endure hunger, thirst, running, leaping, swim- 
 ming, etc. But gradually luxurious living, vices, de- 
 baucheries, followed upon the plain life and repub- 
 lican virtues. And Rome, proud, haughty and im- 
 perious, fell through her excesses, debased and ex- 
 hausted. 
 
 CWe are creatures of heredity, habits and environ- 
 mt; and health consists in an equilibrium be- 
 tween two aggregates of force, one representing 
 the body, the other all the surroundings in which it 
 is placed. Health does not consist so much in a 
 certain height or weight of body, or girth of chest, 
 as in a condition of correspondence to its environ- 
 ment. The robust and well-fed North American 
 or European, when removed to Cuban soil, residing 
 in a climate and surroundings so different from that 
 to which he and his ancestry were accustomed, will 
 succumb readily to disease, while the small and ill- 
 fed native will escape its ravages. The influence 
 of acclimatization must be considered as a factor in 
 
LIFE 23 
 
 the production of either health or disease. There 
 are some locations in Africa which are recognized 
 as death-spots to the white race; yet the negroes, 
 born and reared there, where their ancestors lived 
 for generation^, enjoy comparatively good health. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Like begets hke. The insane, the idiotic, the 
 syphilitic, the consumptive, should not marry. 
 Alas! while this may be true in science as being 
 detrimental to the offspring, it cannot be enforced 
 in practice. Plutarch says: "One drunkard be- 
 o-ets another." Statistics have shown that the chil- 
 dren of drunkards are often criminals, and, like the 
 insane, are born with constitutions so weakened by 
 a vitiated ancestry that they are unable to fight the 
 good battle of life and resist the temptations to evil 
 so well as those born of healthier, more moral and 
 sober parents. As in the form, the color of the 
 hair, the expression, the gait, the external manifes- 
 tations of physique appear in the child similar to 
 either parent, it is not rational to conclude that the 
 temperament and the attributes of character, should 
 also be transmitted from parent to child? Does 
 
24 LIFE 
 
 not this seem to be the rule, even if exceptions must 
 be admitted? 
 
 Education does not commence when the child 
 goes to school. There is an anterior education (be- 
 fore the birth of the child), which many mothers 
 can impress on their unborn offspring. While there 
 is no nervous or blood connection directly existing 
 between the mother and the child in the womb, yet 
 maternal impressions are transmitted in an un- 
 known manner, as shown by well authenticated 
 facts, though pathologists would have us consider 
 those peculiarities as coincidences. There is no 
 doubt, however, in the minds of the practical, ob- 
 serving and experienced physicians who have stud- 
 ied diseases outside of books, that the moral, physi- 
 cal and intellectual traits of parents are more or less, 
 transmitted to their children. ' 
 
 The evil propensities -of parents seem surer of 
 transmission than the good ones. Hence we say: 
 a chip of the same block. The Germans express 
 the same thought by saying: the apple falls not far 
 from the tree. But as the learned pathologists 
 cannot explain the function of the spleen, or why 
 the heart continues to beat, and many other plain 
 
LIFE 26 
 
 and stubborn facts, we must believe with Shakes- 
 peare: 'There are more things in heaven and 
 earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philoso- 
 
 phy." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 The profession of medicine is approved in Eccle- 
 siasticus, Chapter XXXVIII (R. C. Bible). 
 
 1. Honor the physician for the need thou hast 
 of him; for the Most High God hath created him. 
 
 2. For all healing is from God; and he shall re- 
 ceive gifts of the King. 
 
 3. The skill of the physician shall lift up his 
 head, and in the sight of great men he shall be 
 praised. 
 
 4. The Most High hath created medicines out 
 of the earth; and a wise man will not abhor them. 
 
 5. Was not bitter water made sweet with wood? 
 
 6. The virtue of these things is come to the 
 knowledge of men; and the Most High hath given 
 knowledge to men that He may be honored in His 
 wonders. 
 
 7. By these he shall cure and shall allay their 
 
 (26) 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 27 
 
 pains; and of these the apothecary shall make sweet 
 confections, and shall make up ointments of health; 
 and of his works there shall be no end. 
 
 It would seem that faith-curers and pseudo-sci- 
 entists, that quacks and faddists, ignore the above 
 injunction. How can it be expected that illness 
 will be removed by a Divine intervention when the 
 natural means, adapted for relief, are not used? 
 
 Why not as well expect the Lord to pay our 
 debts or feed us without food? Is it not an un- 
 warranted assumption on the part of an unprofes- 
 sional^ a veritable empiric, to palm ofl upon the 
 public preparations and concoctions of doubtful 
 efficacy, merely for the sake of the "almighty dol- 
 lar?" Is it not monstrous to pretend that one and 
 the same medicine will relieve any kind of sickness, 
 in any kind of person, in any kind of condition? 
 
 Alas, the sure panacea for all ills has not yet been 
 discovered, and is as little likely to be discovered as 
 the philosopher's stone that can change everything 
 into gold. Let it be respectfully but frankly said, 
 that if some ministers of the Gospel were as wil- 
 ling to expound the above quotation in ref- 
 erence to the skill of the physician, and also the last 
 
1 
 
 28 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 verses of chapter XIV of Leviticus, which treats of 
 hygiene, as they appear to be ready to recommend 
 secret nostrums over their signatures, how much 
 more good to humanity not only from a physical but 
 also from a moral point of view, would they accom- 
 plish. 
 
 Religious journals of every denomination will ad- 
 vertise ''sure cures," and publish statements from 
 church divines that are calculated to mislead and 
 delude the people. Physicians treat the condition 
 of the patient; C^nd the treatment of the same dis- 
 ease in two individuals may be entirely different, re- 
 quiring entirely different prescriptions^ How then 
 can the one and the same medicine be recommend- 
 ed or endorsed for all individuals? It is unfortu- 
 nate that clergymen are often so easily influenced 
 as to allow their names to be used for such objec- 
 tionable purposes. (The late Dr. Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes says boldly that "quackery hobbles on two 
 crutches, the tattle of women, and the certificates of 
 clergymen.'^ Why should certainties be expected 
 of the physician in his efforts to *'cure" a constitu- 
 tion physically depraved by heredity, bad habits 
 and unliealthy environment, while the lawyer and 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 29 
 
 clergyman generally escape criticism and censure? 
 There is no positive "cure" or specific for any dis- 
 ease, though the efficacy of medicines cannot be 
 questioned. The existing condition, the constitu- 
 tion, the weak points of the organism, must be at- 
 tended to; each case being a law unto itself. The 
 clergyman does all in his power to improve the 
 morals of the individual, but sometimes fails; the 
 lawyer does not always succeed in winning his case, 
 notwithstanding his legal lore; and the physician, 
 who has done the best that medical science can dic- 
 tate, has truthfully "cured" his patient, that is, he 
 cared for him properly, though the patient may 
 have died; for the word "cure," from the Latin 
 word "cura," care, in the scientific sense, means 
 what its original derivation implies, to "care for 
 properly." Clergymen are often called "curates, 
 "^ those who care for souls," a term which should be 
 applicable to physicians, who "care for bodies," 
 though it is not conventional. The physician 
 "cures," or cares for the body, as the clergyman 
 cures" or cares for the soul. A "cure" or a "sure- 
 cure," has always been the talisman of the vendor 
 of nostrums and the trademark of the impudent 
 
30 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 quack. Whether a lawyer can win your case or a 
 clergyman save your soul, is as uncertain as that a 
 physician can "cure" you. In the present state of 
 our knowledge, the truth is simply this: There are 
 persons with certain diseases tliat will get well when 
 cared for properly, and by using medicinal agents. 
 These may be said to be "'curable;" but, it must 
 be remembered that "cure" is always relative, for 
 perfect health is extremely rare. There is a class 
 of diseases that may be relieved by change of diet, 
 occupation, environment, and habits of life. There 
 are quite a number of self-limited diseases, such as 
 measles, scarlet-fever, whooping cough, typhoid 
 fever, smallpox and so on, that cannot be jugulated 
 or cut off, or broken up, or their course terminated 
 by any means at our command. They are all mod- 
 ified more or less by treatment. The incurable dis- 
 eases have been, from tlie beginning, the best 
 money-making schemes for the quacks who guar- 
 antee sure "cures." It does not seem to occur to 
 those who contribute their money and assist the 
 "sure curers" that every human being must die of 
 an incurable disease, whether he lives a minute, a 
 day, a month, a year or a century. Why physicians 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 31 
 
 do not advertise their "cures" in the daily papers, 
 as business men do their wares, is often aslced by in- 
 telligent persons, who, upon a little reflection, 
 would see the folly of such a question. A physician 
 can advertise his address and ofKice hours; but if he 
 should state that he can "cure," he loses the respect 
 of the profession, and is unv/orthy the confidence of 
 the people. No honorable physician will guarantee 
 a "cure," as complications may arise, even in the 
 most trivial complaints, that may terminate the 
 patient's life. 
 
 The printed statements of v/onderful cures made 
 by advertising quacks, should not be believed, as 
 they are deliberate frauds, entirely fictitious; or 
 they are the manifestation of a desire of some peo- 
 ple to see their names in print. The names of 
 statesmen, clergymen, Indian missionaries, medical 
 men, dead and alive, vvith their pictures, as well as 
 those of the chronic invalids, "given up by the doc- 
 tors," are used for the purpose of fleecing the ig- 
 norant and credulous. Even some physicians, who 
 are teachers in medical colleges, or editors of medi- 
 cal journals, will at times endorse remedies guaran- 
 teed to "cure," about the efflcacy of which they 
 
32 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 know nothing, in order that their names may ap- 
 pear as professors of certain branches of medicine, 
 or associated with a medical press, padded with 
 many untruthful advertisements. They will even 
 write articles, and give testimonials, paid for by 
 drug firms, extolling the virtues and curative prop- 
 erties of medical preparations, without even having 
 tested any of them. 
 
 "But now our quacks are gamesters, and they play 
 With craft and skill, to ruin and betray. 
 With monstrous promise they delude the mind, 
 And thrive on all that tortures humankind. 
 Void of all honor, avaricious, rash, 
 The daring tribe compound their boasted trash, 
 Tincture or syrup, lotion, drop or pill, 
 All tempt the sick to trust the lying bill." 
 
 People have changed in the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury, and so has the species of quack. 
 
 The medico-theological pretender, half doctor, 
 half preacher (smooth of tongue and slick of dress), 
 who gives testimonials as to the efficacy of blood 
 remedies, headache powders, sore throat relievers, 
 has taken a strong hold on the impressionable 
 element of the community. He boasts of his ex- 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 33 
 
 perience "in seeing disease," which he regards in 
 the same Hglit as seeing a steam-engine or an agri- 
 cukural instrument, of the component parts or func- 
 tions of which he knows nothing. He is a very- 
 mysterious individual, and is Hkely to recommend 
 the infalHble Indian rcsuscitator, or the Egj^ptian 
 sore-eye lubricator. He is as ignorant of the rudi- 
 ments of anatomy and physiology as a dancing 
 Dervish, yet he undertakes to treat disease, and 
 prostitutes his "cloth" to aid him in flattering his 
 vanity, or putting dollars into his pockets. He 
 will remain with us for some time, as the people 
 have faith in him. There are quacks of all kinds, 
 from the most ignorant to the highest type of in- 
 tellectuality. The liar is always a quack. There 
 is the vendor of headache powders, corn salves, 
 liver stimulators, electric belts, rheumatic rings, 
 dressed in long-hair Indian costumes, mounted on 
 a wagon, accompanied by the song and dance man, 
 who, with brazen face, and stentorian voice, pro- 
 claims his wonderful discovery to the emotional and 
 astonished multitude. He is "able and willing" to 
 give $500.00 or any larger sum for every case he 
 cannot cure. He can make a fortune by selling 
 
34 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 bread-pills or sugared water, and the people believe 
 in him. 
 
 Then we have all sorts and characters of *'docs" 
 and doctors. There are alopathic, homeopathic, os- 
 teopathic, eclectic and electric, hypnotic, dosimetric, 
 medico-therapeutic, botanical, Thomsonian and 
 hydropathic "docs." There are some regular phy- 
 sicians, many irregular, and others very defective, 
 with rational and irrational systems of medicine. 
 
 The following definitions of the "pathies" have 
 been given by a jolly correspondent of a medical 
 
 journal : 
 
 Christian Science— Suggestion plus absurdity. 
 
 Divine Healing — Suggestion plus faith in God's 
 mercy. 
 
 Osteopathy — Suggestion plus massage (knead- 
 ing and rubbing). 
 
 Hydropathy — Suggestion plus water. 
 
 Metaphysical Healing — Suggestion plus fog. 
 
 Hypnotism — Suggestion plus fog. 
 
 Spiritualism is somnambulism, etc. 
 
 Theosophy is an intellectual pleasantry. 
 
 There are those that ''cure" by air, those that 
 "cure" by water, those that "cure" by fasting. 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 36 
 
 There are eye-doctors, ear-doctors, nose-doctors, 
 throat-doctors, kmg-doctors, bowel-doctors, worm- 
 doctors and corn-doctors. Tlien there are doctors 
 that wear their hair long, that lisp affectedly, and 
 there are those whose names often appear in the 
 newspapers as having performed some remarkable 
 operation,or being engaged in the advertising job of 
 treating some distinguished citizen. There are ex- 
 perimental doctors, who try every new fad, mechan- 
 ical appliance and remedy, though of doubtful ef^c- 
 acy, that appear in the journals, in order to be 
 modern, and recognized by the smatterer of 
 pseudo-science as fin-de-siecle. This up-to-date 
 doctor is usually the greatest humbug that exists. 
 He knows well the hysterical condition with which 
 so many people are afflic'ted. Something new — but 
 not necessarily true — the people want, and why 
 should not he be the man to give it to them, and 
 please them? Such is his stock in trade. He is 
 always agreeable in manner; he will smile and smile 
 and take your pocket-book with a smile. The 
 lady who comes to his offtce firmly believing that 
 she has gastric catarrh, or is "threatened" with ap- 
 pendicitis or an ovarian tumor, will find in him a 
 
36 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 very sympathetic and charming consultant. By a 
 wave of the hand, a look of the eye, the elegant 
 poise, the spectacular display, she is convinced that 
 he is a great man, and, as he has agreed with her 
 in every particular about her case, which she thinks 
 she has successfully diagnosed, he knows just what 
 he is talking about. For this species of quack, a 
 short apprenticeship in a large popular retail dry- 
 goods store, under a strict, shrewd business man, is 
 a pre-requisite to a successful and money-making 
 career in medicine. With him, practice is entirely 
 a business matter. He studies the art and manner- 
 isms of commercial life, which he utilizes in his 
 shop talk and advertising strategy. 
 
 in * ^ * -Ki ^ 
 
 The general practitioner is too often led by the 
 views of enthusiasts in specialism, some of whom 
 are authors, whose experience is confined in a 
 great measure to dispensary and hospital prac- 
 tice. We know the dangers from puerperal fever 
 are enhanced in the septic lying-in wards of hos- 
 pitals; and statistics based on results of practice 
 among the chronic dependents on public clinics 
 and habitual medicine-takers, who frequent these 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 37 
 
 institutions, are not so reliable or useful to the gen- 
 eral practitioner as the experience he obtains by 
 treating patients who are so fortunate as not to be 
 compelled to take advantage of these institutions. 
 
 The profession is in danger of being disintegrat- 
 ed and engulfed by the speculative, business-like 
 methods of some specialists and medicine-venders. 
 The enthusiastic tyro in microscopy and bacteriol- 
 ogy, on account of the emotional disturbance pro- 
 duced by a strain of expectant attention, cannot be 
 rehed upon as an exponent of the germ theory. The 
 grave Importance of personal equation In the con- 
 sideration of such Issues is but little thought of. 
 There is danger of his seeing germs everywhere. 
 
 Only a few years ago, the profession was startled 
 with the announcement of the discovery of a real 
 elixir of life. Under its potent and magic influ- 
 ence the decrepitude of senility, with its attendant 
 harrowing cares and enfeebled mind, was to be 
 transformed Into the sprightliness and elasticity of 
 youth. The period of life known as old age was 
 to become obsolete, and physiological laws were to 
 be ignored and trampled upon. The impression- 
 able octogenarian was to have his youth "renewed 
 
38 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 as the eagle's;" and we were assured that, what 
 Ponce de Leon had sought in vain and lost his life 
 in pursuit of, was given to mankind by Brown-Se- 
 quard. It seemed to be accepted that death, which 
 followed the primal disobedience, was to disappear 
 from earth. A nostrum was to effect this won- 
 drous revolution! The "fad" was taken up by 
 some members of the profession, who coveted 
 patients to submit to the exhibition. The daily 
 press greedily sought the records of the return from 
 age to youth of those injected with the elements of 
 rejuvincscence, and physicians gave out bulletins of 
 the condition and progress of their patients to wait- 
 ing reporters. The tone of the profession was low- 
 ered when physicians set a fairy tale against the im- 
 mutable laws of science, against the records of hu- 
 manity. The dignity, which attaches to a science, 
 was abased when physicians advertised their ad- 
 herence to a fad in a manner that may justly be 
 compared with the heralding of the contortions of 
 an acrobat or the grimaces of a clown. 
 
 We were later invaded by the *'fad" of ''kochine;" 
 and some physicians, through the daily press, in- 
 formed the profession that under the influence of 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 39 
 
 Koch's lymph, the temperature of the tuberculous 
 patient fell, the pulse was lowered, and a careful 
 examination revealed the fact that tuberculous 
 products were rapidly disappearing. Physicians 
 again sank to the level of chapmen advertising their 
 wares, and the "fad" vanished after a brief period. 
 
 It is unfortunate that songs of fame and glory 
 are being constantly sung around the daring of 
 the knife in surgery. Many of our medical asso- 
 ciations are only mutual admiration societies, where 
 some members report for publication, success, suc- 
 cess, success, while their unsuccessful cases are 
 relesrated to the realms of innocuous desuetude. 
 Unfortunately many of those who read papers at 
 conventions remember that "we chronicle no 
 French defeats in the galleries at Versailles." Away 
 with the plague-spots of sensationalism, "shop- 
 talk" cures, successful radical operations, and spec- 
 ulative nonentities which are often reported in the 
 daily press as advertising matter! 
 
 Happily, the tendency to such acts of notoriety 
 exists only among a small number of physicians. 
 The great majority labor faithfully and earnestly 
 in the field of true science, and are not so possessed 
 
40 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 of the ''ego" but that they can still believe that the 
 word ''cure" means to care for properly, and that the 
 "vis medicatrix naturae" exercises a potent in- 
 fluence in the course of disease., "The general prac- 
 titioner, with the broadest field for observation, 
 must be alive to every advance of medicine, and 
 carefully reject the views of extremists, who have 
 only theories to maintain. When called to the 
 bedside of the patient at the approach of disease, 
 he forecasts its attack; he watches its course; he 
 sees it to its close. He is the mainstay of the 
 afflicted, the solace of the suflFerer. He will best 
 succeed, in his capacity as physician or surgeon, 
 who holds that rational progress, in harmony with 
 true and proper conservatism, is the grandest gem 
 in the diadem of practical medicine." 
 
 Since the above, from the author of this book, ap- 
 peared in the "American Practitioner and News," 
 in 1890, other fields of labor have been 
 opened up for brilliant operators and spec- 
 ulative faddists. Appendicitis has recently be- 
 come the fashionable rage. And many cases are 
 subjected to the knife that would recover by proper 
 medical treatment. 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 41 
 
 The following has appeared from some modern 
 poet: 
 
 Appendicitis. 
 
 "Have you got the new disorder? 
 If you have not 'tis in order 
 
 To succumb to it at once without delay. 
 It is called appendicitis, 
 Very different from gastritis, 
 
 Or the common trash diseases of the day. 
 
 It creates a happy frolic, 
 Something like the winter colic, 
 
 That has often jarred our inner organs, some; 
 Only wrestles with the wealthy, 
 And the otherwise most healthy; 
 
 Having got it, then you're nigh to kingdom 
 come. 
 
 Midway down in your intestine, 
 Its interstices infestin', 
 
 Is a little alley, blind and dark as night, 
 Leading off to simply nowhere. 
 Catching all strange things that go there; 
 
 As U pocket, it is simply out of sight. 
 
42 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 It is prone to stop and grapple 
 With the seed of grape or apple, 
 
 Or a soldier button swallowed with your pie; 
 Having levied on these chattels, 
 Then begin eternal battles 
 
 That are apt to end in mansions in the sky. 
 
 Once located, never doubt it, 
 You would never be without it; 
 
 It's a fad among society that's gay; 
 Old heart failure and paresis 
 Have decamped and gone to pieces, 
 
 And dyspepsia has fallen by the way. 
 
 Then stand back there, diabetes. 
 For here comes appendicitis, 
 
 With a brood of minor troubles on the wing. 
 So, vermiform, here's hoping 
 You'll withstand all drastic doping, 
 
 And may earn the appellation, 'Uncrowned 
 King.' " 
 
 The germ-hunting theorist who believes that he 
 sees through the microscope myriads of death- 
 dealing bacteria, has a very plausible solution of 
 the cause of all the ills that flesh is heir to, and 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 43 
 
 concludes that by killing the bacteria the disease is 
 subdued. But unfortunately, the water we drink, 
 the air we breathe, the earth wc tread upon, teem 
 with micro-organisms. What good or harm they 
 do is not so well known. Bananas will not grow in 
 Alaska, the products of the sunny South will not 
 mature in tlie extreme North, nor will the con- 
 stitution of the individual, due to a good inheri- 
 tance and proper healthful exercise through the 
 benificent agents of air and light, be easily affected 
 by these much dreaded microbes. The phagocytes 
 of the blood are the natural product of cells, and are 
 continually fighting our battle against the bacteria. 
 The vitality of the system must be lowered before 
 the bacilli can do harm. It would appear that 
 while so much fascinating investigation and learned 
 research have been devoted to the study of the 
 genus bacillus and its habitat, the genus homo and 
 its environment have not received the same degree 
 of careful thought and scientific solicitude. Exper- 
 iments have shown that sunbeams are able to de- 
 stroy bacteria in water at least twenty inches below 
 the surface, and this destruction is greatest when 
 the perpendicular and oblique rays enter into the 
 
44 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 water uninterrupted, raking the enemy with a cross- 
 fire, as it were. Dirt and darkness, in the broadest 
 and most comprehensive signification of the terms, 
 are the chief factors in the causation of disease; and 
 pure water, pure air, pure food, pure soil and sun- 
 shine are the best measures for its prevention and 
 relief. 
 
 Cleanliness, persistent — yea eternal — cleanliness, 
 is next to godliness, and is the price of safety. We 
 are inhaling thousands of germs by each act of 
 breathing, and they are introduced also by our 
 food and drink. If possessed of virulent properties, 
 they are probably rendered innocuous by the nat- 
 ural antiseptic agency of the secretions of the nose, 
 mouth etc., of healthy constitutions. Should they 
 reach the blood they will encounter the wandering 
 phagocytes, the worthy fortifiers of our constitu- 
 tions. 
 
 While the consensus of medical opinion recog- 
 nizes a specific germ as the cause of disease, surely 
 heredity, soil or constitution, age, environment, 
 habits, food and drink, must also be recognized as 
 important and necessary factors in the production 
 of diseases. The battle of life consists principally 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 46 
 
 in our effort to ward off filth in all its multifarious 
 aspects, seen and not seen, in food, water, drink, 
 soil and air. The germs that are now so much 
 spoken of are traceable to these two sources— dirt 
 and darkness, prolific harbingers of discomfort, 
 disease and death. 
 
 For the cleansing of wounds, the prevention of 
 pus and blood poisoning, hot water alone, or solu- 
 tions of Carbolic Acid or Bi-chloride of Mercury 
 are used— or Iodoform, Boric Acid, etc. It is 
 possible, however, that within a few years we may -^ . jj^ 
 turn back and recognize in the inorganic principles 
 of Chloride of Sodium (common salt and water) the 
 best and safest disinfectants we possess. 
 
 The faith-doctor and magnetic healer have re- 
 cently fastened their talons on the gullible com^ 
 munity. All too true: ":Man is the dupable an- 
 imal." Quacks in medicine, quacks in religion 
 and quacks in politics know it well, and act upon 
 this knowledge. There is scarcely anyone who 
 may not, like a trout, be taken by lures. In order 
 to expose the tricks and schemes of quacks and 
 humbugs, it must be understood that a person can 
 be blind or deaf, dumb or paralyzed, hysterically. 
 
16 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 and be relieved instantaneously by what may ap- 
 pear the fillip of the fingers, or a pass of the hand. 
 Hysteria is a disease marked by nervous debility 
 and loss of will-power — a hydra-headed affection — 
 and its varieties of nervous manifestations are nu- 
 merous and extensive. It is possible for a person 
 to be completely paralyzed from hysteria, and get 
 well by a supreme effort of the will alone, without 
 any medication. Persons who were bed-ridden 
 and unable to move for years, having been told 
 that the house was on fire, got up and walked. The 
 class of sufferers known to the medical profession 
 as neurasthenics, that is, persons suffering from 
 marked nervous debility, as well as the hysteric and 
 epileptic, are an easy prey for itinerant tricksters. 
 The sedentary occupations and indoor life, which 
 characterize our present civilization, tend to de- 
 velop the neurotic or nervous temperament. 
 
 Tlie specialist, or expert, as he is anxious to be 
 called, is often a quack, who succeeds in filling his 
 pockets with the ''almighty dollar" by deceiving 
 the hysterical and the neurotic. The honest 
 specialist, who, after years of experience in the 
 general practice of medicine, may have acquired 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 47 
 
 a positive knowledge of the diseases that baffle 
 ordinary skill, if he has a taste for some special line 
 of work and thought, and prosecutes his studies in 
 that direction, is \vorthy of all credit and confidence. 
 But let us always remember, man is not made 
 of eyes, ears, muscles, bones or nerves separately, 
 nor can we recognize him only as a machine. The 
 heart is more than a mechanical pump, the lungs 
 far superior to a bellows. The brain is not an elec- 
 tric power-house, and the human being cannot be 
 disconnected and disintegrated by a mechanical de- 
 vice, or a trick of the loop, and distributed to the 
 chief artisans of various workshops. No! There is 
 an admirably adjusted interdependent and harmoni- 
 \ ous action existing between all parts of the human 
 system. \^The specialist, who devotes his attention 
 to the eye, can never be a good physician, unless he 
 fully understands that the eye affection which he 
 treats may be due to a constitutional cause, and 
 should be treated accordingly .y Syphillis, malaria, 
 "rheumatism, diseases of the kidneys, etc., may affect 
 the eye. Hence, he who treats the eye, though he 
 may be possessed of good mechanical skill, must 
 be able to remove, as far as possible, the depraved 
 
48 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 general condition in order to fully perform his duty. 
 
 CThe public generally confound a symptom with a 
 disease. Let us take, for instance, a specialist — the 
 headache doctor. A headache may be caused by 
 eye-strain, bad teeth, neuralgia, disease of the 
 stomach, of the liver, of the kidneys, of the brain, 
 or by malaria, constipation, or fever of any kind. 
 In order to relieve the headache it is necessary to 
 remove the cause. The heavy eater, whose stom- 
 ach is unable to digest the excess of food which it 
 received last evening, may have a headache requir- 
 ing entirely different treatment from the delicate, 
 worn-out shop-girl, whose general nervous system 
 is debilitated, or the student, Who has a defect in the 
 refraction of his eyes. 
 
 Unloading the stomach and bowels by vomiting 
 and purging will succeed in one, while another case 
 requires tonics, sunshine and fresh air; another, 
 again, needs glasses. 
 
 Dropsy is a symptom of disease, and is caused by 
 obstruction of the blood-vessels, or impoverishment 
 of the blood. It may occur in diseases of the heart, 
 the liver, the lungs or the kidneys. Hence, the drop- 
 sy doctor is a ridiculous speciaHst. The quack who 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 49 
 
 advertises "cures" as a specialist, with recommend- 
 ations from prominent citizens, will find in special- 
 ism a fine field to extort money from a too credu- 
 lous public. The family physician or general prac-^ 
 titioner is the safest to employ, and should be first 
 consulted in all cases of disease, before seeking any 
 socialist. Sliould he detect a diseased condition 
 that may require more dexterity of manipulation 
 
 or the skill of a craftsman, he will gladly seek 
 counsel. The knowledge derived" from his experl-'" 
 ence in treating the family, the inherited weak- 
 nesses of individuals, or the special knowledge of 
 the case, will be necessary to the successful labor 
 of the specialist, who may be called upon. 
 The following has made the rounds of the press: 
 
 The Day of the Specialist 
 
 "Two of a trade can never agree," 
 
 The proverb said of old ; 
 And never a doctor could there be found 
 
 His brethren to uphold. 
 But now they dwell in harmony, 
 
 And I'll tell you how 'tis done ; 
 The doctors have split their trade, d'ye see, 
 ^ There's a slice for everyone! 
 
50 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 It takes nine doctors to cure a man, 
 
 Tho' a ninth of a man he be! 
 The winter winds have harmed your throat, 
 
 You must go to Dr. B., 
 "Your stomach is wrong," he calmly says. 
 
 And passes you to C. 
 You mention to C. that pain in your eye 
 
 That worries you night and day, 
 "An oculist's case," he quick replies, 
 
 "Just call upon Dr. J." 
 "Too much Burgundy has blossomed out 
 
 In the joint of your great toe; 
 Now, where is H., so famed in gout? 
 
 To him you must swiftly go." 
 And when with doctors and bills you're vexed, 
 
 • Till all your nerves succumb. 
 To minister to a mind perplexed. 
 
 Another M. D. must come! 
 At last you're near your latest breath, 
 
 You find yourself laid low; 
 The faculty are in at death. 
 
 To give you leave to go. 
 But what's the matter among them all, 
 
 They can't exactly tell, 
 
PHYSICIANS AxND QUACKS 51 
 
 For ''diagnosis," who but X. 
 
 Can answer the question well? 
 And now life's fitful fever is cured 
 
 By a greater Doctor still; 
 The patient is sleeping well at last, 
 
 The heirs have read the will. 
 But e'en in his tomb, his friends report, 
 
 A specialist's care he'll need: 
 Tlie "AHenist," Z., must appear in court, 
 Lest his cranky bequest succeed. 
 The scientific view of specialism is showm in St. 
 Paul's letter to tlie Corinthians (1 Cor. XII): 
 "For as the body is one and hath many members, 
 and all the members of the body, whereas they 
 are many yet are one body. . . . For the body also is 
 not one member but m^any, and if tlie foot should 
 say: Because I am not the hand, I am not of the 
 body; is it therefore not of the body? And if 
 the ear should say: Because I am not the eye, I ajn 
 not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If 
 the whole body were an eye, v.'licre would be the 
 hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would 
 be the smelling? . . . And if they v/ere all one 
 member, where would be the body? . . . And 
 
52 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 the eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy 
 help; nor again the head to the feet: I have no 
 need of you. . . . And if one member suffer 
 anything, all the members suffer with it." 
 
 In the consulting room of the real physician the 
 peculiarities and idiosyncracies of the patient will 
 be taken into consideration; these are often of the 
 utmost importance in relieving the sufferer. To 
 rush to a specialist, who has only limited experience 
 in general practice, for the relief of any affection, 
 witliout first consulting the general practitioner, is 
 often futile. At a recent meeting of a medical socie- 
 ty, the president, in his address, deplored the fact 
 that too many young and inexperienced physicians 
 became specialists, without having had sufficient 
 knowledge of general practice. We pity the un- 
 fortunate patient who has to map out every organ 
 of the body to the several specialists, each pulling 
 in several ways and each magnifying his specialty 
 at the expense of all the others, and overlooking the 
 general condition of the patient, while deeply in- 
 terested as a specialist of the big toe or the little 
 finger, the umbilicus or a com. Nothing is farther 
 from the truth than that every organ of the body 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 53 
 
 must be considered a distinct entity. The clamor 
 that we continually hear about the specialist or ex- 
 pert should be hushed, and the general practitioner 
 receive his proper measure of consideration at the 
 hands of the public. 
 
