The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, 1858.

body is one, and every part is affected by every
other part, so that an exclusive study of any
particular organ is a self-contradictory and mis-
leading practice. When our eyes or ears are
out of order, we ought not—except where actual
operations are required—to have recourse to the
oculist or aurist, but to the man who has studied
the whole frame. On the management of the
eyes we find some advice as to the utility of
which we can speak from experience, but which
is hardly ever enough attended to. After
observing that the prevalence of weak sight at
the present day is probably attributable to the
excess of light admitted to the eyes of very young
infants, he gives some cautions which affect all
ages :

Too strong a light in a sleeping-room is bad, especially
if persons have their beds opposite the window ; for to
wake suddenly out of sleep, with a strong glaring light on
the eyes, cann3t but eventually injure the strongest and
most healthy sight ; and, where it is naturally weak, or
there be any hereditary disposition towards a debility iu
the organs, this custom must of course exercise very perni-
cious effects. Persons waking from sleep should have the
eye prepared by a subdued light first ; and if the sight be
good, the time occupied in partially dressing will be quite
sufficient to prepare the organs for meeting a stronger body
of light. This is especially to be remembered in summer-
time, where the chamber has an eastern aspect. . . . .
Whatever work you be engaged in, let the light fall on it,
and always keep yourself in the shade. Placo your back,
then, to the window, if reading by daylight—when the
light sill, of course, fall upon the object. When writing,
get a sidelight, if possible; but if you have a frontlight,
as under a window, shade it a little, bringing only its rays
on the paper, or let the top of the head form the shade.
In the same way, with a candle or lamp, throw the light
upon the paper, and do not let the glare of light go direct
to your eyes. If the light be above you, as from a chande-
lier, so much the better. If in the habit of using the
telescope, try, if passible, to keep both eyes open ; for by
shutting the opposite one to that used with the glom; the
sight is strained and ultimately weakened.

Other very useful chapters are those-relating to
" sudden accidents and seizures ; " to " high and
low seats, and positions of rest ;" and to " warm-
ing and ventilation." On all these points,
embracing a large proportion of what is now the
custom to call the "science of common things,"
a vast number of hints are given, attention to
which would, we are persuaded, have great effect
on both domestic comfort and individual health.
To hydropathy, homoeopathy, electro-magnetism,
and the like, it is scarcely necessary to say that
Dr. Ridge is an energetic foe. The "pill-
drivers," as he calls them, are spoken of in the
terms in which we believe most honest people are
accustomed to mention them; and the remark-
able fact is pointed out, that it is through adver-
tising in " religious" newspapers that they
obtain the widest circulation for their pernicious
compounds. He attributes this result to the
circumstance that "such publications are read
"by a simple-minded unsophisticated class of
" persons, less intimate with the villanies of the
" world, and consequently less open to suspicion."
The remedy, he asserts, for such a state of
things,—maintained as it is to a great degree by
the enormous profits which the Exchequer derives
from the sale of licences to such persons,—must
be found in the dissemination of sound knowledge
among the classes from which the quack derives
his chief harvest ; and as regards the qualified
members of the profession, in their own abjura-
tion of the foolish mystery in which for the most
part their practice is enshrouded. In many of
these observations we, of course, agree with him,
but we have grave doubts whether his recom-
mendation to forsake the use of Latin in pre-
scriptions is one which it would be advisable to
follow. He seems to have forgotten—what many
people do forget at the present day—that Latin
is a sort of universal language, and that if you
take the " unintelligible jargon," which a London
physician has scrawled for you, to any obscure
druggist in almost any part of Europe, he will
he able to compound your draught or bolus;
while if it were written in English you would
have to go without, unless you could translate it
for him.

Though Dr. Ridge is laudably cautious as
regards his medical directions, he is often wild
and rash in what he says on things in general.
There is no doubt that he is an able man, but
we would hardly take his opinion on any matter
out of his profession. It would, in truth, have
been an easy task to turn his book into ridicule,
by exhibiting some of his extraordinary remarks
on matters entirely out of his province: on the
effects of " the short clay pipe mania," as he
calla it, on the ;esthetics of attire (I) ; on the chit-