I saw the poor people pining away, and several families ruined, and that without remedy. At length I thought of a kind of desperate expedient. The air we breathe is of great consequence to our health. Those who have been long abroad in easterly or northerly winds should drink some thin and warm liquor going to bed. Every one that would preserve health should be as clean and sweet as possible in their houses, clothes, and furniture.
Nothing conduces more to health than abstinence and plain food, with due labour.
Strong, and more especially spirituous, liquors are a certain, though slow, poison. Experience shows there is very seldom any danger in leaving them off all at once. Strong liquors do not prevent the mischiefs of a surfeit, nor carry it off, so safely as water. Coffee and tea are extremely hurtful to persons who have weak nerves. Tender persons should eat very light suppers, and that two or three hours before going to bed.