 John Brown, who has been faithfully following 
 the plow on his father's farm, gets tired of this 
 healthful occupation, and determines to be a doctor. 
 He attends the Cureopathic Medical Institute ot 
 Septlcopolls; and after going through the curricu- 
 lum of studies prescribed by that institution, he 
 comes back to the cross-roads village, and enters its 
 general store, where his family and neighbors pur- 
 chase their supplies. Several men sitting on empty 
 soap-boxes, which they were leisurely reducing to 
 thin kindling-wood or improvised tooth-picks, look- 
 ed up; suddenly stopped from their labors, and won- 
 dered who the gentleman with the stove-pipe hat 
 and new city-cut suit of clothes could be. IMrs. 
 Robinson, Mrs. Jones, and a number of others who 
 lived in the neighborhood of the doctor's home, 
 were making purchases, and gazed in astonishment 
 at the city-bred appearance of the new doctor. 
 'Xaw me! Is this John Brown?" said Mrs. Robin- 
 
54 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 son, ''how changed you are! Have you come back 
 to locate among your old neighbors? I suppose 
 you have learned a great deal in the big city about 
 the new ways of treating sickness, and 'curing* 
 people?" ''Oil, yes," said this new-fledged disciple 
 of Esculapius ; "you remember George Thomas, the 
 silly idiot, who never had good sense. I can 'cure' 
 him." "Now, you do not mean to say," said Mrs. 
 Jones, "that you can put good sense in that poor 
 boy's head?" "Yes, I can," said Dr. Brown. "I 
 propose to perform a very interesting surgical oper- 
 ation upon him. I shall bore his skull with an in- 
 strum.ent like a gimlet. His skull is too thick. I 
 shall slice a portion of it ofif and raise up its roof, so 
 that his brain can swell and expand, and by that 
 means he will get good sense. This operation is 
 known to the medical profession as a modification 
 of trephining the skull." "Well, that is surely 
 great," said Mrs. Jones. 
 
 "Then, there is old Joshua Smith," continued Dr. 
 Brown, "who suffers a great deal from severe col- 
 icky pains, and you know how he twists and writhes 
 and rolls in terrible agony. Dr. Hayseed is 
 called to him quite often, and his bill for treating 
 
O^ ^ "■:■ 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 65 
 
 Joshua is considerable every year, as Joshua will 
 not give up his taste for filling his stomach with 
 grapes and crab-apples. Now, I propose to 'cure' 
 Mr. Smith completely and entirely, so that he will 
 never have a case of colic again." "Now, you 
 don't say so!" said Mrs. Robinson. ''Well, I do 
 declare! If you can do that, you must be a great 
 doctor!" ''Yes, ma'm. Dr. Hayseed does not ex- 
 actly know what the trouble is with Joshua. He 
 has appendicitis, and I propose the first time that 
 he is again attacked to make an incision through 
 the skin into his bowels, and remove a portion of 
 his intestines. I can do it— sure. Then there is 
 Nancy Harper, who lives a short distance up the 
 creek, who suffers with severe cramps every month. 
 I intend, if I shall be given the opportunity, to re- 
 lieve her completely by cutting out her ovaries. The 
 old-fashioned plan of making hot applications and 
 giving medicine in such cases has received a black 
 eye by us young surgeons, who are determined to 
 become brilliant operators. And really, ladies, my 
 heart bleeds for the number of consumptives who 
 die in this neighborhood, and ^vho should be 
 'cured' if the new antiseptic plan of treatment were 
 
56 PHYSICIANS A.ND QUACKS 
 
 adopted. Consumption, ]\Irs. Robinson, is caused 
 by bugs, very small bugs, so small that they can't 
 be seen with the naked eye (bacteria is the scientific 
 term); and those bugs get into the system and gnaw 
 and eat away the lungs. I have medicine that can 
 demohsh them every time.'' ''Well, Well! To put 
 good sense in George Thomas's head, to cut Joshua 
 Smith's bowels and stop his cramping, to knock 
 out Nancy Harper's pains, and to give us a 'sure 
 cure' for consumption, Johnnie, (excuse me) Doc 
 Brown, that is great, and I propose to tell every- 
 body in the neighborhood what you can do." 
 
 Joshua in due time had another attack of cramps, 
 and he was subjected to an operation for appendici- 
 tis, though the practical and experienced Dr. Hay- 
 seed insisted that it was unnecessary. Tlie opera- 
 tion was a complete success, so Dr. Brown said, as 
 Joshua survived the cutting, and the news spread 
 rapidly throug^hout the neighborhood; but alas, an 
 unfortunate complication, peritonitis (inflammation 
 of the sac that covers the bowels) set in, and before 
 a week elapsed, poor Joshua was quietly sleeping 
 with his fathers. Dr. Brown emphasized his re- 
 marks about the operation by stating that, only for 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 57 
 
 this complication, over which, of course, he had no 
 control, Joshua would have been alive and well. 
 
 The antiseptic "sure cures" for consumption, that 
 the good doctor learned in the Cureopathic Medical 
 Institute of Septicopolis, were tested in a few cases 
 of consumption; but alas, their success was a dis- 
 appointment and the people's confidence in the 
 good doctor was shaken. The persistent and em- 
 phatic assertion of Dr. Brown that, if he were called 
 in a little sooner, under his treatment those patients 
 would get well, was not received favorably by the 
 plain, honest country folk, the relatives and ac- 
 quaintances of his deceased patients. 
 
 The relatives of George Thomas, and of Nancy 
 Harper, became discouraged at the non-success 
 that attended Dr. Brown's learned theoretical 
 achievements, and positively refused to alllow the 
 confident doctor to attempt In those two cases the 
 experimental work with the knife that he had in- 
 tended. After a short time, Dr.Brown took down his 
 shingle, pulled up stakes, and went back to the city 
 of Septicopolis, where the cranks were more numer- 
 ous, and therefore a more inviting field awaited 
 him. He drifted into a specialty and wrote articles 
 
58 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 for the daily papers, showing new modes of treat- 
 ment that he had devised, and expressing his opin- 
 ion on all subjects that would tend to advertise him. 
 For a while he succeeded in making money, but ere 
 long his impudence and charlatantry were found 
 out. He sank to the grade of a patent medicine ven- 
 der; and not having money enough to push further 
 his advertising ''sure cures," he was soon reduced to 
 a condition of poverty and contempt — a fit reward 
 for such an evil practitioner. 
 
 There is another species of quack who is very 
 friendly and well-disposed to newspaper report- 
 ers, and is sure to get his name in the papers on 
 every possible occasion. If a man falls from a 
 street car, is bit by a dog, or kicked by a mule, and 
 receives only a slight injury, all the resources of 
 Doctor Blowhard's medical vocabulary are invoked 
 to describe it in language that, to the laity, shows 
 surgical learning and skill. Instead of the word 
 skin, ''integument" is used, and a bruise is desig- 
 nated as a "contusion." He successfully plays to 
 the galleries. If he is treating a distinguished citi- 
 zen, the condition of such a patient, and the pro- 
 gress of his ailment, are reported regularly, taking 
 
\ 
 
 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 59 
 
 care to give the impression that the ilhiess has 
 been serious and alarming, so that due credit will 
 be granted him by the community in case of recov- 
 ery. He takes great pride in airing his views, if an 
 opportunity presents itself, on the progress of medi- 
 cine by presenting the latest fad in the newspapers, 
 ostensibly for the benefit of the public, but really 
 as a cheap advertisement of himself. He may be a 
 teacher in a Cureopathic college, and if so, will at- 
 tend medical societies, read papers, give his exper- 
 ience, which may be very limited, and will not allow 
 an event of this character to pass without whisper- 
 ing in the ear of the newspaper man that he is a 
 professor in the Cureopathic Medical Institute, and 
 straddles two or three chairs. 
 
 The habit-doctor, who cures the whiskey habit, 
 the tobacco habit, the morphine habit, the cocaine 
 habit, is possibly the latest addition to the ranks of 
 quackery. How any person of reason can com- 
 prehend why medicine should be given for the cure 
 of a habit, surpasses all belief. Suppose that I am 
 a victim of the whiskey habit, or morphine habit, 
 a d present myself to one of these quacks for cure. 
 r tell him I am in good health; and he, thinkinof 
 
V 
 
 60 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 himself able to make an examination of my physical 
 condition, finds that my heart, liver, lungs, brain, 
 kidneys, nervous system, etc., are healthy; why, 
 then, should he give me any medicine? He might 
 as well give medicine to prevent the habit of swear- 
 ing, or picking the nose, as to give a healthy person 
 medicine for the cure of any habit. Of course, 
 when there is an abnormal condition of any organ, 
 or of the nervous system, it becomes necessary to 
 use remedies for relief. This quack boasts of hav- 
 ing a secret remedy for the purpose of 
 strengthening the will-power. How can he 
 tell what is involved? Habit means custom, 
 fixed custom, not an entity; and as it may 
 not cause any perverted condition of nervous tissue 
 or of any organ, its treatment under those circum- 
 stances, is the sheerest nonsense. Why not take 
 a little medicine for the habit of telling falsehoods? 
 The giving of chloride of gold, or a preparation of 
 strychnine, to a person who is healthy, for the 
 "cure" of the whiskey habit, is as preposterous as 
 dosing him with snake-oil or colored water as a 
 placebo, that is, a medicine intended only to please, 
 or to make an impression. We have many kinds 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 61 
 
 of myopic theorists, who are like the Hmpet at- 
 tached to a rock, knowing nothing of what is going 
 on beyond their own shells or habitations. There 
 are water-curers, who go by the name of hydro- 
 pathists. They advertise that water externally by- 
 bathing, and water internally by drinking, is the 
 "summun bonum" of all remedies. They have ar- 
 ranged on the premises a muddy walk or grass plot, 
 so that their patron can enjoy the exhilarating ex- 
 ercise of walking bare-footed. To persons who re- 
 fuse to take exercise at home, or will not obey the 
 orders of the physician, some good is undoubtedly 
 accompHshed by a sojourn at one of those establish- 
 ments. Many patients will not take preparations 
 \^ of magnesia or soda at home, but will do so at the 
 springs. 
 
 The doctor who "cures" by ozonized air, or anti- 
 septic vapor, is another fashionable faddist. The 
 delicate patient, who has a cough, and is told that 
 he is threatened with that dangerous malady, con- 
 sumption, is sure to rush to the air-doctor. Instead 
 of informing such a patient that the best means of 
 relief is exercise in a dry atmosphere in the moun- 
 tains of a temperate zone, where the ravages of the 
 
62 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 dreaded microbes are rendered innocuous, such a 
 one is too often subjected to antiseptic sprays, with 
 an atomizer in a close room. No remedy for the 
 treatment of incipient consumption, or a broken- 
 dov/n nervous system, is so beneficial as chopping 
 trees, if the patient is strong enough, or engaging in 
 some lighter exercise on a dry, healthy hilltop, 
 with proper food, tonics and clothing. Nothing 
 tends more to the development of consumption 
 than dusty carpets, darkened rooms, and damp at- 
 mosphere. 
 
 The cancer-curer, or tumor-doctor, who will 
 guarantee to cure, or remove any cancer with per- 
 fect safety, for ten or five hundred dollars, is a vam- 
 pire and vulture, whose proper place for such im- 
 position is an indefinite term of absence from the 
 community in the penitentiary. The mystery of 
 life makes its duration always a matter of uncer- 
 tainty. None may even lay claim to a knowledge 
 of its tenure for a single hour. 
 
 The nothing-like-leather, or one-cure doctors, 
 and medical faddists of all kinds, are compared by 
 the "British Medical Journal" to the contestants in 
 sack-races, to cricketers who play on one leg, and 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 63 
 
 to performers of similar pseudo-athletic feats, in 
 that they wilfully live within their powers. The 
 one-legged cricketers are not in it with the one-cure 
 doctor, who "cures" everything by hydropathia, or 
 sends all the consumptives to one place, to depend 
 entirely upon massage, or electricity, or oxygen, or 
 whatever may be the fashion of the moment. Many 
 of these enthusiasts are so convinced of the truth of 
 some special fad or other, that they will not be con- 
 tented until they have tried it on the sick. Some 
 will depend on abstinence from animal food, and 
 others from alcohol; while others will consider the 
 exclusive use of vegetables as the only diet in 
 order to reach longevity. How often are phys- 
 icians flippantly asked by the patient what system 
 of medicine they practice? This is an imputation 
 of doubt of the honesty and intelligence of the 
 physician; for, if he be a man of educated intelli- 
 gence, he will avail himself of every known agency 
 possessing remedial power. 
 
 There are some who take great pleasure in exhib- 
 iting in their offices every form of mechanical ap- 
 pliance, to make the world believe a human being 
 is nothing more than a complicated marchine, and 
 
64 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 that life is to be regarded in no other light than 
 mechanical force. Alas, how ridiculous! There 
 are wheels and whirligigs and electrical machines in 
 their offices, used more for the purpose of playing 
 on the emotions of patients that for the relief of dis- 
 ease. (Reference is here made to the toys of show- 
 men, not to proper medical and surgical mechanical 
 appliances and instruments.) 
 
 Mrs. Verdant consulted her family physician in 
 reference to a swelling, a protuberance, situated on 
 the nape of her neck, which gave rise to consider- 
 able pain and discomfort. The outspoken and 
 truthful Dr. Blunt told her it was a ''boil," and re- 
 quested her to poultice it for a few days and he 
 would call and see her. A number of Mrs. Ver- 
 dant's sympathizing friends visited her, among 
 whom was I\Irs. Touter, distinguished as a loqua- 
 cious lady, who believed in distributing each and 
 every one of her diseased organs and tissues among 
 the several specialists for treatment. The ocuHst 
 treated her eyes, the aurist examined her ears, the 
 gynecologist her womb, the dermatologist her skin. 
 With a more minute division in the near future, 
 probably the cerebrumist will treat her brain, the 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 65 
 
 respiratorist her lungs, and last but not least, the 
 proctologist or rectumlst will be called. This pro- 
 gressive, up-to-date, hospital-in-miniature lady was 
 a faddist about specialism, and imagined her knowl- 
 edge of the human body and of doctors 
 was very extensive. Dr. Blunt was a 
 good and kindly physician, she said, but the 
 tumor doctor, who advertised boldly in large letters 
 through the press, that he could cure all sorts of 
 tumors, cancers and other pestiferous diseases of 
 the blood, should be consulted, as Mrs. Verdant's 
 trouble was within the sphere of his usefulness and 
 domain. Accompanied by Mrs. Touter, Mrs. Ver- 
 dant called at the office of the celebrated tumor 
 specialist, whose name rang witli praises in the 
 newspapers of his wonderful skill and humanitarian 
 duty to the afflicted. After a very careful and 
 minute examination, some of the skin of the pro- 
 tuberance having been gently scraped ofif and put 
 under the microscope, Dr. Bizness decided that it 
 was an exceedingly interesting case of marked 
 aggravated funinculus, involving all the layers of 
 the integument, and superficial and deep tissues. 
 Assuming a very pompous air, he informed Mrs. 
 
66 PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 
 
 Verdant that she came to him just in time, as she 
 was "threatened" with blood-poisoning (our coun- 
 try is always threatened with a flood or a cyclone); 
 but by using the medicine he ordered, which never 
 before failed to "cure," the "disease would be 
 brought to the surface of the body." She was re- 
 quested to call daily at his office for a week, in com- 
 pany with her kind friend, Mrs. Touter. "What a 
 pleasant gentleman is this Dr. Bizness, and how 
 learned," said Mrs. V. "I shall never forget your 
 kindness, in recommending this Dr. Bizness to me. 
 Dr. Blunt is a good doctor, but a little old-fash- 
 ioned, and not up-to-date." Mrs. Verdant and her 
 good adviser visited Dr. Bizness regularly, and at 
 last the furunculus (plain word, boil) discharged its 
 pus, and Mrs. V. was relieved. 
 
 This unprincipled charlatan received quite a large 
 fee from Mrs. Verdant, while tlie kind-hearted and 
 true physician, by faithfully and truthfully doing 
 his duty, received scarcely any fee for his pro- 
 fessional services. It was a long time before the 
 good Dr. Blunt could remove the impression from 
 Mrs. Verdant's mind that "boil" and "furunculus" 
 meant the same thing, and that the danger in her 
 
PHYSICIANS AND QUACKS 67 
 
 case was extravagantly exaggerated by Dr. Biz- 
 ness, the notorious quack. 
 
 This is given as an example of the many devices 
 and tricks used by irregular business specialists, for 
 which many foolish people have to pay very dearly. 
 
 Words are truly the counters of wise men, but 
 the money of fools. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 In the conclusion of our remarks concerning fads 
 and faddists, we may be permitted to give our un- 
 varnished conception and appreciation of their en- 
 tire class. 
 
 A fad, in its proper sense, is a novelty, a specious 
 good. Like the will-o'-the-wisp, it flashes for a 
 while, and then disappears, because it offers no real 
 permanent good. It has its day, then passes away; 
 so it is in fashions, so it is in new remedies, the so- 
 called "cure-alls." Faddists are the originators or 
 abetors of fads. If fads did not find their propaga- 
 tors, they would soon collapse. What is the charac- 
 ter of a fad? Novelty is its prime feature. If any- 
 one pretends to have discovered the "philosopher's 
 stone," "the unique," the "sure cure," you may 
 rely upon it, it is a mere fad — a pretention 
 only. The saying of a critic applies in full 
 
 (68) 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 69 
 
 force to fads: "What is true is not new; 
 what is new is not true." Fads are notions of cer- 
 tain individuals who believe themselves to be the 
 discoverers of some desideratum of mankind, of 
 some "cure," not known to the medical profession. 
 As time tests all things, so time exposes the decep- 
 tion. A fad lives on laudation in advertisements, 
 and depends upon the eager efforts of its venders. 
 Until undeception comes, the pockets of the origin- 
 ators may be filled. Fads may pay well, but 
 do not serve well. Hence, let everyone beware of 
 an article that is recommended by high praise, and 
 by persistent efforts to make it acceptable. The 
 mind of m^an is restless, it seeks for novelty. This 
 attracts as long as the novelty lasts. If it brings no 
 real lasting benefit, it soon "wears off," as we say; 
 and the whole is consigned to oblivion. Novelty 
 in apparel may be indulged in, but can the same be 
 said of novelty in medicines? The proper test of 
 these must give the answer. And this test by right 
 belongs to the medical profession, and not to fad- 
 dists and quacks. 
 
 The fads do not exist entirely with fad-phy- 
 sicians; the patients are often faddists, easily influ- 
 
70 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 enced by foibles. The patient, who does not read 
 the almanacs to be found in the drug stores, the 
 drug advertisements in the press, or the circulars 
 placed on the door-steps, but is able to express his 
 sentiments without being biased in his judgment, 
 is the most satisfactory patient to receive aid from 
 a physician. Many patients, either from reading 
 symptoms of certain affections, or being prompted 
 by the advice of neighbors or friends, seem to im- 
 agine that they fully understand the nature of their 
 maladies. They have not come in the proper spirit 
 to consult a physician, but rather to dictate to him, 
 and show off their knowledge. There are more 
 patients who consult a doctor that seem determined 
 not to get well, than there are who are willing to 
 recover. They come to a physician to be medicat- 
 ed, and are possessed of the idea that medicines, and 
 medicines only, will relieve them. The pill, or the 
 teaspoonful may be administered regularly, but the 
 other important factors in the treatment are often 
 neglected. The character of the diet, the ventila- 
 tion of the room, the cleanliness of the patient and 
 of the bed, plenty of water to slake the thirst, the 
 quietness of the room, the exclusion of gossipy 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 71 
 
 visitors, and many other matters that are of great 
 importance, are not deemed worthy of any consid- 
 eration. Many are fond of adopting any mode of 
 treatment that seems peculiar and bizarre. They 
 like to swallow the hose of a stomach pump, pro- 
 vided the operation costs them some money, in 
 preference to taking plenty of warm water to wash 
 out their stomachs, in order that they can boast of 
 the great trick they have performed to their gar- 
 rulous friends, and so advertise the stomach doctor. 
 The stomach does not require to be washed out with 
 a hose, except in rare cases of malignant disease 
 (cancer, etc.), and even then permanent good re- 
 sults are not obtained. Many patients are fond of 
 using technical terms, without knowing their mean- 
 ing. They are easily influenced by advertisements 
 and high-sounding names of diseases that appear 
 in the newspapers. The words, intestinal catarrh, or 
 entero colitis, which means diarrhoea or flux, have 
 to them a very learned and awe-inspiring meaning. 
 We here give the names and synonymous terms 
 of certain diseases wliich can be found in medical 
 books and are sometimes used by physicians: Inter- 
 mittent fever may be called chills and fever; ma- 
 
72 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 larial fever, fever and ague; malarial fever may also 
 be remittent, or bilious fever, or pernicious inter- 
 mittent, known also as congestive fever, or conges- 
 tive chills. Pneumonia may be called pneumonitis, 
 croupous pneumonia, interstitial pneumonia, single 
 or double pneumonia, lobar pneumonia, lobular 
 pneumonia, the latter called also capillary bron- 
 chitis, or broncho-pneumonia. Inflammation of 
 the sac that covers the lungs is called pleurisy, or 
 pleuritis. If the inflammation extends to the lungs 
 it is called pleuro-pneumonia. Bronchitis means in- 
 flammation of the tubes that lead to the lungs. It 
 may be acute, subacute, or chronic; it is also called 
 bronchial catarrh. 
 
 Inflammation of the liver may be called hepatitis, 
 and this presents many varieties. We may have 
 circumscribed hepatitis, or abscess of the liver, 
 diffuse hepatitis, interstitial hepatitis, or hobnailed 
 liver, or nutmeg liver (the liver of the drunkard). 
 
 Then we have the waxy liver, fatty liver, etc. In- 
 flammation of the brain is known as cerebritis, and 
 when the thin, soft transparent sac that covers it is 
 inflamed, we have meningitis. Inflammation of the 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 73 
 
 kidneys is called nephritis, or Bright's disease; and 
 mumps, parotiditis. 
 
 Variola is smallpox, varicella is chickenpox; scar- 
 let fever and scarlatina mean the same thing. Many 
 people believe that scarlatina is a mild form of 
 scarlet fever. This is erroneous. Dysentery is 
 flux, or inflammation of the large intestine. 
 
 Gastric catarrh is an aggravated condition of 
 dyspepsia or indigestion. 
 
 Cyananche tonsillaris is quinsy or inflammatory 
 sore throat. 
 
 But why continue the list? It really astonishes 
 physicians the interest people take in the names of 
 their ailments, without comprehending the nature 
 or gravity of them. 
 
 "What do you read, my lord?" "The words! 
 Words! Words!" 
 
 Pascal truly says: "The world is satisfied with 
 words; few care to dive beneath the surface." 
 
 There is a class of patients known as the intro- 
 spection variety, who worry the doctor, and are al- 
 ways sad and miserable. They are continually 
 thinking of themselves, what they should eat, drink 
 
74 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 and wear. They carefully watch the thermometer 
 so that the room may always present an equable 
 temperature. They would like to eat certain 
 dishes, but having read the opinion of some distin- 
 guished scientist in a newspaper, they dread the 
 terrible bacilli that infest the oyster, and the 
 ptomaines that have been surely found in the milk. 
 One of this class is worried and ill, because ,the tips 
 of his ears have an itching sensation or are cold at 
 night. He reads everything that appears in the 
 papers about microbes, bacilli, germs, antisepsis 
 (confusion worse confounded), so that he lives in a 
 straight-jacket standard of health, from which, ow- 
 ing to his prudish manner and his morbid, nervous 
 condition, he cannot extricate himself. He is con- 
 tinually annoyed about the character of bath he 
 should take, whether a Russian bath, a Turkish 
 bath, a hot, tepid bath or a cold bath, a milk bath 
 or a wine bath. He will seek the ''masseur/' as 
 he has learned that massage (kneading and rub- 
 bing) is a great remedy for those who will not take 
 exercise, but are not too lazy to lie down and be 
 rubbed. He is charmed with the electrical doctor, 
 and praises the advantages that he has derived 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 75 
 
 from the "shocks" of an electrical machine. He 
 is an unfortunate patient, with little or nothing the 
 matter with him. His condition may be classed as 
 that of chronic morbidity. 
 
 There is quite a number of malingerers or im- 
 posters, who make the rounds of dispensaries and 
 hospitals for the purpose of gratifying their taste 
 for morphine or alcohol, by misrepresenting their 
 symptoms. They will feign pain or colic, knowing 
 that opium or morphine is used frequently for its 
 relief. They will beg for a tonic in liquid form for 
 the alcohol it contains. Many of this class are af- 
 flicted with "hospitalism," that is, remaining in a 
 hospital without exhibiting any evidence of disease, 
 so that it would require the lever of Archimedes to 
 move them away from there. The morphine fiend 
 is very much in evidence in our cities at the present 
 day. No class of sufferers excites our sympathy so 
 much as those unfortunate slaves to the morphine 
 habit. Instead of being accosted on the street for 
 a dime to get a drink, we often meet the chronic 
 morphine-user with pale, muddy skin, haggard ex- 
 pression, contracted pupils and shambling gait, 
 begging us for money with which to purchase mor- 
 
76 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 phine. We have known instances of the most cul- 
 tured ladies, v/ho had Hved in affluence, afterwards 
 reduced to such a pitiful condition through this 
 crushing and blighting habit, that they stood on 
 the street corner with their hands stretched out for 
 pennies with which they might procure the baneful 
 drug. Alas! how often is the pleasing doctor to 
 blame for promoting and encouraging the fascinat- 
 ing habrt by the unnecessary use of morphine given 
 by the hypodermic syringe, or by the mouth, sim- 
 ply because some patients demanded a sleep-pro- 
 ducing or pain-relieving medicine! The hypo- 
 dermic syringe is getting to be a dangerous, popu- 
 lar household commodity, especially in high-strung 
 and fashionable families. It should never be used, 
 except in the hands of a physician. The victim of 
 the morphine or cocaine habit seems to be In a 
 more depraved and irretrievable condition, usually, 
 than his brother in misery, who is in the toils of 
 alcohol. 
 
 There are many sick people who are willing to be 
 "doctored" by anybody, rather than be treated by 
 a physician. They will enter a drugstore and in- 
 quire of the druggist, "What is good for a cough or 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 77 
 
 a headache?" The druggist may give the following 
 list of remedies that may relieve headache, but will, 
 in many instances, injure the constitution. There 
 are antipyrine, antifebrine, phenacetin, acetanilid, 
 citrate of caffeine, bromide of potash, bromide of 
 soda, bromide of lithium, chloral hydrate, sulphate 
 of morphia, muriate of morphia, acetate of morphia, 
 salicylate of soda, belladonna, aconite, camphor, 
 hyoscyamine, guarana, cannabis, indica, phosphate 
 of soda, bicarbonate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, 
 sulphate of quinia, salol, menthol, etc., etc. 
 
 Besides this Hst, there are hundreds of patent 
 nostrums, with alluring pictures and tastily written 
 certificates from distinguished public men of the 
 country, endorsing any and every remedy, no mat- 
 ter how opposed to science or common sense. 
 
 4, 11, 14, 44; lottery luck: you pay your money, 
 and you take your choice. A veritable lottery on 
 life! The great lottery drawings of the world will 
 give a list of the few big prizes that are won, but the 
 names of the thousands who did not succeed in get- 
 ting anything arc not intended to be known by the 
 emotional and foolish creatures who invest their 
 money in such gambling schemes. And so it is 
 
78 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 with patent medicines. The multitude, whose con- 
 stitutions are really injured or who received no ben- 
 efit whatever from these nostrums, are never heard 
 from. After what we have already said in reference 
 to the importance of ascertaining the cause of the 
 headache, which it takes the physician, who has 
 studied anatomy, physiology and the other alHed 
 branches of medicine, and not the druggist, to de- 
 tect; how ridiculous, then, and how dangerous to 
 tamper with such agents, which, when properly and 
 intelligently used, are efficacious, but otherwise 
 may result in the most serious consequences. Useful 
 as those remedies for headache are, it should never 
 be forgotten that they do not restore normal func- 
 tions. The sufferer from headache must not im- 
 agine that he is "curing" his headache by taking 
 such things; he is only saving himself from some 
 of its effects; and, unless radical measures are taken 
 to prevent the recurrence of the disorder, he will 
 find that this dose of anodyne has to be repeated 
 more and more frequently, and with increasingly 
 disastrous effects to his general health. Perhaps 
 one of the most important points in the treatment 
 of many painful affections is to ascertain when to 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 79 
 
 give and when not to give opium or any of its prep- 
 arations such as laudanum, paregoric, morphia, etc. 
 Many a patient fatally succumbed to la grippe by 
 the injudicious use of morphia or antipyrine, ad- 
 ministered for the relief of pain, without an intelli- 
 gent examination of the heart and lungs, which 
 might interdict its use. In weak conditions of the 
 heart, or in certain affections of the lungs, a full 
 dose of opium may result in death. Pain in the 
 chest may be due to valvular disease of the heart, 
 though the sufferer is unable to realize his dano-er- 
 ous condition, and the pain-reliever may give him 
 sleep that knows no awakening. The druggist is 
 a valuable aid to the physician, and each has his 
 duty to perform. No honorable druggist will at- 
 tempt to diagnose disease and prescribe a remedy. 
 The true physician will always recognize the good 
 work and great assistance he derives from the noble 
 profession of pharmacy, whose members exercise 
 such knowledge, care and accuracy, in compound- 
 ing medicinal agents and filling prescriptions. 
 
 Narcotics and hypnotics (sleep-producing and 
 pain-relieving remedies), when not properly admin- 
 istered, engender a condition which is immeasur- 
 
80 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 ably more difficult to overcome than the disease 
 for the relief of which they may have been taken. 
 They bring about a seductive allurement. Fre- 
 quent indulgence leads to habit, and that increases 
 the necessity of larger and therefore more harmful 
 doses, taken in order to produce the increasingly 
 desired effect. The patient is in danger of suffer- 
 ing complete physical wreck, or of lapsing into 
 a condition of bodily weakness that may render him 
 more liable to succumb to that which would be, 
 imder more favorable circumstances, a slight illness 
 or temporary disorder. 
 
 Self-medication, by the use of morphia, chloral, 
 and remedies suggested by advertisements in the 
 daily papers, have cost far more lives every year in 
 this country, than the whole carnage inflicted dur- 
 ing the recent war with Spain and the Philippines. 
 How foolish and dangerous it is to try, and keep on 
 trying, remedies prescribed by persons who are not 
 qualified for such service! Valuable time is lost, 
 and a mild affection, that could be easily relieved 
 by using the best remedies at first, may be changed 
 by maltreatment, into a chronic and perhaps an in- 
 curable affection. 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 81 
 
 "From random files a recipe they take, 
 And many deaths with one prescription make." 
 "Blood remedies," particularly in the spring of 
 the year, seem to be in great favor at almost every 
 drugstore. The girl vrlth the pimply face (acne), or 
 the baby with eczema (tetter or scald head), or the 
 patient with a skin disease, due to indigestion, fre- 
 quently imbibe those noxious draughts of so-called 
 "blood-purifiers." A great many people believe it 
 is imperatively necessary for them to take some 
 preparation of sassafras, sarsaparilla, or some com- 
 pound or decoction of " roots and yarbs" each year, 
 in order to clean or purify the blood. How ridicu- 
 lous! What is the trouble v;ith the blood? :\Iany 
 affections of the skin are due to local causes, and 
 there is no efficacy whatever in sarsaparilla as a 
 blood medicine. A great deal of injury is often 
 done by people dosing themselves with such prep- 
 arations without understanding why they should 
 take them. The skin affection due to scrofula, re- 
 quires different treatment from the skin affection 
 due to malaria or a disordered stomach, or syph- 
 ilis; and the physician alone is qualified to prescribe 
 the proper remedy. 
 
62 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 The nerve medicines, or remedies for the nervous 
 system, are now used more and more by persons 
 who do not understand anything whatever about 
 the nervous system or its needs. It is to be hoped 
 the day will soon come when all persons without a 
 knowledge of the science and practice of medicine 
 will be prevented from prescribing remedial agents. 
 The great showman, Barnum, has truly said that 
 the American people like to be humbugged. How 
 fortunate it would be for humanity if the tons of 
 headache powders, the barrels of blood-purifiers, 
 and the hogsheads of liver pills, were thrown into 
 the sea, rather than into the stomachs of people by 
 men who scarcely know the name of a bone or 
 muscle, or the function of a single organ of the 
 body! 
 
 The principal ingredient in the blood-purifiers, 
 the nervine tonics and appetizers that are advertised, 
 is alcohol, which often becomes the teetotaller's 
 tipple; and the cough remedies," and ''quick 
 cures" contain opium, whose alluring dose not in- 
 frequently leads the victim to morphinomania. 
 
