Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-08-22


forwards. A young ladv of eiob.
teen or twenty, living in fashionable
society, has been for several wears
destroying her life-power by impov-
erlshing her blood, that is. eating
quantities Of confectionery, cake,
and candles, instead of wholesome.
blood-producing food, and in breath
ing the sitting atmosphere of
New York day or boarding-school
by this she is depriving the blood
OF its supply Of oxygen then she has
commenced the grand role of fash
ionable dissipation, going to two or
three parties a week and to the thea
ter and opera the intervening
nights she has there most unques-
tionably had her blood continually
poisoned by the foul atmosphere of
crowded assemblies, and her nerves,
bowels, and digestion injured to an
extent sufficient to bring her power
of producing heat to very low
condition.
one aWakeS after a nights ex-
haustlng sleep in a room kept at fe-
yer heat by that death-producinp
engine, furnace and she goes "to
refresh herself with a bath" Now
remember the difference between
two young persons of similar age,
one in high and brilliant health and
living a simple life, and the other
Jaded by fashion, pale and feverish;
they are in conditions wide as the
north and south pole the moment
the latter gets into the cold bath, the
blood is driven from the surface of
the whole body to the internal or
gans the electric interchange be-
tween the skin and the vast internal
lining of all the blood vessels is in
terrupted, and nature has sustained
a terrible shock the poor BRAN is
almost crazed with the myriod com
plants it receives from every little
nerve-fbre in the skin; the teeth
are clenched, and the eyes close
with the shock if the poor girl is
wise enough to escape, and has
strength enough left to commence
rapid friction to the skin, and can
get over the surface fast enough,
she may in an hour recover nearly
her former condition, and think she
feels a little better perhaps she
does. The surface is clesnsed, and
nature has little better chance To
throw off the insensible perspiration
and some Of the blood-poison she has
breathed all the evening from that
of others, and all night from her
own confined exhalations but who
can measure the consequences of
the shock to the internal organs
the lungs, intestines, and the great
internal Innings Of the chest and ab-
domen how many pleurisies attack
the former how many slow in
lammations the latter why is the
throat raw, and what are all these
stitches and wandering pains in the
abdomen what but the feeble blood
vessels gorged with the thin and
watery blood driven suddenly from
the whole surface of the skin 7 In
the instance we have alluded TO, a
fatal pleurisy and congestion Of the
lungs was at last produced after a
long use of cold baths applied under
hydropathic instructions. The rel
atives assured me that the lady,
beautiful and extremely delicate
woman, was invariably blue with
cold for half an hour and often an
hour after these morning exercises.
The attack came on during the cold
weather of May, when she required
all the heat her body could produce.
She died from pleurisy and infam-
nation of the lungs.
Most people believe that each cold
bath they take is necessarily so
much health added to their stock,
when they want food, material for
p blood, and fat for fuel to burn in
the lungs. We have already shown
that if they do not eat the fat, the
muscles and tissues of the body must
be absorbed to supply its place-for
7 every breath we draw demands fuel,
= which is fat--hydrogen. This is
| true physiology nor can ignorance,
, however impudent, gainsay it.
, Now we shall consider the show
or bath it is not so great an alb
stractor of heat, because there is no
body of cold water in immediate
= contact with The skin only the in
dividual little drops touch the body;
the shock, however, is more or less
powerful and the instant contrac-
ton of the skin and muscles of the
body, and especially the momenta-
Try stop to respiration, shows its ac-
ton to be a constructor of the sur
face and muscles in exact propor-
ton TO the volume Of water used,
the time OF its use, and the size Of
the individual Jets, is il powerful or
less so. The capacity 10 endure IL
by the individual is another matter;
some become in a healthful glow
, after half minute or minutes use
Of il, who would suffer considerably
were il extended to three or five
minutes, precisely as they would
be benefited or otherwise by jump
ing into the cold bath and jumping
out again, or remaining there for
five minutes TO wash and rub the
skin. This latter practice is uni
versal bu, what is still worse, the
bather often uses first the warm
bath for a quarter and even half an
Lour and than lettinO off fha warm