 Our gambling propensities, as a nation, are 
 shown in the worst light when we gamble on our 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 83 
 
 lives. The digestive tract appears to be a slot ma- 
 chine, into which its possessor takes pleasure in 
 thrusting any preparation with a euphonious name, 
 suggested for the ''cure" of diseases in newspapers, 
 in circulars on our door-steps, on posters on the 
 dead walls of cities, in the street cars, in the saloons, 
 on the fences along the lines of travel — yea, even on 
 the mountain-tops, to delude the healthy, or seek- 
 ers of health, from enjoying the advantages of such 
 a salutary region. A morbid, hysterical condition of- 
 ten results in many people from reading and study- 
 ing flaming and picturesque notices regarding their 
 nerves, livers, hearts, kidneys, etc. Laboring under 
 the delusion of being ill, thousands will unneces- 
 sarily take drugs without consulting a physician, 
 try tKeir luck in "cures," as they would in cards at 
 the faro table, and become dyspeptics, drunkards 
 and nervous wrecks in consequence. Instead of 
 obtaining the best remedies and advice from those 
 qualified by education and experience to bestow 
 them, people will pour drugs of which they know 
 little, into a body about which they know less, and 
 will try, and keep on trying their luck, as long as 
 the pleasing advertisements appear, to be changed 
 
r 
 
 84 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 only when a more alluring- picture and catchy tes- 
 timonial of a sure "cure" presents itself. 
 
 We have quite a number of people in this boasted 
 age of civilization, who "believe and have faith" in 
 ridiculous means of "curing" disease, that are on 
 a plane with the intelligence displayed by the 
 fetich-worshipers of Africa. They "believe" that 
 spiders's webs will "cure" malaria. They "beHeve" 
 that slippery elm tea given to a woman in confine- 
 ment will induce smooth and easy labor. They "be- 
 lieve" that asafoetida worn on a child's neck v/ill 
 "cure" whooping cough. They "beHeve" that 
 belladonna given to a child will prevent scarlet fe- 
 ver. They "believe" that keeping a pan of hot water 
 under the patient's bed relieves typhoid fever and 
 night sweats. They "beheve" that lifting a child 
 with one hand under the chin and the other under 
 the back portion of the head will " cure" the palate 
 when it is down (thickened or elongated uvula, I 
 presume, is meant). 
 
 They "believe" that zinc rings will " cure" rheu- 
 matism. They "believe" that killing the dog that bit 
 the child will prevent the child from having hydro- 
 phobia. They "believe" that liver pads and electric 
 
^ ; 
 
 « • <^ « I • 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 85 
 
 belts will "cure" diseases of the liver, and nervous- 
 ness. They "believe" that decomposed urine taken 
 internally is a remedy for diphtheria. They^believe" 
 that the tomato causes cancerous growths. They 
 "believe" that red-clover will "cure" cancer and 
 scrofula. (Red clover, celery and sarsaparilla have 
 no therapeutic value). They "believe" that the blood 
 of a black cat taken from the cat's tail and smeared 
 on the part affected will "cure" the shingles. They 
 "believe" that toads, either alive or dry, laid on the 
 back of the neck will stop bleeding of the nose. 
 They "believe" that a child born with a caul or am- 
 nion over its face will be eloquent; and many a 
 sailor "believes" that, having a caul in his posses- 
 sion, he is protected from drowning. They "believe" 
 that carrying a potato or a buckeye in the 
 pocket will "cure" the ague. They "believe" 
 that angler's worms and snake oil are the 
 best agents to make the joints supple. They 
 "believe" that eelskins tied around the wrists, 
 or ants steeped in whiskey and applied, and the 
 sting of bees, are sure "cures" for rheumatism. 
 They "believe" that a boil bursts within the stomach 
 
86 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 and that they have a bile on Iheir arm. They "be- 
 lieve" that the top of the head should be rubbed 
 when a child is choked. They "believe" that carry- 
 ing loadstone will bring about love. They "believe" 
 in love powders. They "believe" that trimming the 
 nails on Friday will keep away the toothache. They 
 "believe" that a madstone will draw out the poison 
 of a snake bite. They "believe" that the baby should 
 be weaned when the moon is full, and also that the 
 hair should be cut for good luck in the light ot 
 the moon. They "believe" that piercing the child's 
 ears will cure its sore eyes. They will follow the 
 -electric lamplighter for the pieces of burned carbon 
 he throws away, and "believe" that having some of 
 it in their pockets, will prove a "sure cure" for 
 rheumatism. 
 
 Scrofula (consumption) v/as formerly called the 
 King's evil, and is caused by bad food, impure air 
 and filthy surroundings. It was supposed to be 
 "cured" by the touch of the King's hand. During 
 the reign of Louis XlVth, and also of Louis XVth, 
 of France, thousands of people suffering with 
 skin affections and ulcers, which were considered 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 87 
 
 to be scrofulous in their nature, were presented ev- 
 ery week to the King for his royal touch. 
 
 Bacon truly says: ''Witches and impostors have 
 always held a competition with physicians." 
 
 The following examples show some of the diffi- 
 culties with which the druggist has to contend in 
 deciphering notes and requests of the foolish but 
 confident self-prescriber. The school-master is still 
 abroad. We give verbatim et literatim, some 
 things that have been asked for in a drug store. 
 They are remarkable pieces of Hterary bric-a-brac. 
 
 Lum bar wax (lump borax was intended). 
 
 New laded ting iron (tincture of iron was meant). 
 
 Brokx 5c, cienpiper 5c, mixed, (borax and cay- 
 enne pepper). 
 
 5c of cinner and sauce mixed, (senna and salts). 
 
 Roachschell salse, (rochelle salts). 
 
 Collumby root, (columba root). 
 
 Carpenter's soda, (carbonate of soda). 
 
 Plaster past, (plaster of Paris). 
 
 Prepared chawk, (prepared chalk). 
 
 Five cents unyeast drops, (essence of anise, or 
 anise drops). 
 
 City of iron, (citrate of iron). 
 
88 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 Alleway, (aloes). 
 
 Spepscine (pepsine). 
 
 Cawerty pills, (cathartic pills). 
 
 Compound catolic pills, (compound cathartic 
 
 pills). 
 
 Gleisken and burgamont, (glycerine and berga- 
 
 mot). 
 
 Five cents myran, (myrrh). 
 
 Brox 5c (borax), one ounce perevene barke (per- 
 uvian bark). 
 
 Gemake genger (Jamaica ginger). 
 
 Brazilian salve, (basilicon ointment). 
 
 Plester pres, (plaster of Paris). 
 
 Arrugut, (ergot). 
 
 One hotel of maenacies water, (magnesia water). 
 
 Dousmiaga, (Dews' mixture). 
 
 Byrn Wright pills, (Brandeith's pills). 
 
 Cradeotchers solts, (Craborchard salts). 
 
 Phruborb with a small piece of alice in it, (rhu- 
 barb and aloes). 
 
 Ten cents tatriugaric, (paregoric). 
 
 Please give him beesswaxs, (Bees wax). 
 
 Red dy, (red dye). 
 
 Send me twenty-five sence of arnickeny, (arnica). 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 89 
 
 I want a kniple that a chils suck milk of a bottle, 
 (rubber nipple). 
 
 Acofidety piles five cents worth, (asafoetida pills). 
 
 Pleas doctor give my sun something to stop the 
 chills, as he is verry sick with them, and as I am 
 not able to go With him I have a little Bebey boy 
 one week old. 
 
 Pleas doctor give my boy sothing that Will mak 
 him strong, and may thanks. 
 
 Ten cents, one cak black permade, (pomade). 
 
 Five cents Ciene ointment, (zinc ointment). 
 
 Jack of Clubs Perfume, (Jockey Club Perfume). 
 
 Curious ointment, (mercurial ointment). 
 
 Syrup of Idiotic acid, (hydriodic acid). 
 
 Five cents' worth Onit Ascit, (Oxalic Acid). 
 
 i cien Moss, (Iceland moss). 
 
 God Fred Chargle, (Godfrey's Cordial). 
 
 Five cents worth Red Perifity, (red precipitate). 
 
 Linicede Oil 5 cents, (linseed oil). 
 
 Tutturephine o cents, (turpentine). 
 
 Akernight 10 cents, (aconite). 
 
 Ten cents beewax yellow. Ten cents rossem, 
 (bees wax and rosin). 
 
90 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 Ten cents hotel of cresue for toothake, (creasote 
 for toothache). 
 
 Druggist, 
 
 Please be so kind and give this boy the medcine 
 witch to cure this pain after every meal. I have 
 got pain on the stomach like their Is a hevy piece 
 of irun lying their, and i am always spithing up 
 slime. 
 
 Piece let bearer Hafe one pount of gum. 
 
 i want oil of limen, (oil of lemons). 
 
 I would like to have five cents worth Kain pepper 
 (cayenne pepper). 
 
 For ten cents Ruba and salac mixed, (intended, 
 I presume, for rhubarb and soda). 
 
 Sena rhubarb sarsapaphilla, wild cherry bark, 
 and alois, (senna, rhubarb, sarsaparilla, wild cherry 
 bark, and aloes). 
 
 Above all Price of Wealth. 
 The body's jewel! Not for minds or hands profane 
 To tamper with in practice vain; 
 Like to a woman's virtue, is man's health — 
 A heavenly gift within a holy shrine — 
 To be approached and touched with i;erious fear 
 
PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 91 
 
 By hands made pure and hearts of faith severe, 
 E'en as the priesthood of the One Divine. 
 Rate of Pulse 
 
 The following is the rate of pulse at different 
 ages : 
 
 ^S^^' Beats per minute. 
 
 Child in the womb 130 to 150 
 
 New born infant 130 to 140 
 
 During 1st year 115 to 130 
 
 During 2nd year 100 to 115 
 
 During 3rd year 95 to 105 
 
 7th to 14th year 80 to 90 
 
 14th to 21st year 75 to 85 
 
 21 St to 60th year 70 to 75 
 
 In old age 75 to 65 
 
 Temperatnre 
 
 98JF and 99F— Health. 
 
 99 to 100— Slight fever. 
 
 100 to 103 — Fever — as temperature only, not 
 alarming. 
 
 103 to 105— Alarming, patient requires sponging 
 or bathinf^. 
 
 106 and over — Generally fatal. 
 
 In twenty-eight years' active practice, we have 
 
93 PHYSICIANS AND FADDISTS 
 
 observed only two cases with temperature over 108 
 degrees, recover, 
 
 Measures 
 
 A teaspoonful measures usually 1 Dram (31 or 
 60 drops). 
 
 Dessertspoonful makes 2 Drams. 
 
 Tablespoonful makes 4 Drams or a half ounce. 
 
 8 teaspoonfuls make 4 dessertspoonfuls or 2 table- 
 spoonfuls make one ounce. 
 
 16 ounces make 1 pint. 
 
 Weight 
 
 20 grains make 1 Scruple. 
 
 3 Scruples make 1 Drachm. 
 
 8 Drachms make 1 ounce. 
 
 Bales of Health 
 
 The head keep cool ; the feet keep warm. 
 
 By eating, drinking, do no harm. 
 
 Excess, not work, avoid with care. 
 
 Seek often sunshine and fresh air. 
 
 Be not afraid of bracing cold. 
 
 In temperature the medium hold. 
 
 This benefit by dress achieve; 
 
 By dress the heat and cold relieve. 
 
 Have care the bowels open keep. 
 
PHYSICIANS AjND FADDISTS 03 
 
 Take time to rest, take time to sleep. 
 
 Your mind have peace; your heart have joy; 
 
 Let nothing ever these destroy. 
 
 Keep clean the body, clear the mind; 
 
 For precious health are both designed. 
 
 Remember well that cleanliness 
 
 Is held akin to godliness. 
 
 Contract no habits^ low and mean, 
 
 Which are, alas! too often seen. 
 
 Good morals, too, conducive are 
 
 To normal health, which vices mar. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 It is said that the blunders of the weak are short- 
 lived, but a false theory with a semblance of nature 
 stuck in the midst of genius often deceives the 
 learned and passes current through the world. 
 Only a few years ago, the ridiculous idea prevailed 
 that the injection of sulphuretted hydrogen (offen- 
 sive gas) was a sure cure for consumption. But its 
 reign was brief, and the gas-bags were soon quietly 
 laid aside. General Pleasanton of Pennsylvania, 
 several years ago, popularized the manufacture of 
 blue-glass as a paying industry, by representing it 
 as a "cure" for rheumatism, when the afifected part 
 of the body was subjected to the action of the sun's 
 rays passing through the glass. No house was con- 
 sidered up to the proper sanitary standard without 
 its blue-glass windows, at which those afflicted with 
 the painful joints and sore muscles sat for hours 
 
 (94) 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 05 
 
 enjoying the "curative" properties of a "blue sun 
 bath." The glass factories flourished for a while, 
 but the sun-bathers got tired of making themselves 
 ridiculous; the windows assumed their former ap- 
 pearance, and the translucent fad soon became a 
 thing of the past. The "cure" for consumption, 
 the great plague of the human race, has been as 
 fertile a field for visionary theorists with "sure 
 cures," as the ignus fatuus of perpetual motion. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the specifics for the relief 
 of the great exterminator of the people that have 
 sought recognition in the medical world, we are 
 forced to state that no better means for the preven- 
 tion, nor remedies for the relief of consumption have 
 been found to be more effective than the following: 
 
 First, the diet should consist of milk and meat 
 that have been cooked well done, with a good varie- 
 ty of vegetables, and fresh fruits in season. 
 
 Secondly, a dry mountain atmosphere with 
 proper out-door exercise, and as much time as 
 possible spent in the open air. The sleeping apart- 
 ment of a consumptive must receive plenty of fresh 
 air at all times. The expectoration should be re- 
 ceived in paper spitoons and burned. If handker- 
 
06 TH'B TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 chiefs or cloths are used, they should be thoroughly 
 boiled in order to destroy the germs. If cuspidors 
 are used, a solution of corrosive sublimate (bi- 
 chloride of mercury) in the proportion of a drachm 
 to a gallon of water should be used. The clothing 
 and bedding of the patient should not be permitted 
 to be used by others; they should be destroyed by 
 cremation. All furniture should be washed with 
 a cloth dipped in the solution above mentioned. 
 No dishes or glasses that have been used by the 
 patient should be utilized again without being well 
 boiled. It should be remembered that all germs 
 are killed by boiling. Proper nutrition, and an 
 atmosphere containing ozone which cannot usually 
 be obtained in cities but is found in elevated regions, 
 are the great measures of relief. Medication, such as 
 tonics and constnictives to build up the system, 
 administered by direction of the physician only, 
 should be employed. Germicides, Introduced into 
 the system for the purpose of killing the germs that 
 are said to produce the disease, have not yet yielded 
 any good results. 
 
 It must be remembered that diseases may be 
 transmitted by kissing, especially upon the mouth. 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 97 
 
 Pure air and sunlight are more necessary to health 
 than any medicine. It is very important that base- 
 ments, cellars, and walls of all dwellings be dry. 
 A mother who has consumption should not nurse 
 her babe, as the disease may be transmitted to the 
 child. A visit to a person suffering with consump- 
 tion should be as brief as possible; and there is 
 greater danger of the disease being communicated 
 in a badly ventilated room, a crowded car, or steam- 
 boat. The room in which a consumptive has died 
 should be well ventilated and thoroughly disin- 
 fected, before it is again occupied. If one's parents 
 have died of consumption, it is important that an 
 outdoor occupation, free as possible from dust, 
 should be selected, and a dwelling house having 
 living and sleeping room freely ventilated and ex- 
 posed to direct sunlight. In selecting a husband or 
 wife, choose one, if possible, free from any inherited 
 organic taint. Be afraid of the dyspeptic and 
 rheumatic, as well as of the neurotic. The jphysi- 
 cally weak are very rarely strong mentally. Weak 
 points In parents are usually worse in the 
 progeny. Dyspeptics are never bright and cheer- 
 ful. Their children are apt to develop weak in- 
 
98 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 tellectual natures, especially melancholic ten* 
 dencies, leading to some form of mental irrespon- 
 sibility, ending in crime, insanity, or suicide. 
 
 The true physician recognizes no system of 
 medicine, nor will he attempt to treat a patient 
 without ascertaining as far as possible the cause 
 of the ailment, and devote his attention to its re- 
 moval. He will use any and every remedy, 
 whether in the animal, vegetable, or mineral king- 
 dom, which, in accordance with reason and exper- 
 ience, may prove useful. 
 
 Whether the dose be a drop or a quart, is of no 
 importance provided the action of the medicine and 
 the object to be gained are constantly kept in view. 
 The rational physician is attached to no "pathy.** 
 He quietly attends his patients and avoids notoriety 
 or publicity in the newspapers. He will carefully 
 avoid using the word "cure." He will do all that 
 science, pure and true, requires of him. While 
 inspiring his patients with hope, he will never try 
 to induce them to believe that he has a sure ''cure/' 
 but will guard carefully against serious complica- 
 tions in even the most trivial ailments. He vi^ill 
 study the temperament and constitution of the pa- 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 99 
 
 tient he is attending, and treat the condition ex- 
 isting, without paying much attention to nomen- 
 clature (name) of disease. It would appear in the 
 minds of many that the name of the disease is all- 
 important. Such is not the case. Take for instance, 
 typhoid fever. One may have a walking case of 
 this disease, that is to say, the patient is able to 
 walk around, and exhibits nothing more serious 
 than very slight fever, a feeling of lassitude, or 
 fatigue, and want of appetite. In many such cases 
 no medicine whatever is required. Rest in bed, 
 and the avoidance of indigestible food, are the best 
 measures for safety. Another person with typhoid 
 fever may present a totally different constitutional 
 condition; he may have high fever, severe and in- 
 tractable diarrhoea. Hence the name, except in 
 a few instances, is no criterion by which the gravity 
 of any ailment can be judged. The true physician 
 will take the same interest in the poor unfortunate 
 negro who lives in a hovel, so far as his professional 
 services are concerned, as he will in the wealthy 
 proprietor of a lordly mansion. Money, to him, 
 is not the sole object of his ambition. The ac- 
 cumulated experience he receives by treating all 
 
100 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 classes of patients, and a study of their tempera- 
 ments, their hahits, mode of living and environ- 
 ment, gives him knowledge that is valuable, enab- 
 ling him to cope with the cause of disease, to adopt 
 measures of prevention, and to employ remedies 
 for relief. He is a stickler for the code of ethics, 
 which means: "Do unto others as you would 
 wish others to do unto you." People generally 
 have a very silly and incorrect idea of the ethics 
 which govern regular physicians. It is simply 
 based on the courtesy and fair dealing of physi- 
 cians, in their relations to one another, as well as 
 to their patients. For instance, no physician will 
 prescribe for, or attend, a patient who is under the 
 care of another doctor until the services of the 
 latter are discontinued, or he is called with the for- 
 mer in consultation. Unfortunately in this age of 
 money-making by hook or by crook, physicians 
 are now enrolled in medical societies, who could 
 not twenty years ago be deemed worthy of recog- 
 nition in such organizations. While the true phy- 
 sician believes tenaciously in ''scrubology/' that is, 
 in cleanliness by the use of pure water and good 
 soap, he does not consider it necessary to appear 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 101 
 
 in antiseptic habiliments when he opens an abscess, 
 or visits a patient afflicted with any of the filth 
 diseases, such as typhoid-fever, diphtheria, etc. He 
 does not make an impression on the foolish and 
 weak-minded by instructing them to use germicide 
 washes before and after they eat, drink, sneeze or 
 sleep. His aim is to conquer disease, to save hu- 
 man life — more precious than house and chattels. 
 
 The true physician is always anxious in the inter- 
 est of his patient to join hands with the surgeon; 
 each seeking from the other some special help in 
 healing. From the scientific point of view, there 
 is no distinction between the physician and sur- 
 geon; the separation between them being arbitrary. 
 The operative part is neither the most important, 
 nor the highest. To aid nature is the surgeon's 
 first duty, to relieve rather than to remove diseased 
 processes, if possible. The true physician is slow 
 in using remedies that are new until he is sure they 
 are reliable. And he is not favorably impressed 
 with those physicians who are constantly bringing 
 forward something new, so as to be classed brilliant. 
 He will not allow a single operation nor suggest 
 any plan of treatment, that, should the sad necessity 
 
102 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 arise, he would not readily employ were the pa- 
 tient his own brother, wife or child. His duty Is 
 to preserve life and do everything that lies in his 
 power to make man live longer and happier. The 
 habits and habitation of his patients, their clothing, 
 food and drink, their inherited weaknesses, and all 
 sources of disease, are carefully considered and in- 
 vestigated, and remedied or removed, if possible. 
 The writing of a prescription or the giving of medi- 
 cine, is to him usually only a small factor in the 
 treatment of disease, yet he will prescribe the 
 proper dose of medicine, at the proper time. The 
 heavy drinker who has congestion of the stomach, 
 liver or kidneys, must relinquish his alcoholic pota- 
 tions. The cigarette fiend, or tobacco user, may 
 have to surrender his pipe, or quid. The hysterical 
 girl must be ousted from her sofa home, and sym- 
 pathetic surroundings. The bright precocious 
 school girl may have to give up her books, and 
 romp and play to get richer blood, and stronger 
 nerves, and a better nervous energy. The society 
 belle must be relieved of her waist-tightening cor- 
 set, and abandon her late hours. The melancholy 
 dyspeptic must change the character of his food 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 103 
 
 and occupation. Should any member of the family 
 he is treating, be afflicted with a contagious disease 
 he makes it known at once, and will report the 
 matter to the health authorities, so that others may 
 be protected from its dangers. He may be reward- 
 ed for his kindness to humanity, by learning when 
 he makes his next visit, that the shrewd and un- 
 scrupulous agent of an advertising firm has learned 
 the address of his patient, and has mailed a circular 
 containing misrepresentations of wonderful ''cures'* 
 effected by secret nostrums for scarlet fever, diph- 
 theria, smallpox or measles; and the anxious 
 mother of the sick one is much worried as to which 
 is the best course to pursue: that of retaining her 
 family physician, or of trying the wonderful 
 remedy with its vaunted ''cures," which are re- 
 corded in the kindest and most sympathetic lan- 
 guage in the advertisement she has just received. 
 Should he report the birth of a baby at which he 
 has officiated, the happy father may receive within 
 a few days a price list of sterilizers, babies' foods, 
 antiseptic washes, and circulars giving remedies 
 for cramps or colic, all of which tend to demoralize 
 the good work of the physician, and worr>' the anx- 
 
104 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 ious parents. Verily! the way of the -true physician 
 is hard. He deems it better to get his patients well 
 with little or no medicines if possible. Wliile the 
 number of remedial agents given in the books is 
 legion, yet he selects only those that have been 
 tested and found to be trustworthy and valuable. 
 He succeeds in using probably less than twenty 
 (20) different medicines, the action of which have 
 been studied by close observation. He has learned 
 when to give, and when not to give medicines, 
 which is a very important consideration. He knows 
 that the tendency of disease is generally towards 
 recovery, if nature is assisted and not thwarted in 
 her beneficent designs. He shall not partake in 
 any of the illusions of the quack, nor prescribe for 
 a patient without examining him. 
 
 The following shows an appreciation of the 
 medical profession by an eminent patient. 
 
 ' The medical profession belongs to the so-called 
 high professions or callings in social life. There- 
 fore the members of the medical profession are 
 entitled to consideration accordingly. They are not 
 only to be considered gentlemen in the full sense 
 of the word, but they are deserving of respect for 
 
THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 105 
 
 their learning and skill, and of honor for the high 
 and valuable aim of their profession and should be 
 treated with both in every community. If there are 
 some bogus doctors, unworthy of the profession, 
 that should cast no shadow of disregard or con- 
 tempt upon its honorable and well deserving mem- 
 bers, who are surely in the vast majority. What 
 community could afford to do without the true 
 physician? He is a public necessity." 
 
 The true physician partakes of the spirit of the 
 artist. The quick eye, the observant gentleness, 
 the sympathizing heart, the seizing of the actual 
 circumstances, the impressionableness to all that is 
 soft and winning and lovely and weak and piteous; 
 these belong to the true physician as well as the 
 true painter. He is an official minister to human 
 sorrow, and recognizes in his professional work the 
 highest type of duty of man's humanity to man. 
 "The Medical Profession" is lauded by Crabbe in 
 these terms : 
 
 "Glorious its aim: to ease the laboring heart, 
 To war with death, and stop its flying dart. 
 To trace the source whence the fierce contest grew, 
 And death's short lease on easier terms renew. 
 
106 THE TRUE PHYSICIAN 
 
 To calm the frenzy of the burning brain, 
 
 To heal the tortures of imploring pain; 
 
 Or, when more powerful ills all efforts brave 
 
 To heal the victim, no device can save, 
 
 Then soothe the stormy pathway to the grave.' 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 SOME ANATOMY 
 
 As the location and function of the great internal 
 organs of the body are unknown to a great many 
 people who consult a physician, believing that their 
 hearts, livers, lungs or kidneys are affected, it is 
 to be hoped that the following brief description 
 and position of these organs may prove interesting 
 and instructive. 
 
 Heart 
 
 The heart, that three cornered exponent of our 
 hopes and fears, and headquarters of the god Cu- 
 pid, is a hollow, muscular, pumping machine. There 
 is no especial reason why it should have been se- 
 lected as the seat of the emotions, as the Turk sub- 
 stitutes the liver for it, unless on account of its 
 shape, its functions and its compactness. 
 
 In shape it is vaselike, the nicest of the internal 
 organs. Its function is noble. It holds and sends 
 
 (107) 
 
\ 
 
 108 SOME ANATOMY 
 
 out the life blood through the arteries and the veins. 
 Its construction and compactness suit its incessant 
 labor. Not unfittingly, therefore has the heart been 
 chosen by common consent as the symbol of affec- 
 tion, of devotedness, and of endurance. 
 
 The heart is a double organ having two sides, 
 the right and left. Each side contains two cavities, 
 a right auricle and ventricle, and a left auricle and 
 ventricle. There is no communication between the 
 two sides of the heart, except through the circuit 
 of the lungs. While the chambers of each side are 
 connected with each other, the openings are care- 
 fully guarded by valves which open and shut with 
 each pulsation, admitting the blood through them 
 in one direction, but entirely preventing its passage 
 back, like the valves of a pump. 
 
 There is on an average one respiration (one act 
 of breathing) to about four pulsations of the heart, 
 making the average number of respirations eigh- 
 teen per minute. 
 
 The amount of blood sent to the lungs at each 
 pulsation of the heart is calculated to be about 2 
 ounces. This multiplied by 72, the number of pul- 
 sations per minute, gives 140 ounces, or about 9 
 
SOME ANATOMY 10» 
 
 pints of blood sent to the lungs every minute, or 
 67| gallons per hour. 
 
 After each Inspiration 40 cubic inches or 1 pint 
 of air is inhaled, making 18 pints of air every min- 
 ute, or 108' pints per hour. 
 
 The heart has the shape of a hollow cone, and is 
 about the size of the fist. It is placed behind the 
 lower 2-3 of the sternum (or the breast bone); its 
 apex is downwards and to the left, and its base up- 
 wards and to the right of that bone. It is three inch- 
 es to the left of the median line of the lower portion 
 of the breast bone and IJ inches to the right of the 
 bone. The apex is situated two inches below the 
 left nipple, and one inch to its right. 
 
 The heart propels the blood through the blood 
 vessels, and contracts and dilates again in a regular, 
 and rhythmical manner. From the left side the 
 blood is carried onwards through the arteries and 
 capillaries (fine, like hairs) to nourish the dififerent 
 portions of the body. The regular beats of this 
 blood wave is called the pulse which can be easily 
 felt at the wrist, the neck, upper arm, etc. From 
 the capillaries start the veins which unite to form 
 larger and larger veins that convey the blood (now 
 
no SOME ANATOMY 
 
 dark and filthy) to the right auricle of the heart. 
 From the right auricle the blood goes to the right 
 ventricle, thence to the lungs to be made clean, 
 and then sent back to the left auricle of the heart 
 into the left ventricle from which it starts again on 
 its journey through the body. 
 
 Tilings 
 The lungs are the organs of breathing; they are 
 tVv^o in number and extend from the lower ribs to a 
 little above the collar-bones. The right lung is 
 larger and broader, but not so lon^- and narrow 
 as the left. The substance of the lungs is of a 
 light, porous, and spongy texture, and floats in 
 water. The lungs appear like a tree and its branch- 
 es, but at the ends of the very smallest twigs are 
 the air cells which make them also look like a 
 sponge. The air enters the lungs through the 
 trachea (air tube or windpipe), and this divides 
 into two large branches, a right and left bronchus, 
 which again divide and sub-divide and are called 
 bronchial tubes. The big wind-pipe (the trachea) 
 in man is about an inch wide; the smallest wind- 
 pipes, that is, the ultimate bronchial tubes are about 
 one-thirtieth or one-fortieth of an inch in width. 
 
SOME ANATOMY m 
 
 The air enters through those tubes which termi- 
 nate in air-cells or elastic little bags or sacks whose 
 walls or sides are so thin that they can be con- 
 tracted or expanded at will, by the air passing into 
 thecn. There is an infinite number of these little 
 chambers, or sponge-like cells, into which the air 
 goes, and meets the blood, to which it gives oxygen, 
 and the carbolic acid of the blood passes through 
 the thin walls of the cells into their cavities, to be 
 thrown out in the act of expiration. 
 
 In bronchitis there is inflammation of the bron- 
 chial tubes. 
 
 In croupous pneumonia the air cells become sol- 
 idified with fibrinous matter, and this is removed by 
 expectoration (spitting) and absorption, and the air 
 cells regain their function. In consumption, there 
 are softening and destruction of tissue, formation of 
 cavities, etc. 
 
 Liver 
 The liver is situated on the right side of the chest, 
 and extends from one inch below the right nipple 
 to the lower border of the ribs (costal cartilages), 
 or thus: The upper border of the liver corresponds 
 with the level of the lower end of the sternum 
 
112 SOME ANATOMY 
 
 (breast-bone). A needle thrust into the right side 
 between the sixth and seventh ribs would traverse 
 the lungs and then pass through the diaphragm into 
 the liver. The left lobe of the liver rests in front 
 of the stomach. Posture, tight lacing, deep breath- 
 ing, distention of the stomach and intestines, 
 change the position of the liver. 
 
 The liver is ten to twelve inches long, five or 
 six inches wide, three inches thick, and weighs 
 three to four pounds. It secretes nearly a quart 
 of bile daily. It is the great ragpicker of the body. 
 It also forms (glycogen) sugar for the system. 
 The Stomach 
 The stomach varies in size more than any other 
 organ in the body. When moderately full its trans- 
 verse diameter is about twelve inches, its vertical 
 diameter about four inches, and weight about four 
 and one-half ounces. It was formerly considered 
 to be the principal organ of digestion, but it is now 
 known that the bowels assist materially this func- 
 tion. When very full, the stomach swells up to- 
 wards the front, displacing the other contiguous 
 organs, pushing in every direction and often inter- 
 fering with the action of the heart. Hence the 
 
SOME ANATOMY 113 
 
 palpitation and distressing heart symptoms, indi- 
 gestion and flatulance. 
 
 Kidneys 
 
 The kidneys are two in number, bean shaped, 
 and situated in the back part of the abdominal 
 cavity, in front of the eleventh and twelfth ribs. 
 Each kidney is about four inches long, two inches 
 wide and one' inch thick and weighs from four to 
 six ounces. The kidneys secrete the urine (about 
 50 oz. or 3 pints daily). As the air enters the lungs 
 through the trachea, the two bronchi and the bron- 
 chial tubes, the urine is conveyed from the kidneys 
 through small orifices (one-threehundreth to one- 
 thirtieth of an inch) known as uriniferous tubes, 
 through two ducts (ureters) into the bladder. In 
 Bright's disease changes take place in the urinifer- 
 ous tubes, and in the structure of the kidneys. 
 The Bowels 
 
 The bowels or intestines commence at the right 
 end of the stomach (the pylorus) and terminate at 
 the anus. The small intestine is 20 feet long, and 
 the large bowel 5 feet. The food from the stomach 
 is mixed with the bile, the pancreatic juice and the 
 secretions of various glands in the small intestine 
 
114 SOME ANATOMY 
 
 which influence digestion, and separate the nutri- 
 tive principles of the food from the useless part. 
 At the lower portion of the small intestine (the 
 caecum) near the ileo-caecal valve (between lower 
 and upper bowel) is the appendix vermiformis, 
 a narrow worm-shaped tube from 3 to 6 inches 
 long, and like a goose quill. This tube with its 
 narrow canal has recently obtained considerable 
 prominence from an anatomical and surgical stand- 
 point, as being the location of that well-advertised 
 disease, "appendicitis." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 don'ts 
 
 Don't boast of your blue-blood when you con- 
 sult a physician; it is much better for you to give 
 him all the information you possibly can about the 
 weaknesses, such as consumption, scrofula, nervous 
 debility, headaches, cough, rheumatism, catarrh, 
 or any other degenerate or debilitated physical con- 
 dition that you may have inherited. Be candid and 
 truthful, at all times, to your physician. He rarely, 
 if ever, finds physical perfection. 
 
 Don't, when consulting a physician, be firmly im- 
 pressed with the idea that if he does not agree with 
 you in the diagnosis of the case, he is wrong and 
 you are right. It is very pleasant for a physician to 
 agree with his patient, but it is not always just. 
 
 Don't exhibit your ignorance of anatomical 
 knowledge by specifying which organ is involved 
 without being able to locate its position. Some 
 
 (115) 
 
116 DONTS 
 
 very intelligent people place the liver on the left 
 side and the kidneys under the shoulder blades. 
 Give the symptoms of your disease, your habits of 
 living, your family history, and leave the diagnosis 
 of your case to the physician. 
 
 Don't feel offended, should your physician probe 
 deeply into your family history, as it is often very 
 important in order that the treatment may be pro- 
 perly directed. Every man in a physical sense has 
 his weak side or point; and all diseases are accus- 
 tomed to fix themselves in those parts that are by 
 nature most vulnerable, or weakest. 
 
 Don't consider your physician infallible. He 
 cannot determine the quantity of life you possess. 
 The architect and the builder can correctly ascer- 
 tain the strength and forces from without that the 
 house they have built, can withstand; but your 
 constitution (the house you live in) may have many 
 weak pointe in its structure which result from your 
 ancestry, habits and environment, of which the 
 physician may have no knowledge. 
 
 Don't ask your physician what medicines he is 
 prescribing, as you are not qualified to judge of 
 
A few ♦♦infallible" headache powders. 
 
DON'TS ll"? 
 
 your case. He may give you arsenic, or strychnine, 
 and your knowledge of the action of drugs is sure- 
 ly too limited for you to be able to tell the differ- 
 ence in the dose of a good tonic and a violent 
 poison. 
 
 Don't pay any attention to the statement you 
 hear about ''cures" having been effected so rapidly 
 in cases similar to yours. Only the physician is 
 qualified to judge about the importance of all the 
 symptoms that present themselves. As there are 
 no two persons exactly alike, so diseases are not 
 treated by routine, but in accordance with the 
 piiysical condition that exists in each individual. 
 The remedies or mode of treatment, for reUef of 
 patients afflicted with the same disease may be en- 
 tirely different. This may be illustrated by the fol- 
 lowing anecdote: 'Two mules, one laden \fith a 
 sack of cotton, and the other with a bag of salt 
 and carrying the same weight, after being driven 
 many miles, became exhausted as they reached the 
 bank of a river which they were forced to swim 
 across. The mule that carried the bag of salt had 
 his load lightened by swimming, while the other 
 with the sack of cotton found his load was made 
 
118 DONTS 
 
 much heavier by being soaked with the water. In 
 attempting to reach the opposite bank, the one with 
 the burden of salt was much refreshed, and got 
 safely across, while the unfortunate mule laden with 
 the cotton perished." 
 
 Don't believe that the eruption of measles, 
 scarlet-fever or any other eruptive disease, can be 
 "brought out" or "driven in" by medicine or hot, 
 or cold drinks. Don't believe that if discharges 
 from the ears, eyes, nose, or sores of any kind are 
 relieved or stopped, they may be driven to some 
 other portion of the body, or produce other 
 diseases. 
 
 All unnatural discharges should be relieved by 
 proper treatment. Continued discharges from the 
 ear may lead to deafness, from the eyes to blind- 
 ness, from the nose to catarrh and loss of the sense 
 of smell. 
 
 Don't believe that giving the sick, pure cold 
 water will do harm in any disease. 
 
 Don't believe that having pain in the "small of 
 the back" means that your kidneys are affected. 
 The pain may be rheumatic or neuralgic in charac- 
 
DON'TS 1^^ 
 
 ter, or may be from many other causes. Don't 
 confound your bladder with your kidneys. 
 
 Don't believe that a physician treats the disease 
 only. He treats an individual suffering from 
 disease. The treatment of pneumonia, for instance, 
 when a patient has a weak heart or some disease 
 of the heart, is entirely different from that of a 
 person who has no such complication. 
 
 Don't fail to ventilate the sick room properly. 
 As the hot air of a close room is lighter than the 
 cold air from without, it ascends. The windows 
 therefore should be lowered a little, which is better 
 than to raise them. 
 
 Don't fail to secure rest of function for every 
 inflamed organ. The inflamed stomach requires 
 only easily digested, and little or nc .'ood; the diet 
 in cases of diseases of the liver an- .cidneys should 
 be restricted; meats and alcoV , as a rule, pro- 
 hibited. In disease of the brain. .1 sources of worry 
 and irritattion should be remo^ ^^d as much as possi- 
 ble, and absolute quiet secured. The proper treat- 
 ment of sprains (acute or recent) consists in the use 
 
120 DON'TS 
 
 of hot water and complete rest from motion of the 
 parts affected. 
 
 Don't think it is the physician's duty to raise the 
 patient in bed, and make a tedious examination 
 during each visit. While a thorough examination, 
 particularly at the first visit, is imperative and de- 
 sirable, yet in cases of protracted illness, in pneu- 
 monia, disease of the heart, typhoid fever, etc., ex- 
 haustion and heart failure may be superinduced by 
 frequent changes from the recumbent to the sitting, 
 or erect position. 
 
 Diagram 
 
 Showing comparative mortality from thirteen prom- 
 inent causes of death in Philadelphia for ten years 
 (1884-1893, inclusive), indicating the great prepon- 
 derance of diseases of the air passages, from ''Med- 
 ical World," Pa. : 
 
 Consumption 27,2491 
 
 Pneumonia 17,GG2i 
 
 Heart Disease 10,24Gi 
 
 Cholera Infantum.. 9,623i 
 
 Marasmus 9,196 
 
 Convulsions 8, 7541 
 
DON'TS 121 
 
 Inflam. of Brain.. . 6,743 
 
 Diphtheria 6,605 
 
 Inflam. of Stomach 
 
 and Bowels 6,384 
 
 Typhoid-fever 6,276 
 
 Apoplexy 4,984 
 
 Scarlet-fever 3,137i 
 
 Smallpox 132i 
 
 Total, 116,991 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE BABY 
 
 "Of all the joys that brighten suffering earth, 
 What joy is welcomed like a new born child?" 
 The new born babe weighs on an average about 
 7 pounds, though some weigh 12, 14 or even 16, 
 and some as little as 3 pounds, and live. After 
 the navel cord is cut, the infant should be placed 
 on its right side, and warmly wrapped in woolen 
 or flannel covering; care however being taken 
 that its face be exposed, so that it can inhale the 
 fresh air, just now the most important requisite 
 to insure its living. If it appears feeble and 
 does not cry aloud, it is better to postpone wash- 
 ing and dressing it for some time. Should it be 
 prematurely born, it should be wrapped at once 
 in wool, or absorbent cotton, and placed near the 
 fire. We have often seen inflammation of the eyes 
 set in from the irritation produced by strands of a 
 
 (122) 
 
THE BABY 123 
 
 woolen shawl placed in contact with the baby's 
 eyes. After removing any mucus that may have 
 accummulated In the infant's throat, its eyes should 
 be carefully washed with a pinch of borax dissolved 
 in clean, boiled water, (tepid). Washing and 
 dressing the baby should be done as expeditiously 
 as possible, thereby preventing chilling draughts. 
 By lubricating the skin with lard or vaseline, it 
 can generally be more easily washed. It is scarcely 
 necessary to say that the nurse's hands and finger- 
 nails must be scrupulously clean. A great many 
 are possessed of the idea that it is proper to give 
 a new born infant some nourishment such as sugar 
 water, catnip-tea, camomile-tea or weak toddy, 
 fearing it may die from exhaustion before the 
 mother is able to perform her function in nursing 
 it. The baby is often made sick and irritable by 
 such kind, but ill-directed measures. The proper 
 food for a baby is its healthy mother's milk, and 
 no artificial food can take its place. The new born 
 babe and mother require rest and quietude more 
 than anything else at this juncture. The baby's 
 eyes are yet unable to bear a strong light. 
 
 The mother, during the last month of her preg- 
 
124 THE BABY 
 
 nancy, should wash her nipples night and morning 
 with an astringent solution. Tlie following answers 
 the purpose very well. A wide-mouthed bottle, 
 such as a quinine bottle, is filled with equal parts 
 of alcohol or whiskey and strong tea in which a 
 teaspoonful of powdered alum is dissolved. This 
 tends to harden the soft delicate tissue of which 
 the nipples are composed, that will prevent cracks 
 and excoriations, that give rise to severe pain on 
 nursing. The pregnant woman must avoid tight 
 lacing and pressure on the breasts from close fitting 
 dress. She should consult a physician in regard 
 to her general health and for proper advice. The 
 lives of many mothers, and children that die in 
 confinement would be saved if opportunities were 
 given physicians to detect abnormal conditions be- 
 fore labor begins. 
 
 Should the baby cry continuously, the attention 
 of a nurse should be directed to removing any 
 source of irritation, such as a tight bandage, or 
 belly band, or the pricking of a pin, instead of 
 hurriedly giving it medicine that may stop its cry- 
 ing perhaps forever. 
 
Mamma's baby. 
 
THE BABY 125 
 
 "Then the good nurse, (who, had she borne a brain, 
 Had sought the "cause" that made her babe com- 
 plain) 
 Has all her efforts — loving soul — applied, 
 To set the cry and not the cause aside. 
 She gave her powerful sleep without remorse 
 "The sleeping cordial" (she had tried its force) 
 Repeating oft. The .infant, freed from pain. 
 Rejected food but took the dose again. 
 Soon she may spare her cordial; not a doubt 
 Remains, but quickly he will rest v/ithout." 
 
 All cordials and pain relieving preparations of 
 opium, such as paregoric, laudanum, etc., should 
 never be given unless directed by the physician. 
 The murder of the Innocents still continues, through 
 the ignorance of mothers and nurses In administer- 
 ing sleep-producing medicines. The colicky pains 
 caused generally by an excess of food, or improper 
 food, can usually be relieved by an enema of warm 
 water, or the administration of some camomile tea, 
 catnip tea, or magnesia. 
 
 The baby should be put to the breast within an 
 hour after Its birth, and the first sustenance It re- 
 ceives is a thin watery substance which has not 
 
126 THE BABY 
 
 even the appearance of milk, but is possessed of 
 the property of acting as a sHght purgative. 
 Though the flow of milk is not well established in 
 the majority of cases until the third day, yet enough 
 is obtainable by the baby nursing every hour and 
 a half, or two hours, to insure sufificient protection 
 against danger from starvation. Nature has there- 
 fore most suitably provided fior the wants of this 
 helpless young stranger. This fact should serve 
 as a check to the intermeddling proclivities of the 
 must-do'-something nurse. 
 
 If the mother has not sufficient milk, or is unable 
 through debility to nurse her baby, and a desirable 
 vi^et nurse cannot be obtained or afforded, the selec- 
 tion of the most agreeable and nutritive food is 
 a question of paramount importance. There are 
 some children with whom the artificial foods to 
 be found in the market agree, while others require 
 cow's milk as the most promising food. However, 
 in the great majority of instances, pure cow's milk 
 is the best substitute. Alas! how little attention is 
 paid to the quality and cleanliness of the food which 
 parents give to their precious darlings! Who visits 
 the dairies, or inspects the cows from which the 
 
THE BABY 127 
 
 milk is obtained? Good cow's milk is at all times 
 desirable, but especially so when used for the babe's 
 nutrition. Grass-fed cows give the good creamy 
 milk, swill-fed cows give an entirely inferior article. 
 Laws prohibiting the sale of milk from swill-fed 
 cows should be severely enforced. The dairy, the 
 cow house, and its environment should be in- 
 spected, as well as the cans in which the milk is 
 received and delivered, and the health of the cows 
 should also be investigated. Milk from sickly cows 
 is sold and distributed in our cities; thereby en- 
 dangering the lives of our children. ^lilk being a 
 good food for man is also unfortunately a good 
 food for the germs of disease; and typhoid-fever, 
 diphtheria, cholera and other disorders, are spread 
 by filthy milk. The dejections of patients with 
 typhoid-fever may gain access to it, or it may be 
 adulterated with impure water that contains the 
 active agents of disease. 
 
 Alilk as it comes from the CO'W is slightly alkaline, 
 but when sold at the doors of residences many 
 hours afterwards, it is usually some\vhat acid. 
 Churned by being placed in cans driven over a 
 rough country road, and subjected to the broiling 
 
128 THE BABY 
 
 rays of a hot summer's sun, does surely not improve 
 its quality. 
 
 To detect whether milk is alkaline or acid is 
 simply and easily done by dipping into a sample of 
 it a little litmus paper, which can be procured at any 
 drugstore. 
 
 If the blue litmus paper turns red by coming 
 in contact with the milk, then the milk is acid, and 
 cannot be given to a babe with safety. If the blue 
 color of the litmus dipped in a little milk remains 
 unchanged the milk is alkaline, its proper reaction. 
 All milk before being administered to the baby 
 should be sterilized, that is, freed from all danger 
 of septic or poisonous properties, by subjecting it 
 to heat. Sterilization requires a temperature of 
 212 degrees F. (boiling point). There are steri- 
 lizers to be found in every drugstore. There is no 
 other question of such vital importance in munici- 
 pal legislation as the protection of the inhabitants 
 of our cities from adulterated and bad milk. It 
 is strange that when the right to a piece of property, 
 or the safety of a bond or note is in question, every 
 attempt is made to ascertain its financial value, but 
 that a matter of such importance as the preservation 
 
THE BABY ^29 
 
 of the life of an infant, requires seemingly so little 
 thought or consideration by many people. 
 
 Milk is really the only food that has all the ele- 
 ments necessary for healthy nutrition. In it we 
 find four classes of aUmentary substances. Albu- 
 minoid (flesh making), fatty (butter). Saccharine 
 (sugar) and saline (chloride of sodium— common 
 salt), phosphate of Ume (bone builder), etc., all com- 
 bined in proportion and well adapted for the period 
 during which growth is active. However, as age 
 
 increases, the proportion of albuminates and fa^ 
 are in excess, as compared with the amount of 
 
 sugar. The percentage or composition of good 
 
 cow's milk is thus given by Parkes. Specific 
 
 gravity 1029 and over. 
 Water 81.8. 
 Albuminates 4.0. 
 
 Fats 3.7. 
 Carbohydrates 4.8. 
 
 Salts 0.7. 
 Woman's milk. 
 Water, 87-88. 
 Albuminates 1.0. 
 Fats 4.0. 
 
130 THE BABY 
 
 Carbohydrates 7.0. 
 
 Salts 0.2. 
 
 Woman's milk has a specific gravity of about 
 1031. It will be observed from these tables that 
 while woman's milk has about the same proportion 
 of fat as cow's milk, it is almost twice as rich in the 
 carbohydrates (milk sugar), and that it has only 
 about one-fourth as much of the albuminates which 
 is the portion of the milk upon which the produc- 
 tion of new tissue in the baby largely depends. 
 
 In the albuminates, or albuminoids, is found 
 casein that forms the curd, and is the most objec- 
 tionable element in the milk as food for the baby, 
 because it is difficult of digestion. This curd often 
 sets up irritation in the bowels, a diarrhoea, etc., 
 and is often passed in cheesy looking, indigested 
 lumps from the bcKly. This condition may be re- 
 lieved by boiling the milk and diluting it by add- 
 ing one part milk and two parts soda-water, or 
 ten grains of bread-soda (bicarbonate soda) and 
 ten grains of common salt may be added to one 
 pint of milk and water (equal parts). Treated in 
 this manner, it is usually found quite digestible. 
 
 All germs arc destroyed by boiling. 
 
THE BABY 131 
 
 The nursing bottle should be kept at all times 
 scrupulously clean, and the rubber nipple, when 
 not being used^ should be placed in a glass or cup 
 containing some water that has been boiled. The 
 rubber hose should not be used. Occasional wash- 
 ing of the nipple and bottle with a solution of soda 
 becomes necessary. Cleanliness is imperative. 
 How often have we noticed the vials of medicine, 
 the nursing bottle, the milk glass and spoon, placed 
 on the mantel over a hot fire, instead of in a cool, 
 clean place! 
 
 No other food except milk, provided it agrees 
 with the baby and the baby thrives upon it, should 
 be given up to seven or eight months old. 
 
 The infant should have a bed of its own and 
 the room in which it sleeps should receive fresh air 
 daily, by opening the windows; the baby of course 
 removed to another room if the weather is too 
 cold. The cradle or bed should be placed so that 
 the light does not come to the child from the side, 
 but from the end where the head is. The baby 
 should never be tied or strapped in bed, as free mo- 
 tion of its limbs must not in any manner be interfer- 
 ed with. A good general rule in reference to the 
 
132 THE BABY 
 
 comfort of a child is, to keep it cool at both ex- 
 tremities in summer, and its feet and head com- 
 fortably warm when exposed to the cold v/intry 
 weather. Mouth breathing, instead of breathing 
 through the nose, should be prevented, as it pro- 
 duces catarrh. Infants and children are generally 
 kept entirely too warm in the cities of this country 
 during the hot summer months. The temperature 
 of the nursery should not exceed 65 degrees. 
 
 A healthy child grows with animal heat and is 
 full of life and animation. At birth its palpitating 
 little heart contracts from 130 to 140 times per 
 minute. At the age of three years the pulse is 
 above 90, while that of an adult averages 70. Is 
 it any wonder that bowel-complaints prevail so ex- 
 tensively among children in summer, when we con- 
 sider the fact that their delicate stomachs are ex- 
 pected two or three times daily, to digest meat, 
 green vegetables, pastry, candies, ices, administered 
 to them by over-indulgent mothers? During warm 
 weather digestion is enfeebled, and prudence and 
 moderation in eating are then very necessary. As 
 a result of observation and experience, it may be 
 stated that infants and children are not allowed 
 
THE BABY 1^ 
 
 sufficient pure cold water, cither in health or 
 disease. There is no condition or disease in which 
 pure water should be prohibited. The period of 
 childhood from four to ten years is probably the 
 happiest period of life. Yet what pains are some- 
 times taken to destroy all that is natural in children 
 and render this delightful time of life irksome and 
 unhealthy! Children are told that to ask questions 
 is inquisitive and impertinent, that it is vulgar to 
 romp or use any active exercise, that it is not 
 good manners to talk to or notice anyone beneath 
 them. Their young lives are perverted by vain 
 mothers from the beautiful simplicities of nature to 
 the cold conventionalities of art and affectation. 
 
 A new born infant breathes 35 times a minute, 
 a child of 12 months, 27 times, a child of 2 years, 25 
 times, 6 to 12 years old, 22 times, an adult, 17 to 
 22 times. The temperature of the infant is 100 
 degrees or a fraction under it; that of an adult, 98J 
 To rear a child healthily, it must not only be al- 
 lowed water, but also exercise in the open air. 
 A babe a month old should be taken out of doors 
 for a little while In the middle of the day, except 
 in bad weather. In the second year it should 
 
134 THE BABY 
 
 be out of doors in fair weather at least two and a half 
 or three hours daily. 
 
 In summer, children should be out of doors al- 
 most all day long. Extremes, however, must be 
 avoided. Reckless exposure, and too light clothing 
 and rough handling, will be detrimental as well as 
 the ever anxious exclusion from the air. There 
 can be no fixed rule. We must individualize in this 
 as well as in other matters, and not generalize. 
 While a healthy mother's milk is the proper food 
 for a babe, yet in this age of artificial mode of 
 living on the part of so many women, it is rare 
 indeed to find in the cities, among the native born 
 women, those who are possessed of such a high 
 standard of health as to be able to nurse their chil- 
 dren without detriment to their own constitution. 
 They are pale, nervous and so debilitated that their 
 milk has not sufficient nutriment for their children; 
 hence good cow's milk is often preferable to weak 
 mother's milk. 
 
 It is very important that regular habits should 
 be enforced even in early infancy. Constipation 
 in the infant is often a source of trouble and an- 
 noyance to the mother. While there are many 
 
THE BABY 135 
 
 aperient or purgative medicines that can be used, 
 it may be stated that probably the best purgative 
 for a baby Is castor-oil, notwithstanding its dis- 
 agreeable taste. Tlie follov/ing is a form which 
 renders it more pleasant. It may be given in one 
 or two teaspoonfuls at a dose. Take castor-oil 
 one ounce, calcined magnesia two drachms, loaf 
 sugar three drachms, oil of anise two drops, all 
 
 V mixed thoroughly. This mixture is quite pleasant 
 and efificacious. An advantage that castor-oil has' 
 over many other laxative remedies is, that con- 
 stipation does not follow its use, as is the case with 
 rhubarb, and other remedies. ]\Ianna is an excel- 
 lent mild purgative, it can be given to the youngest 
 infant, and is swxet to the taste. It may be given 
 in a dose of one to three drachms. Rubbing an 
 infant's abdomen with castor-oil or olive-oil will 
 often be found useful in relieving constipation. 
 
 In case of convulsions of children, or when quick 
 effect is to be obtained, an enema may be used, but 
 not frequently. The simplest form is warm water 
 or soap suds, or warm milk and water, which is 
 mild, bland and unirrltating. While it is very simple 
 to adopt this plan of unloading the bowels, yet a lit- 
 
136 THE BABY 
 
 tie precaution in the use of a syringe is necessary. 
 The nozzle of the syringe, or a soft elastic rubber 
 pipe, should be smeared with lard and introduced 
 into the bowels, the baby being placed on its left 
 side in the lap of the mother, and the knees flexed 
 on the abdomen. It is important that the nozzle be 
 not introduced parallel to the axis of the body, that 
 is straight upwards, but should be rather inclined 
 to the left. The fluid should be propelled gradu- 
 ally, for otherwise it will be instantly rejected. 
 
 Nothing tends to the promotion of good health 
 and strength in a growing infant, as plenty of 
 sleep. The child under a year old should sleep 
 one-half of its time, and an infant, eighteen to 
 twenty hours out of twenty-four. When a child is 
 asleep its pulse rate is diminished by fifteen or 
 twenty beats. A child should not be forced to 
 walk before the tenth month, and generally is able 
 to w^alk when a year old. A baby loses weight 
 during the first week, but at the end of that time 
 it weighs as much as it did when born. It should 
 be remembered that the infant's stomach at birth 
 is very small and the liver proportionately large. 
 A new born babe requires only about two table- 
 
THE BABY 137 
 
 spoonfuls (one ounce) of fluid to fill its stomach; 
 hence the importance of not over-loading its stom- 
 ach by too frequently nursing or feeding. The 
 average weight of the babe being seven pounds, 
 it is interesting to know that usually at four months 
 its weight is double. The average height is nine- 
 teen inches. Its height is not doubled until the 
 age of four years. At one year it is treble the 
 original weight; and its height is twenty-seven 
 inches. Measurement across the shoulders, one- 
 fourth of length of entire body. From five to twen- 
 ty months it gains at the rate of a pound a month, 
 that is half an ounce a day. This of course is re- 
 garded only as an average. 
 
 The infant has no saliva (spittle), and cannot 
 therefore digest starch. There is probably enough 
 of it to keep the mouth moist; but at the age of 
 three or four months, it has increased to such an 
 extent that the baby begins to dribble, and requires 
 the use of a bib. 
 
 The period of teething, especially if it should 
 occur in the summer, is often a critical time in 
 the history of a child. The incisors (biters) appear 
 in the upper gums about the seventh month, but 
 
138 THE BABY 
 
 often are protracted until the twelfth or fourteenth 
 month, and sometimes appear as early as the third 
 or fourth month; and occasionally a baby is born 
 with a tooth. The diet of the child at this critical 
 period should be carefully looked after. Digestion 
 is usually enfeebled, and convulsions sometimes 
 occur. 
 
 Children's teeth are temporary teeth, twenty in 
 number; four incisors, (biters,) two canine (tearers 
 or dog teeth), and four molars (grinders) in each 
 jaw; they are also called the deciduous, or milk 
 teeth. These teeth have no roots and usually drop 
 out between five and eight years old. The Incisors 
 are used to bite, to gnaw, or to cut; the canine or 
 dog teeth are used to tear, and the molars are the 
 grinders. 
 
 The permanent teeth number twenty-eight, and 
 four wisdom teeth. It will be observed that the 
 child has no bicuspid, or teeth for the purpose of 
 chewing. The permanent teeth consist of four in- 
 cisors, two central and two lateral, two canine, four 
 bicuspids and six molars in each jaw. From this 
 we learn that food, which must be well chewed, 
 should never enter into the diet of the young child, 
 
THE BABY 139 
 
 as unfortunately not being masticated, the stomach 
 is forced to do a duty which is not its function; and 
 indigestion, and its sequelae are the inevitable re- 
 sults. In the case of convulsions from teething, 
 if fever should be high when convulsions set in, 
 the gum should be carefully examined, and if 
 swollen and tense, and the tooth on the point of 
 coming through the gum, the lancet may be used, 
 but not otherwise. A child with convulsions, even 
 if the cause is not ascertained, should be placed in 
 a warm bath, the head kept cool with cloths wrung 
 out of cold water. An enema of soap-suds should 
 be administered, and the child's bowels unloaded. 
 
 Three minutes without air, three days without 
 water, or three weeks without food, results usually 
 in death. How important it is for the growing 
 young child to partake of as pure air as possible! 
 When we visit the poorest districts of cities in the 
 tenement quarters, where several families are hud- 
 dled together and deprived of the advantages of 
 fresh air, we are not surprised that the mortality of 
 children, during the summer months particularly, 
 be so great. Those that survive the pernicious 
 influences of filth, foul air and bad food, show 
 
140 THE BABY 
 
 that the power of vital resistance is so strong, and 
 their inheritance so good, that death cannot take 
 place in such cases except under the most direful 
 conditions. However, the fact that those children 
 are not pampered, nor induced or compelled to 
 live indoors, is an advantage they possess over 
 those children reared in luxurious homes. They 
 are allowed to go barefooted in summer with scanty 
 clothing, which is really an advantage; and their 
 plays, romps and exercises are not usually re- 
 stricted. Their systems are early in life inured to 
 strengthening the vital forces; and the real battle 
 of life, the survival of the fittest, begins early. 
 During summer no child should be put to bed 
 without a bath and free rubbing with a coarse 
 towel. It tends to produce sleep and gives great 
 comfort. However, if the child be delicate, warm 
 baths may be too frequently given, and may bring 
 about a debilitated condition. A little bicarbonate 
 of soda (bread soda) added to the water will usually 
 relieve the itching sensation and prickly heat which 
 are the source of annoyance and sleeplessness dur- 
 ing summer. 
 
 Medicines for the relief of pain, no matter in 
 
THE BABY 1^1 
 
 what form they are presented in circulars or al- 
 manacs, should be used with extreme caution. 
 Opium (and this term includes paregoric, lauda- 
 num and morphia) are dangerous in the hands of 
 the laity, always. In the administration of lauda- 
 num without the order of the physician, the dose 
 is never to exceed one drop for every year of the 
 child's age. Children and old people are very sus- 
 ceptible to the influence of opium. It should be 
 remembered that one grain of opium is equivalent 
 in its effect to twenty-five drops of laudanum, to 
 a tablespoonful of paregoric, or one-fourth of a 
 grain of morphia. 
 
 Well would it be, if every parent would inspect 
 the school-room and its surroundings in which their 
 children spend about one-fourth of their existence 
 in early life. Unfortunately, that duty is left often 
 to unscrupulous politicians, many of whom have 
 only a very limited education, and care not to visit 
 the school-room, or are not qualified to give proper 
 instructions in hygiene, or the proper comfort to 
 the children. The physician should take the place 
 of the politician in this respect. 
 
U2 THE BABY 
 
 Boiled, aerated water for drinking purposes 
 should be used in every school-room in the country. 
 Light and ventilation should be carefully looked 
 after. The school hours of children in many of 
 the cities should be chang-ed. The child is com- 
 pelled to get out of bed often too early, in order 
 to be dressed and washed and breakfasted, and 
 then hurried off to school in dread of being- too 
 late. The morning meal is partaken of hurriedly 
 without being properly masticated; for a child 
 under such circumstances cannot have an appetite. 
 It would be better if the school hours would be 
 changed from nine till twelve, with one hour or 
 an hour and a half for dinner; studies being resumed 
 till three, with two short recesses (forenoon 
 and afternoon). It is much better that children 
 should be allowed a little exercise in the open air 
 before sitting at the breakfast table. The pale, 
 delicate, nervous child will become more so by 
 being sent to school too early. Such a child re- 
 quires a good physical constitution which cannot 
 be obtained in close rooms, nor by arduous studies 
 for a brain but imperfectly developed. The bright, 
 precocious, pale-faced little girl who always wins 
 
THE BABY U3 
 
 the prize in her class, and can sit still for hours at 
 her books, but is disinclined to play, will in all 
 probability die of consumption or brain trouble, 
 before the age of thirty. Less time for study, and 
 more for play, will avoid the necessity of giving 
 her iron and food medicines, later in life. 
 
 "Sending the children to bed and laying the 
 goose to the fire," is a selfish proverb that indicates 
 the practice of our fore-fathers. It is a great mis- 
 take to allow children to retire without a glass of 
 warm milk, or some other light and easily digested 
 food. It is not, however, to be inferred that heavy 
 suppers before retiring are conducive to sound 
 sleep. Children are sometimes allowed, or even 
 encouraged, to eat too much. A voracious child 
 is not bom, but reared. Constitutionally timid and 
 nervous children must not be startled and fright- 
 ened by senseless tales of ghosts and goblins; nor 
 should their little minds receive the false impres- 
 sion from parents that the doctor is a scarecrow 
 or bogie policeman; this is often done by 
 thoughtless mothers for the purpose of quieting a 
 petulant or crying child. A great deal of harm is 
 done by creating such an erroneous idea in the 
 
U4 THE BABY 
 
 young mind, and thereby instilling a strong preju- 
 dice against the doctor. Let the child be taught 
 that the physician is a friend and benefactor, and 
 not an enemy. 
 
 When the deciduous or milk teeth, about the age 
 of five or six, are giving way to the permanent 
 teeth ^vliich take their place, it is important at this 
 period to consult a dentist who can prevent irregu- 
 larities and ugly teeth, that occasionally occur. 
 Children should be taught early in life the value 
 and importance of the tooth-brush. Not only be- 
 fore they retire at night, and after getting up in 
 the morning should the brush with warm water 
 be vigorously used, but in order to remove the 
 particles of food that lodge between the teeth and 
 decompose, the tooth-pick and brush are needed. 
 The habit of cleanliness thus engendered, will in 
 after years be remunerated by the preservation of 
 the teeth, by the process of mastication being 
 properly performed, and indigestion to a great ex- 
 tent prevented. Dentrifices and gritty substances 
 to whiten the teeth should be avoided. The nor- 
 mal color of teeth is not white, but yellowish white. 
 
THE BABY 1*5 
 
 Warm water alone, or with a little prepared chalk, 
 is sufficient to keep the teeth clean. 
 
 The bones of a child are characterized by softness 
 and elasticity much greater than in after life. This 
 is why derangements of the normal development 
 of the skeleton so easily occur. If the child does not 
 receive a proper supply of lime salts, the develop- 
 ment of the bones is interfered with, then there is 
 danger of the disease of the bones, such as rickets, 
 hipjoint disease, and spinal trouble. 
 
 Whiskey taken by the mother will aflfect the 
 ckild. It is a very pernicious habit that prevails, 
 unfortunately, to a great extent among the poor, 
 of giving beer or whiskey to their children. Large 
 drafts of ice water, or candies or cakes, as a rule 
 should not be given to children. Those cheap 
 candies and gummy sweets (glucose) particularly, 
 should not be allowed. 
 
 While diseases of children are especially difficult 
 to understand and treat wisely, yet children suffer, 
 and more of them in proportion die than adults, 
 as the result of quackery and lack of proper atten- 
 tion. The physician is not consulted early enough, 
 as many imprudent mothers believe that doctors 
 
U6 THE BABY 
 
 can do little for children as "they are too young 
 to take doctor's medicines anyhow." The diar- 
 rhoea has been checked with paregoric suggested 
 by the druggist, or the ''knowledgeable old lady," 
 and the child is often made worse In consequence. 
 The cough mixture has not "cured" the cough, 
 and there is now an alarming case of broncho- 
 pneumonia; the "rash did not come out" with saff- 
 ron tea and other vile hot decoctions. IMany days 
 of illness to the child have passed before the phy- 
 sician is called; valuable time has been lost, and the 
 trivial ailment has now by maltreatment become a 
 grave disorder. It is better to be sure than to be 
 sorry, hence let the physician be summ.oned early 
 for advice and instruction, not necessarily for the 
 purpose of medicating, though the child be sick. 
 
 As young children cannot tell where and how 
 they suffer, the mother should observe her little 
 patient carefully and note intelligently the counte- 
 nance, gestures, position and movements of her 
 sick child, in order to be able to give a clear and 
 exact report of the symptoms, or features of its 
 disease, to the physician. Mothers through sym- 
 
THE BABY U7 
 
 pathy and solicitude are often inclined to present 
 the condition of the child as worse than it really is. 
 The expression of the face of the child in health 
 is calm and bright; in babies it is meaningless, or 
 indicative of wonder or surprise. If the brow is 
 wrinkled or contracted, it points to pain in the 
 head. Redness and flushing of the face indicate 
 fever; when markedly red, alternating with pallor 
 and knitted brow, combined with restlessness, brain 
 trouble of some kind is probable. If the pupils of 
 the eye are insensible to light (that is, do not shrink 
 before a lighted candle), and squinting and cross- 
 ing of the eyes occur with fever, then convulsions 
 are likely to take place. When the child sleeps 
 with eyes half open (coma vigil) it indicates ex- 
 haustion and pain. Swelling of the face, particularly 
 imder the eyes, occurs in Bright's disease (disease 
 of the kidneys). An expression of distress often ap- 
 pears in the beginning of a serious illness. The over- 
 bright lustrous eye, pale and transparent skin and 
 appearance of the veins well marked, hair fine, and 
 intellect precocious, show a tendency to consump- 
 tion. The face becomes sunken, shrivelled and 
 senile in cholera infantum and severe diarrhoea. 
 
148 THE BABY 
 
 The thick muddy skin, thick upper lip, glandular 
 enlargements, skin eruptions and sore eyes, are 
 characteristic of scrofula. When there is profuse 
 perspiration of the head while the child is asleep, 
 and general tenderness of the body with precocity, 
 then rickets may be suspected. 
 
 In case of colic, the lips are drawn apart, and 
 there is a fretful look. Pressure on the stomach 
 increases the facial expression of anguish. Dark 
 rings around the mouth and under eyes that are 
 sunken, occur in disease of the abdomen. The 
 pupil is very much contracted (sometimes to a 
 pin's point), and the eye is brilliant in poisoning 
 from opium (paregoric, laudanum, morphia, sooth- 
 ing syrup, etc.). In inflammation of the lungs, the 
 nostrils are drawn upwards and in quick motion, 
 which indicates pain, associated with bronchitis, 
 pneumonia or consumption. 
 
 The cry of the child is shrill and sharp and soli- 
 tary, in disease of the brain, especially in hydrocep- 
 halus (water on the brain). It is hoarse and crow- 
 ing in croup, continuous in hunger and thirst, and 
 in earache, or the pricking of a pin, or intense itch- 
 
THE BABY 149 
 
 ing; it is somewhat labored or smothered in pneu- 
 monia. 
 
 The abdomen is swollen and hard in colic. 
 
 The little hand is put to the head, or the hair 
 is pulled in headache or irritation of the brain; it 
 is put to the ear in earache. 
 
 The limbs are motionless in paralysis. 
 
 The character of the cough, the color, consis- 
 tency and frequency of the evacuations from the 
 bowels and bladder, the amount of food and sleep 
 the child has received, the condition of the skin, 
 etc., should all be noticed in every case of illness, 
 so that the physician can be apprized thereof. 
 
 What has been said so far will suffice for mother 
 and child under all ordinary circumstances; in ex- 
 traordinary ones, the physician must be summoned 
 at once. Let mothers bear in mind that they have 
 in their hands as it were, the moulding of their 
 offspring, for ''childhood shows the man, as morn- 
 ing shows the day." Let mothers be solicitous for 
 the health of their darlings, but be no less anxious 
 in regard to their training. 
 
 Let fathers and mothers in rearing their children 
 
150 THE BABY 
 
 follow the wise counsels of Quarles, the eminent 
 writer, contained in those well pointed words: 
 
 "Be very vigilant over thy child in the April of 
 his understanding, lest the frost of May nip his 
 blossoms. While he is a tender twig, straighten 
 him; such as thou makest him, such commonly 
 shalt thou find him. Let his first lesson be obed- 
 ience, and his second shall be what thou wilt." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AIR 
 
 Atmospheric air is well known to be a compound 
 gas; its constituents are nitrogen gas and oxygen 
 gas. Of these, nitrogen forms four-fifths and oxy- 
 gen forms one fifth of its weight. The lungs, as 
 we have before remarked, are the organs of breath- 
 ing, and the air enters the lungs containing oxygen 
 twenty-one parts, nitrogen seventy-nine parts in 
 one hundred. 
 
 When exhaled, (coming out of the lungs), it 
 consists of oxygen sixteen parts, of nitrogen seven- 
 ty-nine parts, of carbonic acid five parts. It will 
 therefore be seen that in cleansing or purifying the 
 blood, it has lost oxygen and received carbonic acid 
 gas. Thus it is more impure when exhaled by the 
 lungs. These two gases, oxygen and nitrogen, 
 differ greatly in their properties. Nitrogen in this 
 connection has no decidedly active properties. It 
 
 (151) 
 
152 AIR 
 
 is not a supporter of combustion, nor of animal life, 
 and has no power of destroying either. 
 
 What its peculiar object, if any, in respiration or 
 whait its action upon the blood may be, has not 
 yet been satisfactorily determined. It would seem 
 to be present in the air in such an abundance, 
 principally as a diluent of the oxygen whose prop- 
 erties in a state of purity would be too active. 
 
 Oxygen, on the other hand, possesses exceed- 
 ingly powerful properties. It is this which gives 
 to the blood its healthy quality and bright color, 
 and relieves it from its impurities. It imparts to 
 the brain, -the muscles, the stomach, the heart and 
 every other organ, a principle which gives them 
 energy and power, and keeps alive the body by 
 removing from it those substances whose accumu- 
 lation would destroy it. 
 
 The food which we take into the stomach under- 
 goes several changes before it is prepared to enter 
 the circulation. It is finally poured into the cur- 
 rent of the blood as the latter is about entering 
 the right side of the heart prior to its being trans- 
 mitted through the lungs. It is not yet blood; it 
 has neither the color nor the chemical property 
 
AIR 153 
 
 of that important fluid. The air is necessary for 
 this final change or transition. Respiration may 
 therefore be regarded as the last act of digestion 
 and essential to it. Without the atmosphere, the 
 food would be useless. It is indeed rare in this 
 country when a sufficiency of food cannot be ob- 
 tained. But we cannot inhale the air in too great 
 a quantity, or too pure a quality. While a healthy 
 person may exist without any additional food for 
 weeks, the exclusion of atmospheric air from the 
 lungs for the space of three minutes would gener- 
 ally cause the death of the individual. We can 
 therefore easily perceive that the posture of lean- 
 ing over a desk or bench, as is often the case in 
 schools, offices and shops, contracts the mo- 
 tion of the lungs, impedes the function of the stom- 
 ach; and the inhalation of air, so charged as it 
 generally is with carbonic acid gas, saps the con- 
 stitution by slow approaches. Air may be consid- 
 ered the chief thing that the body wants, though 
 it is true that we cannot live on air, but require also 
 food and drink. The stories, truthful and histori- 
 cal, that have been narrated of the numbers who 
 died in the ''black hole" of Calcutta, and the holds 
 
154 AIR 
 
 of emigrant ships that formerly plowed the 
 Atlantic, are evidences of the dreadful and fatal 
 results of the exclusion of air, and over-crowding 
 in a space too confined and too close. Probably 
 the most important question that confronts the 
 people, especially in the cities of this country, is 
 that of air sufficiently pure to give more red blood, 
 better digestion, and to better invigorate the muscu- 
 lar and nervous systems. Many of the large depart- 
 ment stores and offices with their artificial modes of 
 heating and ventilation, now in vogue, are nothing 
 more than disease-breeding localities, owing to the 
 lack of fresh air. Our sky-scraping buildings may 
 present thoughts and ideas of modern progress to 
 the eye of the business man, but to the physician, 
 many of them are insidious death-traps. Sunlight 
 and sunlit rooms are at a discount in the houses of 
 commerce and trade. Hotels are built so that the 
 modern troglodytes who live there, must eat, drink, 
 sleep, and use the least possible amount of exer- 
 cise, and inhale as little fresh air as possible. Elec- 
 tric lights that are really "dark with excessive 
 brightness" burn brightly at noonday in the base- 
 ments and offices of hotels and business houses, 
 
AIR 155 
 
 and the Holy Light, "offering of heaven, first born, 
 solar light," is excluded. In the summer time, 
 those luxuriously furnished and highly polished 
 apartments have, owing to their peculiar construc- 
 tion, a close, debilitating and stuffy atmosphere. 
 In winter a temperature of about 80 degrees per- 
 vades those buildings internally, while the mercury 
 is often many degrees below the freezing point out 
 of doors. The unfortunate cave-dweller, who lives 
 under such conditions, cannot continue in the pos- 
 session of good health for many years. Such an 
 existence d'oes not tend to longevity. 
 
 The shop girl, who hurriedly eats a piece of 
 bread and butter and takes a cup of coffee for break- 
 fast, enters the street-car, crowded almost to suffo- 
 cation by persons going to their different places of 
 employment; and then is incarcerated afterwards for 
 hours in some business dungeon, without having 
 the privilege of resting her weary limbs even for 
 a moment; she has little appetite for her scanty 
 lunch, and less, for the evening meal when she re- 
 turns home jaded, fatigued and exhausted. Lack 
 of fresh air, proper exercise and sunlight, produce, 
 the pale complexion that shows the debility which 
 
156 AIR 
 
 characterizes her nervous system. This unnatural 
 mode of living v^ill, in the course of time, bring 
 about a condition of marked invaHdism. And the un- 
 fortunate victim becomes an easy prey, owing to 
 the lessened power of vital resistance, for the germs 
 of consumption to feast upon. Such a person is 
 still more liable to develop consumption Vv^hen 
 closely associated either in store, street-car, or at 
 home, with those suffering from that fearful disease; 
 the greatest exterminator of the human race. While 
 municipal legislation in the matter of cleanliness is 
 now practically confined to filthy gutters and alleys, 
 whose obnoxious odors wound the sensibilities of 
 our olfactories, we have not yet progressed so far 
 as to consider the close and corrupted air of stores 
 and factories as injurious to our health. We hope 
 a revolution in favor of purer air and sufficient time 
 for meals for those who are employed as wage earn- 
 ers will become a question for serious consideration 
 in the councils of legislation in our cities. 
 
 Every janitor of a school-room, church or public 
 hall, should be required to have all the windows 
 open for at least fifteen minutes after the occupants 
 have dispersed, and also before their assembling; 
 
AIR 157 
 
 care being taken to properly ventilate the building 
 while the audience is in session. As a rule the 
 windows are closed before the people leave, and 
 the stifling, filthy air remains to be inhaled by the 
 occupants that form the next assemblage; then 
 possibly the windows are raised sparingly, rather 
 than lowered as should be done that the warm air 
 may ascend and relieve the oppression caused by 
 carbonic acid poisoning. We pity the unfortunate 
 sufferers of the bubonic plague in India; let us also 
 have some commiseration for the thousands and 
 thousands who are sick and die from dirty air, laden 
 with disease-breeding germs inhaled in such places. 
 
 "God lent his creature light and air 
 
 And waters open to the skies; 
 Man locks him to a stifling lair 
 And wonders why his brother dies." 
 It has often been a matter of surprise that the 
 Knights of Labor, and other allied organizations, 
 have not demanded purer air in the workshops. 
 
 Those who are assiduously employed in sedentary 
 occupations should not fail, during the enervating 
 period of summer, to take a few weeks' outing 
 and enjoy the quiet shade of the breezy hilltop, 
 
158 AIR 
 
 breathing the ozone-laden air from a Northern 
 Lake, or the bracing- atmosphere wafted from the 
 sea. While physicians may differ about minute 
 matters, they are all agreed that the mountain 
 breeze is far more salubrious than the sev/er's blast. 
 Not only should an outing from the city to the 
 country be recommended, but a complete change 
 in regard to latitude and altitude is at times neces- 
 sary. A few degrees farther North, high and dry, 
 should be selected as an advantageous location for 
 the purpose o-f recuperating in summer. The clerk, 
 business man or professional man, whose duties de- 
 mand a considerable portion of indoor life, render- 
 ing him debilitated and nervous, will gain more by 
 selecting such a spot than by basking in society 
 under pretence of regaining health at one of our 
 fashionable Springs. To eat, dress, drink, lounge 
 and smoke, seems to be the desideratum of many 
 of those that go to the Springs for the ostensible 
 purpose of strengthening their debilitated consti- 
 tutions. Unless their livers and kidneys, the great 
 eliminators of the body, are not fulfilling their func- 
 tions, it is the sheerest folly for the delicate and 
 pre-senile, not to select a dry and elevated location, 
 
AIR 158 
 
 and be free from the conventionalities of dress and 
 etiquette. 
 
 At no period in the world's history was the strug- 
 gle for existence so severe and the population in 
 large cities so congested as it is at the present time, 
 and consequently the supply of air is inadequate 
 for the healthy sustenance of all. Sedentary occu- 
 pations have increased and machinery has almost 
 entirely done away with the necessity of manual la- 
 bor and brawny muscles, so that the nervous system 
 involving brain work and mental anxiety now bears 
 the brunt of disease. The farmer no longer toils 
 with the spade, shovel or rake, as machinery has 
 revolutionized labor on the farm. This wear and 
 tear of life requires not so much the necessity of 
 medication as that of pure air and proper exercise. 
 How few patients, who consult the physician, deem 
 the question of pure air of any importance as a 
 remedial agent to strengthen their debilitated con- 
 stitutions. They seek medicine and expect that, in 
 confined houses and close surroundings, they may 
 look for relief for their broken down system, which 
 requires pure air, par excellence, as the most im- 
 portant factor for their relief. The tendency in the 
 
160 AIR 
 
 present fashionable style of architecture in our cities 
 is unfortunately to minimize space, and to have 
 rooms as small as posible, and Avindows so arranged 
 as to exclude the air as much as possible. We 
 cannot therefore be surprised at the blanched ap- 
 pearance of those that live in the cities engaged in 
 sedentary occupations and living in such unhealthy 
 habitations. Parents, who look after the comforts 
 of their children giving them proper food and rai- 
 ment, and neglect to investigate the workshops or 
 offices in which they are employed, not being sup- 
 plied with fresh air, are guilty of a criminal act. 
 It is equally important, if not more so, to obtain 
 air for nourishment, as well as food. The consump- 
 tion ol a large amount of out-door exercise, and 
 the employment of a large amount of muscular 
 activities in this out-door air, are the great high- 
 ways to a vigorous appetite, a good digestion, fine 
 health, and exemption from disease. How impor- 
 tant it is, then, to spend some time in the country 
 every year, and enjoy the beauty of rural scenes 
 and the healthfulness of country life! The follow- 
 ing from Herder is worth noting here: 
 
AIR 161 
 
 "The resolution of my friend to change 
 
 His walled prison for a rural seat 
 
 I much applaud — why should we foolishly 
 
 Pile up in lofty towers the hard hewn rock 
 
 To fright us with their sudden fall, or hide 
 
 From our dark eyes the cheering face of heaven? 
 
 Not so in former days lived the young world 
 
 In innocence and peace. Free from such folly, 
 
 'Midst rural scenes — ^there, harmless mirth prevails, 
 
 There we behold the wide-expanded heaven; 
 
 No neighbor robs us of the light of day; 
 
 And from the clear fresh spring Apollo bids us 
 
 Assuage our thirst with his own liquor. 
 
 Oh! did all men know what is happiness! 
 
 Our mother Nature ne'er within dark cities, 
 
 Or gloomy walls and castles, it confined. 
 
 On the fair plains it blooms for one and all. 
 
 Those find it oft who seek it not; and he 
 
 Who spurns base ore will enjoy — His treasure . 
 
 Is what the earth presents; in the bright stream 
 
 He sees his silver; and his gold shoots up 
 
 In yellow corn or smiles from fruitful trees. 
 
 He hears his concert in the shady grove; 
 
 And there his chorus, free at will to range, 
 
162 AIR 
 
 Joins in the mirthful or the pensive strain. 
 
 Far otherwise, within the town confined, 
 
 The captive songster in its cage complains. 
 
 The slave who feeds it thinks it sings alone 
 
 To please its master; but with every note 
 
 It bids its tyrant give it liberty. 
 
 Nature delights in rural scenes; and Art, 
 
 Her imitator, there must follow her 
 
 With timid steps. Of foliage ever green 
 
 Behold yon place, arch'd with thick woven boughs! 
 
 Where thou may'st sit, like Persia's boasted lord, 
 
 In halls of cedar — and 'midst peace enjoy. 
 
 What he ne'er knows, sound, sweet, refreshing sleep. 
 
 Great cities are great plagues! There, native joy 
 
 Flies from man's breast, and makes him pleasure 
 
 seek 
 In art alone. There, everything by paint 
 Is seen disguised — the countenance and walls, 
 Each action, word, and e'en the very heart. 
 All there consists of costly wood or stone; 
 Their very owners seem as hard as these. 
 O rural life, 'midst poverty how rich! 
 When hunger bids, there thou mayst nobly feast 
 On what each season for thy use brings forth, 
 
AIR 163 
 
 In rich variety. The plough thy table; 
 And a green leaf, by way of dish, supports 
 Thy meal of fruit. A homely wooden jug 
 Draws up refreshing drink from the pure stream. 
 Which, free from poison, pours out health alone, 
 And with soft murmur thee to sleep invites; 
 While, in the air, the lark high-soaring sings— 
 Now mounting up, again descending low — 
 Until, at length, it drops into its nest 
 Just at thy foot, between two furrows placed." 
 
 When we breathe the same air over and over 
 again, we gradually vitiate it by the constant ex- 
 halation of carbonic acid, which gradually brings 
 the air up to the point where the difference between 
 it and the blood, as regards the property of car- 
 bonic acid, disappears. When a person is placed 
 in an atmosphere which is overcharged with car- 
 bonic acid, it is equivalent to a gradual hinderance 
 of his breathing at all. Suffocation may gradually 
 result from this condition, just as if the air were 
 totally intercepted. The patient, suffering with an 
 affection of the lungs, whether acute or chronic, 
 such as pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis or con- 
 sumption, requires better and purer air, if it can 
 
164 AIR 
 
 possibly be obtained, than he needs in a condition 
 of good health. When a person is compelled to 
 breathe from thirty to sixty times a minute, as is 
 the case in those diseases, instead of seventeen to 
 twenty-two times in health, more oxygen is re- 
 quired to sustain the vital power. An erroneous 
 idea prevails that a patient, suffering with an affec- 
 tion of the lungs, should be kept in a close, warm 
 room. The constant and rapid inhalation and ex- 
 halation of air under such circumstances tend to 
 render the air still more impure, deleterious and 
 poisonous. We believe that in a few years hence, 
 patients, suffering from affections of the lungs, will 
 be placed out of doors when the air is dry and cool 
 and not humid, with much better prospects for 
 recovery. Humidity of the atmosphere seems to 
 be its most dangerous condition. How strange it 
 is that we so often see a person suffering with pneu- 
 monia cooped in a room, 8 feet by 10, because it 
 is close and warm and comfortable in the estima- 
 tion of friends and relatives, who should know that 
 death may result in consequence. 
 
 The windows are tightly closed and every 
 draught of fresh air is carefully excluded from the 
 
AIR ^65 
 
 room. Alas! Such an individual did not receive 
 
 sufficient air or death might not have taken place. 
 After dissolution,what pains are often taken by sym- 
 pathetic and lachrymose relatives that the bo<iy,now 
 cold in death, be properly cared for and placed in 
 the nicest, most pleasant, and airiest room in the 
 house with plenty of fresh air! Fresh air was need- 
 ed to keep the patient alive, but he was deprived 
 of it; and now, when absolutely not needed, the 
 windows of the room in which the body is placed 
 in cleanly and costly habilim.ents and expensive 
 coffin with a profusion of flowers, are raised, in- 
 viting the gentle zephyrs to mingle with the de- 
 lightful aroma which pervades the room. Not only 
 was sufficient air in quantity and quality at a dis- 
 count, but the use of soap and water for the removal 
 of filth was in all probability neglected, during the 
 illness of the deceased. The funeral display has 
 gradually and increasingly grown to be a very ex- 
 pensive outfit for the dead; a veritable Juggernaut 
 for the kind but emotional poor. Hundreds of 
 dollars, yea, often thousands, are lavishly expended 
 for the grave and its victim, yet a few dollars were 
 probably given very parsimoniously for the neces- 
 
166 AIR 
 
 saries to prolong or save the life of the invalid. A 
 witty and sarcastic Frenchman has said with possi- 
 bly some unction of truth that the graveyards ol 
 the United States will yet be turned into gold fields. 
 It is not the intention of the writer to cast any op- 
 probrium on the nobility of sentiment and affection- 
 ate regard, that tends to a proper interment of the 
 dead; but it is the duty of every honest practitioner 
 of medicine, who has visited the haunts of poVerty 
 and destitution in any of our large cities, to raise 
 his voice against the ridiculous, nonsensical, ex- 
 travagant display exhibited at funerals through a 
 false sense of pride, whilst children at the home of 
 the deceased are suffering for the necessaries of life. 
 Oh, decent funeral! What crimes against right and 
 justice to impoverished families have been done 
 in thy name! 
 
 "Ye undertakers! tell us, 
 'Midst all the gorgeous figures you exhibit, 
 Why is the principal concealed, for which 
 You make this mighty stir? 
 
 "Why is the hearse with 'scutcheons blazoned 
 
 round, 
 And with the nodding plume of ostrich crowned? 
 
AIR 167 
 
 No; the dead know it not, nor profit gain; 
 It only sei'ves to prove the living, vain." 
 
 Prompted by vanity, oftener than by sincere ties 
 of affection, many relicts — Christian people — vie 
 with each other in erecting elegant and expensive 
 monuments with emblazoned inscriptions over the 
 graves of the dead, "the sole commonwealth which 
 attains that dead-flat of social equality, which life 
 in its very principle as heartily abhors," while hos- 
 pitals, reformatory institutions, and orphan asylums, 
 call in vain for funds to preserve and protect the 
 lives of the unfortunate delinquents and waifs that 
 have been committed to their care. Let the practice 
 of endowing beds in hospitals, giving means for the 
 purpose of elevating and improving the condition of 
 the moral and physical obliquity of humanity, be 
 popularized, by contributing toward the support of 
 such noble purposes to assist the living, instead of 
 expending so much money for showy funerals and 
 costly monuments that cannot help the dead. 
 
 "Praises on tombstones are oft vainly spent. 
 
 A man's good deeds is his best monument.'* 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 FOOD 
 
 We eat to live; and if we partake wisely of what 
 the Lord has provided we shall live well, health- 
 fully and long. Food is fuel, which is digested in 
 the stomach and bowels. It gives heat and gener- 
 ates force, as coal is burned to run a steam- 
 engine. For the production of vigorous mus- 
 cular and nervous force, healthy food and good 
 digestion are necessary conditions. While animal 
 food yields more blood and nourishment than a 
 vegetable diet, it must not be forgotten that, in 
 order to be beneficial to us, a greater amount of 
 physical labor is required for its consumption. 
 When we eat more than is necessary for the proper 
 sustenance of our bodies, the excretory organs, 
 (liver and kidneys especially) are often irritated and 
 inflamed in their efforts to get rid of the surplus. 
 As soon as food enters the stomach, the follicles 
 
 (168) 
 
FOOD 168 
 
 like small, infinitesimal spring wells, send forth gas- 
 tric juice which disintegrates, softens and liquifies 
 the food. This healthful digestion is sometimes 
 described as the returning process. The muscles are 
 in continual motion, pressing the food in a kind of 
 circular direction; and to do this there must be 
 room for a ''purchase," a point to push from, and 
 an open field to push into, so that it is easier when 
 such is the case, than when there is unnatural dis- 
 tension by over-eating. There is no more room 
 for work, and the food cannot therefore be properly 
 manipulated. If the food is bad or masticated in 
 large pieces, it is kept longer in the stomach than 
 nature designed. The gastric juice is unable fully 
 to do its work, and decomposition, and not diges- 
 tion, is the result. 
 
 Hence the uncomfortable feeling of indigestion, 
 the sour eructations of gas, caused by the slow de- 
 cay of the food. Before the five hours have expired 
 for the working up of the food, the next regular 
 meal arrives; the stomach is set to work anew, 
 without a moment's rest. It is overworked, it loses 
 its power, it is weak, or does its work with difficulty. 
 This is literally dyspepsia. From this, learn that 
 
170 FOOD 
 
 you should never eat so Pxiuch that 3'ou feel you 
 have a stomach. It would be best to stop before 
 you are completely sated. The quantity of food 
 must be always proportioned to one's daily labor; 
 the less the labor, the less ought to be the nourish- 
 ment. 
 
 Average Time of Digestion 
 
 Articles of Diet. Preparaiions. H. M. 
 
 Rice Boiled 1 . 
 
 Tripe, soused Boiled 1. 
 
 Eggs whipped Raw 1.30 
 
 Trout, salmon, fish Fried 1.30 
 
 Soup, barley Boiled 1.30 
 
 Apples, sweet, mellow , Raw 1 . 30 
 
 Venison steak .Boiled 1.35 
 
 Sago Boiled 1.45 
 
 Tapioca Boiled ...2. 
 
 Barley Boiled 2. 
 
 Milk Boiled 3. 
 
 Eggs, fresh Rav/ 2. 
 
 Codfish, cured dry Boiled 2. 
 
 Cabbage, with vinegar Raw 3. ^y' 
 
 Milk Raw 2.15 
 
FOOD 171 
 
 Articles of Diet. Preparations. H. M. 
 
 E^^s, fresh Roasted 2.15 
 
 Gelatine Boiled 2.30 
 
 Turkey, domestic , Roasted 2.30 
 
 Lamb, fresh Broiled 2.30 
 
 Hash, meat, vegetables Warmed 2.30 
 
 Beans, pod Boiled 2.30 
 
 Cake, sponge Baked 2.30 
 
 Parsnips Boiled 2.30 
 
 Potatoes, Irish Baked 2.30 
 
 Cabbage, head Raw 2 . 30 
 
 Chicken, full-grown Fricasseed . . . .2.40 
 
 Custard Baked 2.45 
 
 Beef, with salt only Boiled 2.45 
 
 Oysters, fresh Raw 2.55 
 
 Eggs, fresh Soft-boiled ... .3. 
 
 Bass, stripped, fresh Broiled 3. 
 
 Beef, fresh, lean, rare Roasted 3. 
 
 Pork, recently salted Stewed 3 . 
 
 Mutton, fresh Boiled 3 . 
 
 Dumpling, apple Boiled 3 . 
 
 Cake, corn Baked 3 . 
 
 Beefsteak Broiled 3 . 
 
 Mutton, fresh Broiled 3. 
 
172 FOOD 
 
 Articles of Diet. Preparations. H. M. 
 
 Oysters, baked (2) Roasted 3.15 
 
 Pork, recently salted Broiled 3.15 
 
 Pork steak Broiled 3.15 
 
 Mutton, fresh, baked (3) Broiled ...... .3.15 
 
 Bread, corn Baked 3.15 
 
 Catfish, fresh Fried 3.30 
 
 Oysters, fresh .Stewed 3.30 
 
 Beef, fresh lean, dry Roasted 3 . 30 
 
 Butter Melted 3.30 
 
 Cheese, old, strong Raw 3 . 30 
 
 Soup, mutton Boiled 3.30 
 
 Oyster Boiled ... . 3.30 
 
 Bread, wheat, fresh Baked 3.30 
 
 Turnips, flat Boiled 3.30 
 
 Eggs, fresh Hard-boiled .. .3.30 
 
 Eggs, fresh Fried 3.30 
 
 Green corn and beans Boiled 3 . 45 
 
 Beets Boiled 3.45 
 
 Salmon, salted , Boiled 4 . 
 
 Beef Fried 4. 
 
 Veal, fresh Broiled 4. 
 
 Fowls, domestic Roasted 4. 
 
 Ducks, domestic Roasted 4. 
 
FOOD 173 
 
 Articles of Diet. Preparations. H. M, 
 
 Soup, beef, vegetables, bread. Boiled 4. 
 
 Soup, marrowbones Boiled 4.15 
 
 Veal, fresh Fried 4.30 
 
 Ducks, wild Roasted 4.30 
 
 Cabbage Boiled 4.30 
 
 Pork, fat and lean Roasted 5.15 
 
 From the above list it appears that pork requires 
 five hours and fifteen minutes for digestion, while 
 rice is digested in one hour. Hence the importance 
 of avoiding these articles of food that are hard to 
 digest, in diseases of the stomach and bowels, aich 
 as dyspepsia, diarrhoea, etc., while in constipation, 
 rough foods, such as rye and cabbage with fruit 
 (apples, prunes, etc.) can be advantageously used. 
 Our food passes through several changes, or 
 states, before it becomes arterial blood, fit to sustain 
 the body. First, it is masticated in the mouth 
 where it is or should be well mixed with the saliva 
 (spittle); and there the first process of digestion 
 commences. Second, in the stomach the gastric 
 juice changes it into chyme. Third, in the intes- 
 tines it is converted into chyle, except the useless 
 part. The blood consists of very small globules 
 
174 FOOD 
 
 or little balls, imperceptible to the naked eye. Let 
 them be considered as laborers, of whom there is 
 an immense number; the body is the world contain- 
 ing a great many forests, farms, towns, and cities, 
 a commercial, mechanical and farming world, in 
 which all kinds of work is carried on, especially that 
 of building and improving. The food is the build- 
 ing material which passes through a variety of 
 hands and receives its finishing touches in the 
 lungs. Each globule is a v/orkman which goes 
 from the heart to the lungs for its load and returns 
 to the heart, and is thence sent into the arterial road 
 to dispose of its burden where it is needed ; and on 
 its return, takes the venous road and gathers up 
 all the rubbish that it is capable of managing, tak- 
 ing with it also all the new material formed through 
 the process of digestion, and returns it through the 
 heart to the lunpfs, v/here it disDOses of the material 
 and retraces its steps, and thus continues its labor. 
 This is done in continual progression, three or four 
 minutes being required for its routine. The blood 
 goes out In the arteries, passes into the capillaries 
 which appropriate the nourishment to every organ 
 and outlet through the body, and give the rest to 
 
FOOD 176 
 
 the veins. Food may be .divided into two classes; 
 the carbonaceous or non-nitrogenous which pos- 
 sesses the quahty of producing heat for the system. 
 In the non-nitrogeneous element are to be found 
 potatoes (starch), vegetables, and the nitrogeneous 
 consists principally of meats. The proper diet is 
 of course a mixed one, as man is considered om- 
 nivorous. What to cat and what not to eat, de- 
 pends, perhaps, as much on the character of the 
 stomach as on the quality of food. Climate, habit, 
 environment and heredity influence to a great ex- 
 tent the condition of the stomach. It has been 
 truly said, that one man's meat is another man's 
 poison. The American, with the greatest variety 
 of food containing as a rule all the elements neces- 
 sary for heat and force, owing to his peculiar mode 
 of living, including the artificiaHties of life, suffers 
 probably more from dyspepsia than the European. 
 This is due to many causes, such as eating rapidly, 
 living hurriedly, the mental strain of unrest, inci- 
 dental to a grasping, money-making life, and last, 
 but not least, to hasty and imperfect cooking of 
 food. 
 
 Imperfect cooking causes more derangement of 
 
176 FOOD 
 
 the digestive organs than the excessive use of meat. 
 The frying pan has been a proHfic source of dyspep- 
 sia in this country. A more generaj use of the grid- 
 iron would be a decided benefit. (Imperfect cook- 
 ing and indigestible food are often the cause of 
 many good men indulging too freely in drink, and 
 eventually becoming drunkards!) 
 
 A mixture of the starchy food, potatoes, vege- 
 tables and bread, with the nitrogenous, constitutes 
 the best diet. If an excess of potatoes be used, fat 
 and bulk are produced, but strength is lacking; 
 if, however, too much of the nitrogenous element 
 is used, the liver and kidneys v^ill suffer in conse- 
 quence. There is in addition to the strength-giving 
 and flesh-repairing element of food, the health-pre- 
 serving mineral salts. 
 
 The use of spices, condiments, or seasoning, is 
 reprehensible, particularly in the case of children. 
 It is true that an appetite, injured by their use, 
 cannot well appreciate the flavor of elementary sub- 
 stances without them, but they create a false appe- 
 tite, and render children entirely too choice and 
 namby-pamby in their taste for food. The plainer, 
 the simpler, and more easily digested the food is, 
 
FOOD 177 
 
 the better results will be obtained. The children 
 of the wealthy are usually pampered, and the bad 
 effects of the ingestion of rich pastries and con- 
 diments are observed in the lack of proper nutri- 
 tion, owing to indigestion. Oliver Goldsmith very 
 truthfully says, "Oh, the delights of poverty and 
 an appetite! We beggars are the fondlings of na- 
 ture; the rich she treats hke an arrant step-mother; 
 they are pleased with nothing; cut a steak from 
 what part you will, they are never satisfied; it is 
 unsupportably tough! Dress it with pickles, and 
 even pickles cannot procure them an appetite! Joy! 
 joy! my blood, though our estates lie nowhere, we 
 have a fortune wherever we go." 
 
 No other country has such a variety of nourish- 
 ing foods and excellent fruits to make man the 
 beau ideal of physical perfection; and it can be 
 truly said that the wreckless waste of food products, 
 which pervades nearly all classes, is sufificient to 
 properly sustain the people of France, or Germany, 
 or Italy. While there are some persons with a 
 digestion not far short of that of the ostrich, and 
 with the appetite of a bear, and w^ho, like the lion 
 and other carnivorous animals, can enjoy eating 
 
178 FOOD 
 
 rapidly and suffer very little inconvenience there- 
 from; yet the average human being must masticate 
 food slowly, and avoid gulping or bolting, so that 
 the food enters the stomach as proper paste food, 
 ready for digestion. We know some instances where 
 rapid eating is to some, as compared with others, 
 a positive enjoyment, owing to the possession of 
 sound teeth and a vigorous constitution. But it 
 is almost an impossibility for such a habit, if con- 
 tinued, not to be followed by indigestion and im- 
 paired health. The chemist, actuated by a spirit 
 of accurate demonstration of facts, would feign 
 make us believe that from his researches in the 
 laboratory, he can offer to us the exact amount 
 of heat and force contained in certain kinds of food. 
 This may appear plausible but not exact, nor true 
 in practice. For, nerve tissue is never precisely 
 the same in two men, nor the blood of tv/o men 
 alike, nor the milk of two women alike, nor the 
 saliva, nor the gastric juice. It follows that, while 
 quantitative analysis is a very pleasing and fascinat- 
 ing subject, yet the physiologist recognizes the fact 
 that the problem of life is still unsolved, and vitality, 
 
FOOD 179 
 
 or the exact function, or work or capacity of an 
 organ cannot be precisely determined. 
 
 The question of temperament, habits, inheritance 
 and environment must be ' oiisidered when we treat 
 of the question of food. It is not so much the 
 quantity eaten as it is the power to digest and as- 
 similate what has been eaten, that gives strength. 
 One of the most troublesome affections in chil- 
 dren during the summer, is marasmus, (inanition, 
 or starvation), which may occur though the patient 
 eats too much. The food not being properly as- 
 similated, that is, not converted into the substance 
 of the body, causes the child to waste away almost 
 to the condition of skin and bone. Good food being 
 so abundant in the United States, it is a sad com- 
 mentary on our habits of life, that the majority of 
 the people are really underfed, and not a few over- 
 fed. This is not due to the fact that there is not 
 sufficient food on the tables of even the poorest, 
 but the appetite is lacking, digestion impaired, and 
 good assimilation impossible owing to our cramped, 
 confined, indoor life, and bad cooking. 
 
 If the appetite is good and a large quantity of 
 food is eaten by persons whose habits of life are 
 
180 FOOD 
 
 sedentary and get little exercise in the open air, 
 there is then the danger of the excretory organs 
 suffering in their efforts to get clear of the surplus. 
 Bright's disease, affections of the liver, as well as 
 rheumatism and gout," afe^oTterf'tlie result of an 
 excess of food, particularly when meats have been 
 eaten, without sufificient exercise in the open air 
 to produce their proper assimilation. Those whose 
 diet is plain, and who abstain from the ingestion 
 of an excessive quantity of food or alcohol (wine, 
 whisky or beer), rarely suffer from diseases of the 
 liver or kidneys. It is unfortunate that the Ameri- 
 can people partake so freely of meat, and eat so 
 little bread; for bread, mJlk and eggs form almost 
 a perfect diet. Like all other habits, that of eating 
 too much, grows, and becomes pernicious. Violent 
 emotion (joy, anger, fright), during, or immediately 
 after meals, will disturb in an astonishing degree the 
 digestion and assimilation of food. 
 
 In the evening of life, when the vital powers show 
 evidences of commencing failure; when there is a 
 lack of activity of the muscular and other systems, 
 digestion becomes, as a pTi}^si61ogical condition, 
 enfeebled; and the quantity of food taken at one 
 
._>£3 ^v* i 
 
 FOOD 
 
 time should then be diminished, if good health and 
 longevity are to be secure d. After the age of fiftyj__i 
 
 it is bothjwise and prudent that diet be c urtailed, 
 and that meats and the use of alcohol be restricted^ 
 and an abundance of fruit and milk be substituted. 
 '' Fruits should be more freely used in _the diet of_ 
 those of advanced age, as they tend to relieve the 
 sluggishness and inertia incidental to that period 
 of life. Ripe,n5ncobked '"apples sTiould be eaten 
 " ^ity." TKe~cHaracter of food and the frequency of 
 "'meals in old persons should be somewhat similar 
 — to that in childhood. Warmer clothing then be- 
 comes necessary to v/ard off the ill effects of sudden 
 • change* of temperature. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 DRINK 
 
 Whiskey contains 50 per cent of alcohol, and beer 
 4 to 6 per cent. Alcohol in prolonged con- 
 tact with the skin excites a sense of heat, and 
 superficial inflammation. Taken internally in small 
 quantities well diluted, it stimulates the flow of the 
 juices of the stomach, and therefore increases the 
 appetite. But its habitual or excessive use over- 
 stimulates the glands of the stomach. A catarrh 
 is established and the lining membrane and tissues 
 of the stomach become indurated. Hence the 
 morning sickness, the excessive belching, the foul 
 tongue, and unsteady eye of the habitual drinker. 
 As alcohol is a very volatile substance, it enters 
 the blood with great facility, and the liver is the 
 first organ after the stomach to be influenced by it. 
 The blood containing alcohol is carried through 
 the delicate cells of the liver and these are at first 
 
 (182) 
 
DRINK 183 
 
 stimulated so that the organ becomes larger, but 
 afterwards they are shrunken, and the liver de- 
 creases in size with nodulations on it like hob nails. 
 Hence cirrhosis of the liver, the small hob-nailed 
 or whiskey liver of the drunkard. So long as alco- 
 holic drinks improve the appetite, do not hurt the 
 individual, nor disturb the condition of his tongue, 
 they are doing no harm, and they may be even 
 doing good. As to the mischief of alcoholic in- 
 dulgence, to say that it is bad, morally, physically, 
 and intellectually, is putting it mildly. The physi- 
 cian must neither pander to a popular taste for 
 alcohoHc beverages, nor be afraid of the strictures 
 of the prohibitionist. There is a certain unstable 
 temperament in some persons, sometimes acquired 
 by an artificial mode of living, and often inherited. 
 Persons with such a temperament should avoid the 
 taste of alcohol as they would the bite of a mad 
 dog. Those can say with Cassio in Othello ''I have 
 poor and unhappy brains for drinking; I could well 
 wish courtesy would invent some other custom of 
 entertainment" — ''I have drunk but one cup to- 
 night and that was craftily qualified too — and be- 
 hold what innovation it makes here. I am unfortu- 
 
184 DRINK 
 
 nate in the infirmity, and dare not task my weak- 
 ness with any more." 
 
 We are fully convinced of the fact that the ten- 
 dency to alcoholic indulgence in families is often 
 inherited, and the under-fed among all nations and 
 conditions of people, civilized and uncivilized, seem 
 to have a desire or taste for alcohol. The great 
 danger in the use, or rather abuse of alcohol, is 
 taking it between meals, or upon an empty stomach. 
 There is an adage that "he who takes whiskey 
 habitually in the morning before breakfast is far 
 advanced on the way to a drunkard's grave," As 
 with the question of food, so it is with whiskey. 
 Each case possesses its individuality. 
 
 Persons who enjoy good health do not need al- 
 cohol either in the form of whiskey, wine or beer. 
 In case of a shock it is invaluable. In diseased con- ; ,- ^ 
 ditions, especially when characterized by a weak 
 heart and long continued high temperature, such as i 
 in typhoid-fever and consumption where there is 
 rapid disintegration of tissue, good old whiskey, well j 
 diluted and judiciously administered is then one of \ 
 the most valuable agents we possess. It is unfortu- | 
 nate that so much new whiskey, charged with fusil ] 
 
DRINK 185 
 
 oil is allowed to be drunk in the community, as it 
 tends much more than old whiskey does to induce 
 the delirium resulting in the fearful crimes of vio- 
 lence that blacken the history of our country. The 
 excessive use of strong drinks will make the stom- 
 ach a rebel to the nervous system, will make the 
 mind a prisoner, will unman and prostrate the in- 
 dividual. An early and unhonored grave is the 
 reward of a drunkard. 
 
 Pure alcohol is almost wholly carbon, but is 
 consumed too rapidly to be recognized as a healthy 
 food substance, like other carbonaceous (heat giv- 
 ing) foods, such as sugar, starch and fats. It acts 
 as a spur to the jaded horse and possibly for a time 
 gives energy to the system, but its continued use 
 is detrimental, as it affects the vitality of the cells. 
 
 If better or more substantial food, carbonaceous 
 and nitrogenous, properly cooked were placed on 
 our tables, many mothers would be spared the ruin 
 and disgrace of profligate husbands and degenerate 
 children, caused by indulgence in alcoholic drinks. 
 
 Water must be considered more essential to our 
 existence than any other liquid, as it is unquestion- 
 ably the natural drink of adults, and meets the 
 
186 DRINK 
 
 wants of the body more adequately than any of the 
 artificial drinks that are now used and advertised 
 as an improvement over pure water, such as it 
 comes from the clouds uncontaminated with any 
 filthy ingredients. The use of water is entirely too 
 restricted in the present day. As a laxative (acting 
 on the bowels), as a diuretic (acting on the kidneys), 
 and diaphoretic (acting on the skin), it is a great 
 scavenger of the body. There is scarcely any ail- 
 ment in which water may not be freely used; and 
 in cases of high temperature the use of water inter- 
 nally, and externally by bathing, is one of the best 
 agents we possess for the reduction of temperature. 
 
 Whenever a man is left to the cravings of instinct, ] 
 unbiased by a vicious appetite, he resorts to water / 
 as a natural means to quench his thirst, cool his I 
 system, and invigorate his strength. It is the only j 
 liquid which is essential to the formation, develop- 
 ment and support of his constitution. v 
 
 It is found in all climates and inhabited regions 
 of the earth, and Providence has nowhere offered 
 a fountain, stream or well, river or lake, or any 
 liquid, as a substitute for water. It is very neces- 
 sary that the wa1>er we drink be as pure as possible. 
 
DRINK 187 
 
 How little attention is usually paid by the farmer 
 or villager in obtaining water, clear of subsoil im- 
 purities, which are a prolific source of typhoid-fever 
 and other filth diseases! 
 
 The inhabitants of large cities are awakening to 
 the beneficial results of properly filtered water, 
 which will undoubtedly lessen considerably urban 
 mortality. The City of Vienna is a remarkable 
 illustration, which shows that when the filthy water 
 of the Danube was used for drinking purposes, 
 typhoid-fever made fearful ravages among the peo- 
 ple. But since 1874 when the great aqueduct 
 which brings the water supply for the city from a 
 mountain thirty miles distant was finished, this and 
 other filth diseases have been very considerably 
 abated. 
 
 The water supply of cities is often so impure that 
 in order to escape the danger of diseases, it is better 
 to have it sterilized by boiling, and have it filtered 
 through a sandy or porous stone such as we find 
 for sale in the stores. The dyspeptic and costive 
 inhabitants of our cities particularly, do not drink 
 sufficient water. A glass of warm water with a 
 small quantity of table salt is a very efficacious 
 
188 DRINK 
 
 aperient, and is preferable to many of the nostrums 
 that are in genera! use. It is not only the great 
 cleanser of the internal organs, but also removes 
 the products of waste that the skin throws off by 
 its thirty miles of canal sewerage. 
 
 Pure water consists of two parts by weight of 
 hydrogen gas and sixteen parts of oxygen; though 
 natural water, owing to its impurities, which may 
 be suspended or dissolved in it, is never thus chemi- 
 cally pure. 
 
 We obtain water from rivers, deep or shallow 
 wells and collect it in cisterns. On account of the 
 softness of rainwater, that is, its freedom from salts, 
 lime and magnesia, etc., which render it hard, it 
 is useful for washing. There is great danger in 
 deep well water from its being polluted with animal 
 excrementitious matters, and the germs or micro- 
 organisms of disease, which owing to the absence 
 of sunlight and fresh air in such places, find in them 
 a fertile field for development. 
 
 A bucket of muddy water can be rendered fairly 
 clear with a little alum a«4 a muslin bag placed 
 in it for two or three minutes. Thus treated let it 
 rest in a cool place for twenty-four hours and it 
 
DRINK 189 
 
 will be found fairly clear and pure. Filtration of 
 water on a large scale is usually done through 
 sand and gravel, with the fine sand on top. Char- 
 coal is an excellent purifier of water, but unfortu- 
 nately tends to the production of micro-organisms 
 that cause disease, as the animal matter which char- 
 coal contains, suppHes those germs with pabulum 
 on which they thrive. 
 
 For drinking and cooking purposes, water may 
 be classified as follows: 
 
 First, the water of rivers and running streams 
 when filtered. 
 
 Second, springs and deep wells not subject to 
 contamination by surface drainage. 
 Third, cisterns. 
 
 In rendering water sparkling, colorless, palatable 
 and wholesome, the following v^^ater-bearing strata 
 are most ef^ficient: chalk and sand. 
 
 The diseases that are attributed to impure water 
 
 are enteric or typhoid fever, cholera, yellow-fever, 
 
 malarial fever, as well as diarrhoea and dysentery. 
 
 Lead poisoning occurs often from drinking water 
 
 passing through leaden pipes. 
 
 Is tobacco injurious? is often asked and the an- 
 
190 DRINK 
 
 swer is indefinite as it depends entirely upon the 
 peculiarity of constitution of the individual. It 
 must, however, be conceded that as a rule the ac- 
 tive principle of tobacco, nicotine, like alcohol and 
 opium when used in excess is injurious and danger- 
 ous, and tends to the production of diseases of the 
 throat, stomach, eyes, heart and nervous system. 
 To those who have habituated themselves to smok- 
 ing occasionally, it is often a positive enjoyment, 
 and does no harm, but to the very young it is as a 
 rule poisonous. 
 
 The followinof excerpt taken from the "Chicago 
 Medical Recorder" is worth noting here: 
 
 "At a debate on smoking among the members 
 of the British Association for the Advancement ol 
 Science, many speakers denounced, while others ad- 
 vocated the practice. Professor Huxley said: 'For 
 forty years of my life tobacco has been a deadly 
 poison to me. (Loud cheers from the antitobacon- 
 ists). In my youth as a medical student I tried to 
 smoke. In vain; at every fresh attempt my insidi- 
 ous foe stretched me prostrate on the floor. (Re- 
 peated cheers.) I entered the navy; again I tried 
 to smoke, and again met with defeat. I hated to- 
 
DRINK 191 
 
 bacco. I could almost have lent my support to any 
 institution that had for its object the putting of 
 tobacco smokers to death. (Vociferous applause.) 
 A few years ago I was in Brittany with some 
 friends. We went to an inn, my friends began to 
 smoke. They looked very happy, outside it was 
 very wet and dismal, I thought I would try a cigar. 
 (Murmurs.) I did so. (Great expectations.) I 
 smoked that cigar; it was delicious. (Groans.) 
 From that moment I was a changed man; and now 
 I feel that smoking in moderation is a comfortable 
 and laudable practice and is productive of good. 
 (Dismay and confusion of the antitobacconists. 
 Roars of laughter from the smokers.) There is no 
 more harm in a pipe than there is in a cup of tea. 
 You may poison yourself by drinking too much 
 green tea, and kill yourself by eating too many 
 beefsteaks." (Total rout of the antitobacconists, 
 and complete triumph of the smokers.)" 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 The day (twenty-four hours), for the purpose of 
 good health and longevity should be divided into 
 eight hours for work,eight for sleep, and eight hours 
 for meals, proper exercise and recreation. Stagna- 
 tion means death. Sloth and idleness, as well as 
 over-work, must result in weakness of mind and 
 body. While a great deal of stress is laid on the 
 question of overwork, we hear very little of the ill 
 efifects arising from underwork, or no work. 
 Whether living luxuriously, surrounded by all the 
 comforts that wealth can bestow, or in poverty, 
 good health cannot be maintained unless proper 
 exercise of the brain and muscular system takes 
 place. "While we rest, we rust." Unused muscle 
 wastes; this is followed or associated with debility 
 and degeneration in various parts. Tliere are con- 
 stantly waste and repair going on, and exercise in 
 
 (192) 
 
WORK AND WORRY 193 
 
 the open air is one of the principal means of ridding 
 us of the effete matter. We breathe much more 
 rapidly by exercising in the open air, get rid of 
 more carbonic acid gas, and take in more oxygen. 
 The action of the heart is increased in force and 
 frequency. The most important effect is on the 
 lungs. Edward Smith found that if the quantity 
 or air inspired in a laying-down position be taken 
 as 100, in a standing position it is 133, walking one 
 mile an hour 190, and walking four miles an hour 
 500. The amount of oxygen absorbed and of car- 
 bonic acid gas exhaled is increased. It is impor- 
 tant that when we take exercise in the open air the 
 action of the lungs should be perfectly free. Wo- 
 man in a savage state breathes like a man, that is, 
 from the abdomen. It is as cruel for the modern 
 young lady to prevent the expansion of the lungs 
 by a corset, as it is for the Chinese to deform their 
 feet by tight shoes. Many a tombstone in the 
 cemetery is erected on account of tight-lacing. 
 
 When exercise is taken, a very large quantity 
 of pure air is necessary. Hence it is best taken in 
 the open air; if under cover, the place should be 
 very well ventilated. Those gymnastic exercises 
 
194 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 in close, ill-ventilated rooms, do often much more 
 harm than good. There is unfortunately a growing 
 tendency at present to adopt artificial modes ac- 
 cording to a certatin routine^ in large ill-ventilated 
 buildings, that is not near so useful as taking exer- 
 cise in the open air, such as walking, digging, hoe- 
 ing, planting or plowing. Outdoor work directed 
 for some useful purpose with some special object 
 in view, besides the taking of exercise in itself, is 
 deserving of encouragement. The cyclist, who 
 spins along the quiet roads may not enjoy the 
 pleasurable motion derived from such exercise, as 
 one does who Is engaged in planting or hoeing in 
 a garden with the expectation of knowing, when 
 his little crops ripen, that he materially assisted by 
 his muscle in bringing forth that result. Much has 
 been written laudatory of the wheel. The business 
 man or clerk whose duties confine him indoors for 
 hours every day, will find much benefit from the 
 exhilarating pastime and exercise on the wheel. 
 Yet it has its disadvantages, as excessive and rapid 
 cycling may result disastrously by the production 
 of diseases of the bladder and rectum. It may 
 prove also injurious to the heart. 
 
WORK AND WORRY 195 
 
 f No exercise can take the place of walking in the 
 V^ open air, free and untrammelled, and properly clad. ^ 
 Systematic physical exercise increases the chest 
 girth by three or four inches. Excessive exercise 
 tires the heart greatly, leading to palpitation, hy- 
 pertrophy or enlargement, and valvular disease. In 
 sudden exercise the heart must be watched. 
 
 Excessive rapidity of the heart's action, 120 to 
 140 per minute, with inequality and irregularity, 
 are signs of danger; and more gradual exercise is 
 needed to accustom the heart to its work. The 
 average heart of the present age of indoor work 
 and worry has, in the opinion of careful examiners, 
 undergone degenerative changes; and diseases of 
 that organ, as well as its weakening, are more fre- 
 quent than formerly, when more outdoor em- 
 ployments were in vogue. The irritable heart, the 
 tobacco heart, the feeble heart, is much in evidence 
 at the present day. 
 
 The skin during exercise becomes red, and per- 
 spiration is much increased. There is little danger 
 of chill during exertion; but after it, the heat of the 
 body rapidly declines by evaporation; therefore a 
 chill is likely to occur if flannel or its equivalent be 
 
196 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 not worn. It is not the amount of work done by the 
 average man that gives rise to such bad effects on 
 the system, as the fact that it is usually of a charac- 
 ter that will not allow sufficient pure air or light to 
 render him healthful. The insatiate, covetous, and 
 money-grabbing tendencies of the age affect our 
 civilization, and lead to the production of a condi- 
 tion of worry, which seems to be inseparable from 
 work. 
 
 Let us take for the sake of illustration, tv/o in- 
 dividuals as representatives of two classes of per- 
 sons,who are as dissimilar in social standing as their 
 hygienic conditions are different. The first individ- 
 ual represents the wealthy or wealth-seeking, usu- 
 ally called "upper class," and the other individual 
 represents the ''lower" or laboring class. 
 
 The business man engrossed with the cares of 
 his pursuit sees no pleasure in the exhilarating air 
 of genial sunshine. The theater fails to disperse the 
 all-absorbing cares and worry of money-making. 
 The drama or the light play, full of fun and folly, 
 excites not his risibilities. He is enchained like a 
 slave in the galley to the all-absorbing passion of 
 work and worry. He may live in a palatial residence 
 with a wife and children who scarcely know their 
 
The selfish, grumpy dyspeptic. 
 
WORK AND WORRY 107 
 
 father. No joyous, playful, childish sounds of sweet 
 music to the fathergreet him as he enters the thresh- 
 old of his home. He seeks no rest, recreation nor 
 pleasure in the bosom of his family. The condition 
 of the stock-market, his rivals in business, his fman- 
 cial speculations have changed his character and 
 made it so cold and callous, that he cannot extri- 
 cate himself from such perversion of nature as to 
 give way, even for a short time, to a pleasurable 
 feeling of affection for his devoted children. Every- 
 thing pertaining to himself and his family is under 
 strict business management. While his days are 
 spent working hard, and worrying harder, in the 
 race for wealth and position, his nights are not 
 spent in sleep, but in "a. continuance of enduring 
 thought.'* Nervous prostration and sleeplessness 
 are the result of his artificial mode of living, of his 
 avarice and worry. That sound, perfect sleep which 
 the farmer by his outdoor toil obtains, he knows 
 not. His sleep is not of that character so charm- 
 ingly portrayed and praised by Shakespeare in 
 Macbeth. 
 
 'The innocent sleep — 
 Sleep, that knits up the ravel'd sleave of care — 
 The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath — 
 

 198 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
 Chief noiirisher in hfe's feast." 
 
 Such condition obtains in the average business 
 man who hastens to become rich. No doubt there 
 are many for whom the picture would seem to be 
 too strongly drawn; yet it is drawn truthfully. 
 
 Now look at the representative of the laboring 
 class. The plodding, honest laborer goes to his 
 work resignedly, perhaps even cheerfully, for the 
 sake of the wages he earns truly ''in the sweat of 
 sC his brow." But he goes home to give and receive 
 comfort and pleasure. He cements more strongly, 
 if possible, the close affection and warm-hearted- 
 ness that exist between himself and all the members 
 of his family. He is glad to get home and enjoy 
 the laughter and joyous play of his children, into 
 which he enters with interest and satisfaction. He 
 needs no appetizer, nervine tonic, nor sleep-produc- 
 ing draught. He is healthy and strong, and if not 
 a shining ornament, at least a useful member of 
 society. If perchance the hard laboring man oc- 
 casionally, or even at stated intervals, indulge in 
 a few glasses of beer or drinks of whiskey without 
 detriment to his health, and without making himself 
 
WORK AND WORRY 199 
 
 disagreeable to his friends or his family, why should 
 the finger of scorn be pointed at him because he is 
 seen or known to do so? Why should the public 
 form an erroneous opinion of his kindness of heart 
 and affection, toward his wife and family? These 
 are quite compatible with an occasional stim- 
 ulant. Habit and excess, however, seriously inter- 
 fere with, nay, most likely will soon banish peace 
 and happiness from the home-circle. A sure and 
 swift destroyer of the family's well-being is the 
 drunkenness of either parent. All excesses of what- 
 ever kind must be avoided to insure health and the 
 enjoyment of the comforts of life both at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 The successful man who has become a chronic 
 dyspeptic through his love for wealth which has 
 rendered him incapable of appreciating the pleas- 
 ures of a happy home, may be regarded publicly 
 with high respect. He may be a strict temperance 
 man, a leader in church circles, but his children 
 rather fear than love him. His acquisition of 
 wealth, accumulated through business ventures and 
 speculation in a comparatively short space of time, 
 has made him an egoist; and his children possessed 
 
aOO WORK AND WORRY 
 
 of a 'deg-enerative trait and coddled in the lap of 
 luxury, generally fail in almost every position in 
 life they attempt to fill. The successful business 
 man, who now belongs to that class known as the 
 "best people," is regarded as a good man; while 
 the plodding laborer, honest and industrious, such 
 as we have described, has generally speaking no 
 place in the estimation of the public as being con- 
 sidered a good man in the same sense. He, who 
 has made himself a nervous dyspeptic, or has be- 
 come debilitated through hard work and lack of 
 proper exercise, in order to acquire sordid gain, 
 might truthfully be considered as great a wrong- 
 doer, physically, as the individual who has injured 
 his constitution by the excessive use of alcoholic 
 beverages. But, one is considered a decent man, 
 and the other a vile drunkard. Such, alas! is the 
 injustice of public opinion in regard to these two 
 classes of individuals. 
 
 Work, in order to be beneficial to health, must 
 alternate with proper outdoor exercise and recrea- 
 tion. The business man or clerk must walk more 
 and avoid the convenience of street car and train, 
 if he expects to reach a good old age. Great ad- 
 
WORK AND WORRY 201 
 
 vantage can be derived by those who have not 
 sufficient time, owing to the severe competition 
 in all the pursuits of life that now exists, by exer- 
 cise, such as swinging tlie arms, expanding the 
 chest, and flagellating the body with a coarse towd 
 for ten or fifteen minutes on rising from bed and 
 before retiring at night. A short walk or some 
 other muscular exercise in the open air should be 
 indulged in before sitting down to breakfast. The 
 cares of the office or workshop should be cast 
 aside while at home. The habit of v/orrying gjows, 
 leads to despondency, sleeplessness, and nervous 
 debility. The panacea for this miserable condition 
 sonsists in a complete change of environment. The 
 society of those that enjoy a joke or a laugh should 
 be cultivated. Tlie narrator of pains and aches and 
 unpleasant forebodings should be avoided, for the 
 mental influence in these cases is often very re- 
 markable. Constipation, which is a frequent con- 
 dition existing among those who lead a sedentery 
 life, should receive proper attention. The character 
 of exercise that we have before alluded to in con- 
 junction with the kneading and rubbing of the ab- 
 domen will generally relieve this condition without 
 
202 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 any medication. The proper kind of rest for this 
 class of people should consist in gentle work of a 
 character opposite to that in which they have been 
 engaged, to break the chain of continued monoto- 
 nous nerve -tension. 
 
 Plenty of baths, with a vigorous use of the flesh 
 brush, are indispensable in producing activity and 
 invigoration of the whole system. Continued ner- 
 vous strain for several hours will in the course of 
 a few years bring about debility and loss of muscu- 
 lar power. There is a class of men, if our informa- 
 tion be correct, who perform duties of the most 
 exacting character, subjecting them to long periods 
 of labor and watchfulness, and yet are responsible 
 for the safety of the lives of the public. Reference 
 is made to railroad engineers, brakesmen, switch- 
 men, etc. It is both cruel and dangerous to the 
 safety of public travel to allow the railway engineer 
 to work for twelve or fifteen hours without rest. 
 Is it any wonder that accidents occur when those 
 men are subjected to such severe and long con- 
 tinued strain of the nervous system, which a sharp 
 lookout requires? In addition to this, only five 
 or ten minutes are allowed to eat a meal, which is 
 
Sixteen hours at the throttle. 
 
WORK AND WORRY 203 
 
 done usually while the train is in motion, and is 
 gulped down as rapidly as possible, for the pur- 
 pose of saving time. This is certainly a question of 
 great importance to the traveling public, and de- 
 mands remedial legislation. More time for eating 
 should be allowed. It seems that more advantage 
 is taken of the intelligence, mechanical skill and 
 time of railway employees than of any other, in 
 order that the wishes of employing trusts and specu- 
 lators may be realized. This is contrary to the laws 
 of humanity as well as to those of physiolog}\ 
 
 A special word about worry seems necessary, be- 
 cause it works great detriment to the human sys- 
 tem. When life's work has begun in earnest, why 
 is the face lit so seldom by a bright smile? Why 
 is the merry laugh gone? Ah, worry has chased 
 both away. At night, instead of sleeping, the head 
 is tossed from side to side upon the pillow. The 
 entanglements and disappointments of business, the 
 adverse or unfriendly relations with others, seem 
 to take almost living shapes, and torment the minds, 
 and rack the frames of many a one. All find worry 
 at night worse than worry during the day. 
 
 The remedy lies in the strengthening of the ner- 
 
204 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 vous system and in the resignation, which common 
 sense demands. A nervous person will easily be- 
 come worried, and worried over trivial matters and, 
 perhaps, for only imaginary contingencies. Surely 
 everybody knows that mistakes will happen, losses 
 will come, and plans be thwarted, as long as the 
 human race exists. Causes for worry are unavoid- 
 able, but undue worry can and should be avoided. 
 Why should an unkind word or act of another, an 
 unlooked-for loss, or an undesired turn of affairs 
 be allowed to rob us of our cheerfulness, of our 
 energy, or plunge us into despondency or even into 
 melancholy? If a rent has taken place, mending 
 is the best. Tears do not avail. One immerged 
 in worry should seek one who is free from it. 
 Friendly conversation, judicious advice, and reason- 
 ing with the worried upon the unreasonableness of 
 worry, its bad effects upon health, prospects, etc., 
 will go far to break the dull and heavy spell. But 
 the main concern is to strengthen the nervous sys- 
 tem by all means possible. Narcotics and stimu- 
 lants should be carefully avoided and a more ra- 
 tional mode of living should be adopted. Modera- 
 tion in all things is highly commendable. All over- 
 
WORK AND WORRY 
 
 205 
 
 work, undue haste in business occupation, unwar- 
 ranted expectations of success, or perhaps, jealousy 
 of another's advantages, invite worry. Far better 
 to bury worry, than let worry bury you. 
 
 Real downright worry can have less reasons than 
 business troubles. It may therefore be excusable 
 to refer to a state of mind, harassed by what is gen- 
 erally and aptly called -the Blues." Tlie following 
 lines penned by a friend describe one in such a 
 frame of mind which is scarcely anything else than 
 ill-humor. Like the imaginary sick, they are those 
 whose troubles are conjured up by themselves; they 
 scarcely know why they fret and worry, yet if con- 
 tinued for any length of time or of frequent occur- 
 rence it will disastrously prey upon the mind. 
 
 He Has the Blues 
 
 My friend, what can the matter be? 
 You're sad to-day I plainly see; 
 Has anyone ill-treated you, 
 Or made you things unpleasant do? 
 
 Oh no, I say,' oh no, 
 
 It's something else, I know; 
 
 No word, no deed of anyone, 
 
 Has made me sad, nor what I've done. 
 
206 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 Perhaps it's pain that makes you sad, 
 A headache, toothache? Oh that's bad! 
 It's hard indeed to suffer pain. 
 But what by sadness do you gain? 
 
 Oh no, I sa}^ oh no. 
 
 It's something else, I know; 
 
 To suffer is the lot of all. 
 
 So this the cause I cannot call. 
 
 Then sadness fell on you because 
 You looked for some well earned applause. 
 Which people would not give; or came 
 Depression from the sting of blame? 
 
 Oh no, I say, oh no. 
 
 It's something else, I know; 
 
 Not praise, nor blame the source can be 
 
 Of all the grief that crushes me. 
 
 Are 3^ou not sad on this account 
 That you your name cannot recount 
 Amongst the wealthy or the great; 
 Why grudge about a lowly state? 
 
 Oh no, I say, oh no. 
 
 It's something else, I know; 
 
 From pride and riches or of fame 
 
 I have preserved my humble name. 
 
WORK AND WORRY 207 
 
 Forsooth, you think you've grown so high, 
 Your head has reached the stormy sky; 
 And ev'ry heavy, dismal cloud, 
 Y^our shoulders carry— Oh how proud! 
 Oh no, I say, oh no, 
 It's something else, I know; 
 Though in my heart it seems so dark, 
 My trouble thus you do not mark. 
 If nothing great did you befall 
 Well then, it must be something small; 
 Be frank and say, is this not true: 
 Perhaps some idiot laughed at you; 
 Oh no, I say, oh no. 
 It's something else, I know; 
 I could not call it great or small 
 That made me into sadness fall. 
 And can't I now your trouble guess, 
 If you will only it confess; 
 You think all things are gone ajar 
 Because the cooks forgetful are. 
 Oh no, I say, oh no, 
 It's something else, I know; 
 Not cook, not pepper, nor the salt 
 Explains my grief, or is at fault. 
 
208 WORK AND WORRY 
 
 What surely then your grief has brought 
 Must be the melancholy thought: 
 Deserted, friendless, you suppose 
 Yourself, and things like that, who knows? 
 Oh no, I say, oh no. 
 It's something else, I know; 
 I'm not alone I plainly see 
 Nor have my friends deserted me. 
 I will not stop until I find 
 The source of your chagrin unkind; 
 You built some castles in the air, 
 Which crumbled, and have brought despair. 
 Oh no, I say, oh no. 
 It's something else, I know; 
 Despair, nor castles in the air 
 Of sadness brought this heavy share. 
 The last resort, I do believe. 
 To find the cause of your strange grief, 
 Is this: The blues, the blues, the blues? 
 Why laugh, and then you'll quickly lose. 
 Oh yes, I must confess, 
 How foolish my distress, 
 Imagination — devil's blue — 
 Are all the cause of grief I knew. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 BATHING. THE SICK-ROOM 
 
 The Egyptians, from whom we have derived so 
 much of the knowledg-e of mathematics and other 
 sciences, strange to say, considered it dangerous to 
 give a child a bath before it was a year old. For 
 several centuries the use of the bath was very much 
 restricted, and even at the present day the horror 
 of bathing, like that of '^catching cold" by the in- 
 halation of fresh air, is looked upon even by people 
 who are considered intelligently educated, as dan- 
 gerous to life. As we breathe through the skin as 
 well as through the lungs, the use of the bath in 
 removing efifete material should be frequently re- 
 sorted to. 
 
 There are several kinds of bath: The cold bath, 
 the warm bath, the shower bath, the hot bath, 
 the Turkish bath, the Russian bath, the plun.sfe 
 bath, etc. The cold bath for the young and 
 
 (209) 
 
210 BATHING 
 
 healthy is invigorating and results in tonicity to the 
 whole system. Plenty of soap and water, with or 
 without a little ammonia or soda,and the flesh brush 
 freely used, will be sufficient to remove all the 
 morbid material and cleanse thoroughly the skin. 
 The warm bath, while more agreeable, is not pos- 
 sessed of the tonic property of the cold bath. But 
 in persons whose constitutions are below par and 
 not vigorous, it is better to use it than the former. 
 The hot bath is depressing, and a relaxant to the 
 system, inducing a sense of fatigue and sleep. The 
 Russian and Turkish baths, which subject the in- 
 dividual to sensations of freezing and boiling or 
 baking alternately, while undoubtedly very cleans- 
 ing, are fraught Vv'ith great danger to the very 
 young, very old, or persons suffering with any affec- 
 tion of the heart. While a vigorous adult may 
 enjoy this, and suffer no inconvenience from those 
 sudden changes of temperature to wdiich he is sub- 
 jected by the processes of cold and heat by taking 
 one of those baths, yet extremes in temperature, 
 like extremes of climate, will often be injurious. 
 The delicate, pale and anemic, if the danger from 
 shock bv the too sudden action of cold is removed, 
 
BATHING 211 
 
 will find in a cold bath an excellent means of rc- 
 invigorating and strengthening the system. The 
 Greeks and Romans depended more on the use of 
 the baths than possibly anything else, to give them 
 the splendid physique and beautiful forms which 
 they possessed. The mineral baths, such as sul- 
 phur, magnesia, etc., that we often notice adver- 
 tised, possess really no advantage over the domestic 
 bath. The use of the bath has taken strides with 
 the advance of civilization, as cleanliness tends more 
 than any other factor, to the prevention of disease 
 and death. This cleanliness does not consist in the 
 vagaries and unproven dictates of certain antiseptic 
 agents, but in the free and plentiful use of natural 
 water, rendered sufficiently alkaline by good soap. 
 A little common salt in the water acts as a tonic 
 to the skin. For rheumatic affections, if no heart 
 complication exist, the use of the hot bath is bene- 
 ficial. The v/ork of the lungs and kidneys is less- 
 ened by bathing, and skin affections, often very 
 intractable to treatment, are prevented. The warm 
 bath can be used in every disease unless the heart 
 is very weak. In pneumonia, scarlet fever, small- 
 pox and typhoid fever, the warm bath or sponging 
 
212 THE SICK-ROOM 
 
 with lukewarm water is advantageous and often 
 indispensable. How long to remain in a bath, hot 
 or cold, depends entirely upon the physical condi- 
 tion of the bather. The hot bath or Russian bath 
 should never be indulged while the individual has 
 any disease of the heart, which, however, can only 
 be detected by a physician. Repose and rest for a 
 short time afterwards are necessary to safety. 
 
 The Sick Room 
 
 The sick-room should be well ventilated at all 
 times, summer or winter, more or less, according 
 to the weather. Cleanliness in the sick-room is 
 important for recovery. Everything about the bed 
 of the sick and about the room should be scrupu- 
 lously clean, especially whatever is served to the 
 sick, be it medicine or be it food. This latter 
 should always be of a plain, simple kind that can be 
 easily digested, and suitable to the taste of the sick 
 person. Little at a time and often, is the best rule 
 for feeding the sick. Food should not be forced 
 on the sick from the erroneous idea that it will 
 strengthen, when there is no appetite nor power 
 of digestion. The vials and medicines for the sick 
 as well as the spoons, etc., should always be kept 
 
THE SICK-ROOM 213 
 
 in a cool place, not placed, as is often the case, on 
 the mantel over a warm fire. 
 
 The sick need much attention, and the milk of 
 kindness should never give out, though the sickness 
 prove lingering for weeks and months. Some over- 
 whelm the sick in the beginning with attentions that 
 soon grow slack; these do even cease altogether, 
 and, not seldom, positive neglect takes their place. 
 This undoubtedly has a depressing influence upon 
 the sick, who appreciate all kindness and keenly feel 
 its absence. Many persons should never be at one 
 time in the sick-room. A few kind and cheering 
 words, and the visit should end. Whispering near 
 the sick should not occur though the patient may 
 seem to be asleep; he will think that the language 
 used concerns himself and the gravity of his sick- 
 ness. Neither should the sick be made to talk 
 much, unless he be inclined to do so himself. It 
 requires more effort for the sick to speak than 
 healthy persons are aware of. But surely it belongs 
 to the very essence of kindness to administer to 
 the sick the medicines as prescribed by the attend- 
 ing physician, and to carry out all his injunctions. 
 All noise and disturbance should be prevented as 
 far as possible within the hearing of the sick, who 
 
214 THE SICK-ROOM 
 
 are often very vigilant. The condition and the 
 temperament of the patient must decide, in the 
 opinion of the physician, whether visits can be safely 
 made. But above all, ''weary nature's calm- 
 restorer, balmy sleep" — should never be inter- 
 rupted. 
 
 When sickness points clearly to a fatal ter- 
 mination should the sick be informed of it? In 
 most cases, if not in all cases, yes; because this need 
 not aggravate the illness, and will be a positive ser- 
 vice in warning the sick to speak his last words to 
 his dear ones; perhaps to induce him to make his 
 last will, if this has not been attended to before, and 
 what is most important, the patient will feel urged 
 to use his last moments in preparing to meet his 
 Maker. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 
 
 A fainting person should be placed in such 
 a position as to procure a draught of fresh air, and 
 tight clothing should be loosened. Water should 
 be dashed in the face, and if the person is pale or 
 livid, a stimulant such as whiskey or brandy, or 
 a half teaspoonful of the aromatic spirits of ammo- 
 nia in a half tumblerful of water, should be admin- 
 istered. 
 
 There are several modes of treating the apparent- 
 ly drowned. The following may be adopted. Re- 
 move the person from the water as rapidly and 
 gently as possible, the face turned downwards for 
 a moment, and remove from the mouth and nose 
 all mud, etc., by hand, or cloth, and let out water. 
 Pull the tongue forwards out of the mouth, and 
 keep it out by a piece of string or elastic band 
 passed around, and under the jaw. The patient 
 
 (215) 
 
216 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 
 
 should obtain plenty of fresh air and persons should 
 not be permitted to crowd around and obstruct it. 
 Tight clothing should be loosened. The patient 
 should be turned upon the side, and ammonia 
 (spirits of hartshorn) should be placed near his nos- 
 trils, and cold water daslied in his face; then stand 
 by his head, seize the elbows and draw the arms 
 above the head. This will pull open the chest, and 
 draw in the air by producing a vacuum — that is, 
 for inspiration. Next, expiration (breathing out) 
 is to be imitated by pressing down the patient's 
 elbows firmly against his ribs; this helps to force 
 the air out of the chest. This artificial respiration 
 may have to be continued for an hour or more 
 before natural breathing is re-established. It 
 should be carried out regularly, not in fits and 
 starts; and it is well to remember that natural in- 
 spiration (breathing) occurs about eighteen times 
 per minute. When the arms are over the head, 
 count 1, 2, then bring the arms down smartly to 
 the patient's side, pressing them firmly against the 
 chest; again allowing an interval by counting 1,2, 
 slowly; and repeat the first movement. There are 
 
ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 217 
 
 many other methods of resuscitating the apparently 
 drowned. 
 
 The method of exciting breathing, or pulling out 
 the tongue is commended very highly. The mouth 
 being cleared, the tongue is seized and pulled for- 
 ward and held for a second in that position, when 
 it is again allowed to slip back into the mouth. 
 Whatever method is used, the arms and legs should 
 be rubbed by two or three assistants from below 
 upwards, so as to assist in relieving the obstructed 
 circulation. Hot water bottles, or rubber bags, 
 should be applied to his feet and under his arm- 
 pits, and warm dry clothing be procured as soon 
 as possible, and the patient put to bed, and some 
 hot coffee, or a little brandy or whiskey, should be 
 given. 
 
 In the case of colic or abdominal pains due to 
 over-eating, or not digesting properly what has 
 been eaten, the unloading the stomach by means of 
 mustard and warm water (a teaspoonful to a glass), 
 will give relief. Cloths wrung out of hot water, a 
 flaxseed or mustard poultice over the abdomen may 
 also be useful. 
 
 A fish bone lodged in the throat, if not removed 
 
218 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 
 
 in attempts at coughing, may be softened by the 
 administration of ten or twenty drops of vinegar 
 every fifteen or twenty minutes; it will then more 
 easily be vomited or swallowed. 
 
 If a foreign body, such as a bead or any small 
 substance, or any insect should get lodged in the 
 ear, instead of attempting to remove it by a hair 
 pin, or scoop it out, the physician should at once 
 be consulted. 
 
 For tht sting of a bee, or a wasp, or any other 
 venomous insect, a little water of ammonia applied 
 to it will usually relieve the pain. 
 
 If the eyes should become irritated by lime or 
 dust, a drop of sweetoil or castor oil under the lid 
 will relieve the irritation, and prevent the surface 
 of the eyeball from becoming inflamed until a 
 physician can be seen. 
 
 In case any poison has been swallowed, the first 
 thing to do is to empty the stomach of its contents 
 as quickly as possible. This should be done by the 
 use of mustard water (a teaspoonful of mustard to 
 a tumblerful of water, to be followed by copious 
 draughts of warm water. Salt and water, or alum 
 water, (a teaspoonful of alum to a tumblerful of 
 
ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 210 
 
 water) may also be used. The physician should 
 in all cases be sent for. It should be remembered 
 that if poisoned by opium, (which includes mor- 
 phia, paregoric and laudanum), the safety of the 
 patient often depends upon the administration 
 of a prompt emetic. Ten grains of sulphate of 
 copper, or thirty grains of sulphate of Zinc, dis- 
 solved in a glass of water, are m.ore efficacious in 
 relieving the stomiach of its contents than the 
 mustard, saU or alum. Thirty grains of ipecac also 
 produce vomiting. After the stomach is thorough- 
 ly emptied, in case an irritant poison such as arsenic 
 or strychnine has been swallowed, milk may be 
 freely given. 
 
 When bitten by a dog, the wound should be well 
 washed in whiskey, turpentine, or strong carbolic 
 acid, and if it is known that the dog has been mad, 
 it may be necessary to cauterize the wound with a 
 hot iron. A foolish notion extensively prevails in 
 the minds of people, that if a person is bitten by 
 a dog, if the animal is not killed, even if not mad, 
 the person will develop hydrophobia. This is en- 
 tirely false. 
 
 In case of fits, falling sickness, (epilepsy), the 
 
220 ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 
 
 patient should be placed in such a position as to 
 prevent him from hurting himself. A bit of wood 
 or a cork between the teeth during the convulsions 
 may prevent him from biting his tongue; clothing 
 around his neck should be loosened. 
 
 In case of burns, it is very important not to 
 break any of the blisters, if possible, and the cloth- 
 ing should be removed as carefully as possible, 
 soaking it in oil, which will assist in preventing 
 the breaking of the blisters. The important point 
 in the treatment ot a burn is to exclude the air by 
 dusting it with flour, and covering it with. cloths 
 dipped in sweet oil or castor oil. Carron oil, which 
 is made by mixing equal parts of linseed oil and 
 lime-water, forms an excellent and soothing appli- 
 cation to a burn. In all cases of shock, fainting or 
 weak heart, the patient should lie dovv^n, and whis- 
 key or brandy be administered. In case the cloth- 
 ing catches on fire the quickest and safest mode, es- 
 pecially when no one is near, is to roll upon 
 the floor to extinguish the flames without injury 
 to the face. In no case should one run out of doors. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HEMORRHAGE (bLEEDING) 
 
 Bleeding may occur in either of three ways: in a 
 small, steady, red oozing, or in a red stream without 
 intermission; it is then called capillary bleeding, 
 that is, the blood comes from a terminal or small 
 vessel. If it should come in jerks or spurts and 
 its color be bright and red, then it is arterial; but 
 if it comes in a steady dark colored flow, then it 
 is from the veins, and is called venous bleeding. 
 In capillary bleeding, pressure on the part with 
 absorbent cotton or clean linen will usually succeed, 
 if not, cold water may be tried, or a little common 
 salt and cold water, or a little powdered alum may 
 be dusted on the seat of bleeding. If spouting of 
 blood take place from the leg, the patient should lie 
 down with the thigh elevated, and the leg forcibly 
 bent on the thigh. If it should come from the arm, 
 the hand should be placed over the head, or the 
 
 (221) 
 
222 HEMORRHAGE 
 
 patient should He on the floor or ground, and the 
 hand rest on a table above him^ until medical assist- 
 ance arrives. If there is not much blood, a com- 
 press or pad may be all that is necessary to stop 
 it; but if a large artery is severed, a stone or com- 
 press should be used, or a handkerchief may be 
 tied above the wound, as the blood is coursing from 
 the heart. A bandage may be tightly applied and 
 pressure obtained by placing a stick in its fold and 
 twisting it, and this pressure should be kept up 
 until the physician arrives. If there is arterial 
 bleeding, or red blood spurting from the palm of 
 the hand, put a pad in the palm and bandage the 
 fingers tightty over it. If it should come from the 
 sole of the foot, it can be stopped by placing a pad 
 behind the inner ankles and bandages around the 
 joint tightly. 
 
 In case there is vomiting or spitting of blood, ice 
 crushed or cracked should be given and a physician 
 summoned at once. No stimulant should be given, 
 nor should anything be done to excite the patient. 
 Bleeding from the nose is sometimes very trouble- 
 some. The patient should sit upright in a chair 
 and ice applied to the bridge of the nose, and the 
 
HEMORRHAGE 223 
 
 nape of the neck. A plug of absorbent cotton and 
 some crushed ice may be pushed into the nostril. 
 If this does not succeed in arresting the hem- 
 orrhage, if tincture of iron is at hand, a few drops 
 (ten to twenty) in a teaspoonful of water with some 
 absorbent cotton dipped in it and applied as a plug 
 in the nostrils will generally relieve the hemorrhage. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SLEEP 
 
 "Sleep, thou repose of all things; sleep, thou 
 gentlest of the deities, thou peace of the mind from 
 which care flies, who dost soothe the hearts of men 
 wearied with the toils of the day, and refittest them 
 for labor." (Ovid.) 
 
 Sleep, may be defined as a natural, necessary 
 and highly beneficial suspension of the voluntary 
 exercise of the powers of the mind, during which, 
 however, the organic functions of the body do not 
 cease but are carried on less rapidly. 
 
 It is natural, because nature demands it of every- 
 one. It is necessary, because without sleep for con- 
 secutive days the constitution is so much afTfected 
 as to induce marked prostration and injury of the 
 nervous system. No one has ever been known to 
 live without sleep. It has been said by a great 
 philosopher: 'Take from man sleep and hope, and 
 he will be the most wretched being on earth." 
 
 (224) 
 
SLEEP 825 
 
 That sleep is highly beneficial and most welcome 
 will not be denied. Sleep may be termed a suspen- 
 sion of consciousness for sheer inability to define 
 or describe what sleep is in itself or in its physio- 
 logical bearings. Suspension of consciousness is 
 rather the effect of sleep than its explanation. 
 
 Sleep is a state of physiological rest, or repose. 
 What changes take place in the brain or blood ves- 
 sels we know not. The infliction of a blow on 
 the head, or an attack of, apoplexy or a "dead 
 drunk" induces a determination of blood to the 
 brain, and may produce heaviness or stupor which 
 simulates, but is not sleep. On the other hand 
 in conditions of fainting or loss of blood from any 
 cause in which the blood supply of the brain is 
 diminished, there may be yawning and sleepiness, 
 but such is different from natural sleep. 
 
 Nutrition and waste, wear and repair of the sys- 
 tem require food, drink, air, light; and sleep is as 
 necessary to life as any of those indispensable 
 agents. The tired body must have repose and rest, 
 while the vital functions are recuperating, and rein- 
 vigorated by an additional supply of force in order 
 
226 SLEEP 
 
 that they continue their functions. Nerve cells be- 
 come exhausted; an impression is made on the ner- 
 vous system, the supply of blood is diminished by 
 nerves that regulate the size of the blood vessels; 
 the blood supply to the brain is lessened and is 
 diverted to other portions of the body. The heart 
 gets rest by beating less frequently, and the acts of 
 breathing are diminished during sleep. The brain 
 and the whole body obtain rest but their functions 
 are not entirely arrested, though nutrition continues. 
 Sleep is that of which many years ago Young, in 
 his "Night Thoughts," sang if not very sweetly at 
 least very pathetically, because he enjoyed so pre- 
 cious little of it himself, and therefore he opened 
 his ode upon sleep with these telling words: 
 
 "Tired Nature's sweet restorer 
 
 Balmy sleep, of thee I sing." 
 No one can lose sleep with impunity. Its loss 
 means a heavy draft upon both the capital and 
 interest of our bodily resources. Loss of sleep is 
 sure to result in loss of strength. A severe method 
 of torture still in vogue in the East is to goad the 
 criminal in order to prevent him from going to 
 sleep; and after a few days he begs to be killed or 
 
SLEEP 227 
 
 hanged rather than to be kept awake any longer. 
 The great importance of sleep must be recognized 
 when we consider the fact that one-third of our 
 term of existence is passed in sleep, and that its 
 complete loss (including dozing, nodding, etc.,) for 
 two or three weeks will generally terminate in fatal 
 exhaustion. 
 
 There seem to be almost as many kinds of sleep 
 as there are sleepers. We may, however, treat of 
 sleep as the natural, the excessive, the defective, 
 and the induced, which might be called the artificial 
 sleep. The natural sleep is the best, and nature 
 craves it strongly about every sixteen hours. In 
 the economy of our existence this natural sleep 
 holds rank with air, food, drink and exercise. If 
 those latter are taken in proper proportions, sleep 
 will assert its rights in due tim.e. Nature, too, if 
 left alone will apportion the length of time for sleep 
 (generally eight hours out of twenty-four), in adult 
 life. Fortunate, indeed, are those whose sleep is not 
 interrupted or cut short; sleep that is induced by 
 instinct acting in response to the sense of healthy 
 fatigue, or in obedience to the impulse of good 
 habit. The full benefit of sleep consists in the full 
 
228 SLEEP 
 
 measure thereof. This natural sleep or muscular 
 sleep can only be obtained by those who work 
 with their muscles more than by their brains, or 
 those who, though brain-workers, take sufficient 
 muscular, outdoor exercise that they do not suffer 
 with brain fag. The farmer, the mountaineer, the 
 hunter, and the wise student who indulges in athle- 
 tic sports proportioned to his physical strength, 
 enjoy the luxury of this downy sleep, one of the 
 happiest of earthly boons. We should be as anx- 
 ious to secure the necessary amount of sleep as we 
 are to obtain sufficient sustenance. We need rest, 
 and not seldom are forced to rest, but a natural 
 good and sound sleep is the rest of rests. 
 
 There are some lethargic individuals who have 
 the inclination to indulge in sleep to excess, which, 
 like every excess, does positive harm. 
 
 A disease knov/n as "Sleeping Dropsy" prevails 
 among the negro inhabitants of the Atlantic Coast 
 in tropical Africa. This peculiar affection is char- 
 acterized by frontal headache, and a disposition to 
 fall asleep after meals, which increases until the 
 patient at length merges into a continuous sleep- 
 ing state. There is no fever, nor any other abnor- 
 
SLEEP 229 
 
 mal condition except sluggishness of the intellectual 
 faculties. After a few weeks, a weak heart, muscu- 
 lar tremor and a quiet death end the scene. 
 
 There are other conditions in which the tendency 
 to sleep is the principal feature; but tliese are asso- 
 ciated with diseases of which we are not treating. 
 There are some sluggards and drones who from 
 force of habit are continually dozing, and whose 
 constitutions fall below the standard that is indis- 
 pensable to a life of action. But the num.ber of 
 those who sleep to excess is small, compared to 
 the large number of insomnious^ whose occupations 
 do not allow them to devote sufficient time to sleep. 
 Many, very many must content themselves with 
 five or some even four hours of sleep out of tvs'enty- 
 four. Well, indeed, is it in many respects that 
 we are creatures of habit and circumstances, nature 
 accustoming herself to many and often great priva- 
 tions. What the result will be in the long run upon 
 the tires of life will depend upon the material in 
 each individual case, or vehicle of life. The wear 
 and tear as we say, will be greater with some than 
 with others. 
 
 Night time is the most propitious for good sleep. 
 
230 SLEEP 
 
 The day for work, the night for rest. Absence of 
 light therefore seems a natural condition for invit- 
 ing sleep, as well as cessation of the noise of the 
 day-time. Deplorable is the condition of those, 
 and they are nowadays legion, who are com- 
 pelled to change night into day. The require- 
 ments of modern civilization, the ceaseless whirl 
 of steam and electricity, the worry, flurry, hurry 
 and scurry of our fast age have changed the natural 
 rhythm and time for sleep. We are steering by 
 a needle and chart of our own fashioning, and driv- 
 ing against and gradually undermining the great 
 fabric of our constitutions, the nervous system, re- 
 sulting in the well known modern phenomenon 
 Insomnia, (sleeplessness, or inability to sleep). This 
 condition should be distinguished from the sleep- 
 lessness existing generally in all cases of organic 
 disease, or painful affections. Nervous debility, 
 from whatever cause, tends to Insomnia. 
 
 It may show itself in a troubled and unrefreshing 
 sleep of a few hours' duration, after which the 
 patient tosses until morning, or it may continue for 
 several days. It is an injury to the system to lose 
 one night's sleep, more so to be awake for two 
 consecutive nights, and the injury grows in propor- 
 
^^i^^^&Sv?Wm 
 
 t- 
 
 
 
 U 
 
 ■/ .-,• *' t • I 
 
 .>^5^7 
 
 
 A -^4 
 
 fi^i 
 
 "Another sleepless night I '* 
 
SLEEP 231 
 
 tion to the loss of sleep. The insomnious may dose 
 at times, a bad, disorderly habit, but this is due only 
 to the overpowered, but not well rested members 
 of the body. As troubles and anxieties drive some 
 to drinking, so insomnia may be the means of many 
 becoming slaves to the use of morphia, chloral, 
 etc. 
 
 Artificial sleep produced by drugs is a poor sub- 
 stitute for natural sleep. It should be sought only 
 in sickness, and with the advice of the physician. 
 !Many who have neglected this counsel took an 
 overdose, and their sleep knew no awakening. But 
 what are the effects of artificially produced sleep? 
 Such a condition must be considered as far from 
 the good effects of natural sleep as art is from the 
 perfection of nature. It is a counterfeit of sleep. 
 Drugs that are administered in sleep-producing 
 doses poison the system a little; in larger doses they 
 paralyze the nerve centres — they kill. Rather than 
 die from insomnia, we may use medicines that will 
 produce sleep, but ever and always under the direc- 
 tion of the physician who knows the condition of 
 the constitution of the sufferer, and the proper dose 
 that can be safelv administered. 
 
232 SLEEP 
 
 What a dangerous fascination and a captivating, 
 slavish allurement are to be found in the use of 
 opium, (morphine, laudanum, paregoric) ! About 
 fifteen minutes after a small dose is administered, 
 a slight feeling of warmth is experienced in the 
 stomach, followed by a sense of fullness in the 
 head, slight flushing of the face, and a more brilliant 
 expression of the eyes. There is a feehng of de- 
 licious ease and comfort, ideas flow more rapidly, 
 the orator becomes more eloquent, the poet, more 
 fanciful, the philosopher, deeper in thought. There 
 is a disposition to do greater and better things. The 
 whole moral and intellectual nature for the time is 
 exhalted, even muscular energy and the capacity 
 to bear fatigue are increased. Under the influence 
 of a larger dose, the stage of cerebral (brain) excite- 
 ment is of much shorter duration, the acts of breath- 
 ing, snoring, etc., not so deep, the heart's force is 
 lessened, pupils are contracted, ideas are now con- 
 fused, and in many persons there is intense itching, 
 especially about the orifices of the nose. Tolerance 
 increases by larger doses, and in a short time 
 poisonous doses are taken with impunity so far as 
 the immediate danger to life is concerned. To 
 
SLEEP «33 
 
 those not accustomed to the use of opium there ar? 
 generally headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appe- 
 tite, etc. 
 
 Opium in small doses can be taken by some 
 persons for a long time without producing any 
 marked derangement of the constitution; but in the 
 majority of instances after a short period the appe- 
 tite fails, there are loathing for food, emaciation 
 and great mental depression, countenance dull, skin 
 pale and muddy, troublesome itching and trembling 
 of the hands and tongue, or marked nervous de- 
 bility. Those that use it as morphine with the hypo- 
 dermic syringe suffer from ulcerations of the skin 
 caused by puncturing with the needle. Persons 
 who indulge in the habit of using sleep-producing 
 remedies 'Svind themselves," as Kane has well said, 
 "in the silken meshes of a fascinating net, which 
 cnly too soon may prove too strong to admit of 
 
 breaking." 
 
 The opium-eating habit prevails chiefly in 
 Turkey, Persia and India. The ^lohammedan is 
 prohibited by the Koran from using alcohol, but 
 the more destructive agent, opium, is substituted. 
 The danger of the habitual use of the drug is further 
 
234 SLEEP 
 
 enhanced in view of the fact that it allays the pangs 
 of hunger. 
 
 Chloral, the Bromides (soda, potash, etc.) and the 
 coal tar derivatives (antipyrine, antifebrlne, phe- 
 nacetine, acetanilid, sulphonal, etc.), used for the 
 relief of sleeplessness, are possessed of much the 
 same objectionable features that characterize the 
 use of opium. Their continued use will play havoc 
 with the nervous system and weaken the heart. 
 
 It is undoubtedly a sign as well as a proof of the 
 efifeminacy of the times that there should be such 
 a large and ever increasing consumption of opiates 
 and other pain-reHeving agents, of which only a 
 small proportion is prescribed by physicians. While 
 it is true as a rule that pain cannot be borne so 
 courageously by the lounging clubman, the 
 "dressed-to-kiir follower of fashion, the nervous 
 debutante, or the prudish chaperon of city life, so 
 well as by the hardy mountaineer, or the untram- 
 melled prairie girl, yet the implorations for relief 
 of pain are often too quickly responded to by some 
 physicians and druggists, whose duty seems to be 
 to please their patients and patrons, by giving them 
 
SLEEP 235 
 
 opiates rather than by treating properly the existing 
 condition. 
 
 Let the question be asked at the society circle, 
 the tea party, or the ice cream festival, which is the 
 best medicine with which to obtain sleep? and the 
 confidence and effrontery of those self-constituted 
 prescribers of medicinal agents would put to shame 
 the knowledge of Gross, Flint, Bell, or Davis! No 
 question of the cause of the sleeplessness nor of 
 the condition of any of the internal organs! Try 
 the remedy recommended by Mr. So and So, be- 
 come a weakling in consequence, or possibly a 
 corpse! 
 
 About one in ten persons in a community are 
 considered by observers as susceptible to the in- 
 fluence of hypnotism, or artificial somnambulism. 
 The hysterical, the debilitated, and those possessed 
 of a highly unstable condition of the nervous sys- 
 tem, easily influenced by expectant attention, are 
 the best subjects for the practice of hypnotism. 
 Women are therefore more liable to be hypnotized 
 than men. One may be hypnotized by gentle fric- 
 tion, another by pressure upon the eye-lids, requir- 
 ing the person to fix the gaze intently on some 
 
236 SLEEP 
 
 definite object, while another is influenced by star- 
 ing at a bright or kiminous object placed above 
 and only a few inches from the eyes. Those in the 
 hypnotic trance can easily be awakened by sudden 
 shaking or shocks by fanning, or placing a strong 
 light before the eyes. There is an element of disease 
 in all those that are so easily hypnotized; some 
 irritable disposition, or some functional or organic 
 disturbance of the nervous system is at the bottom. 
 
 Iridescent dreams and night terrors are usually 
 the result of derangement of the digestive appara- 
 tus. 
 
 He who is immersed in the profound quietude 
 of a real good sound sleep, experiences no unde- 
 finable depression, is not disturbed by frightful 
 dreams of dangers and narrow escapes, is not 
 harassed by visions of phantoms and terrors, his 
 breathing is not upset by loud and sudden 
 sighs; there is neither moaning, groaning or snor- 
 ing; there is no talking, singing or screaming dur- 
 ing sleep; there are no motions with the arms as 
 if warding off something menacing, or making 
 frantic efforts to strike or fight somebody, and last 
 there is no turning into a somnambulist, getting out 
 
SLEEP 237 
 
 of bed and perambulating through the house or 
 performing the wonderful feats of an acrobat. 
 Nothing of all this happens to the placid sleeper, 
 but his real good, sound sleep is as that of the 
 healthy babe upon its mother's arms. 
 
 What are the best means of obtaining sleep? If 
 disease exists, the removal of the cause and treat- 
 ment of the trouble must be attended to as far as 
 possible. Fever of any kind, or inflammation in 
 any portion of the body, or a painful affection such 
 as rheumatism, neuralgia or injury of any kind may 
 prevent sleep. Overloading the stomach, dyspep- 
 sia, constipation, or any debilitated condition may 
 be the cause of sleeplessness. If any of those con- 
 ditions exist, the proper treatment by a physician 
 should be resorted to. In addition to these easily 
 ascertained causes, there are quite a number of 
 persons who suffer with insomnia from little irritat- 
 ing influences, not well marked diseased conditions, 
 that refer to habit and surroundings. The mother 
 who puts her children to bed regularly by the clock 
 will be well rewarded for such good discipline by 
 training them naturally for one of the most neces- 
 sary and healthful requirements of life, that of good 
 
238 SLEEP 
 
 sleep. Those parents who are often observed at 
 night, tossing and tumbhng their sleepy children 
 in the street-cars of our cities, or shaking them 
 rudely to keep them awake, are guilty of a mis- 
 chievous practice that may seriously affect the 
 health of their dear ones later in life. As the fowl 
 go to roost when darkness sets in, so persons with 
 insomnia should retire early, or be put to bed at 
 a certain time every night, and resolutely continue 
 this habit for several nights, rather than have re- 
 course to the aid of medicines. The excellent ad- 
 vice of Fielding that ''one hour's sleep before mid- 
 night is worth two after," should be remembered. 
 But it may be asked how can the business man with 
 a worried mind bid his troubles and anxieties to 
 cease at will? He can lay the ledger and cash 
 book aside, but not his thoughts concerning them. 
 The worried cannot hide the cause of his discom- 
 fort from himself. The task is difficult, but not 
 impossible. Whatever is difficult requires will power 
 and continued efforts. The mind is not controllable 
 or tractable, because no special efforts have been 
 made by the will to make it so. 
 
 No thought of trying to go to sleep must be 
 
SLEEP 239 
 
 entertained. The more quickly and easily we go 
 to sleep the better. 
 
 The business man must learn how to dismiss the 
 cares of store, factory, or office, and the worried, 
 how to bury worry. The mind should indulge in 
 pleasing fancy with itself; subjects and undertak- 
 ings of a pure benevolent nature should be thought 
 of, that are entirely different from the routine of 
 the day's work. A trip to California or the Klon- 
 dike, striking a rich mine, becoming wealthy and 
 devoting considerable of their good fortune to 
 humanitarian objects will have a tranquilizing effect 
 on the minds of many victims of insomnia. At- 
 tendance at the theatre listening to light music, or 
 watching the innocent dance of happy children, may 
 lull the mind to unconsciousness. Sterne says: 
 "There are many ways of inducing sleep — the 
 thinking of purling rills, of waving woods, the reck- 
 oning of numbers; droppings from a wet sponge, 
 fixed over a brass pan, etc. But temperance and 
 exercise answer much better than any of these suc- 
 cedaneum.s." 
 
 While it is desirable as a rule that eight hours' 
 sound sleep out of twenty-four should be obtained 
 
240 SLEEP 
 
 and maintained during adult life, habit "with its 
 iron sinews, clasps and leads us day by day;" so 
 that many can get along with less sleep. Children 
 in the stage of growth and development require 
 more time for sleep than adults, and in the declin- 
 ing days, or evening of life, when the vital func- 
 tions are not very active, less sleep is required. 
 Some constitutions require nine hours' sleep, while 
 many do not need more than six. In Northern 
 countries people sleep more than they do in warmer 
 climes. 
 
 The use of the warm bath, particularly for those 
 not accustomed to active muscular exercise has a 
 very soothing influence, and is a valuable aid to 
 produce sleep. Some with vigorous constitutions 
 can use the cold bath. The laborer, by his muscu- 
 lar toil stimulates the action of the skin, throws ofT 
 a great deal of waste, and really in this manner 
 takes what may be termed a bath. But the profes- 
 sional or business man who works with his brain, 
 and those who do little or no work will find that 
 a warm bath in the majority of instances, and exer- 
 cise by rubbing and scrubbing the skin with a flesh 
 brush, to the point of inducing fatigue, are among 
 
SLEEP 241 
 
 the most valuable adjuncts in the treatment o! 
 simple or functional insomnia. There is little ad- 
 vantage derived from putting the feet in warm 
 water, or v/ashing the face and head with cold 
 water; great good can only be accomplished by 
 immersing the whole body, and causing fatigue of 
 the muscular system. Flagellation with a coarse 
 towel may be resorted to. Massage and exercise 
 by the patient, unless he is too much debilitated 
 should be used, rather than the massage obtained 
 by employing the professional masseur. 
 
 While some can sleep in any position, in any 
 place and under almost any circumstances, the bed, 
 temperature, and surroundings are often matters of 
 great importance to the Insomnious. The soldier 
 may sleep in the saddle while on the march, the 
 sailor when the storm is raging, the miller amid 
 the din of machinery. They may be awakened 
 when the noise or motion to which they have been 
 accustomed, stops. Sleep can therefore take place 
 under the strangest circumstances, and most pecu- 
 liar influences. Those in good health as well as 
 those suffering from simple insomnia, as a rule, 
 sleep better while lying on the right side. This is 
 
242 SLEEP 
 
 due to the fact that the food gravitates more easily 
 from the left to the right side into the intestines, 
 and the ponderous liver does not press against the 
 stomach and upper portion of the bowel. Lying 
 flat on the back is a position assumed in marked 
 cases of debility or exhaustion^ as it secures muscu- 
 lar rest. It is objectionable, however, in weak con- 
 ditions of tlie heart, or in some affections of the 
 lungs and brain^ as the blood seems to gravitate to 
 the upper and back portions of the lungs and back 
 of the head. As the uvula then hangs on the back 
 portion of the tongue, and partially closes the 
 trachea (windpipe), snoring is more likely to occur 
 in this position. Cramped positions in bed should 
 be avoided. 
 
 Those having any spinal curvature, or who are 
 stooped, or whose chests are contracted do not 
 usually sleep well on their backs. Cold feet, In- 
 sufficient or too much bed covering, and a close, 
 warm room are not conducive to sound sleep. A 
 bed with a comfortable mattress is preferable to a 
 feather bed, or a hard bed. The odor of feathers 
 gives rise in some susceptible persons to attacks 
 of asthma. 
 
SLEEP 243 
 
 The bed-room should be well ventilated, kept 
 clean, and receive plenty of sunlight. It should 
 have no unpleasant odors. 
 
 Insomnia, often a precursory symptom of serious 
 illness and danger in diseases of the brain and other 
 organs, or simple, functional sleeplessness, should 
 be treated at its very incipiency by the experienced 
 physician, not by the druggist, or the "curer" by 
 pictorial advertisements. To give sleep to the sleep- 
 less, without injury to the constitution, should not 
 be considered a trivial matter. 
 
 The whole book of the sufiferer's life must be 
 laid open to the physician in order that the proper 
 aid may be administered. 
 
 'To sleep — there is a drowsy mellifluence in the 
 very word that would almost interpret its meaning, 
 — to shut up the senses and hoodwink the soul; to 
 dismiss the world; to escape from one's self; to be 
 in ienorance of our own existence; to stagnate 
 upon the earth, first breathing out the hours, not 
 living them, doing no mischief, only dreaming of 
 it, neither merry nor melancholy, something be- 
 tween both and better than either. Best friend of 
 frail humanity, and like all other friends, best esti- 
 mated in its loss." (Longfellow.) 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 We Stand on the threshold of a new century. We 
 know that the tendency of the outgoing one has 
 been towards effeminacy. The set purpose of this 
 treatise is to call a halt in this ruinous course. It 
 aims to contribute its share, and no small share, to- 
 wards forming healthier, sturdier generations for the 
 new century, with more power of resistance to dis- 
 ease. To secure such desirable results, it is of para- 
 mount importance to put away some pet notions in 
 regard to our manner of living, and to accept some 
 wholesome regulations for maintaining or recover- 
 ing our health. These regulations are dictated by 
 sound reason and solid learning, by long experi- 
 ence and close observation. 
 
 Perfection in art is rare and precious. A master- 
 piece in painting or sculpture is as the French say, 
 "sans prix," that is, without price, inestimable. May 
 
 (244) 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 245 
 
 not the same be said of perfect health? Who has 
 it? It is as rare and as precious as the artist's best 
 production. Yet health is most needed to go 
 through life with ease and comfort. All know the 
 adage "health is wealth;" yet, singularly indeed, 
 few seem to care to have it. A millionaire said, 
 he would give the half of his fortune to be pos- 
 sessed of a good stomach; another, to have straight 
 limbs; and still another, to be able to sleep, when 
 sleep was needed. 
 
 Many learn the truth too late, that good health 
 is the boon of life. How so? Because they prefer 
 to follow inclinations, desires, and habits, that are 
 sure to undermine any constitution even if it were 
 as strong and solid as the castle of Sant' 
 Angelo in Rome. Health is generally not appre- 
 ciated until it is partially or totally lost. Restora- 
 tion is uncertain, difficult, costly, and often impossi- 
 ble. What are the causes of ill health? Tliey can 
 be divided into the entirely, or for the most part, un- 
 avoidable; and the entirely, or for the most part, 
 avoidable. To the unavoidable belong the predispo- 
 sition, or vulnerability of constitution from heredi- 
 ty, also malformation of the body, and all the various 
 
246 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 occupations in life, which are detrimental to good 
 health. The more or less avoidable causes of ill 
 health are far more numerous, and far more disas- 
 trous. The chief amongst them is, what is now 
 termed "fast living." This is the hydraheaded 
 monster which poisons the cup of life, and counts 
 its victims by the thousand. Fast livers may be 
 called those who not only lose no opportunities of 
 enjoyment, but also seek them according to the 
 full extent of their means. A night's reveling is 
 more desirable to such^ than the refreshment of 
 "balmy sleep." In a word, they are those who make 
 the m.ost of life in the shortest possible space of 
 time; those who purposely, or at least more or less 
 consciously, are hastening to their graves. 
 
 Excess and defect may be considered as general 
 causes of ill-health. Excess in mental or bodily 
 strain; excess in quality and quantity of food and 
 drink; and excess in indulgence of life's dissipations 
 and pleasures. Then, defect in hygienic training; 
 defect in proper exercise and diet, and defect in 
 proper care of one's health. Of excess may be said: 
 
 Indulgence short, long aches can bring; 
 
 Excessive pleasures have their sting. 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 247 
 
 For defect the following will serve: 
 
 Be active, prudent, unrepining; 
 
 In mode of life these three combining, 
 
 The humblest thus may win a shining. 
 
 Act well thy part, without regard 
 
 To lot, position— sure reward. 
 But who have genuine good health? Who have 
 a sound mind and a sound body? Few, very few, 
 indeed. They form a rare exception at the present 
 time. This century points to Gladstone of Eng- 
 land, to Bismark of Germany, and to Leo XIII of 
 Rome. These are certainly remarkable specimens 
 of health, activity, and consequent longevity. The 
 basis of good health lies in a vigorous constitution, 
 In the unimpaired functions of all the constituent 
 parts of the body. This constitution and condition 
 of the body must be, in the first instance, duly in- 
 herited, and in the second place, steadily main- 
 tained. Physical strength and well-being depend 
 upon Digestion, Respiration and Circulation. 
 
 One must be able to digest well the food he re- 
 ceives; the lungs must make breathing free, full 
 and easy; and the blood must circulate throughout 
 the whole system, and do so uniformly. 
 
248 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 To atttain to a higher, nobler, and securer stand- 
 ard of healthy there are three more requisites, which 
 go far to enhance the charm of Hfe for ourselves 
 and others, by regulating our habits and conduct. 
 These are Cleanliness in all things, on, and about 
 us; Temperance in its widest sense; and Industry 
 in every sense. The first three are rather given or 
 inherited than acquired; these latter three depend 
 upon our individual exertions. 
 
 By the habit of cleanliness, are warded off the 
 dangers of infection arising from filth and its con- 
 comitants. By being temperate, moderate, in all 
 things, the undue, unruly cravings, apt to lead to 
 excess, are either curbed or entirely suppressed, By 
 industry, the mind and body receive the proper 
 exercise, without which health cannot endure for 
 any length of time. By means of these three, one's 
 position in life can be usefully and honorably filled. 
 
 Whoever has all six requisites united in himself 
 or herself, joined to an agreeable disposition and 
 a high point of honor, such a one is indeed the 
 ideal man or woman of physical beauty, of physical 
 and moral strength. May such be multiplied in the 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 249 
 
 land of our fathers and in the inheritance of our 
 children! 
 
 Who and what are the thoroughly healthy? They 
 are those who are capable of enjoying life, and 
 enjoying it rationally. They are those who have 
 not lost the merry, ringing laugh of childhood, 
 nor the -brightness from their eyes. They are those 
 who, whether rich or poor, high or low, possess 
 what wealth cannot bestow, nature's most valuable 
 gift to the body, viz.: Strong bones, firm muscles, 
 the full vigor and strength that constitutes the 
 splendid physique. 
 
 They are those on whom the burdens of life sit 
 lightly, who almost playfully go through their daily 
 task. Though they may tire, they know that food 
 and drink, which they always relish, will restore 
 their strength, and that a refreshing sleep awaits 
 them at night. They are those who are in the best 
 condition to brave the battles of life, who can 
 courageously meet its cares, its difficulties, its dis- 
 appointments, and even its moral and physical suf- 
 ferings. Such are peers among their associates; 
 and what is deemed so desirable by all, the calm 
 of old age smiles upon them from the far distance. 
 
250 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 They are those, finally, who alone of all others, die 
 a natural death, in the true sense of the word. For, 
 to die from the effects of an ill-regulated life, from 
 accident or sickness, is properly speaking a death 
 by force, a violent death. Such healthy, sturdy 
 ones, the family, the nation, the age needs. Such 
 are an honor to our race and country. Such are 
 fit to become heroes and heroines. Apart from 
 disturbing factors, the healthy children are full of 
 mirth and promise; the healthy youths and maidens, 
 full of ardor and enjoyment; the healthy adults, full 
 of power and endurance; and the healthy aged, full 
 of placid contentment and deserved honor. 
 
 But what words of comfort and encouragement 
 can be given to the delicate, the feeble, the con- 
 firmed invalid? First of all, they must not lose 
 courage or hope of recovery, however faint this 
 may be. Many bad rents have been mended; many 
 weak and delicate instruments have served their 
 purpose for a long time, because they were handled 
 carefully and preserved cautiously. In like manner 
 the delicate, the feeble, the invalid, and all those 
 whose constitutions have become debilitated, whose 
 vital functions are more or less impaired, may yet 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 251 
 
 live a long time, perhaps outlive many who arc 
 robust, but careless. In their case it will be neces- 
 sary to observe the given directions in a stricter 
 manner. The words, Beware, Avoid and Restrain, 
 have for them still more significance and necessity. 
 They should not only beware of what is positively 
 injurious, but also use caution in wdiat they apply, 
 consume, and imbibe for the good of their health. 
 These, principally, stand in need of being warned 
 ao-ainst dosing themselves with nostrums, patent 
 medicines and ''sure cures" recommended by 
 friends and neighbors, or by the unscrupulous ad- 
 vertisements of quacks and faddists, who play upon 
 their credulity and weaknesses. The safest plan for 
 all sickly persons is to obtain the proper direction 
 in regard to diet and mode of living from a physi- 
 cian, and to take no other medicines than those 
 prescribed by him. 
 
 But it must always be borne in mind, that the 
 efforts of the physician must be seconded by punc- 
 tual observance of his directions, and by struggling 
 bravely against depressing influences upon one's 
 mind and body. Whoever has heard of a man being 
 
252 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 freed from melancholy, unless he himself made 
 efiforts to shake it off? 
 
 Restoration to health undoubtedly depends upon 
 co-operation with medication. A common and ac- 
 cepted adage is: ''As long as there is hfe there is 
 hope." Hope, therefore, must never be abandoned. 
 Even if a disease be considered ''incurable," like 
 cancer and consumption, a hopeful disposition still 
 helps to bear up by being resigned, and even cheer- 
 ful as far as possible. It is wonderful how a weak- 
 ened constitution can be spun out to a great length 
 by proper care and attention. Never give up the 
 ship, until you see it sinking. Will-power is a 
 very potent factor under all circumstances; hence, 
 also, during the ravages of disease. A determina- 
 tion not to succumb until s'heer necessity obliges, 
 gives buoyancy to the mind, and a certain control 
 over the body, that can materially assist in prolong- 
 ing life. The undaunted captain may steer his sink- 
 ing ship near shore; v/nilst loss of courage means 
 loss of help and life. 
 
 The other two words. Avoid, Restrain, have still 
 greater significance for the invalid. Such a one 
 must cautiously avoid all risks of aggravating the 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 253 
 
 trouble by any unnecessary exposure, over-fatigue, 
 and all depressing cares of the mind on account of 
 any unavoidable circumstances in family or business 
 afifairs. The adage holds perfectly in this case: 
 ''What you cannot cure, that you must endure." 
 The convalescent must mind the word, Restrain. 
 Restrain the returning appetite; restrain the desire 
 to undertake work or attend to business, before suf- 
 ficient strength has been regained. 
 
 In this respect there are not infrequently grave, 
 and not seldom, fatal mistakes made. There comes 
 a relapse which is generally worse than the first 
 attack, and often of longer duration. To say the 
 least, when the little strength is used too soon, it 
 is quickly exhausted, and the system rendered un- 
 able to recover its full vigor. When the pains and 
 aches of sickness have left, that is no sign or proof 
 that a person is well, or that he is in the same 
 condition as was the case before the illness came 
 on. It is true, that convalescence may take place 
 with some persons in a very short time, in the space 
 of a few days or weeks; but such instances arc rath- 
 er exceptions to the rule in any grave illness. On re- 
 turning health, it is beneficial to take moderate 
 
254 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 
 
 exercise; ''seek often sunshine and fresh air;" but 
 no one should attempt to run before he is able to 
 walk. 
 
 There is still another class of sufferers and, 
 strange to say, real sufferers too, who, though they 
 get and deserve little sympathy, must here receive 
 a passing notice. They are the imaginary sick. 
 How comes it to pass that such an anomaly should 
 occur? Tlie power of imagination and an over- 
 weening anxiety about health are at fault. Imagi- 
 nary sick are those who, with more or less reasons 
 for complaint, imagine themselves far worse than 
 they really are, or imagine they have this or that 
 disease, when in truth there is no foundation for 
 the supposition. Those of weak minds, nervous 
 constitutions, consequently with less courage; those 
 who easily become depressed or melancholy; those 
 who worry over small matters and are inclined to 
 exaggerate their pains and aches, are the fit sub- 
 jects for imaginary sickness. They do not know, 
 but they believe that they are sick. They brood 
 over their supposed troubles until real trouble does 
 make its appearance. It is undeniable that the 
 imagination has a powerful influence, especially 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 256 
 
 with some, upon mind and body. What recommen- 
 dations can be given to such imaginary sick? It 
 will not do to deny their troubles or their aches; 
 it might in many cases make matters worse. Per- 
 haps some of them are not conscious of being them- 
 selves the cause of their complaints. With all such, 
 kindness and patience are primarily, and unrelent- 
 ingly required. Then it must be remembered that 
 kindness is twice bestowed, when bestov/ed upon 
 the undeserving as in this case. 
 
 The imaginary sick generally lack courage to 
 sufifer, or care little to get well. Slight symptoms 
 of irregularity in their general feelings, occasional 
 aches here and there, are mistaken for indications 
 of serious trouble. Change of habit and surround- 
 ings, useful and suitable exercise, are required, as 
 well as mental occupation, in those unpleasant con- 
 ditions. 
 
 When sickness comes, do not despise 
 The doctor's help, if you arc wise; 
 Live useful, cheerful, kind to all: 
 Then may your grave claim Honor's pall. 
 
 THE END. 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Pago. 
 
 Accidents and Elmergrencies Z13 
 
 Antidotes against poisons 218 
 
 Breatliing, Artificial 217 
 
 Burns, Treatment of 220 
 
 Dog-Bite, Treatment of a 219 
 
 Drowned person. Treatment of an apparently 215-217 
 
 Ear, Foreign body in the 218 
 
 Eye, Inflamation of the 218 
 
 Fits, Falling-Sickness, Treatment of 220 
 
 Indigestion, First treatment of 217 
 
 Sting of Bee, Wasp, etc.. Treatment of 218 
 
 Throat. Fish-bone in the 217 
 
 Air 151 
 
 Air, What are the constituent parts of 151 
 
 Breathing in affections of the lungs or bronchia 164 
 
 Carbonic Acid Gas; its properties 163 
 
 Country versus City; a poem 161-163 
 
 Food needs air for assimilation 153 
 
 P\inerals, Wickedly wasteful 166, 1S7 
 
 Inhale plenty of pure air 153 
 
 InsufBcient or Vitiated Air, Danger of 153-157 
 
 Medication as nothing compared to air and exercise 159, 160 
 
 Nitrogen; its properties 151 
 
 Outing, The necessity of a yearly 157 
 
 Oxygen; its properties 152 
 
 Sick-room, closed tight — Death-room opened wide 164, 165 
 
 "Ye Undertakers!" A poem 166 
 
 Anatomy, Some 107 
 
 Bowels or Intestines, The 113 
 
 Appendix Vermiformis 114 
 
 Heart, The 107 
 
 Blood; amount sent to the Lungs per Minute 108 
 
 Four Pulsations to one Respiration 108 
 
 Kidneys, The 113 
 
 Urine secreted daily. Amount of 113 
 
 Liver, The HI 
 
 Bile secreted daily. Amount of 112 
 
 Lungs, The HO 
 
 Air-cells, The Hi 
 
 Bronchial Tubes, The HI 
 
 Bronchitis, Consumption HI 
 
 Pneumonia, Croupous Ill 
 
 Trachea or Wind-Pipe, The 110 
 
 Stomach, The 112 
 
 Baby, The 122 
 
 Artificial food to New-bom Babe, No 122 
 
 Bed or Cradle of the Baby; its sleep 131 
 
 Beer or Whiskey to Children, hot a drop of 145 
 
 Bones. The Child's 145 
 
 Breathing In a Child, The 133 
 
 Characteristics that reveal certain ailments 147-149 
 
 Children. Airing and Exercising 134 
 
 Children's Food 134 
 
 Cleanliness and Fresh Air all-important 139 
 
 Convulsions, How to treat 135 
 
 Co'lng Baby. How to treat a 124 
 
 Go to the dentist in time 144 
 
 Go to the doctor in time 146 
 
 257 
 
258 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Baby, The- Continued. ^^^;l'. 
 
 Heart, Beats of Child's j-^- 
 
 Milk, Cow's; What it ousht to be i-' 
 
 Milk. How to detect acidity in |-* 
 
 Milk, the Mother's •••• J;" 
 
 Milks, Analysis of Mother's and Cow's l-^*. i^'^ 
 
 Nurserj', Temperature of the 122 
 
 Nursing-bottle, Care of the 1-]1 
 
 Observe carefully ailing young children 14*» 
 
 Paregoric and similar nostrums to bo used only when ordered by 
 
 doctor ^^2 
 
 Purgatives for Children Y° 
 
 "Remedies," Don't use so-called "Baby" 140 
 
 School-room, Hygiene of the 1*1 
 
 Sleep, The Child's. 
 
 136 
 
 Starchy Food for Infants, No Ai lol 
 
 Teething lo7-139 
 
 Tooth-brush, Teach the child the use of the I'^o 
 
 Voracious children not born but bred 1^3 
 
 "Weight of the New Born Babe 122 
 
 Weight and size of a Baby at different ages 1^7 
 
 jjoi^Ji insy ""^ 
 
 Bathing, Old-time prejudice against ■■•• 209 
 
 Baths, Various Kinds of Baths ''jy. -l^ 
 
 Precautions to render bathing harmless -ilO 
 
 Dinfe-ra-m of Comparative Mortality as the Consequence of curtain 
 
 Diseases 1^-' ;;J 
 
 Don't s 
 
 Don't Ask the nature of prescriptions 116 
 
 Don't Believe Cold Water Drinking Dangerous 118 
 
 Don't Believe in "bringing out" or "driving in" eruptions 118 
 
 Don't Believe in "Quick Cures" 117 
 
 Don't Believe that the true physician treats the disease only lla 
 
 Don't Boast of your blue blood 115 
 
 Don't Confound your bladder with your kidneys lis 
 
 Don't Consider your physician infalible 116 
 
 Don't Exhibit your ignorance by foolish statements 115 
 
 Don't Fail to ventilate the sick-room properly 119 
 
 Don't Fail to secure rest of function for inflamed organ 119 
 
 Don't Feel offended by physician's questions, etc 116 
 
 Don't Know more than your Doctor 11^ 
 
 Drink i^; 
 
 Alcohol; invaluable in shocks ;^^- 
 
 Alcohol on an empty stomach. Never drink i^* 
 
 Alcohol, The dangers of 1^^ 
 
 Alcoholic Indulgence often Inherited ;J»* 
 
 Alcoholism frequently due to bad home-cookmg •••■ l»& 
 
 Tobacco, Huxley on l^"> tit 
 
 Tobacco; is it injurious?. 
 
 1S9 
 188 
 
 Water. Constituent parts of pure 
 
 Water. Danger of impure t^' 
 
 Water, How to classify drinking |^^ 
 
 Water, How to clarify muddy \sk a17 
 
 Water; the Perfect Drink iq^ 
 
 Whiskey, Dangers of new, raw t.' 
 
 Whiskey, Proportion of alcohol in ^g- 
 
 Food •; -.Oft 
 
 Bread and less meat ought to be eaten, More i»" 
 
 Cooking. Dangers of defective |' 
 
 Curtail use of meat and alcohol after fifty :J^* 
 
 Diet. What constitutes the best .•■••;i; \- /■ i7n 177 
 
 Digesting various articles of food. Table of tune need for 170-173 
 
 Digestion. The Procer.s of t^„^ 
 
 Eat wisely and well, How to 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 259 
 
 Food — Continued. Tape. 
 
 Food, The two great classes of 175 
 
 Indigestion and Dyspepsia, Cause of 1C9 
 
 Rapid Eating, Dangers of too 176 
 
 Spices, Condiments and sea.3oning unwholesome 176 
 
 Waste of food in America, Wreckless 177 
 
 We eat to live HJ3 
 
 HemorrliJiK-e (Bleeding) 221 
 
 Blood Vomitting or Spitting 222-223 
 
 Hemorrhage, The Three Kinds of 221 
 
 Hemorrhage, Treatment of 2L1-222 
 
 Life "lO 
 
 Alternate rest and motion 21 
 
 Cells of the body 19 
 
 Diseases of active people 21 
 
 Diseases of sedentary people 21 
 
 Education must be^in before school-days 24 
 
 Evil Propensities, Transmission of 24 
 
 Heredity, Habits and Environment, We are Creatures of 22 
 
 Life begets life 23 
 
 Heredity more than Vital Force 14 
 
 Heredity is Organization itself 16 
 
 Heredity Is Warmth, Growth, Repair and Power of Labor 17 
 
 Heredity; What is it? 10 
 
 Longevity (old age) 20 
 
 Survival of the fittest. The '. ! n 
 
 Vital Resistance, The 20 
 
 Pliysiciaas and Fadilists C8 
 
 Above all price of wealth; a poem SO 
 
 "Blood Remedies" SI 
 
 Diseases, Scientific and popular names of 71-73 
 
 Fad; what is it? 68 
 
 Fads pay well but serve ill €9 
 
 Headache Remedies Galore 77 
 
 Human Slot-machine, The 83 
 
 Introspective Patient, The 73 
 
 Malingerers or Impostors 75 
 
 Measures, Druggist's 62 
 
 Morphia, The Victims of 75 
 
 Narcotics and Hypnotics 79 
 
 Nerve Medicines and Cough Medicines are dangerous 82 
 
 Fatent-Medicines, The Danger of Using 77 
 
 Pill or Teaspconful not the whole treatment 70 
 
 PuHe, The rate of the 91 
 
 Queer requests of the Druggist's Customers, A few r7-9u 
 
 Ilidiculous m.eans of curing diseases, A iew S1-S6 
 
 Rules of Health; in verse 92 
 
 Sarsaparllla. Sassafras and Celery, no medical value in 81 
 
 Scrofula cured by the King's Touch 86 
 
 Self-merlication, a wholesale murder or suicide SO 
 
 Stomach-Pump, I'he 71 
 
 Temperature of the Human Body 91 
 
 V/eights, Druggist's 92 
 
 Pliysicians mid Quacks 26 
 
 Appendicitis; a poem 40-!3 
 
 Brown-Lpguard's Elixir of Liie 37 
 
 "Cancer-Cured," The 62 
 
 Case a law in itself. Each 29 
 
 Cleanliness the price of safety 44 
 
 Endorsements by famous prople. Beware of 31 
 
 Faith "Doctor" and the "^Tagnetic Healer," The 45 
 
 Germ-Hunting Theorist, The 42 
 
 Habit-Docfor, The 59 
 
 Headache-Doctor, The 43 
 
260 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Physicians and Qaacks — Continued. Page. 
 
 Honorable phj'sician never guarantees a cure. The Si 
 
 Koch's Anti-consumption Lymph 38 
 
 Medical profession approved of in the Bible, The 26 
 
 Medical profession endangered by the Specialists, The 37 
 
 Medical Vocabulary, Dr. Blowhard's 58 
 
 Medico-Theological Quack, The 32 
 
 New-school Physician, The 53-58 
 
 Ozonized Air, or Antiseptic Vapor, Cure by 61 
 
 Panacea for all ills not yet discovered 26 
 
 Quacks, Various brief definitions of 34 
 
 Religious Press Advertises "Sure Cures," The 28 
 
 Specialist, The Day of the; a poem 49-51 
 
 Specialist, The False and the Honest 46 
 
 Specialists, St. Paul's Views on 51 
 
 "Sure cures," Everybody dies in spite of all the 30 
 
 Wounds, How to cleanse 45 
 
 Physician, Tlie True 94 
 
 Cause of the ailment, then its removal 98 
 
 Consumption, for the relief of 95 
 
 Contagion, Danger of 97 
 
 Disease not all important. The name of 99 
 
 Guard against complications 98 
 
 Husband or Wife, The choice of a 97 
 
 Kissing, Diseases transmitted by 96 
 
 Medical Profession, Ethics of the 100 
 
 Medical Profession is a public Necessity, The , 105 
 
 Medical Profession, The ; a poem 105 
 
 Rheumatism, The Blue-Glass Cure for 94 
 
 Suliuretted Oxygen cure. The 94 
 
 Sick-Room, Tiie 211 
 
 Death, Informing the patient of Impending 214 
 
 Excessive attention followed by neglect 212 
 
 Sleep of the Sick, Respect the 213 
 
 Sleep 224 
 
 Bed, How to lie in one's 241 
 
 Bed-room, Size and Ventilation of 243 
 
 Bed-time, A warm bath before 240 
 
 Chloral, Bromides, Coal Tar Derivatives 234 
 
 Dreams and Night-Terrors 236 
 
 Early to bed good for children 237, 238 
 
 Insomnia 230 
 
 Sleep, Artificial 231 
 
 Sleep, Best means of securing 237 
 
 Sleep, Definitions of 224 
 
 Sleep. Different kinds of 227 
 
 Sleep induced by disease, or by slothfulness 229 
 
 Sleep Necessity 224 
 
 Sleep what Longfellow wrote about 243 
 
 Sleeping Draughts, Danger of 232 
 
 Sleeping Dropsy 228 
 
 Worries. Free yourself from 239 
 
 Worlc and Worry 192 
 
 Blues, The; a poem 205 
 
 Bury W^orry, lest it bury you 204 
 
 Chill after perspiring, Beware of a 195 
 
 Divide the day. How to properly 192 
 
 Exercise an essential of health 193 
 
 Heart's Action to be Avoided, Excessive 195 
 
 Light-hearted Laboring-Man. The ■'^^'■^o? 
 
 Open air exercise, Advantages of 194, 195 
 
 Overworked Engineer, The 202 
 
 Pure air to go with exercise 193 
 
 Worried man of fortune. The 196-198 
 
• 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. Jaj^'^T' TT oTf 
 
 MWr41939 
 
 - — ^ ■ : yy 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You atid 
 
 •IOLOgV 
 LIBRARY 
 
 your doctor- 
 
 mi 21 1921 
 
 MAR 41! 
 
 P^^ 
 
 
 Ui^IVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY